~~Author's Note~~
Hey all! Long time no write, ne??? Well, here it is.. the long awaited (well, maybe) chapter of LFLD… it's kind of a short one… I'll try to make 19 a little longer and a little more action packed. The story's getting a little complicated, ne? ;-)
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And time marched on. The beaten down heroes managed to find a building in the city that wasn't falling in on itself- a fairly nice hotel, at that, and pretty far away from where the first attack had been launched. With the electricity still running, it made their surroundings pretty luxurious. There were plenty of grocery stores and restaurants around for them to scrounge food from, so the basic necessities of life were covered. Too bad they were completely exposed and vulnerable to their enemies, and lived in a constant state of alert… no one went out alone, and no one ever took off their sub-armor. Well, those that weren't too damaged to fight any longer, anyway.
"I don't think they have the ability to track our every move. They are clearly stronger than us, so why don't they just go ahead and destroy us?" Sage said, as he sat down in a padded chair in the hotel lobby. The room had been adopted for their place to meet and discuss their situation.
"They are finding us somehow, though," Kento replied. He was sprawled out on a leather couch, with his head hanging off the edge. "Man, I'm so hungry…"
"Maybe they can hear your stomach growling," Sage sighed and slumped in his chair.
"Oh come on," Kento groaned. "Where is everyone, anyway?"
"Um…" Sage frowned as he closed his eyes to think. It had been a long, boring day. "Not sure. Most of them are probably on guard duty or sleeping off their last shift."
"Speaking of last shifts…" Kento yawned and stretched. "I don't think I'll even go to my room. I'll just sleep right here. I was up all night…"
"I'm just worried… that if Arcane's freak squad doesn't get us, we're going to kill each other." Sage yawned as well, and slumped further in his chair. "Some kind of… petty fight every day."
"Yeah… Lys is out of the picture right now so Kasukio is off the deep end. Mia hasn't spoken a word since the fire, so Ryo is all out of sorts… and Reia's all upset because Lady Kayura was captured, so Cye and Rowen are upset too, even if they won't admit it… so the rest of us have to divide our attentions between endless guard duty, finding food, AND making sure Yulie doesn't get into trouble… seems everyone's totally on edge," Kento groaned. "It's making my head hurt, dude."
"Just go to sleep for awhile…" Sage stretched and made himself stand up again. "I'll go find something for us to eat."
"Cool. Owe ya one, man," Kento mumbled as he fell asleep on the couch.
"Um… here, I found another magazine for you to read," Kasukio said quietly as he knelt beside the bed Lys was sitting in. "Hey, Lys?"
She nodded numbly and took the magazine from him, but didn't look at him.
"Um… how are you feeling today?" He asked after a moment.
"I dunno… better, I guess…" Lys replied haltingly. "The… pain in my legs has gone down."
Kasukio smiled, but it was a strained smile. "I'm glad to hear that…" He said as he reached for her hand, but she jerked away, trembling, at his touch.
"I… I'm sorry, Kasukio… could you just leave?" She whispered in a shaking voice. "Please… I… just want to be alone…"
~ She hasn't called me by my full name in a long time…~ He thought, shaking his head. He stood up, turning away quickly so she wouldn't see the pain on his face, even if she had been looking. "Um… all right… call me if you need me, OK?"
It took all of his strength not to run, either back to her or out the door, as he just barely managed to leave the room calmly, and not slam the door behind him.
Kasukio closed the door to Lys' room and leaned against it. He looked up at the ceiling, eyes blazing with anger. ~ No more, ~ He thought, decisively. ~ No more of this waiting, this hiding. I'll go to Arcane alone if I have to, but… I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill them ALL for what they did to her, and I'm not going to wait any longer to do it!!! ~
"Come at me!"
"Ha!"
"You're being sloppy, how do you expect to beat any Dark Ronins when you're leaving yourself open to ME?" Junichi snapped as he gave Xanthe a hard tap in the ribs with the practice spear he was holding, sending the older boy tumbling to the ground.
"Dammit, Jun, you didn't have to hit me so hard!" Xanthe snapped when he hit the floor. "I know, I know…" He added, before the scarred boy could open his mouth, "The Dynasty won't pull punches either, but jeez…"
"Is something on your mind?" Junichi asked as he sat down on the floor and took a sip from a bottle of Gatorade someone had brought from the store.
"Aside from constant fear of death, nah," Xanthe replied easily as he stretched and leaned against the wall.
"Xanthe…"
"What?"
"You're lying to me."
"Me? Lie to you? Never!"
"You are!" Junichi glared at his foster brother.
"Junichi, I am not! I'm just tired, so leave me alone!" Xanthe snapped, throwing up his hands in the air as he grabbed a towel and slung it around his neck, stomping out of the room.
