The Bonds of Time
Chapter 9
Andrew Joshua Talon, with many thanks to Kanako Urashima
DISCLAIMER: Love Hina is not mine. I'm not making any profit off this fanwork, and the authors used own themselves. "The Love Hina Fan Boy War!" is the property of Kanako Himekazi-Urashima, which she gave me permission a while ago back to write a prequel to.
Therefore...
***~''~***
Still late autumn, 2015
He was just a man, once. The Cataclysm changed him completely. Where his hair was once black and kept short, it became white and reached to his shoulders. His frame was reduced to a near skeletal form, appearing to be barely able to support itself. The Cataclysm changed his physical appearance but it did little for his outlook on life and humanity. He still despised it, his being human. He still despised it, humanity itself. And with his unusually potent skills with his two katanas, he proceeded to literally kill his way to where he was to be. Destiny and Fate had things in store for him and he was not one to disappoint them. The age of chaos was at hand and he must be there to ensure that the Lightbringer is not brought low.
"Colorado Springs…" he muttered to himself as he cut down another biker who was at his knees, begging him for mercy when just a moment ago, he was on his bike, harassing the white haired young man. "…the scrolls have said what is to come. The prophecy is coming to pass…"
The wind blew past him violently, causing his black leather jacket to flow a little backwards. He spat, he knew it was no ordinary wind. It was the force of ki, very powerful ki. He marched on, he could sense it. He knew he was near his goal, the scrolls have not failed him yet and they will not fail him now. His master, a man known only as Junzo Yogo, told him all that was tocome to pass. As he neared a young woman with long black hair and a katana, he knew that his master was right. He knows what he must do but whether he will be able to fulfill his Destiny or succumb to his Fate, only time could tell.
"Aoyama…she has arrived." he muttered as he walked closer. "…The first of the seven has come to pass. The Master was right but I must be careful from here on end. The crossroads are near; death must come knocking at her door."
Almost instantly, Motoko Aoyama recognized him as a demon or some other being of evil. However, despite this fact, she allowed him to go on and slaughter any person or any thing that got in his way. The man dressed in black was walking forward at a relentless pace, his expression weary and tired but the bloodlust still loomed strong over him. He would bring death and
destruction upon all that stood between him and his goal. Motoko ignored the very evil that his mere presence exhibited so easily even though she could easily dispense of him. However, Motoko was curious as to just why this man seemed so…driven.
"Who are you?"
"I am Kana." He answered as he stopped walking. "I assume you know part of what is to come?"
"My family was entrusted with one of the seven scrolls, yes."
"Then you know you must not delay me any further than you already have by engaging me in this idle chit-chat." Kana answered as he proceeded onwards. "We will meet again, Thunderer. The champions will begin to gather in a century's time. If the scrolls are right, Edwards will be along here shortly."
"How many have come to pass?"
"The first is done; the second will begin in a year or so. The Void will be opened, darkness will cover the land and a noble empire ruled by two Empresses shall rise from the ashes of ancient Babylon. Factions will be awakened and an unholy alliance will be formed."
"And the land shall run red with blood, the fires will burn and millions will be wiped from the face of the earth." Motoko said with dismay. "Is there no way to prevent all of this? There must be another way to achieve true peace for humanity, surely!"
"Forever the optimist, I see. Even know, your sister has fallen prey to the Cataclysm, the man you loved has vanished from sight and she…" Kana stopped for a second, pondering what to say next. "…she has become distant from you. And of course, there is the younger, innocent one."
"I still love them…"
"And they you, Aoyama." Kana bowed respectfully and walked away.
"Guard the two of them well. For if I live or die, I will be forever watching you." Motoko warned sternly.
"It is written 'He will neither be the Lightbringer's left hand, nor her right. He will be the underhand, the dagger in the shadows, the eye that never sleeps.' That is what is required of me." Kana ignored anything Motoko had said to him afterwards, his only objective now was getting to the Lightbringer, the goddess budding near Colorado Springs.
"Shinobu, wait for me. The first of your two Knights is coming. My swords are stained in blood, all the better to keep you safe
until the third scroll's prophecies come to pass..."
***~''~***
"Scrolls?" Talon nodded, leaning back against his desk.
"In the seventeenth century, a Japanese warrior named Yong Ryu wrote the seven scrolls of Prophecy. They predicted everything that happened after the Cataclysm, from the Cataclysm itself, to the shifting of the continents, to the rise of the Goddesses and their Champions. However, by 2004, all but the second scroll held within the Aoyama dojo, in Japan, were destroyed. And so, it fell to my brother, the Prophet Benjamin, to rewrite the prophecies." Arney tilted her head thoughtfully.
