Author's Note: Konnichi wa! It's been quite a while since my last
chapter.(had to study for my final exams. Phew! Glad that's over ^^)
Anyway, here comes the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gatekeepers. 'Nuff said.
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From the deep shadows cast by the stacks of crates, a woman in flowing black garments that seemed to be made out of the shadow itself appeared. Wearing a pair of spectacles that glinted off a stray glow of sunlight that had somehow managed to sneak in through a crack in one of the blackened windows, her dark hair was tied into two ponytails.
Ruriko recognized her instantly. "Megumi-chan?! What are you doing here?"
Megumi chuckled softly. "Well, isn't that obvious? Why are you here? Answer that question and you'll know why I'm here."
"Don't tell me you're still with the invaders!" said Ruriko, once she put two and two together, "Kageyama used you just as a tool last time! And so are the invaders!"
"Kageyama has nothing to do with the invaders anymore," said Megumi in a triumphant tone, "On the contrary, I'm using the invaders and not the other way round."
She approached Ruriko, slowly. "I won't lose to you anymore. I'll be the best in the end. Everyone will then say so."
"For once, can't you think about anything else other than trying to be better than me?! I'm sick and tired of you! If you really want to be the best, then leave your selfish ways and work hard to be the best!" said Ruriko.
"Oh, but I am," said Megumi with a sly smile, "I'm working very hard...to get rid of you!"
"Shadow Edge!"
CHERRY BLOSSOMS
At such close range, it was a wonder Megumi's attack missed Ruriko. But that's because Ukiya had caught Ruriko in a rugby tackle, pushing her away from the dark shadow blades.
"Daijobu ka? (Are you okay?)" Ukiya asked Ruriko in a worried tone.
Ruriko got up with some help from Ukiya. "I'm fine."
The rest of the group had come as well.
"What happened?" asked Kaoru.
"Aiaiai! It's Megumi!" Fei exclaimed, pointing at Megumi.
Megumi seemed amused. "How nice! Now the whole group is here!" She whistled as if a signal for something.
Out of the floor, invaders appeared! Or were they invaders? Clad in black ninja-like costumes, their faces were made out of pure darkness and they had two bright glowing red eyes that shone like gimlets. Each of them had a short, dark blade at their side.
"Nani?! What are those things?!" exclaimed Ukiya.
"Who cares?" said Bancho, "Let's bust them up!"
"Allow me to introduce the new type of invaders," said Megumi, amused at the sight of their puzzled faces, "These new invaders will be your death!"
"Attack!!!"
With astonishing speed, the invaders lunged towards the Gatekeepers.
"Gate Open!" said Fei, "Fire Dragon!"
A blaze of fire in the form of a long dragon burst forth from her gate and rushed out to destroy the invaders. However, many invaders were able to avoid its onslaught. Only a few unlucky ones were destroyed.
"Argh!!!" one of the invaders groaned as its body was torn apart by the raging fire. But instead of dematerializing into a green crystal, it just fell down to the ground.
"Eh?" said a confused Ukiya.
"They're fast!" said Fei.
"But not as fast as me!" said Kaoru as she ran forward with all the speed she could muster, "Kaoru Punch!!!"
A row of invaders were knocked off their feet and fell to the ground with a sickening crunch as black blood spattered on to Kaoru's shirt.
"Blood?" said Kaoru as she examined her stained shirt.
"Kaoru! Look out!"
Kaoru turned around and saw an invader rushing towards her with its blade outstretched. Suddenly, Bancho leaped in and landed a powerful punch at its stomach. It groaned and crumpled to the ground.
Meanwhile, Ruriko was trying to defend herself from the attacks of the invaders. For some reason, she seemed to be their main target. One of their blades nearly sliced through her, but grazed her shoulder instead. Warm blood trickled slowly from the wound. The sight of the blood seemed to infuse the invaders with more determination.
Just as she was getting cornered, Ukiya put himself between her and the invaders.
The invaders ignored him and knocked him aside. Ukiya got smashed against a wall and fell down. Ignoring the intense pain, he got up and with some difficulty, confronted the invaders again.
"Come and get me!!!" he yelled to them.
The invaders turned their attention to him and decided he was a much better target. They all rushed towards him, eager to draw more blood from him.
