*I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE MENTIONED ANIME NOR ITS CHARACTERS*
Speech: "Home is where the heart is."
Thoughts: 'Can i really go through with this?'
Whispering: "I will do anything and everything I can do to help."
*Everyone please enjoy the first chapter of Beyond The Wings Of Fate for the New Year of 2017!*
Chapter 22: The Black Cat And Goddesses Story
Kanzaki Residence
Takami's personal security guards had left the Kanzaki household after seeing Antonio, Minato, Yukari and their Sekirei returning from Hakone after having dealt with twelfth pillar, Kaori and her minions of ice. Inside, Takami and Chiho were watching a news report on the events that happened not only in Hakone, but other similar cities that have been casted in a 'Icy oasis'. The two females turned their attention towards the entrance of the living room/kitchen area as they heard the soft sounds of talking which made them get up and head to the front foyer.
"I can't believe that you actually slipped and fell on a small patch of ice." Said Ikki as she chuckled slightly, causing Saki's face to light up with embarrassment.
"I thought you said you didn't see anything!" Replied Saki. Ikki had simply shrugged her shoulders in response.
"Obviously I lied." Said Ikki softly as she had sweatdropped.
"You fell?" Asked Antonio, causing Saki's eyes which were still filled with embarrassment to fall upon him. Without a moment's notice, Saki launched herself towards Antonio and began to nibble on his right arm while imitating the sound of a chainsaw.
"Takami, thank you for looking over our home, would you like to stay for dinner?" Asked Miya. She had then seen Takami thinking by slowly rubbing her chin.
"I think I'll take you up on that offer Miya, thank you." Replied Takami. As everybody in the household conversated with themselves, Uzume had noticed something off about Chiho, almost as if her mind was in another place altogether, so being the big sister she was, Uzume decided to approach Chiho.
"Hey Chiho, Is something up?" Asked Uzume as she had suddenly snapped Chiho out of her thinking 'funk'.
"N-Nothing." Replied Chiho, causing Uzume to have a sort of mischievous smirk on her face.
"So mysterious." Said Uzume softly as she crept closer to Chiho. "What are you thinking about?" Asked Uzume. She had then seen Chiho waving her arms slowly.
"I-I was just thinking about what's for dinner." Replied Chiho softly, causing Uzume to have a change in facial expression.
"Oh, is that so? Well whatever Miya decides to whip up will be totally delicious!" Said Uzume, catching Miya's attention.
"You'll help with making dinner, won't you Uzume?" Asked Miya. The Sekirei Goddess had then seen Uzume fanning her hand up and down.
"I don't think I'd be much help with the cooking portion of dinner, but I'd be more help with the eating side of…" Before Uzume could speak, everyone had seen a purplish aura manifest itself around Miya while her infamous hannya rose above Miya's body and stared directly at Uzume, causing the Veil Sekirei to quickly sweat bullets, all the while Miya kept a straight smile on her face while having her head tilted. "Urgk.."
"You'll help make dinner, won't you Uzume?" Asked Miya softly while the eyes of her hannya mask still rested upon Uzume. "Hmmmm?"
"Y-Yeah I'll help Miya, so you can put that mask away." Replied Uzume softly, causing the hannya mask to fade away, along with Miya's menacing aura which made everyone in the front foyer more calm and caused Kuu to come out from behind Antonio.
"Hehe, thank you Uzume." Said Miya as she giggled. As Uzume began to scratch the back of her head, Chiho had looked upon the side of Uzume's face before slipping back into her thoughts of how she could be of some help but couldn't think of anything, at the moment.
A Park Nearby Kawakami Hotel
Koneko had fixed her skirt before sitting down on a bench in a park that was near Kawakami Hotel. She had felt that her mind was being cluttered and thought getting some fresh air before heading back to Issei and the others would clear her head Especially after the events that happened in Hakone. As the gentle breeze touched the soft skin of her face, she had placed some of her own hair behind her right ear while looking out onto the open field of the park.
-Flashback-
"What's the matter?" Asked Rias as she sat next to her rook Devil Piece in the warm, soothing bath water with her red hair tied up with a towel sitting atop her head. "Is something troubling you?" Rias had then seen Koneko slowly nod her head.
"It's Nee-san." Replied Koneko, causing Rias to change her facial expression.
"Ara, your older sister." Replied Akeno as she as well got in the bath with her two comrades. "From what I understand, she's a highly wanted Devil in the underworld for killing her master."
