Chapter 25 - Awakening
Thankfully we had borrowed an umbrella this time as the rain had started once more. Mori walked slowly along to my left then and watched the sky. It was so dark suddenly and the rain was heavy. Everything seemed extremely dark and bleak about then… although probably fitting in light of the situation.
Mori suddenly sighed again. "Remind me again why we're doing this, Inoue?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Because we're at least partially responsible for what happened and Kisa is our friend who needs our help?" I reminded. Mori shook her head.
After a few more seconds, she asked, "Do we really want to find him? I mean, he acted like a spoiled brat and left without telling Kisa anything! We should just let him pout wherever he ran off to…"
"Mori!" I growled, before adding, "He looked more shocked and disturbed to me… and he's our friend too, so we should at least try for Kisa's sake!"
Mori sighed again and crossed her arms. "Don't tell me you actually believe all that bullshit that Momiji spouted off?!" she suddenly asked, looking back over at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Does it matter? If Hiro is hurting somewhere, that's enough proof to say we should help still," I argued. Mori laughed.
"Oh fine. But I'm so going to give him a piece of my mind if we do find him! He needs it for doing that to Kisa!" she proclaimed.
My eyes bugged out. "No, Mori! What if you push him over the edge?!" I frantically asked.
Mori rolled her eyes this time. "What, are you afraid of a dark and broken Hiro, now?" she asked. All I did was nod shakily. It did sound kind of scary!
"But… if Hiro is supposed to be worse than Haru's black form…" I muttered, nervous now.
Mori shook her head. "We're his friends, Inoue. He's not going to attack us…" she assured. Somehow that didn't sound very promising…
"If I die, Mori, I am so haunting you for the rest of your life…" I promised irritably. Mori started laughing again.
"You worry too much, Inoue. My plans have yet to kill you, you know…" she pointed out in amusement.
I sighed. "Yet… How reassuring…" I muttered, shaking my head sadly.
Five minutes passed in silence as we just looked about. Finally I tried to gather my thoughts more. "Okay… so Kyo went to the apartment, Yuki is checking out the dojo and main Sohma estate, Haru and Rin are looking around downtown, and Uo and Hana are checking out the suburbs. What does that leave us with?" I contemplated.
"Barely anything at all… Odds are that we aren't going to find him, so I don't see why you're so worried," Mori pondered idly. I sighed again.
We wandered into the school district, then. Chances are that he wasn't here, but it was worth the check anyway. Mori was so upset with Hiro, though. I could kind of see where she was coming from, after how everyone treated Kisa at the party because of Hiro's actions… Still, Hiro had just been told that his fiancée would be leaving two weeks after graduation to a country halfway around the planet and was postponing their wedding another four years to do it. I can see why he was more than a little shocked, as well…
"We should just go home…" Mori complained again. I rolled my eyes and ignored her, so she continued, "It's not like we're going to find him so we aren't really making any difference in the search at…"
We both locked up at the same time. Hiro was lying on a bench casually staring up at the sky! The bench was across the street from the all-girl elementary school? He just rested there, unblinking as the rain landed on him. He wasn't even flinching when the drops landed in his eyes! Not good!
We walked towards him then but he didn't even seem to acknowledge our presence. He just kept staring upwards. With the rain, there was no way we could tell if he was crying or not… We stopped about five feet from him and just watched him stare expressionlessly into the sky.
"This was Kisa's elementary school. I met her here when I was in second grade. She was being picked on by an older boy and I chased him away. Then I started escorting her back and forth after a week or so of random encounters," he suddenly spoke clearly.
I smiled towards him. They've been friends for a while… "Random?" I asked casually. Hiro smiled slightly at that.
"I changed my route and kept taking this one after I first met her, hoping to see her again," he corrected, sounding slightly amused.
I chuckled. "You're too sweet sometimes, Hiro. So you've been Kisa's knight in shining armor ever since, huh?" I speculated. He lost his smile in an instant! Oops…
Silence prevailed for a while and I looked over at Mori, who just sighed. "You really shouldn't have left, you know," Mori suddenly spoke. I glared over at her. No, Mori… Don't do this!
Hiro sat up on the bench then and looked up at us. "Oh no… Is Kisa crying again…?" he asked, sounding sad. I turned to answer but Mori spoke first, unfortunately.
"No! She's pissed off at you! You acted like a spoiled brat in front of everyone and then ran away! How did you think she was going to feel?!" Mori shouted suddenly! What?! That wasn't true!
Hiro's eyes widened as his pupils shrank further! That… probably wasn't a good sign… "R…Really?" Hiro asked, sounding shocked and even sadder! Don't believe her, Hiro!
Mori wouldn't shut up, though… "Of course! You're so damn selfish all the time! Why is it always about your needs and wants?! What about Kisa?! Don't you love her?" she continued to shout. Where the hell did that come from?! That didn't even make sense! Was she just trying to inflict as much pain as she could?!
Hiro let out a stifled gag again and clutched at his head! Oh no! Mori leaned over to me suddenly and whispered, "I'll prove that Momiji was wrong…" My eyes bugged out and I stared at her in disbelief! Did she want to die that badly?!
"Kisa is very angry with you, Hiro. She was nice enough to ask for your permission, even though she doesn't need it, and you ran off in a childish huff. However, in her unending compassion and forgiveness, she told me to tell you that you had one more chance. All you have to do is go back and beg her for forgiveness and admit that you were immature, okay? If you do that, she just might speak with you again…" Mori blitzed lie after lie! What was she trying to do?! Prove something?! This wasn't going to help anyone!
Hiro suddenly shook violently and screamed out! Mori raised an eyebrow to him but I gulped. Not good! Not good! Then he stopped shaking and just went still, looking back up at us. Huh? I looked at him then and… something was off. His eyes I noticed… They were supposed to be dark brown, weren't they? Now they looked mostly black.
He slowly stood up then and I noticed his lips were moving. Listening carefully, I heard him muttering, "It's all… over… Why…? What did I do wrong…?" My eyes widened.
Mori must have heard it too. "That's easy… You were an immature brat. What did you expect?" she asked then!
I growled. "Mori… shut up!" I shouted at her. She glared over at me briefly… before water droplets started hitting our faces? Huh?
Both of us turned back to Hiro and probably widened our eyes at the same time! The water droplets were flying away from him somehow! A few even… floated in the air around him before… freezing into ice?! He started chuckling all of a sudden as dark black veins expanded along his cheeks and temples, going towards his eyes…
"Always… the jester… Why…? Everything's… freezing over and… so… cold…" he started muttering again, louder this time. I saw his breath visibly in the air! How was that possible?! It wasn't cold outside! But… it started to indeed feel colder. The cold was somehow coming from… Hiro, though? He started crying as he laughed then and the tears froze as they slid down his cheeks.
