So...I havent uploaded for...a long long time...its getting longer i think in between...honestly...i am so happy i can upload this so...yay!! whoo!! okie. this is pretty uninteresting till the end and Ruka's POV is honest to god funny, Mikan's sarcastic with a capital S! so...ready for the action? the next chap is...uh...right...The God's Slaughter...so...have fun!! whooo!!! I will pro'bly upload...a month from now if im really lazy...so in advance, Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rat!! ooo...and happy valentine's Day!!
The First Time In Many Many Many Chapters/Stories
Me Dedicate This To...
Drumroll
RAINYPROMISE!!
THANK YOU FOR INTO YOU, I GO
BUT FOR PROPRIETY'S SAKE!!
UPDATE EXODUS! PLEASE!!!!
Note: The Author has recently consumed three cans of caffeine (Coca-cola) in one day so any screaming, yelling, shouting, laughing hysterically, flailing of arms and/or waving is warned of. Please do not panic...WHOO!!
ONTO THE STORY!!
(PEOPLE! I HAVE ADDED MORE THE CHAPTER!! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT! WHOOOOo!!!)
What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?
(I'm not okay)
I told you time and time again you sing the words but don't know what they mean
(I'm not okay)
So be a joke and look, another line without a hook
I held you close as we both shook for the last time take a good hard look!
I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance
Chapter 9: Holy Shit
The calm before the storm.
Many welcomed the relative peace that surrounded the Academy, the old routine which would never be the same. The darkness that'd tainted the pristine reputation of the institution was forever a danger to their lives. The whispers of a second War was on the lips of every student, the gossips becoming more terrorized with every repeat. The very foundation of their life was shaken to the core. The higher-ups were quiet, ordering no students to venture into the administrative building.
Meanwhile, Sakura Mikan was in the gossipers' spotlight. She was constantly the object of torture among the students, the junior and senior. But she was never around to listen to their complains. She was in the forests, the faint clang of metal resounding if you went close enough. I watched, as usual, as she attacked Aki again and again. I worried for Miura and Dalta. No word had been sent since…three weeks ago.
"Too slow!" she called out as she tapped the ornate sword against his knee. "I've just castrated you! Your age is no boundary, Tsukaima! Remember the Wars! The charlatan won't allow you time to simply plan his and your moves. He'll kill you the first chance he gets." They clashed together like wildcats, a new fury set in, their swords clanging the loudest sound the whole day.
Sakura still had that look that dictated her ease with commanding her weapon. It sang of her skill, the familiarity of swinging the weapon that had long been the trademark of the Janus assassins to wield, the symbol of their centuries on the planet. She fought brilliantly, no signs of difficulty on her face. Tsukaima, however, had a new determination in his eyes. A wild look of anticipation and ferocity had plastered itself onto his face. I watched as ferocity and skill took over their fight, grace weaved into their footsteps.
I didn't know from where Tsukaima had produced the two ornate swords from, but Sakura had been clearly satisfied., twirling the hilt and blade around as though it weighed no more than a feather would. "Eighteenth century?" was the only thing she asked, to which she received a nod. She swung it in the air and caught it again, a feat which caused me to not even bat an eyelash. You didn't have to see it to believe it when it came to Sakura Mikan. You knew and that's the end of it.
A week after the rescue mission and I hadn't seen Sakura stop training at all, besides when she slept, ate, or showered. She seemed to have an endless bounty of energy. Then again, so did the rest of us. The reserves of energy we had would lasts us for three days without sleep. I wasn't even really sure if Sakura was actually sleeping or working during the night. That cheer she had was nearly all gone, the barest glimpse of it after the rescue of Hyuuga and before the assassin's attack. She getting tired, sick and possibly be dying. I remembered the red veins climbing up her arm, a sign of the NightSnake poison, slowly killing her. It was slow in effect but it did its job. But the training, I knew, was done for three things. To ensure she would live to see another dawn and more to come; to make sure she had enough to end everything, and in avoidance of her friends.
