Eye Contact
The rain bore on endlessly, pounding on the rooftops and turning the sidewalks and roads into vast lakes of dull, muddy water. Dark grey clouds covered the beautiful blue skies, only letting a few rays of feeble sun slip past the barrier. The monotonous sound of raindrops beating on the sidewalk blended in with the occassional whoosh of the breeze through the treetops. Everything was bleak, sad, and dreary, even the atmosphere. Pessimistic pedestrians and commuters dressed in heavy coats and bearing large umbrellas walked quickly with purpose, too warped in their own business to even stop to look at anything or anyone.
A young 15-year-old girl sat just outside of a fenced park, staring at the story written on the book she had just purchased earlier. She turned one page and her eyes moved back and forth, quickly reading the contents of the page. She was sucking on a strawberry lollipop, enjoying the sweet candy as it stayed in her mouth. A red parasol was pushed open, and resting on her shoulder, gently shielding her from the consecutive rain drops.
Then, she saw a shadow in front of her, and she looked up, "Are you alone?" the man in front of her asked, and she nodded in response. The man grinned, and he reached out to offer his hand to her, "Do you want to destroy the world with me?" she heard him ask.
Minako looked at the hand, and hesitated. Should she come with this man? She gripped her umbrella uneasily, as she looked up at the man again. This person could be a killer for all she knew. Closing the book she had in hand, she turned her gaze back to the hand laid out for her and held it. "As long as you won't destroy me along with it," she smiled gently.
5 YEARS LATER...
Minako was walking across a bridge. She was heading towards the park where she guessed a lot of kids would be playing in. Today was such a boring day, she decided, and she wanted some entertainment, but she did not know where to get it.
In the end, she did not head towards the park. She found herself standing in front of a forest, instead. The forest was rumoured to be magical yet dangerous, and as she heard, the one boy that dared to go inside the forest never got out. Seeing this was akin to a challenge, she closed her umbrella and stepped inside without any hesitations.
The forest was silent; too silent, in fact, that she wondered if there were even any animal living here. She let her eyes scan the whole place as she continued walking deeper and deeper into the forest. It was not dangerous, she decided, but it was scary. It was already getting late, she concluded as she stared up at the heavens. That's when she had heard something move from her behind.
She instantly turned, but the noise was gone. Suddenly, the noise started moving everywhere. She turned to her front, sides and back, expecting for something to pop out and come at her any minute from now. However, nothing came. The noise died down, and everything went silent.
She narrowed her eyes, she did not want this kind of silence. She sensed something fishy, and she turned around, blocking a punch from the enemy who had finally revealed itself. The impact was strong and therefore, she had landed a few feet away from the place where she stood earlier. She released her umbrella and drew her two swords from the sheaths in her back. She gripped on her swords and struck forward, despite of the confusion building up inside her.
The enemy covered with white bandages took an umbrella out of nowhere and charged towards her as well. Their weapons clashed, and she gritted her teeth. She was slightly surprised, the umbrella was too heavy to be considered normal. Must've been the legendary Yato machine guns, she concluded.
Her adversary was way too strong. She pulled back and back flipped a few times. Then, she heard a voice, and she turned to the person in front of her, "Oi, captain, that's enough. You don't even know who you're brawling."
She assumed that the voice was calling out to the man in front of her, 'Captain?' she thought. Her eyes stayed glued to the person in front of her, as it slowly removed the bandages covering its face, and she realized it was a guy she was fighting with.
The captain removed all the bandages, revealing his usual clothing, then, he shifted his gaze towards Minako, who just stared back at him. He smirked, "Don't worry Abuto. It doesn't matter who she is once I kill her."
Minako flinched, "Who are you?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing. This guy was getting rather suspicious. Her eyes searched for the place the other voice came from, that is, until he spoke again, "I don't want to introduce myself to someone I barely know."
"What do you want from me, attacking me like that? I don't even know you," she asked, getting annoyed.
"It's nothing, really," he replied, nonchalantly, "I was just testing you. It's very rare for someone, especially a girl, to be brave enough to come here. A kid came here once but died out of fear and shock, guess he was too nervous when he walked in. A little push was all it took for him to die," he chuckled smoothly as he recalled the incident. He was a sadist, yes.
"What a sadist you are," she commented dryly, "Anyway, answer my question. I don't intend to spend more time here."
"Oh, how impatient of you," Kamui said, making his way towards her, "That's not a good trait, you know."
"I was not asking for your opinion on that. I was asking why you were attacking me all of a sudden, but if you don't want to answer then, I guess I couldn't do anything about it," she said as she began to stalk away to the direction where she came from, "I don't have time for you."
Kamui watched as she walked away from the corner of his eyes, and smirked, "Abuto," he called out, and immediately Abuto jumped down to his side, "Yes, captain?"
"That girl is rather interesting," he commented, "I wonder where she came from." At this, Abuto felt that his captain was planning something bad again.
Kijima Matako, Kawakami Bansai and Takechi Henpeita were resting inside the command room of the spaceship their master owned when Kuroshima Minako entered the room. She instantly noticed the worried looks on their faces. She walked up to them and asked, "What's the matter?"
Bansai shifted his gaze to her, and replied, "Takasugi hadn't returned yet. He has been gone since this morning, and we don't know where he is."
Matako butted in the conversation, "We conclude that he's with Kamui again."
