MUST READ BISHLOV NOTES (PLUS SOME CHEAT NOTES):
[1] This is the ACTION PART…at least I tried it to be action-packed and not too hohum but I think I sucked with it.
[2] I keep on forgetting to mention something but not anymore. I borrowed the idea of the SPIRIT BALL from the anime Yu Yu Hakusho (also known as Ghost Fighter). I don't think I'm capable of making a cool psychic device as you would probably realize later on.
[3] A BRIEF SUMMARY on what happened to Kondo: Tsukiho (the bad guy) was fast losing energy and needed a body to shelter in. He chose to possess Kondo since, well, he didn't really have much choice. Ganko and the others didn't realize this because Tsukiho promptly went to sleep inside Kondo in order to regain some strength. He's not aware of anything that went on with the gang while he was sleeping. On the other hand, he became aware of Kondo's fighting capabilities and would be able to use it.
[4] Starting in this chapter, I'm going to refer to TSUKIHO/KONDO as an 'it' instead of a 'he' so you and I won't confuse the bad guy from Kaoru while reading. Plus you may find it hard to imagine someone as cute and fluffy as Kondo doing and saying bad things (because he's possessed) but please bear with me.
[5] Please take note that Kondo has TWO DEVICES now: the Kata Kugutsu/Puppet Converter and a made-up one, which is the Puppet Animator (I know the name still sucks but I can't do anything about it). The PUPPET CONVERTER, as you already know, can make a doll or mannequin talk and move. My PUPPET ANIMATOR can change that doll into a real biological being (in Kondo's case a live fox) as well as give the doll some additional powers. In the previous chapters, Kondo can't talk in his 'live' form but it will change in this chapter.
[6] Here are the five FORMS of the KOUGAN ANKI. There are actually six (the last one appeared in SODOM) but since I don't know what it looks like and had only read about what it could do I don't want to act like a know-it-all and use it in this fic.
Form 1: Fang. The simplest form and looks like a large knife.
Form 2: Dragon or Ryu. The chained sickle.
Form 3: Poles or Kyoku. The big scissors.
Form 4: Crescent or Mikazuki. The sharp boomerang.
Form 5: Darkness or An. The true form of the Kougan Anki, which is actually a bow and arrow.
[7] THANKS to all of the lovely people who are faithfully reviewing this story. You are my source of inspiration and my driving force in finishing as best and as fast as I can.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own FoR or any of its characters. This plot is a product of my imagination. Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.
BABY YOU'RE MINE
By bishounen lovah
Chapter 10
After an hour of waiting, nothing seemed to have happened. They waited for Tsukiho to come but he didn't. Kondo should have sensed him if he was around but the kitsune was silent all throughout the wait. Finally they conceded that Ganko's outburst was due to stress and exhaustion and not because of some sixth sense.
Kaoru never left her side despite of her protests. After several attempts to push him away she finally allowed him to pull her in his arms and comfort her. She didn't know what was up with her…why she was having hysterics. All she knew was the fear coursing through her body, giving her a sense of foreboding that made the hair on her back stand.
Seeing that Kaoru had everything under control and that no threat seemed to be about, the others left them be and headed to their homes to retire for the night. Only the two teens and Kondo were left in the abandoned building. The kitsune stood guard at the window, watching the others break up and go their own ways.
"Are you okay," Kaoru asked as soon as her shivering stopped but still continued on rubbing some warmth on her arms.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." She took several shaky deep breaths.
"Do you want to go home?"
"No, we should continue our training," Ganko said as she broke free from his arms and started to walk back to their training area.
He frowned at her back. She was distancing herself again, not to mention pushing herself too hard. "You're tired. You should go home and rest."
"I can't!" She stopped walking and faced him half in anger, half in frustration. "Don't you understand that I can't rest while that…that thing is out there? Once I let my guard down he'd haunt me until I'm dead!"
"It may never come to that, my dear Ganko."
She stiffened at the sound of that voice. It was one she would never forget as long as she was alive. It was the sound of death…cold, creepy and mocking. She looked around, searching for the source of the voice, instinctively turning her gaze to the fox with a sick grin.