She had never hurt anyone of them, not a single head of an Academy student nor a child, no one who wasn't an adult. Yet, she hid from the world, the pain of her unwanted past stinging like salt rubbed into a wound, practicing, training, refining, working, as if she hadn't done all that years ago, continuing the sweat when it should have stopped. She never hung out with them since returning from Shikoku, the future seeming bleaker to her. She avoided Hyuuga especially, as if he were the plague.
"More ferocity, Tsukaima!" I heard her call out. I sighed. She'd refined her skills; now she worked to refine that of others. "They ain't gonna be soft on you, so give me all you've got! If you lose to me, you have less a chance of killing the Janus troops! But if you draw with me, you have a very good chance of surviving!" Then, just as he was improving, gaining a chance of beating me, Raion, four places below Sakura, he made that one fatal mistake, the one she'd been trained and made famous for deflecting, never being beaten by such a move, a last resort of the desperate, an act of fear.
He charged his sword against her.
I saw the fury and disappointment light up in her eyes before she drew her stance. She twirled her sword in her hand, and clashed it with his charging point. Twisting her arm back, she sent Tsukaima's sword flying out of his hand, throwing out of range and it landed in the ground, the hilt protruding upwards. She held her sword point to his throat. She traced the point down all the way to his heart, the metal barely grazing his clothes and skin. "Never charge, attack, nor slander me or Janus without a battle plan, unless you have a death wish!" she yelled, her voice growing louder with ever word. "We can disarm you in our sleep if need be with that move coming at us." She glared menacingly. "I've killed thousands who have been foolish enough or desperate enough to attempt such a suicidal move.
She slide her hands down to the pommel of her sword, trusting the blade into the soil. With her newly acquired cutlass she obtained from a Forging Alice and a strange katana she'd brought with her since Janus all those years ago, she turned and began to walk home, fury settled in her eyes and spirit, then she stopped walking and a breeze gently ruffled her hair and the green, green grass of the glen. "But all in all…you'll survive, I suppose. Just don't expect to beat me or Janus. I leave the demise of Hirazuki Idare as the priority number one to you." Then, she disappeared beyond the bend.
"She has many faces, that Sakura," I commented thoughtfully, imagining the small smile that had played itself demurely on her face. I continued watched the bend, as if she would suddenly appear and return, a smile rather than a blank face in hand. "One minute, I see the lost little girl of four years old, looking for a way in life and the next, a fiery warrior with no mercy to spare. Then, she is a strategy-genius and a Warmaster, the one with the peace and calm of an undiscovered lake, later, a bubbly girl, ecstatic with life, smiling sunshine. I feel like…we'll never know who she is really."
"She's hiding something, Raion," I heard. I swirled around to also see Aki Tsukaima watching the bend forlornly, wondering. "There's something she's not telling us…" He turned to me. "And you know what it is." I stared back at him and contemplated to speak what I knew. I stopped myself a whisker away. I turned and began trudging away. I apologized solemnly in my heart for the lies that had set the world spinning.
--,--,--,--,
The training for me did not stop after that tussle with Aki. True enough, his strength was growing, but not enough to kill anyone of a higher rank than Hirazuki Idare. His inability to control his emotions-passion, contrariness, humanity, anger, rage, despair-was a weak flaw in his actions. Raion was growing anxious. The fact that Dalta and Miura hadn't contacted anyone in nearly a month was distracting in itself.
But something still bugged me to the brink of reason…
The incorrigible notion that they could and would kill him by simply shooting him with a Cobalt or a .48 or else by gutting him with a simple sword had me nearly shrieking in exasperation. The cockiness was seriously getting to me. As I headed towards the archery grounds, I felt about of exhaustion slam into me, nearly sending me to my knees.
