Oops... This is a bit late, ne? ^^;; Sorry! I was just trying to wrap up Kurayami in a good, long chappie, and... Eheh... Don't kill me? Please?
Well, remember that survey a while back, asking whether or not anyone would mind some slash mixed in? And how I said I WOULDN'T put it any shounen-ai in? We~ell...
I lied. ^^;; There IS going to be one-sided boy/boy attraction in here... Because my brain and Jo just wouldn't shut up about this one pairing... And neither would my creativity... Yeah. ^^;; Soo... On with the last chapter of Segment Four?
Reveiwers: SamaraRose7 (Heh... I'm not sure if you caught the edited version, but that explained a little more clearly, and I fixed quite a few mistakes. And for Japanese, I DO have those glossarys at the bottom... I'm sorry I missed you too! But here's a very belated seasons greetings, anyway. And as for the note... *Looks gloomy* I got a sappy letter from Mrs. Hayes, and a sorry note from from the person who sent the note. If you don't know who sent it, I won't tell you, but... *Sniffle* Why did SHE have to the the one who sent it? If it had been nearly anyone else, I could have shrugged it off, but... Her? *Sniffle*...)
Warnings: Very Neko-centric, since almost everyone but Neko-tachi is ready to go off to do their parts. And a slightly... Spooky? Creepy? Wrenching?... scene involving a Heartless, mental tourture, threats, and more than a little pain for me. Also, some semi-surprizing info that probably isn't TOTALLY accurate, since we don't have the Belgariad unpacked so I can check it. Was it 'Lord' or 'King'?...
Random Song of the Day (AKA Disclaimer): ~ Shiru! Shiru! Shiru shir hadash! Shiru! Hariu! Kol ha-a-a-a-retz!~
********************
Experimental
Kurayami: Part Fifteen
I Can Hear You Speaking
********************
~~~~~~~ Belgariad.
Dark Magician Girl is waiting in the hall, and Neko nods to her as she sets off to see Ce'Nerda. The Duel Monster follows Neko, a curious look on her face.
"Who in all the worlds IS he?"
Neko shrugs as she turns around to face the Duel Monster, walking backwards. "I'm not quite sure, really. I've know him for years... But this is the first time I've MET him, so to speak. Anou... He floats around in the back of my mind alot, doling out either bad advice or mystical prophesies." Neko looks off into the distance, thinking, and promptly trips over her own feet.
"CHIKUSHOU~!" Neko hisses out her large vocabulary of swearwords, rubbing her elbow where it hit the floor, and Dark Magician Girl chuckles.
"Well," giggle, "that's what you get when you think and walk backwards."
Neko glares at Dark Magician Girl for a moment, then rolls her pale violet eyes and stands up, rubbing her elbow. "Not funny," she says, "Not funny at all."
"If you say so, Neko."
Neko hisses at the jokingly condesating tone, then sticks her turned-up nose into the air.
Dark Magician Girl laughs at Neko, ruffling the girl's silvery hair. "Well, are you going to tell me more about this person you know, but havn't met?"
Neko looks miffed, but continues.
"He started hanging around when I was, let me see, about seven years old. A LOT of bad stuff was going on, back then. I lost half of my family... But he showed up, helped me and my brother figure out what to do, and stuck around after that. Or at least, he was there about half the time. When I was nine, I tried to commit suicide, and he was ALWAYS there, after that. We're good friends, now, in our way, but, as I said... I've never actually met him before now." Neko shrugs, absently brushing her bangs back. "I never even knew he HAD a name, before now. It's very appropriate, though, ne?" Neko smiles up at the blond. "Miru... The action of seeing, sight, a poetic way to say 'eye', all that sort of stuff. Yes, VERY appropriate."
They reach the door to the Royal suite, where Geran's parents (Garion and Ce'Nedra, joint rulers of Riva, Lord and Lady of the West, Ce'Nerda being refered to as Queen of the World in melinnia-old prophesies, and Garion also happening to be the Godslayer and one of the two living people who can touch the Orb of Aldur, that is, if Eriond, new God of Agnarak, could be considered 'living'...) tend to reside while not running around doing King-And-Queen sorts of stuff.
Neko knocks on the rather over-elaborate door.
After a moment, a maid opens the door, staring at the two with wide eyes as she curtseies.
"Hullo, miss," Neko begins, giving the maid a cheefull smile, "Is the queen in there, by any chance?"
"Er, yes, she is, mi'lady. Should I go tell her Majesty you're here?"
"Yep!"
The maid curtsies again, backing into the room and closing the door.
Dark Magician Girl shakes her head. "Doesn't all that mi'lady-ing annoy you, Neko?"
"Well, no, not particuarly. Seph-dono calls me mi'lady, when he teases me, so I've gotten used to it." She grins, and continues in a stage whisper, "That's why I add the 'dono' onto his name, to tease him back."
********************
~~~~~ Bastion
The Waterway, as always, is cold, damp, and frightening.
