Hi guys! I always thought it was such a shame that a great story like this never has any long fics, so I'm making my own. Little advice for all of you anime lovers : if you've only seen the anime (aoharuxkikanjuu) go read the manga (seishunxkikanjuu). The story continues and it only gets better! We get introduced to amazing new characters and the story is as entertaining as ever. I really recommend it!
Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this fic. It's an AU, and it will take on some darker themes. There will be some humor but not as frequent as in the anime. The characters are evolving in hostile environment so it will be mostly serious.
Enjoy!
I used to read a lot of stories about that. When an evil man takes control of an entire kingdom after murdering the king. And the hero has to save the kingdom. No one asked for this. I did not. The people of our country did not either. But that day… the day that the previous Supreme Leader was assassinated by his own son, and that Tamaki Kagetora ascended on the throne, all our worlds crumbled. The new laws made sure only the rich could get richer and the poor would stay poor. Everything and everyone was constantly monitored The country is an island so no one is able to run away. The people who run away from the dictator, can do nothing other than go to the abandoned cities of Tensora, a region that had been evacuated completely in the past because of epidemics caused by the explosion of a factory fifty years ago. But everyone knows that even during the previous Leader's reign, it was used for smuggling weapon and drug trafficking. Most of the people go there now. The ones who try to flee the country are easily found and killed. And even when people get to Tensora, everyday is a never-ending battle to keep on living. All crime is legal to get what you want. Then big gangs take over different territories and when more than one are fighting over them, a lot of innocent people get caught up in it. Four years after the beginning of the dictatorship, the situation has stabilized in Tensora. But a new gang war can began anytime. Still, people had no choice but to go there. The safest option for them was to join the strongest gang they could find. Even women and children. As for the people who weren't part of the nobles and who stayed in the main regions, they mostly made profit by selling weapons, foods and supplies to the gangs in Tensora. In one word, our country as we knew it, died to leave behind this chaos of a world, where anyone could die any day.
And just like the others, I had no choice but to flee to Tensora to escape Tamaki Kagetora. My name is Hotaru Tachibana. And my quest, is to find the resistance and take down the dictator. If I should die doing so, then so be it. I will not let him destroy this country anymore. Even if I have to kill him. That is my oath.
Dorado City, Tensora Region
Rotting. There was no other words to describe this desolated city she was looking at. The streets were dirty, the buildings had cracks everywhere. The sun was starting to set, but the heat was awful. In the streets were beggars. Man, woman, children… Some were fighting dogs for the carcass of a dead pigeon. The sound of the wind blowing through the streets made the whole scenery even more miserable. Everything here was wrong and disgusting. Hidden under her cape, she made her way through the streets with a quick pace. She didn't know where she was going. She was simply wandering, looking for some place to find food. After a fifteen minute walk, she caught a sign on top of a door, saying 'Food for trade'. She didn't know what it meant but still entered the place. People were indeed eating in here, in small groups. The tables and everything in here threatened to crumble anytime, but at least it was clean. She approached the counter, still hiding under her cloak.
"Excuse me, sir?" She asked the man on the other side. "How much for a meal?"
"How much? Depends what you got on you kid." Replied the big man.
"I have five hundred juries…"
"You're new in town aren't you?" He interrupted. "We don't take money here kid. In Tensora, only the gangs do that. Small timers like us trade."
The kid looked confused. She hadn't thought about that. She did have some things in her bag she could trade but… "I'll give you a full meal for the cloak." Said the man, interrupting her thoughts.
"That's all?" Asked the girl.
"Yeah."
She hesitated a second. She didn't like the idea of walking around with everyone being able to see her. But her growling stomach made her abandon all apprehension and she took it off. She handed it over to the man who took it before handing her a tray with some sort of stew in a plate, an apple, a piece of bread and a glass of water. She grabbed it and was about to go sit at a free table but he called out to her once more. The girl's hair was so short she could easily be mistaken for a boy. But the clothes she was wearing were betraying her gender.
"Listen kid. Find new clothes as soon as you can if you want to fit in. And also, don't talk to anyone about your cash money. It'll get you in trouble."
