- Chapter 20 -
Author's Note:
Fifty-plus reviews? YAHOO!
Also, just FYI, like I said before, romance scenes won't get much more... steamy than what Aki and Kasumi did last chapter. The most we'll get is French kissing and maybe a hickey here and there, and if two characters share a bed, they'll be fully dressed. T-rating.
Also, no crossover shipping (for example, no Pit x Lana). Some flirting, yes, but nothing more than that.
Okay, now that that's done...
Hyrule, Faron Woods
Lana continued to ride through the woods en route to Hyrule Castle Town. If something was up, she had to talk to Link and Zelda right away.
However, as she rode, a high-pitched feminine scream reached her ears. Lana quickly halted the horse.
Someone's in trouble! she thought to herself as she sprang off of the horse and dashed in the direction of the noise, already drawing her Book of Sorcery. She came out into a clearing, and saw a shocking sight.
Leaning against a tree, tears of pain and fear in her eyes, was a pretty young woman around her age with tanned skin, long blue hair that covered her ears and was pulled back by a pink barrette on the left side of her face, and pink-purple eyes. On her left cheek was a tattoo of a small yellow star. She wore a red sleeveless halter top with a small circular opening on her chest that exposed a bit of cleavage, with a pink collar that had a green gem embedded in the front, and golden tassels that circled around it. Around her waist was a golden belt, along with what appeared to be an armored "skirt" that bore alternating gold insignias on every other layer. She wore pants that matched her top, purple shoes, and two wristbands that were lined with gold, the right one green while the other one was white. In her left hand, she held a scimitar, while her right hand was clutching her left shoulder, which was bleeding.
Lana looked over and gasped at the girl's attacker. It was a yellow fox-like creature with three tails that bore black fur on the tips. It was one of the legendary creatures from Hyrulean folklore, and quite a popular hit with the children: a Keaton.
But this Keaton was different from what she had read about before, and seen in the time stream when she was still a part of Cia. Instead of the usual mostly closed eyes and sly expression, the Keaton's eyes were wide open, revealing reddish-yellow irises, and its mouth was open and baring teeth, which were wet with fresh blood.
Lana was taken aback. Keatons were always tricksters and liked pulling pranks, but she had never once heard of them being vicious, let alone attacking people. Something wasn't right.
Is this what the Deku Tree was talking about? Lana thought, but she pushed that thought away when she heard the Keaton let out a savage growl. It was about to attack the girl again.
Lana quickly sprang into action and summoned a ball of electrical energy, which she threw at the Keaton. The beast recoiled as the ball hit the ground before it, and turned its attention to the white sorceress. As the fox glared at her, Lana curled her all of the fingers of her right hand inward, with the exception of the index and middle fingers, which were extended and touching each other as if she were performing a two-finger salute. The two fingers began to crackle with electricity, and Lana pointed them at the Keaton with a loud yell, causing a bolt of blue lightning to project from her fingertips and into the Keaton, electrifying it.
The beast let out a loud roar of pain as the lightning spider-webbed through its body. As soon as the electrical assault ended, the Keaton cut its losses and fled into the woods. With that, Lana relaxed and turned to the injured girl, kneeling before her.
"Are you okay?" she asked. The girl looked at her.
"No, I'm not okay!" the girl snapped. "My arm's gushing blood, you idiot!"
Lana recoiled, and the girl's expression softened after a moment.
"Look, I'm sorry," she said, her tone genuinely remorseful. "I didn't mean to sound so bitchy. It's just... for Din's sake, this hurts so bad."
"Don't worry about it," Lana said. "Take your hand away."
The girl obediently moved her hand, and Lana examined the wound. There was a line of teeth marks on the girl's flesh, and said teeth marks were oozing with blood. Lana held her hand over the wound, and her hand glowed with blue light for a minute. As it did, the girl felt the pain fade away, replaced with a slight itching sensation, and looked to see that her wound was rapidly closing up, the only sign of it being the blood.
"My name is Lana," Lana said. "What's yours?" The girl stood up with an effort.
"I'm Ghanti," she said.
"What are you doing so far out in the woods?" Lana asked. Ghanti fidgeted nervously.
"Well..." she said. "I'm a bandit."
Lana's eyes widened. She had just risked her life for a low-down bandit? She bent down defensively.
"Hey, take it easy!" Ghanti said, waving her hands. "Hear me out before you attack." With that, she picked up her scimitar and drove it into the ground, blade first, as a sign of peace. Lana relaxed. "Look, I am a bandit, but I'm not one of those bloodthirsty marauders who go around razing villages and killing people. I don't steal from anyone who can't afford to lose it, and I make it a point not to hurt innocent people."
Lana nodded. Granted, she still wasn't entirely comfortable being around a bandit, but Ghanti seemed sincere, and she knew from firsthand experience that there were worse things than thieves in the world.
"Are you going to be all right from here on out?" Lana asked. "I'm glad I got to you in time, but I need to go."
With that, she turned around and started to leave, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Ghanti, who had retrieved her blade.
"Wait," she said. "Can I come with you?" Lana looked at her curiously.