"So... Ryu's spirit was, what, possessing Ben?" Talon smiled slightly.
"No. Ryu never possessed the kind of power my brother had... as far as it is known. All of the demi-gods' and goddess' powers came from a particular trait of theirs, rather than... Past connections. My speed and ESP, for instance, came from my impatience and mild paranoia. Kana's necromancy from his own inner darkness and distaste for the living. Kebinu's strength and fire-wielding abilities from his repressed frustration and anger. And my brother was ever the inquisitor, eager to learn about the feelings and motivations of others... though it was mostly for blackmail purposes."
"God has a twisted sense of humor," noted Arney dryly. Talon shrugged.
"I've never doubted it. Anyway, my brother had visions of the future from the start, and headed off to the remains of Chicago, to wait. He set up a community he called Precogg, and served as it's leader, and an ally of Haruka's, until the years of the Evil Naru Empire." Talon's eyes hardened.
"Naru cast my brother into the Void..." Talon's throat became dry, seeing the memory. "He stood silent as they shoved him in, never saying anything..."
"... Sir?" Talon shook himself free of his reverie, and smiled at Arney. The girl's features softened.
"Sorry... So! Where are we, in our trek through time?" Arney rolled her eyes at her professor's bravado.
***~''~***
"Ow... Ow... OW!"
"Talon-kun, hold still or I can't apply the bandages!"
"I heal plenty fast enough without those accursed things," Talon growled, Mutsumi applying the gauze to another of his ribs, as the two sat on a boulder at the bank of a rushing stream. Talon had his shirt off, his skin a patchwork of red sun exposures and pale regions, almost transluscent over his skinny, wiry body. The American sighed dismally, as Mutsumi's soft hands wrapped the bandage around his torsoe.
"Yes, but then they'd heal crooked, and you'd suffer breathing problems," Mutsumi said, shaking her head in exasperation. Talon snorted.
"They never have before."
"You've never had bullets graze your chest before," she sighed, applying some antiseptic lotion she'd found in a ruined Walmart to Talon's wounds. The Coloradan smirked slightly.
"I still took down the guys who shot at us, didn't I? And we've been in worse spots. Remember that girl in Texas... Azreal, was it?"
"Don't remind me. The way she could conjure anything she wanted with her breath..." Mutsumi shook her head, rubbing another spurt of lotion into the ruts on Talon's chest. The boy managed to shift his focus from how good her hands felt on his roughened skin by giving her an empathetic look.
"I don't like thinking about it, either... But we took her out too, didn't we? Much worse than a couple of guys with guns."
"Ara... Maybe... All right. You're done," Mutsumi said, tightening the bandages slightly. Talon smiled at her, squeezing her hand in thanks, before picking up his black turtleneck and pulling it on. Mutsumi watched him, a serious look on her face.
"You know, we could find an empty mall or something, and get you clothes that aren't all... Black." Talon turned back, raising an eyebrow, as he pulled on his black cloak. He looked up and down the Japanese girl's body, clothed in a white turtleneck sweater, long navy skirt, and knee-high leather boots, as well as her usual blue cloak.
"What's wrong with black?" Talon asked pointedly, running a hand through his messy brown hair. Mutsumi shrugged.
"Ara... The fact that you look like the Angel of Death with your hood on might have something to do with it."
"Again, what's wrong with that? It scares the living daylights out of the bad guys, right?"
"Yes, and the people who might help us! You and your gravelly voice, always frightening people!" Talon gave her a quizzical look.
"Have I done something wrong?" Mutsumi sighed, crossing her arms, before turning her back to him. The American scowled.
"C'mon, Mutsumi-chan. You can tell me," Talon gently prodded, walking over to her right. Mutsumi turned and looked into the amber trees of the forest nearby, Talon sighing.
"Mutsumi! We've been together for four years! What is it?"
"..."
"... Fine," Talon snarled, turning and leaping away in a blur. Mutsumi listened to him go, and looked out across the cold stream of water, her eyes glassing up.
Talon's POV
"Honestly," I huffed, stalking through the trees at a speed any normal human would have gawked at. For me, it was only marginally fast. I left my body on autopilot, the passing branches and leaves a warped vortex around me. The rest of me fell in thought.
Over the last few weeks, Mutsumi had been more quiet, more distant. Small things would lead to her being silent for hours on end, while I went for runs or firewood. I care for her, and always tried to make things right... But at those times, it seemed that she simply needed more time alone. And others, she was just fine...
Women were indeed a puzzle, but Mutsumi was one with a heaping helping of an enigma.
"What's with her?"
Mutsumi's POV
It's been twelve years, ten months, two days, and ten hours since I last saw him. I sit on the boulder, looking out at the quietly trickling stream, my hands steepled, my eyes slightly wet.