"That's right." Replied Koneko. "Thought I never understood why she did nor the reason why I was nearly executed at such a young age."
"Either way.." Chimed in Ria. "Even though it is our duty to make sure she pays for the many crimes she's committed, including killing her previous master. We all will make sure that she will never touch you."
"B-Buchou…" Said Koneko softly.
"She's right you know. We can't have anything happen to our adorable little kouhai now can we?" Asked Akeno. "Even Issei won't allow anything bad happen to you, even though you put him through your 'Rigorous' reform training."
-Flashback END-
As Koneko's flashback had ended, she had slowly brought her hands together and had began to lower her eyes towards her intertwined hands.
"Onee-san." Koneko said softly.
"You called…" Koneko had immediately jerked her head up at the familiar voice. After a few seconds of looking around, she looked upwards and had seen her elder sister, a black Nekomata, Kuroka laying down on a tree branch that was right above the bench that Koneko was sitting down on. "My dear, sweet Imōto?"
.
"Kuroka!" Said Koneko as she jumped a few inches away from the bench she was sitting at as she had seen Kuroka begin to slowly sit up on the tree branch she was on while her tail was wagging slowly. "What are you doing here!"
"That's mean, can't family check on family once in awhile nya?" Replied Kuroka in a joking tone of voice as she faked being hurt by Koneko's statement which had caused the white Nekomata white cat ears and whitetail to emerge from her body as she got into her stance. Kuroka had seen this and had suddenly allowed a smirk to appear on her face. "Oh my, so you've finally become like me, becoming one with your heritage." When Kuroka had said this, Koneko had tightened her fists up.
"I maybe a Nekomata, but I will never be like you." Replied Koneko in a serious tone of voice which actually made Kuroka frown a bit but managed to keep it hidden away from her younger sister.
"That may be, I can't change your opinion nya. But…"
"But what?" Replied Koneko as she had seen Kuroka's right index finger glided slowly across her bottom lip.
"But what If I told you about the real reason, about what really happened nya." Said Kuroka softly, causing Koneko's eyes to widen as the visage of a younger Kuroka appeared in her head with blood splatters on her cheeks and blood dripping down Kuroka's left hand and her claws.
"I already know what happened!" Replied Koneko. "You were..." Koneko had stopped speaking at the sight of her older sister covering her mouth with the back of her right hand, preventing herself from letting her laughter out.
"Drunk with power?" Asked Kuroka, interrupting her little sister. "That I was beyond the point of reasoning and that I killed that man without hesitation? If that is what they told you, then Unfortunately they left some major things out about what had really happened nya."
"What really happened?" Koneko asked softly. "What do you mean!?"
"Exactly what I meant nya." Replied Kuroka as her ears had twitched at the sense of incoming people. "But I'm afraid that our chit-chat will have to resume, preferably when It's just you and me and not an audience, maybe then I can finally tell you the truth to what had happened that made me a 'rogue devil'." Said Kuroka as she snapped her fingers, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Koneko just stood there dazed, not even noticing Rias walking next to her while Akeno, Xenovia and Kiba took to the skies in search of the highly wanted Devil.
"Kuroka…" Koneko said softly before she had felt Rias placing her left arm around her shoulders.
Beyond The Wings Of Fate
Later
"You know I think this maybe the first time you've invited me to your room Miya." Stated Antonio when he looked around to see it was like any ordinary room as Miya gently grabbed and led them both to their bed. As the pair sat down on Miya's comfortable bed, with Antonio wearing his traditional night time wear which consisted of his black shirt with a white Sekirei logo on the left side of his chest and Miya with her pink sleeping gown.
"Well I'll remember to bring you to my room more often." Said Miya. "Did you enjoy dinner tonight?"
"Ah man are you kidding? Whenever you make dinner Miya, it's always going to be delicious." Said Antonio, causing Miya to smile while her cheeks turned rosy pink.
"Well I sure do appreciate cooking for my husband who loves to eat ." Said Miya before she laughed slightly. When her short laughter was over, she took in a deep breath, then exhaled.
"So what's up Miya, you said you wanted to talk about something?" Said Antonio, causing Miya to nod her head.
"Yes, I believe it's the best time to tell you, about my previous encounter with Xros." Replied Miya, causing Antonio to let a gasp escape from his mouth.
"You met Xros before?" Asked Antonio. Ever since the very beginning of the Thirteen Pillars of Evil's arrival, Miya knew that the same threat had come once again, just like it did many, many years ago.
