Disclaimer: I don't own Tactics.
Ennabelle Mei: I own Kikuhime Ichinomiya and Kami Ichinomiya.
Summary: Kantarou Ichinomiya, Haruka and Youko are sucked into the future by the young, beautiful Kikuhime Ichinomiya, who turns out to be the reincarnation of Kantarou's daughter, Kami Ichinomiya. Even though Kikuhime follows the Methodist beliefs, she's still plagued with visions by day and nightmares and strange dreams by night. She's able to hear voices inside her mind and see bolded words there as well. She's also able to respond back to what's inside her mind. She also experiences strange emotions she isn't sure are hers because they feel foreign to her. When she witnesses a murder in action, it terrifies her and she strongly feels she isn't able to turn to police because they'd consider her hysterical. She turns to her ancestors instead. Now, Kantarou, Haruka and Youko are faced with a psychic, murder mystery.
Emerge
~ Chapter One ~
A young girl frantically rushed towards the top of an oak staircase. Her feet barely met the faded red carpeted steps and her heart pounded as her chest heaved with each gasp for breath. I'm scared, I'm scared; I'm scared, I'm scared! She stopped and closed her eyes. Tears wet her lashes and rolled along her cheeks. I can't take this, I can't take this anymore! With a deep, shuddery breath, she raised her arms and placed one hand on each side at the top of her head, then, entwined her fingers with her hair and struggled to scream, but to no avail. A strange sensation spread throughout her body and she struggled not to allow herself to fall. She forced herself to move. This seemed to create the strange sensation of a painful bolt of lightning after the strange sensation of cherry blossoms in the gentle breeze. For an instant, she wanted to give up, but now she realized she had to fight in order for her to survive.
Kikuhime Ichinomiya vividly caught the scene inside her mind as if it were from a movie. Her eyes widened with a gasp. What am I seeing? Am I the young girl? Curious about her vision, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Hmmm…Okay, now. Just as she'd been about to force her mind back towards the start of her vision, another piece to the puzzle fell into place. The hemline of a ruffled, navy blue colored skirt appeared. Underneath the skirt poked out petite, slender legs covered by black leggings and tiny, wide feet dressed in silky, white socks with lace at the top and pale, brown dress shoes.
The more she tried to hold the image inside her mind and gain detail, the more it twisted and black eventually blurred out everything. She opened her eyes as frustration started to take over. "Argh, no! Come back!" Darn it! She caught herself and felt silly. Eh? Why am I worked up over this? "Ahem!" Get a grip. Once more, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
The young girl heard footsteps behind her and her eyes widened with a gasp. "Eeek!" Oh-no! He's gonna get me! She trembled uncontrollably all over and her body jerked as she gained speed. When she reached the top step, her legs gave way and her knees buckled beneath her weight. Her feet slid out from under her as she fell forward onto her stomach into the hallway. No! Terror consumed her and her mind had no time to process thought before her body reacted instinctively. She rolled to the right, onto her back, and scooted away from the top of the stairs. Far enough away from the edge and the sound of footsteps, she stood and ran.
A closed door quickly came into view and she struggled to stop. Her body barely stopped in time. Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway and she heard someone call out, "Oh, little kitty! Come out, come out wherever you are!" Yikes! Quickly, she opened the door and entered the room.
She quickly and quietly pulled the door towards her. With a sigh and the roll of her eyes, she slumped and thought, Ah, darn it! I can't shut it all the way because he'll now! She slid towards the floor at the foot of the door. Her foot hit something on the floor and she recoiled. "AH!" The back of her head smacked into the light blue colored door. She laid there on the floor with a frozen expression of shock as crimson red blood poured out from behind her head and stained her thick, wavy, waist-length, blonde hair.