Gathering all his energy, Ukiya released his power with all his might.
"Ultra Whirlwind Slash!!!"
The invaders didn't expect such an unexpected burst of devastating power from him. The blades of wind sliced through their body and tore them apart mercilessly. In the end, only Ukiya and the others were standing.
Megumi clapped her hands. "Impressive. You have improved much. But that was only a warm-up."
"Gate Open!" Megumi opened her corrupted gate, "Shadow Bind!"
Suddenly, long wispy tentacles made of shadow crept up from the ground and started to bind the Gatekeepers in a strong hold.
"Kore wa nan desu ka?! (What is this?!)" said Ukiya as he tried to whack the tentacles with his bouken.
But the bouken just went through the tentacles as if it was just a plain shadow.
"Uso! (This can't be! [literally, it means 'lie'])" said Ukiya as he tried in vain to hit the elusive tentacle.
Only Ruriko wasn't bound up by the tentacles.
"Hold on, guys!" she yelled at them, "I'll try to free you!"
"It's useless," said Megumi, "You can't do anything for them."
The tentacles started to strangle them.
"Megumi-chan, don't do it!" pleaded Ruriko, "They'll die if you do that."
"Well, duh! That's the whole point!"
"Please, Megumi. Stop it!"
"And what if I said no?"
"Then I'll stop you!" Ruriko took out her bow and aimed her arrow straight at Megumi's chest.
Megumi chuckled. "You don't have the guts to do it."
"Damare. (Shut up.)"
"You wouldn't want to stain your dainty little hands with my blood, do you?"
"Damare!"
"You're just worthless! You can't even save your own friends!"
"Damare! Damare!!! DAMARE!!!" she released the arrow and it flew straight towards Megumi, only to be deflected by a shadow barrier around her.
"Useless!" Megumi hissed as she opened her black gate, ready to deal a deathblow at Ruriko.
"Oi, Megumi!" a voice said from the darkness.
Megumi stopped for a moment, looking around for the person who said that. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
"Have you forgotten?" said that someone as he stepped into the light, "We have a little score to settle."
Ruriko turned around and saw a man wearing a dark red t-shirt and black trousers. A long black coat covered him, though his hands did not go through its sleeves. And a piece of red cloth was tied around his forehead.
"Akio?!"
"You again?!" said Megumi.
"I'm here to kill you, Megumi."
Megumi snorted. "You wish!"
Akio took a step forward towards Megumi. "I suggest you stop wasting time and just accept your fate."
"Well I suggest you stop right there!" threatened Megumi, "If not, I'll kill your friends over here," she pointed at Ukiya and the others bound up by the tentacles.
Akio just gave a sly smile. "Like I give a damn."
And he continued walking towards her.
Surprised that her threat did not work, she summoned forth three more invaders to attack him.
The invaders rushed towards Akio as he just kept walking towards Megumi.
Just as they reached within a meter's length of him, a blade flashed out and sliced them in two.
"Typical of you to send your underlings to do all the dirty work for you."
Megumi was slightly angered by that remark. "If you really want to fight me, then take this!!!"
She released a ball of black energy at Akio. He easily avoided it, then rushed at Megumi. He slashed at her, but she teleported out of the way. This repeated many times, till she countered with her Shadow Bind attack.
The tentacles caught Akio and he was unable to move. Megumi followed that up with her Shadow Edge attack. But then, suddenly, only Akio's coat was there.
Megumi paused in hesitation. Akio took the chance and delivered a flurry of blows at her that she did not expect. Then, he landed a final uppercut at her jaw that sent her flying to the other side.
Thinking she was unconscious, he retrieved his coat and approached her body. But then, she teleported above just as he was about to slice her throat.
"Not bad," said Megumi, "But this is where the fight ends. Shadow Blast!!!"
Akio could not avoid the beam. It smashed him through one of the walls and he lay there unconscious.
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Meanwhile, Ukiya was trying to free himself from the tentacles, but in vain.
"It's no use," said Fei, "You can't hit a shadow."
Ukiya thought for a while, and he got a bright idea. "Shadow can't exist with light! Ruriko, maybe you attack could destroy it."
