X:2099
A fanfic by Epeeblade
Chapter One: Arrival
"Subaru-kun, what are you doing?"
Subaru barely suppressed the flinch that accompanied those words. How would he get
any work done if that man kept barging into his office? He glanced up, meeting that
irresistible face despite those silver glasses and his heart melted. Not that he didn't mind
the interruption every once in a while. Nervously he adjusted his eyepiece. "Research,
I've accessed the Sumeragi clan's digital library."
"And what have you found?" Seishirou asked, leaning back onto the black desk that was
strewn with computer pads, chips and various half eaten food items.
Subaru found himself blushing, wondering why, and then just snapped his attention back
to the view screen imbedded into the desktop. He changed the display so Seishirou could
see it too. "Old legend, of the time of the end of the world. Two great dragons would
battle, Dragons of Earth and Dragons of Heaven."
"Old legends, really, what would Satsuki think if she saw you now?" the older man's
deep voice held just a touch of chiding.
"She asked me to look into them," Subaru bit back a little defensively, "If we are going
against a group of people who think magic really exists it would be pertinent to gain as
much information on their belief systems as possible."
"You are really too cute, Subaru-kun," he lifted his hand, graceful as he tapped the side
of Subaru's cheek. "Have you found anything on two swords?"
"Swords?" Subaru's mind tried to latch on to the change of topic.
"Yes, swords, Satsuki told me and Sorata to look for two swords. Something in that
damnable woman's vision."
Why had Satsuki teamed Seishirou up with Sorata? It didn't seem fair, especially since he
had requested assignment with Seishirou. He frowned, ignoring the voices in the back of
his mind that told him there were all sorts of logical reasons for him to not be teamed
with the man in front of him. Their abilities were too similar for one. And even he
realized his attraction for the older man could inhibit him in a fight. "No, I don't see
anything about swords, but I can keep looking."
"Thank you!" Seishirou sank in a childish voice, "And I wouldn't stay immersed in the
Library for long, you've got a partner and an assignment as well."
Subaru watched him leave, before he keyed into his email, checked the duty roster.
He was paired up with Kamui.
Yuzuriha didn't know whether to cry or throw up and decided that this was the only type
of situation that could ever warrant two decidedly different types of reactions. They were
gone, the beautiful springs of Watasumi, the lush vegetation of the forests that had made
of the island of Kyushu, the land of the Dreamgazer. The seven of them (if you included
Inuki) stood before a great city, such a city that didn't exist in their world. The place
seemed weighted down, oppressed by the dim cloud of yellowish gray ash that seemed to
emanate from a few structures along the horizon. The roads, like the buildings were the
gray of death, without a spark of the verdant green of life. She tasted iron in the air, along
with other substances she didn't recognize.
"Well," Fuuma spoke dejectedly, "where do we start?"
"No," the princess said under her breath, "I won't let this city oppress us, I won't let this
be an impossible task…" She turned to her fellows. "Kakyou said we were to meet our
challengers in this world. I want to learn as much as possible about this place, find out
where we are."
Aoki raised his hand sheepishly, then spoke at the girl's nod, "What if, I mean, this just
occurred to me being the scribe and all….they don't speak our language?"
Another crushing blow to their moral, something she didn't need now. And as Yuzuriha
looked at the signs along the buildings, she realized, she couldn't understand a word. She
frowned, "C'mon, Inuki, we're going to find someone who understands us," she strode to
the streets, the spirit dog following at her heels.
The others looked at each other, confused. "Well, I know one language, /everyone/
understands." Yuuto chuckled, reaching beneath his coat to take hold of his weapon, a
bright orange ofuda.
"Are you insane?" Arashi admonished, "I do believe you want to get us all killed."
"Perhaps I do at that, priestess," He snarled, making the word seem almost an insult.
"Um, I think Yuzu-chan…I mean the princess found someone," Kusanagi pointed to
where Yuzuriha stood chatting happily with a young man, with hair even a brighter
yellow-blond than Yuuto's.
She pulled him over, "This is Nokoru." She introduced, "These are my friends."
"Ah, charmed," he smiled, bowed to kiss Arashi's hand gently. "Yuzuriha-san has told
me that you all need a place to rest and refresh yourselves."
"And let me guess, you just happen to have that place?" Fuuma threw in sarcastically.
The young man sighed before smiling and returning to his cheerful state, "Gone are the
days when I could actually offer my own home. But I can take you to the Tokyo Mission,
where I volunteer."
"The what?"
"You'll see," he gestured for him to follow and for lack of anything better to do, the
group did so.
"Do you think he's one of our opponents?" Aoki asked in a loud whisper to Kusanagi.
"And he's leading us to our doom?" Fuuma put in as well.
"Best be on our guard," Kusanagi decided.
Nokuru led them to a run down looking building in the middle of a block of other various
dilapidated buildings. The sign above the building was again in that strange script they
could not decipher, but neatly, below it was written "Tokyo Mission," in someone's poor
handwriting. "Here it is."
Kusanagi nodded to his fellows. "One, two, three…"
The two soldiers burst into the room, weapons drawn and power crackling in the air.
Kusanagi felt the blood roar within him as he relished finally meeting their opponents…
…who turned out to be an old woman with a group of children.
