8/29/04

Disclaimer: the characters in this fic such as Xion, Kenji, etc. don't belong to me, though if they did, oh, what I could with them… :D The song "Crawling" belongs to Linkin Park, so don't even think of suing me, because you sure as hell won't win. :P

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-IV and giving me a really good reason to write this story, and my beloved friends, especially VGuyver, Sheila, Andrew Glasco, IndigoSiren, gery, RAYClovis, kitty girl, Dirk, AlexTheGreyWolfe, Soundwood, and all of you wonderful readers!!

Special dedication to: Beastman, for all of his depressing stories that inspired me to write something like this.

Bloody Roar III: Crawling

By Tiger5913

One year after the fall of the terrorist group, the Zoanthrope Liberation Front, fifteen-year-old Kenji Ohgami thought he had left the habits of his dark past behind with the evildoers' collapse.

A teenage boy on the brink of manhood, he appeared rather ordinary with dark brown hair and pale amber eyes, although the latter shade was admittedly unique. People who gave him a first glance would have just thought him to be another typical student with everyday youth problems, and dismissed him as an average being. When not in school, he dressed in a normal fashion by society's standards, usually donning a simple t-shirt and jeans, or a button-up shirt and black slacks if he desired a less casual look. Even when talking with him, it was hard to notice anything remarkably different about this individual; he did speak a little formally for his age, but it could have just been picked up from a lot of reading.

Of course, all youths had their share of problems and secrets, whether it was an argument with a good friend, a complaint about the difficulty of school, or mourning over the woes of young love. While Kenji had a few classmates that he considered close enough to be acquaintances, and would linger in their groups at school, they were worthy distractions, not truly his friends. For him, even the considerably-simple bond of friendship required great trust on his part, and since he harbored a nature of constant suspicion, it was hard for others to get past that barrier. He had no qualms about school, for he found education to be a very important factor that would contribute to succeeding in life, so he learned eagerly, and studied fervently to satisfy his lust for knowledge.

Crawling in my skin…

These wounds they will not heal

Fear is how I fall

And regarding love, there was no reason for him to worry about that. Many girls liked him, but he was never fond of the silly little dating game that countless of his peers played, stressing over the tragedy of not having someone to go out with on a Saturday night, or worrying about affections being returned. His older brother, Yugo Ohgami, encouraged him to take advantage of such a supposedly-delightful situation and go out with the girls who crushed on him, but he always replied that he was too busy with school. Kenji was well-aware of how a certain female teenager felt about him, since Uriko Nonomura happened to be his closest friend and she liked to share many details of her life with him, but he did nothing to authenticate her chase. In truth, love scared him: the complications, the conjectures, the possession, the jealousy… he wanted no part of something that had the possibility of controlling him so concretely.

Only his real, close-knit and friends knew of what lied beneath the surface of his calm, stoic exterior; being zoanthropes, their group was small and intimate, so very few secrets were kept in the dark. Tales were occasionally whispered back and forth between Yugo and his girlfriend, Alice Tsukagami, although their voices had always contained concern and compassion, not a single hint of scorn or malice. Even Uriko bore witness to an encounter with his formally sinister self, but she was so cheerful and comfortable around him when they were together, that Kenji sometimes wondered if she even remembered how he had treated her when they first met. He would never be able to verbally express how much he appreciated her patience with him; however, he could not let her get close to him, for he knew that his feelings for her were growing, and he had to prevent them from fully maturing.

Confusing what is real…

There's something inside me

That pulls beneath the surface

Though young and presumed to be inexperienced, Kenji fully believed in the burden of responsibility, and the redemption that aligned itself with wrongdoings, no matter what condition the perpetrator was in. Just one year ago, he was an assassin, had killed countless people simply because an estranged scientist gave him the order to, and to present day, the fifteen-year-old still blamed himself for that, despite being under mind control at the time. He knew that nothing he did would bring their lives back, and the very knowledge of his existence burned his soul with a guilt that he could not bury, had to carry it with him for the rest of his life. If he had not promised his brother and another mutual friend of theirs, Alan Gado, that he would stay alive, Kenji knew full well that he would not be walking around on the vivacious earth in the present time.