"I'll try."
*********************************************************************
Floating in mid-air, Megumi heaved a sigh of relief as the battle finished. But she sighed to soon.
Suddenly, she felt something go through her back and come out through her front. She looked down and saw that it was the end of a bouken.
"K'so(Damn you!)" she said as she released one last blast at Ukiya.
"Argh!" groaned Ukiya as he fell down to the ground.
Quite suddenly, Megumi laughed. "That was a good one, Ukiya. Though I expected better from you."
She then looked at Ruriko with anger in her eyes. "Mark my words. I will have my revenge!"
She then vanished into the black gate.
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"Daijobu ka, Ukiya?" Ruriko asked as he tried to get up.
"My head hurts.but nothing serious," was his reply.
"Ne, what do we do with this guy?" Kaoru asked, pointing at the unconscious Akio.
But then, he groaned and got up. When he saw them gathered around him, he quickly backed away from them.
"Guess we're still enemies, huh?" said Akio as he turned his back on them and started to walk away, "Then, I'll just be going."
"Matte!(Wait!)" said Ruriko.
Akio stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Nan desu ka?"
"How's your wound?"
"Wound?"
"The one on your stomach. The one I made, remember?"
"Oh, that. It's gone."
He resumed walking, but then stopped again. This time he didn't turn around to face them. "A word of advice, Ruriko."
"Eh?"
He turned his face around. "Never sympathize with the enemy."
"But you're not our enemy!!! Would an enemy come to his enemy's rescue?!"
"."
"You saved us twice already! I don't think that's what you call an enemy!"
"Like I said just now. I don't give a damn. As for those so-called rescues, I was just fighting Megumi and those invaders she made, lousy invaders I may add. And you guys were just in our way."
"What about our promise?"
"What promise?"
"You forgot that, too didn't you?"
"Speaking of that," Akio produced something small from his pocket and threw it at Ruriko. She caught it in her hands and saw that it was a small bronze coin choker.
"Keep it," said Akio," I don't deserve it anymore."
With that, he slipped through the shadows like a breeze.
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Late that evening, Ruriko was in her room, studying for the coming exams. Just then, her attention turned to the choker Akio had given her just now. She looked at it hard. It brought back memories.
*Flashback*
A young Ukiya and Ruriko were facing each other.
"When are you leaving?" asked Ukiya.
"Next week," replied Ruriko.
"Shun, we're leaving" called out a voice.
"Coming, Mum!"
He was about to go but then.
"Matte (Wait)," said Ruriko.
"Actually I...I've always.." she clutched the dinosaur toy that Ukiya had given her earlier, "Loved you!" (special effect-echo)
"Gomen ne, Rurippe," said Ukiya, "But I like Miyo. She doesn't snivel like you."
Ruriko was very upset, since she had loved Ukiya all this while and yet, he doesn't like her. She cried (sniveled) and ran away.
Ukiya did not expect this sudden outburst. He felt bad, but there was nothing he could do, he was already leaving.
Ruriko ran and ran till she felt extremely tired. But she didn't care. She didn't care where she was running. She didn't care how tired she was. She just didn't care anymore. All she knew was that Ukiya didn't like her. And that gave her little comfort.
She reached the park and saw a bench there under a cherry blossom tree. No one was on the bench. A boy, however, was sitting under the tree, reading a really thick book. Wiping her tears away, she brought herself to the bench and sat on it, watching the cherry blossoms fall down one by one.
At first, the boy didn't see Ruriko there. But then, he heard her footsteps and looked up. "What's wrong, Ruriko?"
"Nani mo (Nothing)," was her reply as she sat down on the bench.
The boy closed his book and looked at Ruriko closely. "You've been crying."
It was more of a statement than a question. Nevertheless, she just nodded her head.
"Doshite? (Why?)" he asked.
"Ukiya.he.he," she started to say, "He said he liked Miyo better than me."
She burst into tears again. "Just because he thinks I'm a sniveler..sniff.sniff.he doesn't like me!"
"Am I really that awful?" she asked the boy.
"Ie (No)," said the boy as he leaned himself on the tree trunk.
"Then why doesn't Ukiya like me?"
"He just said he didn't like you. But what he meant was."
