Shardclaw: Well, what can I say first of to my faithful readers, other than welcome to another uber update of this revised story after such a very looong delay, which I must humbly apologize for to everyone since most of my focus for a while was, on my part, with my job and life occupying most of the time I have these days. But here I am, still alive and well to get this thing back rolling as frequent as possible.
On another note, it seems that has managed to fix that chapter content problem I mentioned in a previous chapter, which is good news meaning I can once again give you the usual, delicious large servings of that crossover goodness that can only be written with such skill by yours truly and even some more. And since the majority of you enjoyed the last chapter, I thought it would be fitting to have Lucy and Nana come back and assist with the hosting from now on.
Nana: The way you put it, it seems that the readers are in for some real treats in this chapter, Shardclaw-san.
Shardclaw: Oh, do I have a dozy of an update to offer to make up for the time I haven't gotten to update anything for quite awhile and we're still ways from starting the next arc for this story, Nana-chan. That's to tell you how much surprises I've got planned in store judging from the developments, references and appearances from this chapter as the readers will see for themselves, though somewhat a portion of it may seem to be part of a flashback chapter to introduce someone I want to introduce from the only, official Burn Up W/eXcess manga as you'll see later on, but that too is part of the lovely surprise that I've set up for this chapter.
Lucy: Also, you happen to have a piece of good news for the fans regarding more additions into the already massive casting list which we're curious to hear. But do you think you'll be able to pull it off while being able to survive the oncoming onslaught of the current girls from your harem afterwards as it has always been these past couple of chapters, not to mention a number of games that you've been playing recently which will also be referenced in this chapter that will make some readers jealous?
Shardclaw: No need to remind me about it, Lucy-san, the gaming scene is only but an added challenge, as for the girls, I'm prepared for the worst case…hey, why are you and Nana-chan smirking to yourselves? You know just who is going to 'attack' me at the end of this chapter, huh?
Lucy: We'll keep that our little secret until then, but for now, we should get things for this chapter on the go, as we have a lot of material to cover and the fans have gotten really edgy waiting for your progress.
Nana: Agreed, Lucy-san, so without further ado, here's another crossover filled chapter for everyone's enjoyment.
Shardclaw: Aw, man, if I knew this was going to happen, I would have asked the hawt Ai Yori Aoshi girls that I had a wild time with at the end of the previous chapter for a heads up on who next on my harem list was to appear during these revisions in the future so I can prepare myself for surprises. I'm still recovering from Taeko's, Tina's and mostly Miyabi-sama's newly acquired, bedroom techniques that totally drained me out mostly, now that I finally finished the Ai Yori Aoshi manga and was quite content with how it ended and saw more of their personalities and pasts that I never saw in the anime, since they wanted to show more of their gratitude towards me that way…Oh, well, I'd better not complain and just hope for the best to come at the end of this chapter, I suppose. Enjoy the long awaited update to this crossover story to your hearts content, people.
Will their dreams depict a clue to a mystery, a memory of the past, or a revelation for the future? Yuina Hattori and Seraph finally awaken in a new and unfamiliar terrority!
Metal Gear: Soldier X
Chapter 14: A Brief Respite, Part 3
Shortly before Riku's, Nagi and Tot's departure with Maya, Rio, and Yuji, somewhere in a privately accommodated room at the Uruha mansion, Seraph was still soundly asleep next to Yuina Hattori, both of them covered in blankets. Unlike Yuina, however, she was talking lightly in her sleep as she was having a dream about her past….
"Master, are you certain about this?" Seraph asked as she was walking side by side next to a young girl with near similar hair and facial features of Yuina Hattori, both of them wearing long, and white decorated robes. The two figures were walking across a marbled floor in what appeared to be a sacred temple, bright golden light emanating from all sides of the room.
"Even if you do claim such things, I'm not willing to accept that." Seraph spoke on as they walked past other human figures with emulates accompanying them, also wearing the same attire. It appeared as if they were truly in another world, a place that housed both humans and biodroids working in harmony, in other words, a holy paradise.
"But, Seraph, what do you make of the events that have occurred in the past that lead to today?" The young girl spoke, also with a gentle voice which sounded similar to Yuina's whenever she was calm. "In this world, the only remaining piece of evidence that mankind still thrives in, and can still call a home...humans have a limit as to how much they can chase after 'power'. It was the first case many years ago and has repeated itself yet again during its time…if this goes on, this planet itself will be just a memory."
"We've preserved the planet's memory and the people within it for many years, there's no reason why the habitants should give in easily just because we're all that partly occupies it now." Seraph said as she looked to a vast sky line. As a large body of water surrounded her view, clouds could be seen floating over the large sea before her. "Is it wise to say that, just as the ancient songs predicted, this planet has met its last days?"
"That is why it is important for the occupants, or those entrusted with safeguarding the planet's future, to know of the consequences of the state of the world. 'Power' if applied the right way, can bring salvation or in the wrong way, destruction. This planet has seen enough destruction and due to that, you were brought about as a reason to steer humankind along the correct path of their ways." The young girl said as she began to sing a hymn revealing that Seraph's companion was a songstress.
"True, the emulate system was only created to curb humankind's desire for war at first, having us for entertainment reasons before it advanced to the biodroid system." Seraph said. "But, how is it that the humans can prevent such events from happening?"
"That I wish I had a certain answer to. Maybe the truth can be told from the ancient songs I've learned, as that one person may have witnessed those things to come." The songstress said before taking Seraph's arm with a smile. "But, what matters the most is that even though this place won't last much longer, we're going to watch over the memories of this place forever. It is an everlasting existence, never allowing to fade, it was always my dream."
"Master…" Seraph said as she then noticed another emulate from a distance, but something appeared to be wrong. The emulate standing before Seraph and her master bore nothing but black attire with straight long, flowing black hair, a black and revealing fighting outfit and large, dark black looming feathered wings. She had a blank look in her eyes as fresh blood dripped over her body, blood that wasn't hers.
"Lucifer…what's wrong?" Seraph asked, fearing the worst as she then noted the emulate called Lucifer holding onto the corpse of a young man. She then understood what had happened. "Don't tell me you've…?"
"He said he didn't need me anymore…why are humans like that…?" Lucifer said weakly. "They discard you like a tool when they have no use for you anymore…not only that, they are full of arrogance, continuously seeking more power to destroy one another…they should all just die…by my hands…"
(No, Master!) Seraph exclaimed in thought as before she could react, Lucifer raised her clawed hand while she dashed at Seraph's master…
Seraph suddenly woke up from her sleep, a cold sweat covering her forehead while trying to catch her breath. Wearing nothing but a simple bra vest and shorts as her undergarments, Seraph realized that she was in her room in the Uruha mansion, with a dozing Yuina at her side.
"It was just…a dream. No, more like a memory that I choose to forget, but now it's come back to haunt me." Seraph said to herself, gripping onto the sheets. It appeared that was one of the things in the world that could shake her up emotionally. "After all that has happened with Yuina and me so far, I've forgotten why I've come to this timeline to begin with. It was because of her…"
"Unnn…" Yuina groggily moved her arms as her eyes opened slowly to see a nearly distressed Seraph. "Good morning, Seraph…is something wrong, you don't look so good?"
"I'm sure this is what you humans refer to as 'getting up on the wrong side of the bed this morning', but I'm fine." Seraph said as she sat up. "I was just having a dream of my past, that's all."
"Hmm, if you want to put it that way…" Yuina said as her eyes widened when she watched the kind of spacious and luxurious room she and Seraph were in. "Wait, this isn't my room? What kind of place is this, Seraph?"
"You were asleep the entire time, so you wouldn't know that this is where we'll be staying for some time." Seraph said, getting up and using her biodroid powers to simply rearrange her appearance to put on her casual clothing. "But judging from your alarmed condition, you seem to be doing well after a good night's rest. It also appears you have remembered what occurred as well. "
"Please tell me what's going on, Seraph?" Yuina asked. "I can remember some vague stuff, but clearly enough to know that something's definitely wrong here!"
"It looks like I don't have to worry about your mental condition too." Seraph said blankly as Yuina glared at her.
"You're not being helpful by giving me these kinds of answers, Seraph!" Yuina said. "Tell me the truth, did auntie really die and I was kidnapped? What about the people who rescued us? Why are we here, weren't we rescued?"
Seraph glanced at her master and sighed as she placed her hands on the teenager before seating her back down. "First of all, you have to calm down and take some deep breaths. Acting all panicked like that won't do, Yuina, you need to think clearly on what's going on here."
"But…" Yuina began to shake as Seraph held her tighter. "I'm scared, Seraph. For the first time in a while, I've never felt like this, even after meeting and learning about you. It's not fair that you alone know what's going on while I have to suffer..."
"You're right, it isn't fair that I keep what I know to myself and act like nothing's happened, but I can tell you that I'm just as worried about the situation as you are, which is why you must trust in what I have to tell you until you can fully accept the truth of everything that's happened up to this point." Seraph said. "Do you understand, Yuina? Only your actions later can determine what we should do later on. Please, you must be able to act accordingly when you learn the truth."
"I…understand, Seraph." Yuina said, looking downcast. As Seraph gently brushed her master's long and pale pink hair, a gentle knock on the door was heard as Yuina looked alarmed, but Seraph assured her that the person was no enemy of theirs.
"Seraph-sama, have you finally awakened?" A female voice called out as Seraph answered.
"Yes, both I and my master have arisen." Seraph said as the door opened, a maid carrying a wheeled tray of assorted breakfast dishes came in the room.
"Compliments of the Uruha mansion's chef as requested by the people who rescued you." The maid bowed to Seraph and Yuina. "I certainly hope it's to your liking, knowing you both had been through strenuous times yesterday. You need to keep your appetite filled after all."
"I see, give him my thanks." Seraph said as she remembered something important while Yuina didn't hesitate to take a couple of French toasts and started chewing on some Japanese style egg omlettes. "Which reminds me, are Greg-san and his accomplices still here?"
"Who's Greg-san, Seraph?" Yuina asked as Seraph replied her question.
"He was the one who I met by chance encounter and helped me out in rescuing you." Seraph said as the maid sadly shook her head.
"About that, Greg-sama's injuries were very grave, although he's stabilized; he is currently resting in one of the rooms under intensive care." The maid said, causing Seraph to gasp.
"He's still resting…could that mean…" Seraph said in shock before stopping. "What about Riku-san, Nagi-san and Tot-san, as well as Rio and Maya-san, I need to speak to them."
"I'm sorry; they've all left the mansion to run some important errands in regards to the recent events. That was just not too long ago." The maid said as Seraph lied back. "Is there anything else I can be of assistance with?"
"Wait, could Lilica be here by any chance?" Yuina suddenly asked as the maid replied.
"Yes, she's with one of her comrades at this moment, should I get her for you?"
"Please do, I need to let her know I'm alright, as well have her tell me what's going on as well." Yuina said as the maid complied.
"I understand, please help yourselves while I arrange for her to meet you." The maid said as she left the room, Seraph glanced over to a musing Yuina while she thought to herself.
(Yuina, I'm hoping you'll be able to make sense of all this somehow as I'm still trying to, now what we're at a place like this.) Seraph thought. (As for me however, if Lucifer has indeed gone into hiding once she arrived here some time ago, I'll need to pursue her soon and put a stop to whatever insidious plans she could have. But as of now, seeing you recover from this should be my one priority…)
Meanwhile, from within another area of the Uruha mansion around the same time, inside a data and research room which served the ninja group's medical teams and their assistants near a well functioning medical room that was nearby during emergencies, Team Warrior's techie and inventor, Nanvel was seated near several monitors, watching various recordings and battle data results of the prior mission that her friends took part in the day before. She had been working on these tests since early morning and wasn't showing any signs of slowing down just yet since Oboro and Serina had also helped her after their arrival at the mansion.
She was trying to get to the bottom of the new mysteries surrounding Greg's past and its possible relation to the newly developed psychic skills that he displayed through the data and visual evidence that she gathered from his fights with Shade and Mantis. Close by, the data disc that was retrieved from Greg after the mission stayed as it was, untouched and unopened since that time as told by Maki's suggestion.
Still, after glancing at the disc and at the screens a couple of times over and over, Nanvel wished she had any understanding on what was going on and if this was related to Greg's current comatose state as she pondered some possibilities, but before she could give the matter more thought, she heard her friend's voice call out to her from behind.
"I'm back." Lilica Ebbett called out as she stepped inside the room carefully while announcing herself when she saw Nanvel was busy working and thinking. "You need a hand with anything, Nanvel?"
"Yeah, your timing couldn't be any better, Lil. I think I may need your hands a bit to help me crack with some data I've been looking over this morning from the acquired battle data of Greg's participation of yesterday's mission." Nanvel asked as the younger girl nodded, resting a small pile of hardcover books on the table next to Nanvel's work-desk.
"Sure thing, I understand. I'm just curious about it like you are, so I might as well clue myself in too." Lilica said as she rested a small pile of research books that she brought from the library and stretched her slender arms before sitting next to Nanvel. "So, found out anything useful yet?"
"Not really by much, it's just that I never actually predicted this sort of thing could have happened before. This is a first for me as well." Nanvel said, placing her left thumb near her lips. "And from what Rio told me of everything that happened, she's just as surprised as the rest of us about Greg's increase of his newly gained psychic abilities in this time spam."
