10/25/00
Disclaimer: the characters such as Uriko, Kenji, etc. belong to Hudson Soft; Erika Daweson, Matthew Farley, and Adam Takiyo belong to me
Dedication: God, my parents, my friends, my cousins, and the people who read my fics
Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past
By Tiger5913
Poem I wrote for this fic:
Separated for over two years…
One went away; alone on
A search for his old memories
For his forgotten past…
The one who stayed back,
Waited for his return.
Just when hope began to dwindle
They were reunited by chance
Both of them had changed,
But the one who left,
Came back very different.
Their connection falters
Remembrance is faint.
Have they been away
From each other for too long?
The memory of their shared
Past experiences; too strong to detour
Another fight shall initiate
They'll be together, unless…
One is on the other side.
Opposition will lead to confusion
And that… may end at death.
Prologue
The sterile smell that filled the air was strong enough to make anyone feel dizzy. Eyelids fluttered shut at the bright, blinding light, and a hand went up to try to block the sight. Narrowed eyes slowly traveled down to settle upon the still form lying on the white-sheeted bed. Pale hands lied stiffly by the sides of the body; concerned gaze focused on the pasty skinned figure. Timid fingers went to brush lightly against the surface, feeling the bump of the nasty scars etching into the smoothness.
I wish this never happened… The person sitting silently by the bed thought. We're fast at recovering; we'll both be all right… A throaty sigh echoed in the quiet room. How did all this start??
Resentment and sadness flickered in the eyes. Oh, yes. I remember…all too well…
As the figure stood up abruptly, paying no heed to the reserved wheelchair, a feeling of intense pain surged through the muscles in their body. Gently grazing the lumpy bruise plastered on their forehead, the person ignored the unease and started to step out of the room.
"Both patients will be fine," a voice was heard outside in the hall; the figure paused.
"Are you sure about that, doctor?" Another person asked, clearly voicing concern.
"Yes, do not worry. The injuries were quite severe, but keep in mind that the healing will take time."
Their voices lowered, and the figure ducked back around the corner, again looking at the body lying on the hospital bed. Glancing toward the ground, the tired eyes caught the glimmer off of an object from a thin band.
Our promise…
Sitting down on the soft cushion of the wheelchair, the person laid back and closed their eyes; at the action, pictures and memories spilled into their subconscious state.
Chapter 1
Before It All Began
Going back to the beginning,
Delving into the mind,
Replaying old memories
Exploring the past and
Remembering the previous events.
"Are you sure you should go by yourself?"
"Yeah, don't worry," a convincing smile spread over his face as he said that. "I'll be fine."
"Only got a little while before school starts…"
"I know, but I'm sure I will get back in time."
The person speaking to him bit her lip. "…Tell me again, why are you doing this?"
His expression stiffened instantly. "I know nothing about my past; I cannot continue living like this, unaware of the things I should already be informed of…"
"And you said that Yugo doesn't know anything, right?"
"Right. Besides, this is something I have to do by myself."
"Why isn't he going with you?"
"He's got his boxing career, remember? …You believe in me, don't you?"
"I do believe in you," she assured him sincerely, then smiled weakly. "Just wish that I could come along too…"
The smile back was a bit mournful. "So do I…"
"…Um, take care of yourself, okay?"
"I will," he replied, starting to look a little uncertain.
"Come back as soon as you can."
"I promise." The two leaned foreword in a touching embrace.
Hoooooooooooooooot!!!
The shrill cry of the train whistle startled them, interrupting their moment of tranquility.
"I have to go now…"
The girl's eyes fluttered to a half-close. "This won't take months or anything."
Her companion shook his head fiercely. "No way, I don't want to be separated from you, my family and friends that long." He glanced into her eyes. "See you soon…"
She smiled faintly. "You'd better!"
As he got onto the train, he kept his face poking out of the window. When the last call was sounded, the wheels began to turn; he was truly leaving.
"Good-bye, Uriko!" the boy yelled loudly to her as he began to go out of sight.
"Bye…" the young girl whispered quietly, watching the large, rectangular vehicle disappear into the woods. "I love you, Kenji."
*****
Almost three years later…
Present time
My last summer of freedom… A teenager thought wistfully. I have to cherish it…
The soles of the white sneakers gently padded across the cold stone ground, approaching the seemingly empty brown structure.
