Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past
By Tiger5913
Chapter 11
A Private Interlude
Now it is out, and everyone knows.
Their reactions are of surprise,
And one is of utter horror as
He realizes the one he had killed
Is related to one of his friends.
I still can't believe this… Uriko thought to herself.
"Kenji… er, I mean, Bryan… um…" she frowned, feeling a bit unsure; the ninja looked a bit uneasy himself.
"......" was his response.
"Uh… I think that maybe we should discuss the name issue a little later…" Alice suggested quietly.
"This is a lot to absorb," Mitsuko said. "Perhaps we should sleep on it, if anyone else thinks so…"
"Let's continue this tomorrow," the Kenpo master immediately agreed. Following right after him was Jane; "Yeah, we should take this slowly… one at a time."
Getting out of their stunned states, the others slowly stood up. Directing her question at Mitsuko, Jenny asked, "Should we all come back tomorrow night?"
Looking at the young ninja, the boar zoanthrope replied, "If it's all right with him…"
'Him'… Now they don't even know what to call me anymore… he thought. "Sure, whenever…"
Nodding crisply in agreement, the older couple bid their farewells and left the Nonomuras' house.
"See you all later," Jane said, leading her beau to the door.
"Good night Jane, Master!" Uriko called to them as they stepped outside.
"Um, come on, we should go too…" Yugo said quietly, looking somewhat awkward as he nodded at Alice and his younger brother.
"Mrs. Nonomura, if it wouldn't be a bother, may I please stay here tonight in the guestroom?" the ninja asked.
Hehe… just like old times… his fiancée thought giddily, but then her lips turned upwards in a sad expression. Old times… a couple years ago… how much has changed since then…
The young boxer looked a bit confused, but he decided not to question the request.
Mitsuko smiled warmly. "You're always welcome here."
He nodded. "Thank you."
"Uh… I guess we'll see you tomorrow then," Yugo said after silence had fell in the room.
"Have a good night," Alice smiled faintly at the three as she and her boyfriend went out the door and shut it behind them.
"I'm going up to my room and read," Mitsuko announced. "Feel free to do what you want. If the two of you decide to go out, just try to come in by midnight, alright?"
"Okay, Mother," Uriko said with a wide smile; she waved to her mother as the tall woman disappeared up the stairs. Turning to her fiancé, the Kenpo student told him, "Wait right here for a moment…"
"Why?"
"Just trust me," she assured. "I just need to go to my room for something… I'll be back down soon…"
Without waiting for his reply, the young woman darted up the stairs and ran into her room. Grabbing her black gym bag, she took a few items out from her drawer, and placed them inside. Zipping it closed, she ran back down to the living room; grabbing a hold of his arm, Uriko pulled the protesting ninja out the door, a destination in her mind.
*****
"Uriko, what are we doing here?"
The cat zoanthrope merely smiled while she led him through the thick forestry of the park; her eyes glowed, aiding her sight in the dark lighting of the evening. Upon approaching two large leaves hiding a path, her smile grew wider and she went on ahead. Behind her, the male teenager ducked as thin tree branches whizzed by his head, briefly entangling themselves in his dark blue hair.
Slowing down to a stop, Uriko slung the bag onto her shoulder and pushed aside the leaves that were blocking their way with her free hand. She took a couple of timid steps into the new area, then turned her head slightly around and told him, "Here we are…" Peering over her shoulder, the mole zoanthrope scanned his surroundings and his eyes widened at the sight.
Although he couldn't see very well in the dark, there was no mistaking the water that was glistening in the small pond before him. Dozens of tall green trees wrapped around the pond, secluding the entire area. Short stems of grass sprouted from the mud of the earth underneath while very few patches of dirt could be seen. Red roses grew from a large bush that was nearby to the tallest tree, which resided nearby the pond, possibly receiving the richest nutrition of the plants.
"This place is beautiful…" the blue-haired ninja commented softly.
Nodding, Uriko said, "Yeah…I found this place not too long ago… I come here now instead of my spot a couple years ago…"
"Oh really?"
