Angel Beats: Harmonics girl
Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats
Warning: I am still studying so please forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake
Warning: Since something had happened (please the previous chapter for further details), the software I am now using don't have grammar checker so please forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake
Chapter 24
Shadow Player Episode 1: A place in your heart
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Swosh!
"Chee!"
Sekai shouted as he swiftly dodged a oversized-shuriken that was heading horizontally towards his neck. Sweats were already starting to form on his face as he has been dodging Ken's shurikens since the start of the battle. In order to suppress back the pressure, Sekai lifted his right hand and shot Ken with his old Beretta 72. One could wonder that how could this Beretta 72 still held out for his master when it was so old that it should have been replaced already. Even so, the bullets flew out of the gun like everyone other new guns. Heading straightly towards his target for the kill.
Of course, being in this world for more than a year fighting the shadows, everyone that had stood against the shadows before had trained their flexibility. Of course this did not exclude Ken. Without moving much from his previous spot, he simply stood aside and let the bullets passed just centimeters beside his shoulder as he caught hold of his shuriken that flew back to him like a boomerang. Ken put down his hands that were holding onto his two oversized weapons and looked Sekai in the eye, something that he has not done for a long time already.
"I see that you have improved since we last met Sekai. I am glad to see that you haven't slacken when I was gone."
"I don't want to hear it from the one who has escaped from the front lines. I am more surprised that you are still able to keep up with me after hiding in your whatever-secret-base for so long. I bet that you were actually doing something like brandishing your shuriken all day in your so called hidden-base."
"I see that you haven't lost that sharp tongue of yours over these few months. Funny that after these few months that we were still able to chat together like this."
Ken commented. Sekai swore in his mind that he has seen a thin smile on his face just now. Like Ken said, the two were chatting like old times. To normal bystanders they were just two good friends with odd weapons in their hands. However, this illusion soon shattered as Ken made the first move to shatter it.
Clack!
The sound of the two metallic weapon hitting each other resounded through out the battle zone. In front of Sekai was Ken, his right hand with the shuriken that was supposed to do a vertical slash at him while his left hand was stretched away from the target. Ken looked at the weapon that was blocking his and exclaimed.
"A melee weapon? I thought that you used to hate melee weapons, I guess people change as the time flows isn't that right Sekai?"
"Grave situations call for grave options Ken."
On Sekai's right hand was a small knife that he did not usually carry as a weapon. Even Sekai himself did not realized that his instinct had made him pulled out a small knife in his uniform when Ken suddenly charged at him. His gun was shifted to the left hand before the right hand used the small knife to block Ken's attack. It took a few seconds for Sekai to realize that the small knife he was holding right now was the knife that Tachibana had given him when he was forced to hunt for food without weapons weeks ago. Sekai thanked Tachibana in the heart before disconnecting it from Ken's shuriken and jumped back as Ken started to swing the other shuriken on his left hand towards his stomach area.
Immediately after dodging Ken's attack, Sekai lifted his left hand and fired towards Ken to chase him off. As he thought, the bullets proved nothing for his former friend as he back flipped, dodging the bullets and creating distance between the two of them.
Luckily that I have Tachibana's knife with me. Or else I have to use 'it' and make the situation worse...
Sekai thought as he stared at Ken carefully like an owl and a snake in a standoff. However, Ken did nothing as he just stood there, his originally thin smiling face fell as if it was a mask in this first place and looked Sekai seriously, his eyes showed no recognizable emotion but one could feel the tense 'flame' that was in his eyes. He faced Sekai and started.
"Enough of games already Sekai. I am serious about this."
"Game? I have never treated this like a game from the start Ken. You are the one who has been dragging me around the bushes."
Sekai replied as he looked at Ken in the eye. All previous friendships were forgotten as the two former friends faced each other. The two have not been able to have a proper conversation since they last parted. However both knew that the next time they met, it would not be a happy one.
"What are you planning Ken? No matter how much have I think about it through out all these months, I could not think of a reason that you would have wanted to join the Black Hand. Tell me Ken, what are you planning?"