She didn't understand but nodded before thanking the man, sitting down, taking her bag off her shoulder and started eating. The food wasn't that good but it was a meal. She didn't have a right to complain. In this town, this was probably a king's meal. She ate every bite slowly, thinking about what she would do next. She needed to find a place to sleep. And when tomorrow, she'd start looking for them. She knew the goal. She just didn't know the method yet. But she would figure it out. Resolve was everything. Her skills would make her succeed. She brought back the tray and thanked the shopkeeper once more before grabbing her bag and exiting. She once more wandered around the city, trying to find some good place to sleep. She sighed remembering the time she didn't have to worry about where she would sleep, when she would eat. She shook off that thought. Things would never go back to the way it was. Her father and her mother were gone. She had no one left. Thanks to Tamaki Kagetora. She clenched her teeth just thinking about that man. He had taken everything from her and from so many others. He would pay dearly.
"Aaah!"
The man's scream pulled her out of her daydreaming and she hurried towards the alley where the noise was coming from. She found herself at the entrance an almost completely deserted. Almost. A man was on the floor with a bloody nose and seemed to be unconscious. And a little further, a girl with long pink hair held in a high ponytail was crouching in front of a woman kneeling on the floor with a young boy in her arms. The child was so pale, it was obvious he was sick. The girl with the pink hair was mixing something in a small recipient. When she saw her, the pinkette frowned and she put down the recipient and took the strap of her bag off her shoulder before taking a knife out of nowhere and standing up. Hotaru took a step back.
"Are you this guy's partner? You wanna try and steal my bag too?"
"No, you're wrong! I'm..." Started the blondie.
But before she could even finish, the pinkette started running towards her at a really quick speed and sliced the air with the intention of hitting her face. But the blondie ducked and easily dodged the knife. She had a great opening and hit the girl in the stomach with her palm, strongly enough to make her back off a couple steps and cut off her breath. The pinkette fell on one knee and panted while still throwing her a murderous glare. Hotaru raised her hands in sign of reassurance.
"Hey, calm down! I promise I'm not here to steal or hurt anyone."
The glare of the girl seemed to relax a bit and she got back to her feet. She put her knife away. "I believe you." She stated, with a ton that meant the opposite.
She returned next to the woman and picked up the recipient that she started stirring with a spoon again, as if the encounter never happened. She then gave it to the child and helped him drink it. He made a face. The liquid was probably very bitter. The pinkette smiled before addressing the woman.
"There you go. The vitamins should help him recover easily now. Here take this lemon and make him drink more just in case. And make sure to keep him warm at night."
The woman's voice lit up with happiness and tears of joy escaped her eyes. "Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?"
"Live through this. That's all I'm asking for." She replied with a smile.
The woman thanked her again and walked away with her child in her arms. The pink-haired girl started putting in her single strap bag the stuff she had used to make the potion. She was wearing just a brown tank top, kaki-green pants and black boots. On the back of her belt, there was a gun, as for the long knife she had used, it's holster was strapped on the side of her right thigh. With that glare on her face, she really looked like a soldier on a mission. She looked up.
"How long are you going to stay there staring at me? It's creepy you know."
"Sorry. Do you need help?"
She stopped and looked at Hotaru again. "You're new around here aren't you? There aren't many people who offer help to a stranger for nothing."
"You just did. With that woman. That was medicine you gave to the boy? That makes you a kind person."
She frowned. "You seem like the overly trusting type. Be careful. That can get you killed here."
Hotaru smiled. In a way, she was trying to warn her about the danger here. The blondie approached and helped the girl put her stuff away.
"What's your name?" She asked. "You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable."
"Give me yours first." She snapped back, not interrupting her packing.
"You're... very suspicious."
"Welcome to Tensora. You better learn to be suspicious if you want to stay alive here. The least plagued by Kagetora place in the country is far from the safe haven you were expecting."
"I wasn't expecting a haven. I don't plan on staying here anyways."
"Then why did you even bother to come?" Said the pinkette closing her bag and getting up.
"I'm looking for some people. Maybe you can help me."
The next thing she knew, Hotaru found herself pushed against the wall and the knife right under her throat. "Listen here. I don't even know who you are. For all I know, you could be someone sent from Center. No matter how I look at this, the safest option for me is to get rid of you."
"Why? Are you... someone important?" Asked the blondie.
She then felt the point of the knife penetrate the skin slightly. "I'm giving you sixty seconds to tell me who you are and convince me that you're not a threat to me." She snapped.
"But..."
"Fifty seconds."
