*/*/*/*/* Inside Yaten's Room
Yaten walked in and locked the door behind him. Minako was standing near the door and fumbling around trying to find the light switch. Yaten turned to find Minako having some difficulties. He chuckled softly and leaned over, finding the light switch immediately and flicked it on. Minako turned and smiled at him.
'Thank you Lovely.' she said with a kiss. Yaten smiled as well and went to pull Minako into his arms when she raised a hand to her mouth to cover it from yawing.
'Oh my Love..' Yaten cooed, 'Are you sleepy?' Minako rubbed at her eyes.
'Yeah.kinda.' she said semi-sleepily.
'Well then, you go right to bed and get some sleep. I think I'm going to go sit out on the balcony for while.' Yaten took her by the hand and started to lead her to his bed. Minako pulled back in protest.
'I don't want to go to bed nooooow!!' she whined, 'I want to stay up with youuuu!!' Yaten grabbed her hand again and skillfully spun her into his arms. Once in his arms, he bent down and picked her, preventing anymore struggles.
'Yaateeeeeeeeen!' Minako whined again, kicking her feet.
'Shhh.' he said and hushed her with a kiss; then gently set her down on his bed and began to nestle her into the warm covers. He tucked the covers in around her shoulder, catching a glimpse of her pouty face. He hung his head and brought his arms in around her body.
'Minako, don't be like this.I will come to bed very soon and snuggle you.' He said and looked back at her. Minako shifted her eyes around, in a thinking sort of way, but finally shook her head in agreement.
'Good. Now Goodnight my Love..' Yaten said with another kiss.
'Goodnight Lovely.' Minako said and yawned again. Yaten sat up from his bed and Minako snuggled herself into a comfortable position and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. 'Yaten' let out a sigh of relief.
'Good GOD.she finally fell asleep.I don't think I could have handled her anymore.' He walked up to the frame of the balcony doors and turned to look back at Minako.
'I mean sure she's gorgeous.but how can Yaten love that horridly happy attitude.'
'Ugh.' he shuddered in disgust and walked out onto the balcony. It wasn't a particularly beautiful night out. Dark storm clouds rolled across the sky, covering the brilliant shine of the stars. There was no wind blowing, but it was still rather chilly out. With the wind not blowing, the world seemed eerily quiet. And with no other distractions, or anything interesting to catch his eye, 'Yaten' simply started to drift off from the rest of the world...but there was only one thing on his mind to think about, his one and only true love.Aiko.
*/*/*/*/*/* Flashback
A young couple lay close to each other on the soft green grass and watch the stars in the dull red sky. The girl sighs and rolls over halfway onto the boy. He brings his hand up and idly plays with a lock of her long red hair. She turns her head upwards and mumbles into his neck.
'It's such a beautiful night out tonight.don't you think so, Kokuen?' Kokuen giggles and shifts his neck; Aiko's warm breath on his neck tickles him. Aiko giggles for she knows it bothers him and hugs him tight.. Kokuen wraps his arms around her and sits up, keeping a tight hold of her.
'I love you Aiko..' He whispers. Aiko smiles and gently nods her head.
'And I love you too.' she replies. Kokuen suddenly jerks away from Aiko and grabs her shoulders and looks into her eyes with a stern look on his face. Aiko is a bit surprised.
'I would do anything for you Aiko.Anything.for you and your happiness.' he says as stern as he looks. Aiko smiles again and shakes her head. She places a hand on either side of Kokuen's face and cradles it. 'You don't have to worry about anything like that, my love. Knowing that you will be by my side till the end of time makes me happy.just you my love, just you.' she whispers. Kokuen blushes and looks down at the ground.
'Just me?' He asks childishly. Aiko brings a hand under his chin and raises his head up again.
'Yes.just you.' She says as she slowly leans closer to him. Aiko brushes her lips against Kokuen's and whispers into his mouth.
'You are all I'll ever want.' Kokuen slightly nods his head in agreement, completely captured by the feeling of Aiko's lips as she embraces him in a deep kiss. The couple share many more passionate kisses, but are startled by a strange rustling in the bushes. Kokuen abruptly breaks off the kiss and tenses up as a strange feeling overcomes him.
'What was that..?' he hisses. Aiko shakes her head and loosely grips his shirt.
'I don't know.maybe it was just a cat or something.' She whispers. Kokuen clams down a bit at the simple thought of this. He loosens up a bit,
'Heh.you're probably right.' He shrugs. Aiko smiles and kisses him again.
'We got worked up over nothing.' she closes her eyes and hugs him tightly again. Kokuen returns the embrace, but keeps on his guard; he can't quite shake the strange feeling he has.
'There's something not right about this.' he thinks. While thinking, Kokuen hugs Aiko tighter. Aiko opens her eyes, wondering why he's hugging her so tightly when she notices a thin layer of red smoke starting to form in the air.