"Yes unfortunately. It was after Matsuro had helped guiding all of the hurt and misguided Sekirei to their proper Ashikabi's and for awhile, things were peaceful, not perfect but peaceful. Yet, that peace was disturbed by Xros himself, scaring all the humans to death with his claim to purge the world he calls paradise of people who were unworthy of seeing it's beauty." Said Miya with a serious look on her face. "No one knows where he had came from or how he originated, not even me. I don't have any Idea on how he had returned, especially after so much time had passed…" Miya had felt Antonio's hand on top of her's and the goddess could feel the warmth emitting from her husband's palm.
"No matter where Xros came from or how he came to be, I won't allow him to do as he pleases. This world may not be perfect, but it's the world I love because I'm on it and share it with my friends, and you guy's, my family." Said Antonio. When Miya looked upon his face, she had seen the seriousness was exactly as Matsuro Kirigaya's was when he claimed to protect the Sekirei and fight against Xros and his pillars. She was met with a flashback of seeing Matsuro's back, along with his comrades who stood and fought a long and gruesome battle with him. "I swear it."
"I know…" Replied Miya softly as she placed her hand on Antonio's cheek softly. "Thank you." Miya had leaned in closer to Antonio and planted her soft lips against her husband and Ashikabi's lips which made her Sekirei Crest react, allowing her euphoric lilac color wings of light to illuminate her room.
"Come on! I know I can beat this boss, though I forgot to save." Said Saki as she sat at her computer table and was really getting into her game before she went to sleep. "So long as nothing unexpected happens, then…" before Saki could finish talking, the lights in her room, along with the rest of the house flickered off for a couple seconds before cutting the power off then came right back on the next. Saki just stared at her monitor with a blank expression as her game came up to the menu. "And I didn't save my game either." Said Saki softly as she was screaming on the inside. When Antonio was unable to sleep due to the visages of Xros appearing in his head, Antonio was careful not to wake up any of his family members or Chiho as he went out on a night stroll to clear his head.
'So now we got a name for the leader of this madness but why, why does he have the face of my father?' Antonio thought to himself as he was walking down a sidewalk with his hands in his sweatpants pockets.
"I see you are out and about again tonight…" As Antonio heard the familiar voice, he looked around until he had seen Kuroka sitting casually atop a ledge while tail was wagging slowly and black cat ears twitched occasionally. "Shiro-kun nya."
"Kuroka…" Said Antonio softly as he had seen Kuroka jumping down from the ledge and started to slowly approach him with her tail still wagging.
"So I see you are out on your nightly stroll again nya." Said Kuroka, causing Antonio to slowly nod his head up and down.
"Y-Yeah, I always do whenever I need to clear my head." Replied Antonio. For some reason, he could tell Kuroka was, a bit off for some reason. Ever since living with his Sekirei, he has become really good at reading people's body language, though he was nowhere near Miya's nor Yume's level of reading one's body language. When he looked at Kuroka's body, it screamed of pain, hurt and most of all, loneliness.
"Oh my, you know it's rude to stare at a girl with the kind of eyes you have right now~." Said Kuroka in a sing-song type of voice which caused Antonio to scratch the back of his head.
"I'm sorry Kuroka." Replied Antonio, causing Kuroka to grin.
"I forgive, I don't have a problem with you staring at me so just…"
"Are you ok Kuroka?" Asked Antonio, causing the black Nekomata eyes to widen when he asked her a question that hardly no one asked.
"What do you mean? I'm fine." Said Kuroka as she tried to put up a front, lying about how she actually feels. "Perfectly fine…"
"Just by seeing your body language, I can tell that something is eating you up inside." Replied Antonio. Then Kuroka had a flashback to where Koneko stated she will never be anything like her which made her cat ears droop down.
"I-I'm sorry for saying that so suddenly!" Said Antonio as he quickly apologized.
"Nobody ever listens…" Said Kuroka softly.
"Ehh?" Replied Antonio in a curious tone of voice.
"Nobody ever listens to me!" Replied Kuroka in a heightened tone of voice with tears forming in her eyes which stunned Antonio. "Not then and not now! It sucks, having to live your life everyday on the run because no one would listen to you. It's not fair dammit…" Said Kuroka softly as she gently rubbed the tears away from her eye with her right sleeve. At that moment, Antonio knew that he wanted to help her out in someway.
"If it will help any…" Antonio had placed his hands atop of Kuroka's shoulders, causing her cat eyes to gaze into his. "I will be the ears that'll listen to your troubles." Said Antonio, causing Kuroka's eyes to widen.