"What?"
"He likes you."
"I'm confused."
"It's called reverse psychology. One says the exact opposite of what he means, so that the one listening will understand what he actually meant."
"But what if the one listening thinks what he's saying is what he means?"
"That's the tough part. That's why we just need to believe in what he means."
"Believe in what he means?"
"Do you believe Ukiya really doesn't like you?"
"Well.I.I don't think so."
"Then, trust him that he really likes you."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For cheering me up."
"I was just trying to help. That's all."
There was a momentary silence as they watched the cherry blossoms slowly fall to the ground.
"So, when are you moving?" asked the boy.
"Next week."
"Same here."
"I wish we could all meet someday."
"The odds are low, but I hope so, too."
"Hey! Why don't we make a promise?"
"Promise?"
"Yeah! Let's promise that when we get the chance, we'll come back here to this tree!"
"With no exact time, the odds of us meeting each other are extremely low."
"It doesn't matter. At least, we'll know that one of us was here already."
"I guess. But what about Ukiya?"
"I'll tell him about the promise if I meet him. You, too, okay?"
"Sure."
"Then it's a promise then!"
"I guess."
"Oh, wait!" Ruriko took something out from her pocket. It was a small bronze coin choker. "Here."
"What's this for?"
"You might look different when you're older. If you keep that, I'll know it's you when I see you."
"How am I supposed to recognize you, then?"
"I'll wear my yellow bow on my hair."
"Fair enough," the boy kept the choker in his pocket.
*End flashback*
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Ruriko approached the cherry blossom tree. It was still standing there, after all these years. And so was the bench. It was nearly night and it was getting cold.
Just then, she saw someone sitting under the tree. She approached the person slowly.
The man looked up and saw her. She saw who it was and wasn't shocked at all. It was Akio.
She sat down on the bench, exactly where she sat down more than ten years ago.
"You're not gonna kill me, are you?" she said.
"Ie. I'm not in the mood," he replied, "Besides, you're not my enemy. AEGIS is."
"But why do you hate AEGIS so much?"
"Hate? No, I do not hate AEGIS. I'm scared of them."
"Scared?"
"Scared of being prejudiced. Scared of being accused. Scared of being hunted down like a mangy dog. Yes, I'm scared of AEGIS."
"I don't understand."
"You will, someday."
"You remembered our promise, didn't you?" Ruriko changed the topic.
"Ie. I just happened to be resting under this tree, when you came along," replied Akio.
Ruriko smiled at hearing his stubborn denial. "The cherry blossoms are really pretty tonight."
"Ee, so desu ne. (Yes, that's right.)" said Akio as a cherry blossom floated down on to the palm of his hand. "Demo, everything that's alive and cheerful will one day wither and die in grief." He crushed the cherry blossom in his hand to show emphasis.
Ruriko smiled. "That's why we have to live our life to the fullest and enjoy life."
"Which I cannot do," said Akio as he got up to leave.
"Akio.you've changed."
"Plato once said that the only thing constant in this world is change."
Ruriko tried to stifle a giggle.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. But do you still quote lines from books like last time?"
"Sometimes."
"It's getting late," Ruriko looked at her watch, "I have to go now."
"Ja sayonara!"
"Ja sayonara!
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Back home, Ruriko was wondering why her house was so dark, not even one light was on.
"That's odd," she thought to herself, "Otosan and okasan can't have gone to bed already."
Not wanting to disturb her parents in case they were sleeping early, she opened the front door using her own key. Once inside, the house felt quiet, too quiet.
"Otosan! Okasan!" she called her parents, but there was no reply.
She went into the living room but no one was there.
"Otosan! Okasan!" she called again as she went into the dining room. "Otosan! Oka."
What she saw nearly gave her a heart attack. Blood was painted all over the walls. The room was in complete disarray. Tables were overturned and food was all over the floor. But worst of all, she saw her parents on the floor with pools of blood forming under them. Their internal organs seemed to be ripped apart from their bodies and were neatly arranged next to them.
"Uso!" Ruriko said in disbelief as she dropped down to her knees, "Uso!!! USO!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED.
Author's Note: Please send in some reviews. I'd really appreciate it if you did. I need all the help I can get to make this fanfic good! Till next time, ja ne! ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Gatekeepers. 'Nuff said.