"Fuuma…" he said softly…
"Um, yeah, I think we screwed up too, Kusa-san…"
Yuzuriha entered, glaring at her two soldiers, "What did I tell you about being overly
ready for a fight?" She moved to the woman with the children, "Hi, I'm Yuzuriha Nekoi,
and these are my friends. Sorry if they scared you, they can be like that. We need a place
to refresh ourselves a bit and Nokoru-san said this place would be good, so, um here we
are!"
Nokoru decided to make his entrance, "Forgive them, sister, they're a bit out of it."
The woman stood from where she sat, and gently prodded the children away from her
feet. "Where do you find them, Nokoru?" her voice was melodious, and she dressed all in
black, her head covered by a black veil with a white hem along her forehead, concealing
any trace of her hair.
"You're his sister?" Yuzuriha asked confused.
"No, she's a sister, a nun," Nokoru attempted to explain, getting only blank looks back at
him. "Um, just call her sister."
"You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like, on the condition that you help out
with the chores," The sister invited graciously. "I'm sure we could use two strong young
men to help with the painting upstairs."
"That's the least they could do for scaring you," Yuzuriha rolled her eyes at her
bodyguards. Kusanagi was flushing a deep red and Fuuma merely gazed at the floor.
"Nokoru," Aoki asked, finally entering behind Arashi, "About this script, what is it?"
"You really must be out of towners. That's legal code, the new way of writing we've
been ordered to take up along with the new way of life dictated by Satsuki Yatohji and
the Beast."
"New way of life? What do you mean?" the princess asked.
"The silver city," Nokoru gestured outside. "Beast is everywhere, a computer infused into
even the flesh of the earth. The only freedoms we have are the ones Satsuki dictates. She
controls the government, takes what she wants and leaves the rest to rot and ruin.
Luckily, here in old town we are pretty much free from her, but I dread the day the cables
can reach this far. Where are you from that you don't know this?"
The others looked to Yuzuriha for the lie, "Um, the countryside, very far from here."
"I bet you even live on a farm." He sighed wistfully, "She'll do away with even you, once
she figures out how to synthesize food."
Barely half of his words made sense, but Yuzuriha recognized a tyranny being described.
It had to be horrible to create the dark gray monstrosity Nokoru called the silver city. She
suddenly felt very tired and accepted the young man's offer to get them settled in their
rooms.
She didn't even notice the dirty walls, merely fell onto the mat on the hard wooden floor
and was asleep before she realized it. There was nothing to fear, with Arashi beside her
and Inuki nearby.
"Are you all right, princess?"
"Kakyou, what is this place?" she demanded, in her dreams cloaked in her best royal
robes, the gold embroidery along the sleeves sparkling in the candlelight.
"It is what mankind has created. As I warned, only you can stop this."
"But it has already happened." She protested, confused.
"It doesn't matter. That is the place and the time for the two dragons to meet. You,
Yuzuriha Nekoi, princess of Shikoku are one of the dragons for Earth. You are destined
to fight the dragons of Heaven, those who foolishly aspire for the powers of gods. Very
soon, you will meet the first of them."
"How will I recognize them?" she demanded.
"They are Satsuki's private forces, her very guard. They too seek the holy sword and you
must find it first."
"Where is the sword?" she asked, sitting up on her mat and realizing she was back in the
dingy room at the Mission.
"What is it, princess?" Arashi was beside her immediately.
Yuzuriha shook her kind hand off, "A dream, Arashi, an important dream. Do, do you
think we could take a walk? I need some air…"
"Of course, take your cloak, I will tell Kusanagi where we are."
They left the mission with a brief warning given by the sister, "Stay together and don't go
far, you'd get lost if you leave old town. It's the only place with signs in the old script."
They walked around the block, ignoring the piles of trash and the dirty, half-naked
children who scampered across their path. The princess kept her eyes on the ground, deep
in thought, Inuki padding along once again at her feet. "What did you dream?" Arashi
asked softly.
"I don't remember much, I remember being angry with Kakyou for sending us here
without proper preparation. And…he told me to look for a sword, to find it before the
enemy does. Arashi, how can we do that if we don't even know where we are?" she
asked, her voice a near sob.
"Princess, don't despair. When we return we will ask Aoki to use his staff, to consult the
gods of wind themselves."
"Of course! Arashi, what would I do without you?" the girl smiled, pausing in her steps
to give her friend a tight hug.
That's when she heard the scream.
"No, don't! Someone help!"
"Arashi…" she glanced at the priestess, who merely nodded at her. "Where is it coming
from?"
"This way," she ran across the street, Yuzuriha and Inuki trailing after her. Another
block, then suddenly they stumbled upon a group in shiny black leather kicking a
crouching figure on the ground.
Yuzuriha whistled and her spirit dog dissipated into smoke, coalescing quickly into the
form of a sword. Beside her, Arashi had stretched out her palm, calling forth the sword
sheathed within. "I think it's a poor thing to for many to attack one." She called before
stepping into the fray, Arashi quiet at her side.
Her words had the desired effect, and even in this strange world, those who were willing
to attack one without weapons, ran from a nearly equal fight with those who were armed.
She ran to the boy on the ground, ready to aid him when she heard the deep voice behind
her.
"So, these must be the invaders from another world. Don't look like much, do they,
Sorata?"
"Must be somethin' wrong with your eyes, Seishirou, I see a couple of good looking
babes." Another voice darted in.
"Show yourselves!" Arashi called, just as they were surrounded by an inky darkness.
"Welcome," said the first voice, "to my illusion."
To be continued….