"Boo," Tsukiho said through Kondo as soon as her eyes landed on the stuffed body. Though the body belonged to Kondo, the ghost's soul had taken complete control…movement, voice and all.
"Tsu-Tsukiho," she whispered, petrified to the spot for a moment.
Kaoru automatically placed himself in front of Ganko, shielding her from the danger. His senses hummed in preparation for the inevitable fight that was to come. He hoped that Kondo was still somewhere inside that fluffy body and tried to appeal to it. "Kondo, what are you doing?"
"Your pathetic little pet is gone now." The fox's body moved forward while Kaoru backed Ganko away to the general area where he left his Kougan Anki. "I've taken control of his body despite of my disgust. You see, I dislike canines of any kind. They're a bunch of filthy animals. But in order to stay, should I say, alive I needed a body and the Kata Kugutsu. And since this fur ball has the puppet twin devices, I had no other choice but place my spirit here."
"You've already gotten what you wanted. Why are you still bugging us?" Kaoru's eyes darted briefly to his madougu a few feet to his left. His mind was racing to work out a plan that would distract Tsukiho from him and Ganko while he retrieved the Anki.
"You? I have no use for you. What I want most is Ganko."
"What do you want from her?" Kaoru's anger was instantly triggered. "You can't have her. I won't let you touch even a single strand of her hair."
And then the chaos began. The fox's body glowed red, bloody mists swirling around the plushy. Kaoru knew that the puppet animator was activated and that soon a live fox would emerge. He took that chance to drag Ganko and shove her behind the stacks of wooden crates for cover. By the time he got to his Anki, a large red dog was snarling a few feet away from him.
"What I want, I get. No one, not even you, could stop me. Come on, little boy, let's see what you got."
Kaoru was momentarily dumbstruck. It seemed as though Tsukiho's spirit had magnified the kitsune's power and capabilities. How much, he didn't know. There was only one way to find out. Using the first form of his Anki, he charged towards the fox with the intent of maiming it if not cutting it in half. He thought it odd that Tsukiho did not move nor did it seem like it planned to move. The fox just stood there waiting for him. He was about to swing the Fang but was stopped by Ganko's shout.
"KAORU, DON'T!"
He twisted his wrist a bit so instead of hitting Tsukiho, his Kougan Anki lodged itself at the cemented ground beside the enemy. He wrenched it out effortlessly then jumped a few feet back for precaution. "Why'd you do that for?"
"You can't kill Kondo," Ganko cried back as she emerged from the crates. She was still a bit shocked at the turn of events. The one thing that shook her out of her trance was the image of Kondo getting killed. Though Tsukiho took over the kitsune's body, she knew that the real Kondo was still somewhere inside that body. She wouldn't be a good mistress and friend if she would let him die without a fight.
"But, baby, that's not Kondo anymore."
"He's still in there," she insisted. "I'd feel it if he's totally gone. Please, don't kill him Kaoru."
He looked dubiously from Ganko to Tsukiho then back to Ganko then sighed in resignation. He never could deny her anything. "All right, I'll try my best. I'm going to tire him out while you do your job."
By that he meant she should try to find a way to open the box and activate the Spirit Ball. It was dangerous to use it but they have no other choice. The battle would end tonight and in order to win they need to contain the spirit of the demented man. Ways on how he could fight the fox without killing it eluded him. Just the thought of the man that possessed the body made his blood boil.
"Lucky bastard," Kaoru cursed under his breath.
The large fox's ear twitched, indicating that he heard the remark despite of the distance and lack of loudness. He growled for a full second then lunged at the boy in full speed. Kaoru just noticed a ball of red fur whiz by, the wind it caused stirred his hair. He turned around just in time to hold off Tsukiho's attack with his Fang. He pushed it forcefully off him by swinging the Anki like a baseball bat using the flat side instead of the blade. It wasn't fast enough though for Tsukiho was able to scratch him with its sharp claws before it was hurled to the other side of the room. Four gashes appeared on his face, his blood falling down freely like waterfalls.
And Tsukiho just sat there licking the blood off his paws. "Perhaps I am lucky…but you're not. You can't kill me but I can sure as hell kill you. I can slice you into thin little strips and make sure that you feel every single cut. No one steals my Ganko."
