~Notes from Minagi~
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I should be studying for finals, but you know what? SCREW IT! I'd
rather write. There's really not much to say here except this is just part two of the second to
last chapter. This is not the last chapter! This part and last part count as one chapter, and
next chapter will be the epilogue. Just to tell you.
Oh, yeah. I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this story, but I need you to tell me if I should
or not. Well, no, let me rephrase that. I'm GOING to do a sequel, but I need your opinion on
whether or not I should post it. Oh, hell, just read and review with your answer, that's easy
enough.
You know, I need serious help. Hee hee.
~Minagi
PS I put those funky little "~" things around the "voices" Kyoko hears…you'll get it in a bit…
because it gets kind of difficult to tell them apart from regular dialogue. Just something to
keep in mind as you read on farther into the chapter.
Ryoko felt completely useless. She couldn't find the strength inside of her to get up. Her
wounds had taken their final toll on her. She was stuck on the sidelines as Tenchi single-
handedly took on Kyoko. The Tenchi-ken wasn't strong enough, and the prince was quickly losing.
She tried to rise to her hands and knees, but her shoulder gave out. She shuddered as a hand
was placed gently on her back. Wiping her eyes of blood, she saw Aeka, who had drug Sasami over
to Mihoshi and Kiyone and had come back for her.
"Come on," Aeka whispered, glaring daggers and curses at Kagato, who was watching her every move. Skillfully, she wrapped one arm around Ryoko's waist and lifted. Then, placing her other hand against the demon's chest, she was able to stand Ryoko uneasily on her feet.
"Aeka, I have to-"
"Quiet, Ryoko! Just cooperate with me." Aeka's voice was cold as ice, quite the opposite of
her actions. Her touch was soft, like a mother's comfort after picking her child up when they
fell into the dirt. "You're in no condition to fight."
"But I-"
"No."
The heiress guided her rival over to the corner. She was proud of herself. All those times
Ryoko had been there for her, finally she was provided with the chance to do the same.
Carefully setting the pirate down beside Mihoshi, who was tending to Sasami, she turned to
Kiyone.
"You ready, Kiyone-san?"
Kiyone grinned and drew her blaster as Aeka transformed into her battle armor. "Let's kick some
ass."
"Aeka-sama, Kiyone-chan?" Mihoshi spoke up. The two looked at her, their faces showing their
readiness to help end it all. "Be careful. We'll make it through this."
Kiyone smiled. "Thanks, Mihoshi."
"Hmph, so sentimental," Kagato sneered as he snuck up on the group.
Aeka turned around and tried to think of something rude and sarcastic to say in reply, but found
it to be more difficult to do than she thought it would be. After all, she wasn't Ryoko. So
she settled with a large blast of emerald energy, which Kagato dodged easily.
The pirate's laugh reverberated along the walls and the spines of all who heard it.
"Well, Princess, I see you haven't changed a bit," he said. He raised his hand and smiled, as a
large ball of florescent energy he had taken from Kyoko began forming. "However, I have
changed. I don't need the gems any-"
His statement was abruptly cut short when Kiyone fired her blaster. He tried to shield himself
with his hands, quickly forgetting the attack he was forming. The collision of the two spheres
of energy created such a bright explosion that Kagato himself, Aeka, and Kiyone were temporarily
blinded.
Aeka and Kiyone both took advantage of the distracted Kagato and jumped to different sides,
blinking spots of colors they never knew existed out of their eyes.
"Nice shot, Kiyone," Aeka yelled over the cussing and ranting of their enemy. When no response
came, she called the name again, trying to locate her partner in battle through the blinking
spots and blurred shapes obscuring her vision.
She saw a large, multicolored blob go flying through the air, and found herself admiring its
speed. It hit the large mass Aeka could only guess was the wall and made a sickening crunching
noise. Her eyes focused further and she saw there was nothing to be admired.
It had been Tenchi, and he was out cold. A small trickle of blood fell from his slightly parted
lips.
"Tenchi!" she screamed, running to his side. She knelt beside him, but didn't get much further.
