The Gate of Death
Jo-chan
Disclaimers: Standard Gatekeepers disclaimers apply. I don not own the characters and I'm merely borrowing them for a page or two. Please don't sue, I'm a good kid.
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Chapter 1- A Child Of Danger
"Ikusawa-senpai! Taicho-san is calling for you!" yelled Kaoru as she ran up the observatory steps. A month has passed since the final encounter with Kageyama and the gatekeepers' party has been busy exterminating the few remaining invaders. Added to their sudden public visibility, it has been a very busy month indeed.
"Eh?" asked Ruriko distractedly as she turned to look at the lovely athlete. The Commander turned to look at Kaoru as well. There was a noticeable air of urgency around the wielder of the gate of close combat but she retained the air of confidence despite the circumstances. "What is wrong?" asked the commander.
"A wall collapsed, Bancho is hurt!" said Kaoru before grabbing Ruriko's hand and began running in a very fast pace. "Matte, matte!" exclaimed Ruriko but Kaoru was already grabbing Ruriko by the shoulders and yelling, "Gate--- open!"
"Yamete!!!" screamed Ruriko as they hurtled down the two hundred plus steps from the observatory. Smoke rose up from where they passed, the speed at almost 175 km/hr.
"Ukiya-senpai, here we come!" yelled Kaoru as Ruriko closed her eyes in fear.
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"Ruripe, yokatta ne," said Ukiya as he stood up from where he was kneeling beside Bancho's prone body. Comical tears dripped down Bancho's face as he gasped, "Ruriko-hime, please use your gate of life to heal my mortal wounds!"
"Iie, iie! Bancho-san thinks he's dying when the wound is only superficial," said Feye smiling as she swung down from her position up the wall. Reiko gripped her handkerchief, sniffing. "Bancho-san is dying desu!" wailed Reiko as Specs fixed his eyeglasses. "Yare, yare, Bancho's head is harder than the gate robot's armor so he can't really be dying," stated Specs with a snicker.
"Honto desu?" asked Reiko as she watched Ruriko smile upon Bancho and put a hand against the injured side of Bancho's head. "Honto! It's a long way from the heart," assured Feye watching the healing process as well. "We're so lucky to have a gatekeeper who can heal wounds, it saves a lot of lives even during battle," observed Specs while Feye nodded her head in agreement. "Aa, we don't have a gatekeeper like Ikusawa-san in China so it was harder," admitted Feye.
"Gate open!" exclaimed Ruriko as her golden gate of life appeared. "Light of life!" murmured Ruriko as she concentrated her energy on healing Bancho's wound. Golden sparkles engulfed the wound as Banchi sighed blissfully. "It's so warm..." sighed Bancho in contentment.
While others exclaimed in wonder, Ruriko's brow furrowed in concentration. In the back of her consciousness, she could feel the icy edge of the negative gate she had opened once. Her hand was shaking, not because of the strenuous task of healing but more with the strain of holding back the negative power. She was telling the commander about sensing the negative gate before Kaoru called her. With her eyes closed, she was unaware that Bancho had already stood up. She was still fighting down the negative gate when it happened.
"Ikusawa-san!" yelled Feye in alarm as her gate of life wavered, a ring of blackness overcoming the first outer ring of her gate. "Ruripe!" yelled Ukiya.
"No..." murmured Ruriko feeling the dark edge overcoming her. She opened her eyes and saw the black outer ring. "IIE!" she screamed before losing consciousness, the conflicting gate vanishing as she fainted.
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"What was that?" asked Ukiya as he stood outside the clinic with the Commander and the rest of the gatekeepers. With a troubled frown, the commander looked at Ukiya and answered, "It seems as if Ikusawa-kun's captivity has been far more serious than we feared. Although she has overcome the gate of genocide, having opened that negative gate, a part of that ability to create death has remained with her."