Not even the complete remodeling of the Bastion changed THIS area, the moving walls of wraught brass, the exposed metal pipes and grey stone of the unmoving walls, the floor of solid luke-warm water. And Sephiroth rather likes it down here, where they havn't made everything bright and beautiful again, where they havn't even tried to wipe out the darkness.
He comes down here to practice, most of the time- To practice, or to sit and just think, when his warm, comfortable, overstuffed leather chairs don't seem to really draw him.
Today, the stone, the cold metal, the paridoxial water seems perfect for his mood, dark and brooding.
Sephiroth is a bit disturbed by the fact that he's feeling dark and brooding today. Usually, Takeo would be there, to talk and joke with, or Neko, either cying so hard she can barely see or full of smiles and gossiping about the rest of the castle, and Sephiroth would be too busy having friends to be moody. But both of his friends have up and run off, no one truely knowing where they'd gone, and Sephiroth was left... Alone.
After a while of sitting, having used the blue control panels to close off a cubical for himself, Sephiroth notices that...
There's a Heartless standing right in front of him.
After the shortest period of shock possible, Sephiroth leaps to his feet, Masamune in hand.
:: Damn! I closed myself in- No room to MANUVER down here, even if I transported- It's not attacking?- Why the hell didn't I sense it?! ::
Sephiroth pauses on the last thought.
:: Her.::
It had taken a moment to register, but the Heartless IS very feminine, from her braided dark red hair- Hair?!- and long eyelashes, to her dark, bell-sleaved robe.
Sephiroth shakes his head, trying to clear the confusion from it. Since when did Heartless look so much like humans? Since when did Heartless wear DRESSES?
-Konichiwa, Sephiroth-kun.-
Sephiroth takes an unconsious step back. Did the Heartless just SPEAK to him? In NIHONGO?
"What the HELL is going on?!" he snarls, "Why is there a HEARTLESS here? You're all GONE!"
-You're scared, aren't you, Sephiroth-kun? Don't worry. I'm not here to take people's hearts.- The Heartless tilts her head in a humourus way. -I'm rather like a vocal White Mushroom, if you will.-
Sephiroth glares harshly at her. "Hn, scared? Of course not. And if you're not here to kill people, why ARE you?"
-I'm here to try and get you to join us again, Sephiroth-kun.- Her gleaming gold eyes look around, at the cold metal, cold stone, cold water they're standing upon. -I can see that you still love the dark.-
Sephiroth snorts, ridiculing the idea. "I'd be just as happy without it, Heartless." His jade-glowing glare seems to sharpen. "I've learned from my mistakes, this last decade. I'm not going to go through it all again."
She narrows her eyes at him, the golden glow intensifieing. -This time, we might not give you a choice.- The Heartless steps closer to Sephiroth, slowly, menacingly, all the seeming humour gone from her posture and voice. -We might...-
Sephiroth can't move. Something holds him still- a Stop spell, he realizes. The Heartless walk right in front of him, she looks up, eyes narrowed to slits of almost painfully bright gold in an otherwise featureless black face. A sharp pain lances through the back of Sephiroth's head-
-I see.- The Heartless seems to sneer at him, though her round, smooth face doesn't change. -We could kill the boy, if you don't join us. And maybe that silver-haired little girl?-
Sephiroth's eyes widen. :: Takeo- Neko?! ::
-Join us, and we MIGHT keep them safe for you... Sephiroth-kun.- Her voice purrs with malice, and she reaches up to touch his cheek with a mitten-shaped hand. -Or we could give them to you, to take care of. By that time, the darkness might have eaten you so much, you would kill them yourself, but you MIGHT be human enough to resist that urge...- An almost-snicker. -Maybe.-
Sephiroth couldn't move, even if he wasn't held by the spell. :: No- I couldn't let that happen to them! I can't put them in danger by refusing- Get a hold of yourself, Sephiroth! They could take care of themselves. I trained Takeo myself, they- There's no way they'd let themselves be killed... ::
- Do you really think they could escape seas of Heartless? Even were they to use their most powerful attacks, there would be more heartless waiting. Three worlds have already been taken, and we are STRONG.- The black hand, still touching his cheek, digs sharply through his skin, and blood starts to flow down his face. -We COULD kill them. Join us, Sephiroth-kun. Then they might live.- She smirks at him. -Or we might let you watch as they scream, their hearts being ripped out... - She drags the razor-sharp edge of her hand slowly down his face, - Inch... by agonizing inch. Wouldn't blood look lovely, against those pretty aqua eyes? -
"NO!!" Sephiroth jerks back, his glowing green eyes wide, frightened, tears begining to mingle with blood as he vanishes, a puff of soft black feathers falling to where he stood.
The Heartless would smile, if she had a mouth. She bends to lift a feather from the water.
-You'll give in, Sephiroth-kun.- Swathes of black fog begin to bloom around her feet. -We just have to wait a little while.- They reach up to her perfectly round face, enveloping her in darkness, until only golden eyes shine through them. -Just a little while.-
********************
~~~~~ Belgariad
The maid returns, opening the door to them. "Her Majesty says you may come in, Lady Neko, Lady- er... Dark Magician Girl...."
Neko beams at the woman. "Thank you, miss!"
