Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Nabari characters, though I wish Yoite was mine : P
Story: Separate Sides, Same Fate
Chapter Title: The Beginning
Tsukiko and Yoite had met on the train to Osaka, Japan. They were both running away, be it from the only thing they called family, or the faction that was secretly abusing them. They were both quiet, but they stood out in their own way. Her hair was a bright red, but her eyes were a dull violet. She was with the Banten, a ninjittsu organization and she was the most powerful of her side of the Nabari people. His hair was a raven black, cut into an a-line, and his eyes were a brilliant navy blue. He was part of the Kairoshu, the other ninjittsu organization, and he was of the most powerful on his side of the Nabari people. They were both skilled, and both beautiful, but were noticed by almost no one.
Yoite was running away from the Kairoshu and Tsukiko from the Banten, the two organizations that were fighting and looking for the Hijittsu, or the Shinra Bonsho, so that they could rule the Nabari world. Tsukiko was on the opposite side from Yoite, and was currently living with a man whom she considered to be her older brother, his name was Thobari. Both teenagers were fleeing from their lives of torture, of regret, for they both used the Kira technique, a forbidden practice of Ninjittsu that slowly took away ones life force. In other words, they'd die a little bit inside every time they used it, and Yoite used it quite frequently whereas Tsukiko did not.
Tsukiko sighed and ran a hand through her long red hair. She really needed to get away for quite some time now. Yoite ate away at a bowl of ramen, not wanting to lose his sense of taste, and his chopstick accidentally flew from his hand, across the train, and hit Tsukiko dead in the face. She gasped, startled and looked to the chopstick before beginning to laugh. Yoite looked at her appalled, before backing away as she approached; he hoped she wouldn't touch him. Both of them had never liked to be touched, but no one was like Yoite when it came to that, not even Tsukiko.
"You seem to have dropped this, would you like it back?" She asked him politely, making him cringe; no one was supposed to be nice to him.
"Yes. Sorry." He quickly grabbed it, hand grazing her only slightly. She looked at the boy and felt a strange urge to know him. So she asked a simple question.
"You look so down. I don't mean to pry, but are you alright?"
"I don't need your sympathy." He stuck a gloved finger in her direction, making her smirk.
"Kira user huh, I too have been for a while." His eyes went wide, another one, but who would let a young girl do such a thing?
"No one knows about mine if that's what you're wondering. I've done it all on my own." Could she be using the one to read minds also?
"I can't read minds; you're just a really easy person to read. I'm not sure why… you just are." She was pretty good, and quite intriguing to the older boy.
"So you're with the Banten?" He questioned, knowing the answer was a fifty-fifty chance.
"Yes, though sometimes I do wonder why."
"Well we shouldn't be talking."
"So you're with the Kairoshu," she sighed,"that doesn't matter to me, we're both human right?" Yoite had never thought of anything that way before. How could she be so calm about speaking to the enemy, the organizations might think she was a spy. Hell, maybe she was. Yoite had no idea. She looked to him and smiled sadly. He was so fragile, she could see right through that tough guy façade. She laid a slender hand on his shoulder, but was quickly blasted away from him.
"Don't touch me, you don't know me!" He shuddered, scooting farther into his table seat.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know, but can't you see, that you and I are the same? They abuse you don't they? They take you for granted because you're stronger than them, but your mindset isn't." How did she know, he wanted to ask, but he was so afraid of wanting to get close to someone, just one more person before he died.
"I can see it in your eyes; you're near death aren't you?" He nodded silently, putting his bowl of ramen on the train table. A remorse filled the young girls' heart and she sat across from him, gently touching his gloved hands.
"Let me see." He swallowed thickly as she removed one of his gloves, only to reveal blackened fingers with an ice cold touch. His hands began to shake and she gasped, almost frightened by the sight.
"Wha-what is your name?" Yoite stuttered, liking the way she was warming up his fingers.
"Tsukiko… and you?" She replied, merely in a whisper.
"Yoite." Was the simple answer as she let go of his hand, slipping his glove back on.
"That's a nice name, suits you very well. May I ask who gave it to you?"
"My roommate." Tsukiko nodded dropping the subject; she sensed that this roommate of his was a sensitive topic. This boy was a wonder, and his eyes were so sad. She wondered if they could be friends, if maybe they could run away together. Osaka was still 3 hours away, they could do it right?
"Yoite, will you run away with e? We're both freely giving away our lives; we're both tired of being treated this way."
"But… what about the Kairoshu? They'll kill us." Tsukiko smiled confidently and shook her head.
"They wouldn't be able to get through me if they tried." She confidently announced.
"How can you be so confident? If they put Raiko up against you…" He left it at that. Raiko was a samurai on their side, whom was very skilled with a Katana. He killed every opponent ever matched with, but was one of the sweetest boys you would ever meet.
"You mean Raiko Shimizu? He is supposed to be pretty tough…" She was now hesitant, she knew his sister and Raimei was indeed a tough opponent herself. Raiko would for sure be a challenging opponent if he was anything like Raimei. She'd only met him once before and he always had a right hand man with him. His name was Gau or something like that. Yoite took a good look at Tsukiko right then, she was quite the looker. Her hair hung right below her shoulders and it had a nice wave to it. Her eyes sparkled whenever she talked and she was confident, but no overconfident. He was getting so worn out from speaking so much, considering he didn't do it often. Why was he opening up to her? What was it about her that made him in the first place? Maybe it was her confidence, or could it have been her looks, she was indeed quite beautiful.
