BISHLOV: It's rushed as usual so don't expect too much. Thanks for the reviews. Responses are in my email notification. Oh, and I reverted to calling Tsukiho as 'he' rather than 'it'. I know. I confuse myself most of the time too. ^.^
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 MINEBy bishounen lovah
Chapter 11
Ganko tried her best to lift the fog blocking her mind. Ever since Kondo...no! Ever since Tsukiho had released the sonic howl, she hadn't been able to focus on the task at hand. The howl took her by surprise primarily because she did not expect Tsukiho would be able to tap into Kondo's special abilities. The next thing she knew she was huddling among the crates trying to cover her ears while at the same time protecting the back of her head from the glass shards flying her way.
Her blue eyes were glossed over by tears of pain as she tried her best to remove the sharp things from her flesh. What really were just a few minutes seemed like an hour as piece by piece she removed the shards. By the time she was finished, her teeth were gritting in pain. Once her mind had more or less cleared, she began to notice the eerie silence in the air. She lifted her head just in time to see Kaoru double over in pain then fell down to a dead faint.
"NO!" She screamed and ran to him, ignoring the fox that was licking his fur clean. "Kaoru! Kaoru!"
She willed his eyes to open. She wanted him to wake up and give her that cheeky grin. She wanted to hear him call her his baby again. She wanted him to do the things she found so irritating yet so endearing. But it seemed impossible. His blood was seeping through his clothes, staining even the floor. His color was fast disappearing and so was his warmth.
He was dying right before her very eyes.
"Damn you, Koganei! You said you weren't going to leave me. You said you'd protect me forever. You promised," Ganko cried out brokenly. She buried her face against his neck and mumbled a few more curses along the way.
"There's no point in talking to the dead, my dear. He's too far gone to hear you." Tsukiho started walking towards them in a leisurely pace. To his irritation, the girl ignored him and continued sobbing on the pathetic boy. After several seconds, Tsukiho decided to leave her be. He was not cruel. He could let her savor her last few moments of freedom before he took her away.
He crossed the vast ground to where the mannequin parts lay. He dug through the pile of limbs, heads and torsos, and dragged chosen body parts with his mouth. When all were laid out, he deactivated the Kata Kugutsu and laid the madougu on a wooden hand. There were no changes in his form except that he was smaller and weaker.
The broken dummy glowed and started to float a foot from the ground. Within a minute, each part attached itself to other parts. Head, arms and legs screwed themselves to the torso until the mannequin was complete. Once the assembly was done, Tsukiho walked around the dummy checking for faults. Satisfied, he tested the madougu.
"Rise." Stiffly, the mannequin stood and the fox bared his fangs into a grin. "Perfect."
The fox suddenly dropped to the ground, almost lifeless. If anyone else was about, he would have seen a ghostly figure of a man rising like a mist from the fox's body, reaching for the naked mannequin. A moment later, the mannequin was moving on its own. Its arms were raised to face level, glass eyes watched as wooden fingers twitched one at a time.
Tsukiho bent over the fox and callously unclipped the other madougu from one furry ear. There was a brief red flash then the light revealed a lifeless stuffed kitsune. There was only one thing left for Tsukiho to do in order to resurrect himself. He clipped the puppet animator to his own ear and relished the feeling of warmth spreading throughout his wooden body.
Once a wood was now flesh and blood. He was human again. The sister puppet madougu had resurrected him. At last! He was alive again!
He ran his hands over his arms and chest, tested his legs and stretched his body. Everything was perfect. He sauntered over to the crates and opened one of the two backpacks perched on top of them. He knew it contained the boy's spare clothes. They were a bit small for his frame but they will do. The cold night air was affecting his new, naked body.
Once clothed, he reverted his attention to his last goal. The girl…Ganko. She would make a nice companion. Young and beautiful. It was just a matter of controlling her mind for her to do his every bidding.