I was trembling there. This… wasn't logically possible! What… was going on?! "Wh…What's freezing, Hiro?" I weakly asked.
"Everything… is falling apart… and being buried in endless ice… Breaking… future… life… everything!" he screamed, exploding outwards in frozen raindrops in all directions!
I didn't even have time to raise my hands as the stinging pellets blitzed my entire body! Managing to close my eyes, I was simply flung backwards and landed in the road some ten feet back, feeling like my back was on fire!
Slowly sitting up then, I saw Mori do the same about three feet away… Ouch. Okay… what happened again? Both of us looked back over at Hiro, then.
He was standing there in a fairly relaxed pose with his head tilted to the right then, as if he had fallen asleep standing up. His eyes were open, however… I thought… They were entirely black, though! No irises… no pupils… Just darkness! Frozen spikes of thick ice protruded and curled from each side of his head, right above the temple? Massive chunks of ice also extended off his back like a giant pairs of wings. Three pairs in all. The top set was huge and extended behind him almost six feet, connected to the shoulder blades! The middle set was lower on his back, about midway down, and only extended about three feet. The lowest set was the smallest and just a little above his waist. They were about a foot and a half. Lastly, a long frozen vine-like appendage seemed to be attached to him as if a tail…
He was shaking there and giving a violent spasm every few seconds! The ground at his feet started to freeze as the ice crawled up his legs! They took the exact shape of his feet then without his shoes! The only difference is that a wicked claw extended from each toe.
After a few seconds, Hiro let out a cry of agony and clutched at his frozen horns! Black veins extended all over his skin and everything around them shifted to an ash white color until he was entirely white except the black lines…
Giving more whimpers of seemingly pain, I saw the ice from his horns freeze his hands over! The shape over his hands twisted violently into horrible looking claws as the ice at his feet expanded out four feet in an instant! The bench behind him made a weak groaning sound of twisting metal as it ripped out of the ground and drifted around Hiro?!
The bench stopped in front of him as he stared at it wildly, trembling still! Suddenly there was a horrible chorus of bending metal and the bench twisted itself violently and was crushed into a small ball! Why couldn't I move!? I wanted to run so badly but I was frozen there, only able to tremble! Mori seemed to be having the same issue and only gawked stupidly at Hiro…
Letting out a tremendous scream of pain and rage, Hiro suddenly ripped the hands from his horns! I closed my eyes as ice violently fell around us, only opening them when I stopped being sprayed. My eyes widened again to full extend once opened!
All the external ice on Hiro was gone… The twisted claws looked flesh-like now and were black as night! It looked like his arms and legs belongs to… something else. His arms were black from the elbow out and ended in scythe-like claws! His legs were black from the knees down and actual claws extended from each toe, shoes being mysteriously gone. But… each appendage was still proportional to his body, not horribly wide like the ice had looked. His tail was also black and irritably flicked back and forth every few seconds. The point looked sharp though and could probably hurt… His wings had also broken out of the ice! They were feathered!? The wings and feathers were also that absolute black, but it actually looked kind of regal and pretty… I guess… His eyes remained absolutely dark as he looked up at us. His horns had broken out of the ice to form ram horns! Then I noticed that the veins were gone now. Instead, black tattoos covered his entire body in a feral pattern across his ashen skin! Lastly, I noticed that his hair had also changed to black…
There was no expression on his face at all as he just stared at us… He looked at me first and then slowly shifted to Mori. After staring at Mori for a few seconds, he suddenly was gone! I blinked, and then registered movement to my left! I turned and gasped as I saw him standing right in front of a rigid and shaking Mori!
Then I blinked in confusion instead when he raised his right hand up and held it out to her? He… was going to help her up? Well… maybe he wasn't as evil and scary as I thought he was. Mori looked at if a few times before smiling shakily and reaching up for it.
It was faster than I could see… A massive mimicry of his hand extended off it and expanded vastly while extending! It smashed Mori through the edge of the hillside before crushing her into the chain link fence of the elementary school! I screamed then as I saw her eyes widen when she hit! The claw then let go and she slumped to the ground, not moving…
Finally finding my muscles, I got up and tried to scramble away! Hiro turned to look at me after pulling the frozen arm back into his own! No, I don't want to be next! I heard a sudden whooshing sound and turned to look… only to find him not there?! I looked back in the direction I was running just in time to see him land in front of me! I screamed and fell backwards, landing on my butt again… He could fly with those?!
Ice crystallized in his right hand and I shuddered, preparing for what was inevitable… The ice formed into a ball that extended downwards! The movement of it was almost… hypnotic as it extended. It finally finished when it was about as long as an odachi! My eyes then widened as the length of it flattened into an actual blade while the part he was holding shaped into a perfect handle! I was so dead…
He didn't move the sword after making it, however. He only stood there watching me. Come on! Just get it over with…
"You… seem to understand me, anyway," he suddenly spoke in a surprisingly clear and dual voice. One voice was the old Hiro… and the other was something far scarier!
He was… talking to me? "Uh… understand… you?" I asked weakly, wanting to just pass out and not deal with this…
He nodded then. "Yes. You know what I'd do for Kisa, after all… You understand why I'm like that," he explained. I tilted my head slightly. Wait… was this horrible situation fixable?!
I nodded rapidly. "Of course I understand why you're like that! You love Kisa and want to protect her…" I agreed, hoping I worded it right this time.
He let a faint smile dance across his lips then and he gave me a single nod. "Then you could probably tell me… Why is she… leaving me so soon, for so long, and postponing our wedding until she gets back?" he asked then, losing his smile. Oh crap… What to say…
"She really does love you, Hiro! Please believe that and don't…" I started to rapidly explain.
His expression turned into a glare at me then?! "Silence!" he screamed, whipping his blade up! I screamed again and fell to my right as I felt the earth tremble under me. Not bothering to look, I scrambled to my feet and ran towards the school fence and Mori! The whoosh sound hit again and I gasped, looking behind me finally. He was gone again… and a massive frozen gash was ripped in the concrete! Holy crap! The gash had expanded into the telephone pole and damaged the base?!
Gasping, I barely dived past the pole as it smashed into the ground right behind me! The transformer exploded when it hit, sending me flying to my right again! I rolled when I hit and curled into a little ball there, waiting for my world to stop moving…
Eventually, it looked like everything had stopped trying to kill me. My eyes opened… and a frozen odachi impaled the concrete an inch from my nose, cracking the ground! Yelping, I rolled backwards away from it and looked up at Hiro! He as standing on the telephone pole laying across the street. The area where he landed was frozen over, of course, and cracked from the impact of his clawed feet! He was still holding the blade of ice and slowly pulled the tip of it out of the concrete.
