~Notes From Minagi~
He…he he…heeeeee…this is where I meet my real challenge in writing. Last chapter was nothing
compared to this one as far as the amount of thought goes. But, I'm gonna give it a try.
Oh yes, now that I'm thinking about it, I had to separate this chapter into two parts. I began
writing it, and didn't get to the main point till page nine. And since tomorrow is my first day
of (GODDESSES HELP ME!) school, I figured I could post the first part.
Okay, MinakoSan, if you're reading this, HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?! Just stop your
story there, I swear... ^-^
Well, nothing more to say. Post chapter author's rant to follow, so, yeah, chat atcha then!
~Minagi (wow, don't I sound just so edumacated today?...aiiiiii)
"Mihoshi…" Ryoko whispered, distraught. Everyone's gaze slowly crept to her, and she faintly
reddened. Her palms were glossed with sweat, and they stuck to Ryo-ohki's soft fur. Wiping her
brow with the back of her hand, she looked up.
"Ryoko…" Tenchi said. "How did…no…he's-"
"Dead?" she interrupted. "Yes, that is true, but his grudge against this family, against me,
brought his spirit back. He's been feeding off Kyoko's energy and using her to try to kill me.
I guess my stupidity held it off for a while…"
"But…but…but…" the successor was lost for words. Kagato? There was no way! Tenchi himself had
killed the man not more than two years ago, how could he be behind this?
As if reading his mind, Ryoko continued in a voice barely above a whisper.
"He's got full control of her now, which gives him enough power to create a form of his own."
"How do you know this for sure?" Aeka questioned, sobbing. Kagato had her sister…her little
Sasami. How she hated this cruel world.
"Remember, I'm the one he controlled for years unending. I should have seen this sooner. He
had told me everything in so many ways. He gave me my nightmares, he let me feel his presence a
number of times. I should have thought it strange that Kyoko knew exactly where I was, and knew
exactly how to hack into GP files. Hell, Kagato had been doing that for years." The demon
paused for a moment to regain her breath and think if there was anything else to say. "I should
have seen it when Kyoko began to sing 'Autumn of Life'. I never told anyone about the day that
I stopped playing the organ. Tenchi, you were the first; yet she seemed to know about it
very well."
"Ryoko," Tenchi sighed, exasperated, "why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"I didn't know until this morning, when I realized 'Rei' and 'Kyoko' were one in the same."
"But you still knew before any of us!"
Emotions overwhelmed the cyan beauty as silent tears traced crystal paths down the sides of her
face. She attempted to hide them, knowing she couldn't.
"I kept saying to myself that it was for your own sake," she said, voice trembling. "But the
truth is…I was terrified. I didn't want it to be true."
Tenchi moved to comfort Ryoko, but she met him halfway there. She wrapped her free arm around
his shoulders, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He gently rubbed her back in a
comforting manner as she cried.
"I'm such a fool," she whimpered, sorrow strangling her words.
"We will make it through this," he promised. Though the comment was directed to the one in his
arms, he meant it for everyone. He wouldn't let his family be destroyed, no matter what it took.
~*~
November 12 dawned cold and gray with rolling clouds and screaming wind. Ryoko sat beside her
window, silent on the outside. Inside, she was a destroyed battlefield after World War III.
There had been no sign of little Sasami, and her nightmares had all but stopped. Now, with the
truth embedded in her mind, nothing relieved her of the burden she carried.
"Miya?"
Ryoko's attention was drawn away from thought when her companion nudged her ankle, asking for
attention. She picked Ryo-ohki up and set her back down in her lap.
"You miss Sasami, too, huh?" the summoner asked, absentmindedly scratching the cabbit's ears.
She lay her head against the cool surface of the glass, relaxing her eyelids.
"I hate this, Ryo-ohki," she whispered. "Everything would be so much easier if I hadn't been so
stupid and ignorant. We don't know where Kyoko and Kagato are hiding, I can't contact Washuu,
and there's a slim to none chance that Sasami-chan's even alive."
Ryo-ohki nipped her master's thumb. Ryoko opened her eyes and looked down, and the creature
placed her paw in the oni's hand. "Miya miya myaaa?"
"Yeah, slim just ran out the door." Ryo-ohki's face fell.
"Mew."
"And just to make matters worse, I really don't know where to stand on this. I want to trust
Tenchi's promise that we'll get through this, but that's just it. I want to. I love him, I'd
die for him, but I find it hard to believe his words. If he couldn't fully destroy Kagato
before with the Light Hawk Wings, I don't know how he can do it this time around."
"Miya miyaa mya miyaaa?"
"No, I know of no way to destroy spirits."
At her words, Tenchi stumbled into the room, freezing and exhausted. He had been out all night
searching for clues of Sasami's whereabouts and had gotten no sleep what so ever. He collapsed
on the couch, dropping the flashlight from his hands.
"Damn it!" he hissed through clenched teeth, "Nothing all night! Did anything happen here?"
Ryoko sighed heavily, getting up and setting Ryo-ohki on the ground. She walked uneasily over
to his side and sat down. He turned to face her, and noticed her clouded eyes reflected the
tiredness that he felt.
"Mihoshi woke up every half hour, asking me to get her a glass of water. That girl has a
bladder the size of the Pacific Ocean, I swear."
Tenchi smiled; an act she returned.
"Nothing, then?" he asked.
The cyan beauty shook her head. She stared at her hands, which were hanging on to the mint
green material of her dress with a death grip.
"Ryoko-chan?" the successor whispered, catching her attention. He knew she was scared to death,
so he raised to a sitting position and placed his hands on either side of her face. Gently, he
kissed her lips, which she responded to with her own gratefulness. Then, leaning his forehead a
gainst hers, he took hold of her hands. "I will protect you," he said simply, staring into her
eyes.
Ryoko was lost in the moment. All that was happening was no more, and only they existed in the
world. A true happiness arose in her for the first time in what seemed like forever. She let
go of his hands and embraced him, laying her head against his chest.
"I love you," she mumbled after a few minutes. The rhythmic beating of his heart had been
slowly lulling her into sleep.
"Waaaaaaahhhh!!! Oh, you two are so sweeeeeet!!!!" Mihoshi bawled as she surveyed the scene she
had walked in on and had been quietly watching since the beginning.
The young couple jumped in surprise when they suddenly found they had an audience, clearing the
couch by a good six centimeters.
"Holy shit, Mihoshi!" Ryoko cried out, trying to regain her composure and tame her hair, which
was sticking straight up on her head. When she finally had settled enough to speak again, she
glared at the blonde cop, who had been hovering in the doorway. "Do you need another glass of
water?"
Mihoshi gave an innocently thoughtful look. "No, actually I have to pee, but I just couldn't
help but hear you guys." With that, she quickly backtracked out of the room and darted into the
bathroom.
"She had to pee?" Tenchi questioned stupidly.
Ryoko looked up into his face, and the two made eye contact. All was still and quiet for a
moment as they held their gaze. Then, without warning, they burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Mihoshi had to pee!" Ryoko choked, overcome with giggles.
The door to their apartment opened with a loud crash, bringing the momentary fun to a sudden
halt. Fuming and on the verge of hysterical tears, Aeka stormed into the room, closely pursued
by Kiyone.
"Aeka, I'm sorry!" the cop was saying. She looked desperate to get some kind of point across
and kept following the heiress around.
"I'm not blaming you, Kiyone-san! It's that sick bastard that I want to kill!"
"Anything, Kiyone?" Tenchi intervened.
"Absolutely nothing!" Aeka shouted in answer. "God, my little sister's gone and I don't know
what to do! I don't know whether the next person to talk to me is going to be hit with tears or
with my fist!"
Ryoko strode over in front of the princess.
"Aeka…" she whispered.
Aeka, unthinking, lashed out with a closed hand, and Ryoko calmly maneuvered so the punch missed
her face by mere millimeters. The two stared each other down, only this time it wasn't a
competition. Finally, Aeka couldn't take it any longer. She fell to her knees in heart
wrenching sobs.
