NEW ROSE
By Paul D. Wright
Disclaimer: I don't own this, and neither do you.
Part Four: I'm stranded, far from home...
Kurei stared at the ceiling. He was tired. It had been two days now since he had regained conciseness, and
he was still aching all over. After the meal Neon had prepared, he had napped, then, that morning, had got
her to tell of the past months. He frowned.
Neon stood against the light, her hands shaking, the breakfast in her hands shacking violently.
Kurei reached up, took the tray, put it in it's proper place. She finally regained her composure, sat
on the bed beside him, picking up a spoon dipped it into the jam, held it to his face, ignoring his objections.
He gave in, accepted the food, as she began her story.
Raiha jumped up onto a piece of ruined concrete. He scanned the ruined globe of the UBS
stadium, and signaled to the others. He sighed, jumped on farther.
A short mile behind him, was the wreck of Mori Korin's car. It was still smoldering, but the fire
had gone out.
Inside, Joker had found the corpses. But, there was an oddness to the corpses of Mori Korin that
they could not identify. It seemed human. Yet...
Raiha shook his head. The problem will resolve itself in time, he though.
Neon had reported that there was a lockdown on the main houses. Very strange. Very suspicious.
Jumping over another piece of loose concrete, he saw a shape. It's angles suggested a human
shape, but it was twisted in unnatural ways. a coating of dark matter covering it. Raiha approached. His
mind racing.
He reached down, turned the form over. It's face stood revealed.
It was Kurei.
He gave the signal for the others to join him. As he waited, he searched for a pulse. Nothing.
He grimaced. Have we come here, risking ourselves, for nothing?
Then, faintly, he sensed it. A pulse, slow, faint, nearly invisible. He smiled, his bishonen face
brightening substansily. All is not lost, he thought.
"Is he.." asked a voice. Raiha turned. Neon and Joker stood behind him, looking anxious. And
with good reason. He smiled.
"Kurei-sama lives," he said, noting the look of relief momentarily cross Neon's face. Joker looked,
too, less anxious.
"Of course," said the rasta-braided one, "He's Kurei. He won't die because of Mori. If he had, I
would have had to kill him myself!"
Neon reached over to hit Joker, but was surprised to suddenly find her hand hanging in midair,
hung there on his hand.
"Oi, Neon-han, how violent you are, I did nothing to warrant such violence!"
"You idiot," she said, but she grinned slightly. As did Raiha.
Raiha nodded to the others.
"We must get Kurei-sama out of here."
"Where to?" asked Neon, worry crossing her face.
Raiha thought for a moment. He finally said:
"To my safe house on the west side of the prefecture. As far as I know, Mori never found out about it."
"Right," they others said, and moved closer.
Kurei finished the thoughts. He sighed. Despite his vow of two days ago, he no longer wanted this life.
He didn't care if Mori was alive. He'd taken all he'd loved. He'd killed Kuranei, banished his mother..
his FOSTER mother. His real mother...
He terminated that line of thought. He couldn't bare to think of his real mother. Her death, his disgrace,
all because of Recca. He sighed. Even the thoughts of Recca elicited no reaction.
I'm growing soft, he thought.
His thoughts drifted to the reason of his birth, of Recca's. Was there a reason? Did the
HachinoRyu have a hand in it? Maybe.. the later events, after his mother's death, certainly suggested it. Or
was he looking for patterns where none exist? He sighed again. This much thought was giving him a
headache.
I should inquire of my brother about this, he thought, and promptly drifted off to sleep.
Moments later, Neon appeared at the door, watching him, a peaceful look on her features.
The aforementioned brother was, at that moment, dashing up some stairs. behind him, the yelling of his
friends followed him, Fuuko accusing him of copying her work, Domon of vandalizing his forehead,
Yanagi of eating the snack she had prepared. He thought as he dashed.
kageru, the woman also known as Kagehashi, sat there at the table. Around her, her son Recca, and the rest
of the bunch sat, supping food and drinks. Domon and Fuuko had followed up Kuganie Kaoru's tale of
meeting Aki at school. She had sat to think. Her son looked out, at nothing.
"This isn't good," she said, finally.
"Yeah," said Fuuko, "She did seem overtly hostile. And yet..."
Everyone looked at her. She shook her head, and shrugged.