'Kokuen.what's this.?' She asks and leans back, facing him. Kokuen darts his head back and forth.
'It looks like fog.but it's red.very odd.' he mutters. Suddenly a thought hits him. He grabs Aiko's hands and jerks her up into a standing position.
'What? What is it?!' she asks, getting a little frightened from his sudden actions. Kokuen turns to her,
'A youma! A youma!! That's the only thing it could be!!' he exclaims. Aiko widens her eyes in fear.
'Oh my gosh.a youma.we.we have to get out of here!' She whispers back. Kokuen looks around for a second and then points out in front of him.
'This way is the way we came, right?' he asks.
'Yeah.let's go now Kokuen.' Aiko replies. She looks around her noticing the mysterious red fog is getting considerably thicker.
'Come on!' Kokuen yells and starts to run, halfway dragging Aiko behind him. They continue to run, but end up getting nowhere.
'Kokuen! The fog is too thick I can't see where we're going!' Aiko says franticly.
'Damn! Neither can I!!' Kokuen growls, 'Just stay close to me, O.K.?' Aiko nods and clutches onto him, burying her head into his chest.
'I'm scared Kokuen.' she says, her voice quivering. Kokuen puts a hand on top of her head and softly pushes her into him even more.
'You'll be alright.I'll protect you no matter what.' Kokuen says reassuringly in an effort to try and calm Aiko down.
'It will take a lot more than just a fragile young boy to stop me..' says a dark raspy voice from somewhere above them. Both Kokuen and Aiko jerk their head upwards to see a dark cloaked figure hovering in front of them. Kokuen and Aiko stumble backwards away from him.
'What do you want?!' Kokuen demands. The cloaked man floats down and lands on the ground.
'What do I want? What a silly question to ask a 'youma' as you call me.' He raises his head high enough to see the evil smirk on his lips. Kokuen musters his courage and lets go of Aiko. He jumps in front of her and puts out both of his arms in an attempt to try and shield her. Aiko puts her both her hands on his back and stays close to him.
'Don't you dare touch her!' Kokuen yells. The youma chuckles.
'How very sweet.are you willing to sacrifice yourself for her?' He asks bringing a hand to his lips.
'Well then...let's just find out if you can indeed protect her life with you own.' The youma says as he slowly raises his head up, revealing his red flashing eyes. Kokuen braces himself as the youma takes a step forward. He takes another step forward but vanishes as he does so. Kokuen lets up on his guard for a moment in confusion of where he went to. But the youma takes this to his advantage and materializes charging at him just a few feet away. Just as the youma is about to slam head on into Kokuen, he reaches out and grabs his wrists, stopping the youma just inches away from his face. Kokuen grits his teeth as he hold the youma's wrists in a death lock. The youma sneers at Kokuen.
'Impressive.you're stronger than I thought' he remarks. Kokuen smirks.
'That's right.I'm no fragile young boy..' The chuckles and quickly flips his wrists out of Kokuen's grasp and grabs onto his. Kokuen is taken aback at his sudden movements.
'What the..--!' Kokuen starts, but is cut off as the youma starts to squeeze his wrists harder and harder.
'Yes strong.but still not strong enough.' The youma remarks. Aiko, still gripping onto Kokuen starts to scream,
'Stop it!!!! Stop it, you're hurting him!!!!!' She screams at the top of her lungs. Kokuen winces in pain and grunts.
'It's O.K..Aiko.' He says squeezing his eyes shut. The youma starts to laugh out loud.
'Haaahahaha! Yes Aiko, things will perfectly fine!!!' He says mocking Kokuen. He continues to laugh as he raises Kokuen off of his feet. Aiko stumbles back a little bit but still tries to stay as close to Kokuen as she can. Kokuen opens one eye to see his feet dangling above the ground and tries to kick at the youma. The youma quickly takes both wrist into one hand and blocks the kick.
'Nice try...' he says, 'but still not good enough.' Kokuen still struggles kicking his feet and shaking around, hoping the youma will loose his grip on him. Kokuen finally does plant a good kick square into the youma's stomach. The youma grunts in pain and jerks his head to Kokuen, his eyes flashing red again.
'That was not a good idea...' The youma says and lets go of his leg and straightens up. The youma lets go of Kokuen's wrists and jerks his arm away from him. Kokuen smiles now that he is free, but the smile soon vanishes from his lips and he realizes, he can't move.
Aiko smiles as well and jumps up and down.
'Kokuen you can fight now!!' she cheers happily and grabs onto his shoulders. Kokuen doesn't react to Aiko's touch, which confuses her.
'Kokuen?' She asks, getting worried again.
'Aiko.I can't move.you.need to .run.now!!' Kokuen says through grit teeth. Aiko shakes her head and lets go of him. The youma leans close to Kokuen's face and smirks again.
'Nice trick, huh?' He says. Kokuen continues to struggle against the youma.