The demon knelt beside her and let herself be embraced and cried into.
"How can you be so brave, Ryoko?" Aeka asked, letting her tears stain the pink cloth covering
her rival's shoulder. But for once, Aeka couldn't feel any hatred toward the one who had
destroyed her life centuries before. She felt that Ryoko was the only one she could turn to.
Ryoko smiled despite the situation. "Princess, I'm anything but brave. I'm scared out of my
life."
"Ryoko-chan?" Tenchi said, taking a step toward the two. He was stopped when his love held up
her hand.
"If you must know, Aeka," she continued in a gentle yet slightly guilty tone, "I'm finding that
I have no faith left. I listen to Tenchi's promises that everything will be all right, but I
just can't seem to make myself believe them."
"But…you're the one who always knew what I should do!" Aeka insisted, shocked that her only
source of hope couldn't help her.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't know what to do, except…except be here for you. I know how cheesy
that sounds, but that's all I have left."
The child of the first crown looked up into the face of her consultant. She hiccuped as the
rain continued to fall from her swollen, bloodshot eyes.
"Can you promise me that?"
Ryoko raised her hand and nervously ran it through her cyan mane. She looked outside the
balcony door at the charcoal gray clouds that hovered tauntingly in the sky.
Sighing deeply, she replied, "I can't promise anything, but I can sure as hell try. Now, up.
You need rest; we all do."
She slowly stood, and helped Aeka to follow.
Stumbling and still hiccuping, Aeka shuffled down the hallway and to her room. When the door
shut behind her, Ryoko turned quietly to the remaining three family members.
"So we rest and search again later," she shrugged.
Kiyone, Mihoshi (who had once again entered the situation without anyone's knowing), and Tenchi
stared at her. They couldn't believe what had just happened. They knew that Ryoko was the one
Aeka ran to when she needed help, but never had anyone born witness to it.
When Mihoshi finally found her voice, it came out in an astonished squeak.
"Wow, Ryoko-san! That was really beautiful!"
Ryoko's cheeks acquired a tinge of pink in them. Then, stretching and yawning greatly, she
slowly made her way to her own room, ready to hit the futon and hit it hard. The stresses of
the day were weighing down on her to the point where she didn't care if she had another
nightmare or not, as long as she could sleep.
"I'm off to bed," she mumbled, waving her hand for no real reason at all.
~*~
The heat of flames, the taste of blood, visions of the past, all overlapping. As the colors
blended together in a sickening way, two burning infernos stared at Ryoko, penetrating her very
heart. They dared her to live and condemned her to die.
"Kyoko…" she whispered to the girl who stood before her.
Kyoko's flashed a wicked smile as she drew forth her sword. Her hair was no longer black but
its natural crimson red, and the dimmed aura of her blade illuminated her white skin, giving her
appearance a haunting look.
Ryoko created her own weapon of defense, though she had no intention of using it on her friend.
When I see Kagato, I'm gonna beat the shit outta him.
"Having trouble finding me, Ryoko?" Kagato's voice rang out, an evil memory Ryoko had tried her
hardest to forget. "You've grown soft in the past seven hundred years, and that little bastard
hasn't helped, now has he?"
"Don't you DARE speak about Tenchi like that!" the demon screamed to her surroundings.
"Shut up!" her master ordered as Kyoko raised her hand, palm facing out.
Ryoko doubled over in pain, her gem glowing emerald green. She grabbed her head as it pulsated.
It felt like her sense of control was being sucked out of her. She was becoming an empty shell
with no soul, no life, no reason to live.
A looming figure came down upon Ryoko and stood above her, staring disgustedly out of a pair of
narrow, golden eyes. Kagato grabbed her by the nape of the neck and threw her backwards onto
her elbows.
She looked at his towering form and found herself terrified. The thought that her best friend
could subconsciously conjure something so overpowering made her visibly shiver.
"I may be physically dead, Ryoko," he sneered, lip curling upwards, "but I can still punish you,
as you have found." He spun around to face his newest toy, who was posed in her fighting
stance, ready to do anything her master told her to do.
At the snap of his fingers, Kyoko suddenly disappeared and reappeared, kneeling behind Ryoko.
She grabbed the oni around the neck and brought her sword dangerously close to its skin. Ryoko
could feel the heat burning her flesh, and she watched as tiny black sparks jumped from the
blade. Much closer and her head would be decapitated.
"I want to teach you something, as I did in the old days," the white hared pirate boomed, back
still turned as he studied the images that flashed around him. "An unstable mind is always one
to find if you want control. How do you think I managed to take your dear friend here?"
Ryoko gasped as Kyoko tightened her hold on her throat.
"Yes, yes, Kyoko was very unstable indeed. I dare say she was missing you and wondering what
made you run from her. She never really got over that terrible explosion. Of course, I don't
blame her. You detonated the bomb after you saw a shadow."
Kagato gave his students a profile of his face, and his sly smile froze Ryoko's blood in her
veins.
"H-how…" she began.
"-did I know? You are a fool."
"Think, Ryoko," Kyoko snarled into her prisoner's ear.
Carefully, the summoner turned her head to the side and focused on the visions that made up her
surroundings. One particular picture caught her eye.
It was the memory of what Ryoko had seen the day of the explosion. The black crystal corridor
leading to the Sureiyaa's control room had been completely empty and eerie. It had creeped the
pirate out, and no matter how hard she had tried, she hadn't been able stop herself from looking
back multiple times. When she saw the shadow, it had come out of nowhere. Back then she didn't
recognize it, but now that she was reflecting on it…
"Kagato…you bastard!" she screamed.
Kagato laughed. "Yes, I was searching for the daughter of the great genius Washuu even then.
How convenient it was that you fell straight into my hands only days after the 'accident'."
"I'm gonna kill you!" Ryoko screamed as she struggled against Kyoko's powerful hold. It seemed
as though not only did Kyoko have her own energy, she was also backed by Kagato's.
Everything around the three suddenly went pitch black except for the light from Kyoko's sword.
Ryoko couldn't see what was happening, though she could feel her partner still holding her down.
"Ryoko, I have something you might be interested in," Kagato leered.
The cyan fiend heard a soft groan followed by a few choked cries. There was rustling, like
someone was trying to free themselves of their bindings and a loud thump. Then, nothing.
"Help me, Tsunami," came a small voice.
"Sasami-chan!" Ryoko yelled. She winced as tall black flames sprang up in the darkness. Lying
in front of her feet was the princess's tiny form. Sasami was curled up in a ball, and from the
looks of it was having trouble breathing. "Sasami!"
Sasami raised her head from the ground and stared at her friend out of dull pink eyes. She had
barely any life left.
"Ryoko oneechan…help me…"
The demon felt Kyoko release her and disappear, and she immediately scrambled over to the little
girl. Picking her up in her arms, she held her close, and Sasami wrapped her shaking arms
around Ryoko's stomach.
"It's all right, sweetheart. It's okay."
"It was Kagato! It was-"
"I know, I know," Ryoko interrupted, placing her finger over Sasami's quivering lips.
"Ryoko, you're still hurt…" Sasami whispered, running her finger down the rugged and stained
cloth of Ryoko's navy blue waistband.
The demon caller made no response. The flames around them had begun to close in, and Ryoko
tightened her grasp on the child.
"Sasami will die…"
Ryoko spun wildly around to see who had spoken, and she found herself staring upwards yet again
at Kyoko's ghostly pale face. It smiled wickedly at her; she was thirsting for blood.
The possessed woman raised her sword into the air and brought it swiftly down on her friend.
The blade sliced through the air, screaming as it quickly descended.