A young boy approached her, a malicious grin spread along his lips. Charcoal eyes reflected a cold, lust for blood beneath shaggy, black bangs. He had a muscular figure and the complexion of the young girl he chased paled compared to his. The waist of his pants a little below his butt, the frayed hem ended mid-calve. He wore a tee-shirt, white socks and black sandals just as ragged. He reached into the back pocket of his pants, pulled out a switchblade knife and pushed the button on the side with his thumb. The blade sprung forth and the exposed silver glistened in the moonlight that filtered from a nearby window, into the bedroom and into the hallway. He continued to approach the young girl on the floor in front of him, the sick intent to murder. "Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!" He slashed her repetitively.
Kikuhime's eyes glazed over as blood showered her. Ugh. Tears gathered in her eyes and rolled along her cheeks. In an attempt to shut out the screams of the young girl and the horrid images, she curled up into a tight ball on her bed, closed her eyes and began to hum a tune. I feel sick. She clapped a hand over her mouth and rushed to the bathroom. Why am I nauseous and lightheaded? I'm exhausted, too. She dropped to her knees in front the toilet. The physical strength for her body to stabilize her failed and she collapsed onto her side. It took her a few moments, but she managed to sit up. Her head throbbed and everything seemed to spin. Why must this happen to me? Finally, she thought, What is this? Where does this come from? I want to understand. I can't fight my fears on my own. Please, help me. Is this a gift you've given me, God, or should I leave it alone?
Kantarou Ichinomiya gasped and his eyes widened. "What's this?" He stared at his body that glowed white. "Haruka! Hey, Haruka! Why am I-" He noticed Haruka also lit up and stopped short of his sentence. "Youko?" He looked around for her, but when he noticed she also glowed, he began to really freak out. "This cannot happen!" What on earth is up with this? Before he could figure out anything, he felt himself fall through air. When he landed, he felt a set of hands shove him towards the heavens and he heard a muffled, strained voice come from underneath him.
"Harrrgh! Could you PLEASE get off me?" Beneath him, Kikuhime coughed. "Jeez, dude! Why the heck did you have to fall from the sky? I'm squashed like a bug under here!" I summoned him, but I had no idea he'd fall from the sky!
Huh? Voice? Under me? Kantarou realized he'd fallen on top of someone and quickly lifted his weight from her. "Oh-no, I'm so sorry!" I hope I didn't hurt her. He stared at her with concern.
He's worried about me. She slowly blinked and sat up with the shrug of her shoulders. With a sigh, a smile spread along her lips and she shook her head. "Never mind. It's fine." She looked up at him with lighthearted laughter. "Hey, now! There's no use for that look!"
He held out his hand and smiled. His crimson eyes shined with compassion. "Here." She's so beautiful.
I like a gentleman. Kikuhime nodded and took his hand. "Thanks." Something tells me that I've summoned my ancestor, as his assistants, from the heart. I mean, I desperately need help and I know not where else to turn.
Kantarou helped her stand. Startled, his eyes widened with a gasp. What the…? Her short arms felt narrow.
Her legs had little to no strength and her knees buckled. "Waugh!" Oh-no, not again!
Kantarou firmly, yet gently held her steady. No offense, but she shouldn't be this thin. He noticed her hollow cheeks and that her clavicles poked through the skin.
Kikuhime instantly recognized his reaction and her nose and cheeks blushed crimson as she modestly defended the tiniest amount of exposed flesh. "Please, don't look!" Her heart pounded in terror of what anyone would think. It's ugly!
Haruka stared at her with a sad expression. She thinks so little of herself and she cares too much what others think.
She glared at Kantarou and yanked her hand from his. "I don't need pity or sympathy! I'm fine on my own!" Truth is, I'm terrified. Though, they'd laugh at me if they knew.
Kantarou smiled and shook his head. No. This isn't pity or sympathy I feel. It's sadness. No one should have to destroy themselves over anything. "I have an idea. Why don't we go and eat something? We can talk things out then. What do you say?"
She reluctantly replied, "Whatever!" I may as well get this over with since there's no escape.
He asked her, "Why don't you choose a place, okay?" There may be something in particular she likes to eat.
She glared at him. "Just shut up and choose a place so that we can get this over with!" Jeez, he annoys me!