The last story that will end the endurance trilogy: )
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 9: an endurance story 3 - Suffering
The pain that I feel inside is slowly eating away my heart, devouring it bit by bit that all that remains is the hollowness within...this pain is slowly robing me of each happy moment piece by piece until the only thing left is the sad and bitter truth...
The truth that I have seen with my own eyes, and the reality that has been thrust upon me till each ounce of freedom is gone, and the life that I once lead unreturnable...
All my sorrow began with the truth...
- entry number 193, Joel's diary, Joel the 5th
And so the story began anew as the next generation opened the dread Diary...whose words are written with the blood of the Red Shield...of the Joel line...and of that person that began it all...and once again innocence is laid waste by the crushing reality of mortality and eternity...
She closed the diary, a slow fear gripped at her heart...the fear of the life that was a lie, and the fear of the life she would have to lead...She looked at her father with a question hidden behind her blurred eyes...and all her emotions welled up within her, threatening to burst out...
Kai cast his eyes to the floor...he could not bear it...seeing the pain that his daughters had to face...
Not again...
"Why didn't you tell us?!?!?!?!?"
Kai looked up at Kaya...her eyes were swollen with the many tears gushing from her crimson eyes like fountains of her precious blood that came from her pierced heart...
"Why did you wait so long to tell us?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Kaya screamed frantically...
"What was that thing? That chirap-chirop-chi whatever!!!!!Why was it after me and Hisa? What are we? Are we human? Animal? Or something else? And why did..." Kaya chocked on her tears...
"Why did Auntie Saya kill our mother?!?!?!? Aren't they sisters? It wasn't mom's fault that she was like that!!!!!"
Kai shook his head...
What words of comfort could he give them...? What words would heal the wounds that they have suffered because of their ignorance and because of his unwillingness to tell them the story...?
"I-I hate you!!!!!!!!!"
Kai clentched his fist and gritted his teeth as Kaya ran out of the door, and into the oblivion of the night...
"Why dad?" came a soft murmur
Kai looked at Hisa who had sunk to the ground, silver tears running down her face...
Kai approached her and stroked her head...
"Oh Hisa..."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaya sat on the footsteps of the Omoro...she rocked back and forth and in her arms was the diary...She looked up at the night sky...a single rain drop fell from above...
"Even the sky is crying..."
She buried her face in her lap...all her life she had been told a lie...she looked at the diary once more...and slowly she opened it...
Suffering...this world is full of suffering...and my heart grieves at such things, that these things are here, and all this evil has come to be in this world...but how could I think like this...? After all they are living beings too...
Can they feel pain? Can they feel anger? Can they feel love?
When they slaughter a child in cold blood, do they feel?
So much sorrow...But as I dispair...the sun rises on the horizon...and in it I can see the future... a wonderful future that is worth fighting for...
- entry number 194, Joel's Diary, Joel the 5th
A rain drop falls on the word future...and Kaya closes the diary, thinking to herself...
Do I have a future in this life?
Heavy rain started to pound on her slim form, and the wind stung her eyes...but she didn't close her eyes, forcing herself to look for tomorrow...to look for a hope that she could not see...
"Too late for a mignight stroll don't you think?"
Kaya looked above...
"May I sit down with you?"
Kai sat down beside Kaya...
"Go away..." she said turning her head from him...
Kai sighed...
"Nankurunaisa..."
Kaya looked at her father...
Kai's eyes shone brightly as he looked up at the slowly clearing sky...
"Live today and smile tomorrow...If you live to the fullest, looking forward to tomorrow, things will work out..."
Kai took his daughter into a fierce embrace...
"Kaya...I understand...I understand that this was too much for you, that I know you think that the truth may hurt. But the why is it called truth for nothing? Because the truth is meant to set you free, Hey hey I know that it's over rated but, it gives you light, and you finally understand the secret things thathave been hidden behind the masks..."
Kaya faced Kai...
"But i'm scared...what's going to happen to us now?"
Kai smiled and put his hand on Kaya's cheek ...
"Everyone gets scared, even I get scared...But the point is not that you're scared, it's how you start to become brave as you face your fears..."
Kaya rested her head on Kai's shoulder...
"Is there still hope for us daddy?"
Kai nodded...
"Look at the last page of the Diary..."
To all those who may happen to read this Diary, some words of Hope...
The contents of this journal may seem dark, and filled with suffering and pain, but also, we can find hope, in the words behind letters and sentences...
Let us always remember that after suffering there is something else...
Peace...
This world, this goodness is what we are fighting for...
and when ever you feel discouraged, look to these words...
