Oblivion
By: Syndicate
Dedicated to the GoDdEsS oF dEaTh, my muse.
Away from the Apartments: Misunderstanding
She kissed three-year ronin Keitaro Urashima again, as his strong hands explored her naked body, feeling, cupping and squeezing whatever he could. He stuck his tongue in her mouth, and she massaged it with her own. They broke the kiss for air, and then quickly kissed again. She bit down on his lip gently, teasingly shortly before he lowered his head, making a trail of saliva with his tongue. The trail started at her mouth, and continued over her exposed chest, where he stopped. She kicked her foot out in surprise and pleasure and hit a vase, which fell to the ground with a crash, sending ceramic shards in all directions.
Naru Narusegawa shot up in bed. Her bed sheets were tangled around her legs and most of her body was bathed in a cold sweat. Her breathing came in long, deep breaths. She looked around blindly, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light - or lack thereof. That's when she heard footsteps.
"W-who's there?" she called out timidly. Her door slid open and as she was about to yelp, she heard the soft voice of Motoko Aoyama telling her to get up.
"One moment," Naru whispered. Motoko smiled slightly, comforting the elder girl, and pulled her head out of the room, sliding the door shut behind her.
Naru untangled her legs from the sheets and stepped out of bed. She got up quickly, and fell back onto the bed. Naru paused while the room spun around her. She tried getting up again, but more slowly. This worked, and she was able to walk over to her door and step outside. Motoko leaned against the wall, head titled downwards, eyes closed, arms crossed loosely over her chest.
"Motoko?" Naru questioned quickly. When only silence answered, Naru walked up to the other woman and grabbed hold of her shoulder, shaking her slightly. Motoko's eyes fluttered open. Bringing her head back up she saw a concerned Naru. Before the friend could speak, Motoko whispered, "Follow me," and began creeping forward.
After a few moments of walking, Motoko spun around and faced Naru, who, not expecting the sudden stop, bumped into Motoko. She murmured a quick apology and awaited a response.
"Go collect Su," Motoko said quickly. "I'll get Kitsune and Shinobu." Naru opened her mouth to speak, but Motoko pressed a finger against her lips. "Just do it." With that, Motoko made her way to Kitsune's room.
It took awhile for Naru to bring Kaolla Su out of her dream state, so when she had finally come back to where she split up with Motoko, the other three female inhabitants of the Inn were already there.
"What is this all about?" Kitsune whined. "I was having a very nice dream." She emphasized 'nice' with a wink, and the others groaned. "What?" Kitsune asked, smirking. "Was it something I said?"
"This way," Motoko said, motioning towards Keitaro's room with her hand. "We've got to collect Urashima. I'll explain along the way." Still confused, Naru, Kitsune, Shinobu, and Su followed their katana-carrying friend, who began to speak as soon as they had caught up with her fast pace.
"I woke up when I heard a crash," she began. "Before this, I had heard some moaning coming from Naru's room, so I assumed she might've been in trouble." Everyone looked at Naru questioningly. Had the light been more plentiful, everyone would have seen Naru light up like a red Christmas light.
"It was n-nothing!" Naru stammered. Kitsune smiled a smile that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame, while nodding her head, thinking of the many possible dreams that would have caused Naru to moan. They were nothing if not naughty.
"As I was saying," Motoko interrupted. Naru mouthed, 'Thank you.'
"I had determined someone else was in the house before checking on Naru. The sound I heard, including the crash that probably awoke Naru, came from somewhere else. I think we've got a thief in the apartments." As Motoko finished her last sentence, she stopped in front of Keitaro's door.
"Keitaro?" Motoko whispered, slowly opening his door. "Are you awake?" she continued.
"He's probably dreaming up something incredibly perverted," Naru said. "What else would he be doing?"
"You've got a point. He's probably having a dream similar to yours." Kitsune began giggling maniacally as Naru tried to hide her flushed face by moving into the areas of the hallway not kissed by the moons gently light. As she did so, sounds of movement inside of Keitaro's room were heard.
"Is that Keitaro?" Shinobu asked worriedly.
"I doubt it," Motoko answered. "He recently bought that bedside lamp. It'd be on if he was awake."
