Chapter 25
A Fitting Time And Place
Just when everything seems
To be the end… instead, it's
Really the beginning of a new
Era; what awaits the warriors
In their next adventure?
So tonight is it…
The quiet squeaking rang throughout the tranquil night air while the breeze coursed into the long thin strands of his cyan-colored hair. Eyes fixated upon a slim flower that was swaying, the delicate yellow petals fluttering freely from the force of the wind. Leaning back onto the hard back of the dark brown bench, his feet dangled over the edge, grazing against the floor of the porch.
I know that I'm kinda early, but I hope they'll be all here soon… Huh, I wonder where Riko is…?
"Kenji."
The assuage voice cut through the silence, immediately drawing his attention. His snap snapped up, "Who's there?"
Strangling shadows strung over a figure as tentative footsteps approached him leisurely. Light provided by the crescent moon overhead shone onto the newcomer, revealing his solemn features and identity. A thick ponytail of black hair dangled in front, hanging before his shoulder, leaning atop the gold designs embroided into the royal blue of his Chinese martial arts outfit. "Long."
"Good evening," the Kenpo master greeted quietly.
"…Hello," was the seventeen-year-old's curt reply. "You're the first to arrive. Do you know where the others are? What about Uriko or Jane?"
"Jane went somewhere with your fian-she is out with Uriko." He informed, clearing his throat at the stammer of a close save.
"…Oh." The younger man said impassively. "Hrmp, I haven't seen Uriko all day."
"What did you occupy your time with then?"
"I went around and familiarized myself with places that I haven't seen since the last time I was here - three years ago." Kenji told him. "I found a secluded area of the park and trained there as well. Basically, I did anything that would take my mind off tonight."
"…The memories still haunt you." His companion stated albeit matter-of-factly.
"Of course they do…" he answered wearily. "I still loathe myself for the things I did to the others, and especially for what I did to Uriko…" His expression hardened at the mention and his face twisted into a slight scowl, "For anything I did to hurt her…"
"…I am sure she doesn't want you to feel that of yourself," the tiger zoanthrope remarked with a morose sigh. He gestured toward the empty seat next to his accomplice; "May I sit there…?"
"It's a free country." The dark-haired ninja answered with a shrug.
Glancing at him a bit tediously and with a sliver of caution, Long sat down beside him. His posture was slightly stiff as his eyes were trained foreword, "…Kenji, are you afraid?"
The question was too close to the truth. "W-what?"
"Are you afraid?" He repeated, turning to look at his nephew. "Regarding your informing us of what occurred three years ago, I mean. Do you fear being looked down upon by the others because of your… actions in the past?"
How the hell did he know…? "…Maybe. A little," the mole zoanthrope raised an eyebrow. "How do you know, anyway?"
"That is how I felt a while back, and presently, I still do occasionally, given my background," the raven-haired man said. "A couple of years ago, at the birthday celebration party thrown for my disciple, Jane inquired of my past. She wanted to know why I had detested my abilities so much."
"…And you told her?" the brown-eyed teenager asked.
"Yes, I did." Long replied. "Her not revolting in disgust and understanding nature were an immense relief to me. Jane was very accepting, and didn't look to me for blame, despite the acts of atrocity that I had performed a while back…"
"I kinda feel the same way about Uriko," Kenji said softly. "Sometimes I don't understand how she can still tolerate being around me, knowing the things I'd done. I'd hurt people I didn't even know, my own brother, my friends, her… however; she still…loves me. I'm a little amazed at that."
"I can empathize," A small smile made its way to his ally's lips. "Both of them have truly caring hearts: Jane and my disciple. I was rather reluctant to get involved with Jane at first, but I realized how foolish it was to refuse companionship. Especially since she had the best intentions in mind."
I was so reclusive in my childhood… The seventeen-year-old closed his eyes. "I remember how I was like in my preteen-early teen years. It was nothing really good, either."
"Oh, I heard that you were a bit… erm…" Long trailed off, feeling albeit abashed. "…Solitary."
"Worse than that. That's all right; I don't want things to be sugar-coated for my sake," he said. "I can face reality."
"I apologize."
"Don't worry about it." The younger man dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "…Hey Long."
"Yes?"
"Due to the newfound information… my nationality is Chinese, right? …Like you?"
"Well… you are, half."
"…?" The mole zoanthrope opened his eyes and peered at his companion with curiosity in his expression. "Why is that?"