The two girls enter, to see Ce'Nerda sitting on the edge of her bed, cradling Beldaran, her daughter. The red-headed queen looks up at them, her face lighting up.
"Ah! Neko! Darkie!"
Dark Magician Girl winces at the nickname as Neko grins happily.
"Heya, Ce'Nerda-sama! How is she?"
Ce'Nerda looks adoringly down at the baby. "She's asleep. And as beautiful as ever."
Neko smiles. :: Aerith acted just like this, when Lani was little. And it's still kawaii. ::
Ce'Nerda turns her face back up to Neko and Dark Magician Girl. "So, why did you want to see me?"
"Anou, a friend of mine appeared unexpectedly, and we thought you should know- and put in a good word for him with the servants. He's a bit odd. Odder than us. I don't really think he's entirely human. Anou..."
The queen smiles up at the two girls. "Oh, yes, Geran told me that a strange person showed up in the middle of your training sesion. I would like to meet, umm, what did Gearan say his name is?..."
Neko smiles and supplies Ce'Nerda with "Miru".
"Thank you, Nek-"
Neko's eyes widen, her hands reaching out to shove Ce'Nerda away. "WATCH OUT!!!"
A gyser of black energy rips half the bed to splinters, a swarm of winged black snakes pouring from the ground, each with shining gold eyes and a jagged red heart adorning them.
Neko's Keyblades appear, and she rushes to protect Ce'Nerda. "KUSO-! Where the hell did they come from?!"
Dark Magician Girl summons her own staff, the golden swirl capping it beginning to glow as she readies a spell. "I don't- Wait- These are- They attacked my home!" Her bright green eyes harden. "These are the things that killed Dark!"
A blast of brilliant light fills the room, every person flinching back, the Heartless paralyzed in flight. Dark Magician Girl flails into the swarm, her staff lashing out as the brilliance seems to solidify into rainbow sparkles, burning where they touch Heartless flesh, and Neko twists, grabbing Ce'Nerda, Beldaran, half carrying the queen and baby princess out of the room.
"Ce'Nerda! Go! Find Garion! He'll- KUSO!" A floating heartless- :: Wizard,:: whispers Neko's mind- appears in front of them, a glowing wand pointed at the three.
Beldaran wakes up, begins to cry, as Ce'Nerda runs for her life.
Neko hisses at the Heartless, slashing down at it with the dark Keyblade, a metallic whine as the Broken Heart meets the upraised staff and slides down the shaft, Neko twisting her hands so the rounded shaft of her weapon skids down. She twirls quickly, blade flying away from the staff and cutting through the Heartless, a puff of black smoke and a pink glitter rushing towards the ceiling all that remains.
Except for a snarling canine, black and grey hackles raised, gold eyes and Heartless-emblazoned collar flashing, and about ten of its friends.
Neko backs away, slowly, against the wall, the Broken Heart dissapearing from her hand as she reaches for her throwing knives, the Flying Hope Keyblade raised.
:: I can get four- No, five with magic and another couple with knives, but that leaves four- dammit!::
Neko hisses warily at the wolf-like creatures, a sharp throwing knife in hand as she raises her arm, her grasp on the Flying Hope loosening as she concentrates for her magic.
They growl, the heavy sound filling the air.
One of the smaller, more vulpine Heartless steps forward, only to be peirced by the knife, the smoke sweeping through the air. With an unearthly howl, the ten Heartless leap forward as a solid grey mass, only blood-red flashes of fangs and glowing gold eyes discerning them.
"KE KISAMA!" Neko fires off the blast of frozen magic, only three of the creatures falling with puffs of black and ruby, athough many of the others flinch visibly, and she flings herself into the battle, slicing, blocking, kicking harshly, martial arts and kenjutsu empowered by flashes of ice shards. Still, one of the Heartless clamps down on her arm, right over her scar-
A whirlwind of blond hair and floating red cloth sweeps past Neko, the Heartless clamped onto her arm dissapearing as a silver dirk slashes it. Miru steps lightly into the battle, face calm as he twists away from biting jaws and slashing claws at inhuman speeds.
:: But then, he ISN'T human. ::
As his dirk buries itself in the side of a Heartless, his eyes meet hers.
* I don't need help, Kitten. That other girl might. *
"Oh, KUSO!" Neko darts past the last three Heartless, ducking into what HAD been the Royal Suite, now filled with thick black vapor and trails of rainbows, swirling from the beating wings of the snake-like Heartless. "Dark Magician Girl! Where are you?!"
"Over- over here!" The cry of pain following Dark Magician Girl's voice sends Neko searching the room with a frantic Scan.
:: Heartless- half health- a KurayamiRyu- Darkness Dragon? But it's not my Dark- TsubasaRyu, half- TsubasaRyu, unhurt- KurayamiRyu, unhurt- Dark Magician Girl!:: Neko twist to the right, underneath a hissing KurayamiRyu, towards the Duel Monster. :: She's hurt- Badly!::
The fog swirls away from Dark Magician Girl. Neko winces at the scrapes, cuts, slashes across the blond's skin, but after an instant of heasatation, throws up a barrier of ice around Dark Magician Girl, sparkling shards of the translucent wall pealing off and shooting in every direction, peircing smoky-dark Heartless flesh.