The innocent people's ignorance was easily forgiven; they didn't know what he had done under a certain mad scientist's control, or what havoc he had wrecked upon his own brother, and even their mutual friends and allies. They had no knowledge of his frightening dark side, of his destructive capabilities when his normal mindset was cleverly manipulated to hate the world and in turn, embrace devastation. Whoever would have guessed that the lean boy with hooded eyes was capable of killing? He certainly didn't look or act like a cold-blooded murderer… Yes, even with the undeniable, truthfully horrific facts of his past, because of what little he revealed to the world, all outsiders thought he was just another – albeit perhaps slightly abnormal – average teenager.

Consuming… confusing…

This lack of self-control I fear is never ending

Controlling… I can't seem

Of course, if any of them had glimpsed the frightening power lying within young Kenji, they surely would have scrambled furiously to take back their generous opinion.

"Kenji! Look out!"

Attentive to the warning, the boy in question quickly leapt, flipping backwards and just barely out of harm's way as a silver blade lashed down mercilessly, neatly slicing into the ground. Inhaling sharply, Kenji sent his silent gratitude to the one who lead him away from danger, but his expression reflected slight worry when the adversary shifted focus to the other opponent. Upon realizing that she was the next target, Uriko released a short shriek as she abruptly jerked to the side, her eyes frantically darting around the area for an escape route that would ensure better safety. Before she could decide where to run, the unidentifiable zoanthrope dashed toward her without warning, eliciting a coarse grunt of victory in assumption of this easily-conquerable task.

She had limited experience in real, hardcore and life-threatening battles, so it was forgivable that she froze in response to this attack, but obviously, the action reduced her chance for survival. Kenji, on the other hand, reacted instantaneously, vanishing into a puff of smoke and reappearing before his evil opponent with a fiercely-barred stance in defense of his friend. The blade delved past the barrier of his navy sleeves and sliced into the lower area of his locked arms, breaking the skin effortlessly and drawing his blood, but even though he grimaced inwardly, he refused to relent. Behind him, Uriko had ducked down in anticipation of receiving a harsh blow, but when none came, she dared to peek out, her eyes widened at the sight of her ally's determination to protect her.

"Uriko, you are in danger here," he informed her matter-of-factly, stating the obvious, but then his tone changed to utmost seriousness when he commanded her, "Leave this place before you get injured."

To find myself again

My walls are closing in

Without a sense of confidence

"Y-you're gonna… you sure you can fight him all by yourself?" came the concerned inquiry, and then a wince noised from her when she witnessed the strain on his face.

Kenji fought to maintain his usual stoic composure as he muttered his quiet reply, "I will be fine. Just go!"

As if displeased by the topic being discussed between the two teenagers, the silver-scaled zoanthrope released a shrill cry and swiftly shoved his weight forward, effectively gaining an edge in the battle. He pushed the boy back a few steps, forcing him to stumble a bit with the young girl behind him trying to scramble out of the way and distance herself from the intent fight. Heeding to his earlier words, she darted around looking for someplace to hide, but the blue-dimmed temple was a wide arena without any obstacles to serve that purpose, so she just made sure she was far enough away from harm. Uriko watched the duel with worried eyes, silently resisting the urge to jump in and aid her friend, but her fear of being a distraction or a liability overwhelmed the first desire, as she did not want to put both of them in deeper trouble.

When Uriko stumbled upon the mysterious Xion earlier by pure accident, she had no idea he was so dangerous, or that he would be such a threat to mankind's existence. She fought him before her friend did, but he apparently had not used the better half of his strength, for she managed to dodge a few of his attacks, and even landed hits on him here and there – perhaps he conceived her as someone who was too weak to deserve his true efforts. And then right when she was thinking about morphing to finish the battle, Kenji had walked into the temple all of a sudden, which caused Xion's attention to immediately shift over to the teenage boy, and she was just about forgotten. Words were briefly exchanged between the two, letting the young zoanthropes learn the enigmatic man's name and malicious intentions, and then both men had started a new battle.

And I'm convinced that

There's just too much pressure to take…

I've felt this way before

Xion was fast, and he also seemed to prefer using his legs to fight, judging by how many times he had leapt into the air and tried to kick his opponent in the head. Thankfully skilled at dodging, the young ninja evaded most of the attempts, although a couple of them had stamped upon his shoulders, and one even nicked him on his cheek. When he had morphed, the silver-gleaming zoanthrope switched to using his lethal blades, a bit more successful in landing hits that way, as his range covered far more distance, and he lashed out with blinding speed. Gritting his teeth in response to receiving the blows, Kenji carefully edged around the adversary, actively moving and springing all about the place while inwardly wondering how long his stamina would hold out.