"She's not yours and she'll never be. Nobody owns her," Kaoru wiped his cheek despite of the irritating sting. A moment later his Anki was turned into Ryu, its second form. He threw the sickle towards Tsukiho then maneuvered the chain so that it wound around the fox's startled body. The sickle lodged itself deeply against the wall, taking Tsukiho with it. Kaoru tightened the chain around the suspended fox, giving him barely enough space to breath. He was planning on making it pass out.
The fox opened its mouth, presumably to take its last conscious breath. But that wasn't the case. Tsukiho took that one deep breath then its eyes lit in a triumphant glint. It was already too late when Kaoru realized what the kitsune was up to.
His hold on the chain loosened. His hands automatically went to his ear to block the ear-splitting howl that came from Tsukiho. It was a bit useless though because he could still hear the awful sound and could feel the vibrations resonation in his skull. Soon, the windows all over the building started cracking then breaking into a thousand pieces.
Through the pain, Kaoru heard Ganko's sudden cry. He forced his eyes to open and saw her huddled among the crates, covered with cuts, some of which had broken pieces of glass embedded in her flesh. With a growl of fury, he grabbed the chain tighter and yanked it hard, causing the blade and Tsukiho to fly in the air. The suddenness of the action caused the enemy to stop howling. Kaoru took that opportunity to change the Kougan Anki into its fourth form, the Mikazuki.
He threw the boomerang in Tsukiho's direction. The kitsune managed to gain some balance in midair and twisted its body to dodge the Anki. Kaoru caught the boomerang upon its return and sent it flying again. But the enemy was fast, much faster than Kondo ever was. All Kaoru could see was a red blur dashing from one area to another. After a while, that red fur ball came zinging towards him.
He had expected him to attack. At the last possible moment, he manipulated the Anki back to Kyoku, the third form. Just as the fox was about to tear his throat open with its sharp claws, he managed to lodge the fox's head in between the scissor blades. Kaoru tightened the Kyoku enough to cut through the skin but was loose enough to prevent decapitation.
"DAMN IT, KONDO! WAKE UP!" He shook the Anki a bit, causing the fox's body to swing between the blades, drawing more blood.
"Go ahead, boy, kill me."
"Don't think that I won't, Tsukiho. You've caused enough damage. I ought to finish you off now for what you did to Ganko."
"You don't have the guts. Kill me and you'll kill the kitsune. Do you think your conscience could stand the heartbreak that she'll suffer once her beloved Kondo's gone?"
God, he hated it when an enemy made sense. He hated it when an underhand tactic was used. And he hated the maniacal grin that went along with it.
God, I hate him!
Kaoru threw the fox away from him then returned the Anki to its first form. He assumed a fighting stance and waited for the enemy to attack again. The bright red fur of the animal in front of him turned a shade deeper as its blood seeped through. In its eyes he could see that the real battle was about to begin.
"Enough of this foolish game, boy. I came here to collect the devices and Ganko," the fox snarled, its fangs showing. "I'm halfway through my mission and I won't let a brat like you ruin my plans." Tsukiho broke into a run and targeted Kaoru's chest area. The handle of the Fang blocked its attack but Tsukiho expected this. It called on the power of the sister madougu.
The device clamped on its ear gleamed and a second later its fur started to stand up. They stiffened and sharpened like long needles. Some of these needles embedded in Kaoru's flesh. Some were deep while others weren't. Unfortunately, two of those that pierced his stomach area were lethal. They were so deep, in fact, that one of those spines plunged through and through from his ventral side running diagonally to his backside.
With his remaining but rapidly dissipating strength, Kaoru pushed Tsukiho off him, along with its needle-like fur. The Kougan Anki clanged loudly and echoed around the suddenly silent building. He promptly dropped on all fours and watched fat drops of his blood raining from his body to the gray cement floor. It wasn't long when he tasted something bitter rising from his throat. He coughed it out, covering his mouth in the process, and was surprised to see blood on his palm.
That was the last thing he saw before his eyes clouded over and he felt himself falling into dark oblivion.
To be continued…