My body locked up again when he locked onto my eyes with those empty voids that were his! I couldn't even scream as he dropped off the now burning telephone pole and walked towards me, blade in hand. Ice expanded from every one of his footsteps as he walked, leaving a wake of frozen prints. As he strode within six feet, he raised the blade and I shuddered. Four feet… Three… This was it. I was going to die…
"Hiro!" was suddenly shouted from further down the street. I was still frozen by his eyes and didn't dare look away to see who it was, though!
"Hiro, stop this!" I heard shouted again, closer this time! Hiro stopped advancing at two feet and sighed, looking down the street. I risked a glance as well. Haru and Rin were running towards us! Could they really do anything to stop Hiro, though?!
Rin frowned as she came to a stop when Haru did, fifteen some feet away. "Hiro… put away the sword and calm down…" she spoke gently. I saw great concern and sadness in her eyes as she looked at him…
Haru nodded in agreement with her. "Yes. Kisa wishes to reconsider now and wants to talk with you more about it. Come back with us, Hiro…" Haru requested.
Hiro snorted. "Kisa hates me now and never wants to speak with me again…" Hiro shot back, glaring at him. They both got bewildered looks in their eyes and I gasped.
"No, Hiro! Mori was lying! Kisa didn't say anything like that! She cried a lot and said she wanted to talk to you more… but she never said she was angry!" I rapidly exclaimed. Hiro's eyes narrowed slightly and he glanced over at Mori on the hill. Rin followed his vision and gasped.
Hiro didn't do anything other than watch as Rin ran over to Mori and examined her. Haru ignored the scene and kept watching Hiro. "Why did Mori lie to me?" Hiro suddenly asked, assumedly me.
"She thinks Kisa suffers more than you do… That's all she sees, Hiro! Please… forgive her…" I pleaded. Hiro growled slightly but still didn't move. Was he listening now?! Could all of this still be fixed?
Hiro suddenly just snorted indignantly. "I don't know who to believe. You'd lie to me to save Mori. Mori would lie to me to defend Kisa. Kisa would lie to me if she thought the truth would hurt more. I just… can't make sense of it all anymore," Hiro suddenly reasoned. Haru frowned but Hiro just let go of the blade of ice. It drifted in the air briefly before falling into a giant puddle of water… Maybe I wouldn't die today after all?
Suddenly, Hiro lifted into the air… There was no flap of wings, though. He just drifted off the ground and was floating about ten feet in the air… "Hiro…" Haru spoke. If Hiro heard him, he ignored it. One flap of the six wings later and Hiro was gone…
It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn't going to die anymore. I rapidly crawled over to Haru then. "I'm so sorry, Haru! Mori lied at Hiro and yelled at him for what he did! Then he… he…" I stuttered. He turned into a supernatural monster and tried to kill us? My head hurt thinking about it…
"What the hell did she do that for? Grr…" Haru groaned, glaring at Mori.
Rin stood up then and nodded. "She's still alive. Too many bruises to count and unconscious, but she'll live," Rin reported. Haru nodded and sighed before pulling out a cell phone. Rapidly dialing, he put the phone to the side of his face…
Angel of Death
Resting on the couch, I just sprawled there with my head propped up on one end of it and my hair hanging off the side. Some days, I just wished I hadn't been born… Failing that, a few thousand rocks could rain from the heavens at any point and blitz the crap out of me.
I could have worded that whole thing so much better! Why was I so stupid?! It probably hit him like a boulder to the face! Everyone went out looking for him, of course. It wasn't all that surprising that everyone was pissed at me for what I had done. Oh sure… show him lots and lots of love… and then I show him misery instead.
Who would find him first? What state would he be in? Why did this always happen to us?! I groaned irritably at myself. Maybe postponing the wedding was a bad idea. Yes Hiro, of course I love you with all of my heart. Oh, and I'm postponing our wedding. Yeah… I really threw that one in his face! Oh… but there won't be time for a honeymoon if we only have two weeks! And whose fault was that?! Who wanted to spontaneously go halfway around the planet two weeks after they graduated?!
I felt the tears pool up and slide down my cheeks again. "Kisa… This isn't your fault. We'll resolve this…" Sis suddenly spoke softly. She was on the other end of the couch I rested on.
"How is any of this not my fault? I threw the wedding in his face and then expected him to simply accept that?!" I sobbed.
Sis sighed. "Kisa… you would have had to tell him eventually. Sure, you could have timed it better, but this is still fixable," she reassured.
I shook my head sadly. "Maybe Mother was right… Maybe I shouldn't even go to college? Hiro has loved me with all of his heart since I was little. It's about time I returned the favor, really…" I whispered.
"Would Hiro really like to hear you say that? Do you think he wants you sacrificing yourself for him?" Sis asked.
I laughed. "That's the problem! If Hiro had his way, he'd sacrifice everything for my happiness! I… just can't seem to match that!" I exclaimed, utterly frustrated!
Tohru opened her mouth to speak again but the phone rang instead. I sat up instantly and watched as Sis walked off. A few seconds later, I heard her answer in the dining room.
"They found him first? What happened...?" I heard Sis ask. Huh? Who found him?!
There was a few more seconds delay before she asked, "What… do you mean by that?" I felt the blood drain out of my face. That didn't sound positive…
"He did what?!"Sis suddenly shouted. My eyes widened! Oh no… not good at all! What did he do?!
"Very well… I'll tell her. Keep looking and thanks for reporting in…" Sis finally spoke after almost a full minute of listening. I heard the phone hang up and waited…
Sis wandered in a few seconds later and nodded to me. "That was Haru. Your two friends found Hiro first," she informed. Mori and Inoue?! Oh dear… Mori seemed kind of angry at Hiro when she left…
Sis hesitated and I frowned. "Well… the one seemingly said something to Hiro to… upset him… and…" she tried to explain. I cringed.
"Well… Haru described the area as "Cataclysmic Destruction"… Inoue isn't hurt but Mori is fairly bruised up, but is going to be okay…" she finally finished. My heart made a dive into my stomach.
I shuddered slightly. "Hiro… attacked them?" I asked in disbelief. Sis just nodded weakly. I don't believe it… Why would Hiro…
Sis averted her eyes then and I narrowed mine. "What else? What happened to Hiro…?" I asked then, suspicious. Sis sighed.
"Well… Haru said he… changed… and escaped by… flying away…" Sis informed, still not looking at me. I blinked. What the…
"What do you mean… changed?" I asked, disturbed.