"Now that you say it, when things calmed down after Serina-san, Oboro-san and the rest of the med team from the Uruha helped Greg and the rest of us out and they asked us to give us as much information as we could on Greg's condition before coming here and how much each of us knows of his medical background in terms of him using his powers. Rio did say Greg hardly recalled anything about being able to use his powers like he did yesterday after all that he did just after fighting that Shade guy I was told about." Lilica said as Nanvel's eyes lowered.
"Hmm, it could be possible that he would likely forget what he did when he fought Mantis as well if he wakes up." Nanvel said seriously. "It's just a guess, but chances are that his powers could be related to his memories as part of a function of sorts."
"Are you talking about the ones he gained and spent with us, or the ones that were sealed prior to that, such as the ones with his old family?" Lilica asked.
"Rio did say that Greg remembered a memory he had with you and Seishiro-san when she thought he would have lost control of himself after he blacked out from Shade's attack, which somehow slightly increased the offensive, speed, and strength parameters for the CQC functions that the nanomachines read shortly afterwards, but only for a set time since that seemed to be taking out some of the energy needed for them to work." Nanvel said. "Then there's Mantis not too long afterwards, who somehow released the nanomachines true functions through Greg's powers, or I should more accurately put it, the Soldier X's latent abilities that were sealed along with Greg's past memories when he began to recall them."
"So, in other words, Greg's psychic powers seem to work the best with both kinds of memories, good and bad, is that what you're saying?" Lilica surmised.
"Well, it was just a guess for the time being, but until we can learn the truth, we need to change the situation for the better, so for now this disc's going to remain untouched." Nanvel sighed as she placed a hand on the cover.
"At least we managed to figure out that much so far, it's a good thing, right?" Lilica asked with a smile.
"You're right, Lil, maybe with this little piece of information, we'll be able to put everyone else at ease for the moment." Nanvel said. "Still, we have to be cautious and can't simply assume that what Greg's going through is just simply because of his powers, we got to worry about that personality that resides within his mind as well."
"Aw, man, so much for wishful thinking for us. Getting to the bottom of this really isn't going to be easy after all, it's like there's more questions for us to solve than there are answers. But still, for his sake, we won't give up on him." Lilica said as she looked around the room, expecting Oboro to be around since this was where she saw her last with Nanvel before going to breakfast earlier in the morning.
"If you're looking for Oboro-san, she stepped out a while ago to prepare some herbal tea that she said that would calm our nerves at a time like this." Nanvel said. "But if you ask me, I think she may have snuck off to look for her husband, Gennosuke-san, who was supposed to be in a meeting with Recca, Kurei, Kagero and the other available Uruha and Hokage ninjas to discuss about the situation."
"Heh, are you feeling jealous, Nanvel?" Lilica asked with a grin as Nanvel shook her head.
"Okay, I envy her just a bit for having an incredible looking man like him for a husband; they seem to be alot closer than any other couple I've seen." Nanvel said. "Still, although they've been a big help to us so far, I can't help but wonder that there's something about them that doesn't fit along here…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lilica asked.
"Well, they certainly have a strong taste in traditional clothing, not to mention being really courteous to strangers like us as well." Nanvel said. "It may be common for them, but whenever they're in the same room with us, it's like we're part of an old ninja flick since they act so differently compared to the rest of ninjas here."
"Yeah, you're right. But I suppose people like them do make making new friends more fun, right?" Lilica asked.
"I suppose, we'd already have people from the Underground and over at Roppongi to deal with as allies, and weird as some of them may be, they really helped us out with the information gathering and the technology sharing a lot in the past in terms of helping us catch some criminals." Nanvel said as she noted the look on her friend's face as the previous conversation about Greg's powers worried her a bit and decided to change the subject.
"So, how are things on the outside otherwise, have Rio and Maya left yet?" Nanvel asked.
"Oh, yeah. Just a while ago along with Yuji, Riku, Nagi, and Tot since they had errands to run too, but that was after meeting two of their members from Riku's Uruha Ryu team and some of Kenshin-san's own Hokage Ryu teammates." Lilica replied. "They all seem like a pretty cool bunch so far."
"It seems that this mansion is just full of surprises with all these people other than us that are currently staying and arriving soon to help out." Nanvel said as Lilica briefly remembered what she was to ask Nanvel since she got to the room.
"Hey, could I ask you a personal question about some of the people staying here, Nanvel?" Lilica asked as Nanvel quizzically looked back at her.
"Sure, go on ahead and ask, though I'm not totally sure about what you mean." Nanvel asked as Lilica went on.
"Okay, is it just me, or has the Uruha mansion gotten a lot more...umm, how should I put this?" Lilica tilted her head slightly as she was trying to think of the right words to describe some of the arrivals at the Uruha mansion they've met and will be arriving soon. One of them was the mysterious, yet beautiful looking woman known as Beatrice as Lilica, while she was visiting the mansion's library area earlier, had ended up overhearing some unusual stuff during Beatrice's conversation with Nagi and Tot that made her worry a bit.
"Well, gotten more 'unique' guests over time since we met Riku and the others that live here?" Lilica finally asked as Nanvel smiled to her question. "There's no question that this place has gotten a lot more people who are now working with the ninja clans that we haven't seen or met before. It's been obvious ever since we got here yesterday."
"Ah, so that's what you're worried about, huh?" Nanvel replied. "Lilica, we don't really have much choice but to try to get used to it. I've already been hearing some talk from the people here about when the rest of the other allies that this ninja clan's made over the years will arrive, so I'm betting what we've seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg. This place is more or less a rendezvous of every possible group or organization of people who are into the whole 'good guy' business like us."
"Yeah, that's true. But, Nanvel…" Lilica lowered her tone as she wheeled her computer chair closer to Nanvel as to speak to her more silently. "…I'm not sure if this should be relevant to you, but it seems that the Underground may have been investigated by the Uruha and Hokage without us knowing."
Nanvel soon stopped her typing as she looked at Lilica when she heard this. "Wait, where, when, and how did you hear about this, Lil?" she asked sternly and quietly.
"Alright, listen up really good to what I have to tell you, because I'm still wrapping my head over what I heard and still can't come up with a logical explanation to this." Lilica said as she recalled most of what she heard to her friend, who nodded along the way with what she heard, even raising her eyebrows at some points.
After a few minutes, Nanvel sat back on her chair to relax as she tried to think up of what to tell Lilica about what she just heard.
"Hmm, GoI, Non-Humans…this is definitely new stuff to me. I do recognize the name MITHRIL though. I've heard some good stuff about them when I read up on some files about PMCs that are on the war economy hire list after the Second Impact. It's definitely news to me that they've teamed up with the Hokage, but whatever it is they're working on, I doubt it's anything bad." Nanvel said, placing an index finger near her lips. "Still, since neither of them have made any contact with the Underground and the civilizations living there as of yet, I think we can put informing the Hokage of the Underground's existence on hold for now, though from the way things are going, especially with Lt. Reese's actions, we'll probably be telling them soon enough."
"I was afraid you were going to say something like that, Nanvel. If that guy knows about the Underground too, or even that Greg, Linn and the rest of Warrior already made contact with the inhabitants, then there's no telling what could happen if he targets that place with the Patriots' backing, which is why we need to tell Chelsea-san and the others what's happened as soon as possible." Lilica said. "But other than that, those names Nagi and his girlfriend mentioned with Beatrice during that conversation with have me a bit worried even more."
"They could mean trouble if we're not watchful of them, but they could be an entirely different level of enemy we've faced so far, it would be advisable not to ponder about it until things get better for Warrior soon, if you know what I mean." Nanvel said. "But even if that's the case, I'm sure they all have pretty good reasons for those people and allies being here if the Uruha and Hokage have grown that popular over the years. And we'll need all the help we can get; I don't think we'll be able to handle things the way we used to now."
"Heh, I guess you're right. I may have been worried over nothing anyway. Yeah, I'm just sure everything will work out just fine." Lilica said nervously with a laugh as she wanted to think more about what she overheard, but as Nanvel just suggested, she had much more important things to keep her mind on at the moment. (Yeah, maybe I shouldn't ponder about what Beatrice, Nagi, and Tot talked about too much, I was probably overreacting. Though if any enemy organization other than the Patriots has discovered the Underground by now, it's definitely something we can't ignore. I get the feeling we'll probably end up needing a proper explanation about what kind of people make up this GoI if we have to deal with them somewhere down the road, especially since all three of them seemed to regard it as a real threat. Still, I'm sure that Beatrice would be kind enough to explain things to us as well, she doesn't seem like a bad person to me after all…)
Just then, Oboro re-entered the room carrying a tray of traditional tea and she noticed Lilica was there keeping Nanvel company.
"Oh, I didn't know you were here too, Lilica-san. Good morning to you." Oboro said as she placed the tray down, offering the two Warrior geniuses some. "Please, help yourselves, as it will surely relax you both."
"Thanks, Oboro-san, I really need this." Nanvel said, taking a cup while Lilica took one and filled it herself to try it out as the two women took their time and sipped the warm tea, only to have them sighing heavily to the taste after they had their fill.
"Ah, how refreshing." Lilica said, with a hint of surprise in her voice. "I feel a little more refreshed than I was earlier since I'd been working by myself from this morning."
"Same here, I think I can hold out some more through the research if I got this to help me relax." Nanvel said as Oboro nodded.
"I knew you two must be under a great deal of stress after everything that has happened, so if this can relieve some of it a little, I'm glad I could have helped this way." Oboro smiled as Lilica nodded.
"Well, it's doing just that, Oboro-san." Lilica said as she looked at the woman more closely. "But even so, we owe you big time for pitching in to help our Greg and the rest of us yesterday, I think just sitting around just looking at statistics over what's happened like this isn't going to be enough to repay you guys."
"Please, don't push yourselves more than you have to, everyone here has a part to play in the Uruha mansion just like you are." Oboro said. "We're still in the midst of gathering our allies and information to prepare ourselves for what may come next, but it's the most we can do for my dear medical student's friend and family."
"I hear you, I just hope what happened yesterday won't lead to something we couldn't control later…" Lilica said in a near doubtful voice as before any of the other two women could say something to lift her spirits, the intercom for the room blinked on Nanvel's desk as she pressed the video button to see who it was, as one of the maids of the mansion was standing at the entrance to the room as if she had an announcement for her.
"Nanvel-sama, sorry for the interruption, but an urgent matter regarding Lilica-sama's attention has arisen." The maid said as Lilica turned to the screen.
"Me? What happened?" Lilica asked simply.
"It appears your two friends who were rescued alongside you are now awake and are asking for your presence." The maid said as Lilica stood up.
"I guess this means Seraph and Yuina are finally awake and waiting for answers, huh?" she said to herself as Nanvel nodded to her. "Fine, I'll be right over."
"Go to them, you've been with her through that whole mess with Mantis." Nanvel said to her friend. "I'll be fine over here, now that Oboro-san's back."
"Yes, please do so, Lilica-san. We'll be sure to notify you and everyone else if anything comes up." Oboro said as Lilica nodded to the two as she then made her way to Yuina's temporary room with her cup of herbal tea while Oboro came to Nanvel's side to drop off the tea cups and kettle to continue on with their work.
Elsewhere in the country, in a secluded location in a mountainous region, inside a darkened room of what seemed to be a nearly abandoned estate house…
(What the hell could that old man Kurando and that Iga scum be planning this time?) Shade thought to himself as he sat in an armchair. (They've come up with some rather unique ideas in the past when it came to acquiring more power and status…but this time…how far are they going to take things?)
The immortal ninja was busy reminiscing about what had transpired the evening after being exposed by Reese for testing Greg Kinezono's abilities and letting him live at the end. Shortly after leaving the mission site, he was accompanied by Tenzen Yakushiji to a secluded location where he would meet another immortal and even more powerful ninja who was twice his current age, who he knew personally by the name of Kurando, but was commonly known as Darkness.
Despite not having wanting to do anything with the former Iga clan ninja whom he despised greatly, Shade went anyway as it was a chance abate the growing anger he was feeling over the past few days' events, especially if Kurando had anything of interest for him. Tenzen had a similar reason for tolerating Shade's presence as he was curious as to why Shade was needed for Kurando's business for starters, but paid mind to keep it hidden until he could somehow acquire more power for himself to overcome both Shade and Darkness. Tenzen had grown tired of being a servant for Darkness for all these years, although he stayed by him to gain more knowledge of the ninja and dark magic arts, despite knowing full well that Darkness had kept most of the more powerful skills to himself and would not share it with him.
When Shade got to the location, he kept silent as he was shown inside an abandoned building where there were a couple parked SUV's and several dead men wearing colored uniforms, yet were holding various weapons.
"I hope your reason for summoning me here is worth my time today, Kurando, because I'm still not in the best of moods right now." Shade's voice rang out as he stopped his movements to examine what had taken place.
"Now, now, there's no need to be angry just because you were left out of the fun." A chilling dark voice said as a tall male who looked to be in his twenties appeared from one of the sides of the SUV's, arranging his clothing as he approached Shade with a smile. "It's never too late to join in, Shade. I made sure aside from all the male flunkies here, I made sure not to ravage the female agent accompanying them…too much."
"I'd like to know what is it these people did to make you target them, if it's worth my time." Shade demanded as Tenzen called out to him from behind.