'You cheat.doing this.to ..me...' he says back.
'Oh well.' the youma says and slamming his open palm into Kokuen's chest with an incredible force. The hit sends Kokuen flying backwards as Aiko is pushed onto the ground. Kokuen is thrown through a patch of bushes and violently slams into a tree trunk. Aiko hits the ground and starts to make a struggle to get back up again when the youma turns and walks up to her. The youma raises his hand into the air, making Aiko start to float off the ground. She tightens her hands into fists and brings them up to her face and screams as loud as she can.
*/*/*/*/*/ On the Other Side of the Forest or So.
Healer swipes a hand through her long silver hair as the gentle breeze tosses it about.
'What a beautiful night for a walk..' She thinks. She takes a deep breath and continues on the small dirt trail through the forest. A shrill scream piercing through the quiet night startles her.
'What the---!!!' She says and turns around, 'someone's in trouble.' she dashes into the forest following the sound of the scream.
*/*/*/*/*/ The youma and Aiko
The youma winces at her scream.
'That wasn't a very good thing to do now was it?' Aiko wriggles around in the air, trying in vain to get down.
'Kokuen!!!' she screams again, 'Kokuen!!!' The youma reaches his hand out and snatches her by the neck.
'Keep screaming and you'll end up alerting someone to my presence. That wouldn't be very good, now would it?' He says squeezing gently at her neck. Aiko tries desperately to pull his strong arms away from her, but sadly fails. The youma squints his eyes and brings a hand to his head; a look of pain falling onto his face. He waits a moment for the pain to wash away and looks back up, into Aiko's eyes.
'I'm getting weaker.I haven't had any fresh energy in a long while and it's time that I got it.' He continued to look into Aiko's pleading eyes.
'..And that's just what you're for my dear.' the youma's eyes flash red again and Aiko starts to emit a strange blue glow. After a moment, the blue aura around Aiko starts to slowly crawl up the youma's arm and down the rest of his body, surrounding him as well. The youma closes his eyes again and shudders with delight as he feels Aiko's energy surge through his body. The delightful surge of energy causes him to loosen his grip on Aiko's just enough for her to make a last dying scream.
*/*/*/*/*/ Healer
Healer spins around in the dark forest.
'Damn..' She spins in a different direction.
'Damn!!!... I can't tell where the attack is at anymore.' She stands for a moment, straining her ears to hear anything of help, anything at all.when her plea is answered at the second scream.
'There!' She turns slightly and bolts in that direction. She runs as fast as she can, occasionally slamming through small branches and cutting herself. She winces at the sharp pain as each branch whips across her.
'This pain is nothing..' She thinks 'all that matters is that I save this person.' She grits her teeth and runs on.
*/*/*/*/*/ Aiko and the Youma
The youma growls at hearing a second ear piercing scream, he quickly squeezes her throat again, choking her. She tries to gasp for breath, but finds herself getting considerably weaker.
'Why am I so weak...it's so hard to keep a grip on him.I can't loosen up..I'll.I'll...die.' even as she tries to will herself to keep holding on, Aiko's strength is slowly being drained from her body. Her grip eventually loosens completely and her arms hang lifelessly at her sides. The youma smiles at her and licks his lips.
'Feels good.' the youma says with a smile. Aiko looks down on him with pleading eyes, begging him to stop. There is the sound of branches snapping in the not so distant woods, it's getting closer at an exceptionally fast rate.
'Looks like your screams have stirred up some help.but no matter.you wont need any by the time they get here.' Aiko's breath now comes in short gasps. She squeezes her eyes shut, her life slowly coming to an end.
'Kokuen..I..love..you.' se struggles out with her last breath. A sheath of black goes over her eyes and her entire body goes limp. The youma simply lets go of her and lets her lifeless body fall to the ground with a thud. The youma stretches his neck out
'Ah.just what I needed...aaah' he raises his arms into the air and stretches them out as well, but is startled by a loud crack very close to him in the woods.
'Oh yes..her help is nearby.I should be going now.' he looks over to see Kokuen slumped against the tree. He raises an eyebrow and saunters over to Kokuen.
'Maybe he and I can have a little talk ad I can get myself some energy a little quicker.' The youma smirks and disappears as soon as Healer comes rushing into the clearing. She breathes heavily surveying the area, trying to find out who was screaming when his eyes fall onto the dead body of Aiko. She slowly brings a hand to her mouth and shakes her head.
'No.what has happened here?' Healer slowly walks up to the body and kneels to the side of it. She hesitantly reaches out a hand and places it on the girls shoulder. She doesn't stir.
'She's dead..i got here.too late.' guilt sweeps over Healer as tears start to well up in her eyes.
