Second Chance: Chapter 7
A month had past and there hadn't been a trace of Nero or his followers. News of new killings had even gone down significantly over the past month, making it record low of only two kills. For many it was terrific news, but for Jetta it only meant that Nero was planning something. He was too busy scheming up new ideas to take her down to bother killing off the weak. He had a threat now, and each day that threat only continued to grow stronger … It wouldn't be long before another follower showed up, and the group could only wait until that time would come …
…
The summer night was young, and it marked the end of a long, long, long day of nearly constant training. Yet, despite the tiring events throughout the day, the two youngest of the group still had a little energy left to spare.
"Oww! Geez, Riku! You don't have to be so rough," Jetta grumbled as she rubbed at her lower back from where Riku had literally tossed her onto the ground.
"Whatever. I know you like it," Riku chuckled as he lowered himself to Jetta's level and began kissing and nibbling at her neck playfully.
"I'm serious, Riku. That hurt …" Jetta spoke with a pout.
"Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?"
"No!"
"Then quit complaining," Riku growled before pushing the girl down on her back and pinning her beneath him, "This is the first time in two weeks that I've gotten some real alone time with you, and – hurting ass or not – you're going to give me the greatest thirty minute make-out session ever! And I demand tongue this time!!"
"Alright! Alright!" Jetta shouted in an attempt to stop Riku from telling the world what they did in their spare time – even though it was already obvious – "Just shut up!"
"Make me …"
"If you insist," Jetta spoke before clutching fistfuls of Riku's vest and yanking him down into a rather aggressive kiss.
Riku smiled against Jetta's lips as he fully enjoyed the girl's dominant side taking over. Yes, he loved it when she took control, mainly because it was a side he rarely got to see. And, if he wasn't so eager to physically express his growing fondness for the young girl, he would have allowed her to take full control, but tonight he wanted to make the magic happen.
As their lips danced, Riku freed his hands from Jetta's shoulders tucking one underneath her back while allowing the other to freely explore her body. Their lips slowly parted as Riku worked his way down Jetta's neck. The girl giggled softly as she squirmed around beneath Riku's body as his warm tongue tickled her neck. It was pure torture, but she loved it. Riku – of course – was fully aware of this and continued as he slid his hand underneath Jetta's shirt, gliding his fingers ever so softly against her silky skin … until he hit rough bandages and came to a complete stop. 'These definitely have to go,' Riku grumbled as he led a trail of tender kisses up Jetta's smooth neck before locking lips once more.
His hand began to tug on the bandages beneath her shirt in an attempt to loosen them while Jetta moaned protests against his lips. However, she was easily silenced when Riku's tongue slipped into her open mouth. Her protesting moans quickly transformed into sighs of ecstasy as Riku's slick muscle dance playfully around her own. The bandages were finally loosened as Riku slid his hand beneath them … only for something rather hard yet small to slam into the back of his head. The impact jarred him forward – pressing his lips uncomfortably close to Jetta's – and forced him to bite down on his own tongue. Their moment was ruined … again.
"What the hell?!" Riku screamed in frustration after ripping himself away from Jetta as he turned to find a lone figure standing in the moonlight.
"… Damn piece of shit …" The man spoke with a heavy sigh as he watched his boomerang fly off into the branches of a nearby tree after ricocheting off Riku's skull, "… He said it would always come back …"
"Who the hell are you?!" Riku snapped as he rose from the ground, leaving Jetta to fumble with her falling bandages while muttering colorful curses. Whether those colorful words were directed at the stranger or himself … Riku wasn't quite sure.
"Hmmm … silver hair …" The man leaned to the side a bit to peer around Riku, "… and a cross-dresser. Looks like I was right after all."
Riku was beyond frustrated now. First the man goes and beats him other the head with some random object – which ruined his fun time with Jetta – and now he has enough nerve to stand there muttering to himself rather than apologize?! It was then when Riku's suspicions grew. He struggled to make out his appearance in the moonlight and from what he could tell he was short – possibly even shorted than Jetta – with dirty blonde hair pulled back out of his face. Two handles could be seen peeking out from behind his shoulders, leaving Riku to believe that they were swords even though he already had three in plain view tied to his hip. Was it really necessary for one man to have five swords? Maybe it was … if he was a follower.