"Hmph, watch your tone around Kurando-sama and never question his purposes either." Tenzen scowled. "A simpleton such as you will never grasp his genius, especially since he's doing it to acquire a very special item."
"Really?" Shade simply replied, while maintaining his cool as he wasn't going to let Tenzen rattle him that easy. "And what may that be, I must ask, that is so special that you went through all the trouble?"
"Would you believe that I've finally gotten information that can help us retrieve the lost Émigré Manuscript?" Kurando asked with a grin, making Shade react to him in surprise.
"Did you just say…the Émigré Manuscript?" Shade exclaimed as he was very familiar with the forbidden book, which was said to bring the dead back to life. "After all this time, you've finally found it?"
"Well, yes and no. It is still quite out of our reach for now, but it shouldn't be too hard to acquire it since after all the years it existed, it migrated from place to place around the world by devout followers of religion to keep it from falling into hands such as ours. All we need to do is find its current possessors." Kurando replied calmly. "Damn that old fool, Roger Bacon…I should have ended his pitiful existence when I had the chance and that Manuscript could already have been in my hands decades ago after the last user, Graham Garland, was known to have possession of it…"
"So, what do these unfortunate people have in common with the Émigré Manuscript?" Shade asked as Kurando noted to him, pulling up a torn pocket tag that had the name, WAREZ, marked on it. "What's a company like that doing involved in the arts?"
"Its part of an assignment I've been looking into by my recent employer, apparently they are going to be part in sponsoring the upcoming King of Fighters tournament." Kurando said. "From what I've gathered, they've been busy with experiments that involved cloning Orochi's power by creating one of their own."
"And they need the Manuscript for that?" Shade asked as Kurando replied.
"Possibly, those people at WAREZ have been moving strangely for the longest while now. So much so that I can't make an exact idea of their actions, but I've been hearing things regarding resurrecting the dead for their experiments…" Kurando said as he simply waved it off. "But alas, these bodies didn't have any reliable information which could have helped, so I made sure to dispose of them before they could go back and report to their superiors that they're being investigated."
"However, there's still no time to waste." Tenzen said. "The Manuscript is one part of the problem at hand, we also have a meddlesome flea who dares to get Orochi unsealed for himself and he already possesses two of the Sacred Treasures from the last tournament."
"You must be referring to Ash Crimson, I presume?" Shade asked. "How about I go and deal with him myself for good since I too see him as a bother for gaining Orochi's full power, hmm?"
"And that is why you're such a simpleton." Tenzen said simply, causing Shade to watch him from the side. "In case you haven't noticed, if any of us happen to kill anybody from the KOF, there's bound to be problems if we were to go after the power ourselves."
"Well, the only exception was the older Bogard's brother a few years ago, from what I've heard you saw to that when he challenged you on Chisakura Island, or so I've been told." Kurando said. "I hope you don't mind, but I took a little look into it once I heard what happened. While I couldn't locate the body I took some steps on your behalf, Shade, so no one should be able to firmly pin his supposed disappearance on you."
"Hmph, that is no longer of my concern, he was a stubborn fool whose endless training routines proved to be fruitless when he challenged me, especially if he was so weak to have died of those wounds. That fool would have spared himself a good deal of humiliation along with his own life if he had only realized that he was out of his league." Shade replied simply.
"It really is so like you and your kind to bully the weak for your pleasure, Koga trash." Tenzen spoke in a mocking tone from the side as Shade took no notice of his comment and wanted to get back on the topic he was holding with Darkness before.
"In any case, what you're basically saying we need is to build a small force that is willing do our work in dealing with the interlopers who are seeking Orochi's power, is that it?" Shade asked.
"That's the plan, aside from seeing how capable they will be with the pitiful fighters in this era's time, I can assume we'll be in for some entertaining times ahead." Kurando said as he eyed Tenzen. "Besides, I'm certain you'd rejoice in meeting and regrouping your forces as, from what I recall you telling me of them, each of these warriors possessed some rather unique jutsu and ninja skills, Tenzen."
"Yes, it would be a delight to fight alongside them once more, each of the fallen Iga ninja who fought to the death with honor in the past, will gladly be able to serve our purpose in this time." Tenzen replied as Shade stayed quiet.
"The Émigré Manuscript, the rebirth of your fallen ninja brethren, Orochi's full power finally in our grasps…once everything has come together, we'll be unstoppable against anyone who opposes us once and for all." Kurando said as Shade lowered his gaze. "This is the grand moment you've been waiting for, hasn't it?"
"Yes, quite some grand things to be looking forward to indeed, seeing what needs to be done now." Shade said, adjusting his clothing, indicating he was ready to leave." I'll be sure to make the preparations in case you'll need my assistance, just to be on the safe side. I won't tolerate any more interferences or mistakes now we have this chance in a lifetime."
"Why not stay and take out some of your frustration on the woman in the back? Even after our bit of fun, she can still be mildly amusing to your tastes if only for a while." Tenzen said as Shade simply turned around.
"Hmph, another time, perhaps, I don't need to be sharing things with you of all people anyway. I just remembered I have other business to attend to and I don't want to be any later than I have to due to certain circumstances." Shade said as Tenzen scoffed at him.
"Fine then, it's your loss for missing out on all the fun we're still having here." Tenzen grinned slyly at him. "Just remember about what you were just informed, we're expecting results from your own end quite soon once we can recover those artifacts."
"Oh, don't you worry, I won't forget the deal." Shade replied to Tenzen, as he didn't want to stay around his ally in name only anymore than he had to, especially if it meant sharing the same woman both Kurando and Tenzen had ravaged repeatedly before his arrival.
"And also, Shade..." Kurando's voice called out to him as Shade stopped in his tracks. "Don't you worry yourself about those who meddled with your recent mission earlier, hearing about that ninja's new accomplices have picked my interests. I certainly would be checking things out on them soon enough."
"You'd better be careful for what you wish for, old man. They could even be conspiring with Reese for all I care. But you're free to do whatever you want until new orders come in." Shade said. "Just don't go do anything that can ruin my planned payback for them."
"You have my word; I'll simply just keep an eye on them." Kurando said before pausing as if he remembered something and called back to him. "Oh, yes one last thing…" The ancient ninja then reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper, which he tossed in Shade's direction.
"What's this?" Shade asked as he caught the paper, barely turning to Darkness.
"A list of the names of the ones that will make up your team should you agree to work with us." Darkness answered, and Shade could detect a faint amusement in his voice as he continued. "I'm certain that the names on the list should be quite familiar to you."
Shade's eyes narrowed in suspicion at Darkness' words, but he wasn't in the mood to spend any time trying to wring any answers out of further conversation with the man.
"Whatever, you'll get my answer soon enough, until then enjoy yourselves." Shade said simply before taking his leave.
After Shade had left, Tenzen looked over at Darkness "Well, do you suppose he'll take up your offer?" The former Iga ninja's expression then turned into a scowl as he glanced in the direction Shade had gone. "Though I must ask, is his cooperation really necessary?"
"We'll need his powers in the upcoming ceremony to bring back the fallen Iga and Koga ninja, so yes. In regards to your first question though, I think that last bit with the note I gave him should take care of that since a little convincing to push him by just telling him won't do the trick. It will be his curiosity and unwillingness to let go of the past that will win him over." Kurando said. "If all goes according to plan, our involvement shall be in the sidelines while any ally who will help us gain Orochi's power can be of use. At least until the right moment arrives…"
"While this is unlikely, humor me a little and tell me what to do about Shade in the off chance that he pulls something on us and take the Orochi's power for himself." Tenzen said as Kurando replied to his curiosity.
"As long as he sticks to his objectives, I should see no problems. Besides, I've known him for far too long, he won't turn against us when he's after the same thing we're pursuing." Kurando said. "Still, if we use this chance while that FOXHOUND group is in chaos due to their superior betraying them, we can gain those artifacts easier and a bit faster with less chance of interference from the enemy. It's all about getting to those Heralds first before they can fully acquire the Orochi power before we do."
"Heh, whatever makes you happy, I suppose." Tenzen said as he then heard a sound coming from a nearby room and sinister grin came upon his face. "It would appear she's woken up. If you don't mind, sir, I think I'll give our esteemed female guest a proper morning greeting."
"Just be sure not to break her, I've barely even begun to have my fun." Darkness gave a light laugh, but the look in his eye as he regarded Tenzen showed that he would genuinely be displeased if his underling didn't follow that order.
As Shade exited the hideout he thought he heard the sound of a woman's scream echoing from the doorway when he stopped and looked at the piece of paper Darkness had given him. Eight names were listed on it and he recognized the surnames of each of those listed.
(Muroga, Kasumi, Kisaragi, Jimushi, Kazamachi, Udono…all names of families within the Koga ninja clan that had a certain special technique unique to their bloodline.) He then made a bitter smile. (So that's why the old man was so amused…the irony of my having to borrow anything of the clan I long since cast aside so as to accomplish a goal such as this truly is sickening.)
Shade then let his thoughts drift to think about the reason why he left his accomplices early.
(I hope Barasuishou would forgive me for being a little late today, I guess I just have to spend some extra time with her when I return to her to make up for the delays.) Shade thought to himself as he fixed his coat properly before disappearing into a black mist, leaving the two other immortals to continue their 'business'.
Back to the present, Shade stood up as he had contemplated enough on the past events, knowing he would be beckoned by Kurando later when the preparations were complete. Despite his earlier words, Shade realized that accepting the proposal was the best course of action as he could already find ways to use these new allies that could take care of a number of complications. Of course, that didn't mean it was all going to be easy, after these eight Koga ninjas were revived, he'd have to set everything up in advance so that they would acknowledge his leadership as a Koga ninja while ensuring that they did not find out about his no longer being of that clan, or for that matter, make contact with the present Koga clan. There was also the matter of informing them about the current state of the world and how much the country of Japan itself had changed from the early days of the Edo period and finally teaching them the current ways of warfare.
(It'll take some work, but it should be advantageous to have my 'brethren' aiding me in my pursuit, but it will all be Kurando's gain if he ever gets hold of the Orochi.) Shade thought. (He would surely see fit to get me and everyone else who has helped him out of the picture and that is one thing I plan on not letting happen if he betrays me. That means, I may need to find some more allies for myself who could aid me should that happen…)
"Father?" A young girl's voice called out to him as a small, feminine figure appeared in the doorway to his room. She was wearing a long and loose purple dress, a rose with a thorny vine was covering her right eye like an eye patch as two other roses of the same nature acted like ribbons for her long, pale white hair. "What has taken you so long?"
"My apologies, Barasuishou, I'm coming to join you now." Shade replied as his expression softened into what was almost a warm smile, something few had ever seen from this man. "So sorry to have kept you waiting once again, but today, we have the whole day to ourselves. We will spend as much time together outside as you like."
"I'm glad." Barasuishou said with a smile of her own, as Shade took her small hand and walked out of the room together with the immortal ninja who she looked up to as her father.
Meanwhile, back at the Uruha mansion yet again…
"Yuina!" Lilica suddenly ran into Seraph and Yuina's room, only to see Yuina busy, trying to pick out from the assortment of clothing that was offered to her by the clothing staff of the Uruha mansion. "Whoa, looks like somebody's having fun at the mansion's expense."
"Oh, Lilica, I'm glad to see you." Yuina looked back as she quickly hugged her friend. "I just couldn't help it, when I noticed I really didn't have anything to change into after all that's happened; these people suddenly offered me these to choose from. I couldn't refuse them after they've gone to the trouble to prepare these for me…"
"Well, at least you're being honest with your feminine side, so feel free to take whatever you feel like wearing around here." Lilica said, as she thumbed her own clothing which looked like an expensive blouse and matching miniskirt, which seemed to be a more fashionable version of the clothes she normally wears at Police Town. "These also came courtesy of the mansion and the owner has no qualms in paying for such exotic stuff and letting his guests wear them. You can say it's a policy for the allies and friends of the Hokage who are staying here to look as efficient as they should be."
"Is that so?" Yuina said as she then pointed out an outfit to wear. "Then…I'll choose this and this, please?"
"Why, of course, madam." The maid responded by handing out the outfit Yuina chose, which consisted of a single red-brown designer jacket that had large black buttons for its left side, and matching blue jeans with suede black boots. While Yuina began to change into her clothes, she continued talking with Lilica.
"Alright, Lilica, now that it seems that Seraph and I are out of danger, how about telling me about why this happened?" Yuina asked sternly as Lilica nodded her head to reply to the best of her ability, her friend's questions.
"Well, considering that you recall being held captive and done some things against your will, its no surprise you want to know what's really going on." Lilica said as she then looked at Seraph who nodded back at her. "First off, what I want to know is if you know anything about a group who call themselves the Patriots?"
"No, this is the first time I've heard about them." Yuina shook her head. "Are these people responsible for what's happened?"
"They are a group of shadow leaders who run almost everything in the world, or so we've been told. Unfortunately their methods for doing so aren't what you'd call good ones and there are those who are fighting against them. We think that organization may have done this in order to get to your father, Yuina." Lilica said simply as her eyes widened. "Sorry for not telling you this, but we found out some details from Mantis after you were rescued about your father's project and how much it involved other biodroids like Seraph here."
"It…it can't be…" Yuina muttered as she had already put on her outfit, leaving her naturally long hair as it is for the moment. "So, you're saying that my aunt died and my life was endangered all because of my father's project, is that what you're trying to say, Lilica?"