"Adam was Japanese, and your mother, Chinese," the raven-haired man informed him.
…There's so much about my mother that I want to know about. I wish I had gotten to know my deceased family members better… Kenji hesitated momentarily before deciding to open his mouth for his inquiry.
"Master! Kenji!" came the shrill voice that unknowingly interrupted him.
His eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly, although he wasn't angry with the Kenpo student; he turned to spy two figures cloaked in the shadows approaching him and his companion. "Uriko?"
"Jane?" Long instantly chimed in after.
"Hey," the blonde-haired woman greeted as the younger female went over to her fiancé. "Sorry for the wait, we were at the…mall…" She coughed, shaking her head in slight disbelief at what she had just said. "And the runt was trying to convince me that wearing frilly dresses were alright for… 'certain' occasions." A small secretive smile formed over her lips as he flushed slightly.
A couple feet away, the brown-haired teenager asked her compatriot, "How were you doing today?"
"Re-familiarized myself with formerly well-known places," he told her. "I miss our spot in the park. If only Xion hadn't destroyed it…"
Uriko's expression saddened. "I know… Hey… do you know where my sister and Yugo are? Jane and I were looking for Alice this morning, but we couldn't find her anywhere…"
The dark-haired ninja glanced at her quizzically. "I'm not sure… I don't know if my brother and Alice came home last night or not, but I do know that they weren't at home this morning."
"…This isn't like them," she remarked, quirking an eyebrow. "You don't think they're in trouble or anything… do you?"
The thought hadn't occurred to him. "…I hope not."
As if on cue, a voice from behind her called out sounding albeit breathless, "Sister!"
"…?" The cat zoanthrope whirled around. "Alice!"
Running up to the four with her boyfriend beside her, the young nurse greeted her sibling with a quick smile as Yugo immediately blurted out, "Kenji, we need to talk…"
"You too, Uriko…" Alice added.
The younger couple exchanged a questioning look. "Um, okay…" Kenji spoke up for the both of them. "Is something wrong…?" Long and Jane had equally curious expressions, but decided to give them their privacy; the two of them took a few steps away.
"You two know that the zoanthrope problems aren't only here… right?" The brown-haired boxer started.
"I suspected, but wasn't fully sure." His brother answered.
"Same here," his fiancée chimed in.
"And if some people need help… you both agree that others should try and do anything they can, right? No matter the distance, severity is most important, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I suppose…" Uriko replied slowly. What's he getting at…?
"…Sis, pack your bags." The rabbit zoanthrope said out of the blue.
…Huh?
"You too, Kenji," Yugo spoke up, glancing at his younger sibling.
"What?" A look of bewilderment formed over the blue-haired ninja's expression. "Why?"
"Us," the twenty-five year old female pointed to him, the Kenpo student, herself, and her boyfriend, "We're going to America."
Epilogue
"How many will there be?"
"Four, I believe. The leader of the peace-enforcing group, his younger brother, girlfriend, and her younger sister."
"Yugo Ohgami, Kenji Ohgami, Alice Nonomura, and Uriko Nonomura, correct?"
"Yes…"
"Haha, perfect…"
"I agree; what fools…"
…Yugo Ohgami? Alice Nonomura? Narrowed violet eyes watched the two figures snickering in the quiet area, shadows etching over them, disguising their features. Hrmp, this should be interesting… not to mention convenient. I shall take care of them at the same time… Loose strands of ivory-colored hair floated in the current of the breeze as jet-black bangs tickled the stony forehead. Alica Tylon does not let perpetrators get away free…
The End… For Now…
Author's Note: *pants* I'm done!! :::runs to soak in a Jacuzzi::: Ahhhh… ^^ Teehee, wow, this was a hella long fic (140 pages! Poor Word! O_o)… Hope I won't hear any groans when I say that there could be a sequel waiting on the horizon… *hears groans* HEY! Ahem, I mean, should I? I had a lot of fun writing this story, even though I didn't exactly follow the events in the actual Bloody Roar III game, but oh well… Readers, leave a review/feedback if you have the time and please let me know of your thoughts on a sequel in it. BTW, before I end this I wanna put in credits to all my devoted friends and dedicated readers…
Andrew Glasco: Thanks for reading and reviewing the majority of my story! Not sure where you dwindled off to toward the end, LoL… ^_~ Hope to see you back for my later stories!
bilbo: I really appreciated your encouragement at my not following BRIII's story timeline. *smiles* Don't be a stranger!
