5/7/01
Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Alan, Yugo, etc. all belong to Hudson Soft
Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, Vguyver, Flyby, StarryPeach, Xavier, and Niteflite.
Special dedication to: Alica Tylon for putting up me blowing her off when she wanted to RP because I wanted to work on this story… ^_~
Bloody Roar II: Hope Within Reach
By Tiger5913
Prequel to Bloody Roar II: Virtuous Savior
The air cackled. Bright orange flames flickered, leaping up as if they were trying to grab a hold of me, yank me into a heated prison. Looking away, I tried to ignore them, instead concentrating on co-supporting the tall man that had interfered with my earlier plans. The breeze that swirled by was quickly beaten down from the intensity of the fire… the fire that I had started.
"I know you're saying this to keep me alive." I mumbled to the man who had one of his arms slung around my shoulders. I felt the weight lessen and I knew that he was trying to apply more pressure on my brother and make my task easier. Trying not to seem irritated at being pampered, I finished with, "I thank you."
The three of us trudged slowly up the small flight of stairs, escaping the wild dancing flames, only to spy firefighters in the near distance. I felt the man beside me tense up, his voice cool and collected however when he said, "We should avoid being questioned. If they knew the cause of the fire and the reason behind it, they will just fear us more."
They, humans. Us, zoanthropes. Being separated into different races like that feels so prejudiced. Humans feared zoanthropes though, feared their morphing power. Afraid of what atrocity the zoanthropes could cause to them with that power in their possession, that they could cause pain, suffering, horror…
I'm no excuse. After what I'd done in last mere days, and furthermore starting that fire when I executed my Rage Move on Alan Gado… In addition to everything that I've already done, what horrible acts I've committed to other, I just had to go and do this today. Maybe I shouldn't have let Gado distract me, then I could have gone ahead with balancing justice, owning up to my crimes… But he had my brother back him up also, and I didn't have enough energy left to fight either of them or both, so I didn't protest that time. However, next time…
Anyway, without another word from my brother or I opposing to what Gado had suggested, our little trio immediately headed for the shadowed security of the alleyways. We all paused there for a few minutes and watched as a couple of fire trucks screeched to a stop in front of… that creature, Busuzima's lab. The fighters move quickly, shooting power streams of water at the flames, leisurely but surely beating them down. All the commotion caused brought neighboring residents out of their homes to witness the once-furtive building exposed and destroyed.
Snapping us out of our trances, Gado turned to my elder sibling and caretaker, Yugo Ohgami and asked him, "Should we leave now, or do you want to stay here and view the further happenings?"
"Let's leave; we gotta get you over to Alice's hospital," he answered, then looked at me. "I'd prefer it if you come with us Kenji, but if you want to stay for a little bit longer…"
I nodded, training my eyes back onto the sight, mesmerized by the small remaining flames that were flirting with the breeze, tiny sparks flying around as the fire was slowly defeated into submission. As soon as I heard scuffling noses walking away, I knew that Yugo and Gado had left me alone, and I grateful that they trusted me enough to give me my privacy. They'd done all they could to help me earlier; now it was up to me on what direction my next step would be, which way I'd choose to go.