Junichi sighed and got up to leave the room through a door on the opposite side, grumbling to himself about needing a shower.
"I thought I'd find you here…" Rowen turned to the soft voice. His eyes registered no surprise at Reia as she closed the door to the roof behind her. He nodded at her but did not move from his seat on the ledge, his legs dangling over the side.
"Can I sit with you?" She asked.
Rowen shrugged. "Free country…"
"Or at least, it was…" Reia said with a small chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work, and she sighed as she walked over and sat down beside Rowen, crossing her legs. "Nice view…"
"Uh huh…"
"Rowen, are you angry with me?"
"Huh? Angry?" Rowen muttered, but didn't look at her. "What gave you that idea?"
"Um, you've been avoiding me, I guess… but then, I'd avoid me, too…" She sighed. "OK, so I guess I've avoided you too, but now I…"
"You want to know what happened to Kayura?"
"Well, Junichi told me already, I just…" Reia squirmed. "Actually I wanted to tell you that I don't blame you for my mother's getting caught… I know you did your best."
"How magnanimous of you," Rowen muttered.
"Huh?"
"Sorry… how GENEROUS-"
"I KNOW what magnanimous means!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Look, when you're done brooding and feeling sorry for yourself, let me know, we'll talk then…" ~ Why did I even come up here, what was I seeking? Certainly not some mushy heart to heart and some big ol' hug from 'daddy'…sorry, no, I didn't spring from some bad anime…~
"You don't have to pretend to be brave for me," Rowen said as she started to get up.
"Huh?"
Rowen finally tilted his head to make eye contact with her. "I mean, it's OK to be angry. It's OK to be scared, too."
"Hmph…" Reia shrugged. "Only a total idiot wouldn't be scared now… and only a saint wouldn't be angry."
"That's true… you're no idiot, Reia," Rowen gave a small chuckle as he tossed a pebble out into the open air.
"Nope… I'm a Hashiba." Reia leaned back to look into the sunset, not caring that the glaring light was making her eyes water. She glanced briefly at Rowen out the corner of her eye, wondering how he would react to that. The small look intercepted his, and they both cracked a small smile.
"We'll find Kayura… I promise," Rowen told her as he turned his eyes back to the decimated city.
"Thank you…" ~ …Otoo-san…~ Reia blinked back tears as she looked into the sunset again.
They didn't say anything more, but Reia sensed that a great deal had actually passed between them.
Kawai stood in front of the mirror in one of the large bathrooms they'd appropriated. Her red hair had fallen limp and lank over her eyes, which seemed sunken in, and her skin was pale.
~ I look terrible, ~ She thought, blinking. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, but all that did was make it messy. She reached for a candy bar sticking out of the pockets of her jeans, which were folded neatly on the bathroom counter. Her fingers flinched away from the chocolate, and she sighed again as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall to the floor. Standing in her underwear, she stared at herself for a few more moments.
~ It's a miracle I got Mia and Yulie out of the fire… at least I was strong enough for that, even if I couldn't save the house… But I couldn't… Mia's not responding to the treatments for her mind… my Empathy is useless… why? ~ She shuddered and hugged her arms to her chest. Her feet shifted on the cold tile and she tried to ignore the slight pain in her back. She resolutely blocked out the memories of the high, leaping flames. ~…Fire… fire always gets me like this…~ She frowned, and shook her head. ~ I need to take a bath, clear my mind…~
She reached behind her back to open the clasp on her bra, her hands freezing when they brushed against the rough skin on her back. Her mental control was gone in the blink of an eye. She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about them, the rough scars that covered her entire back, but the flames only leapt higher in her mind's eye.
~…Mother…~ She shuddered, and she hugged herself as her bra fell to the floor to join her blouse. No matter how she tried to get it out of her mind, the harder she tried, the brighter the images became. She could practically smell the smoke and hear the crackling of the flames that killed her mother and younger brother… and left her body scarred.
Unexpected relief from the nightmare of heat came when the door, which hadn't been latched properly, suddenly opened. She gasped and whirled around to meet the surprised gaze of Junichi Furyu.
"OhmyGOD!" Both gasped out, Kawai snatching up her shirt from the floor.
"Get out!" She screamed, her face going as scarlet as her hair.
"G-g-gomen nasai…" He gasped, , his eyes darting around, trying not to land on her form.
"OUT!" She repeated, compulsively throwing the first thing at him she could get a hand on--a bar of soap.
The soap only clattered against the door just as Junichi slammed it.
Kawai sank to the floor, hugging the shirt to her body, trembling.