"What am I planning? You should know that better than everyone else Sekai, I have already told you on that night."
"...You are serious about that, Ken..."
Sekai looked at Ken disturbingly. His right mind, the logical one was focusing all its attention on Ken but the other one, the more emotional brought him back to that night, the night where they last seen each other
Flashback
"Are you seriously leaving the SSS2? Do you seriously believe that Miu is the one responsible for the entire massacre?"
The full moon could be seen shining brightly by the reflection of the sun as two figures could be seen under the moon. The one that has just talked has the features of light brown hair and blue eyes. However the one he was talking to was wearing a hood on his face, he was carrying a bag on his shoulder. The one with the hood turned back at his friend and answered.
"Yes, I have made up my mind about it. No, I do not believe that Miu is responsible for the massacre."
"Then why-"
"As our leader, its her responsibility in the end."
"... ..."
The brown haired one could not say anything because he knew that his friend was right. Even though Miu could be not responsible for the massacre, she was still responsible for all the death of the SSS2 members. It has been the responsibility-no the burden that every leader would face.
"The what are you going to do after you left the SSS2 Ken?"
"I am going to revive Midori."
"!"
The brown haired one looked up the one called Ken in shock. However that only lasted a few seconds before he looked down at the ground, recalled what has happened to her. Ken turned his back towards him and started to head towards the shadow.
"You can't revive the dead Ken!"
He shouted as he looked at Ken, his eyes were red as tears were threatening to fall out from his eyes. Without turning back, Ken replied.
"You can't revive the dead, but no matter what has disappeared, one day you would still be able to find it one day Sekai."
With that, without even turning around to take a last look at his friend, he left. The brown haired one called Sekai did nothing but stood on his previous spot for a few minutes before he decided, and left the moon alone in the dark night.
Flashback ended.
"No matter what you do, you can't take back what was lost Ken!"
"That only apply to the living world Sekai!"
Ken shouted as he charged towards Sekai with his shurikens on his hands. Both of his shuriken tried to make a slash towards Sekai but it only clashed with his gun and small knife. Even so, the difference in terms of power were so great that Sekai was suppressed and was being knocked back to create some distance. Ken spared no time and mercy as he headed towards Sekai again.
"This world, it is just not a world of the dead Sekai. This world, it is the world where miracles are possible!"
"Miracles doesn't exist anywhere Ken!"
Bang! Bang!
Sekai shouted as he fired two rounds of bullet at Ken, not hoping for them to hit him but to slow down his approach. However it barely did the trick as Ken made a big slash towards them, deflecting the bullets and continued his assault. Sekai was forced into close quarter combat again as he tried to dodge Ken's slashes instead of blocking them. However he didn't see the kick that was coming towards his abdomen and was being kicked back instead. He lost his grip on his right hand as the knife fell out of his hand.
"Miracles exist! The very fact that we are still here is a miracle! Even we can create miracles that couldn't be created in the living world!"
"...Ken..."
Sekai stared at Ken as he switched his trustful companion Beretta 72 back to his empty right hand. Sekai was doubting about his words. Does miracles really exist in this world? Is it really possible to revive Midori? These thought crossed his mind. However his doubts were forgotten as soon as Ken continued.
"With that white haired angel, miracle is possible in this world!"
"!"
Sekai stared Ken in shock again. The original image of Midori seconds before the shadows consumed her in his mind was replaced with a white haired girl whose long hair was wavering ever so slightly with the wind on the rooftop, the crimson-orange evening twilight could be seen as it made a good match with the girl's crimson-red eyes that were looking up at him. Sekai looked up at Ken with doubt and confusion and asked.
"Tachibana? Where did Tachibana stand in all of this? She is just a girl that just joined the SSS2. She has nothing to do with this!"
"Nothing? She is the center of everything that I am trying to accomplish Sekai!"
Ken shouted back as he stood on his ground. Sekai could only watch him with wide eyes as he finally heard what Ken was about to do.