Tohru shrugged. "He didn't give me much description, really. He said that Hiro had… horns… claws… wings… and a tail… He described it as an "Angel of Death"… anyway…" she muttered, seemingly confused as well…
My head hurt suddenly so I lay back down. Why…? What was happening to Hiro?! Suddenly I missed him deeply and wanted to be out there looking for him too! I didn't care what he had become! I just wanted to be in his arms again…
Empty and Dark
There wasn't a lot that I was letting myself become aware of, at the moment. Cold… was one of the foremost feelings, really. I was extremely cold. It was not only physically, but emotionally as well. The cold was so extreme that a dull ache resided in all of my parts. It… hurt so badly that I simply lay there with my eyes closed. What… had I become?
I vaguely remember starting to channel… and this unstoppable sadness ripping through me… followed by pure rage. After that, everything disappeared in my memory for a little bit. The next time I awoke, I saw Mori being crushed against a chain link fence. I didn't stay for long though and everything was ice again shortly afterwards. The snow was so pretty in my mind…
Snapping out of it again, I realized that I was standing over Inoue with a blade of ice! Wait… why was I attacking Inoue? She was my friend… Then Haru showed up and tried to get me to go back with him… Yeah right. Inoue said that Mori was lying… but… I didn't know what to believe.
The only truth I know for sure is that Kisa told me herself that she was going to go away two weeks after graduation. That put our marriage on the backburner while she went to school on the other side of the planet. The thought scared me, really. Little to no Kisa for four years…
Sighing, I began to question things again. It seemed like every time things fell nicely into place after a shakeup, and I finally started to think that Kisa truly wished to be with me forever, something like this happened. How many times was this? It has to be more than coincidental… doesn't it? She's said so many times that she loves me but… then she does things like this. Again, I didn't know what to believe. Do I believe her words, or her actions? Do I believe Mori's words, or Inoue's?
My head hurt. "You think too much, Lamb…" I suddenly heard and sighed. "Nice form though, I'll admit…" it added after a few seconds. I frowned.
So… this voice must be… I doubted that I was insane at this point. Disturbed might be more passable, but I definitely wasn't insane. However, something definitely took over… or seriously tainted my actions. Based off what I looked like and the general will of the actions this entity took, I'd have to make an educated guess that it was the extremely pissed off spirit of the ram.
"Oh, you do have a brain. How surprising…" it complimented… kind of. Now… most of us didn't actually talk to our spirits… or even interact with them, so I'd have to say it was due to my accident. Something happened… either when I was shot directly, or when that bitch was playing around in my soul, and it unlocked something. "Very good. It was the accident, and your connection to Kisa, actually…" it informed. It had actually said something helpful? Interesting. So my connection with Kisa… if I guessed right… prevented me from actually dying there instead. Then I was pulled between life and death by Kisa and… basically tore something lose. Wait… That would mean that whoever that bitch was, she was actually an interloper. She was another… human that tried to… enlist my aid? "As far as I could tell. I didn't really come up with anymore data either. She was fun to play with, though. A pity you wouldn't let me eat her…" he replied. I sighed again.
At least I was finally at peace here, for the moment. Where was here, exactly? The only place I could think of where I wouldn't be ridiculed. Where I could be free of interaction and just… exist. It stripped away a layer of humanity, really. Everything was more simplistic when I didn't have to interact with people…
"Are you sure he's here, of all places?" I suddenly heard in a gruff, yet female voice. Huh?
"Oh yes. His waves are quite easy to pick up. He's spraying them everywhere in a rather chaotic fashion…" was the reply. Waves? Hana! Then the other girl must be Uo.
Uo laughed. "Wow… he must really be a mess. Although if he's hanging out in the graveyard, that doesn't seem all that unlikely. Maybe we can visit Kyoko while we're here, though…" Uo pondered. Kyoko? Where had I heard that name before?
"Now he's wondering who Kyoko is," Hana reported. Huh…? Wait…
I heard footsteps nearing the statue then. "Huh? What do you mean?" Uo asked. Hana… can pick up thoughts that float on the waves? Very impressive…
"And now he's impressed with my ability to read surface thoughts…" Hana added. I mentally chuckled.
Uo yelped then. "Wait… you mean he's close enough to hear us?! Can you figure out where he is?" Uo asked rapidly. She sounded slightly worried… Maybe she got the report about earlier.
My eyes slowly opened and I sighed again. The sky, while overcast, was still quite bright. Although I realized that my eyes were taking in a lot more light than I used to be able to… Everything was tinted slightly blue, as well. The only exception was living creatures, it seemed. Everything living was coated in a dark blue instead and I could pick that blue up through solid objects… What… was I?
Her arms were supporting my weight. The grip was firm, yet cold. My legs were draped over her left arm and my main wings over her right. My tail was wrapped a couple of times around my waist and I was playing with the tip of it. At first I thought it was an arrowhead, but it was really just a point. I guess I wasn't a classical demon, anyway… Well… if I was, I'd probably be sizzling by now.
"Hey, what's that up in the arms of the angel statue?!" Uo suddenly asked. I smiled. Very perceptive… but it wasn't an angel. It was a Seraph. A Seraph was an angel of the highest order in the medieval hierarchy, identifiable by the six wings protruding from its back, and set here as a guardian of the graveyard. It wasn't doing a very good job, though, as it had let me in. Appearance-wise, I might as well be its dark counterpart…
"I don't know… but it has the same waves as the one we're looking for," Hana informed.
Uo coughed abruptly. "You're shitting me! That's Hiro?! But… that thing has wings… and is in the process of freezing the statue!" Uo blatantly exclaimed.
I rotated my head then to look down at them. Uo's eyes widened as I looked at her. Hana just raised an eyebrow, though. Sighing, I rotated and fell off the statue. Dropping the two stories casually, I landed into a punch. Ice exploded out of my fist when I hit and the ground ruptured… Uo let out a yelp but Hana just stared blankly at me. Finally, someone who wasn't afraid of me!
Standing up then, I casually glanced at both of them. Uo looked up and down me with an extremely surprised expression before asking, "Um… what are you, exactly?" That's a very good question. You tell me and we'll accept it as that…
"He doesn't know…" Hana translated loosely, causing me to chuckle in twin voices.
Uo whistled then. "Haru actually wasn't joking when he said Angel of Death, then! Wow…" she exclaimed as she dug out her cell phone. Angel of Death? Interesting. Well it would be accurate for a description…
I glanced down at my hand, then. Black tattoo-like markings extended all the way up the arm and came to a feral, yet elegant swirl on my palm. It was obvious that I was channeling Ki to achieve this… form. The emptiness and cold was absolute, though, and I couldn't seem to stop. Would I have to… fill this emptiness somehow in order to stop channeling Ki and change back to the normal me? Was this actually the real me? I chuckled at the thought.
"No… it's not the real you. Don't worry…" I suddenly heard in my head… in a definite female voice this time. I glanced back at Hana but she was simply regarding me still while Uo talked.