~…He… saw… he saw…~ She closed her eyes again, but not before a warm tear could slide down her cheek. ~ What am I going to do? ~
Hey all! Long time no write, ne??? Well, here it is.. the long awaited (well, maybe) chapter of LFLD… it's kind of a short one… I'll try to make 19 a little longer and a little more action packed. The story's getting a little complicated, ne? ;-)
*
*
*
And time marched on. The beaten down heroes managed to find a building in the city that wasn't falling in on itself- a fairly nice hotel, at that, and pretty far away from where the first attack had been launched. With the electricity still running, it made their surroundings pretty luxurious. There were plenty of grocery stores and restaurants around for them to scrounge food from, so the basic necessities of life were covered. Too bad they were completely exposed and vulnerable to their enemies, and lived in a constant state of alert… no one went out alone, and no one ever took off their sub-armor. Well, those that weren't too damaged to fight any longer, anyway.
"I don't think they have the ability to track our every move. They are clearly stronger than us, so why don't they just go ahead and destroy us?" Sage said, as he sat down in a padded chair in the hotel lobby. The room had been adopted for their place to meet and discuss their situation.
"They are finding us somehow, though," Kento replied. He was sprawled out on a leather couch, with his head hanging off the edge. "Man, I'm so hungry…"
"Maybe they can hear your stomach growling," Sage sighed and slumped in his chair.
"Oh come on," Kento groaned. "Where is everyone, anyway?"
"Um…" Sage frowned as he closed his eyes to think. It had been a long, boring day. "Not sure. Most of them are probably on guard duty or sleeping off their last shift."
"Speaking of last shifts…" Kento yawned and stretched. "I don't think I'll even go to my room. I'll just sleep right here. I was up all night…"
"I'm just worried… that if Arcane's freak squad doesn't get us, we're going to kill each other." Sage yawned as well, and slumped further in his chair. "Some kind of… petty fight every day."
"Yeah… Lys is out of the picture right now so Kasukio is off the deep end. Mia hasn't spoken a word since the fire, so Ryo is all out of sorts… and Reia's all upset because Lady Kayura was captured, so Cye and Rowen are upset too, even if they won't admit it… so the rest of us have to divide our attentions between endless guard duty, finding food, AND making sure Yulie doesn't get into trouble… seems everyone's totally on edge," Kento groaned. "It's making my head hurt, dude."
"Just go to sleep for awhile…" Sage stretched and made himself stand up again. "I'll go find something for us to eat."
"Cool. Owe ya one, man," Kento mumbled as he fell asleep on the couch.
"Um… here, I found another magazine for you to read," Kasukio said quietly as he knelt beside the bed Lys was sitting in. "Hey, Lys?"
She nodded numbly and took the magazine from him, but didn't look at him.
"Um… how are you feeling today?" He asked after a moment.
"I dunno… better, I guess…" Lys replied haltingly. "The… pain in my legs has gone down."
Kasukio smiled, but it was a strained smile. "I'm glad to hear that…" He said as he reached for her hand, but she jerked away, trembling, at his touch.
"I… I'm sorry, Kasukio… could you just leave?" She whispered in a shaking voice. "Please… I… just want to be alone…"
~ She hasn't called me by my full name in a long time…~ He thought, shaking his head. He stood up, turning away quickly so she wouldn't see the pain on his face, even if she had been looking. "Um… all right… call me if you need me, OK?"
It took all of his strength not to run, either back to her or out the door, as he just barely managed to leave the room calmly, and not slam the door behind him.
Kasukio closed the door to Lys' room and leaned against it. He looked up at the ceiling, eyes blazing with anger. ~ No more, ~ He thought, decisively. ~ No more of this waiting, this hiding. I'll go to Arcane alone if I have to, but… I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill them ALL for what they did to her, and I'm not going to wait any longer to do it!!! ~
"Come at me!"
"Ha!"
"You're being sloppy, how do you expect to beat any Dark Ronins when you're leaving yourself open to ME?" Junichi snapped as he gave Xanthe a hard tap in the ribs with the practice spear he was holding, sending the older boy tumbling to the ground.
"Dammit, Jun, you didn't have to hit me so hard!" Xanthe snapped when he hit the floor. "I know, I know…" He added, before the scarred boy could open his mouth, "The Dynasty won't pull punches either, but jeez…"
"Is something on your mind?" Junichi asked as he sat down on the floor and took a sip from a bottle of Gatorade someone had brought from the store.
"Aside from constant fear of death, nah," Xanthe replied easily as he stretched and leaned against the wall.
"Xanthe…"
"What?"
"You're lying to me."
"Me? Lie to you? Never!"
"You are!" Junichi glared at his foster brother.
"Junichi, I am not! I'm just tired, so leave me alone!" Xanthe snapped, throwing up his hands in the air as he grabbed a towel and slung it around his neck, stomping out of the room.