"Dare to step on a thousand needles, dare to hold a thousand knives, dare to tread the road of suffering...the treasure's much more than you'll find...For after all these toils and pains, in your hearts shall be a thousand smiling faces, and a thousand sparkling stars..."
- entry number 207, Joel's Diary, Joel the 6th
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever the last ray of sunlight comes back to the place of it's birth
into the east where dreams are born in the twilight of tomorrow
ready to rise for another day...
The rising sun splattered many rays of light on the still surface of the ocean...
And the dawn awoke in glorious splendour, bringing color to the empty grayness of the slowly fading night...
Kriiing...Kriiing..."Riku Miyagusku!!!!!What are you still doing in Bed?!?!?!?!?"
The door creaked open and a brown-haired girl peaked into the room,
"What are you doing sleepy-head? Remember what day it is today?"
The young man groaned...
"Nee-chan Kaya, and Nee-chan Hisa are coming back!!!!!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mao ran around the Omoro dusting and vacuuming...as usually getting overly excited during special occasions
"Kai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What's taking you so long to put out the trash???" shouted Mao
"I'm coming darn it!!!!!!!!!"
Kai heaved a big box of supplies through the door...
Mao raised an eyebrow...
"And WHAT are those?"
Kai scratched his head, "I ordered these from the suppliers, figured I needed some ingredients for my special dish..."
Mao sighed and returned to moping the floor, as Kai entered the back of the restaurant...
"Riku!!!!!!!!!!!!!Get down here now!!!!!!!"
The young girl smiled and said...
"Better hurry up nii-san or mommy will get really angry..."
At that comment the young man jumped out of bed, ran through the shower and through his closet,down the stairs in a flash...Breathing heavily, Riku greeted his mother good morning as Mao lectured him that he shouldn't be sleeping till the middle of the afternoon...
"Now, Riku will you help me or what?" shouted Kai from the storage room
"Er...C-coming dad!!!!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kai rumaged around to see if all the stocks were all in the same order...
His eyes constantly wandered to the chain around his neck...
he fiddled with it and his warm brown eyes touched its cool surface...
"Was it his?"
Kai looked up to see his son behind him...
"Yes...yes it was his..."
"Kaya and Hisa's father..."
Riku sat beside Kai...
"Tell me dad, am I anything like him?"
Kai looked upon his son with pride as he started nodding his head...
"Yeah, exactly like him..."
Riku smiled...
"Will I be able to protect them?"
Kai put an arm around his son...
"Of course you will..."
"Kai!!!!Kai!!!! Their here!!!Their Here!!!!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haji looked at them...
exactly like Diva...exactly like Saya...
Hisa with her long hair tied in a loose pony tail...
and Kaya, her red head-band stoping the bangs from falling into her eyes...
They had stopped ageing a few years back, and Joel had recommended that they stop school, and start their training with Haji, constantly moving from place to place with no destination...
But ever the last ray of sunlight comes back to the place of its birth...
Into the east, where dreams are born in the twilight of tomorrow...
Ready to Rise for another day...
The twins stop...
"What is wrong?"
Kaya and Hisa look at him...
"Nothing Haji..."said Kaya grinning
"It's just...we're home..." smiled Hisa
"Kaya!!!!!!Hisa!!!!!!" came a shout
"Dad!!!!!!!!!!"
The twins immediately ran into Kai's arms...
"I missed you little trouble makers..."
"We missed you too dad..."
"Only dad?"
The twins smiled as they saw Mao standing behind Kai...
"We missed you too mom..."
"Me too?"
The twins hugged Sora, and ruffled her hair a bit...
"Where's Riku?"
"Right here..."
They looked at the door way, where a young man stood...his flat brown hair, and beautiful brown eyes glistened in the sun...but his smile outshone even the sun...
"Riku is that you...?" said Hisa
"In the flesh..."
"Riku!!!!!!!!" exclaimed Kaya as she looked at him from top to bottom...
"Hey!!!!! How come you're taller than me?!?!?!?!?!"
Riku laughed...
"Didn't you know boys grow much faster than girls can?"
Kaya harumphed as Kai and Mao brought the whole gang in...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That evening, the whole place was full of lot of stories...
About Kaya and Hisa's fight against chiropteran that emerged in Venice, or some that appeared in Germany...
David and Julia started talking about how they were able to stop the thron growing process inside Lulu, and Lulu grinned and bragged that she had already played in a sunlit park with Jessie...
Jessie, David and Julia's son was there too, he got Julia's heart shaped face and David's piercing blue eyes, but just the same he was a genius in science and in the art of combat...
Joel had told the story about his niece travelling around learning new things, as she too was being trained to become the next head of Redshield...
