Tokyo-to High: Year of the Dragon
Hopefully everyone liked the introduction of Ash Crimson to the story. Once again if you didn't like the way I portrayed him Gomen! Let's see a little bit of RL updates!
Me and Tsunami recently obtained King of Fighters – Maximum Impact! SNK-Playmore's first attempt at making a KoF game 3D, and I must say we love it! Like all fans we were skeptical after all KoF was born on 2D and certain things shouldn't change, but this game plays like a 2D game in a 3D world which is really reassuring for the older gamers. Aside from some silly American dubbing, I'd say it's a perfect addition to a KoF/SNK fans Library. The game also came with a Bonus DVD that contains the making of the game, the background of the characters as well as system tweaks. The new addition of Side Stepping is disorienting at first, but gives the game a familiar tone of Rival Schools – Project Justice; which is a good thing because I love Project Justice. I only regret we didn't preorder the game, we would have gotten a really neat KoF-Fatal Fury cap worn by none other then everyone's favorite lone wolf, Terry Fucking Bogard!
Well anyways enough of my rantings lol go out and buy the game! Or at least Rent it, rip the ISO to your comp, and burn it on a DVD-R. What? I'm not condoning an act of Piracy!!! Nope nope not me o.o; lol but seriously go out and Buy the game X'D
Now one to Chapter 17!!!
Akito Yagami & Nova Yagami © me, Tsunami is © my lovely Tsu-chan, all other characters are © either Capcom, SNK, Sammy, or any other company I have borrowed existing characters
Chapter 17 – Goodbye my Friend
They arrived back at Iori's residence. Most of the day had been a good one with the exception of encountering Edge and Ash at the café. They remained silent as the got out of the vehicle; Tsunami still clinging to Akito's arm, Hibiki in a state of depression, and Nova apathetic for the first time Akito could remember.
Leona and Hibiki turned and with saying little to Akito and Tsunami, entered the house. Akito knew he was going to have to tell his cousin and aunt about what Ash had told him. He really wasn't sure if they would believe him or not, but if Ash meant them harm as well he thought they deserved to know.
Nova turned to the pair of them and spoke softly. "I... I'm gonna go train..." He released a soft sigh and wandered out through the yard and into small forest surrounding the house. Akito wasn't sure what Nova meant by training but he was sure he wanted to be alone.
"What's wrong with him?" Tsunami said in a meek curious tone. "Well... He got his ass kicked to be blunt..." Akito watched Nova till he was out of view. "Wow... no wonder he's all glum."
"Look, Tsunami, there's something I need to tell you..." Tsunami turned her attention to him and blinked. "Sure what is it?" Akito sighed and scratched his neck. "You could be in danger... and if something happened to you... I couldn't live with myself..." He already knew Tsunami's response before she said it. "I don't care! I'm staying here with you! Nothing is going to keep me from you."
Tsunami was as stubborn as they came; Akito knew she got it from her mother, and it had been very cute at times. This however, was not one of those times. "Tsu I'm serious... You could be in real danger..." She pouted and poked him in the chest. "Please don't lecture me about danger! You know very well we've been through plenty of dangerous situations together."
"Look this time is different... let me start from the beginning..." Akito sat down outside on the small porch area. She sat down beside him and listened intently. He cleared his throat and began. "A few weeks ago, me and my sister were visited by a guess you can call her a prophet. She said something terrible was going to happen unless I stopped it. Something she called the Year of the Dragon." He looked over at her continued. "I don't know all the details, I don't know how or why its suppose to happen, but I do know I'm a big part of it... and so are you..."
"Me...?" She said blinking. "How could I be a part of it? I just got here two days ago..." "Yes I know I didn't want to believe it either..." Akito shifted uncomfortably. "Look she gave me a prophecy... and well let me tell you it." He cleared his throat again and closed his eyes trying to remember it the exact way Miu had told him.
"That which you fear, will become your strongest weapon. Friends will betray and Foes will come to your aid in your time of need. The Crimson one will steal the key to the gate that has no lock. The blood of your mother will be spilt to prevent the seal from being broken." He opened his eyes and looked at Tsunami. "I still don't see how I tie in at all..."
