The Final Cycle

Author's note: I was rather upset with the final episode of Uraboku. The series had potential, but they ruined it. The ending left me hanging and didn't give me any closure. I hate it when animes do that. The main conflict needs to be mostly resolved, or I'll be left unsatisfied. Thus, I decided to write my own ending to this series. I think Yuki, Luka, and the Zweilts deserve to have their repeating cycle of suffering and fighting come to an end finally... and that's what I'll make happen. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

The light morning breeze caused the long, sandy blonde hair of a young woman to dance as she entered the grounds of a school. She was sporting a uniform consisting of a white T-shirt with a collar, a green skirt which stopped an inch above her knees, and a green tie. Both of her hands were grasping the handle of a light brown school bag which she held in front of her body. As she began to ascend the front steps of the large, two-story building, another young woman with short blond hair stepped out from the doorway to greet her. She was wearing the same uniform as the first female, and her demeanor seemed much more energetic.

"Yuki-chan, you're late!" She placed her hands over her hips, wearing a fake annoyed expression. Her voice was quite loud and echoed throughout the school grounds, yet she didn't seem to care.

"Ahh, gomenasai, Miki-chan." The teenager named Yuki replied, wearing a slightly uneasy expression. Her voice was much softer than the other female's, to say the least. "I know I said I'd come early today, but I accidentally slept in."

"Well, I suppose I can let it slide this once." The other female smirked and winked at her friend. "I'll just have to show it to you after school."

"All right." Yuki nodded, stepping inside the building finally.

"Heh, I bet you'll be dying to know what it is all day though!"

The two young women made their way down the long, bustling hallway, and Miki forced a path through the crowd, pulling Yuki along behind her. Both of them stopped when they finally arrived in front of the classroom at the end of the hallway on the right. After sliding the door open, they stepped inside and took their seats. Yuki's desk was located in the back of the room right beside the windows. She sighed softly, pulling out a notebook from her bag as the teacher stepped up to the podium to begin the lesson. His lectures that day were as long and tedious as usual, and once the final bell rang, each of the students quickly scrambled out to their lockers. Yuki was the last person to exit the classroom.

When she arrived at her locker, she opened it and started to place most of her books inside. After just a few moments, she was once again met by the cheerful Miki, who was holding onto some sort of magazine.

"Man, I thought his lectures would never end... his voice gets sooo old." She groaned, leaning her side against a nearby locker.

"I agree, but we don't really have a choice. If we want to pass our classes, we have to listen no matter what."

"Or you could listen for the both of us and take notes for me." Miki smirked again, opening her magazine and flipping through the pages until she reached a certain spot. "Anyways, here's the important news I wanted to show you! Apparently, Shuusei-sama has disappeared!"

"You mean that actor you're obsessed with?" The sandy blonde girl closed her locker after filling her schoolbag with the supplies she needed for her homework.

"Yeah! It says so right here!" The other female shoved her magazine in Yuki's face, pointing to a particular article. "I also heard that the basketball star, Hotsuma, disappeared recently as well."

"So?" Yuki took a step back so that she wouldn't be suffocated by the magazine. Her voice was devoid of enthusiasm over the current topic, and she appeared to be slightly confused as well. "Is there something odd about that?"

"How can you not find that strange? Supposedly, Shuusei-sama and Hotsuma were really close before their careers got in the way. I'm so suspicious..." Miki's eyes suddenly began to sparkle, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "...maybe they remembered their feelings for each other after all this time and eloped together! Kyaaaah!" A small stream of blood began to flow out from her nose. "...o-or maybe he was kidnapped!" Her expression then changed significantly, and she wiped away the blood with the back of her hand. "Wh-what if he was murdered?! If I could never see my Shuusei-sama in another move, I th-think I'd die!"

"I-I see. Sorry... I don't really keep up with celebrity gossip." Yuki used a slightly nervous tone as she spoke.

"Well, that's why you have me for a best friend! I can inform you of all the juicy details that you're missing out on!" She wrapped an arm around Yuki's shoulder, and her usual wide grin returned to her lips once more.

"Th-that's righ..." Yuki started to respond, but before she could finish, her eyes widened. Dozens of images suddenly appeared in her mind... and they were all of Miki. However, it wasn't the typical, upbeat Miki that she knew. These images were of a Miki who was sobbing and screaming at some unknown man. Apparently, it was her father. He merely ignored his daughter's cries and departed from the house without so much as looking back. As she watched him shut the door, she placed a hand over her chest. Yuki followed suit as the thoughts continued to assault her mind. She felt intense heartache from the scene that was playing out in her head. She could feel her best friend's pain. Up until that moment, she had never known that anything was wrong with the other girl. Apparently, Miki had hidden it well.

"Miki-chan... y-you're..." A tear rolled down Yuki's right cheek as she stared at the other female in utter shock.