"Are they here to try for Yanagi again," Ganko asked, her little voice quivering.
"Dunno," Kuganie replied, "She did say watch the healing girl.. But I couldn't tell what she meant by that."
Recca snorted. Mikagami Tokia, looking cold and distant as usual, fingered his weapon, in almost delicate,
loving fashion.
"If she is, then we must be on guard, always."
"If they do try to harm Hime," Recca said, his voice low, "they will deal with me."
"Recca-kun," said the just mentioned Hime.
"I.. I hope that's not it.." Kuganei said, looking at the ground.
"Why, Kaoru? You got a crush, eh?" Fuuko teased, her laughing voice snapping the air of the tension like a
whip. Kuganei turned red, said:
"No! That's not it. I.." he fumbled, gave up. Fuuko laughed, the others grinned.
Well, most of the others.
"They are our enemy," Mikagami coldly said, getting up, heading for the door, "We must treat them as
such."
Recca rushed up the stairs, his school books beside him, his thoughts on the roof above the school grounds.
The door burst open, Recca flashed thru. He stood there, panting.
"Good afternoon, Hanabishi Recca," said a voice.
What the hell, he thought, lifting his head. A girl stood in front of him.
She was tall, a year or so older then he, with long reddish-pink hair, wide, large eyes.
She wasn't in a school uniform, instead a simple t-shirt and jeans adorned her ample form.
Recca recognized her instantly.
"Miki," he breathed.
She smiled, plainly satisfied that recognition had been placed.
"You.. Your after Hime, right? If you lay one finger on her.."
"No, Hanabishi Recca. We are not here for that."
"What then?"
Just then, the door opened, and the other members of Hokage rushed forward, pausing only when they
beheld the figure of Miki and Recca.
"You," Fuuko said. Domon smirked. Fuuko looked at her, fire blazing thru her eyes.
Yanagi moved closer to Recca, her quite fear showing on her open, gentle face.
Miki smirked, said "The gangs all here."
"Tell us, then. Why," Recca said, he words low and dangerous, "are you here?"
She smiled, turned her face back towards the fence. Commotions on the fields.
"We envied you, you know. You have such a normal life. You have what we never did."
"So, why are you here?"
"So single minded."
"Dammit.."
Fuuko stepped in front of him at that moment, stopping him. She gazed at the older girl.
"Is this about Kurei?" She asked.
"Not really," Miki said, with a sigh, "It's about that old man."
Recca looked surprised.
"Mori korin?"
"Yeah. Raiha thinks he'll try for Sakoshita again, if he's still alive. We're here to observe and make sure
that we can confirm the facts therein."
"He's dead," Domon said, "We saw the car. No way anyone could survive that."
The others agreded.
"I'd tend to agree," Miki said, "but Raiha-sama want's to be sure. Apparently, somethings not
right about this whole thing."
"What..?" Recca asked.
"Clones," said a voice.
They all turned to the sound of the voice, and saw Mikagami Tokiya lounging by the entrance.
"Clones?" Recca said.
"You remember, your fight with Kurei."
"My fight with Kurei?"
"That's right," Fuuko said suddenly, "At the last moment, Mori Korin appeared. With that clone."
Recca's expression turned to one of understanding. "That's right! A clone of Kurei!"
Fuuko, proud of herself, said, "And if he can do one of Kurei, what would stop him from making
a clone of himself."
"You amaze me, Kirisawa," Mikagami said.
She looked smug, said, "Because I figured it all out?"
"No, that you could."
That caused Fuuko to explode in a rage, cursing Mikagami, vowing to hurt him, and causing Domon,
with a heavy sigh, to restrain her. Miki watched the proceedings with a sweatdrop.
Recca turned to her, said "Thanks for the warning."
"I really shouldn't have warned you at all, you know. But since Aki was so discrete, I felt it necessary." she
turned to leave.
"Wait," Recca said. She paused, glanced at him. "What about my brother. What about Kurei?"
She paused, looking at the ground a moment, then:
"He's alive, Recca." And with that, she leaped away, darting over the fence, and vanishing.
They all ran to the fence, looked towards the ground. The place was bare, no trace of her was visible.
"Kurei," Recca breathed.
C&C welcome.
Hope you all like this, it's nearly finished.
And if ya don't.. Well, that's your problem.