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From the deep shadows cast by the stacks of crates, a woman in flowing black garments that seemed to be made out of the shadow itself appeared. Wearing a pair of spectacles that glinted off a stray glow of sunlight that had somehow managed to sneak in through a crack in one of the blackened windows, her dark hair was tied into two ponytails.
Ruriko recognized her instantly. "Megumi-chan?! What are you doing here?"
Megumi chuckled softly. "Well, isn't that obvious? Why are you here? Answer that question and you'll know why I'm here."
"Don't tell me you're still with the invaders!" said Ruriko, once she put two and two together, "Kageyama used you just as a tool last time! And so are the invaders!"
"Kageyama has nothing to do with the invaders anymore," said Megumi in a triumphant tone, "On the contrary, I'm using the invaders and not the other way round."
She approached Ruriko, slowly. "I won't lose to you anymore. I'll be the best in the end. Everyone will then say so."
"For once, can't you think about anything else other than trying to be better than me?! I'm sick and tired of you! If you really want to be the best, then leave your selfish ways and work hard to be the best!" said Ruriko.
"Oh, but I am," said Megumi with a sly smile, "I'm working very hard...to get rid of you!"
"Shadow Edge!"
CHERRY BLOSSOMS
At such close range, it was a wonder Megumi's attack missed Ruriko. But that's because Ukiya had caught Ruriko in a rugby tackle, pushing her away from the dark shadow blades.
"Daijobu ka? (Are you okay?)" Ukiya asked Ruriko in a worried tone.
Ruriko got up with some help from Ukiya. "I'm fine."
The rest of the group had come as well.
"What happened?" asked Kaoru.
"Aiaiai! It's Megumi!" Fei exclaimed, pointing at Megumi.
Megumi seemed amused. "How nice! Now the whole group is here!" She whistled as if a signal for something.
Out of the floor, invaders appeared! Or were they invaders? Clad in black ninja-like costumes, their faces were made out of pure darkness and they had two bright glowing red eyes that shone like gimlets. Each of them had a short, dark blade at their side.
"Nani?! What are those things?!" exclaimed Ukiya.
"Who cares?" said Bancho, "Let's bust them up!"
"Allow me to introduce the new type of invaders," said Megumi, amused at the sight of their puzzled faces, "These new invaders will be your death!"
"Attack!!!"
With astonishing speed, the invaders lunged towards the Gatekeepers.
"Gate Open!" said Fei, "Fire Dragon!"
A blaze of fire in the form of a long dragon burst forth from her gate and rushed out to destroy the invaders. However, many invaders were able to avoid its onslaught. Only a few unlucky ones were destroyed.
"Argh!!!" one of the invaders groaned as its body was torn apart by the raging fire. But instead of dematerializing into a green crystal, it just fell down to the ground.
"Eh?" said a confused Ukiya.
"They're fast!" said Fei.
"But not as fast as me!" said Kaoru as she ran forward with all the speed she could muster, "Kaoru Punch!!!"
A row of invaders were knocked off their feet and fell to the ground with a sickening crunch as black blood spattered on to Kaoru's shirt.
"Blood?" said Kaoru as she examined her stained shirt.
"Kaoru! Look out!"
Kaoru turned around and saw an invader rushing towards her with its blade outstretched. Suddenly, Bancho leaped in and landed a powerful punch at its stomach. It groaned and crumpled to the ground.
Meanwhile, Ruriko was trying to defend herself from the attacks of the invaders. For some reason, she seemed to be their main target. One of their blades nearly sliced through her, but grazed her shoulder instead. Warm blood trickled slowly from the wound. The sight of the blood seemed to infuse the invaders with more determination.
Just as she was getting cornered, Ukiya put himself between her and the invaders.
The invaders ignored him and knocked him aside. Ukiya got smashed against a wall and fell down. Ignoring the intense pain, he got up and with some difficulty, confronted the invaders again.
"Come and get me!!!" he yelled to them.
The invaders turned their attention to him and decided he was a much better target. They all rushed towards him, eager to draw more blood from him.
Gathering all his energy, Ukiya released his power with all his might.
