Chapter 12
She's late. Tokiya thought to him as he paced around his living room. He looked at his watch. Over two hours had past since he had left the office. He called Fuko's mobile a few minutes ago, but her phone was off. Suddenly, Tokiya had a very bad premonition. He called headquarters. All the lines were dead. Raising his mobile phone for the third time, Tokiya dialed another number. This time, Recca's voice came on the line
" Recca? Fuko's in trouble."
Five minutes later, Tokiya was out of his apartment, his ensui tucked safely inside his pocket. Without even bothering to go to his car, he ran straight onto the road. Fuko, hang on…
Recca and the others came five minutes after Tokiya had arrived. All were armed and ready for battle
" You sure Fuko's inside?" Recca asked, peering up at the building. " Looks all right to me…"
" She's inside all right, I'm sure of it. It's too quiet, just too quiet…" Tokiya replied. Then as soon as he had spoken, there was the sound of glass being broken, as pieces of a window fell from the tenth storey. Everyone moved out just in time, as glass pieces fell to the ground in front of them. Tokiya didn't even stop to look at the glass. Immediately, he sprinted into the building, ensui drawn out, ready to fight. Recca, Kaoru and Domon didn't waste any time too, as they followed Tokiya closely behind. Once inside, Tokiya called out to Recca
" There are four separate staircases on each side of the building. We'll go to the tenth floor first. That's where Fuko's office is at, and then from there we'll work our way up. I'll take the south staircase, Recca you take the north, Kaoru the east and Domon the west. Everyone got it?"
There were three nods to his question, and Tokiya turned and raced up the staircase, running up to the tenth floor as fast as his legs could take him.
"Fujin! Fuko cried out as another load of tables and chairs came crashing towards her. This wasn't good, she thought to herself, as she blasted them away. Shako kept putting her on the defensive, and her arm was getting weaker by the second. Silently she thought to herself, Shako had to be somewhere inside the room. It would be quite hard to pinpoint her direction, as she was in a very vulnerable spot. Anyone could see her for miles. Think Fuko think! She told herself angrily. There had to be someway….
Over in her hiding places, Shako giggled to herself, as she saw Fuko cornered in the corner of the room, frantically looking out for her. She was about to raise the orb again, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye; she saw a gust of wind swirling around Fuko and stopped her hand in midair. Swiftly, the wind speed around Fuko increased till the image of Fuko itself was a blur and Shako couldn't see anything beyond the wind. Thinking that it was a ruse by Fuko to move away from her corner, Shako immediately gathered the remaining metallic objects in the room and flung it at the screen of wind. All the objects bounced off the screen and on to the ground. Shako became irritated, as she started flinging more and more objects at it. Then all of a sudden, the wind died down, and all the objects hit squarely against the wall.
" Gotcha!" Fuko yelled from above as Shako looked up, totally caught unawares as Fuko aimed a kick at her neck and knocked her totally unconscious to the floor. The red orb rolled out of Shako's hands as she hit the floor, and Fuko picked it up and placed it in her pocket. Then her vision blurred and she fell sharply against the wall, just as all four doors to the staircases burst opened and Tokiya, Recca, Kaoru and Domon all burst into the room.
" Fuko!" Tokiya called out as he rushed towards her, and caught her in his arms just as she was about to fall to the floor. Recca and the others looked around the room, which was littered with wreckage and then at the unconscious body of Shako, who had a rather dark bruise on her nape.
" He's on top…roof…" Fuko spoke weakly, as she scrambled to regain her balance.
" You should stay here Fuko, you're injured. Tokiya and I shall go take care of Len." Recca said as he squatted down beside Fuko.
" No… I have to do this…its all just a game to him. If I'm not there, then the game is lost…" Fuko struggled to retain her balance, as she shrugged off Recca's arm and staggered towards the door.
Much as she didn't like to admit it, her arm was hurting like hell already. What was worse was that she could barely even move. She was sure that either her arm had been broken or fractured. Still, she forced herself to move on. After coming so far, she's wasn't going to give up like that.
Tokiya, Recca, Kaoru and Domon followed her; a she led the way up the staircase up onto the rooftop.
Tokiya thought hurriedly to himself as he ran up the staircase.
Much as he had liked to stop Fuko from venturing further, he knew that in a way Fuko was right. Len was just playing a game, and Fuko was the target of the game. She was the only player and no one else could be involved. Just as they reached the door separating them from the rooftop, Fuko paused against it, breathing heavily, in an attempt to catch her breath before finally venturing out. Just then a sharp pain seared through her arm and she closed her eyes tightly
Oh god… she prayed. Fujin… please give me the strength to survive this battle. I swear to god that this will be the last. When this is over, I'll never use the Fujin ever again… please…
When Fuko opened her eyes, she found that the orb of her fujin was glowing brightly, and she thought that she could see the shadow of the Fujin, smiling at her, urging her to move on. She looked up and Recca and the rest were all staring at her, waiting for her command. Recca nodded at her in response to the glowing orb
" It's calling you Fuko, don't give up yet."