"Alright…" Replied Kuroka softly.
Later
As the pair walked to a nearby playground that was lit by a street light that was in close proximity, the two had sat next to each other on a swing set while Antonio listened to everything Kuroka had to say, everything and had payed close attention as well.
"So you killed your master, Astaroth when you was younger because he tried to molest your younger sister?" Asked Antonio so he could get a better understanding as to why Kuroka became a highly wanted Devil in the underworld. He had seen Kuroka nodding her head slowly.
"I was so furious." Replied Kuroka. "I was so furious and upset that I couldn't do anything to protect her so I've waited until the right time when I was more efficient with my Senjustu and Youjustsu before anything. She was afraid of him and seeing her like that, made me feel like I've failed as her big sister." Said Kuroka as she slowly formed a fist with both of her hands as they sat atop her thighs. "
"But you didn't fail her, because you protected her from further harm like a big sister would do." Said Antonio, causing Kuroka to turn her head to face him. "Yes there were consequences for doing what you did, but it was to protect your family and if presented with a similar situation, I probably would've done the same thing. I would go to great lengths to ensure the safety of my precious loved ones and make sure no harm would come their way, in a sense that is what you did Kuroka. I do not believe you're evil." When Antonio said this, Kuroka's eyes widen as her tail started to wag slowly. "I do not believe you're evil. There's no way that someone who protects their family can be that way." When Kuroka heard this, she had seen Antonio smiling warmly towards her which caused a light blush to appear on her cheeks as she could feel her heartbeat increase while a 'thumping' sound echoed in her chest.
"Damn, Damn that 'silver tongue' of yours.." Said Kuroka softly before getting off the swing next to Antonio, which caused him to lift his head up slightly.
"Eh? Did you say something just now?" Asked Antonio. He had then seen Kuroka slowly walking in front of him as he still sat on the swing while having his hands holding onto the chains that held the swing up.
'Somehow, you know just the right things to say…" Antonio had felt Kuroka placing her hands on his shoulders. 'And even though have so many girls around you…' Antonio had then seen Kuroka crouching down, placing her hand on Antonio's right cheek then slowly brought her face to his. The next thing Antonio knew, Kuroka had planted her lips on his left cheek, causing his eyes to slowly widen, 'I can't help but feel that I'm falling for you.'
"Kuroka.." Antonio said softly as he had seen Kuroka standing up straight while fixing some dangling hair.
"Thanks for listening to me, I appreciate that a lot." Kuroka said softly, causing Antonio to smile.
"No problem, I'll be here to listen." Replied Antonio as he smiled warmly towards Kuroka who turned her back to Antonio to hide the blush that suddenly made an appearance on her face.
?
"I'm sorry Master Xros, the twelfth pillar failed to complete her objective." Said Xyla as she kneeled before Xros, the being behind the destructive force of the thirteen pillars of evil. The Fallen Angel heard Xros sigh at her current statement which made her body tense up, making her body as stiff as a board as she feared what her master might say or even do to her. If he wanted Xros could make her existence come to an abrupt end.
"Xyla.." Said Xros softly, catching Xyla's attention as she had felt her master gently lifting her chin up to where their eyes met with each other. The Fallen Angel had let out a slight gasp at her master suddenly appearing in front of her, just a few mere inches from her face. "Have you or have you not dedicated your life your entire being to serving me?" Asked Xros, causing Xyla to slowly nod her head up and down.
"Y-Yes I have Master Xros. I have dedicated my whole being to serve you." Replied Xyla softly.
"Then keep on serving me like you have been." Said Xros as he stood up straight while Xyla still kneeled before him. "Everything at my disposal is to wipe the earth clean of its 'filth' and to restore it back to it's beautiful state. What we truly need to continue to make our goal a reality, is a simple change of scenery outside of Japan ."
"Yes my liege." Replied Xyla softly while Xros a sinister grin slowly become visible on his face.
Beyond The Wings Of Fate
The next morning, Momoyo had texted and told Antonio that she wanted to meet up somewhere in Kawakami City because Yamato had something he wanted to say to him, he didn't tell his Sekirei where he was going and what it was about because he knew they would want to come and make Yamato regret diving into his and Mizuki's personal life.
"Heading out Antonio?" Asked Chiho as she had walked towards the front door to see Antonio placing on his shoes.
"Yeah just for a little bit." Replied Antonio after he successfully placed on his shoes. He had then kissed Chiho on the forehead which gave Chiho a sense of protection and comfort. "I won't be gone long."
