Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Seed or the characters….

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this up. You see, the disk I had it on committed suicide and I lost all my stories that I had on it. So, I had to rewrite this chapter all over again, so it may not as be as good as I hoped. Please review and tell me what you think!

Chapter Nine

Smoke rose in to the sky like a loud grown echoing from the deep depths of hell. Fire dangerously licked the sky, curling it's fingers towards the heavens above. Nothing was safe, not even those of the Arigami, whose powers were strong enough to defeat even the toughest militia. Destruction was everywhere, flooding across the land like lava spewing down an erupting volcano. Not only was the forest being destroyed, but so was the little hope people bared inside of them.

Explosions could be heard across the land, as if something evil was laughing maliciously over a microphone. A ring of smoke and fire encircled the forest, as if a large asteroid crashed into the land. But only, it wasn't an asteroid that caused this explosion. No, it was something far more dangerous than that. It was something that had the power to destroy everything in sight.

Murakumo and Akima sat on a grassy hill, watching the fire and smoke mingling in the sky. They didn't know what had happened. It couldn't have been an asteroid or something from space, since they would have seen it entering the Earth's atmosphere.

"What the hell was that?" Akima asked, quickly getting to her feet.

Murakumo stood up and stared at the treetops. Devastation extended for as far as the naked eye could see, unyielding from ceasing. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was unbelievable, even to him, whom has seen enough obliteration to last a whole lifetime.

"I'm not sure," Murakumo said, and let out a snort. "But I believe it's a certain sign that the war has started."

Akima sucked in air, letting a faint scream to escape her mouth. "War?" she repeated.

Honestly, she didn't want to go in to war. It's not that she was afraid to fight, because she wasn't, she's actually very brave and strong when it comes to fighting in a war. It's just that she knew war meant that she may never see Murakumo again and to her, that was worse than death. She wanted to run away and be with him forever, though she would never admit it out loud.

She wanted to beg for him to forget about his loyalty to the Arigami and just be with her. But she knew he could never to that. He's bound to the Arigami like flower to a stem: he couldn't survive with out them. Not even love could tear him away from his duties.

"Akima, I want you to go down the hill and in to the forest to see what has happened," he said, turning to her. "I will go to the camp where Kusanagi is holding the Kushinada."

She nodded. "I will."

Murakumo looked at her and then started to walk away.

She stared after him, wondering on whether or not this would be the last time she'll see him. Her feelings for him took over her body and made her run after him. She grabbed the back of his jacket. He stopped, tensing his muscles.

With his back still facing her, he said, "What is it, Akima?"

She took in a deep breath, holding back the tears that wanted to fall from her swollen eyes. "Promise me I'll see you again," she said. "Give me some hope for our future."

"Akima," he started, and turned to her. He touched her cheek, looking into her eyes intensely. "I can't promise you that, it would be promising the impossible." His eyes were sincere, telling her that he was trying his hardest to be truthful. "But what I can promise you is that I promise I'll always be with you, even if it's not physically."

She knew that was all he could say. "Good-bye, Murakumo," she said, leaving hi with a smile, even though she was crying inside. She started down the hill, feeling his eyes fixed on her back. She wanted to look back at him so badly, but it would only make leaving him harder than it already is. So she kept her eyes locked on the forest ahead, ready to face whatever danger that laid in front of her, even if it meant never returning back to him ever again.

--

Kusanagi jumped from treetop to treetop through the vast forest. All he heard were explosions, as if bombs were going off one by one. It was weird, though. He thought he would at least hear the desperate calls of birds or growls of scared animals. But he heard none of that, it was as if the animals and birds were dead or the quickly fled from the area all at once to escape danger.

He got to the center of the forest and stopped. He kneeled on a large tree limb, scanning the forest. "What's going on?" he asked, as if expected the tree to answer him back.

As he stared into the woods, he noticed something move. It looked like a tall green giant with spikes projecting from its shoulders. It was like something taken right out of a fairytale or maybe even a nightmare. Just when he thought he saw enough, he realized something was standing on top of the giant's head.

[That hair. That white cape. That evil grin.] His body stiffened in contempt. [Kaede.]

He tried his hardest to keep himself from attacking her. Now isn't the time to fight. He has a responsibility to protect the Kushinada, and to keep her from Kaede and Susana-oh. "It's not over, Kaede," he mumbled under his breath. "Not by a long shot." He took one last scornful look at her and then hurried back to the camp.

Once he got there, he swiftly untied Momiji from the thick tree trunk and tightly grabbed her arm. "Hurry. Let's go," he said, tugging on her arm. "We can't stay here any longer."

"Why?" Kome asked, standing up from a large boulder. "What's so wrong that we can't stay here?"

He looked at them with an edgy look flashing in his eyes. "Kaede is coming this way. I doubt she will give mercy to anything in her way." He gave them each a deep stare and then started to walk away with Momiji. "I advise you to leave at once, but I don't care what you do."

They didn't get very far, when Takeuchi said, while holding up her gun and aiming it at his back, "Wait. You can't take Momiji, Kusanagi. You're our enemy now."

Kusanagi stopped and turned to her. "I can do what I want. I have strict orders to keep the Kushinada from those who threaten the Arigami's plans. So-"

"I'll be fine," Momiji said, interrupting him. She put on an assuring smile. "Really."