"Ultra Whirlwind Slash!!!"
The invaders didn't expect such an unexpected burst of devastating power from him. The blades of wind sliced through their body and tore them apart mercilessly. In the end, only Ukiya and the others were standing.
Megumi clapped her hands. "Impressive. You have improved much. But that was only a warm-up."
"Gate Open!" Megumi opened her corrupted gate, "Shadow Bind!"
Suddenly, long wispy tentacles made of shadow crept up from the ground and started to bind the Gatekeepers in a strong hold.
"Kore wa nan desu ka?! (What is this?!)" said Ukiya as he tried to whack the tentacles with his bouken.
But the bouken just went through the tentacles as if it was just a plain shadow.
"Uso! (This can't be! [literally, it means 'lie'])" said Ukiya as he tried in vain to hit the elusive tentacle.
Only Ruriko wasn't bound up by the tentacles.
"Hold on, guys!" she yelled at them, "I'll try to free you!"
"It's useless," said Megumi, "You can't do anything for them."
The tentacles started to strangle them.
"Megumi-chan, don't do it!" pleaded Ruriko, "They'll die if you do that."
"Well, duh! That's the whole point!"
"Please, Megumi. Stop it!"
"And what if I said no?"
"Then I'll stop you!" Ruriko took out her bow and aimed her arrow straight at Megumi's chest.
Megumi chuckled. "You don't have the guts to do it."
"Damare. (Shut up.)"
"You wouldn't want to stain your dainty little hands with my blood, do you?"
"Damare!"
"You're just worthless! You can't even save your own friends!"
"Damare! Damare!!! DAMARE!!!" she released the arrow and it flew straight towards Megumi, only to be deflected by a shadow barrier around her.
"Useless!" Megumi hissed as she opened her black gate, ready to deal a deathblow at Ruriko.
"Oi, Megumi!" a voice said from the darkness.
Megumi stopped for a moment, looking around for the person who said that. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
"Have you forgotten?" said that someone as he stepped into the light, "We have a little score to settle."
Ruriko turned around and saw a man wearing a dark red t-shirt and black trousers. A long black coat covered him, though his hands did not go through its sleeves. And a piece of red cloth was tied around his forehead.
"Akio?!"
"You again?!" said Megumi.
"I'm here to kill you, Megumi."
Megumi snorted. "You wish!"
Akio took a step forward towards Megumi. "I suggest you stop wasting time and just accept your fate."
"Well I suggest you stop right there!" threatened Megumi, "If not, I'll kill your friends over here," she pointed at Ukiya and the others bound up by the tentacles.
Akio just gave a sly smile. "Like I give a damn."
And he continued walking towards her.
Surprised that her threat did not work, she summoned forth three more invaders to attack him.
The invaders rushed towards Akio as he just kept walking towards Megumi.
Just as they reached within a meter's length of him, a blade flashed out and sliced them in two.
"Typical of you to send your underlings to do all the dirty work for you."
Megumi was slightly angered by that remark. "If you really want to fight me, then take this!!!"
She released a ball of black energy at Akio. He easily avoided it, then rushed at Megumi. He slashed at her, but she teleported out of the way. This repeated many times, till she countered with her Shadow Bind attack.
The tentacles caught Akio and he was unable to move. Megumi followed that up with her Shadow Edge attack. But then, suddenly, only Akio's coat was there.
Megumi paused in hesitation. Akio took the chance and delivered a flurry of blows at her that she did not expect. Then, he landed a final uppercut at her jaw that sent her flying to the other side.
Thinking she was unconscious, he retrieved his coat and approached her body. But then, she teleported above just as he was about to slice her throat.
"Not bad," said Megumi, "But this is where the fight ends. Shadow Blast!!!"
Akio could not avoid the beam. It smashed him through one of the walls and he lay there unconscious.
*********************************************************************
Meanwhile, Ukiya was trying to free himself from the tentacles, but in vain.
"It's no use," said Fei, "You can't hit a shadow."
Ukiya thought for a while, and he got a bright idea. "Shadow can't exist with light! Ruriko, maybe you attack could destroy it."
"I'll try."
*********************************************************************
Floating in mid-air, Megumi heaved a sigh of relief as the battle finished. But she sighed to soon.