:: Not like the room could get any more damaged...::
********************
~~~~~ Graziar
Sora can feel something.
It's like a little tugging at his heartstrings, a pull at the edges of his awareness.
He's not quite sure what it is, but it seems to be back the way he came. The way they all came, along that rough and rocky dirt road.
After a while of that persistent, intangible feeling, he stops walking. All four people walking with him turn.
"There's... something... behind us."
Oka looks vaugely startled, Niji blank, Zeff worried. And Takeo- That strange, nervous, quietly fierce boy, no older than Sora was when this all began- Is unreadably tired-looking. Always unreadable, nothing of his true thoughts showing past the unhappy mask and sometimes-burning eyes.
Takeo, quite frankly, has been giving Sora the creeps since he stopped being nervous over the fact that Sora was there at all. Somewhat in the way that Zeff made him uneasy, with those odd rusty eyes and unnaturally natural streaked hair.
But we digress.
Zeff looks worried. "What sort of something?"
Sora shrugs. "A... barely-there something." He pauses for a moment. "I think we should wait for it... Or go back to it."
Oka shakes his head. "I think not. Backtracking is not something you do, on this path. And I don't think you're supposed to find this... Something. Not quite yet."
Takeo looks up at the Guides. "I feel it too. We need to go back to him." As Zeff begins to protest, Takeo shoots a Look around, the chips of topaz by his eyes glowing faintly. "You three can go ahead walking, but Sora and I will go back."
"..." The three Guides glance at each other.
"Well..." Niji looks vaugely cheerful. "That's their decision, isn't it? Pieces don't always move the way you want them to!" He smiles.
Oka grinds his teeth. "But we can't let them do this! Do you know how hard Miru has been working, to get everything perfect?"
"But Miru ruined that himself, didn't he?" Zeff shrugs gently. "Perhaps it is for the best if we let them go on. Who knows? It certainly could not make things much worse, and berhaps it would be for the best. And anyway, I don't think we could stop Takeo even if we tried."
Oka looks very annoyed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Fine! I don't care, the worlds can all shatter for all that I care, so let them go off, ruining the balance!"
He glares off into the didtance.
Niji sighs, then smiles ruefully. "So, you two can run along now!" He makes little shooing gestures at Sora and Takeo. "We'll be right on behind you, as soon as Oka stops fuming at us."
Sora blinks, but turns to follow Takeo, a final bubbly "Bai~!" trailing after them.
********************
-Glosarry-
Chikushou: The strongest Japanese swearword I've ever run across. Don't let the transalators fool you- it's MUCH stronger than a mere 'darn it!'
Ne: "Right?" "Isn't that so?"
Konichiwa: Good afternoon
-Kun: Honorable- For people you're close to in status, or you know well, or you've grown up with. One step up from 'chan' in politeness.
Nihongo: Nihon=Japanese Go=Lauguage
-Sama: High respect, "Lord" or "Lady". Higest level of respect.
Kawaii: Cute. I tend to think of it as adorable-cute, and that seems to be the way they use it in anime, but what do I know? ^^;;
Anou: Er... Umm...
Kuso: Swearword. One of the more commonly used ones.
Ke kisama: I can literally HEAR Inuyasha and Sanosuke yelling this one- figuratively, of course. ^_^ Aproximately "Damn bastard/s!" (The Japanese launguage has no plural, so you'll have to rely on context for how many things are getting sworn at. In the given case, about ten of my LupeShadows and LupeShades.)
Kenjutsu: The art of sword fighting.
**********
WAI~! BRITISH ACCENT~! *Huggles her Ryou-chan* WAI~! BLOODY PICCU! *Huggles her pixel art of a certain pretty aqua eye with- You gessed it!- blood* WAI~! NARAKU-SAMA! *Huggles the InuYasha manga she's been reading at WaldenBooks* WAI~! YUGIOH VOLUME THREE!! *Huggles Duel 21, of Giga Pets and Things Honda Didn't Need To Hear* WAI~! MULTIMEDIA ONE! *Huggles the easiest class in her new school* WAI~! RUROUKEN TRANSALATIONS! *Huggles Enishi and the Revenge Arc*
YnAlana: -_-;; Baka Hikari-chan...
Eheh... ^_^ But can you blame me? They're all so... So WAI~! ... Even if some of my favorite authours would kill me for huggling my beloved Dub-style Ryou-chan... But then, last RurouKen, I wanted to kill that random assasin guy from the whachamacallit force or team or whatever, because he stole mt Hajime-san's voice actor... *Growls* MY Hajime-san! Mine, mine, ALL mine~!
YnAlana: *BlinkBlink* ... She's been reading too many Yami no Malik-slash-Malik dementia ficcies... Or maybe too many Yami-slash-Hikari ficcies period...
Or maybe it's because I'm writing this authours' note way too early in the morning! ^_^ Purdy anime charries...
YnAlana: -_- Baka.