The last thing Ryoko saw before she was hit was a darkened and destroyed room with shattered
windows and broken desks. Screams echoed throughout her mind as two blazing eyes hovered in the
center of the debris…
Ryoko sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. She was gasping for air and shivering,
the screaming voices lingering in her ears. The dream had been so real. She swore she had
actually heard Kagato's voice, felt Sasami in her arms, heard the sword cut the air in half as
it came down on her…
Her hand shot up to her shoulder and she felt a new incision, though this one wasn't as severe
as the last. The baby pink vest and green material was shredded with blood trails running down
each scrap.
"Tenchi…" she gulped. When he didn't respond, she called it out.
Two minutes later, the prince stumbled into the room, awakened by his girlfriend's cry.
"Whu is iiiiiiiioly shit…" he babbled, slapped violently in the face by the scene he was viewing.
He ran over to Ryoko's side and took to examining her wound.
Once he had managed to clear enough of the blood and cloth away, he found a semi-narrow cut
stretching from the top of Ryoko's left shoulder to her shoulder blade. It didn't look very
deep, but from the way Ryoko cringed every time he touched the area around it, it must've hurt.
"Tenchi, stop!" she gasped as he prodded her injury for the seventh or eighth time.
He jerked his hand away from her back at the sharpness of her words. "Sorry."
She turned to face him and smiled. "It's okay. I just wanted to tell you something."
Tenchi settled by Ryoko's side before motioning for her to continue.
"In my dream tonight-"
"Today, Ryoko. It's seven-thirty in the evening."
"Whatever. In my dream, I figured out that it was Kagato that scared me and made me detonate
the bomb years ago at the bank."
"When you and Kyoko were separated?"
"Exactly. And in the end I saw where Kyoko, Kagato, and Sasami were, and Sasami's alive!"
Tenchi's breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened in surprise. He opened and closed his
mouth several times, searching for the right words and giving himself a "fish out of water" look.
Finally, he settled with:
"She…she's alive?"
"Yes, but only just."
"Well, where is she?!"
"In the classroom at school."
"I think Aeka checked there already."
The summoner shook her head. "That may be," she said, "but she couldn't have been able to get
inside. It's closed for damage repairs. Apparently Kyoko did more than we realized. Besides,
everyone was so scared to go back-"
"-they closed it," Tenchi finished, understanding.
Then, when this had sunk in, the successor quickly got up and dashed to the door. Ryoko rose as
fast as she could, which she found wasn't very. Her injuries were getting the best of her, but
she followed anyway.
"I'll tell Aeka, you get Kiyone and Mihoshi," she directed. "We meet in the front hall in five
minutes, got it?"
Tenchi shook his head in agreement, and the two departed for their given destinations.
"Princess…" Ryoko whispered when she phased into being in Aeka's room. She floated over to
Aeka's bedside and sat down. "Wake up."
Aeka's face scrunched up when Ryoko ran the tip of her finger down the bridge of her nose.
"Donn…datticklez," she mumbled, swatting at the pirate's hand.
"Aeka, get up," Ryoko gently ordered. "We're going to find your sister."
Slowly, the heiress opened her bright red eyes. She had no idea how much time had passed since
she fell asleep. Last thing she could remember was her head hitting the pillow. She turned to
look at the person who had awakened her.
"Whut time iz it?" she said, still having troubles speaking. Her vision was having some
problems as well, she couldn't seem to focus on anything. The blurs and blobs of her room were
undulating like a ship on tormented water.
"7:30 at night. Now, come on. I know where Sasami is."
Suddenly, Aeka was wide awake. She shot straight up in bed and stared at Ryoko.
"You know where Sasami is, Ryoko?"
The demon smiled and offered her hand. "That's what I just said, isn't it?"
Aeka took Ryoko's hand and attempted to get up, but found herself fading out halfway through.
No matter how many times Ryoko took the princess with her when she teleported, Aeka could never
get over the sensation. She always felt as though her body was quickly being taken over by
nothingness. And during that short and sweet nanosecond when she didn't physically exist, she
felt what it was like to fly.
And then she'd land back in reality, usually on her butt. This time was no exception.
Rubbing her butt bone in pain, Aeka glared up at Ryoko, who was casually leaning against the
wall, waiting for the others.
"You know, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me when you were going to do that!"
"Mm-hm…" Ryoko said, paying her no attention.
"Ryoko, are you listening to me?!"
"Uh…yeah, sure, whatever." She was clearly thinking about something else.
Aeka's face puffed up in anger. She balled up her fist and got up off the floor, growling. She
took in a deep breath, preparing to unleash her patent "First Crown Nuclear Explosion", when all
of the sudden…
BAM!!!
Ryoko grimaced.
"Mihoshi! Wall!"
Seconds later, Mihoshi stumbled through the family room exit, massaging her nose and forehead,
which had turned bright magenta.
"Ouch…thanks, Ryoko-san…ow!"
Kiyone followed her partner into the room, shaking her head in annoyance. Tenchi was behind
her, trying his hardest to hold back his immature laughter.
"Mihoshi," Kiyone said as calmly as she could, despite the fact that there was a vein popping
out in her head and her right eyebrow was twitching, "how many times are you going to run into
that wall before you realize it's there?!"
"I dunnoooooo, I'm sorrrrrriiiiieeeeeee!!!" Mihoshi wailed in response.
"Sheesh, Mihoshi, with all the crying and banging you do, I'm surprised we haven't been evicted
again, but I guess that's the good thing about alternative dimensions: the people here are deaf!"
"Aaaw, Kiyone, I don't mean anything by it…"
The teal hared cop shook her head again, rubbing her eyes in minor distress. "Aaii," she
sighed, "I know you don't."
"Tenchi, have you briefed them on the situation?" Ryoko asked, shifting the conversation topic.
The boy shook his head, taking up position next to his girlfriend. "No, I figured that it'd be
better if you did. You know more than me."
Ryoko nodded. Then, turning to the rest of the group, she said, "Right, I'll explain on the
way."
"Ryoko-san, I noticed your shoulder," Mihoshi commented, teeth chattering. The darkness had
settled over Tokyo, bringing the temperature down to just below freezing. And though she had
her own down jacket and was taking refuge by her partner's side, she still found herself
shivering violently. "What ha-happened?"
Ryoko snickered. Everyone seemed clustered together in attempt to conserve body heat. Everyone,
that is, except Ryoko herself, who lead the way along the road with the streetlights as her guide and no coat on her shoulders. She kept throwing out sadistic comments such as, "Damn, I'm hot" and "I feel like an oven". In truth, she wasn't hot or cold, her remarks were merely successful attempts at pissing everyone off.
"That's why I drug you all out here," she said, a hint of laughter in her voice. She was trying
her hardest to avoid thinking of what she was about to face: nothing less than death itself. "I
had another dream ("Ohhh," Mihoshi said in understanding.), and it told me where Sasami, Kyoko,
and Kagato are."
"And-d that wou-would be?" Kiyone's teeth clinked together with every word.
The demon caller stopped suddenly in front of a large, two-and-a-half-meter high stone wall and
looked up. The loud gong of the school bell signaled eight, and the trees rustled in fear.
The tall, ominous building that lay beyond the wall stood silently, consumed by its aura of
hatred and evil. It loomed, laughing as the leaves of the trees whispered warnings of the danger
within.
"Don't go in…" they sighed. "Do not cross that line of safety, for you will not return…"
"But I must," Ryoko quietly responded. A howling gust of wind picked up, bringing with it the
cries of the death that hid inside the school. She closed her eyes, knowing what she was to do,
and she breathed deeply the air.
"Hey, Ryoko?"
She turned to face Tenchi, who was looking at her with concern. "Scared?"
She smirked. "What was your first clue, the fact that I started talking to the wind or the fact
that right now I seem to be frozen in my spot?"
"The school?" Aeka squeaked, stepping forward. "Inside?"
"Yeah, Princess, inside. Now, step back."