I want to at least spend these next couple of months with him…
Wide brown eyes lifted toward the sky, really focusing on the single closed window of the house.
When are you coming back? It's been almost three years… I wonder what happened anyway…
Feeling dejected, the figure's shoulders fell, clearly projecting off their sadness. Turning around to leave, the sneakers started walking in the opposite direction, not bothering to acknowledge the squishing of the crisp green grass underneath.
Three years since you've left…so much has changed…
She had been fifteen years old at the time that he had left; she was now on her way to eighteen.
Casting one last glance at the house, the brown-haired teenager shut her eyes and went back to her route.
Will we ever see each other again?
Head facing down at the gray concrete, she started jogging toward her own home. As she was pacing herself, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small square card. The girl's eyes scanned over the tiny print, and then mechanically read her mini-bio:
Name: Uriko Nonomura
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: La Kenya High
As she got to her identification number, she stopped reading and tucked the care back into her pocket.
I graduated two weeks ago…why am I still keeping this stupid thing? She wondered rhetorically and somewhat stupidly to herself.
The tired expression on the seventeen-year-old's face could be easily seen by the dullness in her eyes. Flipping away a stray strand of her long auburn-colored hair, an annoyed look replaced the tiredness and she brushed the small specks of dust off from her black shorts. Tall and strong with a slim hourglass figure, the high school graduate's light brown eyes dimmed slightly as a picture of a lean, young male teenager around her age flashed in her mind. Although appearing lively and cheerful to her friends, she carried a deep past within, and only several others knew of her secret…
They were all the same; all zoanthropes like her. She closed her eyes, remembering what her mother had said when she, as a young girl, had curiously and innocently asked what a zoanthrope was:
"We are normal, everyday people. The only thing that is different are our special abilities…"
"What special abilities, Mom?"
"Like temporarily transforming into an animal, and being able to fight in that form."
"But that sounds scary…"
"You are still young; hopefully, you'll understand it when you're older…"
The last time she had morphed, which was around a little over two years ago, her animal form had been a cat. The girl then half-sneered at her memory. I was so naïve at eight…un-acknowledging…how sad…
She shook her head free of the thoughts and continued running, through the crisp air of afternoon, past the tall luscious trees and colorful flowers of summer. Suddenly turning her head to the right, she spotted a large beige building off in the distance: the former high school of she and her friends. Upon arriving at her home, she unlocked the door and ran inside, shutting it behind her.
"Mother, I'm home!" the teenager called out into the house.
"Uriko?" a woman replied.
"Yeah, it's me."
Uriko Nonomura followed the sound of the voice into the kitchen, where her mother stood by the sink.
"He still isn't back yet." The tall woman remarked bluntly.
"No…of course not…"
After Uriko's boyfriend had gone away for more than three months, his caretaker, and 'brother', Yugo Ohgami had felt concerned. But several additional months after that, everyone was worried. Their small circle of friends had gone to the capital of their country in search of the missing teenage boy, where he'd told them that he was going to a little while back. They all had made well, but careful use of their zoanthrope abilities in the process.
*****
Over a year ago…
"Mrrowll…" came out of the light brown-furred cat.
Looking around the dark area, the feline mewed as she pranced toward the small crevices of the hallway connecting the streets together. After quite a while later, she scurried back to the meeting spot, so exhausted from the hours of searching that the fur began to melt away into her skin to again reveal her soft, peach-colored human flesh. Her tail shrunk back into her spine, and her acute sense of hearing was slightly lessened as the two pointy cat ears disappeared into her long brown hair.
At the spot, the teenager stumbled to a sitting position atop a cardboard box in the area and closed her eyes momentarily from her tiredness. Reopening them as she heard footsteps approaching, she inspected her surroundings, watching her mother, Mitsuko Nonomura come out from behind a corner of the alley.
Something made a whooshing noise as a figure jumped down with expertise from a tall building. It turned out to be a red-eyed rabbit wearing a short pink dress with a matching pink hat resting in between two big, long ears. The former cat watched as the huge white ears seemed to shrink into the head and two blue pigtails replaced them. With her nurse cap in place, Alice Nonomura appeared as her human self from her rabbit animal form, and sighed her defeat. Looking sympathetically at her younger 'sister' with her bloodshot red eyes, she shook her head and Uriko nodded stiffly her understanding.