"Aeka! Watch out!"
Kiyone's voice rang out with fear, and the princess looked up to see the GP officer on her
knees, trying and failing to cease the blood that fell from the fresh slice that extended the
length of her arm.
"To your right!" she desperately screamed again.
Aeka's eyes shot to the side, and she cried out as they came to rest on Kyoko and Kagato, coming
swiftly at her. Kyoko's sword was poised in a striking position, and hardly any of its surface
remained blue. Now, it dripped scarlet with the blood of her enemies. Of Ryoko, of Tenchi, of
Kiyone, and if the princess didn't move quickly, it would hold her own.
But moving would expose Tenchi. Aeka couldn't do that. She wouldn't let Kyoko kill him.
She flung herself across his chest in attempt to protect him, and listened to the approaching
pirate. Kyoko was coming closer…
Closer…
"KYOKO, PLEASE!!!"
The killer stopped suddenly, little under a meter away from her next victim. She spun on her
heel to see who had called and found her master doing the same. Her eyes came to rest on Ryoko,
who had shakily managed to raise to her knees.
Though her blood had drenched almost half her body and pain cursed her every move, Ryoko
couldn't let Kyoko kill Aeka and Tenchi. She'd die before they would, she told herself.
"Stop. I don't want this to go on…"
Kyoko blinked hesitantly. She stared at the demon and what little strength she had left. Ryoko
wouldn't last much longer. Kyoko could easily finish her off right here and now. A simple
sweep of her sword would end it all.
But the raven's hungry side held her back. Seeing Ryoko suffer kept her going. Master's orders
let Ryoko live a little while longer.
~"But is that truly why?"~
Kyoko's hesitation lengthened into a full-fledged stop.
~"Do you really want to see her in pain?"~ A soft whisper in her ears. A buried memory. It
came through the storm of her brain like static; two girls running through narrow, black crystal
corridors. A flashing picture before Kyoko's eyes. It made no sense. She didn't understand.
Yet a pulling inside her heart made her feel like she should. That image was supposed to mean
something…but how could it?
"Yes," she answered in monotone. "I want to see her bleed." Ryoko's pain gave her strength,
and her strength gave her master power.
"Kyoko, you're slacking," Kagato beat his way into her mind, his icy sneer winding it's way up
her spine and quickly pushing away any doubt threatening his control. She looked at him
questioningly, then nodded curtly and turned back to what she had been doing before.
"I cannot hold back. I cannot end here."
Kyoko raised her sword and prepared to continue her attack, but she found herself unable to
move. It was as though her senses had amplified themselves to ten times their normal abilities,
and she found herself uncomfortably aware of everything around her. Of the perspiration that
gleamed on the cold skin of her face. She could hear the silent "drip, drip, drip" of Ryoko's
blood splashing onto the ground. She could see Tenchi's every twitching movement as he slowly
began to stir. She could feel her greatest foe sneaking up behind her, despite her brutal
injuries.
And though she couldn't see Kiyone, she could hear the cop forming the words that froze Kyoko's
veins. A song.
"Itsuka shiru toki ga kuru no? Mune no itami o. Soshite ima yori yasashiku naru no ne…"
"Hiiru no Tsuki…" Kyoko mumbled.
Inside her mind, a second buried memory resurfaced. The same two girls whom had run through the
corridors were standing alone in a vast room. The details of the room remained fuzzy, but the
girls' images were sharp and clear. Kyoko realized suddenly who they were. One had deep
crimson and black tipped hair, bright violet eyes, and a black and silver dress. Her mouth was
moving, but no sound came.
Me…
The second one, who was walking around the first, watching her with a grading eye, was none
other than a younger…
…Ryoko…
Her cyan locks swayed with every step she took, and her golden eyes scanned Kyoko's movements in
a judging manner. Suddenly, she stopped and raised her hand.
The raven couldn't hear what was being said, but that didn't matter. She knew the exact words
that were being used.
"Kyoko, you're not giving it everything."