"Jetta … get ready to fight …" Riku whispered to the girl as he summoned the Soul Eater within his grasp.
The man eyed Riku's weapon before smiling, "Interesting sword. I've never seen one like it before. I'll have to add it to my collection after I kill you."
"Who are you?" Riku asked once again.
"Dy. It's spelt with just a 'd' and a 'y' but it's pronounced like die," The man answered, "I don't know what the hell my parents were thinking when they named me, but I suppose it suits a follower, don't you agree?"
"I guess you have a point …" Riku replied, though Dy's explanation was completely unnecessary.
"Yeah … I've always liked it, just because it's different," Dy spoke before gripping the two handles behind his back.
Dy gave Riku a warm smile before charging forward at a speed far faster than Riku was expecting. He barely had time to block his first few strikes before he realized it he had targeted Jetta. Just like Riku, Jetta was hardly ready to fight as she dodged the first strike by rolling over in the grass and continued to roll as Dy's swords swung uncontrollably. Dy quickly caught on and rammed a sword into the ground hoping to hit flesh however his steel only meet earth. He swung with the second sword, but it was easily kicked out of his grasp, landing a short distance away. Without skipping a beat, Dy pulled a third sword out from his hip but this one was blocked by Riku's blade.
Jetta quickly sprang from the ground as Riku kept Dy's attention focused on him, giving Jetta the chance to snatch up Dy's fallen sword while unsheathing her own. Now, Jetta had never fought using two swords before, but she figured that it wouldn't be difficult if you already knew how to handle a sword. Unfortunately, despite the disadvantage of fighting off two people and blocking three swords, Dy continued to dominate the battle. Too make matters worse, Jetta hadn't finished tying her bandages, letting them slip down her body and collect at her feet. Dy took advantage of this and began an onslaught of swift and deadly attacks. Jetta tried her best to block most of the strikes, but some were unavoidable. His blade drew first blood, and, before a second attack could hit, Riku summoned his barrier and shoved the man to the ground.
"Are you okay, Jetta?" Riku questioned as he held the barrier in place, making damn sure Dy didn't get the chance to strike again.
"I'll be fine," Jetta hissed through clenched teeth as she pressed her hand into her hip in an attempt to stop the blood, "It's not that deep."
"… Go get the others, I'll try and hold him off until then," Riku ordered as he ran back into the battle before Jetta was able to argue with him.
Obeying his orders, Jetta fled the battle while Riku rushed forward, preparing to strike down the unprepared follower; however, what came next was completely unexpected. Dy turned with a new weapon within his grasp as he fired off a small pebble from the rubber band and watched as it smacked Riku right in between the eyes. Riku slowed to a complete stop as he felt his forehead. There was no blood, but there would be a small welt later – that Riku was certain of.
"What the hell!" Riku snarled, "Are you just screwing with me now?!"
"Sorry … I though it was going to have a more damaging effect …" Dy muttered before sheepishly tucking his useless slingshot back into his belt loop.
Riku spoke in strings of obscenities as his anger rose. Dy wasn't taking this fight seriously, which meant that he didn't take Riku seriously. He considered him less than a threat … and that only fueled Riku's already enormous hatred for the man. Riku clutched at his sword, ready to start the battle once again when a dagger flew out of nowhere and would have hit Dy's calf had he not blocked it with the blade of his sword.
"Need some help, Riku?" Kaz questioned as he, Seth, and Jetta surrounded the enemy.
"Maybe a little more from Seth than you," Riku replied, earning a glare from the teen.
Now, Dy was a smart man, and knew when the odds were against him. Four against one didn't seem all that fair to the young man as his chocolate eyes scanned his surroundings. A moment later he finished his calculations and bolted between Kaz and Jetta; escaping within the foliage of the forest. The group was a little surprised – to say the least – as they waited for the surprise attack that never came.