'I was too late..' She cries, 'too late.' Kokuen still sits; he has watched the entire scene. From as soon as the youma grabbed Aiko, to her struggle, to her death and finally to Healer rushing up. The tears are already streaming down Kokuen's flushed face. He has given up on any movement from the immense pain from impact with the tree. He continues to stare at Aiko's lifeless body when a black curtain is dropped in front of him. He wrinkles his eyebrows and looks up to see the hideous youma again. He becomes enraged and tries to sit up to attack him for what he has down, but simple slides back down the tree into his sitting position. The youma leans down and sits next to him.
'You.killed her..you killed.' Kokuen stammers out. The youma brings a finger to Kokuen's lips.
'Shhh, Shhh.yes I killed her, but do you know why?' He asked looking at the side of Kokuen's face. Kokuen's tears continue to stream.
'Because.because I couldn't protect.her.' he answers. The youma nods his head and points to Healer kneeling and crying in front on Aiko.
'But.isn't it her job to protect her as well.I mean.she a Sailor Senshi, it's her job.' The youma says. Kokuen wrinkles his eyebrows.
'She has nothing..to ..do with this..she tried to..' Kokuen started but was cut off.
'She tried to but she still failed.there was large gap in-between there when she could have showed up and saved her, don't you think?' the youma asks waving his arm around.
'Well yeah.but she was.running as fast.as...she could...right?' Kokuen asks. The youma chuckles.
'Oh come now..she could've just flew her if she wanted to I mean..she's a Sailor Senshi..come on!' Kokuen slowly turns his head to the youma looking directly into his eyes. The youma's eyes are glowing red, but don't seem quite as enticing as before. The youma smiles and continues to try and work his mind controlling magic.
'She...could have ..gotten here.sooner you think?' Kokuen asks and stares of into space, thinking on what the youma has suggested.
'Perfect.' the youma thinks, 'peeerfect. If I can get him to totally believe that Healer did this..then I can persuade him onto my side and he can be the one to bring me energy.I can tell him its for revenge.yes perfect..'
'Yes.I think so.she.could have saved.her.definitely.' Kokuen says.
'Yes, definitely.' The youma says, and thinks a moment. 'So in actuality.I've done nothing. It was all Healer's fault that your beloved Aiko died.' Kokuen looks up into the youma's again; his eyes as well glow red.
'Yeah.you're right .it was her..she did that to.Aiko.' Kokuen says starting to regain a little bit of strength. The youma bring a hand to his lips,
'so I think I have a good deal for you.since Iam kind of gifted in the 'magic' department.how bout I help you with a little revenge..? The youma offers. Kokuen pushes himself into a comfortable position.
'Revenge.on Healer? The one who killed my Aiko?!' he says getting a little bit too loud. Healer looks up from her mourning to see what the voice was. She stands up and walks towards Kokuen and the youma.
'Hello? Is anybody out there? Are you alright?' She calls. The youma waves a hand in front of he and Kokuen. Seconds later, Healer pulls back the bush and stares directly into Kokuen's eyes.
'Hello?' She asks again. Kokuen scoots back and widens his eyes.
'She.she can't see me, can she?' he whispers. The youma nods.
'Or hear you either.quite nifty, my magic.wouldn't these things be helpful when dealing with revenge?' the youma asks.
'Well yeah.' Kokuen says relaxing a bit.
'But what.are you just gonna give me your powers and let me have my revenge for nothing?' Kokuen turns to the youma with a confused look on his face. The youma shakes his head.
'Nooo Nooo Nooo, not that easy. I need something in return. You see, I need energy in order to survive. I if don't get any every once in a while..I die. But lately I've been getting a little bored with it. So I will give you duplicates of my powers, me still keeping mine, and let you go and get me energy. You can do this while on your hunt for revenge.You know whenever you need to vent or something. Hey if you get powerful enough then you could take over the palace and have you and I run Kinmoku!' Healer looks around some more and leans up very close to Kokuen's face. Kokuen narrows his eyes at her.
'Take a good look at her.She is your enemy now.follow her every move, in order to follow her and complete your revenge.' The youma says. Kokuen stands up as well as Healer. Healer lets out a sad sigh and turns around, heading for Aiko. The youma stands up next to Kokuen and turns to him with his arm outstretched.
'So do we have a deal?' Kokuen follows Healer as she gently picks up Aiko's dead body and puts it on her shoulder. She turns slowly and starts to walk away. Kokuen abruptly turns to the youma and clasps his hand.
'Deal!' he yells.
*/*/*/*/ End of Flashback
The dark grey storm clouds now looming over Kokuen's head started to drip water on him. Suddenly a huge downpour of rain fell from the sky, abruptly bringing Kokuen back into reality. He frowned and raised his sopping wet arm.
'Great..just what I needed, to get soaked but a sudden downpour.' Kokuen mumbled. He looked up into the sky and let the rain hit his face.
'Aiko.I will avenge you.' he lingered a moment and then marched back inside.
'God I hate rain.' he mumbled.