His irritation slowly grew as the boy continued to dodge his strikes, and peaked sharply when he even managed to bound off from the wall and stamped his silver arm with the crisp pair of tabi. Growling lowly, the older man wondered how such a pathetic, far lesser-experienced child could dare to lay a hand on him, and increased the ferocity of his attacks. Cruel satisfaction glowered eagerly in his eyes when the young ninja briefly displayed a twinge of worry, though of course he quickly dropped that and reclaimed a nonchalant expression. As one of his blades firmly sliced through yielding skin, wicked laughter rumbled in Xion's transformed throat and his ears perked up at the sound of a pained cry, triumph surging through him at the sight of Kenji's reluctant grimace.

So insecure…!

Crawling in my skin

These wounds they will not heal

"Kenji!" The female bystander standing off to the side gasped at her friend's recent injury, and by some presumably foolish impulse, began to run toward him.

"Stay back! You are not to get involved!" The elder teenager immediately ordered, just a hint of ire lingering in his eyes as he laid them on his opponent.

Hah! If this foolish girl wants to throw her life away for this young boy, then I'd be delighted to assist her… the gleaming zoanthrope laughed inwardly at the thought, and then turned a critical eye to where Uriko had stopped in her tracks.

Without warning, Xion suddenly charged forward, arms positioned with the crimson blades poised to strike the ninja standing just a short distance away, who to his credit, appeared perfectly calm. Snarling aloud, he lashed out in a wide arc with one arm, and when the boy predictably leaped up to avoid being hit, malicious pleasure shimmered in his eyes as the older fighter continued pursuing after his real target. A few feet behind where Kenji had been standing was his friend, who halted upon his request, but she hadn't moved from the spot at all, so she became the next in line for the attack. Both teenagers realized too late that Uriko's life was now in danger, and the girl in question shrieked in fright as she hurriedly turned to run while her ally reversed directions and fell down toward her, hoping to knock her out of the way in time –

– but he was too late.

Fear is how I fall

Confusing what is real

Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me

A sickening squish noised when the sharp blade pierced her back with brutal force, just underneath her right shoulder, and her cry of agony made Kenji almost turn his face away in overbearing shame. Xion swiftly retracted his arm and upon that dislodge, she fell immediately and crashed to the floor with a soft thump as her cheek bore the pressure of cold, hard stone against her warm, supple skin. In an instant, the transformed man was by her side, another vicious blade poised to come bearing down upon her, merciless in his intention of making sure that she would never again interfere in any battle. But as his arm was descending, a brief flash of light appeared along with a burst of green leaves, and after they had dissolved and cleared his vision, the girl was gone from her previous position.

Where in the blazes…?! He turned this way and that fervently, thoroughly annoyed that his victim had somehow escaped, considering the condition he had conflicted on her.

Over some distance away, Kenji was laying his injured companion down with delicate caution, propping her back against the wall so that she would at least have minimal support in staying up. He didn't seem to mind that her blood was soaking his hands as he aided her, and when Uriko weakly mumbled an apology, he merely shushed her and just briefly, leaned forward, allowing his forehead to touch hers in a silent gesture of comfort. A faint smile graced her lips at his action, for she knew that he wasn't one for contact and sentiment, but he was concerned about her, and the very thought sent warmth coursing through her body, the wound temporarily forgotten. When the moment passed, the fifteen-year-old protector rose to his feet and whirled around to face the perpetrator, fire clearly evident in his eyes as his breaths came out quick and shallow, seeming to be carefully controlled.

Distracting… reacting…

Against my will

I stand beside my own reflection

"She is an innocent… you should not have harmed her…" Kenji spoke softly, although there was steel underlying in his voice.

The brat overstepped her boundaries by getting involved; if she truly feared for her safety, she wouldn't have interfered in the first place. Xion answered out loud with a growl, unable to voice his thoughts, but there was enough malice in his eyes for the ninja to get an idea of his opponent's opinion on the situation of hurting the young female zoanthrope.

"I warn you now: stay away from Uriko. Your business is with me, not her, so if you lay another hand on her, you will confirm your cowardice." The dark-haired teenager shifted into a battle stance after giving forth his invitation and partial taunt, his posture straight and appearing stiff, hard to maneuver in, but in reality it was merely a rouse to trick his enemies, and he was actually very calm and prepared for whatever lied ahead.

