Chapter 2!
Yay!
Enjoy!
Ox smiled. Even from deep in Arachnophobia, he could hear Black Star as he and Tsubaki challenged Mifune to a rematch.
But he couldn't focus on that. He had much more pressing matters to attend to right now. Like saving Kim. And not dying.
Kim smiled down at him. "Come on Jackie. Let's finish him."
"Sure, why not?" Jackie agreed, transforming into her lantern form. Ox sat helplessly as the girl of his dreams prepared to incinerate him. He could see power beginning to gather inside of the weapon.
Kim raised the red-hot lantern. "Well, I guess this is goodbye, Ox-." A movement from her left distracted her. She didn't even have time to glance over before Harvar stabbed his spear arm straight through her stomach. He quickly removed his arm, which was now covered in blood, and allowed Kim to fall to the ground, her eyes closed. She was dead.
"Ox, I know it was painful, but there was no other choice," Harvar said.
"I know," Ox said. "But that doesn't mean that I can agree with what you just did."
"Jacqueline," Harvar said, addressing the discarded weapon. "Your meister is dead. Are you still going to fight us?"
"Aw, she died," Jackie said with a sigh. "Whatever will I do?"
"She's your partner! Are you going to give up that quickly?" Ox asked.
He crawled over to where Kim lay. He rolled her over and pushed her shirt up to better see her wound.
"Maybe there is some way that we can..." Ox trailed off.
"It's already too late for Kim," Harvar said harshly. "More importantly, if we don't hurry up and treat your wound-."
"What the-," Ox muttered, cutting Harvar off.
"What's wrong Ox?" Harvar asked. Ox was looking down at the enormous gash in Kim's stomach, or at least he had been just a second ago. He watched as the wound closed up quickly, already forming a scar.
"Her wound..." he muttered. "It's gone!"
At the sound of Ox's voice, Kim opened her eyes. It must have been a pretty weird scene for her, waking up with Ox over her and her top half off. She kicked Ox away.
"Kim!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't strip people while they're sleeping, Pervert! Playing doctor at your age," she scoffed.
"Thank goodness..." Ox said weakly.
"What's going on...?" Harvar muttered. "I know that I cut her...That was a fatal wound, but now it's gone...?"
"You're alive," Ox muttered, slightly dazed.
"What did you do?" Harvar asked angrily. "Just what kind of trick..." he trailed off when he saw a dark expression cross Kim's face as she stood up. It was almost demented in a way.
"I was on the verge of dying. You really didn't go easy on me Harvar," Kim said with a hint of respect. "If you look at the holes in my clothes, then you'll understand that Harvar's blow went right through me."
"Then how?" Harvar demanded.
"What are you saying now?" Kim asked innocently. "If I were normal, I would have been able to stay at Shibusen."
"Witch," Harvar growled. "Was it magic?"
Kim spread her arms. "Tanuncoon. Raccooncoon. Ponpon. Ponkitanu." She trailed off, repeating "pon" over and over as she brought her gloved hand up to her shirt. It began to glow, and she brought her hand away. The hole in her t-shirt had vanished, leaving only a bloody mark to show that the wound was ever there to begin with.
"I hope the stain will come off when I wash it," Kim commented.
"The hole in her clothes disappeared," Ox said in awe.
"I'm a Tanuki Witch," Kim said as a tail with two rings around it appeared. "Tanuki's are animals who rule regeneration." She looked hard at Ox and Harvar. "Regeneration magic. That is my magical forte."
"Regeneration magic," Harvar repeated.
"You really are an angel," Ox murmured.
"An angel?" she asked with a giggle as she picked up Jackie. "I am certainly different from other witches..." she trailed off thoughtfully.
Her eyes suddenly blazed with anger as she shot a wall of flames at Ox and Harvar. "And I have suffered for being different!" she screamed. At that very second, Harvar jumped forward, sheltering his meister from the fire.
"Tch," Harvar muttered as he removed his white jacket, which was now on fire.
"Are you okay, Harvar?" Ox asked.
"We'll have to end this with a combo attack without allowing her to regenerate," Harvar muttered, already forming a plan in his head.
"Don't Harvar," Ox muttered. "I'll fight."
"But with that wound," Harvar began to protest.
"Transform into a weapon," Ox ordered. "Hurry."
Harvar hesitate before nodding. "Understood," he said, transforming into the lightning spear. Ox caught it expertly.
"In the end, even you point your weapon at me," Kim said sadly, eyeing the spear.
"You selfish little-!" Harvar exclaimed. "Ox wants this the least out of everyone!"
Kim charged at them, rapidly closing the distance. "If I could have just lived according to the "Guidance of Magic" like all the other witches!" she exclaimed, swinging the lantern at Ox.
"Guidance of Magic?" he repeated as he blocked the attack with the shaft of the spear, causing the lantern to rebound wildly, spraying flames everywhere.
"The magic held by a witch is an immeasurable energy," Kim explained as their weapons collided again. "When enormous energy is released, what do you think lies in it's wake? You're the smart one, Ox. You should be able to figure it out, right?"