*/*/*/*/
Yaten walked in and locked the door behind him. Minako was standing near the door and fumbling around trying to find the light switch. Yaten turned to find Minako having some difficulties. He chuckled softly and leaned over, finding the light switch immediately and flicked it on. Minako turned and smiled at him.
'Thank you Lovely.' she said with a kiss. Yaten smiled as well and went to pull Minako into his arms when she raised a hand to her mouth to cover it from yawing.
'Oh my Love..' Yaten cooed, 'Are you sleepy?' Minako rubbed at her eyes.
'Yeah.kinda.' she said semi-sleepily.
'Well then, you go right to bed and get some sleep. I think I'm going to go sit out on the balcony for while.' Yaten took her by the hand and started to lead her to his bed. Minako pulled back in protest.
'I don't want to go to bed nooooow!!' she whined, 'I want to stay up with youuuu!!' Yaten grabbed her hand again and skillfully spun her into his arms. Once in his arms, he bent down and picked her, preventing anymore struggles.
'Yaateeeeeeeeen!' Minako whined again, kicking her feet.
'Shhh.' he said and hushed her with a kiss; then gently set her down on his bed and began to nestle her into the warm covers. He tucked the covers in around her shoulder, catching a glimpse of her pouty face. He hung his head and brought his arms in around her body.
'Minako, don't be like this.I will come to bed very soon and snuggle you.' He said and looked back at her. Minako shifted her eyes around, in a thinking sort of way, but finally shook her head in agreement.
'Good. Now Goodnight my Love..' Yaten said with another kiss.
'Goodnight Lovely.' Minako said and yawned again. Yaten sat up from his bed and Minako snuggled herself into a comfortable position and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. 'Yaten' let out a sigh of relief.
'Good GOD.she finally fell asleep.I don't think I could have handled her anymore.' He walked up to the frame of the balcony doors and turned to look back at Minako.
'I mean sure she's gorgeous.but how can Yaten love that horridly happy attitude.'
'Ugh.' he shuddered in disgust and walked out onto the balcony. It wasn't a particularly beautiful night out. Dark storm clouds rolled across the sky, covering the brilliant shine of the stars. There was no wind blowing, but it was still rather chilly out. With the wind not blowing, the world seemed eerily quiet. And with no other distractions, or anything interesting to catch his eye, 'Yaten' simply started to drift off from the rest of the world...but there was only one thing on his mind to think about, his one and only true love.Aiko.
*/*/*/*/*/* Flashback
A young couple lay close to each other on the soft green grass and watch the stars in the dull red sky. The girl sighs and rolls over halfway onto the boy. He brings his hand up and idly plays with a lock of her long red hair. She turns her head upwards and mumbles into his neck.
'It's such a beautiful night out tonight.don't you think so, Kokuen?' Kokuen giggles and shifts his neck; Aiko's warm breath on his neck tickles him. Aiko giggles for she knows it bothers him and hugs him tight.. Kokuen wraps his arms around her and sits up, keeping a tight hold of her.
'I love you Aiko..' He whispers. Aiko smiles and gently nods her head.
'And I love you too.' she replies. Kokuen suddenly jerks away from Aiko and grabs her shoulders and looks into her eyes with a stern look on his face. Aiko is a bit surprised.
'I would do anything for you Aiko.Anything.for you and your happiness.' he says as stern as he looks. Aiko smiles again and shakes her head. She places a hand on either side of Kokuen's face and cradles it. 'You don't have to worry about anything like that, my love. Knowing that you will be by my side till the end of time makes me happy.just you my love, just you.' she whispers. Kokuen blushes and looks down at the ground.
'Just me?' He asks childishly. Aiko brings a hand under his chin and raises his head up again.
'Yes.just you.' She says as she slowly leans closer to him. Aiko brushes her lips against Kokuen's and whispers into his mouth.
'You are all I'll ever want.' Kokuen slightly nods his head in agreement, completely captured by the feeling of Aiko's lips as she embraces him in a deep kiss. The couple share many more passionate kisses, but are startled by a strange rustling in the bushes. Kokuen abruptly breaks off the kiss and tenses up as a strange feeling overcomes him.
'What was that..?' he hisses. Aiko shakes her head and loosely grips his shirt.
'I don't know.maybe it was just a cat or something.' She whispers. Kokuen clams down a bit at the simple thought of this. He loosens up a bit,
'Heh.you're probably right.' He shrugs. Aiko smiles and kisses him again.
'We got worked up over nothing.' she closes her eyes and hugs him tightly again. Kokuen returns the embrace, but keeps on his guard; he can't quite shake the strange feeling he has.
'There's something not right about this.' he thinks. While thinking, Kokuen hugs Aiko tighter. Aiko opens her eyes, wondering why he's hugging her so tightly when she notices a thin layer of red smoke starting to form in the air.