Young fool. How dare he condescend me as if he were my equal, let alone superior! The older fighter scowled deeply at the bravado previous displayed, and silently vowed to completely crush the boy in every aspect possible: physically, mentally, and most important of all, emotionally.

It's haunting how I can't seem...

To find myself again

My walls are closing in

The battle then resumed, and both were fighting renewed vigor, although derived from completely opposite reasons – Xion wanted his opponent to perish, while Kenji was dueling in honor of his brother and his present schoolmate. Uriko occasionally winced from the jolt of pain that shot through her nerves every-so-often, but she held on and watched her friend, cheering him on from the inside as not to draw attention to herself again. She noticed that although he was fight more fiercely, his concentration was not in full focus as before, presumably from the fatigue of constantly dodging, and fervently hoped that he wouldn't be harmed too badly by the fight's end. The eerie glowing walls hummed in tune with each blow that was exchanged or fended off, the blue light seeming to throb with sadistic pleasure at the level of malice steadily growing in the arena.

It wasn't long before a mistake was made; although Kenji had trained for quite some time and acquired extremely useful techniques in evasion, he was still young and had room for improvement in the years to come. Xion noticed the sliver of weariness in his light brown eyes and took advantage of the weakness, using a successful maneuver that allowed him to stab the boy in the back of the lower thigh just as he was fleeing away. The ninja released a short exclamation of pain and quickly shot out his other foot to smash into the face of his adversary, which did grant him release, but as he landed back on the ground, he realized that the injury affected him. There was now a slight stagger in his footwork, so he had to rely more on methods of deception, disappearing into Smoke Bombs to help him escape from danger, although that cost him more energy than merely using his natural agility.

Without a sense of confidence

And I'm convinced that

There's just too much pressure to take…

The silver-sleeked zoanthrope laughed haughtily even in his unnatural state, and he began to fight more strategically from that point forward, knowing that if he was patient, he could deal a devastating blow. Feeling the wide eyes of the innocent bystander watching his battle, he snarled viciously; that foolish little girl-child was definitely the weaker of his opponents, but it would be wiser to get rid of her dogged protector first. Meanwhile, Kenji continued to dodge him and prance about the arena, but his brows furrowed in confusion when he wondered why the adversary seemed to suddenly stop his offensive maneuvers. Regardless, he was getting more and more tired from his escaping tactic, so the ninja decided to take on the role of attacker, and ricocheted off a side wall, flying toward Xion with an arm poised in a slicing angle.

His eyes flashed for a brief moment, as if expecting the move, and then the older fighter agilely twisted away from the attempted strike, barely dodging it, but he simultaneously lashed out with his wickedly-gleaming claws. The sharp points easily tore through the teenager's school uniform and punctured his side, and when Xion brought his other arm into the attack, the youth was stabbed multiple times, which caused him to release a short yell of pain. He fell to the floor after the blades withdrew, discomfort clearly evident on his expression as his skin burned from the assault, and Uriko immediately jumped to her feet, crying out his name in shocked distress. Clutching his injury, Kenji could only manage to scoot away on his bottom, too wounded to stand right away, but he was still within striking range, and when his opponent realized that, a vicious cackle sounded.

I've felt this way before

So insecure…!

Crawling in my skin

Boy, you will meet your end… Now! Closing in on his young opponent, Xion shot him a triumphant glare as he raised his claws, and then swiftly brought them down without waiting for a reaction.

Uriko… if I die here, I hope that you will get away safely at the very least… the mole zoanthrope thought even as he was futilely backing up, his eyes staring forth defiantly, his spirit refusing to submit.

"N-no!!"

With that fierce scream came a blue blur that flew across his face and Kenji suddenly felt pressure against his body, the warmth of a protective force shielding him from receiving the fatal strike. He lifted his head and saw that Uriko had once again intercepted, which made him begin to frantically push her away; he couldn't believe that she wanted to help him when she was already injured from a previous save. At her interference, Xion cut his attack short and his eyes glowed inhumanly, but then he quickly moved again to backhand the girl, the blow sending her headfirst into a wall, and she collapsed to the floor afterwards, unconscious. Shocked, her friend called out her name fervently, but the gleaming creature didn't even spare a look in her direction, and merely continued stalking toward the ninja, clearly intent on eradicating him no matter what.