Keitaro Urashima, was the one man I ever loved. I felt for him, felt closer to him than to any other being in all of my twenty-three years before the Cataclysm.
But now that's changed. I can't help feeling Talon's dedication, his courage, and being in awe of the strength in such a young man. I feel his compassion and honesty, and am moved. And I feel his inner hurts and fear, his repressed anger, and I weep at what he's had to suffer through, what we've all suffered through.
And that's the problem. I love Keitaro, but now... I can't help feeling that for Andrew, and it scares me.
"Kei-kun," I murmur, looking into the grey sky. I shut my eyes, sighing deeply. My heart is a battlefield, now. Part of me let go of Kei-kun a while ago, another won't, and still another advocates telling my "bodyguard".
Why else would he stay with you for so long, if he did not love you? This voice inquires. I mentally shrug: I have no good answers for my heart.
But I do know this: I have been unfairly distant and cold with Andrew-kun. I can't help but smile at the memory of the second day we spent together.
"Ara, Talon-kun? You have a first name, correct?" Her savior of the previous day looked at her, caught between amusement and puzzlement. They were sitting atop an old apartment building, watching the sun rise scarlet and gold.
"Well, yes." Mutsumi tilted her head in a bird-like fashion, examining the young American. Talon couldn't help but feel as if she could see right through him. Her gaze was suddenly, almost frighteningly, intense.
"Then, why do you insist on being called Talon?" The American sighed deeply, looking down at his feet.
"I... I guess that... Since I lost, my entire family in the... the Cataclysm, I should go by my family name."
"Your family name?"
"Well, it's not really, my family name. But, in my heart, Talon is simply the word that sums up what my family believed in. Strength, determination... Will."
"Ah, I see."
A sudden burst of familiar emotion shatters my nostalgia. My eyes widen: I can feel Talon's sense become more intense. I gather my skirt and run in the direction of the burst, ignoring my anemia as much as I can.
"Talon!"
Talon's POV
"..."
I've seen a lot of things, in my life, that I have tacked onto a mental list for the most beautiful objects in existence. Well, to me, at least.
Third place was probably seeing a newborn baby, at Fortune, the old colony at my old high school. Her pale skin, bright blue innocent eyes, and adorable smile in the gloom of the post-Cataclysm world brought tears to my eyes. It still does.
Second place was definitely the Grand Canyon, at sunrise. Mutsumi and I had camped out on the lip of that huge chasm at dusk a year ago. I didn't think too much of the place at night. I was more busy looking up into the sky, flecked with thousands of stars. At sunrise though, I saw both the scarlet, purple, and gold of the early morning sky, and the remaining stars, an equilibrium of night and day. And the great canyon below it... Well, enough said.
First place... Well... Let's just say that I accidently walked in on Mutsumi when she was bathing in a stream at midday. All I can say (and still say) is wow.
But, according to the more... technicly-minded side of my brain, I might have a new champion...
"... Holy..."
I'm standing in the door of a large hanger. This hanger is one of the many buildings still left at the Lockheed Martin Production Plant, in Marietta, Georgia.
And before me, is a plane I thought I'd have to wait until I was into my thirties to see up-close.
Sleek, grey curves and elaborate angles. The plane before me looks like she's going Mach 1 just standing still, her skin as smooth as porcelain. The decals weren't applied to this plane before the plant was purged of all it's worker by the Cataclysm's shockwave, leaving it's hull as clean and pure as a virgin bride. And in the receding sun, she looks like an angel at rest.
The Lockheed Martin... F/A-22A... Raptor. I reach out my hand, pulling off my black glove, and running my fingers over her elegant hull. My eyes drink in every magnificent line of the Mistress of the Air. There's no sign of wear on her at all, which is interesting, considering I doubt there's been a maintenance crew in here for over a decade.
"... You have any idea how long I've waited to see you?" I ask, the reverent tone of my voice echoing as if in a church. I begin walking around the Raptor and letting my eyes wander. In my mind, as if through X-ray vision, I see the inner workings of the plane, born of hundreds of info books and web sites. Her powerful Pratt and Whitney turbofans with supercruise capability, allowing her to exceed the speed of sound without her afterburners. The variable-geometry thruster nozzles, making the Raptor more manueverable than any other combat aircraft in history. Internal EM, sound, and radiation dampening systems, making it so that her enemies are literally dead before they even catch a shadow of her. The Integrated Systems Program, making the Raptor as easy to fly as a video game...
The logical side of my brain says that there's no good reason I should be drooling over this... machine, when Mutsumi is out there, all alone. Reality snaps at my heels, as I turn and rush out the hanger doors.