Is Busuzima dead? I wondered with my face set cold and hard as stone as I watched an ambulance drive up a few seconds later. Paramedics rushed out of the back with stretchers, darting into the building to look for survivors. Another mistake I had made: I didn't think about the prisoners that were in his lab… I hadn't thought about their safety, their lives…
"…I'm a horrible person," were the words that escaped my mouth after I had just realized what danger I put upon the other innocent zoanthropes that suffered at the hand of Busuzima. "…I don't deserve to live…"
I stood there, in the alleyway, a cold chill sweeping over my body while the wind tore relentlessly through my hair. My thin yellow ninja gi wasn't suited to be protection against the cold weather; no, it was only suited for battling purposes… Unfortunately I looked down at the thought and spotted a few faint stains that marred my attire, dark and almost unidentifiable by the lighting. But I knew what it was… blood from my previous opponents…
My scarf was flapping wildly due to the force of the breeze, whipping around my neck, giving me a suffocating feeling. Sadly, I almost embraced the feeling… Suffocating, ending my life… Repaying those that I had caused pain to… That's what I wanted to do earlier tonight. …So what was stopping me now? Nowhere was here; I was alone. It would be so easy…
Then I spied something near my stomach. My eyes narrowed and I bent my head down to see what it was, and saw a small pink bow snagged onto one of my waist buckles. A small pink bow… Only one of my opponents had worn that… what was the name that I had heard her partner say, that martial arts master ally of hers…
"…Uriko…" I recalled, my eyes closing in shame. She was the youngest out of everyone that I had fought against, and was probably even younger than I am… I felt like a rat, lower than dirt. Why did school bullies get satisfaction from picking on students younger than they were? Why did they feel good about doing something so… so low? I felt horrible. I would rather feel pain myself than make her feel it…
She had said I was cute, I remember, after I had said something supposedly poetic to her… Or… "young and handsome", in her words. I can't believe that she could say such a thing, with me crouched there in the alley, looking at her like she was my prey, then fighting her. If I ever see her again, I want to befriend her. That is, if she wants to be friends with a heartless former assassin… So Uriko thought I was "handsome"… well, not that I think I'll be admitting this to anyone, but I think she was rather attractive herself…
"…Hey? Excuse me, what are you doing in a place like this so late?" A voice spoke up from behind, startling me. "And with everything that's going on right now…"
I immediately turned around. And was thoroughly surprised with who I saw there, standing nearby me, partially cloaked in the shadows, but what I could see of the outfit was recognizable.
I heard a gasp, followed by, "Oh! …Kenji??"
That was unmistakable. "…? …Uriko?!"
She stepped completely out of the shadows, her solemn features matching mine, but the earnest aura that shone from her almost lighting up the alleyway. Her presence alone was enough to counter the darkness and the evil that lingered in the area; her determination and spirit were an insurance. I quickly glanced over her, and noticed that she didn't look much different from our last encounter… a few nights ago…
She still donned the blue Chinese outfit with the advantageous long white sleeves that had tricked me when we had fought. Tan-colored boots covered her feet and royal blue shorts that matched her top served as attire for her lower body. It outlined her curves, alluring even at her age - I wondered if Uriko knew that, but if she did, that was obviously not a major concern on her mind. Her enchanting long brown hair hung loose, some of the strands escaping around to her front and dancing around her abdomen.
Both of her hands were tucked behind her back, almost in a shy gesture as she took a few steps toward me. Her head was ducked slightly and her eyes were leisure to meet mine; she was timid, I could tell, but I couldn't blame her of course. I wouldn't react well either if I were in the proximity of an assassin…
"That fire…" Uriko started to say softly. "Who… who caused it?"
"......" was all I answered her with.
"It… it wasn't you… was it…?"
I turned away at that point.
"I-I didn't mean it like that…" her voice was barely above a whisper.
"…Yes. It was me." I admitted. "I'm the hazardous menace that caused the fire. All because of me. My selfishness in wanting to get revenge on Busuzima."
Even though I couldn't see her face I could just bet that she was wrinkling her nose at the mention. "That pervert… ugh…"
"…Guess not a lot of us are very fond of him," I remarked dryly. "I wonder if he got out-…"
I trailed off as the shrill noise of the sirens from the ambulance suddenly turned on, and the vehicle sped away with hurried speed. Firefighters still roamed the building though, looking around for remainders of the place and probably for the cause of the fire also, I suppose.
"I should turn myself in," I murmured quietly.
"I don't think you should…" my companion advised, and I felt her hand rest lightly onto my shoulder. "That'll just make them more suspicious and afraid of us zoanthropes; what you did was from… your Beast Drive, right? So it was from your morphing ability and that's what they'll attack…"
"What am I supposed to do then?! It was my fault!! I need to… I need to do something! If I don't, my conscience…" I let out a frustrated sigh and threw off her comfort. "Let's just say my conscience will be nagging at me for a while…"
My eyes closed just then. I couldn't bear to have them open, staring at either the ground or at the ruined remains of Busuzima's secret lab. And… and I couldn't look at Uriko, because I knew that the expression she would have on her face would be one of compassion, concern, and I was undeserving of those. I heard slight scraping noises and then two objects of warmth slipping around my waist from behind, linking together in front, before my stomach.