Donovanbddiamond: I know you're not fond of my Jang pairing, but I'm glad you never initiated a fierce debate on that couple, LoL… I'm not really for Yugo/Jane like a few of your friends, but Yulice is definitely A-OK with me! Keep in touch, all right? You know my AIM name!
Fle: Thank you for the compliment! If you're a writer yourself, please send me some of your stories; I'd love to read what you have!
LazzyQ: Fellow Kenji lover and one of my dearest best friends! *hugs* One of my strongest Keniko supporters, amongst a lot of you others; never let the Keniko fire die! Also, thanks for doing your first BR fic off of my BRIII story! Alwayz believe in Kenji + Uriko, forever!
Leopard_Knight: Although I was a little ticked off at your comment about my semi-lemon scenes, I don't mind that much anymore. I know that not everyone may like those, but I wanted to put them into my story, so I did. Personal, selfish feelings, I know… ^_^0 Still, I liked writing them, so I guarantee that there will be more in the future…
Mallow64: If I can get you to come back here somehow and read this… Thanks!! I know that you're not familiar with Bloody Roar series, but you went anyway and read a couple of my BR fics! Don't worry, I haven't given up on my Final Fantasy VII story series, Cleris forever!
Mr.E.: That's great to know! I hope that I've brought others to like BR more; long live Bloody Roar!!
Post Rapture: You faded in and out in the beginning, but that was all right! I still wanna thank you for reviewing the first couple of chapters; this was a long boring story, I know… ^_~
Rachel: I'm so happy to know that you're a hella devoted Jang fan too! And I'm also glad to know that you liked their engagement; you should write a Jang story of your own, you know!
StarryPeach: Another one of my closest best friends; love you! Even though you're not familiar with Bloody Roar, I'm glad that you still read and reviewed my story! I hope that you'll grow to be more acknowledged of Bloody Roar soon, and if you don't, I'll be sure to bug ya about it! *grins*
tony&tyler: Hey there, little brothers! I love you both really much - if only your mom would let you stay on the Internet longer so that you guys could read the rest of my story! I'll find a way somehow, I promise!
Xavier: If ya don't continue Hunting Games soon, I'm gonna go nuts on you!! *grins* Come on, that's a really cute start! Please continue it some more; I'll be waiting to read the further development!
Yugo: I know that I didn't have much Yugo + Alice romance in my fic, sorry about that! ^^ It's just because I'm a total hardcore Kenji + Uriko fan… *wide smile* Hope that my songfic, Bloody Roar II: How Did I Fall In Love With You satisfied your Yulice need!
And for my number one fans…
I love all of you! I can't believe that people are fighting to be my number one fan… @_@ It's really generous of you all… thank you! *hugs to all*
Alica Tylon: You've been there from day one of my Bloody Roar III fic! I thank you for your devotion and also for entrusting me to MST your pre-BR1 story, The Tylon Clan Series. Hopefully, my MSTing will meet your expectations, and also, I'd like to give you special thanks (you know why! *grins*)!
Deoku: A Keniko and Yulice fan, eh? I hope that you're tilting toward liking Keniko more!! I adored your reviews; they were all very long and succinctly thorough! You're one of my best reviewers! Stay in touch!
Flyby Stardancer: Alwayz urged me to let you read my writing journal!! *laughs* Damn, you are so bloody persistent, just like my girl Uriko, teehee! I'm really honored that your first Bloody Roar story was based off of my BRIII fic… *blushes happily* Can't wait to read the rest! BTW you're not serious about making that shrine to me, right? ^^
PokeDigi: Got ya hooked onto Bloody Roar and damn proud of it! *grins* Now I know you have a certain BR story hanging around your bleachers somewhere… Work on it so that others can read and revel in the wondrous glory of fanfiction from the Bloody Roar fans!
Psycho Guyver: O_o Wow, you reviewed every chapter one right after another! Uh, you have a hella lot of patience, LoL! Thanks for doing them consecutively; your eyes must have been screaming for mercy to the end! Your devotion was the first to ever initiate this whole "number one fans" battle… @_@ Teehee, your intentions were good though, and I really appreciate all your encouragement. Dude; continue your BRII humor fic already! I'm suffering from Yugo-bashing withdrawal! *glares at Yugo, who shuts his mouth* Hurry!
And that's all! Sorry for making the credits so long, but I just wanted to show how much I appreciated all of your reviews and compliments… Again, thank you everyone!
With love for my fans,
Tiger5913