I didn't sleep anymore. At least not like a normal human. Which I definitely wasn't. the most I lay unconscious for was for two or three hours, and even then, I didn't sleep the peaceful, silent sleep of the exhausted. No, I abhorred sleeping. Especially when the nightmares came to haunt me. The images of a haunting ebony liquid filled my mind, the pain of a pressure against my chest, the horrendous hours of the changing of my body kept me trapped in the one place I couldn't escape from: my mind. I woke up, sweaty, flashes of memory of that night, snatches of pain that I still remembered, my year old mind growing to the intelligence of a genius.
I watched as the wind ruffled the grass, slowly lifting my hair, the long locks in disarray. I never really like my hair that way. The long locks always reminded me of him, always teasing me about how I looked like a china doll. He forbade me from cutting my hair and I detested the fact that even when I was no longer a Janus operative, I continued that order. No more. I wasn't going to be a plaything for anyone. I am my own person. I would swear to that.
--,--,--,--,
We had an audience. And Sakura was clenching her fists around her hilt, muttering swears and curses. We'd been fighting as usual, this time me using a pair of knives and her, a spear. She breathed a sigh of frustration and launched her attack. "I don't care," I heard. Kokoroyomi stood a few feet away, watching the lithe form of Sakura jump into the air for her attack. "If this is the only way to show them I am too dangerous for them to let me stay here, then I'll do it." I was vaguely aware of my widened eyes as I lifted my arm to block the spear.
"Don't do this, Sakura," I heard myself growl. "You can't force them to see the lies as the truth."
"What lies?" she demanded as she charged to gut my leg. She failed but grazed my left elbow when I parried the attack. "It's true. I'm a monster. You've seen how I can effectively kill a man with nothing but a toothpick! So, why lie to them and just act subdued? They'll come to their senses if you won't!"
I felt the swords fly out of my hand but before I felt her sword poking me, telling me of my defeat, I heard a different clash of metals. I opened my closed eyes and found Hyuuga kneeling in front of me, a calm gaze pointed at Sakura. In his hand, the dagger that had blocked my utter embarrassment was holding the spear at bay. "Hold it, Polkadots…you don't really want to kill him, now?"
"Of course not, Hyuuga," she snarled (!!!!!). "I just had utter humiliation of the highest order in mind. But what the hell are you doing here." By the looks of it, from my angle on the ground, he was smirking. "You had something to do with this crowd, don't you, Hyuuga?"
"Of course," he said, mimicking her earlier phrase. "I was wondering if the infamous Monster Mikan would have a duel with me. Unless she's too afraid to lose?"
"Don't bet your money on it, Natsume-chan," she said, ferociously using the suffix Persona had dubbed him with, sending him into spirals of rage. "I think you're hoping I'll back down since you're the one who's afraid of losing."
"Fine, so five minutes in the dance quad?"
"Make it fifteen, you've got a duel," she said. "I've got to get something in my weaponry, I mean, room," she quickly amended, never missing a beat. "And some…precautions so I don't…hurt you too much. Later, Hyuuga. Run away if you want. I won't call you a coward, since you aren't one, that much I remember." She picked up her spear and swept away, creating a ridge in the crowd of students, all of which were gazing in awe at her, never seeing such prowess in anyone besides Natsume.
"I guess I ticked her off," said person with a shrug. "Didn't seem to take a lot to set her off today."
"She's…pissed at the crowd you concocted. I mean…dude, what you do? Put an add in the newspaper?" Raion explained. "But considering the circumstances, I think her anger's justified. I mean, they're not supposed to know. Don't you think that a campus-wide panic would happen if they did know?"
He just shrugged and smirked. Does the dope have some kind of…jaded, I-don't-care-about-the-school thing? "By the way, did she say she was preparing so she wouldn't hurt me too much?"
"Yeah, I think she did." At his rolled eyes, I sighed. "Believe it or not, Hyuuga, she wasn't really trying just now. Those attacks? Yeah, they're like riding a bike to her; a natural instinct. She can kill easily…remember when we rescued you? Yeah, that orange colour of her eyes was a sign she has less mercy than most then. She has this thing the Halogen did to her than strengthened her to a four year-old's capacity of body and a thirty-year old genius so, she's practically in human now."
