Ruika: Hiya, I'm Ruika, this is my first fic, and hope minna-san likes it!!
Disclaimers: Gatekeeper and GK21 is not mine
Chapter One - Return to the past time
When the two girls had met earlier that morning, neither had spoken much, for it wasn't in their nature to talk to each other. Sure, one talked 'at' the other, but responses were rare and with long distances between. They set about their task with the same shocking accuracy that had helped them save the world; they were trying to get onto the roof of one of the highest skyscrapers in Tokyo.
"Isuzu-san?" Miyu asked expectantly as she tried yet again to boost their joint weight above the near-by skyscraper through her gate of flight. "Why are we doing this?"
Ayane gave a small smile, and the sound of bells could be heard, but she said nothing, as was her custom. She's improving so much, it's kind of depressing that she had to redeem herself in such a dire time, but she did a good job of learning after that.
"Maybe I should have been nicer to her from the beginning." She mused, as she clung to Miyu's back as they soared up into the air for what had to be the ninth time that day.
"Isuzu-san!" Miyu shouted as they soared up over the building. She grinned as they landed on the roof. "I did it, didn't I?"
Ayane nodded, she had built a shell around herself, not wanting to seem as though she had emotions, but she let up when she was around Miyu for some reason. "For your ninth try, that was rather good." She adjusted her glasses, so that Miyu could see something other than reflected light from them.
"Demo... Why are we up here?" Miyu asked.
Ayane said nothing, but pulled her laptop out of her bag. She began to work, while she filled the unusually silent Miyu on what was going on. "Kageyama-san told me of one of the last gates, after that of genocide and minus. There is a gate of time. Somewhere in this city, someone has possession of the gate of time, and they are using it to transport evil into this time. The ghost girl that we," Ayane mentally smiled at the mention of 'we', "defeated was sent from the past."
"Oh," Miyu said, then looked as though she was doing some hard thinking. "So Kageyama-san wants us to find the gate and go though it, into the past?"
Ayane stared at her.
"Nani?" Miyu asked, concerned that she had made Ayane look at her in such a way.
"Iiya..." Ayane held up a mobile phone, and stared at it. On the screen three words scrolled across, and she knew that the other things that Reiji had told her would have to happen.
"In order to stop invader influence in this time once and for all, we would need to go to the past, and work with the Gatekeepers of that time to make a seal to ban their existence from this dimension forever."
Ayane remembered Reiji's words, and she knew that she had no choice. Pushing the send button on the cell phone, she tossed it onto the ground. A garnet vortex of light opened, and Ayane grabbed her laptop, and the confused Miyu's hand, and pulled them, and herself onto the open gate. With out a hint of hesitation she said, "1970, Shun Ukiya residence."
Miyu hugged Ayane around the waist as they vanished into the portal into 1970. She held on even tighter as she watched the events of the past thirty years go by as they fell backwards in time. She caught a glimpse of a pair or ornate doors at one point, but they quickly fell away along with the rest of the color and light. The world fade into black as Miyu clung to Ayane.
"...u... Miyu!" Miyu groggily opened her eyes as she blinked at their surroundings. She looked up to see Ayane smiling at her, "Ah, Hello Isuzu-san."
The bell rang again, as Ayane turned around. Miyu looked up, "Isuzu-san, next time can you please tell me before we jump into open gates like that? It was scary!!!" She hugged Ayane, "But I'm glad that you're okay."
Ayane looked up awkwardly at the sky, noting the cleaner skies, and the remarkably smaller skyscrapers. She tried to wriggle away from Miyu's vice grip, and found herself unable. I guess I'm stuck being Miyu-Chan's plushie again, Ayane's mental voice quipped, along with another, slightly happier voicing of, this is kind of nice.
Shaking her head at her thoughts, Ayane pulled Miyu to her feet, and said in a low voice, "This is the past?"
"Doesn't look any different." Miyu commented, staring at the buildings that surrounded them. She walked over to a nearby garbage bin, and pulled out a newspaper. She stared at the front page for quite some time, before moaning, "It worked."
Well that's a good thing. Ayane mused, before knocking on the door of the nearby house. She knew that what she was about to do would change the past, but she was more concerned with the outcome of this visit.