"It's my ability to read people that makes them open up to me, and I like to be confident and mysterious, so it's okay to open up to me Yoite. I won't take you for granted, I promise." He smiled sadly and called the attendant over. He ordered two banana fudge sundaes and watched silently as she walked away.
"You should open up to people more, you're very handsome. I'm sure there are girls and boys after you. Am I right? I've heard about you from little Miharu, he's taken quite a liking to that face of yours." The teenager blushed at the mention of the younger Kairoshu, whom was formerly a Banten ninja. He was the Shinra Bonsho and everyone was out to get him, but he was only a boy. The attendant returned with his sundaes and set them on the table in front of the two. He slid the second one across to Tsukiko, who gratefully took it with a polite muttering of thanks. She took a bite, relishing in the taste; it was actually pretty good. Good thing she could still taste it, because would lose her sense of that in the end.
"So, why Osaka?" He questioned her, genuinely wondering what would bring her there.
"My big brother Thobari is staying there with his fiancé at this moment in time actually. What about you? What are you going there for?" Yoite sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't really know. I'm just going for the hell of it." She nodded and smiled, thinking of the perfect thing to give him from her bag across the way. She stood up to get it but tripped over herself in the process, and soon found his lips against hers. She stayed there shocked, looking straight into his eyes, and he silently pushed her away.
"Well, well, well I thought I'd never find you. Who is this?" Raiko Shimizu walked up with his right hand man, Gau Meguro and smirked in Yoite's direction.
"She's no one. Just someone I met on the train."
"I could've sworn I just saw the two of you kissing though. Wait a minute… you look familiar. You're with the Banten aren't you? Yoite why on Earth are you with this girl?" Raiko placed a hand on his sword. Yoites' eyes went wide and he looked between the two. They looked ready to battle. Gau stood silently off to the side of Raiko, noticing the same expression on the two Ninjas faces.
"Yes Raiko. It's been a while. You remember the last time we met don't you? The time when I almost killed you?" Raiko growled in her direction. How dare she bring that up in front of Gau. He would kill her now if he had to.
"How about a rematch, Tsukiko Ramori?" Yoite gasped, her last name was Ramori? Those were the family of ninjas who originally came up with the idea of creating the Shinra Bonsho. She couldn't be from that line could she?
"You're on Raiko." She stood up as he unsheathed his sword. The two stood in front of each other, her star unsheathed and his Katana at the ready.
"Both of you stop this! Is this just some stupid fight?"
"No, this is revenge Gau. Stay out of it." Tsukiko smiled deviously, her eyes glowing a furious red.
"Come on Raiko. You better hurry up or I might get at your little boyfriend over there." Raiko eyes went wide with fury and he swung his sword, slashing her deeply in the arm. She clutched it in pain and smiled up at the pink haired boy.
"Good swing, caught me off guard." The two were soon deep into a battle, bloody wounds covering the two of them from head to toe. Raiko swung his sword, once again, slashing her deep in the chest, causing her to double over onto the floor. She coughed up blood soon enough, and hit Raiko with her Kira technique, causing him to double over too as she used up the last of her energy.
"I told you two to stop!" Gau screamed, running over to Raiko whilst Yoite ran over to Tsukiko.
"S-sorry Yoite. I got a little carried away. We shouldn't have gone that far. Hey Raiko?" Raiko turned to look at her.
"What?"
"I'm sorry. I fully respect you now. W-we shouldn't have let it get this far." She sputtered, looking back up to Yoite. Raiko smiled and nodded, letting Gau help him up. He slung Raikos' arm over his shoulder and looked to the teenagers on the floor.
"I'm sorry Tsukiko. I think we should get you somewhere to treat your wounds. You two have been fighting so long that we're almost in Osaka now." Tsukiko nodded, and rested her hand on Yoites cheek.
"I'll be okay, don't worry about me. Thanks for befriending me on the train. Could, could you take me to Tabari once we get on the platform?" Yoite nodded, and let a tear trickle down from his eye, he was sure that his new friend would soon die. He really hoped she would be okay. He wouldn't admit it, but the whole time he was fighting, he was thinking about that accidental kiss and how much he wanted to do it again.
"Thank you Tsukiko. I don't deserve how good you've been to me."
"Hey there's something in my bag that I want you to have. It's a necklace with your name on it. Miharu had it made and I bought it. It was like he knew I would meet you." Yoite smiled and set her down, going to her bag to pull the little box out. It was a hemp necklace with the letters Y-O-I-T-E all in a rainbow row. It was a thoughtful gift and it made even more tears come to his eyes. He'd have to thank Miharu for this later.
"I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't know it was really you he wanted to give it to." Yoite nodded and looked to Gau and Raiko as they approached the platform.
"I get the feeling we'll see each other again Raiko." Tsukiko muttered as Yoite hoisted her onto his back.
"Oh we will Tsukiko, but this time… I think it will be on better terms. Now don't you two do anything I would do." Raiko smiled and let Gau take him off of the train. Yoite and Tsukiko both blushed and she gave him the directions to where Thobari would be standing. Upon arriving at the place, Thobari's face went dead pale.
"Yoite you-!"
"It wasn't him Thobari. It was Raiko, we got in a fight and well you can see the impact, Yoite didn't do anything to me." Thobari nodded and took the girl, helping her to her feet. She leaned up to kiss Yoite's cheek before calmly muttering her goodbyes and she knew, she positively knew that she would see that boy again.
A/N: Please Review! It is greatly appreciated!