The summoner raised her hands far above her head, and an orangy-red light appeared in between
them. It was small and faint at first, but it gradually got larger and brighter as more power
was gathered. Finally, when it had grown to almost a foot in diameter, Ryoko's arms shot down
and out, sending it crashing into the stone barrier.
The thick wall exploded in an instant. Shards set off flying in random directions, and a
suffocating cloud of dust billowed out from the remains.
The group covered their faces with their coats, coughing and flinching as chunks of stone slapped
at them. They waited for mother nature to clear their path through the freshly made hole in the
wall. As though responding to them, the smoke diminished, leaving behind the ruins of what once
was proud, protective rock.
Ryoko placed her hands gently against the tall, steel and glass doors that separated the outside
from the inside, sighing. This was it. This is where it was going to end. When she opened that
door, she had to be prepared for anything and everything. She knew she couldn't just go straight
in with her head held high and expect to win. What she was up against yielded far more power
than she did; she couldn't let her pride get in her way like she had during her last face off
with her old master.
Of course, she could have already been inside looking for the bastard, but Aeka had, for some
reason, smashed her idea of teleportation straight into the ground at first mention. Ryoko had
tried to argue, but as she had learned in the past, no one fights with Aeka when she's cold…or
when she's hot…or when she's breathing.
So, instead, she was forced to go the long way. Trapping the frozen air inside her lungs, she
pushed against the door and found it locked.
"Shit," the demon caller breathed through clenched teeth. She didn't really want to have to go
destructive again, but it appeared she had no choice. She raised her fist in preparation to
smash the glass, but it was caught by Mihoshi.
"Why don't you just walk through the door and unlock it from the inside?"
Ryoko blinked. Mihoshi had a decent idea. Mihoshi. There had to be something wrong with the
plan.
"Mihoshi," Kiyone piped up, "she doesn't have the keys."
"Aaaw, and it was a good idea, too," Mihoshi sniffed. Kiyone smiled.
"Well, that I'll give you credit for."
"Gee, thanks-"
Their conversation was brought to a sudden halt when Ryoko struck out and shattered the glass
door into pieces. It scattered inwards onto the cold tile floor of the school, clashing with
the ground and echoing along the long, locker-filled hallway.
In the very last room off the front corridor, a girl tossed her crimson hair as she sat on one
of the only desks that had remained in tact after her outbreak. Her left hand held tightly to
the black sword hilt she had been given by her master, her right hand supported her body weight
as she leaned back. She was getting bored of waiting, and wondering if the "goddamn defect", as
Kagato had put it to her, had gotten the message she had sent through nightmare.
True, Sasami was alive, but Ryoko didn't realize that it was only because the princess's life was
being used to lure her. Kyoko guessed Kagato would dispose of the child as soon as everyone
arrived.
A loud crash reached her ears, and the pirate immediately recognized it to be the shattering of
glass. Ryoko had found her, finally. She groaned heavily as she slid off the desktop to her
feet. Adjusting her black and silver battle suit, she cracked her neck a couple of times and
waited.
She began to pick up muffled voices that grew slowly louder as her prey drew near. She glanced
down at her weapon, turning it over and over in her fingers. This would bring the downfall of
her worst enemy tonight. The enemy she didn't know why she hated so deeply. It was what her
controller had ordered, what he had taught her and etched into the deepest crevices of her mind
and soul.
She wouldn't form the blade. Not yet, not right away.
Her eyes began to glow dimly as she looked up and saw their faces. All pale in the darkness.
That is, all but Ryoko's. Hers couldn't even fit the description of "pale". It was as though
all her skin color left her face and entered her golden eyes. Even in the blackness they flashed
like fire.
"Well, well, well," Kyoko spat sarcastically, "bad dream, Ryoko?"
Ryoko growled menacingly at her. The raven hared killer found it to be quite funny, and she
chuckled.
"Oh my, oh my, child. Such a bad temper."
"Shut up, Kyoko," Ryoko ordered angrily. "Where the hell is Kagato?"
Kyoko pretended to casually look at her nails, which at the moment were completely covered by
silver cloth. "He's not here right now, can I take a message?" she said in a laid back voice.
Ryoko's fingers clenched together in a fist, yet they remained set solidly by her side.
"You bitch."
"Where is my sister?" Aeka chipped in before Kyoko could respond with a comment that would make
Ryoko go ballistic.
Kyoko grinned. This was going to be a fun a day. The huntress had driven her game into a trap.
She wouldn't fail. She wouldn't lose. This battle was hers.
They were all agitated and scared, she saw. They knew they were looking death in the eye. And
Ryoko? Well, the pain and loss of blood would soon get to her.
"How can you expect to win coming into a fight like this?" she asked.
Aeka made a desperate attempt to break from the group, and had to be held back as various
obscenities flew out of her mouth. Kyoko laughed as she watched the fuming women, hardly a
princess anymore, struggle against her bindings. Her plan to rile them up was going all too well.
"Not to worry, Aeka. I do suppose you'll be able to say goodbye before my master slays your
sister," she sneered maliciously. Then, as she sensed Kagato's presence, she dropped to her
knees and bowed her head in respect.
"Excellent work, Kyoko," he said, peering down at his servant's back.
Aeka quickly ceased her fighting when she heard the enemy's statement. She looked up to see
Kagato, in all his evil glory, towering over Kyoko. She couldn't help but admire the female
pirate's loyalty, how it seemed unbreakable as she knelt at her controller's feet.
The princess noticed how Kyoko's hair covered her face as it fell to the ground, like rivers of
blood from the darkness of an open wound. She was like a mystery, a safe, with so many secrets
hidden deep within. There had to be a way to break the seal.
"Preoccupied?" Kagato smiled as he watched Aeka's red eyes linger over Kyoko's tired yet
dangerous and strong form. Kyoko quietly raised her head to stare emotionlessly up at the group.
She locked her gaze with the heiress, who shuddered as a sense of bloodthirsty flames entwined her spine in its hatred.
Kyoko wanted to kill them. To torture them. To feel their lives cease to be. Aeka turned away.
"Where is my sister?" she asked.
"Ahh, yes, the little one."
Kagato snapped his white-gloved fingers, and Sasami's tiny body faded into being.
The child lay lifeless on the ground, curled tightly in the fetal position. Bright black and
blue bruises on her arms, face, and throat, and large rips and tears in her dress suggested that
she had either fought to free herself or had not been handled gently. Most likely both.
"Sasami-chan!" Aeka called out. She ran from the protection of her family to her sister's side.
Ryoko closely followed her rival, ignoring the bolts of pain coming from her shoulder. She knelt
beside Aeka and reached out to touch Sasami's face. Carefully, she brushed aside the little
princess's bangs to reveal a black and swollen right eye. Sasami was almost frozen in time.
Much longer and she'd be dead.
The demon stood, and as she did so did Kyoko. In unison they drew their swords, glaring at each
other.
"Stop this Kagato," Ryoko demanded, though she held her gaze with her partner. "Let Kyoko go
and give us back Sasami!"
Kagato was amused. "Now, Ryoko, you know me better than that."
"Not something I'm proud of."
"Kagato…" Tenchi sneered as he came up beside Ryoko.
The cyan beauty turned around to face him and opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped
immediately as Aeka screamed her name and she was pummeled in the side of the head.
She hit the ground with a crash as a swift, silent black streak landed in front of her.
Kyoko.
Blood dripped from the murderer's sword hilt over her silver hands. The same blood that fell
from the fresh wound that ran from just below Ryoko's jaw to her hairline. It rushed along the
side of her face and neck and into her mouth and eyes. The irony taste tackled her taste buds
then exploded, and she was forced to blink several times to clear her reddened vision.
Kyoko laughed madly before turning her attention to Tenchi and smiling. "Let the battle
commence, boy..."
~Notes from that pain in the butt who calls herself Minagi~
I have a good start on the next part, but I have finals this week, so I don't know how much I'll
get done. I'll try my best. Ah! No room left, gotta go! R&R please!