"Wait, so she's like…twenty now?" he asked, somewhat amusingly alarmed.
"No," I answered. "Her age is the same…just the maturity level is…high. She said when she reached the age of four, her chronological clock began ticking properly. She's still sixteen so you still have plenty of similarities between you and your girlfriend." I heard him grit out a she's-not-my-girlfriend denial. Typical.
"Hey, Tsukaima," Raion called. I turned to him and he was fairly curious and alarmed. "Just then, did she say…weaponry?"
Holy shit.
--,--,--,
I trailed after Sakura after she pulled on my hand to follow her. I thought I was coincidence that I was the person she'd chosen to ask to come along. I saw that sad look in her eyes as we walked towards (oddly) the direction of Narumi-sensei's house. She walked brusquely, not caring where she walked, not that it mattered. Just as Narumi-sensei's house came into view, she snapped.
"Who does he think he is?!" she snapped. She practically kicked the door open and walked past a grinning Narumi, muttering a soft hello and went back into hellion mode. She whirled on me. "I mean, do I look as if I want to hurt him? NO! Because, if I could, I'd would rather be six feet under and blissfully be uncaring about the world! Tell me, Koko, what do you think I am?"
I gaped at her and recomposed myself. Of all I knew of her now, her past, her pains, her aches, I knew what she was and then some. "I think…you've been used. I know it's sappy and cliché…but honestly…I understand. I didn't go through your entire life and not get anything from it, you know." I saw tears welling up in her eyes and she hugged me.
"Thanks, Koko," she whispered. "I'm sorry for all I've done…so sorry."
I patted her comfortingly on the back. "It's okay. Well, we better get ready. You wanna kick the sense out of Hyuuga's ass right?" She smiled and wiped the tears with her sleeve.
"Right. I'll show him…not to cross my orders. Meanwhile, I've got to get Saiorsei." I looked at her funny and she smiled as if to say 'it will all be revealed in time'. I followed her to the back of the house, out to the yard. She pressed her palm into a carving on an oak tree and the carving revealed to be a sort of depression. Shock was the first thing that came to mind. Metal walls sprang up all over the backyard, creating a maze of sorts. The oddest thing was, weapons of all sorts were strapped, chained, tied, hooked, displayed and encased on the wall.
Geez…talk about paranoid.
"Koko, welcome to my domain of weapons," she said, with a sweeping bow, a playfulness I hadn't seen for a long time. "Raion transferred all my old weapons from the headquarters here so I could be prepared. Feel free to look but don't touch unless you want to be castrated or something." She disappeared behind three walls.
I had to admit, it was definitely…spectacular. I saw three types of bows, forty arrows (I counted), four dozen types of guns (those I also counted), six maces, those buzzer thingies that police use, fifty types of daggers, ten kegs of poison…and…
…a whole section devoted to three hundred types of swords! (Okay, those, I read from the sign in front of the hall of swords, as I call it.) I found Sakura there amongst the very pointy, sharp, pain-inducing, deadly swords. Not a comfort I assure you. Holding a mahogany box, she smiled wistfully at the katana that lay inside. It was old, an etching of a moon and sun on the blade.
"Lunar's Light," I breathed, recalling the sword from my memory banks…or rather, her memory banks. Lunar's Light was the translation of Saiorsei from ancient Welsh.
"Yeah," she said. "It saved my life all those years ago. Thank God…Maki found it for me." She glanced at the empty hooks in a very obvious place of honour. "The God's Slaughter. I need to find it…soon." She took Lunar's Light and headed out of the maze with accuracy.
We headed towards the quad…
…where three hundred cheering students sat.
The man smirked as the gleaming orb in his hand glowed a silvery white. The imaginary, legendary and every other -ary sword was right in his grasp, that fool gypsy with the Sight his blessing. He thanked his stars for all the luck he's been bestowed. Then again, he'd thank them even more if they'd handed him his Hemorrhage on a silver platter. But if they did that, it take out all the fun of the chase. So, he'd bide his time.