"You can say it was the most probable cause, but the one who was truly responsible for causing all of that was also trying to get his hands on someone dear to me and my friends. He was the one who ordered anybody that interfered with your capture to be killed." Lilica said. "That person was working as one of the commanding officers in one of the groups who are against the Patriots, but later turned out to be one of their spies."
"I see, so this whole incident is connected to you guys as well." Yuina said as Lilica nodded. "Wait, you guys mentioned Mantis told you about my father's project, how is he?"
Both Seraph and Lilica looked at each other as Lilica sighed first and spoke.
"Mantis…was killed, despite the efforts to finally bring him out of the Patriots' grasp." Lilica said as Yuina's eyes cast downward. "We think that either the Patriots didn't need him alive any longer after the turn of events, or more likely, to prevent the spread of the information he must have had and was willing to share with us."
"All of this happened…just because I…" Yuina muttered as Seraph quickly warned her.
"Yuina, all of what happened isn't your fault; you shouldn't be quick to blame yourself just yet." Seraph said sternly.
"But, Seraph…the people who rescued us, even those who aren't related to this whole thing…they must despise me for getting them caught up in this and causing them this amount of trouble, all because of my father." Yuina said as Lilica approached her friend.
"Yuina, no one here has anything against you since you're the whole point of why my friends went through such trouble to rescue us to begin with." Lilica said. "Your father's project and how much it involved those who got into the mix had nothing to do with you."
"What do you mean?" Yuina asked.
"Everyone who came to our rescue did so on their accord; they weren't intimidated or forced to do it. Counting not just Greg, Rio, and Maya who stepped up for personal reasons aside from seeing us safe on a promise he made with Seraph, there were his friends from FOXHOUND who also wanted to help Greg out in seeing the mission through safely." Lilica said. "And from what I can tell up to this morning, it seemed that none of them had any complaints about it, as a matter of fact, we were wondering on how we should be taking care of you guys from now on."
"Lilica…" Yuina said with quivering eyes as she reached out to Lilica and started to cry, as she was trying to act tough the entire time. "I…I just couldn't help but keep blaming myself ever since auntie…!"
"It's okay, Yuina, I know it must have been hard on you all this time." Lilica said, placing her hand on her friend's head. "Take all the time you need to let it out, okay?"
Yuina's response was only a small, muffled wail as she buried her face into Lilica's chest, sobbing quietly as Seraph looked on with a somewhat unsettled look. She was still in the mental battle of how she can now deal with the hardships Yuina must face from now on, while at the same time, how she should confront an old enemy from her past.
After a few moments have passed, Yuina started to quiet down as Lilica noticed all that her friend needed was a shoulder to cry on. Yuina then lifted herself up and wiped her teary eyes before Lilica spoke.
"There, feeling better now?" Lilica asked as Yuina nodded slowly.
"A little, it's going to be awhile until I can get adjusted to all of this…" Yuina said as Seraph came over to place her hands on her shoulders.
"There's no need for you to rush things, Yuina. As hard as it is on you, it is best to take things one step at a time." Seraph said. "So, what are you going to do now as things stand as it is?"
"Lilica, would it be alright that we at least see the person who rescued us?" Yuina asked, surprising Lilica a bit as the hacker replied.
"Sure thing, even though he's asleep, I think Greg wouldn't mind a couple of visitors." Lilica said getting up. "You two, follow me."
As she made her way out of the room, she then remembered she brought along some of the extra tea Oboro made and offered the two of them it, since she thought it would relax them a great deal. While both Yuina and Seraph approved of the tea to their tastes, the trio then stopped in front of the room where Greg was recovering as Lilica opened the door for them to enter.
"Yuina, you may not clearly remember him since he rescued you, but that's the guy who personally lead the operation into rescuing you." Lilica said as Yuina looked on from the side, gasping quietly.
"I do remember him and what he did for me and Seraph, Lilica. And for that we're really grateful, but he is going to be okay, isn't he?" Yuina asked nervously as Lilica looked to the side with a near downcast look until she lifted her face as she faced the two females who seemed concerned about the person who was went through a lot just to rescue them.
"Well, things may look complicated now, but Greggie's as tough as they come." Lilica said. "If he managed to survive up to this point after all that's happened, all due to his experience while in FOXHOUND and among other things, that's already a good sign he won't go down without a fight, even something like this won't be much of a problem to him."
"But, Lilica-san…about all you mentioned before when he…" Seraph spoke as Yuina shook her head as she can see this was getting hard to continue discussing with Lilica for the moment. "I'm sorry, even though everyone says that his condition seems satisfactory for now and that help is on the way for this matter, I'm certain you're still having doubts about the outcome."
"It's okay, Seraph, its natural that everyone's like this. We're hopeful, but scared and worried at the same time about him." Lilica said. "This is the first time in the longest while something this serious had us worried about him. I'm sure everyone else in WARRIOR would tell you that, hell, I'm guessing even though she won't show it, Rio right now must still be in a mental mess over worrying about Greg more than ever now that things have come to this."
"If only there was something we could do to help…" Yuina said as Lilica shook her head.
"We could appreciate that, Yuina, but remember you two are just as important in this whole affair as he is right now. We need to make sure that you pull through this mess by the time we're working on Greg's condition, so you are everyone's priority at the moment." Lilica said. "In saying so, you and Seraph just need to relax and take things easy since you've been through quite a lot, until the ninja clan's heads and their allies gather everyone here."
"I take it that we may need to answer some of their questions again soon, assuming they may want to know more of Yuina's involvement in this?" Seraph asked as Lilica nodded as the trio exited the room quietly and began to walk in the mansion's corridor.
"I'm afraid so, but I think they won't be directly pressing you two for answers so soon. They're nice enough people who would accommodate your needs until you're comfortable and ready to share your explanations with us, whatever they may be." Lilica said.
"Then, we shall take your advice and do just that, Lilica-san." Seraph said as Yuina seemed to give out an opposing opinion.
"Wait, Seraph, is that even wise?" Yuina asked suddenly. "They may be offering shelter and protection from the enemy, but what about at home? What if…auntie…"
"I know you're worried about the state of your home after what has happened, but at this point, it's too dangerous to consider venturing outside where the enemy could locate our movements, and especially, the location of this base that's housing the very people who rescued and are protecting us." Seraph said, causing Yuina to stare at her blankly. "I'm sorry, Yuina. I too wish to at least know of the situation, but as Lilica and the people living here stated, your house could be under the Patriots watch as we speak."
"No way…" Yuina muttered softly as before Lilica can say something to console her, Recca, Kurei, and Kagero along with Yanagi, Neon and Gennosuke Koga entered the passageway where they meet the trio of women.
"I see another one of our special guests have finally awoken." Recca said in a calm and welcoming voice. "You're the young lady that was part of the objective of our son and his associate's rescue, huh?"
"Welcome to the Uruha mansion, Yuina Hattori-san." Kurei introduced himself. "I'm the owner of this establishment, Kurei Mori, and the man who just greeted you is my brother, Recca Hanabishi. I do hope you've made yourself at home during this turbulent time we're all under."
"Um, no, it's not a problem; so far, I like it here, though it's going to take a little getting used to." Yuina said as she bowed to the group of ninja heads as she turned to Recca. "You just said that your son also helped in rescuing me yesterday too?"
"That's right, though he and his close friends who work with him aren't here at the moment to tell you exactly what you need to know, so I guess that's going to be our job." Recca said.
"Seraph and Lilica filled me on some details a while ago, about these people called the Patriots." Yuina said as her eyes shifted. "About how likely my father's project may have been the reason I was kidnapped…"
"Well, we can't be too sure if that was the main case, but we've been looking into that since similar occurrences have happened in the past with other secret projects as well." Recca said. "But for now, anything that comes to your mind that could bring light to the situation could help us, Yuina Hattori."
"Of course, we're not pressuring you if it's too hard on you, it will be alright with us for you to just take it easy since we all know how…" Yanagi said as Yuina shook her head.
"No, it's not necessary; I want to do what I can to start helping those who risked their lives to help me and Seraph." Yuina said with clenched fists. "I don't want my friendship with Seraph to be the cause of your friend's pain anymore."
"Yuina…" Seraph said as Lilica approached her.
"Are you sure you want to do this, considering the situation?" Lilica asked as Yuina looked at her firmly.
"I already made my mind up, Lilica. I just can't stand the thought of knowing your friends almost got themselves killed just on the account of me, Seraph, and how we're connected to his project, when my auntie already had suffered the price." Yuina said. "Although I may not be useful as a combat skilled person, at least let me do something to help fix the problem. It's the most I can do to make up for the trouble."
"Well, we certainly didn't expect this to happen, but if you're that willing to take a step forward in facing this ordeal, I don't think anyone here is going to stop you, seeing you're already mindset about this." Lilica said. "Just don't push yourself while doing so, Yuina, you still need to relax despite all what has happened."
"I know, I won't push myself, Lilica." Yuina said as Seraph smiled to herself.
(It seems that she's not going to let the fact that she was the victim get the best of her from now on, I hope she can somehow keep the spirit up. Somehow, I underestimated that strong will she sometimes can show once the right signs show themselves.) Seraph thought to herself. (I have to be able to do the same and stick with her until she can fully overcome this ordeal.)
"However, I want to make it clear too that Seraph and I will need to know more about what the Patriots are capable of and how many people they must have hurt. If my father's going to be in danger because of them, I need to be strong enough to protect him when I see him again." Yuina said. "So please, allow me to help in any way."
"We can assure you, Yuina, that you and Seraph will be among the first to know just how the Patriots operate, but we'll also guarantee that you'll be treated as a special guest of our clan. While the information gathering will take time, please think of the mansion as home and get along with everyone." Kurei said. "I'm sure my son and his friends will also be of assistance to you when they return."
Yuina gave a simple nod as Lilica then took her arm.
"Okay then, Yuina, for the time being, how about I take you and Seraph around the mansion for a tour?" Lilica asked as Yuina complied with a smile as she walked off with Seraph following her while Gennosuke looked on.
"Are you sure it is wise for her to make that decision, considering she's somewhat the victim here, Kurei-dono?" Gennosuke asked as Kurei spoke.
"Well, maybe its part of the guilt on her conscience that's made her decide like this, as much as I like to argue the point, she's still a child." Kurei said. "This must probably be her way of expressing her determination to fix the problem."
"Even so, the girl needs the support through the matter, and we already promised we can tell her what we know about the Patriots, but will it be enough?" Kagero asked.
"Its rather soon to tell, lets wait until Riku and his friends get back to talk to them about and find out if they can do something to help ease the matter Yuina's going through." Recca said as the others nodded and returned to their original destination within the mansion.
(Author's note: If anyone out there hasn't read the Burn up eXcess manga one shot, you should check it out right away for reference sake as part of the flashback from here on out takes place shortly after the conclusion of the 'Band of Glistening Light' chapter. You can look in places such as stoptazmo or mangafox dot com to read or download it.)
Meanwhile, somewhere else in Tokyo-2…
A small alarm buzzer rang inside a dimly lit room as a young girl steadily woke up from under her wide covers, wearing simple, light blue pajamas. Fully awake now, she reached for the clock to turn off the alarm button, as metallic joints clanked together on her prosthetic right hand, covering the areas of where her natural hand should be.
"Ah, it's morning already…" The young girl said in a soft voice while yawning as she got up from the bed to go over to draw the curtains. With the over sized pajamas she was wearing, it was clear that both her hands were not just prosthetic , but also her feet as well as it made small, clanking sounds, which were being silenced a bit as her gentle steps were cushioned by the long sleeves of the pajamas. Taking hold of the curtains and spreading them, the young girl spread her arms and basked in the bright sunlight as she let out a big smile.
"Looks like today's going to be another bright day, I hope everyone at school will show up again today." The girl said as she heard a woman's voice call out to her.
"Yukari, are you up already?" The woman asked as the girl named Yukari Imada let out a cheerful 'hai'. "If you don't hurry up, you're going to be late for school."
"I know, I know, Mom." Yukari replied as she got to preparing herself for school, one of the things she looked forward to at the start of a new day. Her school blazer was already close by and ready, but the young girl had to get herself ready and washed up first.
Wasting no time, Yukari went across to her dressing table to get herself out of her pajamas, but quickly stop to adjust a picture frame that had a treasured picture of herself and another person she seemed close to, locked in a hug facing the camera.
(Hmm, it's been awhile since I've heard from Greg-niichan, didn't he say he would call me once he's back in Japan?) Yukari thought to herself, remembering the day she first met him, Linn Aramaki and Seishiro Takeda and he got involved with her life…
The date was July 7th, 2012, some time after Greg had officially joined FOXHOUND as its new psychic. From the time he was recruited, he had been working as a two man unit for various missions with Linn Aramaki, but now most of the time, they work together as frequently as possible after how much mission success progress had occurred when the two worked together on a somewhat difficult mission.
At this time, their relationship had gone from simply working comrades to simple dating, though nothing serious had started between the two. Even Rio, who somehow expected Greg to end up with Linn, was quick to approve of their relationship as she and Linn somehow became close friends.
Due to the amount of work involved in both WARRIOR and FOXHOUND parties, the groups hardly got to meet during the space of time in that year, however it was when news reports of Police Town's near destruction caused by IEM's forces when it attacked the building for reasons unknown, Greg just had to investigate once he had free time from his FOXHOUND schedule.