We~e~ell, reveiw, my wonderful friends! I'll try and have Puppets: Part One out in a more timely manner!
Ja ne~!
Well, remember that survey a while back, asking whether or not anyone would mind some slash mixed in? And how I said I WOULDN'T put it any shounen-ai in? We~ell...
I lied. ^^;; There IS going to be one-sided boy/boy attraction in here... Because my brain and Jo just wouldn't shut up about this one pairing... And neither would my creativity... Yeah. ^^;; Soo... On with the last chapter of Segment Four?
Reveiwers: SamaraRose7 (Heh... I'm not sure if you caught the edited version, but that explained a little more clearly, and I fixed quite a few mistakes. And for Japanese, I DO have those glossarys at the bottom... I'm sorry I missed you too! But here's a very belated seasons greetings, anyway. And as for the note... *Looks gloomy* I got a sappy letter from Mrs. Hayes, and a sorry note from from the person who sent the note. If you don't know who sent it, I won't tell you, but... *Sniffle* Why did SHE have to the the one who sent it? If it had been nearly anyone else, I could have shrugged it off, but... Her? *Sniffle*...)
Warnings: Very Neko-centric, since almost everyone but Neko-tachi is ready to go off to do their parts. And a slightly... Spooky? Creepy? Wrenching?... scene involving a Heartless, mental tourture, threats, and more than a little pain for me. Also, some semi-surprizing info that probably isn't TOTALLY accurate, since we don't have the Belgariad unpacked so I can check it. Was it 'Lord' or 'King'?...
Random Song of the Day (AKA Disclaimer): ~ Shiru! Shiru! Shiru shir hadash! Shiru! Hariu! Kol ha-a-a-a-retz!~
********************
Experimental
Kurayami: Part Fifteen
I Can Hear You Speaking
********************
~~~~~~~ Belgariad.
Dark Magician Girl is waiting in the hall, and Neko nods to her as she sets off to see Ce'Nerda. The Duel Monster follows Neko, a curious look on her face.
"Who in all the worlds IS he?"
Neko shrugs as she turns around to face the Duel Monster, walking backwards. "I'm not quite sure, really. I've know him for years... But this is the first time I've MET him, so to speak. Anou... He floats around in the back of my mind alot, doling out either bad advice or mystical prophesies." Neko looks off into the distance, thinking, and promptly trips over her own feet.
"CHIKUSHOU~!" Neko hisses out her large vocabulary of swearwords, rubbing her elbow where it hit the floor, and Dark Magician Girl chuckles.
"Well," giggle, "that's what you get when you think and walk backwards."
Neko glares at Dark Magician Girl for a moment, then rolls her pale violet eyes and stands up, rubbing her elbow. "Not funny," she says, "Not funny at all."
"If you say so, Neko."
Neko hisses at the jokingly condesating tone, then sticks her turned-up nose into the air.
Dark Magician Girl laughs at Neko, ruffling the girl's silvery hair. "Well, are you going to tell me more about this person you know, but havn't met?"
Neko looks miffed, but continues.
"He started hanging around when I was, let me see, about seven years old. A LOT of bad stuff was going on, back then. I lost half of my family... But he showed up, helped me and my brother figure out what to do, and stuck around after that. Or at least, he was there about half the time. When I was nine, I tried to commit suicide, and he was ALWAYS there, after that. We're good friends, now, in our way, but, as I said... I've never actually met him before now." Neko shrugs, absently brushing her bangs back. "I never even knew he HAD a name, before now. It's very appropriate, though, ne?" Neko smiles up at the blond. "Miru... The action of seeing, sight, a poetic way to say 'eye', all that sort of stuff. Yes, VERY appropriate."
They reach the door to the Royal suite, where Geran's parents (Garion and Ce'Nedra, joint rulers of Riva, Lord and Lady of the West, Ce'Nerda being refered to as Queen of the World in melinnia-old prophesies, and Garion also happening to be the Godslayer and one of the two living people who can touch the Orb of Aldur, that is, if Eriond, new God of Agnarak, could be considered 'living'...) tend to reside while not running around doing King-And-Queen sorts of stuff.
Neko knocks on the rather over-elaborate door.
After a moment, a maid opens the door, staring at the two with wide eyes as she curtseies.
"Hullo, miss," Neko begins, giving the maid a cheefull smile, "Is the queen in there, by any chance?"
"Er, yes, she is, mi'lady. Should I go tell her Majesty you're here?"
"Yep!"
The maid curtsies again, backing into the room and closing the door.
Dark Magician Girl shakes her head. "Doesn't all that mi'lady-ing annoy you, Neko?"
"Well, no, not particuarly. Seph-dono calls me mi'lady, when he teases me, so I've gotten used to it." She grins, and continues in a stage whisper, "That's why I add the 'dono' onto his name, to tease him back."
********************
~~~~~ Bastion
The Waterway, as always, is cold, damp, and frightening.
Not even the complete remodeling of the Bastion changed THIS area, the moving walls of wraught brass, the exposed metal pipes and grey stone of the unmoving walls, the floor of solid luke-warm water. And Sephiroth rather likes it down here, where they havn't made everything bright and beautiful again, where they havn't even tried to wipe out the darkness.