"Yeah, we found him. Hana's better than a GPS sometimes!" she exclaimed then. She really was…
After a few more seconds delay, Uo nodded. "Yeah… he looks a little different now. Kind of beautiful in an unearthly way… Black wings, tail, and claws… White skin… Black tattoos… He's a walking negative," she described. Wow… What a poetic way to put it. Very flattering, too.
"Wait… she what? Kisa wants to talk to him? Okay…" Uo suddenly spoke before extending the phone to me. My eyes widened. No… I was… ugly, not beautiful. My voice was… inhuman now and I knew Kisa wouldn't like it.
Hana looked over at Uo after a few seconds. "He doesn't want to speak with Kisa because he is afraid that she won't accept what he's become and will find his voice disgusting," she translated then. I sighed and glared at her, which she ignored, of course.
"Hear that, Tohru?" Uo asked into the receiver. She nodded a few more times after that before looking back at me again. "Kisa says she doesn't care what you've become and that she'll always find you attractive just because you're you. She also really wants to talk to you…" she informed. My eyes widened… Looking back up at Uo, I saw her smile warmly and extend the phone to me again.
Shaking my head, I waved slightly to her as I drifted into the air. "Hey, brat! Get back here!" she shouted, irritated again. I chuckled once more before flapping my wings and launching myself to the horizon! I didn't really use my wings to fly… but they could be used to gain incredible speed and control my flight easier…
For a while, I just glided, however. I was… warmer. Just a little… Mori was… lying then. Kisa really wanted to talk to me… so…
Dipping down low again, I slipped into the forest as I went along. I didn't want anyone to see me… so this was probably the best bet. I was just glad that Shigure's house was right on the border of the woods!
Extending my senses, things slowed down even more as my processing speed increased. I sighed contently and slipped in-between the trees as I sped along. The tail and wings… seemed almost like extensions of my body! I'd so rapidly gotten adjusted to them that they seemed natural, now…
Picking a tree near the edge of the property, I slid sideways then and went into the tree feet first! The tree shook violently and my claws dug half an inch in from the impact, but I clung to the side of the tree…
The house was barely forty feet off at this point and I simply observed it. Though the side window, I could see Kisa on the couch with Tohru. Tohru was just playing with her hair and looked extremely sad. Kisa was crying, though? Maybe… Inoue was telling the truth, then. Things were pointing to that being true.
Something stirred inside of me. It had been a while since I felt anything beyond the cold, pain, and hate, though, so I almost didn't feel it! I frowned and felt my heart. Lifting my shirt up, I saw that all of the tattoo-like markings seemed to draw into a focal point around that area. I let my shirt fall again and sighed.
Feeling deep inside of myself… I felt out the feeling. It was small and not easy to find, but eventually it surfaced slightly. An urge… a craving… My eyes opened again to stare at Kisa. After everything, I still wanted to hold her. She was… crying. Crying because she wanted to talk to me and couldn't? Crying because of everything that happened?
I shuddered, then. In a perfect world, none of this would have had to happen. Kisa crying would never become a reality… I wished that just once, I could make her world perfect… but… I doubled up on the side of the tree. This kind of thing always happens! If blood and tears were the cost of happiness, I think Kisa and I could at least afford a vacation! But… always misery… Aching again, I let out a long wail of frustration into the night! The cold was absolute and seemed to freeze my soul…
Kisa and Tohru both started on the couch and looked around. "What was that, Sis?" I heard Kisa suddenly ask. I could… hear them too?
"I… don't know. Maybe it was a plane going over…" Tohru reasoned. A plane? I groaned sadly…
Kisa shook her head. "That… didn't sound like any plane I'd ever heard. The starting and stopping of it was too abrupt, too…" she countered. Good girl. Don't let Tohru's thickheaded logic rub off on you!
Tohru frowned. "Well I don't hear it anymore, so whatever it was is probably gone now anyway…" she presumed incorrectly.
Kisa shuddered, before replying softly, "I guess… I'd still feel better if we weren't the only ones in the house."
"Everyone is still out looking for Hiro, so we'll just have to make do for now and hope for some good news soon, that's all. He'll come around, don't worry…" Tohru reassured. Everyone was out looking for me? I sighed again. I always caused trouble for everyone… Even if Mori was lying about Kisa saying those things didn't automatically make them false.
Kisa nodded absently. "I was just saying… Still, I wish Hiro was here. Then I could just crawl into his lap and drift asleep again, trouble free…" she muttered. My eyes widened. Inoue was definitely telling the truth! I smiled at her slightly as I felt that urge return. Some part of me… still wanted to hold Kisa, even though I didn't think I deserved it.
Frowning, I reached behind me and touched my finger against one of the feathers on my right wing. The feather came loose in and instant as directed by my will, and floated around to my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another feather stem almost instantly extend down and spread out into a full feather…
Staring at the feather, I suddenly got an idea and smiled…
Looking to the right of the window, I saw the side door that exited to the porch and smiled. With another flap, I landed on the porch right outside of the door and knocked three times. The second my knuckle sounded the third knock, I burst with Ki and was gone back into the forest again in a second to watch from the treetops.
Tohru jumped again and looked back at the side door. Kisa frowned slightly but stood up when Tohru did. "That's probably one of the boys returning. Maybe they have good news?" Tohru reasoned. Yes… one of the boys had returned and wanted to talk…
I heard a chuckle in my mind then as I watched them walk out of the room and head down the hall, blue shapes still visible. "You're certainly a treacherous one, little lamb. I think I can respect you after all…" my zodiac commended. I smiled and nodded. This must be the first time he's had full access to my senses as well. I mentally felt a nod, then.
Kisa frowned suddenly as they came back into view through the glass of the external door. "Wait a second… Why would the boys knock? And use the side door for that matter?" Kisa questioned hesitantly, seeming to creep herself out.
Tohru rested her hand on the door then while her eyes stared off into the night. Humans didn't have very good eyesight at night, so she probably couldn't see me. Ah well. Then I stopped myself. I was… still human, wasn't I? "There… doesn't seem to be anyone here…" Tohru muttered after a few more seconds. I saw her gulp…
Kisa frowned then. My eyes widened as she stepped past Tohru and opened the door herself! She peeked out into the night before stepping out onto the deck and looking to the sides. Brave Kisa… Could you be… a little more brave? I sighed then, and it came out as an inhuman wind… I certainly wasn't brave enough, anyway.
Both girls jumped and looked off into the forest. "Kisa… come back inside where it's warm. I… don't think it's a good idea to…" Tohru started to mutter weakly. Putting my plan into action, I whipped the feather out into the air. It slowed and started to fall almost directly over the deck…
Kisa's trained eyes snapped to the feather instantly as it drifted downwards in a lazy swaying motion. Stepping forward more, she reached off the side of the deck and snatched the feather as it went past. Tohru frowned and stared at the feather Kisa was holding. It was considerably bigger than most birds and as black as the night I hid in.
