Revenge

Chapter 10: Broken promises

Clang!

Their swords clashed once again, not giving in to each other as the sky grew darker and drops of rain fell from the sky. Two boys fight to the finish, neither one of them will let the other win.

Another group ran over to them as one of their comrades stopped fighting and stared at them.

"No! It's a trap!" He yelled.

However, an explosion occurred and the ground they were standing on cracked and split into two, making him and his opponent plunge down the cliff.

Crack! Boom!

This awoke her from her nightmare. The loud crack of thunder followed by the flash of lightning immediately made her green eyes snap open and her body sit up. Her hands gripped the blanket as she panted and stared at nothing, eyes widened with fear.

She looked around and realized that it was all a dream. Breathing a sigh of relief, Izumi scrambled to her feet and went out of her room, trudging to her boyfriend's.

"Kouji..?" she whispered, not wanting to wake him up. Izumi let herself in, only to see the room empty. Where was he?

Fear struck her once again as she hastily opened every room she passed by; looking for him, hoping and wishing he was alright.

"What are you doing?"

Izumi stopped in her search and turned around to see the one she was looking for. "Kou-kun…"

"You didn't answer my question Izu-chan." He replied steadily yet something in his voice made it obvious that he was worried at her state.

"Baka! I thought you were gone!" She cried, leaning to him.

Kouji blinked and looked down at her. "I just went to get a drink of water, where do you think would I go?"

"…" Izumi raised her head revealing her eyes a bit reddish, with tears, trickling down her cheeks.

He was taken aback by this that he sighed and closed his eyes then held her near. "I'm fine Izu-chan, I promised you that I wouldn't leave didn't I?"

She found herself hugging him back but a lot more tightly; shutting her eyes as she let her tears stream down her face. Izumi didn't want to let him go, not after what she dreamt about. It was one nightmare she will never forget.

"Tell me, what's wrong?" He asked, stroking her hair. He knew her all too well. They've been together for a long time so he knows if there was something bothering the girl or not.

"I had a dream…"

"Go on."

"You and Taira were fighting and… we came running to the two of you…" She paused for a while, trying to find the right words to say when she explained her dream. "There was an explosion and you and Taira fell from a cliff."

Izumi heard him sigh again as he broke away slowly, lifting her chin up to face him. A warm smile was on his lips and he spoke: "It was just a dream Izumi, nothing more." His voice was gentle and she found comfort in him. "Don't worry, I won't die too easily."

A nod was all he wanted from her and Kouji accompanied the lass to her room. "It's getting late so go back to sleep."

As she lay down, he was about to leave yet her hand gripped his sleeve. "Could you stay here tonight?"

Blinking a few times, he finally smiled and nodded. "Sure."

Kouji awoke to he sounds of a yelling Kouichi and a laughing Takuya.

'Can't those two keep quiet?!' He got up and went outside, rubbing his eyes. "Guys, will you shut up?"

"Go tell that to Takuya!"

"Why? What did he do this time?"

"He poured ice cold water on me!"

Kouji blinked and stared at his brother who was dripping wet. "Oh…" He shrugged and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Upon arriving there, the telephone rang and he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kouji,"

"…Taira…"

"Get over here, now."

"Where?"

"At the Cliffside near an old factory; the one you always pass by when going to and from school."

"Alright, I will."

"Make sure you're by yourself."

And with that, he hung up, leaving Kouji grip the phone and slam it. "We have got to settle this now Taira…"

"Settle what?"

He turned around to see Takuya with his arms crossed, leaning on the wall.

"None of your business…"

"You're going to fight Taira by yourself, am I right?"

"…"

"I knew it."

"Just don't tell them. I don't want anybody to get involved with this."

"But what if your eyes turn red again?"

"Dad had been training me and Kouichi for weeks. I already have full control of it."

"Okay, just promise you'll be safe."

"I will, and promise me that you won't tell anyone, especially Izumi."

"I promise."

The two went outside as Takuya covered for him, Kouji ran out of the dojo, lugging his daisho with him and going to his destination. 'It's time to end this battle.'

When he finally reached the place, he saw Yukimura standing there, katana in hand.

"Waiting long?"

"No." Yukimura turned around. "Just thinking of a prayer for your death."

"We'll see who'll be praying for whom." He tied his bandana around his head and took his jacket off, securing it around his waist as he readied to fight. One hand held his katana whilst the other its sheath.