"I'm sorry, Ryoko-chan! I'm trying!"
"A little too hard. I've told you many times, when you sing, it must come from your heart…"
"Master…I don't understand…what does this mean?" Kyoko said as the memory faded once again.
Kagato made no response.
Ryoko shakily stepped up in front of her friend. Carefully, she took Kyoko's hand in her own
and moved it, pointing her lightning blue sword directly above her left breast, right at her
heart. Tears streamed from her cat-like eyes as she saw the killer's own glowing orbs widen in
shock.
"Kill me, Kyoko," she ordered. "Kill me and let this be done. Don't hurt the others."
Kyoko shook her head in horror and stumbled sideways, Kiyone's voice and Ryoko's words pounding
in her ears. She dropped her sword and clutched her head, gasping as it pulsated.
"Master…I…she…she must've…meant something to me! Sometime…somewhere…"
Kagato stared at his servant as she lost control. He knew this was not a good thing. Without
her power fueling him, he would be forced back inside her mind. She was more useful to him when
he had a form of his own.
"Kyoko," he growled, "fight it. Keep control. Remember that she is the enemy!"
He made a move for Ryoko and poised his hand in striking position. Swiftly, he came down upon
her like a hawk, but his fist went straight through her body. Kyoko had lost too much of her
sanity to keep him in a physical body. He realized that his only hope of getting back at
everyone was to either retreat, return to Kyoko's mind and regain control over her, then come
back, or to make his toy do the job for him.
"Kyoko, kill her!"
~"She is not the enemy, Kyoko."~ The voice had returned to haunt Kyoko. The words echoed
through her brain, squeezed her lungs of breath, shattered her heart, trying to reveal its true
shape.
Ryoko watched as her sister fell to the ground in fear and confusion. She wanted nothing more
than to run over and hold Kyoko in her arms, to tell her everything would be all right. She
wanted to be back on the Sureiyaa in the middle of the galaxy, feasting in the aftermath and
adrenaline rush of a successful heist, the two of them side by side, hand in hand, once again.
She fell on her knees, her legs no longer able to support her body, as she cried out again to be
done with.
"Kyoko! Please, just do it!" Her voice was little more than a meek whimper, but it was all
that was needed to be heard.
"I…can't!"
"If it will stop this, Kyoko!"
~"The way to stop this…"~
Visions. The same two girls. Pictures. No, memories. They flashed like a computer screen in
front of Kyoko's eyes. She was being blasted with the pain of not understanding. It was
tearing at her heart and breaking her down.
"Master!" she cried, but the word tasted sour. "Ryoko…the only way to stop this…"
As long as I live… she mentally repeated to herself. As long as I live…! As long as I live…!
~"Her blood will be shed."~
As long as I live…
~"Evil will prevail."~
"Kyoko, what's going on?!" Tenchi had awakened. His voice was distant to her, like a fading
light. Kyoko felt herself being shaken violently as a hazy black cloud filled her brain. She
knew Kagato was returning to her head, against his will.
As long as I live…
Aeka's frantic face filled her blurred vision, scared and white. The princess shook the pirate
again, afraid of losing her. Kyoko reached up and hastily grabbed her around the neck, pushing
her away.
The killer rolled onto her hands and knees, hand blindly searching for her sword.
As long as I live…
~"She will die…"~
Her fingers curled tightly around the blackened hilt of her weapon as Kyoko rose to a standing
position. She was ready. She would do what needed to be done. Gracefully gliding over to her
victim, she raised the blade high into the air.
"The only way to stop this," she whispered as she made eye contact with Ryoko, "is to die."
It was all in slow motion. Kyoko's breath caught as she brought her weapon down on herself. It
shattered the blue star on her chest as it tore through her skin, muscle, and ribcage, into her
tattered heart. A final picture froze in front of her eyes, two girls, alone in the same room,
Kyoko in the middle, Ryoko grading her movements.