At first kept a secret by Seishiro, who didn't know any details himself at the time, the two persuaded Rio to let them in on what happened since WARRIOR's investigation into IEM was secret at the time. After the matter was resolved and the higher ups at FOXHOUND had allowed them some free time, Greg, Seishiro, and Linn went over to Rio upon request to a location they'd never been to before, a hotel building that housed a spacious suite in Tokyo 2.
The three FOXHOUND recruits, all dressed casually for the occasion, made their way to the inside of the suite which seemed to be handled by one person who can accommodate such luxury.
"Alright, Rio, we came here as you requested." Greg said, taking off a pair of tinted shades and placing them on his shirt collar. "You'd better have a good enough reason for contacting us now after all that mess at Police Town took place almost a month ago."
"Oh, my, you were paying attention to that?" Rio asked nervously as her surrogate son sighed while he folded his arms.
"Rio-sensei, if the top half of Police Town was almost destroyed to the point that it almost toppled off its main structure after several large explosions around the point of its origin, of course that would make news, especially to us knowing you would be inside that building along with Yuji and Maya at the time." Greg said as Seishiro approached from behind and placed his hand on Greg's shoulder.
"Now, now, Greg, there's no need to exaggerate about it so much." Seishiro assured him. "Besides, the whole matter has been dealt with already, so there's no need for you to be concerned like this."
"I know that, Seishiro-san. Still, Rio-sensei owes an explanation for all that happening and then saying that either of us shouldn't get involved until now in the case they were in." Greg replied calmly, having cooled down a little.
"Yeah, it's not like you or the rest of Warrior to take on such cases like this without our assistance." Linn spoke now. "Unless the case you're worked on was that highly confidential…"
"Alright, it's no use hiding it from you three any longer." Rio put up her arms and stood up. "I'm sure since you're so insistent to finding out why I've keep things out of the dark were because of the case we were working on as Linn implied, that I should start letting you in on what really happened."
"Okay then, what kind of case was it that you had to keep things on such a confidential level?" Greg asked as Rio started to answer his question.
"For your information, it was a bodyguard mission." Rio replied in a serious tone. "We were assigned to watch over a young girl who we rescued from a weapons lab where she was being used as a guinea pig for their experiments of developing a new weapon for war."
"Wait, what did you just say, Rio?" Linn asked, stunned to hear this, as Greg and Seishiro flinched. "A young girl was being used as a test subject?"
"You heard right, though I'm sure it's common to you guys by now. I've heard you've dealt with organizations that run illegal testing on humans and the like before since you joined the FOXHOUND group." Rio said as Greg spoke up.
"Yeah, but its not like WARRIOR to undertake quite a mission to begin with, unless the weapon in question was going to pose some threat to national security if some terrorists got their hands on it." Greg said as Rio shook her head.
"Actually…it did get a lot bigger than that once we found out just how special the girl alone is. Well, you'll know when you meet her soon." Rio said as Greg noted the change in her tone while Maya and Yuji entered the room now.
"Oh, good, it looks like everyone's here already." Yuji said as he saw Greg, Seishiro and Linn. "Yukari's been a bit stiff meeting new people besides us, but she says she's willing enough since we told her she can trust us."
"At least her mother's encouraging her enough, so it's not like she wouldn't want to meet them." Maya said as Seishiro looked on behind them to see a pair of people walking with Lilica to meet them in the living room area.
One of them was a tall woman with short and light blonde, wavy, shoulder length hair, wearing a pair of rounded spectacles and a slim, casual office uniform, noting she must have a high position at a company of sorts. The other was a younger girl who was standing at the older woman's waist height, noting her appearance was that of a pre-teenager. Her hair was different compared to the woman she was standing next to, as hers was a deep black coloured and straight, flowing hair that ended past her neck line, while wearing a white, long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of stylish jeans.
"Greg, Linn, Seishiro-san, meet Haruko Imada, and her daughter, Yukari." Rio introduced the two as Greg stepped forward to introduce himself and greet the girl.
"Yukari, wasn't it?" Greg smiled as he held out his artificial right hand to the young girl. "What a cute name for an even cuter lady such as yourself. The name's Gregory Kinezono, nice to meet you."
"Ah…the pleasure's…all mine, Greg-niisan…" Yukari muttered as Rio placed her hands on her shoulders.
"It's okay, Yukari…you can shake his hand." Rio said as Haruko nodded to her daughter who shyly lifted her arm to reveal her metallic right hand that extended all the way to her elbows, causing Greg, Linn and Seishiro to gasp silently.
(What the…?) Greg thought to himself as he saw the small metallic hand in front of him as he gave it a firm grip. (New age metallic prosthetics? I haven't seen these in awhile except for…what's going on here? Why would this girl be wearing these?)
(And it's not only that, it seems both her arms and legs are prosthetics too. Didn't you notice how different she was walking compared to kids her age?) Linn said to him through her own mental link towards him. (Did something tragic happen to Yukari to make her like this?)
(I guess we're about to find out about that shortly.) Seishiro replied through his own as well as Greg stood up to look at Rio while Linn and Seishiro took their turns in greeting Yukari as well.
"Well then, how about having everyone make themselves at home, so we can get to know each other better and that Yukari's more curious in finding out more about the guys from FOXHOUND." Rio said simply as Greg came closer to her to speak.
"Sensei, this little visit isn't going to be just telling us what really happened at Police Town anymore, I can tell already." Greg said seriously. "I hope there's some logical explanation as to what happened to that young girl."
"Okay, so I omitted telling you about Yukari's condition, sorry you had to see that without warning." Rio said, as Greg placed a hand on her shoulder.
"No need to apologize, just from looking at you, I can tell it must have been hard on you too." Greg said simply as he walked past her. "Look, I'll do my best to behave and listen to their story, okay? You won't get any attitude from me when you know I have a soft spot for kids who already refer to me as an 'onii-san.'"
"Greggie…" Rio said solemnly as she nodded. "Okay, then, let's go have a seat and formally introduce ourselves."
A moment later after everyone's settled, Linn and Seishiro were introduced to Haruko and Yukari, before they got to explaining about the details of the creation of the MD or 'Merciful Doom', a forbidden weapon created by the IEM's weapon branch. Yukari was initially a target for both her father and IEM due to the power she possessed as an experimental guinea pig, making her able to become a vessel for the weapon that can be controlled by psychokinetic energy. Along with the battle data that showed her as an exceptionally powerful combat tool, she was the reason why Police Town suffered heavy damage when the American branch of IEM was sent to capture her.
However, it was her own father, Toshiaki Imada, who personally was the one who came to Yukari among the chaos, and having still an attachment to him at the time, Yukari went alongside with him, not knowing of the cruel fate that awaited her…
"I see, so your own father…" Seishiro said as Yukari nodded as if she got the idea of what he was going to say next. So far, Greg, Linn and Seishiro had learned the truth of IEM's illegal activities, but of all the things they'd heard of human experimentation since they became FOXHOUND, Yukari's case took the cake. Somehow, the three were feeling resentment towards Toshiaki after hearing of the cruel things he did not only to his daughter, but to another of his IEM employees, the brutal rape and murder of the chief inspector for IEM, Cary Mare.
However, as Greg promised not to give any attitude around Haruko and Yukari, Linn and Seishiro did the same and held back their feelings as they'd gotten past the subject as Haruko wanted to know more of Linn and Seishiro, by asking the two about their occupations.
"Rio-san has told me about the line of work you three do, I'm interested about how different it is compared to her job." Haruko said as Seishiro answered.
"Nothing's different between the roles we take, although FOXHOUND has a more active, 'preventer' role in the defense business, if you want to describe it that way the best." Seishiro said as Greg took friendly glances at Yukari, giving her brief smiles and waves whenever she glanced at him.
"Preventer'?" Yukari asked. "What was it that you prevent?"
"It's our job to prevent certain bad things from happening." Greg said, raising his right hand up as to Haruko and Yukari's surprise, three of the round glass ornaments that were used as decorations began to lift themselves up and circle around his open palm. "Say for example, something or someone of precious or secret value that can be used for either good or evil is to fall into the enemy's hands…"
Greg then used his power to make the round ornaments float away from each other, before one of them started to lose its height and dropped, but was caught by his free left hand as he continued drawing his example.
"In this case, the enemy has the item in its possession, and it's up to us to make sure that no bad things happen to it by recapturing it." Greg said, throwing the ornament upwards and kept it afloat this time as it rejoined the other two floating glass pieces. "Of course, like Seishiro-san said, it's our mission to keep it safe to begin with, but our jobs also include repossession and security of a defenseless state, item, or individual."
Then placing the ornaments back where they belong, Linn crossed her legs and spoke. "In short, we're the type who has to take the job seriously, for our client's sake, be it private armies, business conglomerates, or even families…we'd stick to the job and see it to the end."
"Waaahhh…" Yukari said as she looked on at Greg, Linn and Seishiro. "That…was so…cool! You three are so cool!"
"Even cooler than Rio-sensei?" Greg asked, causing Rio to lunge at him, roughing his head up.
"Don't you get too full yourself, for somebody who always gets kicked around by Garland 'Bloody Hands' Durev." Rio said as Greg used some of his CQC skills to quickly get himself out of Rio's hold.
"Oh, rub it in, why don't you?" Greg muttered as he felt his cell phone ring, causing Linn to stare at him.
"Hey, didn't you turn that off when you know we'll be busy today?" Linn asked as Greg shrugged his arms.
"As much as I liked to have today be interruption free, don't forget I'm still working like two different jobs. It could be Geese-sensei or the guys from FOXHOUND calling, so I can't just ignore it." Greg said. "Forceful work habits are hard to break, you know."
"Ah, go ahead then. It's not like you're missing any fun here." Linn said as she excused him, while Yukari stepped up to Greg.
"You're going to be back soon, right?" Yukari asked. "I'd like to see you do more of those tricks from earlier."
"It'd be an honor, especially if it can bring a warm smile from that delightful face of yours out, ojou-san." Greg bowed, showing a bit of his charismatic side to Yukari, who blushed lightly to him.
"Okay, I'll wait." Yukari said as Greg took a walk to the outside of the veranda, where Haruko noticed how her daughter was being open and pondered to herself.
A few minutes later, after it seemed that Greg was busy talking on his cell phone, the recruit sighed as he placed it back. Before he made his way back inside, he heard a voice call to him.
"Excuse me, Gregory-san?" A familiar woman's voice that Greg can recognize called to him as he turned and saw Haruko Imada approach him with a tray holding drinks. "I was looking for you and I heard from Rio that you were out here. I was wondering if you wanted anything to your liking, you are one of our guests after all."
"I'm just fine, if that's what you're asking, Haruko-san. I do appreciate your concern, though, so thanks." Greg said as he nodded when he took a glass of the drinks on the tray. "I just had to take a very important call regarding work with some good friends from FOXHOUND we're supposed to be having in a couple of days once our leave is finished."
"I see, that's very good that you seem to be taking your work seriously." Haruko said as she rested the tray down on a coffee table close by and walked close to the veranda where Greg was standing, looking over the city from their rooftop while her hair flew gently from the breeze. "You seem to be quite a responsible person."
"I wouldn't get your hopes about me if I was you, I'm still ways off from the term you just described, but I'm working on it." Greg said sheepishly as he noted the look on her face. "But don't mind me asking this, just why have you come here if it's not just to offer me a drink, Haruko Imada-san?"
"It seems that Rio was right when she said she made a sharp disciple out of you, you perceived my being out here was not just to keep you company." Haruko smiled as she saw through Greg's act. "Actually, I personally wanted to talk to you about something as well as ask you a favor, both of which are in regards to Yukari. Well, that is if you're willing to listen to me."
"I had a hunch you'd mentioned her name if the topic of this conversation is about her, but I never would guess I'll be also involved from what you're saying." Greg simply said, a bit surprised as Haruko was facing him directly now with a stern look though his reaction didn't show and he managed his composure in front of her. "Well, fire away, Haruko-san. What is it you wanted to ask of me?"
The older woman held her breath first before speaking once more to the psychic.
"Gregory-san, I've never seen Yukari act the way she did when she met you for the first time ever since before… the experiments that her father performed on her." Haruko stopped midway, leaving Greg to guess what she was going to say next, even though he knew well what was on her mind without even having to use his power. "Even though she's managing through the rehabilitation, it's still hard on her, and as her mother, I can tell that she's still fighting her emotions over everything that's happened."
"Yes, I know where you're coming from. I also had to deal with such things not just as somebody who lost a limb, but as a soldier as well." Greg said seriously. "I've also seen a number of children and other victims attempt to recover from something as ghastly as what Yukari's gone through and most of their situations were hopeless, despite the technology and advanced medical science in this day and age. Then there's the psychological damage to consider as well…"
Haruko soon began to cry a little as she heard that, knowing Greg was spot on about her mental condition after all that has happened.
"I just…I just want my child to live happily once more, you understand?" Haruko asked. "Even though she said she wants to try her hardest and cut whatever remaining ties to her father, it's just going to be hard on her from now on…"
"Yukari-chan…must have been quite lonely for a long time, huh?" Greg asked as he held Haruko, making her stare at him quietly. "I can tell, her father's negligence also contributed to her being isolated from the things she was supposed to enjoy as a normal girl growing up."
"I see you've experienced the same things as well." Haruko said as Greg nodded.
