Dark Chocolate, White Diamonds
By Dixxy
Chapter Five: Gone Forever
(Keisha)
After Evan and I found our parents lying dead in our living room, my emotions were sent into a frenzy. My blood went still, my heart stopped, and a scream died in the back of my throat. The cold chill in the house overtook up both, the horrifying reality of what we saw sinking in.
My mother was the first one we saw- she had been left closest to the door. Both of her legs had been snapped into unusual positions, the front of her shirt bloodied from a deep gash in her neck as a puddle of crimson surrounded her head like an angel of death. Her eyes remained open, wide from the last moments of terror that her life had been. Her wheelchair lay beside her, a nearly unrecognizable heap on the floor.
Our father was in worse condition. Huge slashes lined his arms and face, a bullet hole in the side of his head, right above his ear. His arms were bent in the wrong direction, and one foot had been nearly severed from his leg. A piece of metal from his wheelchair had been driven through his chest. He was almost unrecognizable, the remainder of his body so badly disfigured.
It had taken us a few minutes before we'd called the police, too nerve wracked to think of it. I had been cradling my mother's body, begging for her to wake up even though I knew deep down inside that there was nothing left but the body. My armor sensed no life force coming from either of my parents.
After the police came, one officer took Evan upstairs to clean him up while I was questioned. I kept breaking down, unable to handle the emotions running through my system. My parents were dead and they wanted to rub it in? I screamed at them to go away, to leave me alone. I didn't want to answer any of their damned questions! I wanted my mommy and daddy!
Somehow, Kento bursting in had made me feel better. My boyfriend was screaming at the police officers, holding me as he lost his temper. His thick, strong arms made me feel safe, his smell and warmth comforting me. Even after he'd been drugged by the police, he'd still held me, promising me that we'd find out who'd done it.
Not long after Kento arrived, Sage came along, followed shortly by Mike. After explaining they were friends, the police told him that he could take us back to Mike's house after they'd questioned Evan and myself more thoroughly. I listened from Kento's lap, wrapping my arms more tightly around his neck, burying my head further into his shoulder. I didn't want to answer any more questions- why didn't they understand that?
The police won out in the end. Evan and I were sent to be questioned about what we'd found. It had taken three hours of break downs, crying, and cops yelling at us before they let us leave with Mike. By then Kento had sobered up from the sedatives and was a little more consoling than he had been, literally carrying me out to the car as I sobbed in his arms. Sage sent an ice cold glare to one of the police officers, accusing them of being insensitive. Trevor had shown up to help Evan, the eldest Lewis child more serious than we were all used to.
The ride back to Mike's was spent in mostly silence. I cried, Kento holding me tightly in his lap. He gently rocked me back and forth, letting me let it all out. Kento had calmed down, knowing that I needed him to cry on. I didn't need him to joke around. I didn't need him to tell some bully off. I didn't need him to kiss and romance me. I didn't need him to help me use my powers or assist me during a battle. Then and there, I only needed him to hold me. And he complied.
The first night without my parents felt strange. My emotions were still a mess. I was still crying. Evan was lost, not showing any emotions or signs of life. When Mike led me to one of the guest rooms, I couldn't sleep there. I stayed in a corner, rocking myself gently back and forth on my heels, staring at the bed emptily.
Kento must have sensed my distress. He came in around eleven to check on me. I was still in a dazed state in my corner, trying to convince myself it was all just a bad dream. A horrible nightmare. When he saw me curled in up in the corner, he held me as I began to cry again. "Shh," he said. "It's all right to cry, Keisha, it's okay to cry."
I clung to him again, feeling weak and powerless. With all the power I held, I felt so helpless in the face of what had happened. Kento picked me up and brought me over to the bed in the guest room. He laid us down and let me cuddle him through the night, comforting me like a giant teddy bear. He made me feel safe, something that I had honestly thought I'd never feel again.