"Uriko!!" The dark-haired boy exclaimed in alarm, his mind frenzied with concern over her current condition, especially when she didn't move, or even stir as he kept hollering; No, she can't be-!

These wounds they will not heal

Fear is how I fall

Confusing what is real…

His attention instantly averted back to the situation at hand when Xion made a mock-missing swipe at him, and then let loose another one of his strange laughs. Somehow managing to temporarily ignore the pain, Kenji quickly rose to his feet and stumbled back a few steps as his gaze repeatedly went from his opponent to his friend, dividing his usually-keen awareness. Rage tingled in his nerves at the sight of the fiend that had harmed his innocent ally, but he was currently disadvantaged, and when the cold stiffness of the wall hummed against his spine, signaling the end of his route, he felt trapped. He wanted to defeat his opponent very badly, to save and protect Uriko, to help his brother and their friends, to end the Tabula mess, and the young teenager inwardly searched for a solution to his dilemma.

There is a way… a provocative voice drawled inside his mind, startling him momentarily.

What is this…? The ninja wondered as his eyes focused on the illuminating blade that hovered above his head, tingling with eagerness to take his life.

Do you want to defeat your opponent?

He nodded slightly, unsure of how to respond, but that seemed to be enough, and then his form was filled with unnatural power, suddenly energizing the ninja, making him feel ready to take on the opponent and win without question…

Accepting the strange new entity, Kenji succumbed willingly, completely.

Crawling in my skin

These wounds they will not heal

Fear is how I fall

The red haze consumed his conscious mind.

-----

Ugh…

Weary eyes opened after a countless period of time, and the teenage boy turned to his side, feeling too weak to even sit up, and he wondered what he had done to bring about such exhaustion.

What… happened…?

He slowly looked around, and was shocked by the sight that greeted him: the walls of the arena, formerly humming with eerie blue light, were now stained with multiple streaks of red. He stared in horrified awe, and his gaze continued roaming until it fell onto a rumpled form lying down on the other side, and despite the mangled mess, he was able to make out a bit of red and silver… It had to be Xion, definitely dead since he remained utterly motionless after a few minutes of careful observation, and Kenji released a shaky sigh, reassured by the knowledge, but he still felt a bit baffled. At least his opponent was out of commission, so that left his friend… the ninja searched for her just then, hoping that she hadn't suffered from whatever brutality had ensued while he was in his unconscious state.

Confusing… confusing what is real…

There's something inside me

That pulls beneath the surface

The more he explored, the more worried he felt; it was evident that he had done something quite vicious in his intent to slay his opponent, even though Kenji couldn't remember anything. But if he harmed Uriko in the process, he would never forgive himself…

To his pleasant discovery, she was only a few feet away from him, lying against the same wall that she'd been thrown into earlier, but the mere sight wasn't enough, so he mustered up the energy to begin crawling to her. When he reached his destination, the dark-haired boy tentatively extended a hand toward her, and his fingers clumsily felt around her neck, seeking a pulse that indicated she was still alive. After he felt it, a rare smile graced his lips in true relief, but the effort that he had made in getting to Uriko caught up with him at that moment, rendering the ninja completely exhausted, and he collapsed next to the girl. Ever-so-courageous, Kenji lifted his arm just enough to place it across her abdomen, signifying his willingness to protect her, and then he reluctantly closed his eyes to let his body rest from the encounter.

Sleep now, and conserve your strength; there will be a next time. After all, once a killer, always a killer… Bakuryu whispered in the back of his mind as he sank into the dark fatigue.

Consuming… confusing what is real…

This lack of self-control I fear is never ending

Controlling… confusing what is real…

The End

Author's Note: Whew, what an angsty piece! I originally had a different, more depressing ending planned, but I feel too happy today to write that, so I changed it. This one is still kinda depressing, but it's better than the alternative, trust me… Anyway, this fic is a little heads-up to my BR readers, who probably think that I've completely abandoned the BR category. I'm still here, I swear! :P Rest assured, AKS is still in the works – I hope to have the next chapter up sometime around Christmas, so put that gun away, Dirk. With that said, thank you all for reading, and please leave a review!

BTW, a special thank you to everyone who has me on their Favorite Authors list. I checked my stats today and it said 100 people have me on their list, so I wrote this as a gift to all of you. I love you guys! :)

With love for my fans,

Tiger5913