Junichi sighed and got up to leave the room through a door on the opposite side, grumbling to himself about needing a shower.
"I thought I'd find you here…" Rowen turned to the soft voice. His eyes registered no surprise at Reia as she closed the door to the roof behind her. He nodded at her but did not move from his seat on the ledge, his legs dangling over the side.
"Can I sit with you?" She asked.
Rowen shrugged. "Free country…"
"Or at least, it was…" Reia said with a small chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work, and she sighed as she walked over and sat down beside Rowen, crossing her legs. "Nice view…"
"Uh huh…"
"Rowen, are you angry with me?"
"Huh? Angry?" Rowen muttered, but didn't look at her. "What gave you that idea?"
"Um, you've been avoiding me, I guess… but then, I'd avoid me, too…" She sighed. "OK, so I guess I've avoided you too, but now I…"
"You want to know what happened to Kayura?"
"Well, Junichi told me already, I just…" Reia squirmed. "Actually I wanted to tell you that I don't blame you for my mother's getting caught… I know you did your best."
"How magnanimous of you," Rowen muttered.
"Huh?"
"Sorry… how GENEROUS-"
"I KNOW what magnanimous means!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Look, when you're done brooding and feeling sorry for yourself, let me know, we'll talk then…" ~ Why did I even come up here, what was I seeking? Certainly not some mushy heart to heart and some big ol' hug from 'daddy'…sorry, no, I didn't spring from some bad anime…~
"You don't have to pretend to be brave for me," Rowen said as she started to get up.
"Huh?"
Rowen finally tilted his head to make eye contact with her. "I mean, it's OK to be angry. It's OK to be scared, too."
"Hmph…" Reia shrugged. "Only a total idiot wouldn't be scared now… and only a saint wouldn't be angry."
"That's true… you're no idiot, Reia," Rowen gave a small chuckle as he tossed a pebble out into the open air.
"Nope… I'm a Hashiba." Reia leaned back to look into the sunset, not caring that the glaring light was making her eyes water. She glanced briefly at Rowen out the corner of her eye, wondering how he would react to that. The small look intercepted his, and they both cracked a small smile.
"We'll find Kayura… I promise," Rowen told her as he turned his eyes back to the decimated city.
"Thank you…" ~ …Otoo-san…~ Reia blinked back tears as she looked into the sunset again.
They didn't say anything more, but Reia sensed that a great deal had actually passed between them.
Kawai stood in front of the mirror in one of the large bathrooms they'd appropriated. Her red hair had fallen limp and lank over her eyes, which seemed sunken in, and her skin was pale.
~ I look terrible, ~ She thought, blinking. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, but all that did was make it messy. She reached for a candy bar sticking out of the pockets of her jeans, which were folded neatly on the bathroom counter. Her fingers flinched away from the chocolate, and she sighed again as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall to the floor. Standing in her underwear, she stared at herself for a few more moments.
~ It's a miracle I got Mia and Yulie out of the fire… at least I was strong enough for that, even if I couldn't save the house… But I couldn't… Mia's not responding to the treatments for her mind… my Empathy is useless… why? ~ She shuddered and hugged her arms to her chest. Her feet shifted on the cold tile and she tried to ignore the slight pain in her back. She resolutely blocked out the memories of the high, leaping flames. ~…Fire… fire always gets me like this…~ She frowned, and shook her head. ~ I need to take a bath, clear my mind…~
She reached behind her back to open the clasp on her bra, her hands freezing when they brushed against the rough skin on her back. Her mental control was gone in the blink of an eye. She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about them, the rough scars that covered her entire back, but the flames only leapt higher in her mind's eye.
~…Mother…~ She shuddered, and she hugged herself as her bra fell to the floor to join her blouse. No matter how she tried to get it out of her mind, the harder she tried, the brighter the images became. She could practically smell the smoke and hear the crackling of the flames that killed her mother and younger brother… and left her body scarred.
Unexpected relief from the nightmare of heat came when the door, which hadn't been latched properly, suddenly opened. She gasped and whirled around to meet the surprised gaze of Junichi Furyu.
"OhmyGOD!" Both gasped out, Kawai snatching up her shirt from the floor.
"Get out!" She screamed, her face going as scarlet as her hair.
"G-g-gomen nasai…" He gasped, , his eyes darting around, trying not to land on her form.
"OUT!" She repeated, compulsively throwing the first thing at him she could get a hand on--a bar of soap.
The soap only clattered against the door just as Junichi slammed it.
Kawai sank to the floor, hugging the shirt to her body, trembling.
~…He… saw… he saw…~ She closed her eyes again, but not before a warm tear could slide down her cheek. ~ What am I going to do? ~