"Mmmhmm…"
Without saying anymore, the Kenpo student pulled him toward the tree and rosebush that were near the pond. Sitting down and resting her back against the trunk, she adjusted her black denim and leather outfit, the same attire she was clothed in when dining with Matt earlier. After she was done with that, Uriko motioned for him to join her. Shrugging nonchalantly, he obeyed and proceeded to her. Silence filled the air for a while before she asked quietly, "Are you okay…?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," her companion answered. "What about you?"
"I… am a little shocked - well, surprised really," she admitted. "But I'll be alright."
"Um… do you feel any… differently toward me, us?" the ninja questioned, nodding toward the ring on her finger.
"I'm not going to call off the engagement." The young woman told him. "And I don't care what the papers say…" she turned to look him in the eye. "You'll always be Kenji to me…"
Smiling weakly, Kenji said, "Thanks…" He got a far-off in his eyes. "You know what…? I can still remember that time when we were being forced to fight each other at Tylon… back when we were about eight… We made that promise to escape together… and you started calling me Kenji from that day foreword… You told me to never let anyone call me Bakuryu because I didn't like it, that name being something Busuzima gave to me."
She smiled also and gently took a hold of his hand. "I was so… energetic as a child… and you were usually solemn and quiet… We were as different as night and day, yet we become best friends and stayed that way the whole time we were together at that corporation… Then Mother and Alice rescued me from Tylon when I was nine."
"I remember watching you fight a bunch of people in your woman form and that strange red beast - no offense," he added quickly. "They were kind of scared of your beast forms: Yugo, Alice, Long, Alan, Bakuryu, and even Fox, who was the one that kidnapped you in the first place. I think that you were special because you had two different forms, and I'm glad you never backstabbed me, or anything of the sort."
The ninja chuckled. "What could a puny mole do? Scratch you with my still-developing mini claws? But you never attacked me in your beast forms…you'd always insist on fighting me as human even when I morphed."
"That's because I cared too much about you to risk the chance of hurting or causing pain to you," Uriko told him softly. "I knew how powerful I was in my beast forms; the strength that I possessed. I didn't want to fight Yugo, Alan, Alice, Master Long, or Mother, but I couldn't fight off Busuzima's mind control.
"He never really forced me to morph when fighting you; guess he wanted me to save my strength for the other battles against renegade zoanthropes. I couldn't help giving into the mind control… what could I do… I was only nine years old… I suppose that I could have morphed and taken them out, but…" she closed her eyes. "I didn't want to kill any of the Tylon staff, despite what they did to me, to everyone…"
"I understand how you felt," Kenji whispered, wrapping his arms around her slim figure and hugging her tightly to him. "You have a kind heart… always caring and looking out for people… putting others before yourself…"
"I-I wasn't like that last year…" Uriko confessed. "Besides Erika, Ryan, Chrysta, and Curt, I never really interacted with my schoolmates… Wallowing too much in depression and self-pity, I suppose…"
"I apologize for… for indirectly causing you to act like that," her fiancé said hoarsely. "You know that I didn't intend to leave for more than a couple of weeks or so… I wouldn't want to be away from home for long."
Turning her face so that her nose touched the cotton fabric of his dark blue shirt, she nodded and replied, "I know…"
Resting a palm on her long, braided brown hair, the young ninja laid his head atop hers and whispered, his words trailing into the wind, "Riko… I love you…"
Instead of answering, she looked up into his eyes and he could see small fires of innocent passion in her light brown pupils. Wordlessly, the blue-haired teenager leaned down toward her and their lips met softly. Folding her arms around his neck, Uriko focused putting her weight on her back as they both slowly descended to the ground.
Deepening the kiss, Kenji held her more tightly as he let his mouth open slightly and he gently contacted her lips with his tongue, trying not to probe her. Allowing him in, the brown-haired girl shyly touched his tongue with her own, fighting back the sigh of contentment that was rising in her throat.
The couple slid down lower, until Uriko's back connected with the soft green grass on the ground. A yellow daisy's petal flicked at the white cotton fabric covering her shoulder but she was oblivious to that. The heat of that summer night surrounded the area, making itself very noticeable by causing a few sweat beads to form on Kenji's forehead - or was that from the heat in his own body?