"That girl that you called Tachibana isn't an ordinary girl Sekai. She is an angel of this world! She possessed the power to change this world to her will! She could even have to power to bring back what was lost!"
"...That is absurd Ken! Just what are you trying to do Ken?"
"I told you already! To bring back Midori! With that angel's power I can do it! Even if I have to force that angel to remember everything, I will do it! For Midori's sake! So-!"
Ken did the last thing that Sekai thought that he would see in his life. Ken started to slowly approach him as he started to take off his hood. Sekai has never seen Ken took out his hood before. After Ken's hood was taken off, a hair of golden spiky hair could be seen that was identical to his golden eyes. Ken stopped in front of Sekai and took out his hand towards Sekai and said.
"-join me Sekai. Together, we can revive Midori, and all others that were also lost during the combat with the Shadows and the Dark Birthday. Together, we can create the miracle that no one has been able to do it until now Sekai."
Ken said warmly as he held out his hand. Sekai looked at Ken and then at his hand. If he joined forces with Ken, he could save everyone that was lost through out the battles with the shadows. He could even save Midori who was lost. His right hand slowly left his side as mind told him about the miracles they could have done together. His right hand was about to head towards Ken's when Ken sudden added,
"No one, the student council, the Shinda Sekai Sensen 2 or even the angel would be able to stop us."
"!"
What Ken had last said made Sekai stopped his hand as his brain unwillingly brought him the memories of the times he spent with the SSS2. How Miu kept on ordering them to do the impossible, how Shiina-san kept on trying to defeat Taejin, how he and the others would do different stupid operations together.
However, the most images that ran through out his mind all has a similar background, the red-orange evening twilight on the roof top. There the girl with snow-white hair would always be there. There were a lot of different images of the same background, but all of them has the girl staring at him with her unique crimson eyes that one could be attracted to. One particular picture stood out from the rest, the white-haired girl was holding onto his hand as she landed on the rooftop gracefully. The girl has a laughing face as she looked at the worried Sekai. That image was from the evening where he has made a promise to her, he promised her to-
"...Is that your answer?"
Ken glared at Sekai in the eye. On his right hand was his Beretta 72 that he haven't let go of and he was aiming at Ken in the forehead at close range. Sekai was not afraid of the unusual full glare by his former friend, instead he glared back at him and answered.
"I wanted to help you Ken. I really did. But I have friends that I can not betray! One of them, even though I never say it out loud, but I have promised her that I would be her friend forever! That's why Ken, I can not help you in this."
"...It is a shame then..."
Ken muttered before he launched a high kick towards Sekai's gun before he pulled the trigger. Sekai's gun missed Ken and left his hand but he managed to launch a kick towards Ken's stomach, causing him to stagger back to create some distance. Ken then took out his shurikens and charged at him.
"Why! Does the SSS2 worth that much to you? What about Midori? You loved her! Are you trying to tell me that the SSS2 is more important than Midori?"
Ken shouted as he crossed his arms before opening them, making a twin horizontal slash at Sekai. Sekai dodged that and answered
"No, Midori is definitely more important than the SSS2."
"Then why!"
Ken shouted as he chased Sekai all the way to the stair case, if he tried to dodge, he would undoubtedly fall down the stairs and giving him a clear space to kill him. Not missing this chance, Ken spread his arms and pulled them back towards Sekai, making double slash from both sides. Sekai has no weapon to defend himself now. The winner has already been decided.
Bang!
"-What..."
For the first time, Ken looked Sekai in shock. Even though he could feel that a bullet has hit him in the left shoulder, Sekai should have no weapon left to shoot him. But on Sekai's hand was-
"Midori's..."
Ken could not believe and continued what he was about to say. He never thought that he would see something that would belong to Midori again. In Sekai's hand was Midori's self-custom Beretta 92 gunblade version. Unlike normal Beretta 92, it has the bottom of the barrel shaped like a knife thus earning it the title 'The first gunblade' in the afterlife world. He thought that the weapon was lost in the battle but-
Midori gave it to Sekai seconds before she was consumed...