'Kokuen.what's this.?' She asks and leans back, facing him. Kokuen darts his head back and forth.
'It looks like fog.but it's red.very odd.' he mutters. Suddenly a thought hits him. He grabs Aiko's hands and jerks her up into a standing position.
'What? What is it?!' she asks, getting a little frightened from his sudden actions. Kokuen turns to her,
'A youma! A youma!! That's the only thing it could be!!' he exclaims. Aiko widens her eyes in fear.
'Oh my gosh.a youma.we.we have to get out of here!' She whispers back. Kokuen looks around for a second and then points out in front of him.
'This way is the way we came, right?' he asks.
'Yeah.let's go now Kokuen.' Aiko replies. She looks around her noticing the mysterious red fog is getting considerably thicker.
'Come on!' Kokuen yells and starts to run, halfway dragging Aiko behind him. They continue to run, but end up getting nowhere.
'Kokuen! The fog is too thick I can't see where we're going!' Aiko says franticly.
'Damn! Neither can I!!' Kokuen growls, 'Just stay close to me, O.K.?' Aiko nods and clutches onto him, burying her head into his chest.
'I'm scared Kokuen.' she says, her voice quivering. Kokuen puts a hand on top of her head and softly pushes her into him even more.
'You'll be alright.I'll protect you no matter what.' Kokuen says reassuringly in an effort to try and calm Aiko down.
'It will take a lot more than just a fragile young boy to stop me..' says a dark raspy voice from somewhere above them. Both Kokuen and Aiko jerk their head upwards to see a dark cloaked figure hovering in front of them. Kokuen and Aiko stumble backwards away from him.
'What do you want?!' Kokuen demands. The cloaked man floats down and lands on the ground.
'What do I want? What a silly question to ask a 'youma' as you call me.' He raises his head high enough to see the evil smirk on his lips. Kokuen musters his courage and lets go of Aiko. He jumps in front of her and puts out both of his arms in an attempt to try and shield her. Aiko puts her both her hands on his back and stays close to him.
'Don't you dare touch her!' Kokuen yells. The youma chuckles.
'How very sweet.are you willing to sacrifice yourself for her?' He asks bringing a hand to his lips.
'Well then...let's just find out if you can indeed protect her life with you own.' The youma says as he slowly raises his head up, revealing his red flashing eyes. Kokuen braces himself as the youma takes a step forward. He takes another step forward but vanishes as he does so. Kokuen lets up on his guard for a moment in confusion of where he went to. But the youma takes this to his advantage and materializes charging at him just a few feet away. Just as the youma is about to slam head on into Kokuen, he reaches out and grabs his wrists, stopping the youma just inches away from his face. Kokuen grits his teeth as he hold the youma's wrists in a death lock. The youma sneers at Kokuen.
'Impressive.you're stronger than I thought' he remarks. Kokuen smirks.
'That's right.I'm no fragile young boy..' The chuckles and quickly flips his wrists out of Kokuen's grasp and grabs onto his. Kokuen is taken aback at his sudden movements.
'What the..--!' Kokuen starts, but is cut off as the youma starts to squeeze his wrists harder and harder.
'Yes strong.but still not strong enough.' The youma remarks. Aiko, still gripping onto Kokuen starts to scream,
'Stop it!!!! Stop it, you're hurting him!!!!!' She screams at the top of her lungs. Kokuen winces in pain and grunts.
'It's O.K..Aiko.' He says squeezing his eyes shut. The youma starts to laugh out loud.
'Haaahahaha! Yes Aiko, things will perfectly fine!!!' He says mocking Kokuen. He continues to laugh as he raises Kokuen off of his feet. Aiko stumbles back a little bit but still tries to stay as close to Kokuen as she can. Kokuen opens one eye to see his feet dangling above the ground and tries to kick at the youma. The youma quickly takes both wrist into one hand and blocks the kick.
'Nice try...' he says, 'but still not good enough.' Kokuen still struggles kicking his feet and shaking around, hoping the youma will loose his grip on him. Kokuen finally does plant a good kick square into the youma's stomach. The youma grunts in pain and jerks his head to Kokuen, his eyes flashing red again.
'That was not a good idea...' The youma says and lets go of his leg and straightens up. The youma lets go of Kokuen's wrists and jerks his arm away from him. Kokuen smiles now that he is free, but the smile soon vanishes from his lips and he realizes, he can't move.
Aiko smiles as well and jumps up and down.
'Kokuen you can fight now!!' she cheers happily and grabs onto his shoulders. Kokuen doesn't react to Aiko's touch, which confuses her.
'Kokuen?' She asks, getting worried again.
'Aiko.I can't move.you.need to .run.now!!' Kokuen says through grit teeth. Aiko shakes her head and lets go of him. The youma leans close to Kokuen's face and smirks again.
'Nice trick, huh?' He says. Kokuen continues to struggle against the youma.
