Ch.43 A Promise
After knocking on the door of residence, a series of footsteps can be heard quickly moving to the door as the door flies open and a woman stands at the doorway with a very worried look on her face as she states.
"Panic, Kenji, Sora, is that you?"
Hiro recognizes her immediately as he flashes back to that day again and he is about to go into his usual panic, but he quickly takes his medication. It is Yuzuru and she looks incredibly upset and she notices Kenji as she walks to him and asks.
"Worry, are you okay, Kenji?"
Kenji wakes up and he smiles at her before falling asleep again. Hiro puts his hand on Yuzuru's shoulder and trembles as he tells her.
"We'll tell you what happened, but we should talk inside."
Mana and Kotori nod as Yuzuru immediately recognizes them. They are then invited into the home, and as they get closer, Kaguya runs into the hall with the same amount of worry and gets the same response. Yuzuru is wearing a blue shirt with a simple pair of brown pants and a purple apron without any shoes. Kaguya is wearing a purple loose-fitting sweater with blue jeans and sandals on. Yuzuru prepares tea, and Kaguya grabs some backed cookies as everyone sits down and discusses what happened. Hiro and Kotori look at the pictures that are on display and are starting to understand what the registry meant.
Hiro smiles, more so than Kotori has ever seen, and he just looks, at peace as he looks upon the photos. As Yuzuru and Kaguya sit down with the tea and cookies, the three are prepared to tell the full truth. Kaguya first explains.
"I was supposed to meet those two at our usual ramen shop, but Shido called me at the last second and said he needed me to bring him his lunch because he forgot it, and then on the way back I saw the ambulance and immediately got worried because of the direction, and I just…I freaked out."
Yuzuru doesn't make things any easier when she adds.
"Explination, I was watching TV when an emergency news cast came on and I heard so people were murdered where Kids were going, and I began to panic as well, but we were told to stay home."
The two are a little calmer for the moment, but then Yuzuru asks.
"Question, where is Sora?"
This is the hard part, and without the complicated explanation, Hiro tells her.
"Sora….was taken by our enemy."
The two are both caught by shock at the same time. Kaguya is apparently the angrier one as she actually jumps over the table and grabs Hiro by his jacket as she shakes him and demands.
"Who!? Who took my Sora!? I want my Sora back!"
Yuzuru grabs Kaguya by waist and yanks her off. Hiro said it because he figured this is how she would react. Yuzuru then tells her.
"Statement, calm down, Kaguya!"
Kaguya gets free, confronts Yuzuru, and tells her.
"You wouldn't be so calm if Kenji is the one they took!"
Yuzuru slaps Kaguya, stares at her, and Kaguya apologizes as she takes it back and adds.
"You're right, it wouldn't have mattered either way."
Hiro then explains the situation in more detail as he feels compelled to let them know the truth. They just listen to his explanation, and they just listen and listen until Hiro finishes. When he finishes, Kaguya asks.
"So this whole time, you've been away from your families?"
Hiro and the girls nod and then Yuzuru asks.
"Wonder, don't you get lonely for them?"
Hiro answers.
"For who? My parents, no I haven't talked with them in months."
Kotori then directly asks.
"So what's up with the whole Yamai name on the parental registry?"
Yuzuru explains that.
"Explination, when Shido married us, it technically wasn't a legal marriage due to polygamy not being legal. We had our wedding in secret and we put Yamai on the certificate. He's gone through a lot of trouble for the both of us, so we thought it appropriate to return the favor, but a complication arose when I became pregnant with our son Kenji."
Kaguya adds to the explanation as she continues.
"Yeah, and I became pregnant with Sora about a few months later. We were happy with our babies, but then we had the issue with school registration. Kenji was born five months before Sora, and if we put the real birthdates on the registry, they would have become suspicious. So we registered them as twins. It was the simplest solution. It didn't matter to us anyway, because we loved each other's children as much as our own. I love Kenji because he's my son."
Yuzuru then states.
"Declaration, I love Sora, she's my daughter."
Kenji has been moved to his bedroom upstairs to rest. Yuzuru and Kaguya are like the others the group has met so far, they can tell what is being said is true. Hiro stands and declares something to the twins.
"I promise you, on my rank a colonel of the AST, that I will personally see to Sora's safe return."
Mana and Kotori nod as they agree with this promise. But unbeknownst to them, Kenji is listening as he is out of bed. He hides upstairs and has heard everything. He then decides to help, even though he has no power of his own. The sounds of more footsteps can be heard as two little girls make their way into the living room dressed in violet-blue elementary school uniforms and look identical to each other. The two ask in sync with each other.