Pulling away from her temporarily, he arose and murmured his complaint, "It's hot…" Looking at his fiancée, he said to her firmly, "I'm not trying to be provocative or anything, but can I… is it alright if…?"
"Go ahead, it's up to you," Uriko replied, knowing what he was trying to ask her.
Smiling faintly at her, he tucked in his arms and closed his eyes as he slipped the shirt up and over his head. Grabbing a hold of one end, the ninja waved it at his face, fanning himself. Looking down at the young woman, he waved his shirt in her direction, grinning as he fanned her as well.
Giggling, Uriko protested lightheartedly, "Hey… I'm cold enough, I'm cold enough!" Smiling teasingly at him, she kidded, "Kenji, your specialty is fire but you can't even stand the heat, hmm?"
"Oh, you're cold, huh?" He asked, then growled playfully. "I can change that…"
She laughed softly, and then let out a delighted squeal as Kenji placed his shirt on the ground and descended toward her; she managed to smile briefly before their lips met again. Relaxing, Uriko timidly slipped her arms around him, linking her hands together behind his back. Her fingers grazed against his hard muscles and her breath caught. Gently kneading her hands into them, the young woman slowly journeyed across his back, finally resting up on the base of his neck.
A soft groan emitted from the male zoanthrope's throat as she began massaging him. Subconsciously, one of his hands traveled downwards and paused after a little bit, the bottom of his palm resting on her breast. As soon as he realized his position, the ninja immediately yanked back his hand and broke apart from her. Both of them breathing heavily, he cast his eyes to the ground as he whispered, "S-sorry about that…"
Slowing down her breathing, the Kenpo student replied, "It's okay… I, I don't really mind… i-it feels fine…"
"R-Really?" he asked.
She nodded her reply and smiled shakily at him.
"You… you look very… beautiful right now," Kenji said a bit tentatively.
"T-thanks…" Uriko replied just as shyly. "I've always thought you were so handsome… You had really cute, boyish features in ninth grade… a lot of girls in our Biology class liked you. Those features have matured now, of course…"
"I remembering overhearing a lot of guys sitting in the back of the room wanting to ask you out," the blue-haired teenager informed her. "I felt weird about hearing that, but I didn't know why at the time. Now, I'm pretty sure it was because I was jealous…"
"You were kind of cold when we got assigned to be partners for that phobia project," she recalled.
"That's because a couple of guys sitting around me begged to trade so that they could get you for their partner," he said. "I got annoyed and couldn't help feeling irritated at the way they were so attentive to you."
"I never knew that," his companion remarked, looking surprise. "After all, the only times we'd crossed paths were the few times that I bummed a ride off of you. Heehee, and I did that because I wanted to hang around you, but didn't know how to ask that without implying that I wanted your friendship as well."
The ninja rolled his eyes in exasperation - but not at her. "I was a jerk at fourteen, wasn't I?"
"Not really, Kenji," she disagreed. "I think it was just hard for you to trust other people after what Busuzima did to you. I mean, you'd already trusted Yugo, but he had taken care of you for five years, so you knew him pretty well."
"But I knew you too…"
Uriko gave him a small smile. "I don't think you remembered that until the night we fought in the alleyway - for the third time."
"Hrmp… damn mind control…" Kenji grumbled. "I hope I was out of character in that battle, then you'd have known it wasn't really me controlling my actions."
"I had a hunch when you pulled a knife out," she replied dryly. Lying back onto the ground with both of her hands behind her head, she continued, "And among other 'hints'… But… you know what? That's all in the past. We should concentrate on the present time."
Lying down next to her, he propped himself on his elbow and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "You're right… forget all the stupid things I did," he grinned. "There's still more to come anyway."
"Don't worry, we'll go through them together…"
The young woman placed one of her hands behind the base of his neck and pulled him down towards her. Willingly obliging, the young ninja closed his eyes and kissed her, while wrapping his arms around her body. Running her fingers through his dark blue hair, she crept closer, her eyes shut as well while she reveled in his warmth. Softly stroking his bangs, Uriko smiled inwardly as a sharp tingle of desire shot down her spine and continued travelling lower.