'You cheat.doing this.to ..me...' he says back.
'Oh well.' the youma says and slamming his open palm into Kokuen's chest with an incredible force. The hit sends Kokuen flying backwards as Aiko is pushed onto the ground. Kokuen is thrown through a patch of bushes and violently slams into a tree trunk. Aiko hits the ground and starts to make a struggle to get back up again when the youma turns and walks up to her. The youma raises his hand into the air, making Aiko start to float off the ground. She tightens her hands into fists and brings them up to her face and screams as loud as she can.
*/*/*/*/*/ On the Other Side of the Forest or So.
Healer swipes a hand through her long silver hair as the gentle breeze tosses it about.
'What a beautiful night for a walk..' She thinks. She takes a deep breath and continues on the small dirt trail through the forest. A shrill scream piercing through the quiet night startles her.
'What the---!!!' She says and turns around, 'someone's in trouble.' she dashes into the forest following the sound of the scream.
*/*/*/*/*/ The youma and Aiko
The youma winces at her scream.
'That wasn't a very good thing to do now was it?' Aiko wriggles around in the air, trying in vain to get down.
'Kokuen!!!' she screams again, 'Kokuen!!!' The youma reaches his hand out and snatches her by the neck.
'Keep screaming and you'll end up alerting someone to my presence. That wouldn't be very good, now would it?' He says squeezing gently at her neck. Aiko tries desperately to pull his strong arms away from her, but sadly fails. The youma squints his eyes and brings a hand to his head; a look of pain falling onto his face. He waits a moment for the pain to wash away and looks back up, into Aiko's eyes.
'I'm getting weaker.I haven't had any fresh energy in a long while and it's time that I got it.' He continued to look into Aiko's pleading eyes.
'..And that's just what you're for my dear.' the youma's eyes flash red again and Aiko starts to emit a strange blue glow. After a moment, the blue aura around Aiko starts to slowly crawl up the youma's arm and down the rest of his body, surrounding him as well. The youma closes his eyes again and shudders with delight as he feels Aiko's energy surge through his body. The delightful surge of energy causes him to loosen his grip on Aiko's just enough for her to make a last dying scream.
*/*/*/*/*/ Healer
Healer spins around in the dark forest.
'Damn..' She spins in a different direction.
'Damn!!!... I can't tell where the attack is at anymore.' She stands for a moment, straining her ears to hear anything of help, anything at all.when her plea is answered at the second scream.
'There!' She turns slightly and bolts in that direction. She runs as fast as she can, occasionally slamming through small branches and cutting herself. She winces at the sharp pain as each branch whips across her.
'This pain is nothing..' She thinks 'all that matters is that I save this person.' She grits her teeth and runs on.
*/*/*/*/*/ Aiko and the Youma
The youma growls at hearing a second ear piercing scream, he quickly squeezes her throat again, choking her. She tries to gasp for breath, but finds herself getting considerably weaker.
'Why am I so weak...it's so hard to keep a grip on him.I can't loosen up..I'll.I'll...die.' even as she tries to will herself to keep holding on, Aiko's strength is slowly being drained from her body. Her grip eventually loosens completely and her arms hang lifelessly at her sides. The youma smiles at her and licks his lips.
'Feels good.' the youma says with a smile. Aiko looks down on him with pleading eyes, begging him to stop. There is the sound of branches snapping in the not so distant woods, it's getting closer at an exceptionally fast rate.
'Looks like your screams have stirred up some help.but no matter.you wont need any by the time they get here.' Aiko's breath now comes in short gasps. She squeezes her eyes shut, her life slowly coming to an end.
'Kokuen..I..love..you.' se struggles out with her last breath. A sheath of black goes over her eyes and her entire body goes limp. The youma simply lets go of her and lets her lifeless body fall to the ground with a thud. The youma stretches his neck out
'Ah.just what I needed...aaah' he raises his arms into the air and stretches them out as well, but is startled by a loud crack very close to him in the woods.
'Oh yes..her help is nearby.I should be going now.' he looks over to see Kokuen slumped against the tree. He raises an eyebrow and saunters over to Kokuen.
'Maybe he and I can have a little talk ad I can get myself some energy a little quicker.' The youma smirks and disappears as soon as Healer comes rushing into the clearing. She breathes heavily surveying the area, trying to find out who was screaming when his eyes fall onto the dead body of Aiko. She slowly brings a hand to her mouth and shakes her head.
'No.what has happened here?' Healer slowly walks up to the body and kneels to the side of it. She hesitantly reaches out a hand and places it on the girls shoulder. She doesn't stir.
'She's dead..i got here.too late.' guilt sweeps over Healer as tears start to well up in her eyes.