A woman in her early forties opened the door, she looked Ayane over, and sighed out, "I'm sorry, we don't have enough money to contribute to your fundraiser."
Ayane nodded, "Is Shun-san in?"
"Shun?" The woman blinked. She turned her head back into the house, and shouted. "Shun! There's a girl to see you!"
There was some banging from inside, and Ayane took the moment to check on Miyu, who was reading the newspaper with interest. "Miyu, come here, I want you to meet someone."
"Na?" Miyu looked up, and then scrambled over to Ayane's side. She looked at the door. "Ukiya..." She muttered looking at the plate on the door.
"Yeah?" A black-haired boy had appeared in the door, he had a band aid on his nose, and his spiky hair was sticking up at all angles. "What can I help you with?"
Ayane slapped him.
"What was that for?!" Shun shouted. He looked the girl in front of him over. "Look, I've never seen you before in my life, and you think that you can just come and slap me?"
"Exactly the reaction that Reiji said he would have." Ayane muttered. She knew that she couldn't bring A.E.G.I.S into the battle just yet, but she knew that if she mentioned Shun's old enemy she could get some cooperation out of the boy.
"Reiji?!" Shun was confused. He stepped outside, his hands clenched into fists. "You work for Kageyama Reiji? You're INVADERS!"
Ayane smirked. She reached inside of her coat, and closed her hands around a mobile phone.
Shun caught sight of the motion, and prepared to open the gate of wind. He was about to let loose it's power, when Ayane commented, "I wonder what happens when two Gatekeepers fight, especially when two Gatekeepers with the same gate fight."
"The same-" Shun trailed off, for he could not see what this girl, who was so much like Megumi that it scared him, could possibly do to him. Sure, she had mentioned the name of the Invader's Gatekeeper, Kageyama Reiji, but that could have meant anything.
Miyu stared on at the father-daughter confrontation, and couldn't help but sigh, she knew as well as Reiji or anyone else that Ayane hated her father for dying when she was only five, and leaving her mother to fend for her and Ayane in the cruel harshness that was Tokyo at the time.
Maybe, Miyu thought, maybe if she can get to know him better in this time she will have an easier time of just living in his shadow.
Ayane pulled out the cell phone, "Care to have a go?"
"What's that?" Shun asked, interested in the cell phone's shape, form, and it's interestingly blue color.
"Isuzu-san!" Miyu interjected into the fight, she couldn't just let Ayane and Shun fight here, for everything in her small fighting knowledge told her to prevent Ayane from using her gate. She could loose control over her gate, as Shun had the technically control of the gate of wind in this time.
"What?" Ayane raised an eyebrow, and her glasses shifted so that you could see her eyes again.
"Don't use your gate against him." Miyu muttered, blushing at the fact that she had drawn attention to herself, she wasn't usually one to pale in the spotlight, but this was the most powerful Gatekeeper in all of Asia, according to Reiji and Ayane.
"Why?"
"You could loose control of it."
"How?" Ayane demanded, "It's my gate, so I should be able to control it when ever I want to."
"You've read Sailor Moon, right?" Miyu asked, making a reference to a manga that was published some time in the nineties.
Ayane nodded.
"Then you know what's going on. When two objects that are the same in each time are entered into battle, the one that is alien to the time doesn't work." Miyu explained, feeling awkward in the situation of having to jog the usually perfect Ayane's memory.
"You aren't from this time?" Shun asked, his brow furrowed at the concept of time travel. "I thought that you couldn't do that."
"There's a gate of time." Ayane muttered, putting away the cell phone, and picking up her discarded backpack.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Now can I please speak to your superior?" Ayane sounded exasperated.
"My..."
"AEGIS, little boy." Ayane said. Grinning at the fact that Shun was younger than her in this time. She hadn't intended for it to happen that way, but Reiji had told her to come to this time to avoid his younger self acting like an asshole as well as the much needed help from one of the other Gatekeepers, the one with the Iron Gate, Megumi.
"Oh!" Shun pulled open the door and grabbed his coat. "It's a bit of a hike, but I think you two will be fine." He nodded to his mother, who had been listening to the confrontation between him and the other girl, mouthing 'it's okay' at her. He closed the door, and grinned at Ayane and Miyu, "Come on."