By Paul D. Wright
Disclaimer: I don't own this, and neither do you.
Part Four: I'm stranded, far from home...
Kurei stared at the ceiling. He was tired. It had been two days now since he had regained conciseness, and
he was still aching all over. After the meal Neon had prepared, he had napped, then, that morning, had got
her to tell of the past months. He frowned.
Neon stood against the light, her hands shaking, the breakfast in her hands shacking violently.
Kurei reached up, took the tray, put it in it's proper place. She finally regained her composure, sat
on the bed beside him, picking up a spoon dipped it into the jam, held it to his face, ignoring his objections.
He gave in, accepted the food, as she began her story.
Raiha jumped up onto a piece of ruined concrete. He scanned the ruined globe of the UBS
stadium, and signaled to the others. He sighed, jumped on farther.
A short mile behind him, was the wreck of Mori Korin's car. It was still smoldering, but the fire
had gone out.
Inside, Joker had found the corpses. But, there was an oddness to the corpses of Mori Korin that
they could not identify. It seemed human. Yet...
Raiha shook his head. The problem will resolve itself in time, he though.
Neon had reported that there was a lockdown on the main houses. Very strange. Very suspicious.
Jumping over another piece of loose concrete, he saw a shape. It's angles suggested a human
shape, but it was twisted in unnatural ways. a coating of dark matter covering it. Raiha approached. His
mind racing.
He reached down, turned the form over. It's face stood revealed.
It was Kurei.
He gave the signal for the others to join him. As he waited, he searched for a pulse. Nothing.
He grimaced. Have we come here, risking ourselves, for nothing?
Then, faintly, he sensed it. A pulse, slow, faint, nearly invisible. He smiled, his bishonen face
brightening substansily. All is not lost, he thought.
"Is he.." asked a voice. Raiha turned. Neon and Joker stood behind him, looking anxious. And
with good reason. He smiled.
"Kurei-sama lives," he said, noting the look of relief momentarily cross Neon's face. Joker looked,
too, less anxious.
"Of course," said the rasta-braided one, "He's Kurei. He won't die because of Mori. If he had, I
would have had to kill him myself!"
Neon reached over to hit Joker, but was surprised to suddenly find her hand hanging in midair,
hung there on his hand.
"Oi, Neon-han, how violent you are, I did nothing to warrant such violence!"
"You idiot," she said, but she grinned slightly. As did Raiha.
Raiha nodded to the others.
"We must get Kurei-sama out of here."
"Where to?" asked Neon, worry crossing her face.
Raiha thought for a moment. He finally said:
"To my safe house on the west side of the prefecture. As far as I know, Mori never found out about it."
"Right," they others said, and moved closer.
Kurei finished the thoughts. He sighed. Despite his vow of two days ago, he no longer wanted this life.
He didn't care if Mori was alive. He'd taken all he'd loved. He'd killed Kuranei, banished his mother..
his FOSTER mother. His real mother...
He terminated that line of thought. He couldn't bare to think of his real mother. Her death, his disgrace,
all because of Recca. He sighed. Even the thoughts of Recca elicited no reaction.
I'm growing soft, he thought.
His thoughts drifted to the reason of his birth, of Recca's. Was there a reason? Did the
HachinoRyu have a hand in it? Maybe.. the later events, after his mother's death, certainly suggested it. Or
was he looking for patterns where none exist? He sighed again. This much thought was giving him a
headache.
I should inquire of my brother about this, he thought, and promptly drifted off to sleep.
Moments later, Neon appeared at the door, watching him, a peaceful look on her features.
The aforementioned brother was, at that moment, dashing up some stairs. behind him, the yelling of his
friends followed him, Fuuko accusing him of copying her work, Domon of vandalizing his forehead,
Yanagi of eating the snack she had prepared. He thought as he dashed.
kageru, the woman also known as Kagehashi, sat there at the table. Around her, her son Recca, and the rest
of the bunch sat, supping food and drinks. Domon and Fuuko had followed up Kuganie Kaoru's tale of
meeting Aki at school. She had sat to think. Her son looked out, at nothing.
"This isn't good," she said, finally.
"Yeah," said Fuuko, "She did seem overtly hostile. And yet..."
Everyone looked at her. She shook her head, and shrugged.