"That was … easy," Kaz stated as he sheathed his sword.
"I … can't believe he actually ran …" Jetta muttered.
"Who cares? We won," Riku replied with confidence as Kaz shot him a proud grin.
"What the heck happened to you?" Kaz questioned, chuckling at the red lump upon Riku's forehead. He reached out to try and touch it, but Riku simply batted his hand away before he even got the chance.
"Don't ask …" Riku grumbled.
Had it been day instead of night, the group would have been able to see Dy's escape path. They would have chased him down in an attempt to finish the battle that he started, and they would have been amazed to watch as a mysterious black hole sprang from the ground; engulfing Dy's body before he even had time to realize what happened. Had it been day instead of night, the group would have been able to witness a small taste of what they were up against. They would have been one step closer to knowing a little more about Nero …
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The cold grip of darkness loosened its deadly hold upon young Dy's neck as his journey through the portal of darkness ended rather abruptly. The male was literally thrown to the stone ground as he gasped for air, thankful that his master had shown mercy upon his pitiful soul … but not for long. Not even a second later, the sole of his master's steel-tipped boot came down upon the back of his head and smashed his nose into the solid, stone surface of his dark surroundings.
"Back so soon, Dy?" A deep voice sneered above the trembling male, "and alive? That must mean my dear Jetta is dead, correct?"
"N-not exactly, my lord-"
"'Not exactly'? And what is that supposed to mean?" His master questioned, "Either she's dead or alive. Now which is it?!"
"S-she's still a-alive, master."
"Why?"
"They out numbered me …"
"So you ran away?" Nero removed his boot from Dy's head and swiftly lifted the pathetic man from the ground, "You disobeyed my orders?"
"I was only aware of Jetta and the boy … not the other two-"
"I'm not keeping you alive to listen to your excuses!" Nero snapped.
"I … had to stay alive … I have information that you may like to … abuse …" Through the darkness of the room Dy could see his master's amber eyes gleaming with curiosity, and he knew instantly that his life had been spared.
"Continue …"
"Jetta and the boy have developed a close relationship."
"I see …" Nero's lips curled into a smile, "Thank you, Dy." The male's grip loosened as he gently set his precious follower upon the ground, "Go tend to your wounds and clean yourself up. I'll have a new mission for you when you return."
"Thank you, master," Dy spoke with a sigh of relief as he bowed graciously to his master before calmly making his escape.
"What are you planning, my master?" Zilla hissed from the darkness of the room before wrapping her slender arms around the man's torso.
"Something to pass the time …" Nero replied with a soft chuckle.
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"I think our next stop should be in Treston," Seth stated while the rest of his traveling companions munched on their breakfast.
"Treston? Never heard of it," Kaz mused as he talked around his food.
"Exactly. It's a small town sitting at the foot of the Hibi mountain range," Seth spoke, "It's the perfect place to stop and rest for the night."
"Yeah … but … how long is it going to take us to get there?" Kaz questioned, "Because, if you haven't noticed, we're nowhere near any mountain range."
"I'd guess about …" Seth trailed off and remained silent as if in deep thought.
The other three members – mainly just Kaz and Riku – watched as Seth's eyes widened. Why was another question. Silence consumed the group until the two males could no longer contain their curiosity.
"Is it that far away?" Kaz asked.
"Triangle!" Seth gasps as he pointed at the map repetitively.
"Yeah … the triangles are mountains …" Kaz spoke, a little concerned for his friend as he tried to pull the map out of his grasp.
"Triangle!" Seth gasped again as he slapped Kaz's hands away and began to dig through his bag, "Why the hell didn't I realize this sooner! The triangle is a mountain! Nero lives in the mountains!!"
"…" Riku and Kaz remained silent as they tried to soak in Seth's random information so early in the morning, and – oddly enough – Jetta was the first to understand.
"The note …" Jetta spoke, "Nero's last note had a triangle …"
"And that triangle represents a mountain!" Seth concluded.
"Yeah but, what mountain?" Kaz questioned.