"Does that mean. There's a thief in there?" Shinobu moved closer Motoko's protective side. She grabbed hold of the high school student's robe. Motoko looked down at Shinobu and smiled at her reassuringly.
"Probably, but they won't harm anyone." She unsheathed her katana and slowly inched her hand to the door's handle. Her hand reached it finally and she grasped it tightly. She began to move her hand to the side, dragging the door along with it. When the opening was large enough for her to stick her head into she stopped and peered in. She saw the silhouette of a figure hunched over Keitaro's futon. Her eyes widened as many thoughts came to mind.
Motoko thrust open the rest of the door and turned on the light. She brought her katana over here head. "Special technique rock splitting sword!" Motoko yelled, bringing her katana down. She stopped midway. A small gasp passed her lips.
"What? What is it?" the other four women asked anxiously.
"It's. Tama." Motoko stepped to the side as the other entered Keitaro's room. The silhouette Motoko thought she saw was actually Keitaro's bed sheets bunched up, with a sleeping Tama moving around base of the sheets. Tears welled up in Naru's eyes, but she would not let them fall. Using the entirety of her strength, she managed to say with a clear voice: "When I find him, I'm going to hurt him so much." The others were silent for a moment. They just watched Naru, whose eyes no longer betrayed her feelings of sadness, but those of anger. She clenched her fists.
Shinobu broke the silence. "But. Where could he have gone?" Everyone was silent. No one knew the answer.
Naru thought about it. She wanted to find him. Wanted to hurt him for abandoning them.
'Did he abandon us?' Naru thought to herself. 'Could he have been abducted?' It was possible. Then an image flashed in front of her. It was only for a split second, but she saw it clear as day. "Otohime." she growled. "He must be at Mutsumi's."
"What was that?" Kitsune's question broke Naru out of her train of thought. "Did you say my name?" It took a moment for Kitsune's question to register, and another moment before Naru's mess of thoughts came back together.
"He's at Mutsumi's!" Naru declared.
"What makes you so sure?" Motoko asked, looking at her friend with an incredulous look.
"I. I just do!" Naru's voice was breaking up. She managed to compose herself for one last statement. "Let's go."
The troop walked quickly towards their destination, with Naru leading the way. Even Motoko had to quicken her pace to keep up. The other's simply jogged.
'That scum bag. How could he.' Naru pondered. 'Tricking me so. So I'd like him, when it's all just. A game! What I'll do when I-' Motoko's hand on her shoulder brought Naru back to reality.
"There is a good chance he's not even there. He could be somewhere else," Motoko suggested. She smiled, trying to bring hope to Naru's thoughts, which were filled with everything but that. She forced a smile in return. She did feel a little better.
"Thank you, Motoko."
The rest of the walk to Mutsumi's house went in complete silence. This allowed Naru to dwell on her thoughts, which concentrated on the worst situations. She tried to stop the thoughts, but they never ceased. They flooded into her mind freely. The feeling she had that they could all be true didn't help. She didn't show any signs of struggle. She had to be strong in front of the others. And she couldn't let them know how she felt, although she was sure they all thought they knew.
Again Motoko brought Naru out of her thoughts.
"We're here." she mumbled, pointing to a small house. Naru turned and felt sick. 'I can't do this.' she thought. 'I can't face him.' The others didn't interrupt her. They just stood and watched, their own views on what might have happened playing through their minds.
"Well." Naru started. "We should. Go in." Not wanting to make the situation any worse, the others began walking towards the house. Su stopped when she noticed Naru hadn't moved.
"Come on!" she said in her usual exenterate voice. "We can all have something yummy to eat after we get Keitaro, okay? I've been dying to try 'elope'!" Naru giggled quietly at Su's lack of knowledge as far as words went. The burst of happiness quickly passed, though. The two of them walked up to the house and stopped next to the rest of the group. They waited to hear what Naru had to say.
"Let's get that pervert," she commanded, cracking her knuckles. They all walked up to the door, where, after another pause, Naru launched a kick, hitting the door just below the handle.
"What are you doing?" Kitsune asked harshly. "You know you can knock, right?"