"True, but that doesn't mean that it's hopeless, is it?" Greg asked. "You said so yourself, and from what I've seen, she's managing pretty well so far. However, I reckon you're asking me this for some insurance, is that it?"
"Please, if it's not too much trouble, she's already taken a liking to strangers that are nice to her and when she met you earlier…" Haruko said as Greg grinned slightly.
"Well, I guess this means I've got to take up a new role as a big brother soon." Greg said, as he rubbed his head. "Though I'd like some time to think things over first, I'm often a pretty busy guy, so I won't be around the most when you two would want me. But that goes without saying I won't turn your offer down just yet."
"Yes, please take your time, Gregory-san. I know you must contemplate things to suit, so let me know when you've come to a decision." Haruko said as Greg offered a hand to her.
"Are you sure you're alright now?" Greg asked, making sure she was well enough to face after her emotions were let loose a while ago.
"Yes, I'll be fine now, pretty much by thanks from talking with you." Haruko said as after Greg nodded to her as to leave things as they are, he began to walk back inside, but not before she called out to him to ask him one more question.
"Gregory-san, just tell me one thing." Haruko said. "Why did you jump at the chance to being with Yukari like this so soon when I asked?"
Stopping mid way, the dark shadow over his eye line disappeared as Greg was pondering heavily what just happened and the new responsibility he was given. Turning his head around, he then gave the woman his answer.
"Well, Yukari-chan's going to need a good male role model in her life until she is able to stand on her own, I'd thought I make myself someone who she can actually look up to if her father's not around anymore to fulfill his role since the kid deserves much better. Besides, even if you hadn't asked me to, I'd ask first anyway. You can say I was just waiting for the opportunity." Greg said as he looked at Haruko with a smile on his face while looking back at her. "You've got quite a cute daughter, Haruko-san; I give you props for that. It would have been impossible to refuse the offer to begin with once I stared into those wonderful and curious eyes that she has. She got me beat the moment we met."
With that, Greg walked off into the room to join the others as Haruko breathed a sigh of relief while hearing Yukari's voice called for his name in an excited tone before she joined the group once more.
The whole day passed as Greg continued to get along with Yukari who kept asking him questions about himself and his powers, as he answered to the best of his abilities, all the while contemplating on what he could do to help improve her recovery.
When the time came to leave, they left with a hearty farewell, as Yukari made sure to ask Greg to visit it again soon while Greg assured that he'd keep the promise, all the while Rio was sure that something seemed to be bothering her surrogate son, but didn't bother to touch the matter until they left the Imada apartment.
Later that evening, back at the Warrior safe-house where Greg, Linn, and Seishiro were staying during their time in Japan, they were joined by Rio, Maya Jingu, Lilica, and Yuji who offered the three FOXHOUND recruits some drinks and other refreshments after the long day from visiting Yukari Imada and her mother.
"I've got to say, today was quite eventful in terms of meeting those friends of yours and listening to their story, Rio." Seishiro said as he sipped on some cold ice tea while Linn sat close by next to him and Lilica drinking some soda. "Now after hearing all that has happened, it's rather hard to believe that such a thing happened under our noses."
"Seishiro-san's right, I'm rather surprised FOXHOUND didn't get a hold of these developments before they blew over by now, or maybe we didn't get the proper information surrounding the weapons made and how they originated that would have made us become involved somehow." Linn said as well, looking at the opening of her can with contemplating eyes.
"Well, you've got to remember that it all started as a private mission from Yukari's mom, so there was no way all of us would learn eventually just how big this thing was going to get." Lilica said. "Most especially when it involved the kid as the core reason for this whole fiasco when she became a target."
"That's true, yet still…how could her own father…do such things to her?" Linn muttered as Seishiro noticed her look was that of letting out some of the feelings she was trying her best to hold back from what she saw earlier when she met Yukari and her current condition for the first time. He could understand most of what she was feeling, with Linn being an individual of FOXHOUND and having seen children involved in causalities not just from certain missions, but also from the notable past atrocities that occurred in her home land in New Delhi, India. Seishiro had also seen similar cases in the past as well and had to be mentally able to prepare himself at one point for the worst case scenario during a mission that involved children, as did every other of his FOXHOUND comrades.
Not only that, she was rather close to her own family, most especially to her parents and kept in close ties with them often. Still, she has heard about the 'kinds' of 'father/daughter' relationships gone wrong in so many ways through the media and history, that it sickened her, but not as much as what she heard from Yukari's mother after the experiments done to Yukari Imada.
Having come from a 'father/son' relationship gone sour himself, Seishiro could agree wholeheartedly with the attractive mixed Japanese-Indian woman about how Yukari was treated by her own father. Although the situations were different comparing his father and Yukari's own, his actions were completely unforgivable in his eyes seeing what kind of a person Yukari was and that such an innocent person didn't deserved to be treated like that by anyone, especially by her own father.
"It's hard to understand, isn't it, Linn?" Seishiro asked. "That one man's greedy ambitions would also mean the sacrifice of one innocent girl that he himself created with his own blood…it's truly a despicable act that should be condemned like any of the domestic crimes more common in society like those who beat and even sexually abuse their own daughters."
"Amen to that, Seishiro-san." Yuji noted, lifting a cup of traditional green tea. "Like everyone else in this room, we all feel that way towards her old man even up to now, even though the bastard's probably rotting away in his grave after Rio managed to mess him up good."
"Speaking of everyone in this room…" Maya Jingu thumbed over her shoulder as the others saw Greg laid back on the couch in front of the television, with a set of large headphones around his neck and the tv volume on max, as he was playing Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition as Vergil in his coatless costume, on the Vergil Must Die difficulty at Mission 2 from his save file with a rather deep and concentrated look on his face as he continuously pressed between the attack and Jump buttons on his custom settings and controller, causing his Vergil to execute a number of Aerial Rave rebounds any time he got an airborne enemy with Yamato, be it one that has Devil Triggered yet or not, as the sound effects cued how fast his fingers were going.
Judging from the very short button pressing intervals during his play of Jump Cancelling than normal that the group can hear, it was clear that Greg seemed upset somehow and this was one way of him letting out what could be troubling, though it didn't seem that way to Rio, who shook her head, letting a sigh out and called out to her student, hoping to break his concentration enough for him to relax a little.
"Hey, Greggie, how much longer are you going to keep going at it like that?" Rio asked, lifting a large can of one of his favorite energy drinks that she'd seen him carry around for training and refreshment purposes, named Monster. "Take a load off and come join us for a little."
With a heaved sigh after managing to get an SS rank for the mission after a couple of tries, Greg stood up to stretch his arms and body as he turned the game system and television off since playing the game as close to a pro does be taxing on both his natural and artificial fingers. Taking off the headphones, he then turned to join his friends and adoptive family at the table as he took the ice cold metallic, black and green can from his surrogate mother.
"Mou, what is it that draws you to such an old game like that?" Rio asked as Greg sipped the drink first before talking. "We're at the age of second and third generation gaming and you're stuck with post Second Impact style games like that, what gives?"
"Even so, you've yet to understand the really deep mechanics of the combat system for Devil May Cry 3, sensei. Last I read from one of the original combat guides made for the game, there's probably a thousand different ways to execute combos and attacks in that one title alone." Greg replied, as he placed a hand on his chin as if he was going into deep thought. "Of course, I'd like to experiment that number myself, but my fingers are not as quick and agile as the pros out there, nor do I have the kind of imagination they have, so I'm not going to kill myself trying the really advanced stuff since I'm comfortable enough just being able to not only just jump cancel to an extent, but also buffer my charge attacks and then there's advancing to what I can do in part 4..."
Now noticing the puzzled looks that were directed at him from his surrogate family and his partner, Greg ceased what he was going to say next and quickly put his artificial hand behind his head. "Ah, I'm guessing you guys called me over not to have this kind of conversation, huh?"
"Well, it's just that ever since we'd gotten back from Yukari's place, you've been quiet most of the time, but we can guess just what's been bothering you, Greg." Maya said.
"She's right, you know. You did grow up with us, so knowing how you would react to certain things is common to us by now." Seishiro said as Greg sighed, feeling a bit unsettled as he heard them said this.
"Can you blame me for being like this now after hearing what happened to Yukari-chan?" Greg replied simply as he drank more of the energy drink. "Look, I'm sorry if how I'm feeling right now seems to be bothering you all, but it's a natural thing for me. I was listening to Seishiro-san and Linn, so of course I'd be pissed at her old man for something like this, but…it's not really that which is bothering me right now."
"Come on, Greg. Like you, even now, I still want to tear Yukari's old man more than just a new one, but we can't fix what can't be undone." Rio said, as if she was trying to correct Greg. "I admit I wished I should have done more for Yukari back then, we all do, but…we're beyond that point now. The damage has been done already; all that's left now is restoring whatever Yukari lost due to the experiments."
Greg's eyes lowered a little after hearing Rio's words and seeing her pained expression as he gritted his teeth.
"Alright, no need to say anymore, sensei. But as I said before, I've got something else bothering me and it's gonna take more than just talking to help me right now. I need to blow off some of this steam outside." He said as he finished the energy drink in one, long gulp before he stood up firmly and started to walk from the group.
"Where do you think you're going now?" Linn asked as Greg simply stopped in his tracks as he was near the entrance to the back yard area.
"Relax, I'm not going to sneak a smoke if that's what you're thinking, Linn." Greg said as he took up his training bag that he brought along with him. "I'm just going to try and get off something that's been on my chest since this evening, so if anyone needs me, I'll just be right outside."
"Well, I won't stop you, but just remember how chilly the nights are this time of the year, so don't stay out too long to catch something you wouldn't like." Rio said. "And also, don't try anything crazy out there or else, I'll know."
"Hai." Greg simply let out a simple and somewhat, lax reply as Lilica called out next to him.
"I got some new TrueStyle tournament videos that you should check out, Greg. Maybe we'll watch them later together to give you some ideas." Lilica said as Greg also let out a simple reply to her as well.
(Author's note: TrueStyle is an official Devil May Cry related annual tournament that has players, both pro and average, compete against each other in terms of skill and style through videos they created in any of the DMC series, but most are common for parts 3 and 4 and is also a good way of discovering hidden aspects of the combat system never thought possible. Some of the famous and personal favorite ones are those from Brea, a DMC gaming goddess (you heard right, a girl of all people, being a literal beast in Devil May Cry and turning everything about it inside out) who is best known for some of her 'flying' Dante videos that serve as an example, look for it on YouTube and see for yourself just how creative and inventive she is, then check out some of her Combo Mad vids for DMC 4 to see how far she's gotten. And no, I have no plans in joining it any time soon until I get really good at it one day, but it's unlikely in this lifetime….)
"Hai, hai. I'll be sure to keep it in check, Lilica, thanks." Greg replied as Yuji cut in with an attempt to try and cheer Greg up.
"Hey, Greg, maybe afterwards, you can stop by my room and watch the third episode of the Queen Blade's Rurou no Senshi OVAs that you've been waiting for to see for the longest while." Yuji said with a big smile as Rio, Maya and Lilica stared at him. "This time, it's got the Vance sisters as the main stars, so you're in for some threats when you'll get to see Reina in a gym uniform and then to add for the win, a steamy shower scene with all three of them at the end."
A small gulp from Greg's throat was heard as Yuji said this, not that this was uncommon to him since he had begun living in Japan and gotten used to its customs by now, but he didn't want Linn, who was in the same room with him, realize that he was thinking that all the same, she'd look just as good wearing a skimpy gym uniform in her current age or almost just about anything she puts on, proving herself to be a truly dangerous weapon to the males who work with her.
"Alright, I get the picture, Yuji, I'll be sure to drop by later when I'm in the mood." Greg said as he felt his cheeks turn red for a bit, not just for trying to get the image of his FOXHOUND female accomplice wearing suggestive clothing get the better of him, but also since like Yuji, Queen's Blade was considered one of his personal favorite gems of anime, and at one point, was forced to admit that it wasn't just because of the some of the extreme ecchi features presented in every episode, but its well directed and intriguing fantasy storyline and the unique characters that had him hooked to the series, especially in the second season. The OVA specials were just snippets for the eager male crowd of fans to appease their tastes of the series' all female cast set in a high school setting environment until the second season was aired to continue the original story.
(Crap, can't think of such unnecessary things now…it's training time.) Greg thought to himself, shaking his head fervently as he opened the door to step out with the training bag in toll. As it closed behind him, Rio slapped the backside of Yuji's head hard with an annoyed look on her face.
"Ouch!" Yuji cried out as he looked at Rio. "What the hell was that for, Rio?"
"Well, thanks so much for already making him more aggravated than he already is when what we're only trying to do is calm him down." Rio lamented.
"Yeah, Yuji, why did you have to go and mention such senseless things to him?" Maya asked. "Once he gets like that, there's hardly any stopping him now. I just hope it doesn't get the better of his emotions."
"Look, I thought it would have calmed him down somehow. I know for a fact that he likes Queen's Blade as much as the rest of the male otaku population." Yuji said as the two women from WARRIOR glared at him.
"That answer really isn't much of a reason for trying to sway his emotions like that, isn't it?" Rio asked as Yuji spoke.