Ken thought, something seemed to rise inside of himself as Sekai shouted.
"However to me, Tachibana is someone who is as important as Midori! I will use whatever it means to protect her so that the tragedy will not happen to her like how it happened to Midori!"
"Even if you have to sacrifice Midori's last weapon?"
"If it comes to the worst, I will."
"...Ha..."
Clan-Clank!
Much to Sekai's surprise, Ken dropped his shurikens. He slowly stepped back away from Sekai. Sekai could only stared in Ken in confusion. However the confusion increased when, Ken he suddenly...
"Hahaha- Ah hahahaaha!"
He laughed. Sekai thought that he had made a motion to cover his face but realized that he was pulling back his hood again. Covered by the hood, Sekai couldn't see his eyes. But the laughing mouth was still visible to him. The laughing soon stopped as Ken started to shout.
"You know Sekai, I wanted to convince you to join me today! We were like brothers before the Dark Birthday! I expected that you would have decided to help me to revive Midori! But I was wrong!"
Ken shouted, like a mad man he faced the dark night and shouted at Sekai.
"I was wrong! But that was fine! I thought that in the end when I succeeded, I would forgive you and the three of us would be together again! However!"
Ken suddenly stopped and lifted his right hand in mid air, as if trying to grab something that was going to appear.
"Midori and I no longer have a place in your heart anymore! You traitor! You know that I hate Traitors Sekai! And you know how I think of traitors!"
As soon as Ken finished shouting, shadows started to appear around him. Sekai was startled, however he soon realized that the shadows doesn't have any definite shape. Ken continued as the shadows continued to circle around him.
"Traitors...should be Eliminated."
"Shadow skill: Tainted scythe of the Death."
Shadows started to rise and revolved around the palm of his right hand. The shadows slowly formed a long definite shape on his right hand beforeuddenly the shape of a weapon could be seen on his hand. At first look, it looked like a staff, a long staff that was twice Ken's height. However, the two long blades facing each side at different end proved otherwise.
It was a scythe, or rather, a double edged scythe. The entire scythe was in dark black color like the shadows but instead of an ordinary black white blade, there was a crimson-red blade that was shining brightly, giving an aura that it could cut anything that it touches. Even a tank couldn't possibly stand on its way. This was...
"Take a look at this Sekai, this is the power of the Shadow Player made by Midori, the power to destroy everything. Take a good look at it, since this weapon will be the one ending your life, permanently.
A/N: Whew! One chapter done!
Midori: You seemed to have given me another strange ability...
A/N: Of course I have. You are an important character in the story after all.
Midori: Well I can accept that, but I thought our agreement was the the 'Tainted Scythe of the Death' was supposed to be used like...more than 7 chapters away? And it's it supposed to be a version 4 of some weapon?
A/N: Ah about that, well because I shouldn't leak much spoilers here I should say that kept on changing a weapon is going to be annoying for the readers and if give it two version will be like very lame so...one cool weapon will be enough. Technically Kanade's Handsonic ver 2-4 were quite useless in the series as well.
Midori: Well that is correct, ah don't you want to say something to the readers?
A/N: Ah right! Here goes.
Fenichi de Toeni: Thanks for the review Fenichi de Toeni (can I call you Fenichi next time? It's shorter). Well this chapter is about 3,000 so I hope it's about the correct amount to your taste. Thanks a lot for the early review! It give me some boost of energy in making the next chapter
thedarkaxe: Thanks for the review again thedarkaxe! You have been supporting me until here, I must say that I am grateful to you for supporting me along the way.
Gixagne: Thanks for the constant Review again Gixagne! It give me the last push to wrap up this chapter! You have been supporting me since the first chapter with thedarkaxe and this story wouldn't have been possible until you have given me the first OC, Akito. Thanks for the constant support!
And in the end, Please Read and Review! Even though I may be out for a few weeks due to exams of mid year, I will come back as fast as possible!