"Yes, knock!" Su said, hopping around the assembly. Naru ignored them and kicked again, breaking the lock and sending the door inwards, hitting the wall with a loud crash. Naru wasted no time storming into the house, turning the lights on as she found them. Finally, she reached the bedroom door. She stopped dead. Her feet wouldn't carry her any further.
The four remaining women looked around the corner into the hallway where Naru was. They dared not move any closer, and watched her stand there. Finally, she walked up to the door, and slowly slid it open. She stepped in, taking a moment to look around after each step. When she found the switch she flicked it up and a blinding light lit the room. Naru shielded her eyes with her arm and waited a few seconds before taking it down. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the light and she gasped. Keitaro lay, on his stomach, next to Mutsumi Otohime. Unable to hold in her feelings - those of pain, anger, and sorrow - she screamed.
Motoko rushed into the room with her katana unsheathed, followed by Kitsune, Shinobu, and Su. They didn't bother hiding their feelings on the sight before them either. Su caught Shinobu as the younger girl fainted and fell to the ground. After gently laying her down, Su returned her full attention to the situation at hand.
Keitaro was awakened by Naru's scream and sat up. Still groggy and half asleep, it took his eyes awhile to adjust to the light.
"You. You." Naru's voice was fierce. "You. Pervert!" Naru advanced on Keitaro.
"What's going on?" he asked, yawning. That's all he got to say before Naru wound up her fist and launched it at his face. The force of the punch sent Keitaro into the wall, denting it. Naru jumped in front of him and punched again. And again. And again. Motoko made a move towards her to stop her. Naru elbowed her in the throat while winding up for another punch. Motoko gasped and choked for a moment.
"How. Could. You?" Naru growled between punches. Tears streamed down her face. She was panting loudly. The adrenaline coursing through her veins only strengthened her.
When the adrenaline rush was nearly over, she wound up for a final uppercut to Keitaro's chin. Motoko, who had recovered, raised her katana over her head.
"I'm sorry, Naru." she mumbled. "Secret technique rock splitting sword!" She brought her katana down and a gust of wind emanating from where he sword had cut the air rushed forward. It hit Naru in the back and sent her sprawling into the wall, but not before she successfully hit Keitaro one last time. He flew up into the air, hitting the ceiling, and then fell to the ground again with a sickening 'thud'. They both lay next to each other on the ground, unconscious.
Naru woke up six hours later in bed, in her room at the Hinata Apartments. The remains of three pieces of incense lay at the bottom of a bowl on the bandstand next to Naru's futon.
She began to get up, but her throbbing head would not allow it. She laid back down, looking around her room. Sunlight poured in through the windows, and she could hear the chirping of many birds outside. There was not a single cloud in the expanse of sky she could see, and a light breeze coming through an open window cooled her room down. Naru could even smell the flowers, whose sweet fragrance was carried by the wind. This perfect day was shattered when she remembered the early morning hours of what she assumed to be the same day. Almost immediately storm clouds cast a shadow over the entirety of the Apartments. The dark clouds were filled with rain and would no doubt let this rainfall free within an hour.
Tears threatened to spill and Naru fought to keep them at bay.
'I don't love him. I don't even like him!' she screamed to herself mentally. 'But I don't hate him either.' Then she stopped struggling and let the tears fall. They rolled down her face continually and before long her shoulders began to rack as her crying intensified.
Motoko must have been outside of her room, because a few moments after Naru began crying, Motoko ran in. The site before the Kendo woman was sad enough to make her nearly break down and cry, as well.
She rushed over to her friend's side and gathered her up in her arms, rocking back and forth slowly, cooing words of encouragement to her. It didn't seem to help much, but Motoko didn't stop. Naru fell asleep from exhaustion a few minutes later.
"How is she?" Shinobu asked. Kitsune and Su were with her.
"Not well, I'm afraid." Motoko replied, closing the door to Naru's room behind her. "Cried herself to sleep."
"Poor Naru!" Shinobu said. Tears stung her eyes.
"Don't worry, Shinobu." Kitsune say, bending down and hugging the youngest of the women at the Apartments. "She'll be okay. She's just going through tough times, that's all."
Only Motoko seemed to realize that only half of that was true.