Suddenly, she felt something go through her back and come out through her front. She looked down and saw that it was the end of a bouken.
"K'so(Damn you!)" she said as she released one last blast at Ukiya.
"Argh!" groaned Ukiya as he fell down to the ground.
Quite suddenly, Megumi laughed. "That was a good one, Ukiya. Though I expected better from you."
She then looked at Ruriko with anger in her eyes. "Mark my words. I will have my revenge!"
She then vanished into the black gate.
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"Daijobu ka, Ukiya?" Ruriko asked as he tried to get up.
"My head hurts.but nothing serious," was his reply.
"Ne, what do we do with this guy?" Kaoru asked, pointing at the unconscious Akio.
But then, he groaned and got up. When he saw them gathered around him, he quickly backed away from them.
"Guess we're still enemies, huh?" said Akio as he turned his back on them and started to walk away, "Then, I'll just be going."
"Matte!(Wait!)" said Ruriko.
Akio stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Nan desu ka?"
"How's your wound?"
"Wound?"
"The one on your stomach. The one I made, remember?"
"Oh, that. It's gone."
He resumed walking, but then stopped again. This time he didn't turn around to face them. "A word of advice, Ruriko."
"Eh?"
He turned his face around. "Never sympathize with the enemy."
"But you're not our enemy!!! Would an enemy come to his enemy's rescue?!"
"."
"You saved us twice already! I don't think that's what you call an enemy!"
"Like I said just now. I don't give a damn. As for those so-called rescues, I was just fighting Megumi and those invaders she made, lousy invaders I may add. And you guys were just in our way."
"What about our promise?"
"What promise?"
"You forgot that, too didn't you?"
"Speaking of that," Akio produced something small from his pocket and threw it at Ruriko. She caught it in her hands and saw that it was a small bronze coin choker.
"Keep it," said Akio," I don't deserve it anymore."
With that, he slipped through the shadows like a breeze.
*********************************************************************
Late that evening, Ruriko was in her room, studying for the coming exams. Just then, her attention turned to the choker Akio had given her just now. She looked at it hard. It brought back memories.
*Flashback*
A young Ukiya and Ruriko were facing each other.
"When are you leaving?" asked Ukiya.
"Next week," replied Ruriko.
"Shun, we're leaving" called out a voice.
"Coming, Mum!"
He was about to go but then.
"Matte (Wait)," said Ruriko.
"Actually I...I've always.." she clutched the dinosaur toy that Ukiya had given her earlier, "Loved you!" (special effect-echo)
"Gomen ne, Rurippe," said Ukiya, "But I like Miyo. She doesn't snivel like you."
Ruriko was very upset, since she had loved Ukiya all this while and yet, he doesn't like her. She cried (sniveled) and ran away.
Ukiya did not expect this sudden outburst. He felt bad, but there was nothing he could do, he was already leaving.
Ruriko ran and ran till she felt extremely tired. But she didn't care. She didn't care where she was running. She didn't care how tired she was. She just didn't care anymore. All she knew was that Ukiya didn't like her. And that gave her little comfort.
She reached the park and saw a bench there under a cherry blossom tree. No one was on the bench. A boy, however, was sitting under the tree, reading a really thick book. Wiping her tears away, she brought herself to the bench and sat on it, watching the cherry blossoms fall down one by one.
At first, the boy didn't see Ruriko there. But then, he heard her footsteps and looked up. "What's wrong, Ruriko?"
"Nani mo (Nothing)," was her reply as she sat down on the bench.
The boy closed his book and looked at Ruriko closely. "You've been crying."
It was more of a statement than a question. Nevertheless, she just nodded her head.
"Doshite? (Why?)" he asked.
"Ukiya.he.he," she started to say, "He said he liked Miyo better than me."
She burst into tears again. "Just because he thinks I'm a sniveler..sniff.sniff.he doesn't like me!"
"Am I really that awful?" she asked the boy.
"Ie (No)," said the boy as he leaned himself on the tree trunk.
"Then why doesn't Ukiya like me?"
"He just said he didn't like you. But what he meant was."
"What?"
"He likes you."
"I'm confused."