"You're on." And Yukimura charged at him, their swords once again clashing. From their quick moves and fascinating skill, you could say that they were having a sword dance, moving in grace.

They evaded each other like experts and fought like real samurais. After all, that's their past lives isn't it?

"Takuya, you'd better start talking!" Kousei demanded as he pushed the boy on a chair and faced him. The others surrounded him making him fidget in his seat.

"Well, Kouji got a call from a friend."

"And who is that friend of his?"

"I don't know." He lied, turning away.

"Takuya," Tomoki spoke. "Please tell us where he went. You're not the only one who's worried for his safety but we are too."

"I… I really don't know…"

"Come on Takky! Surely you know!" Junpei yelled.

"No I don't."

Kouichi narrowed his eyes and grabbed his collar. "This isn't a joke Takuya, tell us now."

"Look, I promised not to tell anyone and that includes all of you. I'm not talking."

"Takuya," Izumi grabbed his sleeve, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Besides you and everyone else, Kouji's the only one left to keep me going. I can't face this world without him. I've already lost him before and now that I've got him back, I'm not about to face the same situation again. Please Takuya, tell us."

The goggle head clenched his fists and shut his eyes. "I can't! I can't break my promise to him!"

Kousei had had it. He formed his hand into a fist and threatened the boy. "You know that this is going to hurt if you don't talk Kanbara!"

He flinched and sighed. "Alright already! It was Taira! He called Kouji and asked him to fight to the finish! They're at an abandoned place near a Cliffside; are you happy now?!"

Silence…

"WHAT?!"

'Kouji's going to kill me for this…' Takuya though and gave another sigh.

The clouds darkened and rain began to pour down on two life-long rivals. Panting and catching their breaths. They stared into each others' eyes, letting the other know that he is not about to give up this fight.

From a distance, another figure aroused from his hiding place, holding of what seems to be a remote control of some sort with a red button on the middle. He flashed his teeth, showing a sinister smile.

"All of you will die in my hands…"

Kouji's ears perked up as he heard footsteps nearing them. His eyes caught a glimpse of a human moving about in the old abandoned structure. When a crack of lightning was heard and gave light to the dark area, he saw Edo Atsuharu stirring in the shadows and holding something which he figured would end their lives, as well as the incoming people.

His thoughts were disturbed when Yukimura, who had no idea what was going to happen, attacked him, making a cut on his shoulder. Kouji winced a bit and fought back with full force, also giving a wound to his opponent on his knee which enabled Yukimura to fall on the ground.

The assassin's eyes widened when he heard his best friend's voice call out his name. He immediately turned around to see the group running towards them. Kouji gritted his teeth and yelled: "Don't! It's a trap!"

Izumi stopped dead in her tracks and recalled her nightmare. 'No…'

And as if replaying what she dreamt, an explosion did occur, breaking the ground where Kouji and Yukimura stood as the two fell from the cliff leaving the rest watch helplessly.

Izumi fell to her knees, not wanting to admit what she just saw. Her eyes shed tears once again and she finally broke down into crying.

"No, no way…" Kouichi said staring at where his brother was once. Tomoki and Junpei were speechless after what they just saw. They're comrade was gone.

Kousei clenched his fists and refused to cry yet you really couldn't tell if he was crying or if it was just the rain that fell on them.

Takuya's eyes widened. He felt guilty; he felt that it was his fault. "No… no…"

"You… you said you wouldn't leave me…" Izumi whispered, hanging her head low.

"I'm… I…" Takuya stammered as he fell to the ground as well, letting his tears drop on the ground. His hands gathered the dirt and grip them. "I'm sorry Kouji, I'm sorry…"

Atsuharu whistled and his men came out throwing sleeping gases at the guild. Once they fell asleep, his men captured them. This was the revenge that he wanted.

This day, everything went wrong. Kouji broke his vow to Izumi and to Takuya whom he told that he'll be fine and at the same time, Takuya did not keep his promise when he said he wouldn't tell anyone, thus, we see broken promises, shattered dreams and facing reality that we all refuse to see.

And this ends chapter 10! Yes, you read it right! Kouji and Yukimura are both dead! And I'll be leaving all of you in suspense. As for those who asked for spoilers, I'm sending them to you right now. Oh and Kazumi Kairi or Kairi-chan, Taira envies Kouji for everything. He had Izumi and he also had good friends and a great family background. That's what he envied. ( : R&R! Till next time! : )