Alright, that was it. The blond girl gave the menacing pinkette a serious look. "I have no reason to tell you why I am here either. If it interests you, I'm not after you or anyone else here. I'm looking for some specific people to make them ask for help. I don't have time to waste playing victim. So please move. If I have to use force, I will."
The pinkette froze. The person in front of her... the bloodlust oozing from her was overwhelming. She meant business. The knife holder quickly understood that the difference in their skills was tremendous. If they engaged in a fight, she would loose. She lowered her knife and took a step back.
"I want your name before I give you mine." She said putting the knife away.
"Hotaru Tachibana." Answered the blondie.
"I'm Kanae Yajima."
Hotaru was about to ask something when a couple of man appeared at the end of the alley. All had one thing in common. A dragon tattoo on the left shoulder.
"Crap!" Cursed Kanae, before grabbing her bag, passing the buckle over her head, grabbing Hotaru's shirt and pulling her behind herself. "Run!"
The man started chasing the two girls. The two runaways, maneuvered through the streets randomly, until they found themselves in a dead end.
"Shit!" Cursed Kanae. "Wrong turn."
"You ladies got nowhere to go now!" Said one of the guys chasing them.
"Yajima!" Called out Hotaru. The pinkette turned around and saw the blondie, her back against the wall, knees bent and her hands brought together. Understanding immediately Kanae ran towards her, jumped so that she would step on Hotaru's hands and the blondie sent her in the air as high as she could. The girl managed to grab on to the edge of a window and pull herself inside the building.
'What is that idiot thinking?' She thought as she took her gun out and looked out the window. She fired one shot at the gang's feet. The men froze and looked up.
"Don't move unless you want a bullet in the brain, assholes!" She warned. She then took her rope from her back quickly tied it to the window frame that was still holding. "Climb up!" She ordered the blondie. "Take one more step, you bastards, I dare you!"
She waited for Hotaru to join her before quickly taking back her rope and stuffing it into her bag. "Come on."
Both girls exited the building through another side and took a tranquil pace as they walked in the streets. The sun was almost completely gone now. Hotaru was just following Kanae, but the pinkette wasn't saying anything. She didn't for a while until Hotaru asked her this.
"These people were after you, weren't they Yajima? Why?"
"Girl, you're way too curious for your own good. But I guess I should thank you for saving me back there. I'm gonna tell you a few things on how to survive here."
"Really?" The blond girl's face lit up like a little kid's would in front of chocolate.
"Let's get to my hideout first."
Kanae led Hotaru to the cave of an abandoned house, where there where a lot of supplies in food clothes and a bunch of other things. The pinkette locked the trap and turned on a flashlight that was hanging from the ceiling. "Take off your clothes." She ordered.
"What?"
"You can't stay in those clothes." Explained the pinkette. "With your haircut and flat chest, you can easily pass as a boy and trust me, in Tensora, that is a huge advantage."
"Why?"
"Do I need to explain everything to you? Being a girl alone here, without a group or gang is like asking to get kidnapped for women trafficking or worse. Especially someone as naive as you. Now do what I say."
The blond girl started taking off her nice clothes and the pinkette started searching through the piles of clothes. She took out a white band, a beige colored sleeveless military jacket with an orange hoodie, a black mid sleeved shirt, beige colored shorts, black fingerless military gloves that covered the forearms, black knee protectors, and dark brown boots that covered her tibias.
"What's the band for?" Asked the blondie.
"For your chest, dummy. I can tell you're the type that doesn't wear a bra because you think your chest is too flat. Trust me even you need that, you tomboy."
"You didn't have to spell it out so explicitly..." Mumbled the complexed girl. But none the less, she wrapped the band around her chest before putting on the rest of the clothes.
"What about you Yajima?"
"Unlike you, I can't hide my chest, so hiding the fact that I'm a girl is a little difficult. But I can take care of myself so it's fine. I'm not alone most of the time."
"Why were these guys after you?"
The pinkette sighed knowing the girl wasn't going to leave her alone. "You can call me Kanae. They were after me because I'm a medic. Medics are extremely rare in Tensora and gangs want to catch them to submit people to their territories. If you're sick, join our gang we have a medic, but you have to work for us. That's how it works."
"Wouldn't it be safer for you to join a gang?"
"Don't insult me. I heal people because they need to be healed and that's that. No one picks for me who I get to treat or not. You see this?" She lifted her shirt and showed the blondie a tattooed red star on her abdomen. "The Red Stars are medics who swore not to serve any gang. We each have our own territory and we also collect information when we can. If you meet a Red Star, you know you're in good hands."