The young brown-haired girl suddenly heard a couple of growling noises nearby, and her head jerked toward the direction of the sounds. Her eyes settled on the sight of two large feline predators crawling toward the three young women: a ferocious-looking tiger and a red-eyed leopard with black spots dotting the body. Neither of the women even flinched; just patiently waited for their friends to transform back.
The black stripes and orange fur of the tiger faded away and the bulging muscles shrunk back into the figure of Uriko's Kenpo master, Long Shin. His mid-waist length braided black hair reformed, as well as his outfit of a sleeveless white shirt and blue pants. Glancing at his disciple, the Asian man, like Alice, shook his head also; he pointed at the large cat crouched nearby, indicating the same answer, since they had been searching together.
Growling in frustration, the leopard's fierce features turned back into a tall, blonde-haired young woman. Her own sleeveless white shirt and forest green corduroys shifted as she made a fist and punched it into the palm of her other hand. Jane Gado's eyes went to look at the ground, displeased at not finding who she and her partner had been looking for.
Uriko kept her cool posture, not meeting anyone's eyes as the small light of hope in them started to flicker away. There were only a couple more people on the search. But still, she couldn't show weakness; it was her boyfriend, and she had to be strong for him.
Making his dramatic entrance, a gray-furred wolf ran into the scene, knocking over Long. Shooting a dirty look at the canine, Jane helped her beau stand up. After howling once up at the full yellow moon hanging overhead, the wolf's physiques melted into the form of a tall, brown-haired man.
Murmuring a, "Sorry, bad habit…" to his friends, Yugo Ohgami swore under his breath, the concern in his face for his younger brother clearly showing. Tightening the ends of his orange vest more closely around his bare upper body with one hand, the young boxer flicked the dust off of his red pants. From his expression, Uriko could tell that he hadn't been successful either; she sighed softly.
Last of all to arrive came a tall, muscular man with spiky blonde hair wearing a black shirt paired with brown denim pants, and a human-sized bat. At first the bat was behind him, but then the coffee-colored creature flew ahead into the area. The bat changed back into a woman with short blonde hair and sky blue eyes, clothed in a fashionable, red mini-dress kind of outfit. The young girl looked at them questioningly; Alan and Jenny Gado gave her the sign of negativity.
"Where the hell can he be?!" Yugo screeched rhetorically, breaking the silence, impatience seeping in his words.
Although the youngest of the group, the others still looked toward the female teenager for her thoughts. This was mainly she and Yugo's arena, but her friends showed the majority of their concern toward her.
"I don't understand how he could be gone so long," Uriko said finally in a low tone of voice. "I really do not think that it takes eleven months to look up a hospital record."
This was news to everyone, including Yugo; he asked, "…? That's what he went for??"
"Yes." She replied, giving him a strange look. "…Why? What did he tell you?"
"Kenji said that he was visiting a friend of his!"
Whoa, really? The high school junior to-be thought incredulously. Well, I understand why Yugo believes him; Kenji doesn't lie. But…why did he lie to Yugo…? Did he lie to me as well?
She opened her mouth to comment, but before she could remark anything, her martial arts instructor, who had been whispering to Jane, said, "I know we are all concerned about Kenji, however, it would not do any good for us to be-"
"-Standing around a place like this at the dead of night, muttering about how irresponsible he was to lie and then run off like that." Jane finished for her boyfriend.
"We should all get some sleep and try again tomorrow." Uriko told her comrades firmly.
They all nodded, while the young boxer looked reluctant and uncertain of the decision, in agreement.
Losing her stiff look, it being replaced by a weary expression on her face, the teenage girl went to be enveloped in a tight hug from her mother. Alice started towards her younger sister to comfort the brown-haired girl, but the others pantomimed their suggestion of not interfering.
Just a year ago, the runt was carefree and a roaming spirit. Jane thought, sighing to herself. How did she get so much older in such a short amount of time?
Sensing her discomfort, Long slipped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, "She'll be all right; I have seen how determined and strong-willed Uriko can get. We'll find Kenji."
Glancing briefly at the two Nonomuras and at Alice talking softly to Yugo, the tomboy replied quietly, "I hope you're right."
End of Chapter 1