By: Syndicate
Dedicated to the GoDdEsS oF dEaTh, my muse.
Away from the Apartments: Misunderstanding
She kissed three-year ronin Keitaro Urashima again, as his strong hands explored her naked body, feeling, cupping and squeezing whatever he could. He stuck his tongue in her mouth, and she massaged it with her own. They broke the kiss for air, and then quickly kissed again. She bit down on his lip gently, teasingly shortly before he lowered his head, making a trail of saliva with his tongue. The trail started at her mouth, and continued over her exposed chest, where he stopped. She kicked her foot out in surprise and pleasure and hit a vase, which fell to the ground with a crash, sending ceramic shards in all directions.
Naru Narusegawa shot up in bed. Her bed sheets were tangled around her legs and most of her body was bathed in a cold sweat. Her breathing came in long, deep breaths. She looked around blindly, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light - or lack thereof. That's when she heard footsteps.
"W-who's there?" she called out timidly. Her door slid open and as she was about to yelp, she heard the soft voice of Motoko Aoyama telling her to get up.
"One moment," Naru whispered. Motoko smiled slightly, comforting the elder girl, and pulled her head out of the room, sliding the door shut behind her.
Naru untangled her legs from the sheets and stepped out of bed. She got up quickly, and fell back onto the bed. Naru paused while the room spun around her. She tried getting up again, but more slowly. This worked, and she was able to walk over to her door and step outside. Motoko leaned against the wall, head titled downwards, eyes closed, arms crossed loosely over her chest.
"Motoko?" Naru questioned quickly. When only silence answered, Naru walked up to the other woman and grabbed hold of her shoulder, shaking her slightly. Motoko's eyes fluttered open. Bringing her head back up she saw a concerned Naru. Before the friend could speak, Motoko whispered, "Follow me," and began creeping forward.
After a few moments of walking, Motoko spun around and faced Naru, who, not expecting the sudden stop, bumped into Motoko. She murmured a quick apology and awaited a response.
"Go collect Su," Motoko said quickly. "I'll get Kitsune and Shinobu." Naru opened her mouth to speak, but Motoko pressed a finger against her lips. "Just do it." With that, Motoko made her way to Kitsune's room.
It took awhile for Naru to bring Kaolla Su out of her dream state, so when she had finally come back to where she split up with Motoko, the other three female inhabitants of the Inn were already there.
"What is this all about?" Kitsune whined. "I was having a very nice dream." She emphasized 'nice' with a wink, and the others groaned. "What?" Kitsune asked, smirking. "Was it something I said?"
"This way," Motoko said, motioning towards Keitaro's room with her hand. "We've got to collect Urashima. I'll explain along the way." Still confused, Naru, Kitsune, Shinobu, and Su followed their katana-carrying friend, who began to speak as soon as they had caught up with her fast pace.
"I woke up when I heard a crash," she began. "Before this, I had heard some moaning coming from Naru's room, so I assumed she might've been in trouble." Everyone looked at Naru questioningly. Had the light been more plentiful, everyone would have seen Naru light up like a red Christmas light.
"It was n-nothing!" Naru stammered. Kitsune smiled a smile that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame, while nodding her head, thinking of the many possible dreams that would have caused Naru to moan. They were nothing if not naughty.
"As I was saying," Motoko interrupted. Naru mouthed, 'Thank you.'
"I had determined someone else was in the house before checking on Naru. The sound I heard, including the crash that probably awoke Naru, came from somewhere else. I think we've got a thief in the apartments." As Motoko finished her last sentence, she stopped in front of Keitaro's door.
"Keitaro?" Motoko whispered, slowly opening his door. "Are you awake?" she continued.
"He's probably dreaming up something incredibly perverted," Naru said. "What else would he be doing?"
"You've got a point. He's probably having a dream similar to yours." Kitsune began giggling maniacally as Naru tried to hide her flushed face by moving into the areas of the hallway not kissed by the moons gently light. As she did so, sounds of movement inside of Keitaro's room were heard.
"Is that Keitaro?" Shinobu asked worriedly.
"I doubt it," Motoko answered. "He recently bought that bedside lamp. It'd be on if he was awake."