~Minagi
He…he he…heeeeee…this is where I meet my real challenge in writing. Last chapter was nothing
compared to this one as far as the amount of thought goes. But, I'm gonna give it a try.
Oh yes, now that I'm thinking about it, I had to separate this chapter into two parts. I began
writing it, and didn't get to the main point till page nine. And since tomorrow is my first day
of (GODDESSES HELP ME!) school, I figured I could post the first part.
Okay, MinakoSan, if you're reading this, HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?! Just stop your
story there, I swear... ^-^
Well, nothing more to say. Post chapter author's rant to follow, so, yeah, chat atcha then!
~Minagi (wow, don't I sound just so edumacated today?...aiiiiii)
"Mihoshi…" Ryoko whispered, distraught. Everyone's gaze slowly crept to her, and she faintly
reddened. Her palms were glossed with sweat, and they stuck to Ryo-ohki's soft fur. Wiping her
brow with the back of her hand, she looked up.
"Ryoko…" Tenchi said. "How did…no…he's-"
"Dead?" she interrupted. "Yes, that is true, but his grudge against this family, against me,
brought his spirit back. He's been feeding off Kyoko's energy and using her to try to kill me.
I guess my stupidity held it off for a while…"
"But…but…but…" the successor was lost for words. Kagato? There was no way! Tenchi himself had
killed the man not more than two years ago, how could he be behind this?
As if reading his mind, Ryoko continued in a voice barely above a whisper.
"He's got full control of her now, which gives him enough power to create a form of his own."
"How do you know this for sure?" Aeka questioned, sobbing. Kagato had her sister…her little
Sasami. How she hated this cruel world.
"Remember, I'm the one he controlled for years unending. I should have seen this sooner. He
had told me everything in so many ways. He gave me my nightmares, he let me feel his presence a
number of times. I should have thought it strange that Kyoko knew exactly where I was, and knew
exactly how to hack into GP files. Hell, Kagato had been doing that for years." The demon
paused for a moment to regain her breath and think if there was anything else to say. "I should
have seen it when Kyoko began to sing 'Autumn of Life'. I never told anyone about the day that
I stopped playing the organ. Tenchi, you were the first; yet she seemed to know about it
very well."
"Ryoko," Tenchi sighed, exasperated, "why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"I didn't know until this morning, when I realized 'Rei' and 'Kyoko' were one in the same."
"But you still knew before any of us!"
Emotions overwhelmed the cyan beauty as silent tears traced crystal paths down the sides of her
face. She attempted to hide them, knowing she couldn't.
"I kept saying to myself that it was for your own sake," she said, voice trembling. "But the
truth is…I was terrified. I didn't want it to be true."
Tenchi moved to comfort Ryoko, but she met him halfway there. She wrapped her free arm around
his shoulders, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He gently rubbed her back in a
comforting manner as she cried.
"I'm such a fool," she whimpered, sorrow strangling her words.
"We will make it through this," he promised. Though the comment was directed to the one in his
arms, he meant it for everyone. He wouldn't let his family be destroyed, no matter what it took.
~*~
November 12 dawned cold and gray with rolling clouds and screaming wind. Ryoko sat beside her
window, silent on the outside. Inside, she was a destroyed battlefield after World War III.
There had been no sign of little Sasami, and her nightmares had all but stopped. Now, with the
truth embedded in her mind, nothing relieved her of the burden she carried.
"Miya?"
Ryoko's attention was drawn away from thought when her companion nudged her ankle, asking for
attention. She picked Ryo-ohki up and set her back down in her lap.
"You miss Sasami, too, huh?" the summoner asked, absentmindedly scratching the cabbit's ears.
She lay her head against the cool surface of the glass, relaxing her eyelids.
"I hate this, Ryo-ohki," she whispered. "Everything would be so much easier if I hadn't been so
stupid and ignorant. We don't know where Kyoko and Kagato are hiding, I can't contact Washuu,
and there's a slim to none chance that Sasami-chan's even alive."
Ryo-ohki nipped her master's thumb. Ryoko opened her eyes and looked down, and the creature
placed her paw in the oni's hand. "Miya miya myaaa?"
"Yeah, slim just ran out the door." Ryo-ohki's face fell.
"Mew."
"And just to make matters worse, I really don't know where to stand on this. I want to trust
Tenchi's promise that we'll get through this, but that's just it. I want to. I love him, I'd
die for him, but I find it hard to believe his words. If he couldn't fully destroy Kagato
before with the Light Hawk Wings, I don't know how he can do it this time around."
"Miya miyaa mya miyaaa?"
"No, I know of no way to destroy spirits."
At her words, Tenchi stumbled into the room, freezing and exhausted. He had been out all night
searching for clues of Sasami's whereabouts and had gotten no sleep what so ever. He collapsed
on the couch, dropping the flashlight from his hands.
"Damn it!" he hissed through clenched teeth, "Nothing all night! Did anything happen here?"
Ryoko sighed heavily, getting up and setting Ryo-ohki on the ground. She walked uneasily over
to his side and sat down. He turned to face her, and noticed her clouded eyes reflected the
tiredness that he felt.
"Mihoshi woke up every half hour, asking me to get her a glass of water. That girl has a
bladder the size of the Pacific Ocean, I swear."
Tenchi smiled; an act she returned.
"Nothing, then?" he asked.
The cyan beauty shook her head. She stared at her hands, which were hanging on to the mint
green material of her dress with a death grip.
"Ryoko-chan?" the successor whispered, catching her attention. He knew she was scared to death,
so he raised to a sitting position and placed his hands on either side of her face. Gently, he
kissed her lips, which she responded to with her own gratefulness. Then, leaning his forehead a
gainst hers, he took hold of her hands. "I will protect you," he said simply, staring into her
eyes.
Ryoko was lost in the moment. All that was happening was no more, and only they existed in the
world. A true happiness arose in her for the first time in what seemed like forever. She let
go of his hands and embraced him, laying her head against his chest.
"I love you," she mumbled after a few minutes. The rhythmic beating of his heart had been
slowly lulling her into sleep.
"Waaaaaaahhhh!!! Oh, you two are so sweeeeeet!!!!" Mihoshi bawled as she surveyed the scene she
had walked in on and had been quietly watching since the beginning.
The young couple jumped in surprise when they suddenly found they had an audience, clearing the
couch by a good six centimeters.
"Holy shit, Mihoshi!" Ryoko cried out, trying to regain her composure and tame her hair, which
was sticking straight up on her head. When she finally had settled enough to speak again, she
glared at the blonde cop, who had been hovering in the doorway. "Do you need another glass of
water?"
Mihoshi gave an innocently thoughtful look. "No, actually I have to pee, but I just couldn't
help but hear you guys." With that, she quickly backtracked out of the room and darted into the
bathroom.
"She had to pee?" Tenchi questioned stupidly.
Ryoko looked up into his face, and the two made eye contact. All was still and quiet for a
moment as they held their gaze. Then, without warning, they burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Mihoshi had to pee!" Ryoko choked, overcome with giggles.
The door to their apartment opened with a loud crash, bringing the momentary fun to a sudden
halt. Fuming and on the verge of hysterical tears, Aeka stormed into the room, closely pursued
by Kiyone.
"Aeka, I'm sorry!" the cop was saying. She looked desperate to get some kind of point across
and kept following the heiress around.
"I'm not blaming you, Kiyone-san! It's that sick bastard that I want to kill!"
"Anything, Kiyone?" Tenchi intervened.
"Absolutely nothing!" Aeka shouted in answer. "God, my little sister's gone and I don't know
what to do! I don't know whether the next person to talk to me is going to be hit with tears or
with my fist!"
Ryoko strode over in front of the princess.
"Aeka…" she whispered.
Aeka, unthinking, lashed out with a closed hand, and Ryoko calmly maneuvered so the punch missed
her face by mere millimeters. The two stared each other down, only this time it wasn't a
competition. Finally, Aeka couldn't take it any longer. She fell to her knees in heart
wrenching sobs.