"Uriko…?" I inquired, even though I knew it was her without a doubt. Why is she being so kind to me…?
Something leaned against my head; hers, I guess. I could feel the chill of her breath on my neck and I straightened up, turning around to face her. I was right, the look she held was that of care, forgiveness, tender… nothing that I deserved at all… Our eyes met and I could see even deeper emotions in the depths of her wide light brown pupils. I wasn't sure what they were, although they brought a warm feeling deep down inside me…
"Don't feel guilty Kenji…" Uriko told me in a whisper as a tear slid downwards against the smoothness of her cheek. It would have gone by unnoticed if the shrill moonbeams hadn't glowered upon the teardrop and allowed it to glisten at me. "Whatever Busuzima gets, he deserved it… Trust me… No one would blame you if they knew…"
"I think Yugo knows," I said to her. "I'm not sure, but if he doesn't, then Gado has to know. And if one of them know, soon, everyone else will know."
"If you don't want others to know, I'm sure they'll respect your decision you know," she replied with confidence that even I wanted to believe in.
"…I don't understand," I mumbled. "Why are you being so nice to me… knowing what I did to others… and… and knowing that I hurt you when we fought…"
"Um… I heard from Alice that Yugo told her you were brainwashed…" she confessed. "So… so if you were brainwashed, those things weren't your fault then… You were being manipulative; I don't think that you really even knew what you were doing…"
So conscientious… "But… Uriko… I…"
Her jaw set into a determined posture, she shook her head. "No buts, Kenji. Come on, relax now, you deserve it… I think you've had a hard enough day after all…"
As soon as she mentioned that, a feeling suddenly lurched in my body and I slumped into her arms, my stance growing weak. She gasped, but got over that rather quickly and tightened her embrace around me, applying pressure with her hand against my chest to straighten me up. I slung one of my arms around her waist, soft and slender, almost fragile, as if that part of her could be easily broken.
I blocked that out and instead spoke up; "…I'm not sure if I can make it home by myself."
Uriko let out a cough of exasperation, I believe. "You're not going home by myself; I'm coming with you. You need support right now, and I'll gladly offer it. Don't refuse me, okay?"
"…Okay. No complaints from here," I kidded weakly as she slowly started to trod foreword.
Before we stepped out of shadowy shield of the alleyway, I stopped and murmured her name under my breath, barely audible. She heard me though, due to the sensitivity of her feline ears. I didn't think about what I did next; just let my mind go blank as I leaned foreword and pressed my lips against hers. If she pushed me away, I wouldn't argue, I'd accept it. But instead of revolting away in disgust, her grip on me tightened, and in turn, I raised my free hand up to cup her soft cheek with my callused hands, roughened from battle.
So with residents nearby us, and the darkness and musky smell of our alleyway surroundings, we kissed, clothed under the thick blanket of stars overhead in the sky. I had been confused earlier when I was trying to decide what to do with myself after beating my brother… but this, kissing her, felt right. It was a decision that didn't have any part of me rebelling against it.
My name is Kenji. I don't have a true last name, one that represents my birth family. But, I've adopted the last name Ohgami, after Yugo, because in a way, he is my family. He's my brother. So I guess even with all I've done, he and the others are willing to forgive me, and give me a chance to redeem myself. Uriko was the first to show me that. Whatever happens, I think I'll be able to rely on her to guide me in the right direction and show me the light…
The End
Author's Note:
Ahh, yet another Keniko fic! I wrote this in a couple hours, and hopefully that'll explain why this was so crummy. ^_~ I'm surprised that no one's tried to shoot me down for being so damn obsessed yet-*PING!* O_O ACK! ALRIGHT WHO SHOT THAT???!!! *hears crickets chirp* …Okay, I see how it is… _ (hehe, j/k) Well, this is the prequel to my other fic, Bloody Roar II: Virtuous Savior, as mentioned in the beginning. This story has nothing to do with my normal timeline; this fic and Virtuous Savior has their own timeline, and is more game-based, I guess you could say.With love for my fans,
Tiger5913