"Maybe not, but I thought I'd try. Besides, you of all people should know that no matter how much control over his emotions he can have from training and being with those who care for him, he's still capable of losing it when these sort of things happen." Yuji said as he drank his tea. "I mean, he's still human like the rest of us, no matter how you look at it, Rio. He has a right to be angry after learning about how Yukari was treated, but he's also fighting within himself not to go over the line before he loses focus of his emotions and then his abilities as a psychic."
"He's right, we should never forget that he's dealing with another existence from his mind, and he's more prone to losing control of it if he becomes more emotionally unbalanced at this point, especially with us around." Seishiro said, while touching the black eye patch that covered the wounded eye that Greg gave him when he first realized his powers when he was still a child years ago. "This probably is his way of trying to keep his personality at bay, but he still needs some guidance to pull him through a situation like this, or else we'd just be having a repeat of what happened all those years ago."
Linn stayed quiet as she pondered on what she heard from Yuji and Seishiro, thinking in her mind on what she currently knew about Greg's struggle to a detailed extent. Having been told by Dr. Naomi Hunter about most of the information regarding Greg's power and the costs that came with them since she was first partnered up with him; she was one of the few people in FOXHOUND who knew a great deal about the psychic's condition soon after he was recruited. Still, it didn't change how she wanted to work and stay with him for the duration she was in the group, although having only human based abilities while Greg was on a different level from hers in certain aspects, she knew there was something she can still contribute to ease his struggle since she took a liking to him on the first day they met.
On the other hand, Rio sighed, understanding what both Yuji and her old friend meant as she reflected a bit into her past.
(They're both right, it's a natural reaction everybody must have, not only I was mad as hell about what happened to Yukari, I was like that too once when Chisato was killed...no, a lot worse as Greg of all people pointed out to me once.) Rio thought to herself solemnly as she remembered a glasses wearing brunette woman named Chisato who was one of Rio's closest friends that she made from her academy days.
She was a desk worker for Police Town's accounting department who often stayed late at nights to work the extra shifts, and even secretly helped Rio financially when her clothing bills piled on her once. Since they were tight friends in the past, she was even introduced to Greg during his early teenager days at one time before he started to live in the States as Chisato was named one of his 'godmothers' by Rio since she also helped out in his study progress during the late nights while she worked the extra shifts.
At one point, she wanted to introduce her new boyfriend who recently started to live in with her to Rio, but it never came to be as an incident that happened within Police Town sometime prior to the IEM investigation, in which a virtual drug that induced mind control was secretly administered to one of the police officers and influenced him to go on a shooting spree within the headquarters, killing a number of his own officers under his command before the effects of the drug killed him at the end, with Chisato being the first victim of a series of incidents to continue within Police Town that was dubbed, 'The Police Town Massacre'.
Emotionally unstable since the shooting and over Chisato's death, Rio was hell bent towards wanting revenge against the ones responsible for creating the apparatus that was used for the instigation of the incident, showing a side of herself that even shocked Greg as he had never seen her react such a way before, which saddened him deeply, but thanks to Maki's smooth talking, Rio had to put aside her vendetta to focus on the mission. It upset Rio even more when the case was later unsolved and pushed aside, due to lack of evidence and information, even after the headquarters suffered massive damage from when two loose criminals began to decimate Police Town due to an insider from the VDS who allowed them the security system lower its defenses and the repeat of the first incident occurred all over, but was later put to a stop by Rio and Maya.
Rio was restless from the incident, and Greg's concern for her state intervened while she thought Chisato's death was in vain and while the criminals responsible were still running around as he offered to help her apprehend them, the Virtual Drug Syndicate, and put them behind bars since certain cases surrounding murders that involved rising government officials started to occur around in the States and FOXHOUND had to investigate it, Rio agreed to work with him and Linn, along with a friend that she'd later meet during the mission that he told her about on the condition that she herself personally meet the female ringleader of the VDS that FOXHOUND was able to identify and give her a good punch for Chisato's sake as she promised him and her team that she won't go overboard as she did when the incidents started to take place.
"I got no problem with that, you're free to do as you like to her as long you don't overdo it." Greg said to her as a reply when at one time things have calmed down. "The U.S government still needs her for the mug shots anyway, since she's gotten to the international criminal status. And my bosses really don't appreciate another group taking the credit for taking these guys down, but this all started when your country's criminals started mass producing that virtual drug for the masses. If that thing ever got out on the public streets in America, we'd have quite the problem getting it under control. A drug with this powerful effect will change everything in society and that won't be a good image setting for the most powerful nation on the planet, will it?"
"Geez, even though you're going to help me get closure for Chisato, now you're saying cold things like that." Rio said in an uneasy tone at Greg. "Can't you consider how much I've gone through ever since..."
"I know perfectly what you mean, sensei, that's why I'm just putting on my FOXHOUND game face to tell you that we need this woman ALIVE, no matter what. She has a lot of questions to answer and we'll make sure to get everyone of them answered." Greg said seriously as he approached Rio and spoke her as he came in contact with her shoulders as they stood side by side.
"But as I stand close to you like this, I speak as your student and your surrogate son to tell you this: I feel the same way about Chisato-san just as you do, she was good to me in the past too. But not as strongly to go to the point that I want to play the role of a 'bad cop'. You…you actually frightened me, sensei, to see you like that, for the first time since I've known you and it made me wonder if I'm capable of feeling like that whenever I could lose control of my powers." Greg said.
Rio cast her eyes downwards in silence as Greg placed his left hand on her shoulder.
"Not that I don't understand how you feel, but it just doesn't fit someone with a personality like yours. You're just not the same without that cheerful, flirting attitude that made you popular." Greg said, now with a light smile. "I know that it must be frustrating to stay on the narrow path at a time like this, but please, bear with it for a while longer. But I can promise you this, as a FOXHOUND recruit and as the only god son to the honorable, Chisato-san…"
Greg stood firmly in front of Rio as he placed his artificial right hand on his temple in a firm Marine salute as he finished his sentence.
"…that I shall put all of my efforts into assisting in the arrest of the leaders of the Virtual Drug Syndicate alongside you and that way Chisato-san, as well the other slain officers, can finally rest in peace." Greg said firmly as Rio simply smiled at his gesture, feeling relieved that she can leave this sort of thing to him and his team when her team couldn't pull through.
"Yes, you'd make certain that will happen, won't you?" Rio asked as she felt like crying, but after seeing the determination on her surrogate son's face and feeling more better after hearing his words, she returned the salute to him with a big smile. "Let's work together to make it happen, okay?"
As Rio had stopped reminiscing and recalled what helped her through that turbulent time, she thought it was time to return the favor. Standing firmly as she began to walk towards the door where her surrogate son went through earlier.
"I guess it's up to me to talk some sensitivity to him, then." Rio said with a light smile. "Don't worry, I'll find out what's really bothering him and have a good talk with him before he ends up doing something reckless."
"Make sure you do, he can be rather rash when he's not thinking clearly sometimes." Linn said. "As his partner, I would know."
"Hmm, so you're leaving me to do this by myself, huh, Linn?" Rio asked as the Japanese-Indian native shook her head.
"Not really, you just understand him a whole lot more than I do right now. Sure, I can support him too, but you've been through things he has yet to experience which could help you talk to him more than I do." Linn replied simply. "Besides, you seem to be more relaxed whenever the two of you are together, dealing with things like this, no sense getting in the way of such a strong bond like you have."
"Fine, you won this time. But the next time he acts up, I'm leaving you to use your 'bodily talents' to try and calm him down somehow. Don't count on me all the time to ease his emotions." Rio replied, pointing her finger at Linn before she turned to the door.
Linn simply answered with a smile to Rio's comment. "Sure, Rio, whenever the time is ripe."
"Good luck, Rio." Lilica said as Rio waved back to her friend.
"Thanks, something tells me I'll need it." Rio replied as she exited the room to the outside of the house where she stopped for a moment.
"I know I saw him come out here before…" Rio said to herself as she stopped outside the back door to look around until she saw Greg's silhouette standing at the middle of the training ground, surrounded by three training bots that Nanvel made and left at the compound. His chest and back only covered by a thin white vest that he was wearing underneath the shirt which he wore earlier, while he was now wearing a pair of loose, shorter jeans that ended just below underneath his kneecaps. Rio took a closer look and saw that he was wearing straps around both his wrist and ankle areas and recognized what they were after a second observation.
"Why is he using the weights for his limbs?" Rio asked herself as she knew what they were, as she knew he would use these for training the strength of his limbs by using these time to time whenever he stopped by, but it was the first time she saw him use all of the available weights that were around for both his arms and legs. Even more strange, was the stance he was in with his arms clasped to his chest area, while his legs were in a bow legged position, stretched out from each other while his feet were in a ready position that looked more liked defense than offense.
"Wouldn't those normally restrict his movement? Also, I've never seen that pose before…" This somehow struck Rio's curiosity a little, until she saw the weights that were strapped on his limbs began to draw in a mix of red and blue aura that was surrounding Greg's body until they both lit up with a bright color, as the rest of his body began to darken a bit, leaving only the outlines of his clothing, his face and the light of the nanomachines being circulated through his right shoulder area to only be seen. Never seen something like this happen before, Rio wondered when he'd make such a stance, but she also had little worry as Greg seemed to be completely in another zone while he did this action.
Before she could call out to him, she heard a sound of a violin began to play, before an electric guitar began to accompany it afterwards, as she heard a song play out loud from his cell phone that was left on the porch. It had its MP3 sound player function on as Greg programmed it to play one of his favorite songs that help him train and focus his techniques.
Battle theme: Drink It Down, the Japanese Version of theDevil May Cry 4 Opening Trailer and Bloody Palace boss battle theme, sung by Larc~en~Ciel.
(Author's Note: Not sure if people know of this, but this song was indeed used in the Japanese trailer for DMC4, as well as the later levels of the Bloody Palace mode for boss fights, so I sort of found this song really late while I was browsing randomly for good DMC 4 gameplay vids for ideas and I ended up bouncing into a well played Nero vs Agnus, then a Nero vs Dante BP fight vid by a YouTube subscriber, DoubleDown4, that used this song for its fight and that was the turning point for me, I instantly fell in love with the song (aside from watching two epic gameplay fights which helped me gained ideas). In an attempt at a shot as a translator, since I actually copied the translations for the song, word to word from a translated music video from another YouTube host, subbedpvs, so the rest of the battle will have the original Japanese romanji lyrics first, with the translation following soon after along with the fight scene. But man, why they didn't make this song as an unlockable or an option for the American version of DMC4? Like most of the western masses, I'm a Larc~en~Ciel fan too since they sang the intro themes for the original Full Metal Alchemist and the Gundam 00 first season animes and I'd love to fight a boss with this awesome song in the background…anyway, enough of my ranting, back to the story…)
As the song started, Greg continued his stance as three of the training dummies around him lit up, apparently being run on Nanvel's programming, activated and one of them rushed at him.
The psychic suddenly cancelled his stance by turning his right leg towards his side, and the rest of his body forward, all the while his left arm was rising in a forward thrust, then repeating the process with his right arm before attacking the dummy with a one legged kick, before using a powerful rush of air below him can be seen as the blow connected to the dummy, causing it to become stunned and airborne at once. Greg then made a small gesture with his right glowing artificial hand as if he was throwing a dart towards it, in which he was actually throwing a light psychic energy shot at the target. Soon after, he then used telekinesis to thrust his body vertically upwards towards the dummy's position, executing a mid-air Judgment Kick, knocking the dummy back down on its back onto the ground.
nameraka ni hari tsuku kanshouku
[Sensation sticking smoothly,]
yami to wa fukaku ajiwa umo no
[darkness is something to be tasted deeply.]
karadajuu e ukeire te kanji aou
[Let's receive it into our bodies so we can feel it.]
Greg wasn't finished yet, as he followed after with his Grand Fall kick, planting his descending kick once, then suddenly canceling his descent, using his powers to cause a 'rebound effect' in order for him to leap a distance as he used his powers to fire a psychic ball that homed in on the downed dummy, lifting it off the ground and kept it air borne as Greg then used his powers to glide towards the target before he grabbed the dummy with his nano fist while falling from mid-air then and landed on the grounded, thus freeing his grip and now using psychokinesis to keep it in position in front of him with a pulled back right fist, being charged with psychic energy as the energy that was covering his body was being transferred to his fist. After charging it for a few seconds, Greg then sends a single, slamming punch into the dummy's abdomen area, shutting it down it of its further functions.
[drink it down,
enjoy the black around,
taste the darkness]
The other two training dummies' sensors flashed red, as the coloured plating they wore changed color to a deep black, meaning their defensive and attack capabilities have been increased to a degree in order to make the sparring more difficult.
[Let down, you feel trust, break down]
However, it was just as how Greg programmed them to behave tonight. He was now ready to push things to a higher level with his body, as he re-entered his defensive posture once more.
samari kuru shougeki heto osore zumi tobikomu
[Without fearing the coming impact, truth takes a dive]
shinjitsu ga (shinjitsu ga)
kimi ni mo nagara koumu
[and flows through you.]
The next dummy charged at Greg with a revolving blow, as Greg was able to leap a small distance towards it and deflect five of its blows with his Kinezono Style Defense technique, his arms absorbing the energy the dummy landed on him through psychic energy. He then lands back on his feet, only to execute his standard bare handed attack, before switching his movements to attack the dummy with a consistent string of Flicker Kicks which suddenly connected into several roundhouse kicks to push himself and the target towards a nearby tree before kicking it upwards with a rising spin kick that sent a heavy cloud of dust in its direction, and towards the tree hard enough to sending it crashing against it, only to send it back at Greg who was now under and behind it.
eien ni shizumu youna sakkaku ni daka rete
[How long can you maintain your sanity while caught in a hallucination,]
doko made (doko made)
shouki de ira reru no ka
[where you're sinking for eternity?]