"What about the other note? Yellow …" Riku mused, "Is there a mountain with 'yellow' in its name?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Seth muttered.
"Maybe it's a mountain with a certain type of tree growing on it that turns yellow before the frost season?" Jetta suggested.
"Or maybe … his favorite color is yellow, and you all are just thinking a little too hard," Kaz commented with a small snort.
"Shut up, Kaz!" Seth growled.
Jetta chuckled as she smiled warmly at Seth, "I don't think I've ever seen you this excided over something, Seth."
"I can't help it … That damn triangle has been haunting me for the past month!" Seth sighed
"Question!" Kaz intruded, "If Nero is somewhere in the mountains then should we really be heading that way?"
"But what are the chances of him actually being in Treston?" Seth retorted.
"I don't know … A small town that not many people know of … Sounds like the perfect place to put a secret hideout," Kaz stated, "I mean, if I were some crazy killer that's where I'd go."
"You have to admit he has a point, Seth," Riku commented, "Is there some other place we can go that's like Treston just not so close to the mountains?"
Seth scanned over his map in silence for a moment before giving his answer, "Well, right now we're pretty much in the middle of nowhere so it's going to be a few days before we get to another town anyway, but I think our best bet would be in Ryver. It's three – maybe four – days away, and it's just on the edge of the forest so it should be safe."
"'Should' doesn't give me a lot of confidence, Seth," Kaz muttered.
"We're being hunted by followers, Kaz! You can't get any better than 'should," Seth spat before tossing the map in Kaz's face, "If you think you can do better then go for it!"
Kaz stared at the map for a moment before letting out a sigh and handing it back to Seth, "I think I'll just let you be the navigator."
"Too much work?" Jetta questioned, giving her friend a smug smile because she knew she was right.
"Nah … Seth just knows the lay of the land better than I do," Kaz replied, "It's like it speaks to him or something …"
"I've just traveled more than you have."
"Same thing …"
Seth rolled his icy eyes before lifting himself from the ground, "We should head out. We have a lot of traveling ahead of us."
"Like always," Kaz replied with a snort as he tossed the core of his fruit to the side before grabbing his bag, "Ryver! Here we come!"
"Good going, Kaz," Jetta spat, "Announce our travel destination to the world." Kaz, however, only shot his friend a smile before following after Seth, leaving Jetta and Riku behind to quickly catch up.
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Somehow, three days turned into five, no thanks to the weather. By the middle of their forth day of traveling they were forced to seek shelter from a surprise storm that – quite literally – came from nowhere. That night they spent huddled under a large tree … until some time later one of the neighboring trees was struck down by lightning. That was about the time they decided to change locations.
After running through the rain for another hour they came across a nice dry area at the edge of a steep hill where a few rocks were jutting out from the side, creating a little ledge for the four to hide under. It was cramped, with barely any room for two people, but once Jetta had been forced into Riku's lap there proved to be enough room for everyone.
Riku, of course, didn't complain about the seating arrangement considering he had Jetta right where he wanted her. But – of course – Jetta wasn't happy with the fact that it was cramped enough as it was and then being on Riku's lap caused her head to bump the rocky ceiling above every time he adjusted himself. However, the girl was easily silenced the moment Riku's lips made contact with the back of her neck. By then she was too embarrassed to say anything else as Seth groaned and turned his back to the two so he didn't have to watch and Kaz … well Kaz was just being Kaz.
"Kaz! Will you please stop?!" Jetta growled as she glared beams of death at the boy as he continued to do nothing but stare; watching the two intensely as Riku's lips traveled down her bare neck.
"I'm not doing anything," Kaz lamely stated.
This time it was Riku's turn to glare. He was now becoming irritated by Kaz's stare, but knew exactly how to stop it. Without even lifting his lips from the nook of Jetta's neck, Riku created a small barrier and used it to shove Kaz out of their dry hideaway and back into the rain.
"Not cool!" Kaz shouted as he scurried back into place, "That was uncalled for, Riku …"
"It's rude to stare …" Riku stated before playfully licking the water droplets from Jetta's neck, earning a satisfying giggle from the girl in response.