Ox swung his spear at Kim as he began to reason aloud. "It's always the same thing remaining when powerful energy is released, isn't it?" he muttered. "Destruction...
Kim nodded. "Destruction is the "Guidance of Magic". Witches are controlled by that instinct." She swung the chain of the lantern down from over her head, and the lantern followed in suit, swinging down towards Ox's head. He blocked it with so much force that the hatch of the lantern popped open, causing it to hang on to the spear shaft.
"The magic that you have received is the opposite of destruction: regeneration," Ox muttered. "So that's how it is... That's why you are so beautiful."
"So doesn't that mean I don't fit into the witch world?" Kim yelled. "Now Jackie!" she shouted. Ox barely had time to register that the lantern was still hanging off of the spear. It suddenly glowed and exploded, letting out all of the extra energy that had been stored earlier.
"Wollantern!" Kim shouted as the explosion blew up in Ox's face.
"What's wrong Ox? What happened to your lightning fast attack?" Harvar asked quietly. "Are you okay?"
Ox didn't reply as he struggled to rise.
"If you don't fight back, you'll be killed," Harvar said quickly.
"Unfit for the witches and cast aside by Shibusen," Kim said sadly. "Not having anywhere left to go, Arachnophobia took me in. They put me in the Morals Manipulation Machine," she said happily. "I finally became a true witch."
"Shibusen didn't throw you two away. They were just making preparations," Ox said desperately. "Please come back," he pleaded.
"Don't say such nonsense! I can't return now!" Kim said. A smile stretched across her face. "And this feeling, I don't want to lose it. This was the first time since I was born that I've fit in with the world... The first time since I was born that I've had this feeling... I've finally achieved happiness!" she said the last words with such conviction that Ox almost believed her.
Almost.
"Then...why...?" Ox asked, trying to form a sentence. "Why do you look so sad?" he asked. Sure enough, Kim had tears streaming down her face.
"Shut up Ox! Stop making Kim cry!" Jackie shouted from her lantern form. "She couldn't become a witch, nor a Shibusen student! We finally found this place, where the people accept Kim for who she is And treat her like she belongs! Why can't you understand that?"
"It's obvious," Ox said quietly, clutching his side. "This isn't where you belong. Please return with us to Shibusen. Everybody's waiting."
"Shut up!" Kim screeched. "Looking at me, with those accusing eyes! They're not waiting for me!" More tears began to spill down her face.
"Kim," Ox started to say.
"You don't understand!" Kim shouted. "Humans can't change their way of thinking that easily. That's why I could only rely on money. There is no place for me in Shibusen anymore!" she let out a sob before continuing. "Aren't you the same, Ox? Every morning, you wake up early, you shave your head, and you make those pillars. You're just like that, too. You can't change. I'm a witch. I can't change..."
"It can be changed. Anything and everything. Beliefs, pride..." Ox said, leaning Harvar against a pillar.
"Ox..." his weapon partner warned.
Ox ignored him and continued to speak to Kim. "You may be a witch, Kim, but that's fine," he said, taking a hold on his hair pillars. "To people, all that's stopping them from changing is silly willpower."
He began to apply pressure to his beloved hair. Blood began to spurt from his wound, causing him to grimace in pain. Kim could see Ox's blue soul faintly appear around him, and realized the significance of what was happening.
Ox was changing in a way that affected his very soul.
With a final grunt, he broke off the pillars. He cast them aside without a second glance.
"If you don't want to return to Shibusen, then you don't need to, Ox said gently. "If you don't have a place to be, then I'll make you one. Can't I become your place to he?" he asked.
Kim buried her face into her hands and began crying. Ox patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. She ran up to him and began to sob into his chest. In all honesty, Ox was only worrying about being stabbed again when Kim hugged him, but that wasn't the case. He carefully wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.
In a flash of light, Jackie transformed back into her human form. She crouched, flames enveloping her hands. She looked ready to kill them both.
"I still can't accept this," she hissed. "Are you a traitor?"
"Wait!" Kim cried out. "I've come to my senses."
Jackie froze as she felt Harvar's hand around the back of her neck. She sensed electricity shooting down his arm, ready to hit her out. She screeched with pain as the lightning hit her, knocking her to the ground.
"Jackie!" Kim screamed. Harvar picked her up by the collar of her shirt.
"It's alright. She's just lost consciousness," Harvar said, as if was supposed to make Kim feel better.
Without warning, Jackie slammed her flaming hand against Harvar's leg, causing him to jump back in surprise.
"How are you-," he began to ask.
"You thought a little shock like that could knock me out?" Jackie asked, straightening up. Harvar stood between Jackie and the two meisters.
"Harvar, we need to-," Ox froze mid-sentence and dropped to his knees, clutching his side.
"Ox!" Kim cried out, falling to her knees next to him.
"I can handle this, Ox," Harvar said as his forearm transformed into a zigzagged spear.
Jackie watched him approach with an amused expression. "This will be fun."
Chapter done!
Yay!
As you can probably tell, the next chapter will go off from the original plot line.
Point out my mistakes.
Thanks,
~CatKkit.