The demon knelt beside her and let herself be embraced and cried into.
"How can you be so brave, Ryoko?" Aeka asked, letting her tears stain the pink cloth covering
her rival's shoulder. But for once, Aeka couldn't feel any hatred toward the one who had
destroyed her life centuries before. She felt that Ryoko was the only one she could turn to.
Ryoko smiled despite the situation. "Princess, I'm anything but brave. I'm scared out of my
life."
"Ryoko-chan?" Tenchi said, taking a step toward the two. He was stopped when his love held up
her hand.
"If you must know, Aeka," she continued in a gentle yet slightly guilty tone, "I'm finding that
I have no faith left. I listen to Tenchi's promises that everything will be all right, but I
just can't seem to make myself believe them."
"But…you're the one who always knew what I should do!" Aeka insisted, shocked that her only
source of hope couldn't help her.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't know what to do, except…except be here for you. I know how cheesy
that sounds, but that's all I have left."
The child of the first crown looked up into the face of her consultant. She hiccuped as the
rain continued to fall from her swollen, bloodshot eyes.
"Can you promise me that?"
Ryoko raised her hand and nervously ran it through her cyan mane. She looked outside the
balcony door at the charcoal gray clouds that hovered tauntingly in the sky.
Sighing deeply, she replied, "I can't promise anything, but I can sure as hell try. Now, up.
You need rest; we all do."
She slowly stood, and helped Aeka to follow.
Stumbling and still hiccuping, Aeka shuffled down the hallway and to her room. When the door
shut behind her, Ryoko turned quietly to the remaining three family members.
"So we rest and search again later," she shrugged.
Kiyone, Mihoshi (who had once again entered the situation without anyone's knowing), and Tenchi
stared at her. They couldn't believe what had just happened. They knew that Ryoko was the one
Aeka ran to when she needed help, but never had anyone born witness to it.
When Mihoshi finally found her voice, it came out in an astonished squeak.
"Wow, Ryoko-san! That was really beautiful!"
Ryoko's cheeks acquired a tinge of pink in them. Then, stretching and yawning greatly, she
slowly made her way to her own room, ready to hit the futon and hit it hard. The stresses of
the day were weighing down on her to the point where she didn't care if she had another
nightmare or not, as long as she could sleep.
"I'm off to bed," she mumbled, waving her hand for no real reason at all.
~*~
The heat of flames, the taste of blood, visions of the past, all overlapping. As the colors
blended together in a sickening way, two burning infernos stared at Ryoko, penetrating her very
heart. They dared her to live and condemned her to die.
"Kyoko…" she whispered to the girl who stood before her.
Kyoko's flashed a wicked smile as she drew forth her sword. Her hair was no longer black but
its natural crimson red, and the dimmed aura of her blade illuminated her white skin, giving her
appearance a haunting look.
Ryoko created her own weapon of defense, though she had no intention of using it on her friend.
When I see Kagato, I'm gonna beat the shit outta him.
"Having trouble finding me, Ryoko?" Kagato's voice rang out, an evil memory Ryoko had tried her
hardest to forget. "You've grown soft in the past seven hundred years, and that little bastard
hasn't helped, now has he?"
"Don't you DARE speak about Tenchi like that!" the demon screamed to her surroundings.
"Shut up!" her master ordered as Kyoko raised her hand, palm facing out.
Ryoko doubled over in pain, her gem glowing emerald green. She grabbed her head as it pulsated.
It felt like her sense of control was being sucked out of her. She was becoming an empty shell
with no soul, no life, no reason to live.
A looming figure came down upon Ryoko and stood above her, staring disgustedly out of a pair of
narrow, golden eyes. Kagato grabbed her by the nape of the neck and threw her backwards onto
her elbows.
She looked at his towering form and found herself terrified. The thought that her best friend
could subconsciously conjure something so overpowering made her visibly shiver.
"I may be physically dead, Ryoko," he sneered, lip curling upwards, "but I can still punish you,
as you have found." He spun around to face his newest toy, who was posed in her fighting
stance, ready to do anything her master told her to do.
At the snap of his fingers, Kyoko suddenly disappeared and reappeared, kneeling behind Ryoko.
She grabbed the oni around the neck and brought her sword dangerously close to its skin. Ryoko
could feel the heat burning her flesh, and she watched as tiny black sparks jumped from the
blade. Much closer and her head would be decapitated.
"I want to teach you something, as I did in the old days," the white hared pirate boomed, back
still turned as he studied the images that flashed around him. "An unstable mind is always one
to find if you want control. How do you think I managed to take your dear friend here?"
Ryoko gasped as Kyoko tightened her hold on her throat.
"Yes, yes, Kyoko was very unstable indeed. I dare say she was missing you and wondering what
made you run from her. She never really got over that terrible explosion. Of course, I don't
blame her. You detonated the bomb after you saw a shadow."
Kagato gave his students a profile of his face, and his sly smile froze Ryoko's blood in her
veins.
"H-how…" she began.
"-did I know? You are a fool."
"Think, Ryoko," Kyoko snarled into her prisoner's ear.
Carefully, the summoner turned her head to the side and focused on the visions that made up her
surroundings. One particular picture caught her eye.
It was the memory of what Ryoko had seen the day of the explosion. The black crystal corridor
leading to the Sureiyaa's control room had been completely empty and eerie. It had creeped the
pirate out, and no matter how hard she had tried, she hadn't been able stop herself from looking
back multiple times. When she saw the shadow, it had come out of nowhere. Back then she didn't
recognize it, but now that she was reflecting on it…
"Kagato…you bastard!" she screamed.
Kagato laughed. "Yes, I was searching for the daughter of the great genius Washuu even then.
How convenient it was that you fell straight into my hands only days after the 'accident'."
"I'm gonna kill you!" Ryoko screamed as she struggled against Kyoko's powerful hold. It seemed
as though not only did Kyoko have her own energy, she was also backed by Kagato's.
Everything around the three suddenly went pitch black except for the light from Kyoko's sword.
Ryoko couldn't see what was happening, though she could feel her partner still holding her down.
"Ryoko, I have something you might be interested in," Kagato leered.
The cyan fiend heard a soft groan followed by a few choked cries. There was rustling, like
someone was trying to free themselves of their bindings and a loud thump. Then, nothing.
"Help me, Tsunami," came a small voice.
"Sasami-chan!" Ryoko yelled. She winced as tall black flames sprang up in the darkness. Lying
in front of her feet was the princess's tiny form. Sasami was curled up in a ball, and from the
looks of it was having trouble breathing. "Sasami!"
Sasami raised her head from the ground and stared at her friend out of dull pink eyes. She had
barely any life left.
"Ryoko oneechan…help me…"
The demon felt Kyoko release her and disappear, and she immediately scrambled over to the little
girl. Picking her up in her arms, she held her close, and Sasami wrapped her shaking arms
around Ryoko's stomach.
"It's all right, sweetheart. It's okay."
"It was Kagato! It was-"
"I know, I know," Ryoko interrupted, placing her finger over Sasami's quivering lips.
"Ryoko, you're still hurt…" Sasami whispered, running her finger down the rugged and stained
cloth of Ryoko's navy blue waistband.
The demon caller made no response. The flames around them had begun to close in, and Ryoko
tightened her grasp on the child.
"Sasami will die…"
Ryoko spun wildly around to see who had spoken, and she found herself staring upwards yet again
at Kyoko's ghostly pale face. It smiled wickedly at her; she was thirsting for blood.
The possessed woman raised her sword into the air and brought it swiftly down on her friend.
The blade sliced through the air, screaming as it quickly descended.