"Isuzu-san," Miyu began in an undertone. "Why is it so important that we talk to AEGIS? Kageyama-san isn't in their best graces now, so our one voucher isn't worth anything."
"Quiet." Ayane said sternly.
"Hai." Miyu nodded, and pulled out her own cell phone. She placed the headphones into her ears, and even from where Ayane was standing, some ten feet away, she could hear Hamasaki Ayumi's 'Rainbow' blasting.
"Will she ever learn?" Ayane mused, while following Shun the streets of a much smaller Tokyo. It's fascinating how much a city can change over the course of thirty years.
Ayane was just trying to cross the street after Shun and Miyu when she noticed the ranks of marching, somewhat possessed looking people. Just as she reached the middle of the street all fifty or so of the men and women pulled out sunglasses simultaneously, and turned into invaders.
Ayane smirked, but some things never really change. She plunged both hands into the inner regions of her coat, while shouting at Shun, "What are they weak against?"
"Weak against?" Shun asked as he watched Ayane pull two of the objects that she had dubbed 'cell phones' out of her jacket. Her thumbs rapidly pushing the many buttons, Shun noted that she looked like she was more than capable of handling herself. He decided to not interfere. Finally, to Shun's amazement, she held both of them up, and the outlines of twin fire gates appeared.
"Yes, they're interesting aren't they?" Ayane called over her shoulder, before throwing the artificial gates of fire at the invaders. The entire rank of them was destroyed in one hit, and Shun went into a state of shock. No one, not even Reiji could destroy that many invaders in one hit, it usually took several, even from many gatekeepers at once.
"What are they?" Shun asked.
"They're artificial gates." Ayane decided to not explain anymore, for fear of letting something about her identity slip.
"Shun!" Called a voice, "Daijoubu?! We came as soon as we heard what happened."
I guess that AEGIS is coming to us... Ayane mentally noted.
"Rurippe!" Shun said, turning to smile at the girl who was clambering out of the top of the bus, and because of Shun is calling her "that", so he deserve a BIG slap.
Saying nothing, Ayane blinked up at the girl. She had seen her before in her aunt's pictures, but never this close in person. This was an interesting change from everyday life. The holder of the gate of genocide was standing in front of her, and Ayane was pretty sure that at this time, neither Shun nor Ruriko knew of the danger of that gate.
"Miyu?" Ayane asked, turning and looking for her 'partner'. Seeing nothing, she turned around, to where the Invaders had fallen. She could see Miyu picking up one of the crystals and examining it. She walked over and knelt next to her.
"They're different." Miyu commented, staring at the crystal that had been a human at one point.
"How so?"
"I dunno. They just seem to have a different kind of feel to them." Miyu nodded, "Didn't you tell me that once Invaders were machines, and that now they were just people's hearts. Is this the time when they were just machines?"
"Maybe," Ayane pulled Miyu to her feel. "Please try not to embarrass me in front of them."
Shun and Ruriko stared at the two girls, who were discussing something about the way the Invaders had been killed. Both of them weren't sure what to make of them, but both knew that they were here looking for help. And any person who was able to take out a score of Invaders at once was worthy of their attention.
"So, where did you pick those two up?" Ruriko asked, watching interestedly as the girls walked off in opposite directions and picked up two-charred telephone shaped things.
"They dropped out of the sky in front of my house this morning. I was taking them to HQ, because they seem to know what AEGIS is." Shun nodded, "And they know Reiji."
"So is bringing them to HQ such a good idea?" Ruriko asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I can answer that," Ruriko looked down to see someone who reminded her immensely of a cross between Shun and Megumi.
"And you are?"
"Itsusu Ayane."
"Sorry, don't know you."
"I don't use my father's last name for a reason." Ayane intoned. "And I would like to speak with who ever is in charge of your operation. This is a matter of utmost importance."
"Yeah, she needs to find the holder of the gate of time!" Miyu piped up from behind them.
"MIYU!" Ayane shouted.
"Gomen!"
Ruika: Well? Is that good? Flames accepted!! Please RR after you read it and send how do you feel for this FF, Domo Arigato Gozaimasu.