"It's cold…" Kisa suddenly muttered. Tohru raised an eyebrow to her as Kisa frowned suddenly. "…still…" she added, seemingly coming to the conclusion I wanted. Kisa suddenly ducked under the railing and dropped off the side of the deck! She fell the seven feet to the ground and landed into an easy crouch before standing again. Tohru let go of the door and rushed to the railing…
"Kisa? What are you doing? Don't go wandering outside at night! You don't even have shoes on…" Tohru protested down at her. Kisa didn't look back up then but instead stared off into the forest.
After a few seconds, she shook her head. "I can't. Hiro's out there. I'm going to go to him, of course," she stated in an undeniable way.
Tohru's eyes widened. "But Hiro might be dangerous! You shouldn't go out into the forest and…" she started. Kisa cut her off with a snort.
"Of course Hiro's dangerous. He's a black belt with supernatural powers. Do you think it would be any less dangerous if one of the boys brought him back inside the house?" she asked in return, causing me to smile. Good girl…
Tohru frowned. "Look… at least put on some sandals… and your jacket! It's cold out there… In fact, I'll come with you, okay?!" Tohru offered. No… not… her too…
Kisa looked back up at her. "No, Sis. You need to stay here in case anyone calls. I… need to do this by myself," she informed before turning back to the forest and walking straight for it. Kisa was so brave sometimes… yet she would never see that herself. Tohru seemed stuck in decision on the deck, but Kisa was a ways into the forest past me already.
Following Kisa's blue glow, I darted from tree to tree after her, remaining absolutely silent. Kisa just walked straight forward without the slightest hesitation. She was being… so brave. Walking quite a ways into the forest, Kisa finally stopped and looked around. The house was nowhere to be seen now. I sighed again. This was hardly fair for just her to be the brave one…
Kisa stopped moving entirely when she heard the split sigh move through the trees like a breeze. In less than a second, I had landed quietly behind her. I took a step forward then and draped my arms over her shoulders…
She stiffened briefly but rapidly relaxed again. "I knew you were out here, Hiro… You're cold again…" she commented as she rested her head against my right arm, still not turning.
"I know…" I whispered back. My voice still split though. Kisa's eyes widened and she started to turn! I was gone and into the treetops long before she could turn fully. She just stared at where I had been for a few seconds before holding up my feather again.
"Your feathers are even prettier in the moonlight, Hiro…" she commented before walking on in her prior direction. Pretty?! My eyes widened as I watched her… That gave me… some hope, anyway.
Flitting along the treetops, I continued to follow her. She was headed towards the stream it would seem. She entered a large clearing then and walked towards the rocky formation that was partially extended over the stream. I watched her carefully from the trees as she walked up the formation and sat down on the tip of it.
She just stared up at the sky then, as a thunderclap went off. Suddenly a lazy rain started to fall. If Kisa noticed the rain, she didn't do much about it… "Could you… sit behind me, Hiro? I won't look…" she suddenly requested. I felt warmer…
In an instant, I stood behind her on the rock formation. Slowly walking forward then, I sat down cross legged behind her. Reaching forward then, I ran a knuckle gently down her back so she knew I was here, careful to avoid clawing her. Kisa almost purred as she pushed into my knuckle! Then she moved backwards…
I went rigid but forced myself not to move! She sat down in my lap then and just rested the back of her head against my chest. She didn't attempt to see me, though… Sighing, I put my arms over her shoulders again. I could see her start to smile then. In response, she wrapped her arms over my hands and rested her head against my right arm again. Time slipped away as we sat like that.
After what seemed like eternities, Kisa nuzzled my arm, shifting slightly. We were utterly soaked by then, with Kisa's long bangs dripping already and sticking to her skin, but neither of us really cared. "Why… can't I look at you, Hiro?" she suddenly asked. I sighed.
"I'm… not the prettiest sight, Kisa. You wouldn't want to… see me like this…" I muttered, hating my voice again.
Kisa shook her head. "That's hardly fair, Hiro. You should let me make that decision. If you're anything like your feathers, anyway, you'll be beautiful…" she replied gently, causing me to heat up again. I couldn't tell if it was the channeling losing its force or me blushing, though… "I like your voice too. The old Hiro is still there, but something deeper is there too. It's kind of hot…" she added in a playful tone. Okay… definitely a blush, this time.
"Ooh… Your mate thinks my voice is hot," I suddenly heard it my head. Ug… Sometimes I wished I could just turn him off. That earned a dark chuckle…
Suddenly I thought I knew what Kyo was talking about. What it's like to have another you that nobody liked and then be so shocked when it seemed like someone was going to accept it…
Lifting her off my lap then, I set her down in front of me before sliding back a little. "Please don't go, Hiro…" Kisa suddenly pleaded, not moving.
"I'm not going anywhere, Kisa…" I replied softly.
Kisa smiled and nodded. "G…Good, I don't want to lose you again…" she added. My eyes widened and more heat came back. It was… in my heart. I definitely felt some of that emptiness starting to ebb away.
"You won't lose me… unless you don't want me…" I informed, it coming out slightly sadder than I wanted.
Kisa's eyes widened then. "No, Hiro! I don't want you to go away! I'm so sorry about earlier! I… I won't go to college! I'll stay home with you instead and…" she started to rapidly apologize and declare!
My eyes widened and my rapidly screamed "No!" echoed through the entire forest as my anger spiked. Kisa froze up again and I saw her starting to shake slightly… Then it all fell into place. Kyo was right. It doesn't mean anything if someone just says they like you and that you're beautiful. They might be lying or forcing themselves to not see all of you. But once a person sees your ugly side and admits that they don't like it as much as your good side, you can tell that they're actually seeing you and still like you! Smiling then, I finally saw the wonderful girl in front of me. She was just like me. Trying so hard and willing to do anything to make the person she loved happy…
"No Kisa… I'm not going to restrict you in any way. Not only do you have my permission that you didn't need in the first place, but you have my full support. Go to the college you want, whenever and wherever it might be…" I told her then.
Kisa stopped shaking then and seemed to calm down. "Postponing our wedding wasn't fair of me, though. Neither was breaking my promise and deciding to leave two weeks after school! Plus, I didn't even bother to tell you about any of it. Adding that to the fact that the school is halfway around the planet and what I did was just downright cruel. You… deserve so much more, Hiro. It feels like I've abandoned you and you probably feel the same way…" she explained, looking down at the flowing water again.