"Mom, can we watch our show please?"
The Yamai sisters nod as the two girls look excited and turn on the TV to a superhero show. Kotori looks at them and asks.
"Who are those two?"
Kaguya happily answers.
"They are Shinatsuhiko and Shinatobe, and I came up with those names myself."
Yuzuru then adds.
"Retort, but those names are too long, so we just call them Tsuhiko and Tobe and their friends call them the Shina twins."
Mana and Kotori think they're adorable, and Mana asks with curiosity.
"So who is the mother of who?"
Yuzuru and Kaguya look at each other as they both answer.
"We're not really sure ourselves."
This causes the three to become a little shocked and Yuzuru explains.
"Explanation, we birthed them on the same day, and we did here in our home. We couldn't go to a hospital, just like Kenji and Sora. We also bought them the same clothes, the same bottles, and they look identical. We eventually stopped caring as we cared for them equally."
Despite everything that was just said, Hiro still has that peaceful smile on his face. He hears a communication from the ship as Akane says.
"We have a problem."
Aboard the ship, the group members aboard the ship are receiving a transmission from the Oa as the captain of the ship holds Miya by the hair and states.
"I'm so happy you found my prisoner. She tried to feign ignorance by offering you those autographs, but nobody flees from us, nobody. Not even that white haired wizard stood a chance against my forces."
That statement immediately catches Akane and Ellen's attention as Akane asks.
"You mean you killed a wizard with white hair?"
The captain shakes his head and declares.
"No, she is nothing but another prisoner to me."
Akane is angry about this and Tohka immediately jumps in and tells him.
"Origami may be a jerk, but she shouldn't be taken a prisoner. So give her back!"
The captain looks at Tohka and says.
"Oh ho, is that a challenge I detect? Fine, if you want them back, then take them! I welcome an invasion!"
The Oa then reappears and stops in front of the Bifrost. Almost as if this is an invitation to fight. Then, a green light appears in the Bifrost's bridge. Tohka is the first to inspect it as she puts her hand into it and can feel something on the other end and manages to pull it back with her as she looks at it and wonders.
"Is this some kind of weird torture device?"
Akane looks it and it is a simple piece of wall from the inside of the ship, but it is also black like the exterior. It is clearly a warp spot to the Oa, but this causes suspicion among the group. Ellen first points this out as she states.
"This feels too easy."
Akane is in agreement as she has a plan. She tells Mana and Kotori to come back to the ship while she and Ellen with Tohka go to the Oa and find out their game. Hiro is to stay with the Yamai sisters and protect them, which Hiro is entirely for. Miyuki and Shiori don't know about this fight and it is preferred they not get involved with conflict. Mana returns to the ship with Kotori as they handle the controls as Akane, Ellen, and Tohka enter the green warp and are instantly taken to the interior of the Oa. The ship has a dark interior that Akane has to light up using her flame abilities by lighting her sword up like a torch. The ship is also devoid of any life for the moment. Ellen equips her Alexander as she is preparing for any ambush that may come. Tohka has her Sandalphon ready as she is at just enough power to fight and not cause too much destruction. Akane has her sword in hand already and is good for a fight at any moment.
Back on the Bifrost, Mana and Kotori gradually dislike the situation even less and Mana says.
"But I thought that Miya was our enemy. So does this mean she's just a victim?"
Kotori then restates.
"You DID hear it from Saori after all. It's pretty clear that we can't trust anything she says to us."
Mana agrees but then responds.
"But if she was just lying to us, then what was the reason? Only three of us were on the ground when she made her move. I don't think she's involved with this group."
They decide to leave it for the moment as the important thing right now is maintaining the ship. The Oa group on the other hand, they are moving throughout the ship without any real direction, but Ellen then says something.
"You know, I could swear that I've seen this design somewhere before. But where?"
Akane points out.
"Maybe you saw a design for it while working for DEM."
Ellen shakes her head and adds.
"I feel like it was more recently, but I still can't tell at the moment."
Tohka pays attention to Ellen's move as she still doesn't completely trust her. Luckily, the three are starting to hear people talking as they approach what appears to be a bridge that connects from one corridor to another and below the bridge is a lake of green toxic waste. On the other side of this bridge is a familiar foe, Geri. She stands at the opposite side of this bridge with her swords ready. Akane immediately says.
"So, you're in league with the crew of the Oa!"
Geri walks closer as she declares.
"I won't let you proceed, you're going to drown in the waste here, DIE!"
Geri now has a dark aura around her body of negative energy. She charges at the trio as Tohka and Akane both swing their swords which Geri blocks with ease as she then says with a smile.