He comes down here to practice, most of the time- To practice, or to sit and just think, when his warm, comfortable, overstuffed leather chairs don't seem to really draw him.
Today, the stone, the cold metal, the paridoxial water seems perfect for his mood, dark and brooding.
Sephiroth is a bit disturbed by the fact that he's feeling dark and brooding today. Usually, Takeo would be there, to talk and joke with, or Neko, either cying so hard she can barely see or full of smiles and gossiping about the rest of the castle, and Sephiroth would be too busy having friends to be moody. But both of his friends have up and run off, no one truely knowing where they'd gone, and Sephiroth was left... Alone.
After a while of sitting, having used the blue control panels to close off a cubical for himself, Sephiroth notices that...
There's a Heartless standing right in front of him.
After the shortest period of shock possible, Sephiroth leaps to his feet, Masamune in hand.
:: Damn! I closed myself in- No room to MANUVER down here, even if I transported- It's not attacking?- Why the hell didn't I sense it?! ::
Sephiroth pauses on the last thought.
:: Her.::
It had taken a moment to register, but the Heartless IS very feminine, from her braided dark red hair- Hair?!- and long eyelashes, to her dark, bell-sleaved robe.
Sephiroth shakes his head, trying to clear the confusion from it. Since when did Heartless look so much like humans? Since when did Heartless wear DRESSES?
-Konichiwa, Sephiroth-kun.-
Sephiroth takes an unconsious step back. Did the Heartless just SPEAK to him? In NIHONGO?
"What the HELL is going on?!" he snarls, "Why is there a HEARTLESS here? You're all GONE!"
-You're scared, aren't you, Sephiroth-kun? Don't worry. I'm not here to take people's hearts.- The Heartless tilts her head in a humourus way. -I'm rather like a vocal White Mushroom, if you will.-
Sephiroth glares harshly at her. "Hn, scared? Of course not. And if you're not here to kill people, why ARE you?"
-I'm here to try and get you to join us again, Sephiroth-kun.- Her gleaming gold eyes look around, at the cold metal, cold stone, cold water they're standing upon. -I can see that you still love the dark.-
Sephiroth snorts, ridiculing the idea. "I'd be just as happy without it, Heartless." His jade-glowing glare seems to sharpen. "I've learned from my mistakes, this last decade. I'm not going to go through it all again."
She narrows her eyes at him, the golden glow intensifieing. -This time, we might not give you a choice.- The Heartless steps closer to Sephiroth, slowly, menacingly, all the seeming humour gone from her posture and voice. -We might...-
Sephiroth can't move. Something holds him still- a Stop spell, he realizes. The Heartless walk right in front of him, she looks up, eyes narrowed to slits of almost painfully bright gold in an otherwise featureless black face. A sharp pain lances through the back of Sephiroth's head-
-I see.- The Heartless seems to sneer at him, though her round, smooth face doesn't change. -We could kill the boy, if you don't join us. And maybe that silver-haired little girl?-
Sephiroth's eyes widen. :: Takeo- Neko?! ::
-Join us, and we MIGHT keep them safe for you... Sephiroth-kun.- Her voice purrs with malice, and she reaches up to touch his cheek with a mitten-shaped hand. -Or we could give them to you, to take care of. By that time, the darkness might have eaten you so much, you would kill them yourself, but you MIGHT be human enough to resist that urge...- An almost-snicker. -Maybe.-
Sephiroth couldn't move, even if he wasn't held by the spell. :: No- I couldn't let that happen to them! I can't put them in danger by refusing- Get a hold of yourself, Sephiroth! They could take care of themselves. I trained Takeo myself, they- There's no way they'd let themselves be killed... ::
- Do you really think they could escape seas of Heartless? Even were they to use their most powerful attacks, there would be more heartless waiting. Three worlds have already been taken, and we are STRONG.- The black hand, still touching his cheek, digs sharply through his skin, and blood starts to flow down his face. -We COULD kill them. Join us, Sephiroth-kun. Then they might live.- She smirks at him. -Or we might let you watch as they scream, their hearts being ripped out... - She drags the razor-sharp edge of her hand slowly down his face, - Inch... by agonizing inch. Wouldn't blood look lovely, against those pretty aqua eyes? -
"NO!!" Sephiroth jerks back, his glowing green eyes wide, frightened, tears begining to mingle with blood as he vanishes, a puff of soft black feathers falling to where he stood.
The Heartless would smile, if she had a mouth. She bends to lift a feather from the water.
-You'll give in, Sephiroth-kun.- Swathes of black fog begin to bloom around her feet. -We just have to wait a little while.- They reach up to her perfectly round face, enveloping her in darkness, until only golden eyes shine through them. -Just a little while.-
********************
~~~~~ Belgariad
The maid returns, opening the door to them. "Her Majesty says you may come in, Lady Neko, Lady- er... Dark Magician Girl...."
Neko beams at the woman. "Thank you, miss!"
The two girls enter, to see Ce'Nerda sitting on the edge of her bed, cradling Beldaran, her daughter. The red-headed queen looks up at them, her face lighting up.