Fuko nodded, and grasped the handle of the door. She opened it to reveal a curtain of darkness. She couldn't see anything in front of hole. It was like a black hole. She couldn't see any streetlights. The whole entire city area was dark. Bravely, Fuko took one step forward, the bead on her fujin glowing as brightly as ever.
"Nadare!" Recca yelled, as he sent fireballs blasting all over the whole rooftop. Almost immediately, the whole rooftop lit up revealing an empty space in front of them. " Show yourself Len," he called up
Then was silence, and then came a resounding laugh. It echoed throughout the area, and then there was a black shadow in the air above them. Fuko watched as the shadow slowly descended and came to rest upon the rooftop. With a laugh, the shadow took off his black mask, revealing he. Len Larson
Len laughed, his terrible voice echoing throughout the rooftop.
" I'm was a bit surprised when Shako failed to get rid of you, but nevertheless, I'm glad to see that you still are able to battle with me… or are you not?"
" Of course I am…" Fuko replied as she gritted her teeth and took a brave step forward. Tokiya gripped his ensui tightly, telling himself repeatedly to remain calm and to trust Fuko.
" But, don't you think that its unfair, five against one? Why don't I make it fair for us!" Len yelled and he held out his right hand to reveal a black orb. Suddenly, there was a cloud of mist around Fuko, and she couldn't see Recca and the others anymore…
" Recca! Tokiya!" She screamed, turning around, but seeing nothing through the thick mist.
" Very soon, your friends will be destroyed by their own thoughts! Kirisawa Fuko, hahahahahahahaha…"
" Keep your mind clear! Don't let him get to you!" Fuko screamed, hoping that her words would get pass the mist to Recca and the others.
Then, the mist in front of her cleared, as a black figure descended from the sky to stand right in front of her.
" Now Fuko, this is the final battle. Are you ready for it?"
" I will beat you anytime!" Fuko shouted bravely, still clutching on to her arm. Her arm felt numb from the pain, but every time she moved it, it sent an excruciating pain up her arm.
" Well, I seem to be at an advantage here…hehe, tell you what, if any of your friends are able to break the spell, which are very much doubt so, I shall allow them to come and help you, how about it? Anyhow, you'll have to hold me hold for as long as you can then."
Keep your concentration Fuko… do not give him the opportunity to control your mind. You will not be that easily defeated. There are people waiting for me. People who love me and care for me, people are even willing to risk their lives for me…I must fight him, and I will not allow myself to fall till he falls.
" I will not fall." Fuko whispered to herself, before raising her right arm.
She's late. Tokiya thought to him as he paced around his living room. He looked at his watch. Over two hours had past since he had left the office. He called Fuko's mobile a few minutes ago, but her phone was off. Suddenly, Tokiya had a very bad premonition. He called headquarters. All the lines were dead. Raising his mobile phone for the third time, Tokiya dialed another number. This time, Recca's voice came on the line
" Recca? Fuko's in trouble."
Five minutes later, Tokiya was out of his apartment, his ensui tucked safely inside his pocket. Without even bothering to go to his car, he ran straight onto the road. Fuko, hang on…
Recca and the others came five minutes after Tokiya had arrived. All were armed and ready for battle
" You sure Fuko's inside?" Recca asked, peering up at the building. " Looks all right to me…"
" She's inside all right, I'm sure of it. It's too quiet, just too quiet…" Tokiya replied. Then as soon as he had spoken, there was the sound of glass being broken, as pieces of a window fell from the tenth storey. Everyone moved out just in time, as glass pieces fell to the ground in front of them. Tokiya didn't even stop to look at the glass. Immediately, he sprinted into the building, ensui drawn out, ready to fight. Recca, Kaoru and Domon didn't waste any time too, as they followed Tokiya closely behind. Once inside, Tokiya called out to Recca
" There are four separate staircases on each side of the building. We'll go to the tenth floor first. That's where Fuko's office is at, and then from there we'll work our way up. I'll take the south staircase, Recca you take the north, Kaoru the east and Domon the west. Everyone got it?"
There were three nods to his question, and Tokiya turned and raced up the staircase, running up to the tenth floor as fast as his legs could take him.
"Fujin! Fuko cried out as another load of tables and chairs came crashing towards her. This wasn't good, she thought to herself, as she blasted them away. Shako kept putting her on the defensive, and her arm was getting weaker by the second. Silently she thought to herself, Shako had to be somewhere inside the room. It would be quite hard to pinpoint her direction, as she was in a very vulnerable spot. Anyone could see her for miles. Think Fuko think! She told herself angrily. There had to be someway….
Over in her hiding places, Shako giggled to herself, as she saw Fuko cornered in the corner of the room, frantically looking out for her. She was about to raise the orb again, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye; she saw a gust of wind swirling around Fuko and stopped her hand in midair. Swiftly, the wind speed around Fuko increased till the image of Fuko itself was a blur and Shako couldn't see anything beyond the wind. Thinking that it was a ruse by Fuko to move away from her corner, Shako immediately gathered the remaining metallic objects in the room and flung it at the screen of wind. All the objects bounced off the screen and on to the ground. Shako became irritated, as she started flinging more and more objects at it. Then all of a sudden, the wind died down, and all the objects hit squarely against the wall.