"Hirazuki!" he barked. The suave, handsome boy of seventeen waltzed into the room. The man threw the ball towards the him. "Get the Slaughter. I want it back here in a week or don't bother coming back here unless you want yourself on the rack or castrated. And...if Sakura shows up...tell her...I'm patiently waiting for whatever she throws at me. And pray...that whatever she throws at me be good. Wouldn't want my best student failing right?"
The man could see the rage of being second to her rage in his eyes. But the obedience thumped into his self was in control. For now. Hirazuki smiled, the falsehood clear as day. "Yes, sir, certainly wouldn't."
"Right. Now go. Remember...seven days."
Hirazuki placed his palm on his heart and bowed. He disappeared through the doorway, rage filling him.
TT … TT…TT (BDW, This 'TT' refers to the look of Tamaki's Bear-chan from Ouran so look out for it! it basically means that...that person is annoyed...hehe...remember!)
She was twitching. I could see it every time the H.N.R.N.F.C. (Hyuuga Natsume and Ruka Nogi Fan Club) went, "Go Natsume-sama! You can kick Sakura's ass!" I will not say it's not…admirable, their devotion, I mean. But I will say, I don't exactly disagree with her. I mean, considering how I'm not going out with Hotaru, they'd at least leave me out of the name! And…I wholeheartedly am with her. I mean, it's just down right creepy how they say that phrase over and over again in perfect synchronisation, never missing a beat, never having leftover voices later!
Weird much?
Anyway, I watched as Natsume stood in the quad's solid cement ground and, although I am his best friend, prayed that Sakura would go easy on him. I mean, you don't get the image of yourself being castrated and have that act be called pie in front of you! I will and forever will be Natsume's best friend but this match…was just plain stupid. I mean, she's practically born to kill. However, she is my friend, so I call her skill so damn, totally cool. But I am saying that was a complete nutso idea because I care for his wellbeing.
So, as Natsume twirled his normal sword around like it was a feather. I felt a little better now, recalling how good he was. Koko stepped in between the two, each a good five feet from said mind reader. "Okay, duel is three out of five. So you two okay? Right. Get ready!" Natsume grasped the hilt in a ready stance. Mikan just stood there, her katana in her hand, no signs of preparation. "GO!"
Natsume began moving, charging really, towards her, point forward. I heard Tsukaima shout from somewhere, "Bad strategy man!" Mikan visibly smiled at the prospect. She lifted her sword hand and it…ignited with fire.
Holy shit.
Natsume was definitely toast.
I watched as she easily caught the blade of Natsume's sword and twisted it back. The sword flew out of his hand, but she just flew towards him, using her leg to kick him back, not too hard, but merely to throw him to the opposite side where she'd originally been, sprawled on the ground. "Round one…Sakura!"
A round of cheers went round amongst the boys. Much to Hotaru's and my chagrin.
This went on (charging and flinging) till round three. He managed-barely, mind you-to cast her onto the ground. So…finally it was two to one. One more and Sakura would win. Then, I saw Hotaru smirking. I asked her what was up. "She's not trying," she said. I looked closely from my seat on the bench near the quad. As a matter of fact, she was right. On Mikan's face, there was a smirk of pure triumph, nothing to show she was angry. She was playing it close. The next thing I knew, she threw the next round too. So, it was two to two. There was barely a bead of sweat on her face, the definite contrast of my best friend's.
Round three.
OMG!
She stood there and leaped into the air. It was like…she was there… then he wasn't. she was behind him and with that orange gleam in her eyes, she held the blade to his throat. And whispered something I could only hear with the help of Hotaru's Listening Transmitter. "I never lose to anyone but Janus, Hyuuga." She let him slide to the ground…and the three hundred spectators went up in a cheer.