"Ah! Neko! Darkie!"
Dark Magician Girl winces at the nickname as Neko grins happily.
"Heya, Ce'Nerda-sama! How is she?"
Ce'Nerda looks adoringly down at the baby. "She's asleep. And as beautiful as ever."
Neko smiles. :: Aerith acted just like this, when Lani was little. And it's still kawaii. ::
Ce'Nerda turns her face back up to Neko and Dark Magician Girl. "So, why did you want to see me?"
"Anou, a friend of mine appeared unexpectedly, and we thought you should know- and put in a good word for him with the servants. He's a bit odd. Odder than us. I don't really think he's entirely human. Anou..."
The queen smiles up at the two girls. "Oh, yes, Geran told me that a strange person showed up in the middle of your training sesion. I would like to meet, umm, what did Gearan say his name is?..."
Neko smiles and supplies Ce'Nerda with "Miru".
"Thank you, Nek-"
Neko's eyes widen, her hands reaching out to shove Ce'Nerda away. "WATCH OUT!!!"
A gyser of black energy rips half the bed to splinters, a swarm of winged black snakes pouring from the ground, each with shining gold eyes and a jagged red heart adorning them.
Neko's Keyblades appear, and she rushes to protect Ce'Nerda. "KUSO-! Where the hell did they come from?!"
Dark Magician Girl summons her own staff, the golden swirl capping it beginning to glow as she readies a spell. "I don't- Wait- These are- They attacked my home!" Her bright green eyes harden. "These are the things that killed Dark!"
A blast of brilliant light fills the room, every person flinching back, the Heartless paralyzed in flight. Dark Magician Girl flails into the swarm, her staff lashing out as the brilliance seems to solidify into rainbow sparkles, burning where they touch Heartless flesh, and Neko twists, grabbing Ce'Nerda, Beldaran, half carrying the queen and baby princess out of the room.
"Ce'Nerda! Go! Find Garion! He'll- KUSO!" A floating heartless- :: Wizard,:: whispers Neko's mind- appears in front of them, a glowing wand pointed at the three.
Beldaran wakes up, begins to cry, as Ce'Nerda runs for her life.
Neko hisses at the Heartless, slashing down at it with the dark Keyblade, a metallic whine as the Broken Heart meets the upraised staff and slides down the shaft, Neko twisting her hands so the rounded shaft of her weapon skids down. She twirls quickly, blade flying away from the staff and cutting through the Heartless, a puff of black smoke and a pink glitter rushing towards the ceiling all that remains.
Except for a snarling canine, black and grey hackles raised, gold eyes and Heartless-emblazoned collar flashing, and about ten of its friends.
Neko backs away, slowly, against the wall, the Broken Heart dissapearing from her hand as she reaches for her throwing knives, the Flying Hope Keyblade raised.
:: I can get four- No, five with magic and another couple with knives, but that leaves four- dammit!::
Neko hisses warily at the wolf-like creatures, a sharp throwing knife in hand as she raises her arm, her grasp on the Flying Hope loosening as she concentrates for her magic.
They growl, the heavy sound filling the air.
One of the smaller, more vulpine Heartless steps forward, only to be peirced by the knife, the smoke sweeping through the air. With an unearthly howl, the ten Heartless leap forward as a solid grey mass, only blood-red flashes of fangs and glowing gold eyes discerning them.
"KE KISAMA!" Neko fires off the blast of frozen magic, only three of the creatures falling with puffs of black and ruby, athough many of the others flinch visibly, and she flings herself into the battle, slicing, blocking, kicking harshly, martial arts and kenjutsu empowered by flashes of ice shards. Still, one of the Heartless clamps down on her arm, right over her scar-
A whirlwind of blond hair and floating red cloth sweeps past Neko, the Heartless clamped onto her arm dissapearing as a silver dirk slashes it. Miru steps lightly into the battle, face calm as he twists away from biting jaws and slashing claws at inhuman speeds.
:: But then, he ISN'T human. ::
As his dirk buries itself in the side of a Heartless, his eyes meet hers.
* I don't need help, Kitten. That other girl might. *
"Oh, KUSO!" Neko darts past the last three Heartless, ducking into what HAD been the Royal Suite, now filled with thick black vapor and trails of rainbows, swirling from the beating wings of the snake-like Heartless. "Dark Magician Girl! Where are you?!"
"Over- over here!" The cry of pain following Dark Magician Girl's voice sends Neko searching the room with a frantic Scan.
:: Heartless- half health- a KurayamiRyu- Darkness Dragon? But it's not my Dark- TsubasaRyu, half- TsubasaRyu, unhurt- KurayamiRyu, unhurt- Dark Magician Girl!:: Neko twist to the right, underneath a hissing KurayamiRyu, towards the Duel Monster. :: She's hurt- Badly!::
The fog swirls away from Dark Magician Girl. Neko winces at the scrapes, cuts, slashes across the blond's skin, but after an instant of heasatation, throws up a barrier of ice around Dark Magician Girl, sparkling shards of the translucent wall pealing off and shooting in every direction, peircing smoky-dark Heartless flesh.