"Does that mean. There's a thief in there?" Shinobu moved closer Motoko's protective side. She grabbed hold of the high school student's robe. Motoko looked down at Shinobu and smiled at her reassuringly.
"Probably, but they won't harm anyone." She unsheathed her katana and slowly inched her hand to the door's handle. Her hand reached it finally and she grasped it tightly. She began to move her hand to the side, dragging the door along with it. When the opening was large enough for her to stick her head into she stopped and peered in. She saw the silhouette of a figure hunched over Keitaro's futon. Her eyes widened as many thoughts came to mind.
Motoko thrust open the rest of the door and turned on the light. She brought her katana over here head. "Special technique rock splitting sword!" Motoko yelled, bringing her katana down. She stopped midway. A small gasp passed her lips.
"What? What is it?" the other four women asked anxiously.
"It's. Tama." Motoko stepped to the side as the other entered Keitaro's room. The silhouette Motoko thought she saw was actually Keitaro's bed sheets bunched up, with a sleeping Tama moving around base of the sheets. Tears welled up in Naru's eyes, but she would not let them fall. Using the entirety of her strength, she managed to say with a clear voice: "When I find him, I'm going to hurt him so much." The others were silent for a moment. They just watched Naru, whose eyes no longer betrayed her feelings of sadness, but those of anger. She clenched her fists.
Shinobu broke the silence. "But. Where could he have gone?" Everyone was silent. No one knew the answer.
Naru thought about it. She wanted to find him. Wanted to hurt him for abandoning them.
'Did he abandon us?' Naru thought to herself. 'Could he have been abducted?' It was possible. Then an image flashed in front of her. It was only for a split second, but she saw it clear as day. "Otohime." she growled. "He must be at Mutsumi's."
"What was that?" Kitsune's question broke Naru out of her train of thought. "Did you say my name?" It took a moment for Kitsune's question to register, and another moment before Naru's mess of thoughts came back together.
"He's at Mutsumi's!" Naru declared.
"What makes you so sure?" Motoko asked, looking at her friend with an incredulous look.
"I. I just do!" Naru's voice was breaking up. She managed to compose herself for one last statement. "Let's go."
The troop walked quickly towards their destination, with Naru leading the way. Even Motoko had to quicken her pace to keep up. The other's simply jogged.
'That scum bag. How could he.' Naru pondered. 'Tricking me so. So I'd like him, when it's all just. A game! What I'll do when I-' Motoko's hand on her shoulder brought Naru back to reality.
"There is a good chance he's not even there. He could be somewhere else," Motoko suggested. She smiled, trying to bring hope to Naru's thoughts, which were filled with everything but that. She forced a smile in return. She did feel a little better.
"Thank you, Motoko."
The rest of the walk to Mutsumi's house went in complete silence. This allowed Naru to dwell on her thoughts, which concentrated on the worst situations. She tried to stop the thoughts, but they never ceased. They flooded into her mind freely. The feeling she had that they could all be true didn't help. She didn't show any signs of struggle. She had to be strong in front of the others. And she couldn't let them know how she felt, although she was sure they all thought they knew.
Again Motoko brought Naru out of her thoughts.
"We're here." she mumbled, pointing to a small house. Naru turned and felt sick. 'I can't do this.' she thought. 'I can't face him.' The others didn't interrupt her. They just stood and watched, their own views on what might have happened playing through their minds.
"Well." Naru started. "We should. Go in." Not wanting to make the situation any worse, the others began walking towards the house. Su stopped when she noticed Naru hadn't moved.
"Come on!" she said in her usual exenterate voice. "We can all have something yummy to eat after we get Keitaro, okay? I've been dying to try 'elope'!" Naru giggled quietly at Su's lack of knowledge as far as words went. The burst of happiness quickly passed, though. The two of them walked up to the house and stopped next to the rest of the group. They waited to hear what Naru had to say.
"Let's get that pervert," she commanded, cracking her knuckles. They all walked up to the door, where, after another pause, Naru launched a kick, hitting the door just below the handle.
"What are you doing?" Kitsune asked harshly. "You know you can knock, right?"