Akito heaved a sigh and continued. "Like I said I haven't figured it all out but, from what I know is you're the Key from the prophecy, and I'm the Gate that will open up to this danger." Tsunami did not answer but instead pondered his words; he continued. "I know... It had something to do with my Orochi blood... and after meeting Ash I'm beginning to understand. You see... when someone has Orochi blood we must find an anchor for our humanity, something that can bring us back to the reality in case we loose it."
Akito stood up and walked around slowly pacing. "For Iori it's Kyo, for Leona it's my sister, for me it's you..." He looked over and saw that Tsunami's cheeks had flushed a light shade of scarlet. "That's why... you lost it... when..." Akito interrupted her. "Yes... that's why your brother... agitated me so much..." Akito tried to put it as vague yet blunt as possible. "You see, when that happened... my very foundation was shaken up... I felt that my anchor was lost..."
Tsunami's gaze was a glazed guilt and she spoke in a accountable tone. "Gomen... It took me days to find you again... and when I did you weren't yourself... and then you left... I was so scared... you were leaving me..." Akito swallowed hard and looked out over onto the yard. "Nova was always with me... and the thought did cross my mind... but I knew I loved you more then anything else... and regardless of what you did... my love would always overshadow the anger or rage. Even then, you were my anchor."
Tsunami sat there quietly not speaking anymore and gazed at the ground. "Well... back to the point... we got a little side tracked." Akito continued softly. "The crimson one, I met him today... his name is Ash Crimson; he is very strong. Anyone that can make Nova their bitch is dangerous in my book."
"How is this Ash supposed to steal me? I don't understand... I'm not interested in anyone else..." Tsunami said her voice slowly taking it's natural tone. Akito sat down beside her. "I don't know... like I said... But I know that he's a part of it and I am too... and you are my key..."
Tsunami rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. "What about... the rest...?" Akito stared out across the yard in the direction that Nova had departed in. "I'm assuming my strongest weapon is Nova... that would explain why he hasn't been trying to get in my way as of late... we have a common enemy now... He knows if something happens to you, I'll flip out again and if I flip out it's only a matter of time before he does the same. And I know the last thing Nova wants is to loose control."
"What about your friends that will betray you? I doubt it could be Akira or Ibuki. As soon as they saw you were in trouble they went to your aid." Tsunami asked questionably. "I know I know the whole thing makes my head hurt... Don't even get me started about the foes that will come to my aid. I think the last thing I would want is Edge coming to my rescue."
Tsunami put her finger to her lips and blinked. "Akito... Your mother... she's been dead... for..." "Yes I know..." Akito muttered his mind still filled with confusion. "I don't understand that part of the prophecy very well... all I can do is pray that I can avert this thing before we need to understand that part."
They sat in silence for a few more moments, nothing seemed appropriate to say. The sun was slowly setting and despite the eerie sense of danger Akito felt from his previous encounter with Ash, it was a tender moment.
"Brother!" Akito's ears stood on end hearing his sister's voice. He turned and looked back to see Hibiki running towards them. Her face held a look of fright and grief; her eyes were a glazed mourning. "Sis what's wrong?" He turned to her looking at her concerned. He had never seen his sister in such distress, not even when Tsunami had first arrived.
"It's... It's Pupa!... She's in the hospital!"
Akito's eyes widened hearing this. "What?! What happened?!" Hibiki held her chest and panted struggling to get breath. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then slowly began. "Ibuki called a few moments ago. Akira called her and told her. I don't know what happened... but she lost a lot of blood..."
Akito instantly stood up and growled. "I bet Crimson had something to do with this! Can't people just leave her alone?! She's been through enough!" She's blinked and shook her head looking at her brother. "No, she... did this to herself..."
Akito stood still; the impact of her words hadn't quiet taken full effect. "You mean...?" He said in a monotone. Hibiki shook her head violently and spoke hysterically. "Look there's no time for this now! We need to get to the hospital!"