"I'm not going to slow you down, Kisa. Our wedding can wait for as long as it needs to for you to be ready for it…" I returned gently. I saw her grip tighten on the rock and knew she was beating herself up again on the inside. I sighed… "And… you can look if you want… but… you might not like what you see…" I finally told her. Might as well get this over with…
Kisa suddenly snapped out of it and looked over her shoulder. I fought every urge to flee into the trees again as she slowly turned around to look at me. Suddenly I felt exposed and wanted to hide… Kisa's eyes widened at first in obvious surprise but she rapidly started to smile softly again. "W…Well?" I asked after almost thirty seconds of her scanning every part of me.
Kisa tilted her head before answering, "Well… I don't like the eyes. They're painful to look at… and the claws are a little scary… but other than that, you're very pretty in a feral and archaic way. I love the wings and tail. They give you a noble look… The horns just remind me that you're the ram, though… and the tattoos add to the feral appearance with their clash on your white skin." I blinked. Her analysis was extremely thorough and a lot more positive than what I was expecting! Kisa laughed when she saw my stunned look.
She then started to crawl towards me, staring into my eyes the entire time. How could she stand to look at them for that long? My eyes widened again, and she crawled into my lap and wrapped her legs around my stomach. She then nuzzled my jaw before wrapping her arms around my neck. I couldn't help myself and I wrapped mine around her back, pulling her closer. Kisa moaned lightly, seemingly happy again… She then tentatively reached up and slowly ran a hand along my upper left wing! I winced slightly but it was mostly a fear reaction. I didn't like my wings being touched because they were really sensitive. Kisa wouldn't hurt them, I knew, so I let her rub away…
Pretty soon I realized that it had started to feel good. She noticed of course and that only seemed to encourage her. Finally I sighed and folded all of my wings inwards, entirely covering Kisa in a black feathered blanket. She grinned at me and snuggled further into my lap. She was so warm! I couldn't seem to get enough contact with her and tucked my face into her neck, earning another moan.
"Sorry… It's just that you're so warm…" I replied sheepishly, blushing again.
Kisa never lost her smile, though. "Don't worry about it, silly. Use me to warm up if you want…" she purred back. I blushed more but definitely felt warmer! The channeling seemed to be magnifying my embarrassment as well, though…
Kisa snickered at my blush and suddenly leaned forward! I was glad that I didn't have sharp teeth! Her mouth pressed into mine gently at first, before she pulled me closer to her. My eyes slowly closed as I felt her mouth against mine. She brushed tentatively before opening her mouth partially. Then it snapped… All of that emptiness imploded at the same time and I couldn't get enough!
Kisa's eyes widened as I hungrily attacked her mouth! The heat was incredible suddenly… Kisa let out a stifled groan into my mouth as she wrapped her arms around my neck again and pulled me tighter against her. We were practically crushing into each other as we kissed! The heat was so intense that I almost thought we were on fire…
Suddenly, I realized that I was… warm again! My eyes opened and I backed off Kisa again. There was a tempest of black feathers drifting about us! I blinked a couple times and looked down at my arm. It was skin colored and absent of black markings. Smiling, I looked down at Kisa to see if she noticed. It was a terribly amusing sight… Kisa still had her eyes closed and her mouth partially opened. She made a light purring noise and slumped against my left shoulder then, nuzzling and placing kisses along my neck. She must have… enjoyed that type of kissing?
I ran my hand along her cheek and she smiled more. "Mm… You're warm again, Hiro…" she muttered then, giggling. I smiled and just waited…
Four seconds was really all it took. Her eyes shot open and she backed off, getting a good look at my face. I felt back to normal and the blue was gone from my vision's tint. Kisa started absolutely beaming a split second later! "Hiro! You're back to normal!" she exclaimed!
I barely got the nod off before she pounced into me, sending us both backwards off the rock! Hitting the ground into a roll, we collapsed into a laughing heap upon coming to a stop…
We must have stayed there for almost ten minutes. Kisa's gentle and slow kisses were just so irresistible! Afterwards, Kisa just rotated around until we were both staring up at the sky, my arms wrapped around her stomach.
"Hiro… just tell me when you get sad again. I can never seem to tell and… I want to be there for you when you need me," Kisa finally spoke, soft and somewhat guilty sounding.
I gave her a squeeze before replying, "I'm sorry about today. I was just… a little overwhelmed and had to escape for a while, that's all."
Kisa rotated around on me again then and frowned downwards before nodding. "My mother thinks it's a great idea of course… and I'm definitely excited about it… but it wasn't fair to you at all! I should have at least asked you about it before just applying!" she exclaimed, seeming sad.
"I'm not your mother, Kisa. You don't have to consult me on every decision you make if you don't want to," I reminded, brushing her cheek again.
She giggled and shook her head though. At least she was smiling now. "This was kind of a big choice to not tell you about… but thank you, Hiro," she muttered. Suddenly she stood up and hauled me to my feet. I smiled at her as she nodded and walked back towards the stream, still refusing to let go of my hand.
We just sat there on the tip of the rock, watching the water calmly flow for a while. It was peaceful, really, and I didn't care what time it was or who was looking for us. Kisa didn't seem to care either, and it was just us, the clearing, and the stream. I could have existed for an eternity here and had absolutely no complaints! After a little while longer, Kisa snuggled into my side again and I noticed she was still barefoot. Silly girl…
Looking at the palm of my right hand then, I simply stared at it. The… transformation. It was the mental projection of my inner feelings. The looks, beyond the obvious utility purposes of the claws, tail, and wings, were mostly just side effects of my body entering an uncontrolled state of Ki channeling, if I had gathered correctly.
Focusing then, I felt deep inside myself. Yes… I could feel the state there still… but I didn't have the emotions powering it this time. With a bit more effort, I decided to attempt to draw it up manually. Maybe if I practiced turning into it without the mental breakdown to go with… I might be able to control it as well! Any amount of power I could muster to help protect Kisa was a good thing… and if this… organization posed a threat to her…
The swell of energy was unexpected and I felt it flow through my entire body instantly! It was like I was suddenly tapping a deep pool of strength that I never knew I had! My vision was tinted yellowish-gold suddenly and I blinked. Well… that was different! Glancing back down at my hand, I noticed that it was back to extremely pale, minus the markings this time. Huh…
My eyes suddenly locked onto the drifting white feathers that wafted by in front of me! Kisa gasped suddenly when she noticed them and looked back at me, startled expression on her face. Her eyes expanded several fold when she saw me… I felt the wings again and folded the right one around in front of my vision. The feathers were indeed a bright white… and seemed to be glowing! What… the…?
"Hiro, what happened?!" Kisa asked, obviously startled as she looked me over. I blinked and smiled then as the flood of emotion caught up with me. Totally different from before, pleasant feelings of happiness and contentment drifted through me instead. The moonlight glowed off every feather, giving them an extremely ethereal appearance.