The last thing Ryoko saw before she was hit was a darkened and destroyed room with shattered
windows and broken desks. Screams echoed throughout her mind as two blazing eyes hovered in the
center of the debris…
Ryoko sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. She was gasping for air and shivering,
the screaming voices lingering in her ears. The dream had been so real. She swore she had
actually heard Kagato's voice, felt Sasami in her arms, heard the sword cut the air in half as
it came down on her…
Her hand shot up to her shoulder and she felt a new incision, though this one wasn't as severe
as the last. The baby pink vest and green material was shredded with blood trails running down
each scrap.
"Tenchi…" she gulped. When he didn't respond, she called it out.
Two minutes later, the prince stumbled into the room, awakened by his girlfriend's cry.
"Whu is iiiiiiiioly shit…" he babbled, slapped violently in the face by the scene he was viewing.
He ran over to Ryoko's side and took to examining her wound.
Once he had managed to clear enough of the blood and cloth away, he found a semi-narrow cut
stretching from the top of Ryoko's left shoulder to her shoulder blade. It didn't look very
deep, but from the way Ryoko cringed every time he touched the area around it, it must've hurt.
"Tenchi, stop!" she gasped as he prodded her injury for the seventh or eighth time.
He jerked his hand away from her back at the sharpness of her words. "Sorry."
She turned to face him and smiled. "It's okay. I just wanted to tell you something."
Tenchi settled by Ryoko's side before motioning for her to continue.
"In my dream tonight-"
"Today, Ryoko. It's seven-thirty in the evening."
"Whatever. In my dream, I figured out that it was Kagato that scared me and made me detonate
the bomb years ago at the bank."
"When you and Kyoko were separated?"
"Exactly. And in the end I saw where Kyoko, Kagato, and Sasami were, and Sasami's alive!"
Tenchi's breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened in surprise. He opened and closed his
mouth several times, searching for the right words and giving himself a "fish out of water" look.
Finally, he settled with:
"She…she's alive?"
"Yes, but only just."
"Well, where is she?!"
"In the classroom at school."
"I think Aeka checked there already."
The summoner shook her head. "That may be," she said, "but she couldn't have been able to get
inside. It's closed for damage repairs. Apparently Kyoko did more than we realized. Besides,
everyone was so scared to go back-"
"-they closed it," Tenchi finished, understanding.
Then, when this had sunk in, the successor quickly got up and dashed to the door. Ryoko rose as
fast as she could, which she found wasn't very. Her injuries were getting the best of her, but
she followed anyway.
"I'll tell Aeka, you get Kiyone and Mihoshi," she directed. "We meet in the front hall in five
minutes, got it?"
Tenchi shook his head in agreement, and the two departed for their given destinations.
"Princess…" Ryoko whispered when she phased into being in Aeka's room. She floated over to
Aeka's bedside and sat down. "Wake up."
Aeka's face scrunched up when Ryoko ran the tip of her finger down the bridge of her nose.
"Donn…datticklez," she mumbled, swatting at the pirate's hand.
"Aeka, get up," Ryoko gently ordered. "We're going to find your sister."
Slowly, the heiress opened her bright red eyes. She had no idea how much time had passed since
she fell asleep. Last thing she could remember was her head hitting the pillow. She turned to
look at the person who had awakened her.
"Whut time iz it?" she said, still having troubles speaking. Her vision was having some
problems as well, she couldn't seem to focus on anything. The blurs and blobs of her room were
undulating like a ship on tormented water.
"7:30 at night. Now, come on. I know where Sasami is."
Suddenly, Aeka was wide awake. She shot straight up in bed and stared at Ryoko.
"You know where Sasami is, Ryoko?"
The demon smiled and offered her hand. "That's what I just said, isn't it?"
Aeka took Ryoko's hand and attempted to get up, but found herself fading out halfway through.
No matter how many times Ryoko took the princess with her when she teleported, Aeka could never
get over the sensation. She always felt as though her body was quickly being taken over by
nothingness. And during that short and sweet nanosecond when she didn't physically exist, she
felt what it was like to fly.
And then she'd land back in reality, usually on her butt. This time was no exception.
Rubbing her butt bone in pain, Aeka glared up at Ryoko, who was casually leaning against the
wall, waiting for the others.
"You know, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me when you were going to do that!"
"Mm-hm…" Ryoko said, paying her no attention.
"Ryoko, are you listening to me?!"
"Uh…yeah, sure, whatever." She was clearly thinking about something else.
Aeka's face puffed up in anger. She balled up her fist and got up off the floor, growling. She
took in a deep breath, preparing to unleash her patent "First Crown Nuclear Explosion", when all
of the sudden…
BAM!!!
Ryoko grimaced.
"Mihoshi! Wall!"
Seconds later, Mihoshi stumbled through the family room exit, massaging her nose and forehead,
which had turned bright magenta.
"Ouch…thanks, Ryoko-san…ow!"
Kiyone followed her partner into the room, shaking her head in annoyance. Tenchi was behind
her, trying his hardest to hold back his immature laughter.
"Mihoshi," Kiyone said as calmly as she could, despite the fact that there was a vein popping
out in her head and her right eyebrow was twitching, "how many times are you going to run into
that wall before you realize it's there?!"
"I dunnoooooo, I'm sorrrrrriiiiieeeeeee!!!" Mihoshi wailed in response.
"Sheesh, Mihoshi, with all the crying and banging you do, I'm surprised we haven't been evicted
again, but I guess that's the good thing about alternative dimensions: the people here are deaf!"
"Aaaw, Kiyone, I don't mean anything by it…"
The teal hared cop shook her head again, rubbing her eyes in minor distress. "Aaii," she
sighed, "I know you don't."
"Tenchi, have you briefed them on the situation?" Ryoko asked, shifting the conversation topic.
The boy shook his head, taking up position next to his girlfriend. "No, I figured that it'd be
better if you did. You know more than me."
Ryoko nodded. Then, turning to the rest of the group, she said, "Right, I'll explain on the
way."
"Ryoko-san, I noticed your shoulder," Mihoshi commented, teeth chattering. The darkness had
settled over Tokyo, bringing the temperature down to just below freezing. And though she had
her own down jacket and was taking refuge by her partner's side, she still found herself
shivering violently. "What ha-happened?"
Ryoko snickered. Everyone seemed clustered together in attempt to conserve body heat. Everyone,
that is, except Ryoko herself, who lead the way along the road with the streetlights as her guide and no coat on her shoulders. She kept throwing out sadistic comments such as, "Damn, I'm hot" and "I feel like an oven". In truth, she wasn't hot or cold, her remarks were merely successful attempts at pissing everyone off.
"That's why I drug you all out here," she said, a hint of laughter in her voice. She was trying
her hardest to avoid thinking of what she was about to face: nothing less than death itself. "I
had another dream ("Ohhh," Mihoshi said in understanding.), and it told me where Sasami, Kyoko,
and Kagato are."
"And-d that wou-would be?" Kiyone's teeth clinked together with every word.
The demon caller stopped suddenly in front of a large, two-and-a-half-meter high stone wall and
looked up. The loud gong of the school bell signaled eight, and the trees rustled in fear.
The tall, ominous building that lay beyond the wall stood silently, consumed by its aura of
hatred and evil. It loomed, laughing as the leaves of the trees whispered warnings of the danger
within.
"Don't go in…" they sighed. "Do not cross that line of safety, for you will not return…"
"But I must," Ryoko quietly responded. A howling gust of wind picked up, bringing with it the
cries of the death that hid inside the school. She closed her eyes, knowing what she was to do,
and she breathed deeply the air.
"Hey, Ryoko?"
She turned to face Tenchi, who was looking at her with concern. "Scared?"
She smirked. "What was your first clue, the fact that I started talking to the wind or the fact
that right now I seem to be frozen in my spot?"
"The school?" Aeka squeaked, stepping forward. "Inside?"
"Yeah, Princess, inside. Now, step back."