Tsunami who had been listening to the conversation but hadn't interrupted blinked at Akito curiously. Akito turned to her and sighed. "Pupa... she's an old friend... and..." Tsunami interrupted him by placing her finger to his mouth and nodded. "It's alright I understand, hurry and go stop wasting time! I'll tell Iori and Leona where you all went."
Akito managed a smile despite his state of shock. He turned back to his sister and nodded at her. They both darted off out of the yard and down the street. The hospital a few blocks from the school. Although it was quite a ways to run, the adrenaline that pumped through both of them was more then enough to get them there in a matter of moments.
They began to come up on the hospital they could see the lights pouring onto the street and they knew they were close. The rounded the corner and nearly slammed into Akira. They stopped and got their breath and looked at her. "Is she... we got here... as soon as we could..." Akito heaved exasperatedly. Akira gave a nod of acknowledgment. "I just got here myself let's go in together..." The three of them walked up to the hospital doors, they slide open allowing them entrance into the building.
"You stay here I'll go ask what room she's in..." Akira said to them and proceeded to the counter. Akito and Hibiki sat down in the waiting room. "This is all my fault..." Akito started. Hibiki looked at him and blinked. "What do you mean brother?" He kept his gaze on the ground and continued. "If it wasn't for me, she never would have met Nova, she never would have been used, she never would have become depressed, she never would have..."
Hibiki wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Brother it's not your fault you didn't know all this was going to happen. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this..." Akito balled his fists in frustration and gritted his teeth. "I should never have come here! Me coming here just brought pain to everyone I care about..."
Hibiki tightened her grip around her brother. "Just stop it! If it wasn't for you, I would still feel alone... I was depressed before I knew I had a brother... Stop saying you shouldn't have come here... because if you hadn't come here... it'd probably be me in that hospital bed and not her..."
Akito blinked and looked over at his sister. He had been so wrapped up with himself he hadn't noticed his sister. She had also suffered. Had him coming here really altered things? His cousin Iori was no longer depressed and isolated in his home. He had guests over every night and wasn't alone. His aunt Leona was able to assume the role of a mother figure when she took custody of Hibiki. Hibiki who once felt like she had no one who cared about her soon realized she had a brother who loved and cared for her.
Even the friends he had made in school were impacted by his presence. Akira had developed a strong will of independence that she attributed to Akito inspiring her. Ibuki had been given a goal, a motivation to continue her training. Akito nodded and hugged his sister back sighed. "Sorry I was just being stupid..."
Akira stepped into the waiting room, Akito and Hibiki looked up at her curiously. "She was just admitted... it'll be at least an hour before we can see her..." Akira plopped down beside Akito and rested her head against his other shoulder. She closed her eyes and released a soft sigh. Akito could tell she was tired; she had had a long day after all. Even Hibiki was slowly drifting off to sleep. Akito was somewhat surprised that he wasn't drowsy himself, but he attributed it to the still fresh adrenaline pumping through his veins.
What seemed like an eternity passed and there was still no change in Pupa's condition. In fact Akito and Akira were growing quite tired of the doctors and nurses with holding information from them. Akito watched with mild interest as Akira yelled at the nurse at the main desk for more information. He stood up and sighed agitatedly. He looked back at Hibiki; she had curled up into a ball in her chair and had fallen asleep. He took off his jacket and draped it over his sister with a soft brotherly smile.
Akira walked back to Akito slowly and leaned in to whisper to him. "The nurse said we can go in now... but it seems Hibiki fell asleep." He smiled at Akira and nodded replying. "Let's let her sleep, she's very tired." Akira nodded and the pair of them turned to the door and entered the patient area.
The hallway was a long eerie off-white. Akito had always hated hospitals. Just the feel of them sent an uneasy feeling up and down his spine. He had often joked and told Iori that he planned to die out in the forest among nature. What he didn't tell Iori was this was due to the fact that he was afraid of death and even more afraid of showing weakness by being afraid of death.
He felt it was normal to have a small amount of fear for death. After all, it was unexpected and could come at any moment but, he was more afraid of the fact that if Nova found out about his fear he would no doubt try to use it against him.