Haji listened to all of their stories quietly...not commenting, not stirring...but he did not fail to see many things...
Like how Kaya looked at Jessie...and how he looked back at her...how Riku looked at the picture on the wall...or how Hisa smiled as Lulu and Sora played together...
Haji, never missed a thing...
not even the sound of a distant roar...
Kaya and Hisa seemed to notice it too...
"What's wrong...?" asked Mao
Kaya and Hisa's eyes started to glow...
"Chiropteran!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted David as the huge monster appeared outside...
"Kaya!Hisa!" shouted Haji as he threw them their swords...
will their suffering never cease...?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Watch out!!!!!!!!"
shouted Jessie as Riku almost got hit by a flying lamp post
"Thanks man!!!!" Riku panted
Jessie shook his head...
"No prob..."
David, Kai, Louis, Riku, and Jessie all fired at the chiropteran while Kaya and Hisa tried to kill it with their blood...
"What are you waiting for?!!?!!?" shouted Kai while Kaya and Hisa slashed at the chiropteran
"We've placed our blood on the sword and stabbed it thousands of times...But..."
The chiropteran clawed at them...
"It's not working!!!!!!"
"We're in a big mess now..." said David
"Dad!!!!Take Riku and Jessie out of here!!!!" shouted Kaya
"No way!!!! We're staying here!!!!" objected Riku
"Yeah..." said Jessie
"No stubborness boys...come we have to get Mao and the other's to safety..." shouted Kai
They started to leave when...
"Ahhhhhhh!!!!!"
Kaya was sent tumbling to the ground
"Sister!!!!!" shouted Hisa as she came running to Kaya's side, but she was easily brushed away by the chiropteran as she collapsed beside her sister...
"Kaya!!!!!Hisa!!!!" shouted Riku
he turned back...
and everything happened so suddenly...
one second...
Riku was running...
two seconds...
Kaya and Hisa were telling him to get back...
three seconds...
the chiropteran turned around...
four seconds...
the chiropteran's claw went through Riku's body...
five seconds...
Mao was screaming...
six seconds...
Riku's lifeless body was on the floor...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Kai his face pale as the moon, tears trickled down his face...
Kaya and Hisa crawled to their brother's body...
"Riku..." whispered Hisa
"No, Riku!!!!" cried Kaya...
The chiropteran howled...
"Stupid boy..."
Kaya stood up, her eyes darkened with anger...
"You..."
she raised her sword...
and put her blood into it...
"You...you killed my brother..."
As she looked up her eyes flashed blood red...
"YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
her sword slashed the chiropteran's arm all the way off...
It howled again, but this time it was a howl of pain...
and the edges of its shoulder started to crystallize...
It looked at Kaya, and then at Hisa and Haji behind her...
It saw no escape and dissapeared in through the mist of the night...
Kaya sank to her knees as she looke at Riku, Kai had Mao in his arms, tears rolling down from both their eyes...Sora and Lulu hid behind Jessie...
Hisa stroked Riku's cold cheek...
"Don't die baby brother...please don't die...I beg you..."
She put her forehead to his as a tear slipped down her cheek to his...
"Please...don't die..."
Kai closed his eyes...
Does it always have to this way...that my Riku would have to die a second time...
"Hisa..."murmured Haji
Hisa took her sword and cut her palm open...
Kai and the rest were amazed...
"Even if his time will stop...even if he lives forever...I will not let him die!"
she said with conviction as she put her blood into her mouth and gave it to Riku witha kiss...
"Haji...hold him down..." she said
Haji nodded...
violent trembles started to come from Riku's body as his whole being was put into a state of utter anguish...he uttered a cry of pain...and Kaya and Hisa cried in silence...as Riku's fits passed Jessie felt his pulse...
"His heart...it has stopped..."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the hospital...
Riku looked out of the window...
It had been a few days since their encounter with the chiropteran...a few days since he had been turned into a chevalier...
He looked out again...
It was past midnight, and yet not an ounce of weariness entered his body...or was he hungry, but often, he was thirsty...
He looked at Hisa who was pealing an apple by his bedside...
"Nee-chan...?"
Hisa looked at Riku her eyes so gentle and calm...
"Yes Riku?"
"I almost died...and you saved me..."
Hisa stood up and walked towards him...
"From the beginning we were not related by blood...but now we have the same blood that flows in our veins, Riku."
She put her arms around him...
"My baby brother...my blood will cause you a lot of pain, and You, me, nee-chan, and Haji-sama will go through a lot of suffering...but no matter, We'll still be together..."
Kaya smiled...
Haji nodded...
and Riku's eyes glittered with the tears to come...
Suffering will mean nothing if we're together...