'I was too late..' She cries, 'too late.' Kokuen still sits; he has watched the entire scene. From as soon as the youma grabbed Aiko, to her struggle, to her death and finally to Healer rushing up. The tears are already streaming down Kokuen's flushed face. He has given up on any movement from the immense pain from impact with the tree. He continues to stare at Aiko's lifeless body when a black curtain is dropped in front of him. He wrinkles his eyebrows and looks up to see the hideous youma again. He becomes enraged and tries to sit up to attack him for what he has down, but simple slides back down the tree into his sitting position. The youma leans down and sits next to him.
'You.killed her..you killed.' Kokuen stammers out. The youma brings a finger to Kokuen's lips.
'Shhh, Shhh.yes I killed her, but do you know why?' He asked looking at the side of Kokuen's face. Kokuen's tears continue to stream.
'Because.because I couldn't protect.her.' he answers. The youma nods his head and points to Healer kneeling and crying in front on Aiko.
'But.isn't it her job to protect her as well.I mean.she a Sailor Senshi, it's her job.' The youma says. Kokuen wrinkles his eyebrows.
'She has nothing..to ..do with this..she tried to..' Kokuen started but was cut off.
'She tried to but she still failed.there was large gap in-between there when she could have showed up and saved her, don't you think?' the youma asks waving his arm around.
'Well yeah.but she was.running as fast.as...she could...right?' Kokuen asks. The youma chuckles.
'Oh come now..she could've just flew her if she wanted to I mean..she's a Sailor Senshi..come on!' Kokuen slowly turns his head to the youma looking directly into his eyes. The youma's eyes are glowing red, but don't seem quite as enticing as before. The youma smiles and continues to try and work his mind controlling magic.
'She...could have ..gotten here.sooner you think?' Kokuen asks and stares of into space, thinking on what the youma has suggested.
'Perfect.' the youma thinks, 'peeerfect. If I can get him to totally believe that Healer did this..then I can persuade him onto my side and he can be the one to bring me energy.I can tell him its for revenge.yes perfect..'
'Yes.I think so.she.could have saved.her.definitely.' Kokuen says.
'Yes, definitely.' The youma says, and thinks a moment. 'So in actuality.I've done nothing. It was all Healer's fault that your beloved Aiko died.' Kokuen looks up into the youma's again; his eyes as well glow red.
'Yeah.you're right .it was her..she did that to.Aiko.' Kokuen says starting to regain a little bit of strength. The youma bring a hand to his lips,
'so I think I have a good deal for you.since Iam kind of gifted in the 'magic' department.how bout I help you with a little revenge..? The youma offers. Kokuen pushes himself into a comfortable position.
'Revenge.on Healer? The one who killed my Aiko?!' he says getting a little bit too loud. Healer looks up from her mourning to see what the voice was. She stands up and walks towards Kokuen and the youma.
'Hello? Is anybody out there? Are you alright?' She calls. The youma waves a hand in front of he and Kokuen. Seconds later, Healer pulls back the bush and stares directly into Kokuen's eyes.
'Hello?' She asks again. Kokuen scoots back and widens his eyes.
'She.she can't see me, can she?' he whispers. The youma nods.
'Or hear you either.quite nifty, my magic.wouldn't these things be helpful when dealing with revenge?' the youma asks.
'Well yeah.' Kokuen says relaxing a bit.
'But what.are you just gonna give me your powers and let me have my revenge for nothing?' Kokuen turns to the youma with a confused look on his face. The youma shakes his head.
'Nooo Nooo Nooo, not that easy. I need something in return. You see, I need energy in order to survive. I if don't get any every once in a while..I die. But lately I've been getting a little bored with it. So I will give you duplicates of my powers, me still keeping mine, and let you go and get me energy. You can do this while on your hunt for revenge.You know whenever you need to vent or something. Hey if you get powerful enough then you could take over the palace and have you and I run Kinmoku!' Healer looks around some more and leans up very close to Kokuen's face. Kokuen narrows his eyes at her.
'Take a good look at her.She is your enemy now.follow her every move, in order to follow her and complete your revenge.' The youma says. Kokuen stands up as well as Healer. Healer lets out a sad sigh and turns around, heading for Aiko. The youma stands up next to Kokuen and turns to him with his arm outstretched.
'So do we have a deal?' Kokuen follows Healer as she gently picks up Aiko's dead body and puts it on her shoulder. She turns slowly and starts to walk away. Kokuen abruptly turns to the youma and clasps his hand.
'Deal!' he yells.
*/*/*/*/ End of Flashback
The dark grey storm clouds now looming over Kokuen's head started to drip water on him. Suddenly a huge downpour of rain fell from the sky, abruptly bringing Kokuen back into reality. He frowned and raised his sopping wet arm.
'Great..just what I needed, to get soaked but a sudden downpour.' Kokuen mumbled. He looked up into the sky and let the rain hit his face.
'Aiko.I will avenge you.' he lingered a moment and then marched back inside.
'God I hate rain.' he mumbled.
*/*/*/*/