After rounding a few corners in the colorless labyrinth, Akira turned to him and spoke in a soft voice. "This is it, room 314." He nodded in acknowledgement. Akira turned the door knob and they proceeded inside.
It was an eerie darkness inside the room save for a soft ominous light placed against the backside of the wall. The familiar steady beeping Akito had heard when he was in the hospital, once again filled his ears. He looked down at Pupa and instinctively grabbed Akira's hand for comfort.
There she laid, her eyes closed and bandages covering her wrists. Her skin was an unnatural pale, which stood out against her tan skin. Her blonde hair hugged her face as she breathed through a tube designated for her nostrils. The once happy and chipper person Akito had once called friend was not present.
"Oh Pupa..." Akira said, her voice trembled and Akito knew she was on the verge of tears. He held her hand a little firmer and continued to look at Pupa. Pupa's head moved slowly against the pillow in the bed and she gradually opened her eyes looking up at them. The once charming jade eyes were now a glazed lime. Her lips slowly curled into a smile.
"Akito... Akira..." Akira released Akito's hand and knelt beside her bed. She took her hand and held it softly. She sobbed softly and Akito merely watched; he knew better then to tell Akira not to cry. He himself wanted to burst into tears and cling to Pupa but he restrained himself. "You stupid girl!" Akira shouted in a lament tone. "Stupid stupid girl! Why on earth would you try to kill yourself?!"
Pupa spoke in a soft tone, scarcely louder then a labored whisper. "Gomen... I was tired of living... tired of the pain... I'm sorry I worried my friends..." Akira tried to yell something at Pupa that sounded like a jumble of words and more weeping.
Akito looked down at the girl who had first greeted him on his first day. The only girl who had gone out of her way to befriend him. To try to make his day a little happier, even if it was by hanging all over him in a lovey-dovey manner. "Pupa... I'm sorry... this is my fault... if you never would have met me... you never would have met Nova... Never would have gotten used..."
Pupa lifted her hand and extended it to him. He clasped it and looked down at her. He could feel tears in his own eyes but fought back the urge to cry. "Don't bother yourself... it's not your fault... it's mine... do not cry... my friend... I forgive you..."
Akito bit his lip as it trembled and he watched Akira get to her feet and leave the room. He was sure it was too much for her and she needed to find her composure again. He gazed down at Pupa again with blurry vision. "I'm sorry I... didn't go see you... when you were... in the hospital Akito..." Akito could not answer her only listen to her soft voice.
"I was afraid... I thought you wouldn't want to see me... wouldn't want me to come visit you..." Akito shook his head violently and tried to answer but she continued. "I only regret that I made you worry about me... made you come all the way down here... That silly Daigo... Finding me like that..." She attempted a smile to lighten the mood.
Akito clung to her hand tighter and gritted his teeth in frustration. Why did his life have to be so fucking complicated?! Why did someone he cared about have to suffer so much?! Why did he did he have to be the strong one for everyone else when he so badly wanted to cry?!
He felt Pupa's other hand on his head and her voice continued. "I always liked you even the moment I met you... Even when I found about Tsunami it didn't bother me... I just wanted to be around you... I'm sorry for... being such a bother..."
Her voice slowly decreased in volume and she clung to his hair, pulling at it as if it were her last life line. "Take care Akito... be good to Hibiki... she's a very special girl... Take care of Akira, she'll try to act tough... but she'll be hurting inside... Take care of Ibuki too... she's a bit pushy... and don't you dare let her follow me..."
Akito's mind instantly panicked; followed her? What did she mean? "Don't talk like that Pupa... your going to be fine... you'll make a full recovery... And be there to make us laugh, to cheer us up, to be with us..."
He could feel her grasp releasing his hair. Her eyes closed and she spoke, her voice even weaker then before. "Not this time... My dear Akito..." Her hand fell limply by her side and her grasp released Akito's hand. Akito's ears were filled with the sound of a flat-line. His eyes filled with tears that now ran down his face. He tried to scream out but nothing came to him. "Goodbye... my friend..."