Finally it hit. The true Kyoko came through for a single second before her final breath escaped
her lips in the words, "I…tsu…ka…"
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I should be studying for finals, but you know what? SCREW IT! I'd
rather write. There's really not much to say here except this is just part two of the second to
last chapter. This is not the last chapter! This part and last part count as one chapter, and
next chapter will be the epilogue. Just to tell you.
Oh, yeah. I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this story, but I need you to tell me if I should
or not. Well, no, let me rephrase that. I'm GOING to do a sequel, but I need your opinion on
whether or not I should post it. Oh, hell, just read and review with your answer, that's easy
enough.
You know, I need serious help. Hee hee.
~Minagi
PS I put those funky little "~" things around the "voices" Kyoko hears…you'll get it in a bit…
because it gets kind of difficult to tell them apart from regular dialogue. Just something to
keep in mind as you read on farther into the chapter.
Ryoko felt completely useless. She couldn't find the strength inside of her to get up. Her
wounds had taken their final toll on her. She was stuck on the sidelines as Tenchi single-
handedly took on Kyoko. The Tenchi-ken wasn't strong enough, and the prince was quickly losing.
She tried to rise to her hands and knees, but her shoulder gave out. She shuddered as a hand
was placed gently on her back. Wiping her eyes of blood, she saw Aeka, who had drug Sasami over
to Mihoshi and Kiyone and had come back for her.
"Come on," Aeka whispered, glaring daggers and curses at Kagato, who was watching her every move. Skillfully, she wrapped one arm around Ryoko's waist and lifted. Then, placing her other hand against the demon's chest, she was able to stand Ryoko uneasily on her feet.
"Aeka, I have to-"
"Quiet, Ryoko! Just cooperate with me." Aeka's voice was cold as ice, quite the opposite of
her actions. Her touch was soft, like a mother's comfort after picking her child up when they
fell into the dirt. "You're in no condition to fight."
"But I-"
"No."
The heiress guided her rival over to the corner. She was proud of herself. All those times
Ryoko had been there for her, finally she was provided with the chance to do the same.
Carefully setting the pirate down beside Mihoshi, who was tending to Sasami, she turned to
Kiyone.
"You ready, Kiyone-san?"
Kiyone grinned and drew her blaster as Aeka transformed into her battle armor. "Let's kick some
ass."
"Aeka-sama, Kiyone-chan?" Mihoshi spoke up. The two looked at her, their faces showing their
readiness to help end it all. "Be careful. We'll make it through this."
Kiyone smiled. "Thanks, Mihoshi."
"Hmph, so sentimental," Kagato sneered as he snuck up on the group.
Aeka turned around and tried to think of something rude and sarcastic to say in reply, but found
it to be more difficult to do than she thought it would be. After all, she wasn't Ryoko. So
she settled with a large blast of emerald energy, which Kagato dodged easily.
The pirate's laugh reverberated along the walls and the spines of all who heard it.
"Well, Princess, I see you haven't changed a bit," he said. He raised his hand and smiled, as a
large ball of florescent energy he had taken from Kyoko began forming. "However, I have
changed. I don't need the gems any-"
His statement was abruptly cut short when Kiyone fired her blaster. He tried to shield himself
with his hands, quickly forgetting the attack he was forming. The collision of the two spheres
of energy created such a bright explosion that Kagato himself, Aeka, and Kiyone were temporarily
blinded.
Aeka and Kiyone both took advantage of the distracted Kagato and jumped to different sides,
blinking spots of colors they never knew existed out of their eyes.
"Nice shot, Kiyone," Aeka yelled over the cussing and ranting of their enemy. When no response
came, she called the name again, trying to locate her partner in battle through the blinking
spots and blurred shapes obscuring her vision.
She saw a large, multicolored blob go flying through the air, and found herself admiring its
speed. It hit the large mass Aeka could only guess was the wall and made a sickening crunching
noise. Her eyes focused further and she saw there was nothing to be admired.
It had been Tenchi, and he was out cold. A small trickle of blood fell from his slightly parted
lips.
"Tenchi!" she screamed, running to his side. She knelt beside him, but didn't get much further.