"Nani? You mean she's an evil gatekeeper?" asked Ukiya, the blood draining from his face. Reiko covered her ears, "Ano... Ikusawa-san is an evil witch sou desu?" asked Reiko as she covered her face with a damp handkerchief. Kaoru said nothing and clenched her fist at the stunned look on Ukiya's face.
"Yes... it's possible. Having opened the gate of genocide before even though it lost its power because of Ikusawa-san's love for Taicho-san... there must be a residue left from before!" exclaimed Specs as he slammed a fist against his open palm. "Nande? What do you mean Megame-kun?" asked Bancho as he fretted beside Ukiya. He blamed himself for the negative ring that emerged in Ruriko's gate.
"Ikusawa-san opened the gate of genocide ne? She used it when she aimed an arrow for Ukiya Taicho but it lost power when Ikusawa-san regained her consciousness..." started Specs even as Ukiya interrupted angrily. "What are you trying to say Specs?" shouted Ukiya who was shaking so badly from his emotions and tangible frustration.
From the other side of the door, Ruriko slowly opened her eyes after hearing Ukiya's shout.
// What is that baka up to this time?// she mused fuzzily as she stared up at the whitewashed ceiling. Realization slowly came to fore as memory stirred. A black outer ring surrounding her gate of life, the cold feeling of hate that teased her senses. Trembling, she closed her eyes once more. // Iie... it can't be...//
Specs shook his head as he answered Ukiya's question. "Ukiya-senpai, what I'm trying to say is that Ikusawa-senpai's gate of life has been joined to the negative gate of genocide. Having opened and subdued the negative gate, she has unknowingly merged and mastered the gate of genocide," answered Specs as the commander looked away, his glasses hiding his eyes. Miss Ochial looked at Ukiya and the commander with a troubled frown. "Ukiya-taicho, I think Ikusawa-san is awake," she whispered doubtfully before turning away to follow the commander who abruptly walked away from the gatekeepers.
"Hai... arigatou, Ochial-san," whispered Ukiya as he walked away silently, opening the door and entering the clinic.
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Ukiya paused as he closed the door on everybody's faces, his hand tightly gripping the doorknob. He felt a tearing sensation inside his chest and he suddenly realized he was holding his breath. He gave a hollow laugh and froze when he turned to see Ruriko on her side facing him, with tears running down her face.
"Ruripe..." started Ukiya as he reached Ruriko's side.
With a smothered wail, Ruriko fell into his arms. "Ukiya-kun... Ukiya-kun... I heard what Specs said... dame yo, dame!" she sobbed as Ukiya held her tightly, trying to still the violent shaking of Ruriko's slight body. "Shhh, Ruriko please stop crying," whispered Ukiya as he gently wiped the tears on Ruriko's cheek.
Ruriko hiccuped before she said, "I could have killed Bancho... when I was healing him, I felt IT!" Ukiya said nothing and continued to hold her, running his fingers on Ruriko's wet cheeks. Ruriko found his touch comforting and slowly eased her arms around his waist. She looked up into his face as she said solemnly, "If the commander reports this to AEGIS international, there will be an international call for termination."
"Nani? Termination? Ruripe, don't joke about this! Termination of what-- your right as an Earth Defense member?" asked Ukiya angrily as he searched the unfathomable depths of Ruriko's eyes. He only found a grim acceptance and unlikely guilt in the surface of Ruriko's brown eyes. He pulled away from her so swiftly that Ruriko fell forward onto the bed once more. "What are you trying to tell me Ruriko?" he yelled in anger.
Taking a deep breath from her aching lungs and struggling to suppress the rise of tears, Ruriko raised her head and looked into Ukiya's eyes. "There will be conflict in the Far East Branch as AEGIS international will most likely call for my termination... as an Earth Defense member and as a gatekeeper. To cancel the first, they'd annul my contract but to eliminate the second... they would have to exterminate me..."
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
Ohayo minna! Please r&r my story! Let me know if I should continue it ne? For further comments aside from the review in fanfiction.net, you can e-mail me at jaded_cutie@edsamail.com.ph.