"What's the matter, Yuki-chan?" Miki's expression shifted into one of concern.

"You always put on a s-smile... and y-you immerse yourself in celebrity g-gossip... t-to block out your pain..."

"Wh-what are you talking about, Yuki-chan?"

"Your father... h-he's all you have... and yet..."

"How d-do you know about that?!" She had never spoken to Yuki about her personal life much before, and she seemed horrified.

"I... c-can't explain it. I've b-been having these strange v-visions occasionally... a-and I can see into a p-person's heart..." The tears continued to pour down Yuki's cheeks as she spoke.

"D-don't gimme that crap! You were spying on me, weren't you?!" In a matter of seconds, Miki's entire demeanor had changed. She appeared to be furious and a little disgusted. "Y-you're such a creep! I can't believe I was ever friends with you!" After uttering those words, she stormed off without even looking back... much like her father had done.

"N-no, Miki-chan... I wasn't...!" Yuki tried to stop her former best friend... to no avail. Lowering her head, she began to walk toward the front doors of the school building. Her entire being was consumed by intense feelings of despair as she departed from the grounds at last. Her eyes were dim, and her gaze was fixed on the ground. She felt that she had just lost the most important person in her life. The only friend who had stuck by her side since elementary school was gone... possibly forever. Although she was beautiful, Yuki had never been good at making friends. She was quite shy and a little socially awkward.

A sharp pain attacked the young female's chest, and she felt rather ill. She didn't think this heartache would ever subside. It felt like the end of the world to her, and she wasn't sure how to deal with the agony of it. She had never experienced such a painful thing before... or so she thought.

"Miki-chan..." She whispered her former friend's name one last time as she stepped out from the front gates of the school. In her current state, it would be incredibly easy for her to be hit by a car on her way home since she clearly wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

She suddenly spotted a figure out of the corner of her eye, causing her to stop abruptly in her tracks. Then, she slowly turned her head in that direction. Standing just a few feet away from her current position was a young man. He was quite tall and well built, and his shaggy hair was the color of a raven's feathers. His eyes were concealed by the lenses of a pair of sunglasses. As for his garments, he wore a pair of tight, black leather pants along with a black, sleeveless trench coat. It was unzipped, making his prominent abdominal muscles completely visible since he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath it. His skin was abnormally pale, and a strange marking was present on his muscular left arm. It was in the shape of two scarlet X's stacked vertically up his arm. His posture was relaxed, and he kept both hands hidden inside of his pockets whilst leaning with his back up against the fence.

Yuki kept her vision fixed on the male for a few brief moments, causing him to return her gaze. Finally, she looked away and began to walk past him, uttering a barely audible apology under her breath. "Sumimasen... Luka..." The familiar name flowed from her lips naturally, and she instantly froze in place once more. Why did she just call him by that name? She was certain that she had never met this man before in her entire life, and she never knew anyone by that name either. Her eyes slowly began to widen, and she felt every muscle in her body go numb. Her heart started to beat more rapidly, and she swallowed hard. Her depressed expression had shifted into one of both horror and bewilderment.

The young man appeared equally shocked, and he slowly lifted his right hand up from his pocket. Moving his sunglasses above his brow, he finally revealed his two entrancing, silver catlike eyes.

"You... remember me?" He asked in the deep, smooth voice that he possessed. There seemed to be a faint glimmer of hope in his expression as well.

"I... I... n-no..." Yuki stuttered in response, and her entire body began to tremble as she attempted to make sense of the situation. She still could not comprehend how she knew this stranger's name. "...I d... don't..." She suddenly dropped her bag and grasped onto her head with both hands, collapsing onto her knees and wincing in pain. Hundreds of old memories came flooding back into her mind... memories from each of her past lives. She released a scream of agony as her brain tried to process all of those jumbled memories.

"Yuki!" The man called Luka bent down beside her, placing both hands on her shoulders. His expression was filled with concern, showing that he truly did care about her. "Yuki, hang in there!" He clenched his teeth together tightly, visibly flustered by the situation. It was obvious that he absolutely hated watching Yuki suffer. His incisors were also much longer than a normal human's.

The young female continued to hold her head tightly, and after a few moments longer, she lost consciousness. As she slowly began to fall forward, Luka caught her in his arms. Her chin came to rest upon his left shoulder as both of her eyes closed. The mysterious male's eyes widened slightly afterward.

"Tch! Yuki..." The pain bottled up deep within his own heart was evident on his face for once while he held the teenager's peaceful, unconscious figure gently in his arms.

She wasn't showing any signs of awakening, but she still appeared to be breathing. However, her breaths were very shallow, and her complexion was much paler than usual. Those resurfacing memories had taken quite an expensive toll on her mind and body. Even if she did regain consciousness, it was unclear if she would ever be the same again...