"Aeka! Watch out!"
Kiyone's voice rang out with fear, and the princess looked up to see the GP officer on her
knees, trying and failing to cease the blood that fell from the fresh slice that extended the
length of her arm.
"To your right!" she desperately screamed again.
Aeka's eyes shot to the side, and she cried out as they came to rest on Kyoko and Kagato, coming
swiftly at her. Kyoko's sword was poised in a striking position, and hardly any of its surface
remained blue. Now, it dripped scarlet with the blood of her enemies. Of Ryoko, of Tenchi, of
Kiyone, and if the princess didn't move quickly, it would hold her own.
But moving would expose Tenchi. Aeka couldn't do that. She wouldn't let Kyoko kill him.
She flung herself across his chest in attempt to protect him, and listened to the approaching
pirate. Kyoko was coming closer…
Closer…
"KYOKO, PLEASE!!!"
The killer stopped suddenly, little under a meter away from her next victim. She spun on her
heel to see who had called and found her master doing the same. Her eyes came to rest on Ryoko,
who had shakily managed to raise to her knees.
Though her blood had drenched almost half her body and pain cursed her every move, Ryoko
couldn't let Kyoko kill Aeka and Tenchi. She'd die before they would, she told herself.
"Stop. I don't want this to go on…"
Kyoko blinked hesitantly. She stared at the demon and what little strength she had left. Ryoko
wouldn't last much longer. Kyoko could easily finish her off right here and now. A simple
sweep of her sword would end it all.
But the raven's hungry side held her back. Seeing Ryoko suffer kept her going. Master's orders
let Ryoko live a little while longer.
~"But is that truly why?"~
Kyoko's hesitation lengthened into a full-fledged stop.
~"Do you really want to see her in pain?"~ A soft whisper in her ears. A buried memory. It
came through the storm of her brain like static; two girls running through narrow, black crystal
corridors. A flashing picture before Kyoko's eyes. It made no sense. She didn't understand.
Yet a pulling inside her heart made her feel like she should. That image was supposed to mean
something…but how could it?
"Yes," she answered in monotone. "I want to see her bleed." Ryoko's pain gave her strength,
and her strength gave her master power.
"Kyoko, you're slacking," Kagato beat his way into her mind, his icy sneer winding it's way up
her spine and quickly pushing away any doubt threatening his control. She looked at him
questioningly, then nodded curtly and turned back to what she had been doing before.
"I cannot hold back. I cannot end here."
Kyoko raised her sword and prepared to continue her attack, but she found herself unable to
move. It was as though her senses had amplified themselves to ten times their normal abilities,
and she found herself uncomfortably aware of everything around her. Of the perspiration that
gleamed on the cold skin of her face. She could hear the silent "drip, drip, drip" of Ryoko's
blood splashing onto the ground. She could see Tenchi's every twitching movement as he slowly
began to stir. She could feel her greatest foe sneaking up behind her, despite her brutal
injuries.
And though she couldn't see Kiyone, she could hear the cop forming the words that froze Kyoko's
veins. A song.
"Itsuka shiru toki ga kuru no? Mune no itami o. Soshite ima yori yasashiku naru no ne…"
"Hiiru no Tsuki…" Kyoko mumbled.
Inside her mind, a second buried memory resurfaced. The same two girls whom had run through the
corridors were standing alone in a vast room. The details of the room remained fuzzy, but the
girls' images were sharp and clear. Kyoko realized suddenly who they were. One had deep
crimson and black tipped hair, bright violet eyes, and a black and silver dress. Her mouth was
moving, but no sound came.
Me…
The second one, who was walking around the first, watching her with a grading eye, was none
other than a younger…
…Ryoko…
Her cyan locks swayed with every step she took, and her golden eyes scanned Kyoko's movements in
a judging manner. Suddenly, she stopped and raised her hand.
The raven couldn't hear what was being said, but that didn't matter. She knew the exact words
that were being used.
"Kyoko, you're not giving it everything."