I think that no matter what most people my age say about their parents, its always their mother and father that they turn to whenever they're really scared about something. Whenever I got nightmares as a little girl, I would always run into my parent's room, where my dad would usually let me sleep with him and mom. When people at school made fun of me for not having as much money as they did, my mother always reassured me that I had the better morals and values. They were the ones I turned to sometimes when I felt overwhelmed about my destiny and the other Ronins weren't available.
But there was Kento, holding me and coaxing me. He wasn't a complete replacement for them, but he helped to fill the void that their murders had left. Kento didn't love me like my parents did, but he definitely DID love me, just in a different way. My parents loved me as their own child, which I was, I am, and I will be for all time- nothing can ever change that. Kento loved me as someone to talk to, to kiss, and to be with. And this was the kind of love I needed.
Needless to say I didn't go to school the next day, and neither did Evan. Sage and Kento stayed home with us. Sage tried fruitlessly to get Evan out of his shell while Kento and I spent the day talking. My boyfriend didn't say much, mostly letting me do the talking. I went on about how I felt about the whole thing, about how much I missed them, and how much I was going to make their murderer(s) pay. He understood that I'd just gone through the most tragic loss I could have undergone in my young life and mostly nodded, giving me an occasional comment of reassurance. I cried a lot that day, the emotions running through my system too difficult for me to really get a good grip on. I could get a grip later. I needed time to mourn and I was taking it.
Hours passed. I was lying down in Kento's room on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. My armor orbe was sitting on my chest, the pale, milky orange glistening from sunlight pouring in through the bay window. I closed my eyes, trying to relax. The Senshi half of my brain told me that while the loss of my parents was a tragedy, I needed to be able to place those emotions aside if something happened- I couldn't break down crying over my parents in the middle of a battle if something decided to attack. It was a responsibility I shared with the other Ronins, Anubis, Cara, Dash, and even Tiger Lily, I guess. If I screwed everyone else up, the world was lost. . .
Sometime during those lazy hours, I must have dozed off, since the next thing I remember must have been a dream. There was just no way it could have been real. Had it been real. . . well, it just couldn't have been real, or else apon my awakening the others would have been in a panic.
The dream took me to a wild African grassland, the grass tall and dead, giving the plain a strange, golden color. But it was a creepy gold, a gold that wasn't filled with richness or goodness. It was golden hue that reminded me of stories Kento had told me about Talpa's palace- pretty, but filled with evil.
I looked down at myself to see that I was wearing two brown pieces of cloth, a long one around my waist and a shorter piece covering my breasts, one shoulder strap free. My hair was done up in a high, tight pony tail and I was decorated with silvery and golden jewelry. A tall, bare wooden stick was in my hand, a walking stick of some sort. "What kind of a dream is this?"
My eyes caught a glimmer in the distance and I felt a need to see what that glimmer was. I started to walk towards it, making use of the tall staff. It somehow seemed. . . natural. I was walking at a fast pace, just short of a jog. I felt the grass up against my mostly bare legs, felt loose dirt and pebbles under my feet. The only thought in my mind was to reach that glimmer.
"That glimmer is something you cannot touch, Hardrock of the Senshi."
I turned my head to see an old man was standing next to a dying tree, leaning up against it. He wore deep blue and white robes, a brown pouch slung around his neck. His hands and feet were wrapped in white linen, sandals adorning the latter. Covering his eyes was a large, brown hat that looked a lot like a rice bowl. As a soft breeze rolled by, long white hair followed, flowing coolly like water in a stream. But what really caught my eyes was the familiar golden staff in his hand.
"Ancient. . . Ancient One?" I asked, my eyes widening in surprise.
"Yes, young one," he said, standing up and walking to me. The Ancient stepped towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, unable to find his eyes. This is the man who created the armors. This is Anubis' teacher. The person who held Kento and the other Ronin Warriors during their first war with Talpa. "I know why you seek me, Keisha."
"You. . . you know my name?" I asked. "But you never met me! How can you know who I am?"