"Yes, knock!" Su said, hopping around the assembly. Naru ignored them and kicked again, breaking the lock and sending the door inwards, hitting the wall with a loud crash. Naru wasted no time storming into the house, turning the lights on as she found them. Finally, she reached the bedroom door. She stopped dead. Her feet wouldn't carry her any further.
The four remaining women looked around the corner into the hallway where Naru was. They dared not move any closer, and watched her stand there. Finally, she walked up to the door, and slowly slid it open. She stepped in, taking a moment to look around after each step. When she found the switch she flicked it up and a blinding light lit the room. Naru shielded her eyes with her arm and waited a few seconds before taking it down. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the light and she gasped. Keitaro lay, on his stomach, next to Mutsumi Otohime. Unable to hold in her feelings - those of pain, anger, and sorrow - she screamed.
Motoko rushed into the room with her katana unsheathed, followed by Kitsune, Shinobu, and Su. They didn't bother hiding their feelings on the sight before them either. Su caught Shinobu as the younger girl fainted and fell to the ground. After gently laying her down, Su returned her full attention to the situation at hand.
Keitaro was awakened by Naru's scream and sat up. Still groggy and half asleep, it took his eyes awhile to adjust to the light.
"You. You." Naru's voice was fierce. "You. Pervert!" Naru advanced on Keitaro.
"What's going on?" he asked, yawning. That's all he got to say before Naru wound up her fist and launched it at his face. The force of the punch sent Keitaro into the wall, denting it. Naru jumped in front of him and punched again. And again. And again. Motoko made a move towards her to stop her. Naru elbowed her in the throat while winding up for another punch. Motoko gasped and choked for a moment.
"How. Could. You?" Naru growled between punches. Tears streamed down her face. She was panting loudly. The adrenaline coursing through her veins only strengthened her.
When the adrenaline rush was nearly over, she wound up for a final uppercut to Keitaro's chin. Motoko, who had recovered, raised her katana over her head.
"I'm sorry, Naru." she mumbled. "Secret technique rock splitting sword!" She brought her katana down and a gust of wind emanating from where he sword had cut the air rushed forward. It hit Naru in the back and sent her sprawling into the wall, but not before she successfully hit Keitaro one last time. He flew up into the air, hitting the ceiling, and then fell to the ground again with a sickening 'thud'. They both lay next to each other on the ground, unconscious.
Naru woke up six hours later in bed, in her room at the Hinata Apartments. The remains of three pieces of incense lay at the bottom of a bowl on the bandstand next to Naru's futon.
She began to get up, but her throbbing head would not allow it. She laid back down, looking around her room. Sunlight poured in through the windows, and she could hear the chirping of many birds outside. There was not a single cloud in the expanse of sky she could see, and a light breeze coming through an open window cooled her room down. Naru could even smell the flowers, whose sweet fragrance was carried by the wind. This perfect day was shattered when she remembered the early morning hours of what she assumed to be the same day. Almost immediately storm clouds cast a shadow over the entirety of the Apartments. The dark clouds were filled with rain and would no doubt let this rainfall free within an hour.
Tears threatened to spill and Naru fought to keep them at bay.
'I don't love him. I don't even like him!' she screamed to herself mentally. 'But I don't hate him either.' Then she stopped struggling and let the tears fall. They rolled down her face continually and before long her shoulders began to rack as her crying intensified.
Motoko must have been outside of her room, because a few moments after Naru began crying, Motoko ran in. The site before the Kendo woman was sad enough to make her nearly break down and cry, as well.
She rushed over to her friend's side and gathered her up in her arms, rocking back and forth slowly, cooing words of encouragement to her. It didn't seem to help much, but Motoko didn't stop. Naru fell asleep from exhaustion a few minutes later.
"How is she?" Shinobu asked. Kitsune and Su were with her.
"Not well, I'm afraid." Motoko replied, closing the door to Naru's room behind her. "Cried herself to sleep."
"Poor Naru!" Shinobu said. Tears stung her eyes.
"Don't worry, Shinobu." Kitsune say, bending down and hugging the youngest of the women at the Apartments. "She'll be okay. She's just going through tough times, that's all."
Only Motoko seemed to realize that only half of that was true.