" Gotcha!" Fuko yelled from above as Shako looked up, totally caught unawares as Fuko aimed a kick at her neck and knocked her totally unconscious to the floor. The red orb rolled out of Shako's hands as she hit the floor, and Fuko picked it up and placed it in her pocket. Then her vision blurred and she fell sharply against the wall, just as all four doors to the staircases burst opened and Tokiya, Recca, Kaoru and Domon all burst into the room.
" Fuko!" Tokiya called out as he rushed towards her, and caught her in his arms just as she was about to fall to the floor. Recca and the others looked around the room, which was littered with wreckage and then at the unconscious body of Shako, who had a rather dark bruise on her nape.
" He's on top…roof…" Fuko spoke weakly, as she scrambled to regain her balance.
" You should stay here Fuko, you're injured. Tokiya and I shall go take care of Len." Recca said as he squatted down beside Fuko.
" No… I have to do this…its all just a game to him. If I'm not there, then the game is lost…" Fuko struggled to retain her balance, as she shrugged off Recca's arm and staggered towards the door.
Much as she didn't like to admit it, her arm was hurting like hell already. What was worse was that she could barely even move. She was sure that either her arm had been broken or fractured. Still, she forced herself to move on. After coming so far, she's wasn't going to give up like that.
Tokiya, Recca, Kaoru and Domon followed her; a she led the way up the staircase up onto the rooftop.
Tokiya thought hurriedly to himself as he ran up the staircase.
Much as he had liked to stop Fuko from venturing further, he knew that in a way Fuko was right. Len was just playing a game, and Fuko was the target of the game. She was the only player and no one else could be involved. Just as they reached the door separating them from the rooftop, Fuko paused against it, breathing heavily, in an attempt to catch her breath before finally venturing out. Just then a sharp pain seared through her arm and she closed her eyes tightly
Oh god… she prayed. Fujin… please give me the strength to survive this battle. I swear to god that this will be the last. When this is over, I'll never use the Fujin ever again… please…
When Fuko opened her eyes, she found that the orb of her fujin was glowing brightly, and she thought that she could see the shadow of the Fujin, smiling at her, urging her to move on. She looked up and Recca and the rest were all staring at her, waiting for her command. Recca nodded at her in response to the glowing orb
" It's calling you Fuko, don't give up yet."
Fuko nodded, and grasped the handle of the door. She opened it to reveal a curtain of darkness. She couldn't see anything in front of hole. It was like a black hole. She couldn't see any streetlights. The whole entire city area was dark. Bravely, Fuko took one step forward, the bead on her fujin glowing as brightly as ever.
"Nadare!" Recca yelled, as he sent fireballs blasting all over the whole rooftop. Almost immediately, the whole rooftop lit up revealing an empty space in front of them. " Show yourself Len," he called up
Then was silence, and then came a resounding laugh. It echoed throughout the area, and then there was a black shadow in the air above them. Fuko watched as the shadow slowly descended and came to rest upon the rooftop. With a laugh, the shadow took off his black mask, revealing he. Len Larson
Len laughed, his terrible voice echoing throughout the rooftop.
" I'm was a bit surprised when Shako failed to get rid of you, but nevertheless, I'm glad to see that you still are able to battle with me… or are you not?"
" Of course I am…" Fuko replied as she gritted her teeth and took a brave step forward. Tokiya gripped his ensui tightly, telling himself repeatedly to remain calm and to trust Fuko.
" But, don't you think that its unfair, five against one? Why don't I make it fair for us!" Len yelled and he held out his right hand to reveal a black orb. Suddenly, there was a cloud of mist around Fuko, and she couldn't see Recca and the others anymore…
" Recca! Tokiya!" She screamed, turning around, but seeing nothing through the thick mist.
" Very soon, your friends will be destroyed by their own thoughts! Kirisawa Fuko, hahahahahahahaha…"
" Keep your mind clear! Don't let him get to you!" Fuko screamed, hoping that her words would get pass the mist to Recca and the others.
Then, the mist in front of her cleared, as a black figure descended from the sky to stand right in front of her.
" Now Fuko, this is the final battle. Are you ready for it?"
" I will beat you anytime!" Fuko shouted bravely, still clutching on to her arm. Her arm felt numb from the pain, but every time she moved it, it sent an excruciating pain up her arm.
" Well, I seem to be at an advantage here…hehe, tell you what, if any of your friends are able to break the spell, which are very much doubt so, I shall allow them to come and help you, how about it? Anyhow, you'll have to hold me hold for as long as you can then."
Keep your concentration Fuko… do not give him the opportunity to control your mind. You will not be that easily defeated. There are people waiting for me. People who love me and care for me, people are even willing to risk their lives for me…I must fight him, and I will not allow myself to fall till he falls.
" I will not fall." Fuko whispered to herself, before raising her right arm.