It wasn't as easy as he thought though. The girl was still ignoring him, so deep was her grief. He would have to knock her out to take her away where her friends wouldn't be able to track her down. But before he could take more than a few steps towards her, something unexpected happened. Something that wasn't in his plans.
The girl hushed down a bit but that wasn't what caught his attention. Ganko started glowing. An ethereal light blanketed her body, giving off a calm atmosphere despite the stench of death permeating the air. Tsukiho decided not to wait any further but as soon as he took a step forward, the light flashed brighter, blinding him momentarily.
~*~
The warmth had broken through her senses but it didn't come from the body underneath her. Instead it was all around her, swirling about in hues of different colors. She didn't have to open her eyes to see them. She knew. Just as she knew that the metal box of the Spirit Ball she had left behind among the crates had somehow transported itself in her hands. The once cold surface was now warm in her hands. She could feel the great energy striving to be released, almost showing her telepathically how to open the box.
There were consequences, she was silently being told. The madougu had no guardian or keeper. It had no contract to sign or pledge to keep. But there was an understanding between the device and its new wielder. It would help her save the life of her special one by using the energy of a soul. But it would need another soul in replacement. One that would have to sustain it for centuries to come once it was automatically sealed again. And there was only one other soul available.
Hers.
No contest there. An eye for an eye. A life for a life. A soul for a soul. Nobody would lose except for Tsukiho. Ganko would have her wish granted and Kaoru would have his life.
She stood up, her decision made. She faced the stranger in front of her, only he wasn't a stranger. He was her enemy. The man who took the life of her beloved. The man who will cease to exist once she was through.
The metal casing of the madougu unfolded and inside a sphere the size of a marble floated just above her palms. It was crystal clear, the inside empty. But then it was starting to gain color. She was so enthralled of the swirling black mist appearing inside the Spirit Ball that she did not notice the man's scream. Tsukiho's soul was being sucked by the madougu with no effort at all. It was that powerful.
Soon Ganko became aware of a dull thud. It was over. The mannequin lay lifeless on the cement floor and Tsukiho was now trapped inside the small sphere. The black mist kept on swirling restlessly inside, trying to escape. And then the color started lightening. His soul was being cleansed and converted to energy that could be used to revive Kaoru. As soon as the blackness was replaced by a golden hue, Ganko laid the ball in Kaoru's palm and covered it with hers.
The energy began to transfer to him. His wounds started to heal and his warmth and color started to return. With each second the golden aura was transferred to him, it was quickly replaced by a blue one as Ganko's spirit was being depleted by the madougu. She was getting weak but she did not intend to let go that easily.
She tried to fight it at first but then realized that the more she held back, the longer it took for Kaoru to heal. So she just let the Spirit Ball take over. She leaned over his body, memorizing every inch of his face, trying to imagine his fanged grin one last time.
"Kaoru," she whispered just above his lips. She couldn't say what she wanted to say. Slowly she felt her energy drain. She laid half atop the boy, clinging to him with her remaining strength. Her last conscious breath was heard even if it was muffled against Kaoru's chest. The last of her energy was sucked dry. It could be seen clearly in her eyes as they lost their jeweled brightness and turned into dark, dull blue.
And in between their hands, the sapphire Spirit Ball was magically sealed in the metal box again. In the space of thirty minutes, the battle had been fought. In the end, nobody had won.
Tsukiho may have been defeated but the young couple had lost the most important thing they hold dear.
They lost each other.
And like every classical star-crossed lover's tale, theirs ended bitterly. The boy woke up and took in the unnatural silence but rejected the possibility. He was wrong though. He examined his love's almost lifeless body, tried to shake her awake. When she didn't he did the only thing he could do.
He let out a deep cry of pain, buried his face against her neck and cried dry tears. He heaved her body across his lap and rocked her as if putting a babe to sleep.
That was how morning found them.
That was how their friends found them.
Too late. It was all too late.
To be continued…
BISHLOV: *evil grin*
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! MAY YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES HAVE A PEACEFUL, BLESSED AND PROSPEROUS 2003!!!