"I'm sorry, Ryoko-chan! I'm trying!"
"A little too hard. I've told you many times, when you sing, it must come from your heart…"
"Master…I don't understand…what does this mean?" Kyoko said as the memory faded once again.
Kagato made no response.
Ryoko shakily stepped up in front of her friend. Carefully, she took Kyoko's hand in her own
and moved it, pointing her lightning blue sword directly above her left breast, right at her
heart. Tears streamed from her cat-like eyes as she saw the killer's own glowing orbs widen in
shock.
"Kill me, Kyoko," she ordered. "Kill me and let this be done. Don't hurt the others."
Kyoko shook her head in horror and stumbled sideways, Kiyone's voice and Ryoko's words pounding
in her ears. She dropped her sword and clutched her head, gasping as it pulsated.
"Master…I…she…she must've…meant something to me! Sometime…somewhere…"
Kagato stared at his servant as she lost control. He knew this was not a good thing. Without
her power fueling him, he would be forced back inside her mind. She was more useful to him when
he had a form of his own.
"Kyoko," he growled, "fight it. Keep control. Remember that she is the enemy!"
He made a move for Ryoko and poised his hand in striking position. Swiftly, he came down upon
her like a hawk, but his fist went straight through her body. Kyoko had lost too much of her
sanity to keep him in a physical body. He realized that his only hope of getting back at
everyone was to either retreat, return to Kyoko's mind and regain control over her, then come
back, or to make his toy do the job for him.
"Kyoko, kill her!"
~"She is not the enemy, Kyoko."~ The voice had returned to haunt Kyoko. The words echoed
through her brain, squeezed her lungs of breath, shattered her heart, trying to reveal its true
shape.
Ryoko watched as her sister fell to the ground in fear and confusion. She wanted nothing more
than to run over and hold Kyoko in her arms, to tell her everything would be all right. She
wanted to be back on the Sureiyaa in the middle of the galaxy, feasting in the aftermath and
adrenaline rush of a successful heist, the two of them side by side, hand in hand, once again.
She fell on her knees, her legs no longer able to support her body, as she cried out again to be
done with.
"Kyoko! Please, just do it!" Her voice was little more than a meek whimper, but it was all
that was needed to be heard.
"I…can't!"
"If it will stop this, Kyoko!"
~"The way to stop this…"~
Visions. The same two girls. Pictures. No, memories. They flashed like a computer screen in
front of Kyoko's eyes. She was being blasted with the pain of not understanding. It was
tearing at her heart and breaking her down.
"Master!" she cried, but the word tasted sour. "Ryoko…the only way to stop this…"
As long as I live… she mentally repeated to herself. As long as I live…! As long as I live…!
~"Her blood will be shed."~
As long as I live…
~"Evil will prevail."~
"Kyoko, what's going on?!" Tenchi had awakened. His voice was distant to her, like a fading
light. Kyoko felt herself being shaken violently as a hazy black cloud filled her brain. She
knew Kagato was returning to her head, against his will.
As long as I live…
Aeka's frantic face filled her blurred vision, scared and white. The princess shook the pirate
again, afraid of losing her. Kyoko reached up and hastily grabbed her around the neck, pushing
her away.
The killer rolled onto her hands and knees, hand blindly searching for her sword.
As long as I live…
~"She will die…"~
Her fingers curled tightly around the blackened hilt of her weapon as Kyoko rose to a standing
position. She was ready. She would do what needed to be done. Gracefully gliding over to her
victim, she raised the blade high into the air.
"The only way to stop this," she whispered as she made eye contact with Ryoko, "is to die."
It was all in slow motion. Kyoko's breath caught as she brought her weapon down on herself. It
shattered the blue star on her chest as it tore through her skin, muscle, and ribcage, into her
tattered heart. A final picture froze in front of her eyes, two girls, alone in the same room,
Kyoko in the middle, Ryoko grading her movements.
Finally it hit. The true Kyoko came through for a single second before her final breath escaped
her lips in the words, "I…tsu…ka…"