"You mind if I ask why?" she said. Ghanti sighed.
"Well, you did save my life just now," she explained. "I always pay back what I owe. It's part of my code."
Lana pursed her lips in thought as she turned it over in her mind. Ghanti could very well be a useful ally against the coming darkness, and seemed to be honorable... for a bandit. After a moment, she nodded.
"Okay, you can come," she said. "But no funny business." Ghanti rolled her eyes.
"I may be a bandit, but I'm a civilized bandit," she said. Lana just nodded.
"My horse is this way," she said, and she began to lead Ghanti back to where she left it.
As she walked, Ghanti suddenly felt a bit dizzy, and the spot on her arm that the Keaton had bitten began to itch like crazy. The sensations disappeared as suddenly as they surfaced, leaving Ghanti confused.
What was that all about? she thought.
Japan, Koryūji Estate
Standing before a large mansion on the outskirts of Shibuya was a large, elegant fountain. And standing in front of the fountain were two individuals, Kogoro Tenzai and Mii Koryūji.
Kogoro was a tall man in his mid-twenties with long light brown hair tied back in a ponytail with a red ribbon, and wrapped in white strips, the rest of it held in place by a golden crown except for four "antennae" at the front of his head, two straight up and slicked back and two bent over his face (1). He dressed quite elaborately, wearing a red long-sleeved dress shirt with white bands around both biceps, the sleeves pulled back and pinned in place with green gem-like pins and a yellow ascot under a sleeveless white waistcoat with a black folded collar, said collar pinned in place with those same green pins, black buttons, and four black pockets, the two lower pockets having golden zippers, with golden trim around the arm holes. He wore white dress pants with large yellow-and-black tiger print pockets on the sides, both held in place with two green gems, golden trim around the cuffs, and four stacked-up golden blades attacked to the calves, with black-and-green designs just above said blades. Finally, he wore black, gold, and white gauntlets, and white dress shoes with a black stripe in the middle and black soles.
Mii was a girl in her late teens with long, wavy red hair and green eyes. Her outfit bore more than a passing resemblance to a maid uniform, wearing a black, white, and red bonnet with yellow ribbons on either side, a one-strap black dress that only just kept her bust in place, with a white trim and red zigzag pattern at the neck line, a two-layered black-and-yellow shirt, a white corset tied with red thread and a large red ribbon in the back, thigh-high heeled black boots that were open on the outside of her legs and tied with red thread, complete with yellow on the back of the ankles.
Kogoro and Mii were instrumental in the initial defeat of Oros Phlox, and they had rumors of creatures with pointed rings on their backs in Roppongi, shortly before a fight between two superpowered teenage girls broke out. They were currently standing there, trying to decide what to make of it.
"We should stay on guard for now, milady," Kogoro said. "If Oros Phlox really is back, they might come for the Portalstone again."
The Portalstone was a powerful magical artifact that had been guarded by the Koryūji family for generations. It was stolen and used by Oros Phlox in their plan to merge the different universes together, but Kogoro and Mii, along with several other individuals, put a stop to their plans.
As if in response to Kogoro's statements, several Oros Phlox monsters manifested around them out of nowhere, along with two familiar figures.
"The Belanos brothers?!" Mii said in shock. "So Oros Phlox is back!"
"Got that right, girlie," said Eins, taking a hit off of his cigar. "Give us the Portalstone, and we won't have to use force."
Mii stuck her tongue out at Eins. "Over my dead body."
Drei grinned. "That can be arranged."
Japan, Mugen Tenshin Village
Ayame and Kiyomi stood outside Kasumi's room. Kasumi and Akihiko had been silent for some time, and they wanted to make sure they were all right.
They slid open the door, and were greeted with the sight of Akihiko and Kasumi laying together in the futon sleeping peacefully. The two older women were relieved to see their children were fully dressed. Akihiko was holding Kasumi close with one arm, while Kasumi had rested her head upon his chest.
Ayame turned to Kiyomi and put a finger to her lips, signaling for Kiyomi to be quiet before tiptoeing into the room. With stealth befitting a ninja, she grabbed the crumpled blanket that lay at the foot of the bed and gently pulled it up to cover the sleeping figures. As she did so, she stopped when she saw the mark on Kasumi's neck, realizing that it was a hickey.
After a moment, she shrugged; they'd worry about it later. For now, the two deserved a rest after the fiasco in Roppongi. Kissing them both on the forehead, she took her leave.
As she exited the room and slid the door shut, Ayame turned to see Kiyomi crying.
"Kiyomi, what's wrong?" she asked. Kiyomi just sniffled and wiped the tears from her face.
"Our babies are just growing up so fast," she said. "It seems like only yesterday that they were born."
Ayame put a comforting arm around her friend's shoulders, and the two re-entered the main room.
Author's Note:
(1): Think along the lines of Larxene's hair antennae from Kingdom Hearts.
Kogoro and Mii are not my OCs; they're from Project X Zone like Oros Phlox.
Ghanti is a character from the A Link to the Past manga, adapted here for my purposes.
Once again, I know the chapter's kinda short, but hey, it's an update.
Please R&R. Until next chapter...