"I see."
"Now listen up, Hotaru. These are rules you will have to follow in order to survive here. First off, don't tell anyone you're a girl. Ever. Second, don't trust anyone. Always stay on guard when people offer you things for free. Remember it's all about survival. Third, if you have real money, save it to deal with gangs in case of trouble. You have to be careful, here there are two laws. The law of the strongest and the law of equivalent exchange. Make sure you know which one they deal with before making any decisions."
"Alright. Thank you Kanae. I appreciate the help."
"You saved me today, I was just repaying. Besides, if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have made that wrong turn."
"Then I owe you?"
"You want to repay me? Don't die. How old are you anyway?"
"Seventeen. And you?"
"Nineteen. Why are you here in Dorado? I'll be honest with you, you act like a kid who hasn't realized the state of the country yet." Asked the medic while serving her new friend a cup of warm tea. "You told me you were looking for someone? Who are they?"
"The resistance."
The medic choked on her tea a little. "Are you serious?" Said Kanae raising an eyebrow. "That's a dumb rumor. Sure their might be some resistance against the gangs who try to take over cities but aside from that, no one in this dump is crazy enough to try and going up against Tamaki Kagetora and his cursed special force."
"Special force? You mean Hoshishiro, the special section of the army for brilliant minds and fighters?"
"Have you been living under a rock? After Kagetora took over, Hoshishiro became the force to dig out the resistants. The new commander is cruel and deviously clever. He sends people every months in every city in Tensora to inspect gang activities. The idiots think the new Supreme Leader can't reach us here, but it's a lie. We're constantly under surveillance. The resistance doesn't exist. Sorry to break it to you, but you have to give up."
The blonde girl was quiet now. Staring at the ground and gripping her cup like she wanted to break it. Kanae stayed quiet as well. She hadn't meant to crush the girl's spirit. But she couldn't let her have false hopes either. "Look, if you want, I can take you to a good place. The safest I know in all of Tensora..."
"I'll create it."
"What?"
"If the resistance doesn't exist, then I'll create it!" Shouted the blondie suddenly standing, which almost made the medic jump out of her skin. "I can't believe that no one in here, that lives this hell of a life can't feel the least bit of anger towards Kagetora! There has to be some people who are willing to fight! If not for themselves then for their families and for the future of our country. We can't leave things as they are!"
"Even if there are, how are you going to find them?"
"I'll find a way!"
"What makes you think they'll want to follow a seventeen year old that doesn't know anything about the world and that's naive as hell?"
"I won't impose myself as the leader if I don't have to be. But I want to fight and I will. Justice has to prevail. People have been enduring this for four years! Just how many more until he destroys everything? How can anyone allow this to go any further? And if I have to fight alone I will!"
The girl's eyes were burning with determination and anger. She was crazy. Crazy and full of a deep sense of justice that no one could understand. Kanae looked at the girl with a stunned face for a long minute before relaxing. "Well, Miss I want to save the world by myself. You can't do it if you don't get any sleep." The pinkette tossed her a sleeping bag. "I can't guarantee anything, but I can let you meet someone."
Hotaru's face lit up again. "Thank you so much Kanae! I'm so glad I met you!"
The pinkette raised an eyebrow before tossing her an old but clean pillow. "Go to sleep."
Kanae pretended to sleep until she heard Hotaru snore. 'Damn, this girl will have no trouble passing for a guy.' She then silently got up, went outside and then climbed to the roof. Once there, she extended the antenna of her radio and searched for the right frequency.
"Pink Star to Golden Retriever. Do you read me?"
"Golden Retriever to Pink Star. I copy. Strange for you to call at this hour, Pink. Are you feeling lonely? I can think of something you and I can do together."
"Try your lame pick up lines on someone else, Golden."
"I'm just kidding Pink. Husky's one hell of a lucky bastard. Seriously, though what's going on?"
"I have fresh meat for you."
"What kind?"
"Untamed, young, naive, stubborn as hell, with crazy potential and an overwhelming amount of bloodlust."
"Perfect. Bring him tomorrow. Thanks Pink Star. Where d'you find him?"
"I was found. The kid saved my butt from a gang. Although, I wouldn't have had any problems dealing with them."
"Sounds like an interesting one. Good work. Taming him should be fun."
"What do you want me to do?"
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