Not answering, I just turned to look at her. Her skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. Her appearance just looked so soft that I had to smile more. Her mouth formed slowly into a smile while watching me, as her uncertainty disappeared. Her golden eyes were dancing with energy… She looked so alive that I just loved being next to her, suddenly!
Everything took a crisp feeling of focused emotions and feelings as I leaned forward and gently brushed against her mouth with mine. Her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around my neck then, pulling me forwards and into her more. Releasing a light moan, I went with the flow and fell over with her. Tucking my wings in for the impact, we rolled down the rock and landed in the bed of leaves gathering at the bottom…
I didn't care! Mentally laughing after everything that happened today, there was only this moment. The cool breeze brushed over my skin, leaving slight tingling feelings along my arms as I held her against me. We were side by side then, under the moonlight with nothing else in the world. Just us.
After eternities passed, Kisa finally leaned back slightly, a flush still formed over her cheeks. She grinned after a few seconds and nuzzled into my neck softly, yet needing. "I love you, Hiro. I like this form so much more than the other, though…" she muttered gently. I smiled more.
Picking Kisa up suddenly, I stood up with her. After she wrapped her legs around my waist for support, I held onto her tightly and flapped… The flight ability was quite obviously still there as I shot forty feet into the air… We glided along the air currents then and back towards Shigure's house. Kisa didn't seem scared at all, and just continued to giggle against me.
She had total trust in me holding her up. I smiled down at her before gently flapping again, shooting above the clouds. Kisa gasped then as she was treated to a huge ocean of milky clouds and the massive moon glowing brightly in the sea of twinkling stars. I laughed again before remembering that if I went above the clouds, I wouldn't be able to see the house.
Reluctantly, we dipped back down after a few seconds and I let the breeze carry us towards Shigure's back yard, finally with peaceful thoughts in my mind… There would be a lot of explaining to do after this…
Chapter 25 - End!
Author's Notes:
Hey, look, a non-dramatic ending! This has to be a record for me… Anyway, this ended on a happy note, and is going according to plan again. I apologize again for being SO LONG in the updating. Again, I did have several setbacks in my mood, which shut me down for quite a few weeks. Things are better now, and lots of changes are occurring. For one, I'm seriously considering publishing, now, and heavily researching it. Plus, I'm switching colleges and majors. No more computer science… Now I'm going for Creative Writing with a minor in Journalism! Fwee! Not only am I far happier with this future, but that also means I'll be writing more to keep myself sharp, so hopefully updates will come faster.
I've introduced the base of the supernatural elements now, so expect things to calm down for a little bit now. Hiro's new form is not entirely my doing, and was inspired largely by my cousin, although I heavily tweaked it. Her picture should still be linked to my profile page if I recall, and is of Hiro and Kisa around this time period in the fanfic… well… maybe a LITTLE into the future, still. Anyway, I rant… But I do hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully the next update will come fairly soon. Now that school's out, I'll have more time to type, although I plan on spending at least a little time on my original story.
Anyway, it gets late and I have to pack up my things still, so I shall say goodnight with this. I hope everyone enjoys these two chapters and the HAPPY ending for once… and I'll leave you with that until next time! Goodnight all, and stay happy and safe until next time!
-Angsty Tiger
Individual Review Responses:
Arc Knight - Heh… yeah, I dug that one pretty deep, but it was needed to set up the next arc… And I'm not sure what you'd deem worthy for getting shot in the stomach and almost killed on a repeating basis… but I think wings at least make up for it a little, right? That's one thing I've always wanted… but I risk going on a tangent. And this chapter DID end on a happy note. -snickers- The story should perk up for a while, anyway… but I have many… many tricks left. And yes, I thought the restraint was nice… Plus seeing as I randomly changed Hiro's element halfway through the last chapter, I wanted to make it a little easier for myself. Meh. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you like these two chapters as well!
Lightningstrxu - Heh… glad I can keep you surprised, anyway. Is that said in a good or bad way? -sticks out tongue-
Zith - Yeah… I felt kind of bad leaving Hinata out… but making her like that is something I wouldn't want to do. Ick… Although I'm happy that everyone seems attached to the point of getting pissed off at me, heh… But also to clarify, I'm ADDING the supernatural. Personally, I hate writing action scenes, to be truthful. When the action scene doesn't accomplish something plot-wise or emotion-wise, it feels stale to me. The last thing I need is a DBZ-like approach to this story… and apologies to any fans out there, but I just can't see this becoming like that. However, some action IS needed in this case… but don't expect this to become only that… if that makes sense. -chuckles- Thank you for your review however. I hope you enjoy these chapters as well!
Beege - Your insight is interesting, as usual. Sorry for the delay in these two, though. Hmm. Yeah, this is quite a bit of a difference… But I'm trying to shift a little away from the standard Furuba mold, anyway. It IS a good story with memorable characters, but everyone already knows it and I'd kind of like to expand this story into something that is unexpected and fresh, if that helps explain it. Who wants to read a story where the outcome is already known? It should be settling down for a little bit, if that makes you feel better. Thank you again for reviewing and I hope you enjoy these two as well!
Anonymous - I honestly don't know what to say. I did expect some people would have this reaction… Don't fear that I'll stray from my original fluffy content goal… but I'm going for slightly more mature mindsets, I guess would be a good way to call it. It IS more violent, yes, but only in regards to the situations they're expanding upon… so think of it as not additional magic… but different variations of the magic they already have. The curse is still causing it all… it's just been… expanded upon, would be a good way to explain it. And I should really read Ranma at some point. Everyone tells me it's good… And your last phrase makes me painfully aware of how long it's been since I updated… ug… Well I hope you enjoy these two and thank you again for reviewing.
Neoswordmaster - Thanks! I'm definitely considering it, now. Journalism seems like a good day job… but I'm definitely going to write on my own novels on the side. Thank you for reviewing though, and I hope you like these two chapters, too! And I'm glad they aren't dead, too… heh…
Ninde-chan - Aww! Thank you! And yes, I tend to use a lot of cliffhangers, but at least this one ended without a horrible, dramatic one… Nya! Things should get back to reasonably "normal" now for a little while, anyway. As normal as the Souma family can be, anyway… but thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked these two as well!
Renia The Weirdo - Heh… as hyper as ever, Renia. -sticks out tongue- Well I'm glad you're happy with the two chapters and thank you, as always, for reviewing. And I can HARDLY be mad at you for not reviewing very fast, as you certainly beat my average updating time… heh. Just don't get your Dad upset and lose your computer privileges again… -chuckles- Thanks again!
Kamen Disguise - Oooh, thanks! I like angst as well. It tends to bring out a more… realistic side of things. Subliminally influenced by my inability to understand and swallow the perpetually happy and hopeful kind of story? I don't know… Ah well, I rant. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you like these two chapters as well!