Breaking their embrace temporarily, she shrugged her black denim vest off before going back to Kenji. As they resumed their activity, she felt his hand slide down with slow, gentle deliberation. Her breath caught for a second when felt him stop lightly on her breast; he murmured timidly against her mouth, "I-is this alright…?"
The cat zoanthrope nodded shyly and he let out a small sigh of relief. Opening her eyes, she placed her fingertips on his cheek, softly grazing against his eyebrows and the tip of his nose. A groan for her delicate touch threatened to escape from his throat and the blue-haired teenager tried to brush it off. Instead, he started to move his fingers gently, caressing the small part of her that was underneath his hand; he could feel her heart pounding more quickly.
Uriko couldn't help but let a soft moan escape her lips and vanish up into the air. Her hand left his face and went around to his back while the other hand joined as well. Gripping the ninja's shoulder blades, she tilted her head toward the sky while she sighed in rapture. Although not really sure why, she suddenly had a strange urge to feel the chilly air on the bare skin of her upper body.
At that moment, a jolt of surprise shot through her as the young woman felt something warm and damp close gently around her nipple, moistening her buttoned-up shirt. Letting out another soft moan, she grasped a few handfuls of Kenji's hair, pushing his mouth further down upon her breast without realizing it and shifted a bit restlessly. Tasting her through the soft, white cotton fabric, the ninja groaned also, trying to resist what his instincts were telling him to do.
"Kenji…" his fiancée murmured quietly.
She rested her hands on the back of his neck, unknowingly pressing his head closer, tightening the intimacy. All of a sudden feeling hard pressure nudging against her thigh, through the thin black leather of her pants, she stopped with a bit of reluctance and sat up with effort. Trying to calm his body down, Kenji followed her suit and got into a sitting position as well.
"That…" she began, breathing a little heavily. "That was great…"
"I… I'm sorry about my… well, um, you know…" the young ninja trailed off.
Knowing what he was trying to say, Uriko gave him a small, shaky smile and replied, "You, um, don't have to feel embarrassed about… that… or anything…"
"Were we, er, going… too fast?" he questioned, his cheeks looking a bit flushed.
She shook her head slowly. "It felt wonderful… don't worry, we can do this, just as long as we don't go too far too soon…"
"Well, the 'too far' part shouldn't be pondered over; I… am kind of inexperienced," he said. "But I want you to know that I loved our… experiment. Then again…" the ninja looked sheepish. "You… probably felt that-er, I mean!-already knew that."
Uriko grinned teasingly as she whispered shyly, "Knew it… and felt it…"
Kenji blushed harder; laughing softly, she picked up his shirt and handed it to him. "Hehe… you might need this…"
"Uh, thanks…" he replied, taking the article of clothing and slipping it over his head, then straightened his elbows out of the armholes.
Leaning her back against the tree behind, the Kenpo student sighed approvingly and closed her eyes. Looking down at the small wet stain on her shirt, she giggled a bit giddily as she commented, "Our mouths have a lot of skills besides talking…"
"Yeah…I, I guess…" her companion delicately touched his lips with a finger. "I got your shirt wet… sorry."
Hugging him tightly, the brown-haired girl replied, "Don't worry… it, it was for… I guess you could say… a good cause…"
"H-have you ever done this before?" Kenji felt a twinge of jealousy even as he asked that.
She shook her head into his dark blue shirt and he let out a sigh of relief. Chuckling in amusement, Uriko looked up and questioned, "Why, are you jealous?"
"If you had… yeah, I would be… kinda, sort of jealous," he admitted. In other words, I'd probably go break their arm…
The female teenager shook her head again. "You're the first…"
"…And vice versa," the ninja told her.
Smiling, she opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, she felt a cold breeze swept through the area. Starting to get a strange feeling, the cat zoanthrope stood up and glanced around. Looking at her questioningly, Kenji arose while asking, "What's wrong?"
"Hmm… so the sex-toy speaks…" An ever-familiar low murmur came from nearby, the words slicing by in the air, cutting through the ninja's passion-dazed state.
"X-Xion…" he whispered, recognizing the voice.
End of Chapter 11