She let the fire (!!) fade and walked away with Kokoroyomi. She stopped when Raion came running to her. He seemed to babble to her something we couldn't hear, having been way out of range. Her eyes seemed to widen and she grasped the hilt of her katana as if it were her life line…
…and took off running with Raion and Koko towards Tsukaima's office.
Naturally, the three of us followed diligently.
Two hands came slamming onto my desk. I was mildly surprised. I knew this was coming…but that fast? I really shouldn't underestimate the speed of these Janus operatives/rebels/refugees. To my right, was Koko, leaving the duel earlier after Raion had explained it to him. He'd come with all haste, only to be halted into waiting.
"Where is it, Tsukaima?!" she demanded. "Where is The God's Slaughter?!!"
"Nagoya Prefecture," I said calmly, just as Imai, Nogi and Hyuuga rushed in after.
Sakura promptly turned grey.
Beside me, Kokoroyomi swore.
"Holy shit."
I walked through the dimly lit halls of the Janus operative building. I had heard just about the most heart-killing news f the night. They'd found the God's Slaughter and three of the top operative were being sent to the scene of Nagoya Prefecture's northern mountains. I'd sent a missive to the rebels in the Academy to warn them of the discovery. It was more or less the twin of the sword Janus had hanging in his office. Everything we'd worked for would crumble if the twins were reunited.
More or less, I was worried about the other rebels; Dalta and Kaitou were overseeing the process of slowing the operatives down with Dalta's gift of magic. I, on the other was on the way to gather more information. The movements of Hirazuki Idare had been strange. Sakura had asked me to keep an eye one him, said person being the main target of asssassination after Janus. We'd been tracking him for days, ensuring he would walk right into Sakura's path...his distruction. I'd moved briskly to the room where the visitor I'd requested a meeting with a week ago waited. Knowing my plan worked, everyone else would think he was just a mere informant. He was much more than that.
In the dark inquisition room where no spoken word would escape, a man in a dark cloak sat, patiently waiting. His face was sheathed in a pure white mask, the black ice looking at me, a preadator's. Persona was the definite brother of Janus. Both using names of well-known charactars, their names seemed to strike fear into the very hearts of men. He sat on the cool metal chair, feet crossed and steaming cup of tea in front of him. Even sitting like that, he was a fearful adversary. "I need you to tell them that the Janus operatives are moving into the mountains of the north in a week. Leading them," he said, "You must tell Sakura this as it is seriously important. You have to tell her Hirazuki Idare is leading them there."
"Lovely," he answered in that oily voice of his, "I've been reduced to a snivelling messenger. Fine. But, Shikita? I have some information for you. In the event of when I die, I need to give you the information of the secret. Yes, I know it's late, but better late than never right? Right." He leaned towards me and whispered a lilting song. "Earth, wind, water, fire, spirit and soul. All will be nothing to the skin of the Immortal. Thus is the life of the cursed and blessed, never to know the paradise of the world. The price of the painless lives is eternal bondage to the charlatans; the Sinners, the Beginners of the Immortals. Should the larger price be paid, the freedom returned. But the price is heavy. For one life to be free…both must sacrifice the object they crave..."
"What the heck does that mean?"
"You'll figure it out soon enough," he said. Out of his palms, black fog similar to Janus's began whirling around him. "Meanwhile, I must go and write out my epitaph. How's this? Beloved sensei to Natsume-chan, fantastic sorcerer of Dark Arts, Brother to a Egocentric Idiot. I quite like it. What do you think? "
"I think it's rather...much for a deluded moron such as your self," I said flippantly. By then, he was disappearing into his fog, the cruel sound of his amused laugh languidly punchuating the air with a depressing humour. What the hell did that riddle mean?
A/N: You know, i never get tired of that song...play it while Mikan is fighting with Natty...it seriously coolio...ooo...since i dun get to dance around like crazy coz they'll think its nuts im doing that...i will be happy with your reviews! hinthint..hehe...