"Ok, be safe." Said Chiho. She had then seen Antonio nodding his head before walking out the door and towards his red Camaro.
Kawakami Secret Base
'Is this the building?' Antonio thought to himself as he pulled up to a tall building in his Camaro. He thought it was the wrong place Momoyo told him to be at because of the boards cutting off entrance through the front door. 'Maybe It's a bit more up the street?' After Antonio started up his car, he looked towards his right to see Momoyo waving towards him from the side of the building. 'Guess this is it then.' Momoyo had then seen Antonio getting out of his car and closing the door while also locking the vehicle before approaching her.
"Hey, glad you made it." Said Momoyo as Antonio walked up to her.
"Hey Momo, I thought this wasn't the building you told me to come to because the entrance was boarded up." Replied Antonio before he gently kissed Momoyo on her cheek, causing a light pink blush to emerge on her face. "What is this place?"
"It's the 'Kazama Family Secret Base'." Replied Momoyo. "After you left Japan and as we got older, we all wanted a place to hang out after school and so we found this old building and claimed it as our secret base. Come on, let's go inside."
"Yeah." Replied Antonio as he followed Momoyo to walk through a door that was behind the seemingly abandoned building. As they entered the building they were met with a flight of stairs that they began to walk up. After walking up a few flight of stairs Momoyo and Antonio had stopped at a door.
"It's behind here." Said Momoyo as she gently gripped onto the door handle before opening it. When she had seen Antonio nodding his head, she opened the door which led into the room where the Kazama family spent most of their time. Antonio had seen that the large room was in great condition with three couches that surrounded a coffee table, multiple bookshelves that was stocked with a lot of different manga, even a fridge.
"Woah there's a lot of stuff…"
"Greetings." When Antonio looked straight ahead, he had seen an egg-shaped robot suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Woah!" Said Antonio as he fell down and landed on his rear end while Momoyo looked towards the considered member of the Kazama family.
"Hey cookie, have you been looking after the place alright?" Asked Momoyo while Antonio slowly got up to his feet as he rubbed off the debris from the back of his pants.
"Yes, everything is in top notch form!" Replied Cookie.
"Good." Said Momoyo. She had then seen her boyfriend looking at Cookie with a face of wondering what was he even looking at. "This here is cookie, he is a robot and apart of the Kazama family. Cookie this is Antonio, we grew up together as kids." Said Momoyo.
"Greetings Antonio, would you like a cold refreshing beverage?" Asked Cookie who had seen Antonio scratch the back of his head.
"N-No I'm ok." Replied Antonio softly.
"Are you sure?" Asked Cookie.
"You don't have to be shy." Chimed in Momoyo. "Cookie doesn't mind one bit if you ask him for things since you know me and Capt."
"Well If it's alright, would you cola by any chance?" Asked Antonio.
"Cola? No problem." Replied Cookie. Antonio had then seen the egg shaped robot begin to shake for a few seconds before the top half of cookie slowly raised up to reveal the interior of the robot. He had then seen a little mechanical arm extending outwards while holding onto a can of cola.
"Thanks." Said Antonio as he took the can of cola from Cookie and when he did, the top half of cookie connected with his bottom half and returned to normal. When Antonio opened the cold can of cola and took a sip from it, Momoyo had walked over to Cookie and began to rub Cookie's head.
"Cookie's been looking over this place for a very long time, he always stays stocked with cold beverages of different kinds and has a built in popcorn machine."
"Seriously!?" Replied Antonio in a amazed tone of voice. He had then seen Momoyo nodding her head. At the sound of someone getting up, Antonio had looked towards the couches and had seen him, Yamato along with Miyako standing up next to each other. It was so silent in the room that you could hear a little critter scattering on the floor as Cookie started rotating back and forth from Yamato to Antonio while Momoyo could sense the anger in Antonio rise little by little…
And that is the very first chapter for Beyond The Wings Of Fate for the new year of 2017! I apologize for the delay as I have been busy with real life.
I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year and wish to thank each and everyone for reading the stories I publish. I also wish to thank everyone for being as patient as possible as I get a publishing schedule together.
If you guys have any Ideas you wish to see be implemented into a future chapter, PM with your idea! I wish to see you guy's creativity with the ideas you may tell me about.
I feel that 2017 will be a year that with you guy's helpful reviews, that I will write better chapters so I appreciate all of you guys's support!
Next Chapter: A Change Of Heart: Kuroka's Probation?!