Kunikida stared at the both of them. He knew he could trust Momiji. He didn't know about Kusanagi, whom claims he's with the Arigami and evil as ever. But like the sympathetic person Kunikida is, he believed that a part of Kusanagi was still good. A part not even the Arigami could take over. Or at least hopes they couldn't.

"Takeuchi, lower your gun," he said, and then looked at Momiji. "Go. We'll pack up our things and leave."

Kusanagi tightly held onto Momiji and fled in to the forest, leaving the others behind.

--

Akima aimlessly walked down the cobblestone path that was lined with evergreen shrubbery and trees. Her surroundings seemed unusual, as if nothing had happened. The trees still bloomed with brightly colored leaves and the ground still laid unscathed. It made her think twice about the direction she is going. She wondered if she was heading away from the impact site, instead of moving towards it.

As she walked, she noticed something familiar about the area she was in. "I've been here before," she said, eyeing the tree with carvings of animals on its trunk. "I've past that tree already."

She stopped suddenly and moaned in frustration. She has been walking in circles for the past twenty minutes! She couldn't believe it. Why hadn't she noticed it before? But then, her mind was occupied worrying about Murakumo than it was worrying about how to get to the destruction site. How could she allow herself to be tangled in love's glutinous web? It wasn't like her to permit something as irrational as love to take over her mind…

…although, she didn't mind it in a way. Love has a double meaning to her. Love for her work and love for…well, Murakumo. But in both instances, the degrees of it are both different in quantity and value. She loved working for the Arigami, she wouldn't want to do anything else in the whole world. Her other love, Murakumo, is just as important to her, maybe even more than that. He's everything she could ever want in a man: intriguing, handsome, dedicated, intelligent. The only thing, he's already in another relationship that will probably last forever, his correlation with the Arigami. The Arigami is the only thing standing in her way to have a real relationship with him. But not even she, a full-blooded soldier of the Arigami, could make him love her over the Arigami.

"I'm such a fool," she scolded herself, stomping her foot in hatred for herself. "To think he could ever love me!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't think she could cry; she always believed she had a heart of ice. Maybe her love for Murakumo defrosted her heart and made her feel compassion, a feeling she thought she would never have.

She started to run, tears falling off her face like rain on a car windshield. Her legs moved faster and faster, with her arms wildly pumping at her side. She didn't care where she was going, she just wanted to get out. She knew that she was running in circles, but somehow, she made herself believe that there was an end to it or an opening.

But as she ran, she felt the feeling of someone watching her. The feeling made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She kept her head straight, while shifting her eyes back and forth, scanning over the forest. She didn't see anything, which didn't actually make her feel better about the whole situation. Even though she can't see the person or thing that was watching her, it doesn't mean they still can't see her. And that made her get an eerie feeling.

Just when she thought nothing could slow her down, her mind started to wander, causing her to not concentrated on where she was going. The end result: her foot getting caught in an uprooted tree root and falling face-first to the ground.

"Damn," she muttered to herself, and spitted out the dirt that settled into her mouth. She started to lift herself off the ground, but stopped when she saw a familiar pair of boots in front of her face. She looked up to the face that she hated the very sight of. "Kaede."

Kaede laughed and kneeled down before her. "Reckless, Akima," she hissed with a conniving smile on her face. "You better enjoy the warm light of the sun, it will be your last. I promise you that."

--

Kusanagi held Momiji close to him as they ran down the dirt path, unknowing of what laid ahead of them.

"Kusanagi," Momiji said, out of breath, "I think it's safe for us to walk now."

He stopped and nodded to her. "I suppose you're right."

They slowed their pace to a stroll, allowing them to catch their breath. Momiji couldn't help to wonder if Kusanagi was still set in his ways about him being with the Arigami and not loving her anymore. The thought of him not loving her anymore made her want to burst out in to tears. She hated for them not being as close as they were before he turned evil. She wanted to be with him, not be captured by him.

"Momiji," he said. "What do you think about all this?"

Her head quickly turned to him. [Did he just call me "Momiji?" He did! He called me by my name, instead of referring to me as the Kushinada. Does this mean he's back to normal?]

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What do you think about the war?" he asked,

She frowned. She wasn't thinking about the war. She only thought about him. He was all she ever thought about. "Kusanagi…" she started.

He ignored her. "I think that the Arigami will win. Kaede and Susana-oh may be tough, but I assure you that their power is limited. The Arigami…"

She couldn't listen anymore. She couldn't take it. She pulled him close to her body and planted her lips on his. She didn't care if he pushed her away or even slapped her. It wouldn't hurt her. The only thing that would is him not loving her.

Kusanagi pushed her back a little and stared at her in confusion. "What are you doing?"

She looked down in hurt. Not only did she make a fool of herself, but she also got rejected from the man she loved. She made a mistake by thinking he would feel the same way about her. The Kusanagi that she loved is gone, suffocated by the Arigami. And she knew that the old him will never come back.

"You are weird," he said, and took her hand. "Come on, we have to get moving."

As they walked, there was a rustling in the woods. Kusanagi quickly stood Momiji behind his back and raised the blade fins from his arms. "Come out, coward!" he shouted. "Show yourself!"

And just then, a figure stepped out from the trees. When the figure stepped into the light, they could see who it was.

"Murakumo…" Kusanagi said, and fell to his knees. "How long were you standing there?"

He grinned. "Long enough, Kusanagi," he said. "Long enough."

--

To be continued…

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