"Man-whore …" Kaz spat before he followed Seth's actions and turned his back on the two.
However, once the attention had been drawn away from the two Riku's actions slowly came to a halt – much to Jetta's dismay. He adjusted himself one final time beneath Jetta, as he pulled her body back into his chest and loosely draped his arms around her waist. Jetta then adjusted herself as well as she relaxed within Riku's embrace, welcoming the warmth of his body heat against her own as she quickly drifted off to sleep. Riku soon found himself falling asleep as well, but it felt as if the moment he finally fell asleep was the same moment he was awakened by voices.
"I thought you said they went this way?" A feminine voice spat.
"They did go this way!" A male voice confirmed, "I saw them!"
Riku froze as his heart began to pound. 'More followers?' He assumed as he quickly scanned over his companions, finding them all resting peacefully. 'Wasn't someone supposed to be keeping watch last night?!'
"Well, I don't see them anywhere."
"They have to be around here somewhere ..." The male spoke, "Perhaps they continued to that town … Ryver? It's only two more hours away. If we hurry we can probably catch them leaving an inn."
"Good thinking, Dy," The woman replied as she jumped down from the ledge above and landed right in front of Riku.
'Dy …' Riku remembered that name as he protectively tightened his arms around Jetta's sleeping form; thanking the heavens the woman couldn't see them in their two feet high hideaway. Then again, he could use this moment to his advantage. One swift strike across the back of the woman's ankles and she would be unable to move. But then that would blow their cover, and no one else was ready to fight this early in the morning. That was about the time that fate decided his next move for him.
"Ri—" Riku quickly covered Jetta's mouth.
"What was that?"
"What?" Dy questioned as he jumped down from the ledge and landed in front of Seth's sleeping form.
"I thought I heard something …" The woman stated.
"Once again, Nadia, it's all in your head …" Dy sighed before letting out a small yelp as Nadia's fist slammed into a random body part with a vivid 'smack.'
By this time, Jetta was wide awake and clutching the front of Riku's shirt. She couldn't help but wonder how Dy had found backup so quickly, or how they caught up to them so fast. Jetta wasn't ready to start another battle. Her wound from the last one still hadn't fully healed yet. So maybe … just maybe, if they remained silent and motionless the two of them would continue on. Unfortunately, that was an idealistic thought. Dy was the first to scan the area as he leaned down to pear under the rock, only to receive a boot in the face.
Nadia gasped as Dy was sent tumbling down the remainder of the steep hill. Little did she know that just a second later she would be following her comrade when a second boot kicked her knees and sent her stumbling head first down the hill. Jetta's sudden movements managed to wake the other boys from their sleep as they all quickly crawled out from their cramped hole with swords drawn.
"I found them …" Dy groaned as he slowly lifted himself from the ground, only to be kicked back down again by Nadia.
"Whatever," Nadia hissed as she dusted herself off before eyeing the group, "So which two are we after?"
"The blonde and the silver-haired boy," Dy replied.
"That's all I need to know …" Nadia spoke as she unclipped a whip weaved of leather from her belt before rushing back up the hill.
Despite Nadia's frail frame she was still built for athletics. That was made painfully apparent as she charged up the steep hill at fill force making it look as if she were running across flat ground. Her whip uncoiled as she lashed out at her targets, but it was easily blocked by Seth's sword. Nadia snarled as the end of her whip wrapped around the young man's blade as she gave it a powerful tug, yanking Seth's body forward and sending him sliding down the hill on his belly. Luckily for Seth he wasn't a target, otherwise he would have been wide open for an attack as he slid past the woman.