"It's called reverse psychology. One says the exact opposite of what he means, so that the one listening will understand what he actually meant."
"But what if the one listening thinks what he's saying is what he means?"
"That's the tough part. That's why we just need to believe in what he means."
"Believe in what he means?"
"Do you believe Ukiya really doesn't like you?"
"Well.I.I don't think so."
"Then, trust him that he really likes you."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For cheering me up."
"I was just trying to help. That's all."
There was a momentary silence as they watched the cherry blossoms slowly fall to the ground.
"So, when are you moving?" asked the boy.
"Next week."
"Same here."
"I wish we could all meet someday."
"The odds are low, but I hope so, too."
"Hey! Why don't we make a promise?"
"Promise?"
"Yeah! Let's promise that when we get the chance, we'll come back here to this tree!"
"With no exact time, the odds of us meeting each other are extremely low."
"It doesn't matter. At least, we'll know that one of us was here already."
"I guess. But what about Ukiya?"
"I'll tell him about the promise if I meet him. You, too, okay?"
"Sure."
"Then it's a promise then!"
"I guess."
"Oh, wait!" Ruriko took something out from her pocket. It was a small bronze coin choker. "Here."
"What's this for?"
"You might look different when you're older. If you keep that, I'll know it's you when I see you."
"How am I supposed to recognize you, then?"
"I'll wear my yellow bow on my hair."
"Fair enough," the boy kept the choker in his pocket.
*End flashback*
*********************************************************************
Ruriko approached the cherry blossom tree. It was still standing there, after all these years. And so was the bench. It was nearly night and it was getting cold.
Just then, she saw someone sitting under the tree. She approached the person slowly.
The man looked up and saw her. She saw who it was and wasn't shocked at all. It was Akio.
She sat down on the bench, exactly where she sat down more than ten years ago.
"You're not gonna kill me, are you?" she said.
"Ie. I'm not in the mood," he replied, "Besides, you're not my enemy. AEGIS is."
"But why do you hate AEGIS so much?"
"Hate? No, I do not hate AEGIS. I'm scared of them."
"Scared?"
"Scared of being prejudiced. Scared of being accused. Scared of being hunted down like a mangy dog. Yes, I'm scared of AEGIS."
"I don't understand."
"You will, someday."
"You remembered our promise, didn't you?" Ruriko changed the topic.
"Ie. I just happened to be resting under this tree, when you came along," replied Akio.
Ruriko smiled at hearing his stubborn denial. "The cherry blossoms are really pretty tonight."
"Ee, so desu ne. (Yes, that's right.)" said Akio as a cherry blossom floated down on to the palm of his hand. "Demo, everything that's alive and cheerful will one day wither and die in grief." He crushed the cherry blossom in his hand to show emphasis.
Ruriko smiled. "That's why we have to live our life to the fullest and enjoy life."
"Which I cannot do," said Akio as he got up to leave.
"Akio.you've changed."
"Plato once said that the only thing constant in this world is change."
Ruriko tried to stifle a giggle.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. But do you still quote lines from books like last time?"
"Sometimes."
"It's getting late," Ruriko looked at her watch, "I have to go now."
"Ja sayonara!"
"Ja sayonara!
*********************************************************************
Back home, Ruriko was wondering why her house was so dark, not even one light was on.
"That's odd," she thought to herself, "Otosan and okasan can't have gone to bed already."
Not wanting to disturb her parents in case they were sleeping early, she opened the front door using her own key. Once inside, the house felt quiet, too quiet.
"Otosan! Okasan!" she called her parents, but there was no reply.
She went into the living room but no one was there.
"Otosan! Okasan!" she called again as she went into the dining room. "Otosan! Oka."
What she saw nearly gave her a heart attack. Blood was painted all over the walls. The room was in complete disarray. Tables were overturned and food was all over the floor. But worst of all, she saw her parents on the floor with pools of blood forming under them. Their internal organs seemed to be ripped apart from their bodies and were neatly arranged next to them.
"Uso!" Ruriko said in disbelief as she dropped down to her knees, "Uso!!! USO!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED.
Author's Note: Please send in some reviews. I'd really appreciate it if you did. I need all the help I can get to make this fanfic good! Till next time, ja ne! ^^