:: Not like the room could get any more damaged...::
********************
~~~~~ Graziar
Sora can feel something.
It's like a little tugging at his heartstrings, a pull at the edges of his awareness.
He's not quite sure what it is, but it seems to be back the way he came. The way they all came, along that rough and rocky dirt road.
After a while of that persistent, intangible feeling, he stops walking. All four people walking with him turn.
"There's... something... behind us."
Oka looks vaugely startled, Niji blank, Zeff worried. And Takeo- That strange, nervous, quietly fierce boy, no older than Sora was when this all began- Is unreadably tired-looking. Always unreadable, nothing of his true thoughts showing past the unhappy mask and sometimes-burning eyes.
Takeo, quite frankly, has been giving Sora the creeps since he stopped being nervous over the fact that Sora was there at all. Somewhat in the way that Zeff made him uneasy, with those odd rusty eyes and unnaturally natural streaked hair.
But we digress.
Zeff looks worried. "What sort of something?"
Sora shrugs. "A... barely-there something." He pauses for a moment. "I think we should wait for it... Or go back to it."
Oka shakes his head. "I think not. Backtracking is not something you do, on this path. And I don't think you're supposed to find this... Something. Not quite yet."
Takeo looks up at the Guides. "I feel it too. We need to go back to him." As Zeff begins to protest, Takeo shoots a Look around, the chips of topaz by his eyes glowing faintly. "You three can go ahead walking, but Sora and I will go back."
"..." The three Guides glance at each other.
"Well..." Niji looks vaugely cheerful. "That's their decision, isn't it? Pieces don't always move the way you want them to!" He smiles.
Oka grinds his teeth. "But we can't let them do this! Do you know how hard Miru has been working, to get everything perfect?"
"But Miru ruined that himself, didn't he?" Zeff shrugs gently. "Perhaps it is for the best if we let them go on. Who knows? It certainly could not make things much worse, and berhaps it would be for the best. And anyway, I don't think we could stop Takeo even if we tried."
Oka looks very annoyed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Fine! I don't care, the worlds can all shatter for all that I care, so let them go off, ruining the balance!"
He glares off into the didtance.
Niji sighs, then smiles ruefully. "So, you two can run along now!" He makes little shooing gestures at Sora and Takeo. "We'll be right on behind you, as soon as Oka stops fuming at us."
Sora blinks, but turns to follow Takeo, a final bubbly "Bai~!" trailing after them.
********************
-Glosarry-
Chikushou: The strongest Japanese swearword I've ever run across. Don't let the transalators fool you- it's MUCH stronger than a mere 'darn it!'
Ne: "Right?" "Isn't that so?"
Konichiwa: Good afternoon
-Kun: Honorable- For people you're close to in status, or you know well, or you've grown up with. One step up from 'chan' in politeness.
Nihongo: Nihon=Japanese Go=Lauguage
-Sama: High respect, "Lord" or "Lady". Higest level of respect.
Kawaii: Cute. I tend to think of it as adorable-cute, and that seems to be the way they use it in anime, but what do I know? ^^;;
Anou: Er... Umm...
Kuso: Swearword. One of the more commonly used ones.
Ke kisama: I can literally HEAR Inuyasha and Sanosuke yelling this one- figuratively, of course. ^_^ Aproximately "Damn bastard/s!" (The Japanese launguage has no plural, so you'll have to rely on context for how many things are getting sworn at. In the given case, about ten of my LupeShadows and LupeShades.)
Kenjutsu: The art of sword fighting.
**********
WAI~! BRITISH ACCENT~! *Huggles her Ryou-chan* WAI~! BLOODY PICCU! *Huggles her pixel art of a certain pretty aqua eye with- You gessed it!- blood* WAI~! NARAKU-SAMA! *Huggles the InuYasha manga she's been reading at WaldenBooks* WAI~! YUGIOH VOLUME THREE!! *Huggles Duel 21, of Giga Pets and Things Honda Didn't Need To Hear* WAI~! MULTIMEDIA ONE! *Huggles the easiest class in her new school* WAI~! RUROUKEN TRANSALATIONS! *Huggles Enishi and the Revenge Arc*
YnAlana: -_-;; Baka Hikari-chan...
Eheh... ^_^ But can you blame me? They're all so... So WAI~! ... Even if some of my favorite authours would kill me for huggling my beloved Dub-style Ryou-chan... But then, last RurouKen, I wanted to kill that random assasin guy from the whachamacallit force or team or whatever, because he stole mt Hajime-san's voice actor... *Growls* MY Hajime-san! Mine, mine, ALL mine~!
YnAlana: *BlinkBlink* ... She's been reading too many Yami no Malik-slash-Malik dementia ficcies... Or maybe too many Yami-slash-Hikari ficcies period...
Or maybe it's because I'm writing this authours' note way too early in the morning! ^_^ Purdy anime charries...
YnAlana: -_- Baka.
We~e~ell, reveiw, my wonderful friends! I'll try and have Puppets: Part One out in a more timely manner!
Ja ne~!