Kaz didn't even receive the chance to interfere as Nadia's whip wrapped around his left ankle. With a simple tug he was following after Seth down the hill on his ass. The two collided at the bottom of the hill seconds later in a heap of limbs. Riku then sprang forward in an attempt to catch the woman off guard, only to fail miserably when his foot slipped on the dew covered grass. He tried to swipe at Nadia's legs as he passed, but he wasn't close enough and only managed to slice through air. However, a few feet down the hill he managed to run into Dy. Riku dug his heels into the earth in an attempt to slow his descent to the bottom as he blocked Dy's random sword swings, and when he was finally out of Dy's reach Riku hurled the Soul Eater at the young man as a last resort. But Dy easily blocked it before he continued his way up to where Nadia and Jetta stood.
"That's a pretty little scar you have there," Nadia spoke as she stepped forward.
Jetta lashed out with her sword, but her wrist was quickly captured within Nadia's hand. Curling her hand into a fist, Jetta tried another method of attack, but the woman caught it just like the first. Jetta was trapped as the woman pushed her body against the rock as she leaned in just a tad too close for Jetta's taste. However, now that the woman was so close, Jetta could clearly see the many scars upon her young face. Stitched gashes and scars covered her milky skin, and it didn't stop at her face. In fact, they littered her body.
"Can I give you more?" Nadia whispered into Jetta's ear, sending shivers of terror down the young girl's spine.
Nadia then ripped the sword from Jetta's hand and tossed it to the ground before grasping the frozen girl by her scrawny neck. Her hold was strong as Jetta gagged for air while clawing at Nadia's arms, only adding to the many scars that trailed up her arm. She smiled a menacing smile at the girl, fully enjoying her fruitless attempts at escape. And that was the last thing Jetta saw before she lost consciousness … Nadia's toothy grin.
"My job's done …" Nadia spat as she turned, Jetta still in her solid hold, "To bad I can't say the same for you …"
"If it's so easy for you then why don't you handle the boy," Dy snapped.
"I suppose I should have expected as much from you," Nadia hissed as she tossed Jetta's limp body into Dy's chest before dashing down the hill.
Before Riku even realized it, Nadia was literally upon him as she snapped her whip around the young boy's neck. Riku glared at the woman as he summoned the Soul Eater within his grasp and swung at the woman, but it was easily blocked by her arm. She smiled while the blade dug into her skin before she licked the blood that trickled down her arm. Had Riku not been trying to obtain air he would have been stunted by the woman's actions, but his will to fight back quickly knocked him out of any kind of trance.
Riku then struggled to free the hold her whip had around his neck as he coughed for air, but Nadia wasn't going to let him get away so easily. The whip was dropped as she lashed out at the silver-haired teen with a flurry of punches before landing a solid kick into his gut. The leather rope was tightened once again after that … and soon Riku joined Jetta in a world of darkness.
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Riku's black abyss slowly began to dissipate as he awoke from his incapacitated state. Aqua eyes sparkled in the darkness of the room as they scanned the surrounding area. It was a cold and dark room illuminated by a single torch just outside of his cell. On the other side of the bars. 'Where am I?' Riku questioned himself as he tried to recall past events, but his memories were clouded. He remembered the two followers … and fighting them off … and … Riku's eyes widened as everything came back to him.
"Good Morning, Riku," A dark voice spoke as a figure leaned out from the shadows and hovered over Riku's battered form, "Sleep well?"
"W-who are you?!" Riku quickly demanded.
"Call me … Nero."
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is not mine … and that includes Riku Replica … (sobs)
Claimer: Anything not in the Kingdom Hearts games is mine! Yay!
Hikari: Once again I must apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I've been so busy preparing for school and working on other things that I barely had time to work on the story. Not only that but in my attempts to think up new ideas I've managed to come up with other ideas that have nothing to do with this story. (sobs) I really hate my mind sometimes. However, as I was trying to type up this chapter I found myself starting on the next three chapters, so they are already 1/4 of the way done. XP See my problem is that I have many "plot dots" ((as my friend calls them)) but no lines to connect them, and that's what's slowing me down. Damn you lines!! sighs And I was trying to work so hard to get this chapter out Friday because I made it a personal goal to finish it this week … (coughs) and I almost made it too … (mumbles) Time just wasn't on my side …
Anyway, I'm done with my rant. Sorry again for the late update. Review if you must … n.n;;