The Ancient smiled. "Once I learned that the Child of Destiny had been conceived, I made plans to find the other nine Ronins of his generation," he said. "I paid a visit to every one of you. I'm afraid you don't remember our meeting, though. You were still a very small infant."
The part about the Ancient wasn't the part that I cared about. "Then you knew Cye was. . ."
"Yes, I did," said the Ancient. He chuckled. "However, it was not information they, the Ronin Warriors, needed. The Age of Legends was not supposed to be revealed until after all ten Ronins had faced off against the source of their armors, and at this point you have all done just that."
"Talpa and Trulpa. . ." I said.
"But that is not why I am here. I am here because you understand that if you, the other Senshi, your lover, and the other two Ronins you are in contact with are attacked, then you must be strong enough to fight alongside them or else loose the Mortal World," he said. The Ancient placed a hand on my shoulder. "There is no arguing that your parents' murder was a tragic and violent death. But they left you and your brother with a precious gift."
"A gift?" I asked.
"Life," he said. I narrowed my eyes, unsure of what he was telling me. "You were both created out of their love for each other and you both brought happiness to them these past eighteen years. Even through your poverty, they were happy with you. Their last thoughts were most likely concern that you and Evan would escape their fate."
I placed a hand over my chest. "This isn't making me feel much better."
"I do not come here bearing comfort," he said. I looked up at him. Well, why was he here then? "I come here to tell you who to turn to for comfort. Aside from your brother, your heart cries out only for one more person. The one that you've spent most of your time seeking your comfort from."
That was an easy answer. "Kento," I said.
The Ancient smiled a somewhat knowing smile. Even though I could tell he was old, there was an almost youthful charm to the simple grin. "Yes. The two of you are very close, and it's a closeness I enjoy watching from afar. The love you share means more now more than it ever has before."
I wasn't sure what the Ancient was talking about. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"Simple," he said. "When you met Kento, what condition was he in?"
"Getting his ass kicked by Shinshu?" I asked.
The Ancient One shook his head. "Not that. He was alone. He was thousands of miles away from his family and friends, a whole dimension away from the only people he had ever known and loved. His family, his friends, and his then home. Then you came into his life and suddenly he wasn't by himself. Kento had someone to confide in, to hold, and to love. I don't think that the two of you have the slightest clue just how much you mean to the other yet," he said.
I almost smiled at that. Knowing that I meant that much to Kento felt good inside.
"Now, you are in a very similar position. Your parents have passed on to the next world, your brother has, as you say, clamed up, and, right now, the only one you truly have to lean on is your lover. He's now playing the role that you have played these past months that you've known him, and you're the one needing comfort and consolation. You need each other," he explained.
I stepped closer to the Ancient. "I don't understand," I said. "I know that I love him but-"
The Ancient silenced me again. "Soon, you will understand what I mean, young one. I would suggest waking up- someone is awaiting your awakening. . ."
I woke up to see Kento leaning over me, hands on either side of my torso, a slight smile on his face. "Feel better after that little nap?" he asked me. "You were out for a while there, but I think that's the most peaceful looked I've seen on you since before yesterday."
I nodded. "I feel a whole lot better, thank you," I said, sitting up. I stretched, yawning. I fell into Kento somewhat on purpose, looking up at him. "So, Kento, what brings you up here aside from the fact this is your room? Any particular reason for coming to see me?"
"Well, for one, I wanted to make sure everything's okay with you. Two, and this is the big one, Sage spotted an elderly black woman outside getting out of a cab." My eyes widened as I realized who it was outside. "Keisha, I think your grandmother is here," he said.
"Grams?" I asked, perking up slightly.
"Seems like it," he said, kissing my forehead. He looked back at me, playing with my hair a little. I relished in the touch, sighing contentedly. "Let's get your hair brushed out a little before we go and meet her, okay? While I don't care if you have bed head from Hell- you're still pretty cute anyways- she might."
I made a very small smile at the comment. "Just grab me a brush, Duck Boy."
"Yeah, yeah, Keisha-chan."