The summoner raised her hands far above her head, and an orangy-red light appeared in between
them. It was small and faint at first, but it gradually got larger and brighter as more power
was gathered. Finally, when it had grown to almost a foot in diameter, Ryoko's arms shot down
and out, sending it crashing into the stone barrier.
The thick wall exploded in an instant. Shards set off flying in random directions, and a
suffocating cloud of dust billowed out from the remains.
The group covered their faces with their coats, coughing and flinching as chunks of stone slapped
at them. They waited for mother nature to clear their path through the freshly made hole in the
wall. As though responding to them, the smoke diminished, leaving behind the ruins of what once
was proud, protective rock.
Ryoko placed her hands gently against the tall, steel and glass doors that separated the outside
from the inside, sighing. This was it. This is where it was going to end. When she opened that
door, she had to be prepared for anything and everything. She knew she couldn't just go straight
in with her head held high and expect to win. What she was up against yielded far more power
than she did; she couldn't let her pride get in her way like she had during her last face off
with her old master.
Of course, she could have already been inside looking for the bastard, but Aeka had, for some
reason, smashed her idea of teleportation straight into the ground at first mention. Ryoko had
tried to argue, but as she had learned in the past, no one fights with Aeka when she's cold…or
when she's hot…or when she's breathing.
So, instead, she was forced to go the long way. Trapping the frozen air inside her lungs, she
pushed against the door and found it locked.
"Shit," the demon caller breathed through clenched teeth. She didn't really want to have to go
destructive again, but it appeared she had no choice. She raised her fist in preparation to
smash the glass, but it was caught by Mihoshi.
"Why don't you just walk through the door and unlock it from the inside?"
Ryoko blinked. Mihoshi had a decent idea. Mihoshi. There had to be something wrong with the
plan.
"Mihoshi," Kiyone piped up, "she doesn't have the keys."
"Aaaw, and it was a good idea, too," Mihoshi sniffed. Kiyone smiled.
"Well, that I'll give you credit for."
"Gee, thanks-"
Their conversation was brought to a sudden halt when Ryoko struck out and shattered the glass
door into pieces. It scattered inwards onto the cold tile floor of the school, clashing with
the ground and echoing along the long, locker-filled hallway.
In the very last room off the front corridor, a girl tossed her crimson hair as she sat on one
of the only desks that had remained in tact after her outbreak. Her left hand held tightly to
the black sword hilt she had been given by her master, her right hand supported her body weight
as she leaned back. She was getting bored of waiting, and wondering if the "goddamn defect", as
Kagato had put it to her, had gotten the message she had sent through nightmare.
True, Sasami was alive, but Ryoko didn't realize that it was only because the princess's life was
being used to lure her. Kyoko guessed Kagato would dispose of the child as soon as everyone
arrived.
A loud crash reached her ears, and the pirate immediately recognized it to be the shattering of
glass. Ryoko had found her, finally. She groaned heavily as she slid off the desktop to her
feet. Adjusting her black and silver battle suit, she cracked her neck a couple of times and
waited.
She began to pick up muffled voices that grew slowly louder as her prey drew near. She glanced
down at her weapon, turning it over and over in her fingers. This would bring the downfall of
her worst enemy tonight. The enemy she didn't know why she hated so deeply. It was what her
controller had ordered, what he had taught her and etched into the deepest crevices of her mind
and soul.
She wouldn't form the blade. Not yet, not right away.
Her eyes began to glow dimly as she looked up and saw their faces. All pale in the darkness.
That is, all but Ryoko's. Hers couldn't even fit the description of "pale". It was as though
all her skin color left her face and entered her golden eyes. Even in the blackness they flashed
like fire.
"Well, well, well," Kyoko spat sarcastically, "bad dream, Ryoko?"
Ryoko growled menacingly at her. The raven hared killer found it to be quite funny, and she
chuckled.
"Oh my, oh my, child. Such a bad temper."
"Shut up, Kyoko," Ryoko ordered angrily. "Where the hell is Kagato?"
Kyoko pretended to casually look at her nails, which at the moment were completely covered by
silver cloth. "He's not here right now, can I take a message?" she said in a laid back voice.
Ryoko's fingers clenched together in a fist, yet they remained set solidly by her side.
"You bitch."
"Where is my sister?" Aeka chipped in before Kyoko could respond with a comment that would make
Ryoko go ballistic.
Kyoko grinned. This was going to be a fun a day. The huntress had driven her game into a trap.
She wouldn't fail. She wouldn't lose. This battle was hers.
They were all agitated and scared, she saw. They knew they were looking death in the eye. And
Ryoko? Well, the pain and loss of blood would soon get to her.
"How can you expect to win coming into a fight like this?" she asked.
Aeka made a desperate attempt to break from the group, and had to be held back as various
obscenities flew out of her mouth. Kyoko laughed as she watched the fuming women, hardly a
princess anymore, struggle against her bindings. Her plan to rile them up was going all too well.
"Not to worry, Aeka. I do suppose you'll be able to say goodbye before my master slays your
sister," she sneered maliciously. Then, as she sensed Kagato's presence, she dropped to her
knees and bowed her head in respect.
"Excellent work, Kyoko," he said, peering down at his servant's back.
Aeka quickly ceased her fighting when she heard the enemy's statement. She looked up to see
Kagato, in all his evil glory, towering over Kyoko. She couldn't help but admire the female
pirate's loyalty, how it seemed unbreakable as she knelt at her controller's feet.
The princess noticed how Kyoko's hair covered her face as it fell to the ground, like rivers of
blood from the darkness of an open wound. She was like a mystery, a safe, with so many secrets
hidden deep within. There had to be a way to break the seal.
"Preoccupied?" Kagato smiled as he watched Aeka's red eyes linger over Kyoko's tired yet
dangerous and strong form. Kyoko quietly raised her head to stare emotionlessly up at the group.
She locked her gaze with the heiress, who shuddered as a sense of bloodthirsty flames entwined her spine in its hatred.
Kyoko wanted to kill them. To torture them. To feel their lives cease to be. Aeka turned away.
"Where is my sister?" she asked.
"Ahh, yes, the little one."
Kagato snapped his white-gloved fingers, and Sasami's tiny body faded into being.
The child lay lifeless on the ground, curled tightly in the fetal position. Bright black and
blue bruises on her arms, face, and throat, and large rips and tears in her dress suggested that
she had either fought to free herself or had not been handled gently. Most likely both.
"Sasami-chan!" Aeka called out. She ran from the protection of her family to her sister's side.
Ryoko closely followed her rival, ignoring the bolts of pain coming from her shoulder. She knelt
beside Aeka and reached out to touch Sasami's face. Carefully, she brushed aside the little
princess's bangs to reveal a black and swollen right eye. Sasami was almost frozen in time.
Much longer and she'd be dead.
The demon stood, and as she did so did Kyoko. In unison they drew their swords, glaring at each
other.
"Stop this Kagato," Ryoko demanded, though she held her gaze with her partner. "Let Kyoko go
and give us back Sasami!"
Kagato was amused. "Now, Ryoko, you know me better than that."
"Not something I'm proud of."
"Kagato…" Tenchi sneered as he came up beside Ryoko.
The cyan beauty turned around to face him and opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped
immediately as Aeka screamed her name and she was pummeled in the side of the head.
She hit the ground with a crash as a swift, silent black streak landed in front of her.
Kyoko.
Blood dripped from the murderer's sword hilt over her silver hands. The same blood that fell
from the fresh wound that ran from just below Ryoko's jaw to her hairline. It rushed along the
side of her face and neck and into her mouth and eyes. The irony taste tackled her taste buds
then exploded, and she was forced to blink several times to clear her reddened vision.
Kyoko laughed madly before turning her attention to Tenchi and smiling. "Let the battle
commence, boy..."
~Notes from that pain in the butt who calls herself Minagi~
I have a good start on the next part, but I have finals this week, so I don't know how much I'll
get done. I'll try my best. Ah! No room left, gotta go! R&R please!
~Minagi