"I'll make the Oa your grave!"
Akane rebukes.
"No way, we're getting our friends back."
Tohka adds.
"Yeah, so you get out of our way."
Ellen then flies around and strikes Geri with her own sword and sends her into a wall, but she actually floats now as her aura surrounds her and she tells them.
"You're struggling for nothing. I won't lose to you!"
Geri dashes towards Ellen as the latter replies.
"You may very well die here yourself."
Geri simply smirks and replies.
"Not a bad idea, so just hurry up and die!"
Tohka gets in and attacks Geri as she is cut across the back by Sandalphon and retorts.
"Shut up, we're not dying!"
Akane then readies a fireball and adds.
"Yeah, I'll pass on the mutual suicide thing; I'll die on my own time, thanks."
Geri readies herself as she holds her stance and blocks the oncoming fireballs as she finally states.
"Fine! You're all gonna die here anyway."
Geri then swings her swords rapidly as a vortex of purple wind is created and she slices it releasing a series of wind blades as she calls out.
"Dragon Tempest!"
The blades hit Akane and Tohka as they are fast, but Ellen protects herself with a territory. Akane heals quickly and Tohka gets up a few seconds after as the attack didn't hurt too bad. Akane can't help but wonder.
"When did she get this good? I don't think she was this tough when Mana and Aki fought her."
Geri then actually warps from place to place as she has her sights set on Ellen right now. Ellen puts up another territory to protect herself, but as she does, the territory turns purple as she is impaled at three angles by shadow swords causing her to bleed. She doesn't hurt too badly, but Geri explains while warping around.
"Territory won't work on me. I've mastered abilities to counter that crap."
She then appears in front of Ellen and performs a X slash, which Ellen manages to barely block as Geri's physical strength is great. They collide until Ellen is pressed against a wall and then Geri is ready for a killing blow when Tohka slashes Geri across the back. Geri then jumps back to the bridge as she recovers a little. Akane then uses this opportunity to streak across the bridge with her sword in hand as she calls out.
"Burning Phoenix!"
The streak leaves a stretch of erupting flames as Geri is burned a bit and her hat even catches fire as it falls and she gets on her knees from tacking too much damage. She then thinks to herself.
"Damn it! I guess my body isn't used to negative mana…I can't even warp away."
Geri doesn't notice as her hat falls off and her face is finally revealed. Akane and Ellen are shocked as Geri looks exactly like Mana except her hair is longer and her eyes are azure. Geri finally notices and then tries covering her face with her hands as she says.
"Don't you dare look at me!"
Akane wonders.
"Another brainwashed Mana?"
Ellen then looks at Geri's tattoo and disagrees as she is in disbelief as she says.
"It can't be…."
Tohka and Akane look at Ellen and she asks Geri, while Mana and Kotori hear with the communicators.
"Are you one of DEMs clones?"
Geri cringes upon hearing this as Mana wants to know about this as Ellen explains to everyone.
"Before my daughter was born, Isaac threw around the idea of cloning wizards, but he backed out when he had the idea to reproduce me instead."
The tattoo on Geri's forehead, CWM-M is actually an acronym as Geri states her true name.
"Cloned Wizard Model: Mana, that was my birth name. But I was considered inferior, after being told I was perfect, a flawless model of the original. But they didn't mean it, I was trash they could throw away."
Tohka steps in and tell Geri.
"Don't think of yourself like that. You're not trash, DEM is just full of cruel people."
Geri stands up and proclaims.
"I'm not interested in the naïve babbling of woman who has people who need her."
Ellen tries to help Geri by offering her hand and says.
"Please, let me try to make amends for whatever DEM did to you."
Geri slaps Ellen's hand away and retorts.
"No, you can never undo what they did to me. I'm only alive because Shinra can use me. But he at least gave me a purpose and cared for me."
Geri backs up and then further states.
"Mana Takamiya, I know you're listening. Know that I intend to kill you, and that your existence is nothing but a burden on everyone. Do us all a favor and kill yourself before I do."
Geri then crushes a crystal in her hands and then disappears into a cloud of darkness as she has this look of utter hatred. Ellen cringes a bit as she then says.
"DEM….I guess I'll never truly escape that part of my life."
Tohka then approaches Ellen and tells her.
"You're not that woman anymore. I can at least say that about you."
On the other end in the ship, Mana feels bad about Geri and she wonders.
"Is she the only one? Or did the director create more?"
Kotori doesn't know how to feel, except absolute disgust at DEM for this. Ellen, Akane, and Tohka can't dwell on this as they proceed across the bridge and make their way to the deck.