"Kamui?" she repeated, curiously. Never had she heard that name before, and she doesn't know who that person is. "Who is that?" She asked as she made her way towards the table she loved to sit on.
"You don't know who that is?" Bansai asked, disbelief lacing his tone. He looked over at Minako, who was already sitting near the edge of the table, her cracked fingertips resting on her lips. It was already a habit of hers; to bite her fingertips whenever she was nervous or panicking about something. The table was firm enough to handle her weight and it was also high enough to not let her feet reach the ground. She was wearing a rather scandalous attire, that could probably even help her in fighting, for it could distract some of her male enemies. Sure, she had a cloak to cover her but... well, she was wearing an outfit that was really designed to seduce. It was an unappropriate apparel, to say the least, considering the fact that her skirt was short enough to show her underwear whenever she kicks or jumps.
She was wearing a white Chinese-style midriff sleeveless top and a white miniskirt that had slits in both sides. Her outfit had black pipings and was embroidered with black small flower patterns in the hemlines. She also wore grey gloves that almost reached her upper arm, and thigh-high grey boots for footwear. Her light brown hair was tied into a ponytail and braided with white flower ornaments. She was soaked, but she wasn't bothered by it. She was more worried about Takasugi than herself, "No, but I wanna kick his ass." She spoke through gritted teeth.
Her wine-red eyes spontaneously darted to the door as she apprehended the sound of it opening. The Kiheitai leader staggered into the room, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. After closing the door, he collapsed down on the floor, evidently exhausted from whatever fight he got himself into. She was about to speak when someone beat her into it, "Shinsuke-sama! Are you alright?"
Minako fought the urge to pout when she saw Matako rushing towards their leader before she could even move a muscle. Everybody knows how indulgent Matako is when it comes to Shinsuke. She jumped off of the table and followed Bansai and Takechi as they crowded around their master, panic evident on their worried faces. She, too, was distraught over Takasugi's safety but she wouldn't dare voice it out.
She looked down at her superior's purple robes that were stained red with blood and soaked with cold rain water. Worse, it was his blood. She turned around, not wanting to see Shinsuke in such a pitiful state.
"Shinsuke-sama, are you alright?" Matako repeated, kneeling down next to her captain. She watched with a mixture of fear and concern as he bravely placed a hand above the long gash embedded dangerously above his stomach to test the level of damage inflicted on him by none other than Kamui. A restrained groan from him sent her already unsettled nerves into another panicked frenzy, "Shinsuke-sama!"
Minako landed a hand on Bansai's shoulder and, without any hardship, managed to break his shoulder bone as she saw how Matako was holding her master's hand, "It's not really something to be worried about, isn't it?" she deadpanned, "He's not gonna die with just that."
"Ow, ow, ow," Bansai tried to pry her hands off of his shoulder, "Let go, Minako!" Minako complied and released her tight grip to Bansai.
"You have rigorously underestimated Kamui, Takasugi," Bansai said as he surveyed his superior's injuries.
"Apparently," Takasugi hissed, before wincing in pain again when he felt his injury bleeding again. Golden and blood coloured eyes widened, "Shinsuke-sama/Takasugi-sama!"
"Hurry up and carry Takasugi-sama!" Minako demanded, "We need to find a doctor as quick as possible!"
Bansai sighed, as he made his way towards Takasugi to carry him, completely knowing about Minako's fondness towards Shinsuke. He knows very well the reason of why she is acting like that.
After a few hours, Shinsuke was lying in his hospital bed, comfortably. And thanks to Minako and Matako's persuasions, (threats) the doctors treated Shinsuke first and they didn't have to wait in line.
As Minako caught a glimpse of blue hair coming out of Shinsuke's hospital room, she immediately stood up and walked up to him, "Bansai, is Takasugi-sama alright?" Panic was evident in her tone, and he could see eagerness from her eyes.
"Why don't you go check him inside?" He said, rubbing the back of his head. Wrong move. Minako suddenly grabbed his arm and rudely pulled him down, breaking another one of his bones once again.
Her glare was terrifying, and she spoke to him through gritted teeth, "Spill, or your injuries would just increase."
"U-Uh, he's alright. No need to worry. The damage inflicted on him wasn't anything really serious. His life isn't endangered, don't worry."
Upon hearing his last word, she blushed, the slightest shade of pink tinting her cheeks. She immediately turned her gaze away, attempting to hide her flushed face, "Worry?" she forced a laugh, "I ain't worrying for anyone."
"Fake," Bansai accused, pointing to her, "I know about your feelings for him. It's very obvious."
"What feelings?" she tried playing innocent, "I just respect Takasugi-sama, is all."
"Matako does too, but by the looks of it, your and Matako's personalities are clashing each other. Do you see how Matako acts in front of Shinsuke? That's basically how you act towards him too, you just do it differently." Bansai explained, adjusting his glasses.
"What? That's just false accusation," Minako defended herself.
Meanwhile, Takasugi was watching Minako and Bansai from the window in his hospital room, "What the hell are they doing?" Matako spared a glance on the two bickering.
"Don't mind them, Takasugi-sama. They're just in those things you may call lover's quarrel." Matako shrugged it off, "You should just ignore them."
Takasugi turned to Matako, "Hey, will you please me?"
Matako turned back to him, her eyes gleaming in excitement, "Oh, of course!"
"Then, leave," he averted his gaze from Matako and turned back to Minako and Bansai, "Annoying," he muttered under his breath.