"Are they here to try for Yanagi again," Ganko asked, her little voice quivering.
"Dunno," Kuganie replied, "She did say watch the healing girl.. But I couldn't tell what she meant by that."
Recca snorted. Mikagami Tokia, looking cold and distant as usual, fingered his weapon, in almost delicate,
loving fashion.
"If she is, then we must be on guard, always."
"If they do try to harm Hime," Recca said, his voice low, "they will deal with me."
"Recca-kun," said the just mentioned Hime.
"I.. I hope that's not it.." Kuganei said, looking at the ground.
"Why, Kaoru? You got a crush, eh?" Fuuko teased, her laughing voice snapping the air of the tension like a
whip. Kuganei turned red, said:
"No! That's not it. I.." he fumbled, gave up. Fuuko laughed, the others grinned.
Well, most of the others.
"They are our enemy," Mikagami coldly said, getting up, heading for the door, "We must treat them as
such."
Recca rushed up the stairs, his school books beside him, his thoughts on the roof above the school grounds.
The door burst open, Recca flashed thru. He stood there, panting.
"Good afternoon, Hanabishi Recca," said a voice.
What the hell, he thought, lifting his head. A girl stood in front of him.
She was tall, a year or so older then he, with long reddish-pink hair, wide, large eyes.
She wasn't in a school uniform, instead a simple t-shirt and jeans adorned her ample form.
Recca recognized her instantly.
"Miki," he breathed.
She smiled, plainly satisfied that recognition had been placed.
"You.. Your after Hime, right? If you lay one finger on her.."
"No, Hanabishi Recca. We are not here for that."
"What then?"
Just then, the door opened, and the other members of Hokage rushed forward, pausing only when they
beheld the figure of Miki and Recca.
"You," Fuuko said. Domon smirked. Fuuko looked at her, fire blazing thru her eyes.
Yanagi moved closer to Recca, her quite fear showing on her open, gentle face.
Miki smirked, said "The gangs all here."
"Tell us, then. Why," Recca said, he words low and dangerous, "are you here?"
She smiled, turned her face back towards the fence. Commotions on the fields.
"We envied you, you know. You have such a normal life. You have what we never did."
"So, why are you here?"
"So single minded."
"Dammit.."
Fuuko stepped in front of him at that moment, stopping him. She gazed at the older girl.
"Is this about Kurei?" She asked.
"Not really," Miki said, with a sigh, "It's about that old man."
Recca looked surprised.
"Mori korin?"
"Yeah. Raiha thinks he'll try for Sakoshita again, if he's still alive. We're here to observe and make sure
that we can confirm the facts therein."
"He's dead," Domon said, "We saw the car. No way anyone could survive that."
The others agreded.
"I'd tend to agree," Miki said, "but Raiha-sama want's to be sure. Apparently, somethings not
right about this whole thing."
"What..?" Recca asked.
"Clones," said a voice.
They all turned to the sound of the voice, and saw Mikagami Tokiya lounging by the entrance.
"Clones?" Recca said.
"You remember, your fight with Kurei."
"My fight with Kurei?"
"That's right," Fuuko said suddenly, "At the last moment, Mori Korin appeared. With that clone."
Recca's expression turned to one of understanding. "That's right! A clone of Kurei!"
Fuuko, proud of herself, said, "And if he can do one of Kurei, what would stop him from making
a clone of himself."
"You amaze me, Kirisawa," Mikagami said.
She looked smug, said, "Because I figured it all out?"
"No, that you could."
That caused Fuuko to explode in a rage, cursing Mikagami, vowing to hurt him, and causing Domon,
with a heavy sigh, to restrain her. Miki watched the proceedings with a sweatdrop.
Recca turned to her, said "Thanks for the warning."
"I really shouldn't have warned you at all, you know. But since Aki was so discrete, I felt it necessary." she
turned to leave.
"Wait," Recca said. She paused, glanced at him. "What about my brother. What about Kurei?"
She paused, looking at the ground a moment, then:
"He's alive, Recca." And with that, she leaped away, darting over the fence, and vanishing.
They all ran to the fence, looked towards the ground. The place was bare, no trace of her was visible.
"Kurei," Recca breathed.
C&C welcome.
Hope you all like this, it's nearly finished.
And if ya don't.. Well, that's your problem.