"Oof!" I fall back from running into something warm and soft. My lightening-quick reflexes put me on my feet, with my sword drawn, in less than a thirtieth of a second. It takes me about that long to realize I've just KO'd the very woman I was heading out to find. Her pale body is sprawled out on the hard pavement before me, her eyes blank. My eyes instinctively widen.
"Shit!"
Mutsumi's POV
I can see a light, high above me. Yes, and singing, such nice singing...
"One! Two! Wake up, Mutsumi! Wake up!"
Ara, now I can't hear the singing, because of someone yelling at me. Gradually, I feel my eyelids over my pupils, and slowly open them. Just a sliver though, as my strength has not yet returned.
Talon is on top of me, his ear to my bosom, and a sigh of relief emits from his mouth. He wraps his arms around my form and holds me, his cheek touching mine.
"Thank God... I don't know what I'd do without you..." he murmurs, running a rough hand through my long raven hair. I sigh deeply, my vision at full as my eyes are unsheathed.
"Maybe... Not have so many problems? I mean, I am rather clumsy..." I can't help it. I feel guilty over how I've seemed to be a burden to him, moreso lately, and that latest fainting spell of mine shook up my thoughts enough that I begin talking without considering it beforehand.
"Mutsumi..."
"And I am slow and hold you up a lot," I insist. He's raised an eyebrow.
"Mutsumi..."
"And when I faint, you don't know whether or not I'll wake up, so I worry you, and-"
"Mutsumi!"
"Well, it's true! I am a burden! I should just-" With a large sigh, Talon presses his lips to mine. My eyes grow wide at the touch, as his arms pull us closer together. The warmth is wonderful, and I can't help but think that I haven't kissed Talon, as I would have when I liked someone before the Cataclysm. How rude of...
"Um... Sorry," he says, blushing deeply, when he pulls away. "I just... It just... Oh dear..."
"Ara..." I murmur, looking up at him with a small smile. "Was that your first kiss?"
"Is it so obvious?" He asks worriedly, looking like a clueless, adolescent boy again, rather than the usually good-natured, mature warrior he tries to be. My smile grows.
"Well, if you're going to kiss someone, it's better to do it like this," I say mischeviously, as I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his surprised face to mine. Mmm... I've forgotten how nice it was to kiss someone you care about. His arms are frozen for a moment, before they begin to move his hands up and down... Oh my, am I reaching for his-?
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. I open my eyes, as Talon pulls away, looking forward in surprise. I follow his gaze.
Four young men and women, wearing long cloaks of camoflague green, stand at attention, training automatic rifles on us. In front of them, a young, lithe girl stands with them, surveying us with a cat-like detached curiosity. Her hair is short and silver, strands arranged in a way that reminds me of my old friend, Kanako Urashima. Her eyes are clear and ice blue, her skin rather pale and fair. She, too, is wearing a long cloak, only electric blue in color.
"I am Kuromaru, and I'd like to know who you are, and why you're in our colony," she says quietly, a steely tone beneath her soft voice. Talon and I exchange a look, before looking at her again. Her eyes narrow.
"I won't ask again," she hisses, a few sparks of electricity shooting from her cold eyes. I would have been surprised by this, if I hadn't already met other entities with powers like hers in the past few years. Some wielding fire, others ice, some able to shape-shift and others with simple, terrible strength...
"Lucia?" I turn my gaze to Talon's face, looking as though he is trying to remember something. The girl called Kuromaru blinks.
"What?"
"Were you... Did you go by... Lucia Tanaka, at some point, before the Cataclysm?" Kuromaru looks confused, as her comrades exchange looks behind her.
"How-What is it to you?" Her confusion is replaced with anger, though the vulnerability I started to pick up from her remains. Talon looks at her intensely, his sense saying he knows...
"It's me... Andrew. Andrew Joshua Talon? Remember?" Kuromaru's sense transmutes to astonishment and disbelief.
"Jikei?"
***~''~***
"Jikei?" Arney asked, blinking in confusion. The professor nodded, a fond smile on his face.
"Japanese for 'big brother', a nickname she gave me when we talked online. Yes, Lucia Tanaka was her name... My so-called little sister..."
***~''~***
The saga rolls on...
NEXT TIME: A brief break from the events in North America. In Australia, the Cataclysm was as bad as anywhere else. But, from the ashes of Sydney rose an immortal of incredible power and virtue, called Riam Kaikiaichi. And with the archeaologist Seta Noriyasu and his teenaged daughter Sarah MacDougal, they begin to journey to the land of Crossroads... Colorado...
Stuff in the last chapter still (and always will) apply (aside from the Prophet Ben challenge)! R&R, please!