Chapter Nine: Disturbing Memories

"You two make a great team! I'm impressed!" Kouya told the Furu siblings, Shiawase and Nimuri, with a wink and a thumbs-up as he walked over to give his comments about their practice match that just came to an end. He put his Garuda Phoenix away and tucked his hands casually inside the pockets of his jacket. "I like your defensive strategy, you know. But since we've only seen it work against one enemy Gear --- you don't mind trying that again with two opponents, do you? Jirou and I will take you on after Kyousuke and Midoris' battle. What do you say? You guys up to it?"

As the brother-sister tandem cheered in excited affirmation, the blue-eyed brunette sitting at one corner of the clubhouse rolled her eyes. Midori hated the fact that she had to share her parents with a sibling, and seeing the two other new members of the club made her remember how unfortunate she was. Her eyes narrowing drastically, she took out her Gear from her backpack and rose, heading casually to one side of the arena to wait for her battle to begin.

Her opponent, the renowned Japanese Gear Master Kyousuke, had just arrived and was setting up his Dino Spartan at the other end of the arena. It was obvious, however, that he wasn't in the mood to take part in a Crush Gear battle, most especially against a rookie. At least, that was what Midori thought. Her assumption was eventually proven wrong, however, the moment they took their places, for she found him looking past her --- into empty space. "What's wrong, Gear Master?" she sneered, taking a step backward in preparation for her release, her right hand stretched out horizontally to hold the Vacuum Vortex as far away from her as possible. "You don't seem to be in good shape. Been up all night in paranoia, in fear of being defeated?"

The jest didn't work. He only shifted to his initial stance.

"Second practice match, Midori Ichikawa VS Kyousuke Jin! One round, good for three minutes! Gear Fighters, set up!" Kaoru exclaimed, taking her post as referee. She glanced at the two to check if they were ready, before she lifted one arm and finished with a, "Ready, GO!"

With the fire of excitement burning in her eyes, Midori yelled "Vacuum Vortex!" and flung her Gear into the arena with much grace and flexibility that the black-hulled machine started spinning almost at once. What was a VT Chassis for, after all?

Kyousuke, on the other hand, did the same, but he released the Dino Spartan in a rather clumsy and rough manner that surprised the spectators greatly, as they expected better of him. His green-colored Gear almost toppled over at its impact with the arena's metal floor, and it barely recovered from the balance it lost when the Vacuum Vortex came slamming into it. The Dino Spartan was sent flying into the far end of the battle ground, but the force generated by the other Gear was fortunately not enough to push it out of the area. Immediately, the Gear Master's machine steadied itself, and in no time, it darted forward with a blinding flash, its VT Chassis sprinting into action.

Dash type settings? the female Gear Fighter thought with wide eyes as soon as she saw his Gear take hers in a head-on crash, completely surprised at what she had just witnessed. What Kyousuke just did was not something they thought --- she, most especially --- the Gear Master would do, considering the tactics he used in the past. He needs to set the Dino Spartan to spin type if he's to use his special move, but why didn't he? What's he up to? What's he trying to pull off? What trap is waiting for me? What should I do now?

But she soon found out that there was no need for her to think about the matter; a few seconds after the power-consuming game of tug-of-war began, both Gears were thrown off from their duel point. If the Vacuum Vortex was lucky enough to land and get back up on its wheels, the Dino Spartan wasn't. It crashed down on the arena, weapons first, making Kaoru, who was watching the battle intently, cringe noticeably at the unpleasantness of the landing position; then it bounced once, twice, thrice… spun uncontrollably… hit a spin block…

"Winner! Midori Ichikawa!"

Armelle wiped off the sweat that trickled past the side of her face and sat down, leaning back against the soft pillows that were piled on top of the bed she would call her own for a few months or so. The apartment she managed to rent in the outskirts of Chicago was not as spacious as she hoped it would be, but she found herself having trouble fixing everything up, nonetheless. With her son doing nothing except sulk in his depression and their companion trying every possible way to cheer him up, she was the only one left to do the rest of the chores. And as much as she liked doing chores, it was not easy.

Even though she wanted to relax for the rest of the afternoon, she found herself unable to leave her unfinished tasks behind. Sighing, she pushed herself up and went on with what she left off, arranging the objects she brought with her on top of the shiny, brown-colored dresser. She reached out to pick up the bright-colored picture frame she had laid on the floor, but stopped abruptly when she realized that the glass covering had already been shattered into pieces. The pieces of broken glass weren't the only things that made her stop, however; an old-looking photograph of smaller size hidden underneath the image of her and Kuroudo made her freeze as well.

"… After all that I've done for you, after I've given up everything I ever had --- my wealth, my name, my family --- all you did in return was stand there and watch them tear our love apart! You never fought for me… you never even tried!"

She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. There was nobody else to blame for her son's misfortune but her, after all, and that she knew with all of her heart. The photograph alone, the picture of a younger her and a handsome brunette posing happily at the base of the Eiffel Tower, was enough to remind her of the fatal mistake she committed in the past. If she had not been so foolish, then she would not have brought into the world an innocent soul who would have to pay the price of her sin.

Who was paying the price of her sin.

Putting back the mask she had to wear everytime she wanted to forget, even for but a moment, the past she left behind, she pulled the faded photograph from the frame and crumpled it as she clamped her right hand into a fist. She then stood up, pushed the large box aside, and headed for the door. She had to cook dinner.

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Author's Notes: I'm so sorry for the delay; I had trouble with the battle scene. Yes, Gear fights are hard to write, most especially when your vocabulary is limited with regards to writing about things flying away or bumping into each other. Anyway, as you might already noticed I'm doing a bit of foreshadowing here on Madam Marume's part. And that means it won't be long before Kuroudo gets involved in the mess. *winks* So that's it for now, please review and tell me what you think of my work so far. I very much need all the help I can get. XD