Greg then grabbed unto the tree behind him with his right artificial hand, lifting his body to follow along with a jump as he tracked the airborne training dummy and pounced on the dummy's back with his Judgment Kick, then using his rebound effect once more from the Jump Canceling technique he was using, while turning his right hand's knuckle area into a hand-blade type of weapon, as he made a vertical cut into the dummy's area, the air around Greg looks as if it was being cut as well due to the use of the nanomachine and psychic energy combination, as a bright sphere of air can be seen around him, being formed and cut away at the same time with the attack.
Using his telekinetic guided feet, Greg touched the dummy to execute the repeated attack several times before landing on the ground once more, finishing the consistent attack on the training dummy with his Panther Snapback, which was a devastating counter attack which consists of a single blow from his left hand, then a palm blow from his nano fist which required the gathered energy Greg had stored up from his Style Defense technique.
Kimi no te ga kakushin e chikazuku
[Your hand closes in on the core,]
teoi de mo sono me ni kakeyou
[despite my wounds, I'll risk it for those eyes.]
iku mae ni tsukameru ka? chikara wo
[Will I be able to seize the power before I pass away?]
[drink it down,
enjoy the black around
taste the darkness]
The remaining dummy had already activated its last set of attack parameters after seeing it was being the last one standing against Greg. A string of messages indicating increases of defense, weight, sensory awareness and attack patterns was heard from it as the training robot flashed a heavy red around its armor plating, before proceeding to rush at Greg.
Let down, you feel trust, break down
"Looks I'm in a bit of a problem from here on out…" Greg said to himself as he saw this, still putting up a defensive posture. "Guess it's time I'd stick with the good old CQC from now on."
Kagami wa ima kudakare mita koto mo nai kimi ga
[Now the mirror breaks apart and you, whom I've never seen before, awaken.]
mezamete (mezamete)
aa, mou kare nai
[Ah, I can't go back anymore.]
The training robot's AI had now been improved greatly, as the data it was using was variant combat data information from Rio Kinezono, Seishiro Takeda and a few of FOXHOUND's more experienced combat veterans such as Garland Durev and Michael Hansen. The change in its attack stance was clearly seen as it had chosen a close combat style of Taijutsu.
Due to its increased speed, Greg didn't predict it to come close to using Garland's True Dread's power, as a flurry of kicks and punches from unpredictable directions strike around Greg's chest area, before spinning behind him and grabbing his waist area, violently slamming Greg's body behind him in a suplex throw.
The force of the combined attacks were getting too much for his body to handle, but the dummy wasn't letting up as it slammed one of its legs near Greg's position, but the psychic had managed to catch the dummy's arm with an upraised kick, pushing it back with the counter.
Migawari ni ushinatta azayaka na gensou ga
[The vivid illusion I lost in sacrifice breaks open.]
hajikete (hajikete)
sakeme ni shouki wo mita
[I saw my chance within it cracks.]
Spinning on his back to get back on his feet, Greg felt the pain coursing in his body now as he struggled to stand upright. After a few seconds, he fell on one of his legs, holding his chest in pain.
[Get up
Get up, you know the worst
fed up fearless light now.]
Wiping the blood from his lips and the heavy sweat that was gathering from his head, Greg spat out the blood gathered in his mouth from the blows that was just inflicted on him. After having regained his senses and strength if only for a moment, he then signaled the dummy to come at him once more, seemingly ready to fight again.
Kagami wa ima kudakare mita koto mo nai kimi ga
[Now the mirror breaks apart and you, whom I've never seen before, awaken.]
mezamete (mezamete)
shizuka ni gokidasu
[Quietly, you begin to move.]
The dummy charged at Greg with a downward kick from overhead, but the psychic blocked the kick and quickly shifted his hands to grab unto the ankle area of the dummy, bringing its body closer to his face. The training dummy registered an incoming palm strike as Greg pulled it close enough to attack it, but Greg suddenly went for the throat area of the dummy, holding it from behind now, while his other hand went directly for its face area as a loud, snapping sound came from the impact Greg's fist made with its face.
Wazukani hiru reta yami no mukou e kake agaru
[Shooting up a gaze beyond the darkness that opened up a little are those eyes]
sono me wa (sono me wa)
mou daremo te ni o e nai
[that no one can handle now.]
With that strike, Greg already had dizzied the dummy, and continued his assault. He then sent a strong uppercut, followed by a sweeping roundhouse kick that knocked the dummy off its feet as Greg then placed his hands together while recovering from the sweep and sent an electric charge towards the dummy's chest area, causing it to fly back away from him.
But Greg wasn't finished as he had a couple of things to mix into his attack. He then quickly clapped his hands once and touched the ground in front of him, as suddenly a gust of wind caused by his psychic powers began to pick up energy and was now a small whirlwind surrounding the dummy that was collecting stones and pebbles underneath its position from the training ground, which were now hitting the dummy as it's airborne height grew as high as the trees in the area.
While the whirlwind of stones continued to hit the helpless dummy caught high above in the air, Greg then spun his body twice away first before stopping, and using the leaking nanomachines that were leaking a wound from his artificial right arm that he got earlier, created a thin, three bladed boomerang of nanomachines that he then threw at the dummy, having his weapon cut into it and shutting it down of its functions before it landed on the ground with a hard and motionless crash.
[Drink it, drink it down]
[Drink it, drink it down.]
After this, Greg then executed a one kneed pose that then seemed to release the energy he was using before, as the red and dark blue hue that covered some areas of his body disappeared, revealing his natural dark toned skin and body once more. A sign of cold air can be seen leaving his lips as Greg then breathed once heavily after he was finished concentrating.
It took but a short moment for Rio to finish catch her breath after seeing Greg conclude the practice exhibition, having seen a side of him she never thought she'd see in battle while managing to keep the flow of battle to his favor. As she was making sure he was finished for the time being judging from the finishing posture he was taking, she decided to speak up now.
"Man, I feel so sorry for whoever will be the one to get all those consistent attacks you just did back there, Greggie." Rio lamented with a soft applause. "Providing of course, if that is humanely possible to execute those kinds of things in the first place on an actual living human being."
"Well, when you consider the kind of people I face in both actual and sparring combat, the factors change with each and everyone of them, I'm just training my body to get used to opponents that are twice or even greater than my body mass for the time being." Greg replied, as he collected his breathing as he now stared at his surrogate mother. He knew he was being watched during most of the practice. "Of course, something like that isn't really going to happen in a lifetime, I was just messing around."
"Eh? You mean, you weren't seriously doing that as part of your training?" Rio asked.
"Oh, I was, but in experimental terms. Besides, only a brute with little to zero actual combat experience would only end up being the receiving end of such punishing attacks like the ones I just did, and those were simply the basics of my combat style. If I was armed with actual weapons, had some additions to my techniques and added in some more consistency in most of my attacks of terms of mixing things up …In any case, I somehow must have caught your attention, huh?" Greg asked after he noticed Rio's eyes widened as he said most of this.
"Oh, you certainly did, in more ways than one." Rio said with a serious look as Greg stayed quiet, as she noted the serious look that was returning to her. It appeared he still seemed upset. "So, have you cooled off yet, Greg? What's the matter, why the glare?"
"If you must know…" Greg said as he raised his fists together with a pained smile on his face. "My arms and legs now hurt like hell thanks to that experimental training and I can't really take these off by myself. I was just wondering…"
Rio simply smiled while shaking her head as she approached her student to oblige his request. After managing to get them off as they dropped to the ground, Greg began to rub his wrists at a time.
"Thanks, sensei, I needed that. The nanomachines should take care of things from here, hopefully." Greg said as Rio was still looking at him, figuring out why he did such training, but was now past the point of hiding any more of what he was feeling as he had to be straight up to her now.
"So, why are you out here then, sensei? I know it's not to talk about my training just now, is it?" Greg asked as Rio replied strongly.
"Come on, Greggie, there's no use keeping it from me any longer if you're training yourself like that." Rio said simply as Greg stopped to catch his breath, knowing she was right. "The training is one thing, but other than that, I've known you long enough by now that I recognize that this is one way you usually deal with your pent up anger whenever you're around this area."
"Guess you know me well enough to say that I'm the kind to resort to this sort of thing before saying anything by now." Greg simply sighed as he rubbed his head and answered honestly. "Alright, you read me like a book. It was one way of mine to let out on what I wished was Yukari-chan's father just now. Although the result wasn't I was looking for, but it was close enough even if it didn't look like a human target, am I right?"
"Heh, so that's what it was, huh?" Rio asked as she took couple of steps from him while talking. "To tell the truth, I actually feel the same as you on that whenever I want to let out on whatever happened back then."
"Guess we're in the same boat then. Something tells me that you want to talk about it." Greg simply said while he walked a distance to take his phone and return it to normal functions. "Care to tell me more on your personal feelings?"
"I'm more interested in hearing it from you. What were you thinking just then when you guys got to meet Yukari and her mother and listened to their story?" Rio said as Greg sighed before he sat down on the small staircase leading to the porch to relax and started to talk.
"Well, coming from me, from my time training in the Marines and then joining up with FOXHOUND so far, I've heard some pretty grim stories regarding children being involved in war from both fellow and experienced soldiers." Greg said solemnly. "War orphans, child guerilla soldiers, victims and survivors of tragic consequences all due to the fighting, no matter where it's at…I've had to deal with it time and again up to the point that it's almost gotten routine and it still ticks me off that these things are still happening even after half of the world already has gone to hell."
"Have you and Linn…ever seen these for yourselves as of yet?" Rio asked as Greg shifted his eyes to the side as she asked him this.
"Well, we've done a few missions in the Middle East, as well as in the South Africa regions in the past and the kind of things I've just mentioned barely scratch the surface from all the things we witnessed then." Greg said. "Yeah, we were told and briefed many times by the higher ups that we'd have to face a strong possibility of encountering child war victims in a mission, but…to even put that fact off would be inhuman. Just seeing the reality was enough to make even the most seasoned soldier lose sense of things at the time…as I nearly have."
"Is that how you felt…about when you saw Yukari?" Rio asked as Greg replied.
"I really don't know…I've seen child survivors of war barely coping with their lives just because of the kind of trauma they've experienced while others could have brighter futures." Greg said. "However, when I saw that kid's face smiling at me like that when I introduced myself, as if nothing had happened to her…I just thought to myself, 'How can a girl like her stay so high spirited, knowing the pain she must still be going through was caused by a loved one she trusted?'"
"Greggie…" Rio muttered as she saw Greg started look at his trembling artificial right fist.
"I thought by now I could have gotten used to such things…but after seeing and hearing what Yukari's gone through…it just started to build up from deep within me." Greg gritted his teeth. "I don't know if it was sadness or extreme pity for Yukari-chan and those like her, or anger and hate for the bastard father and those like him, but I can be sure of that my feeling about this was so genuine that even I felt my counterpart from within my conscience feel it strongly. That…was the only thing that seemed to connect us on a personal level and made me react the way I did earlier. Yet still…I didn't want Yukari-chan to see that side of me or know how I felt…such a person like her…doesn't have to live out her life like this…no child has to!"
(It's been awhile since I've seen him like this, even though he comes off as a level headed guy most of the time.) Rio thought to herself. (I'm not sure if it's the stress related to his work, but I can also reckon his personal feelings must be weighing in on how he feels about Yukari's situation.)
"Was that all you wanted to say?" Rio asked. "Is that what's made you so upset, Greggie?"
"Partly, I've got another thing I should let you know about." Greg said after calming himself a little. "It happened before we left earlier, Yukari-chan's mother had a personal talk with me just after I was having that private call with some of my other FOXHOUND buddies regarding a mission we're suppose to be doing in a couple of days from now."
This came as a surprise to Rio since she didn't know that Greg included the word 'personal' to his sentence since she had an idea that whatever they talked about had to be very personal. To begin with, she didn't even know that Greg and Haruko had spoken to each other privately about this matter, which surprised her even more.
"What was it you two talked about?" Rio asked in a curious tone as Greg sighed at first, before continuing to tell Rio what had happened before when he spoke to Yukari's mother. Rio then found out that Greg was trying to sort his feelings on what he can do to help Yukari in his own way, since her own mother personally asked him to help as since WARRIOR was already still supporting the Imada family.
After a few minutes of explaining to her what transpired between him and Haruko, Rio took in Greg's words and understood that he himself must be emotionally confused in what he can to do help Yukari's situation judging by his earlier actions. After he had finished talking, it was Rio's turn now to offer him some advice to the best of her abilities.
"Now I seem to get what's been bugging you even better, but a thing like that isn't something that you should be so ticked off about, Greggie." Rio lamented. "As a matter of fact, you should feel honored that Haruko gave that request personally to you, maybe she does see something you have that can contribute to Yukari's rehabilitation."
"Maybe so, but then again, I'm just a trained psychic soldier who really hasn't started to do anything for the world except make it a safer place by intercepting and eliminating a few terrorists since I started the FOXHOUND gig in the past." Greg said. "Parenting is one thing I really have no actual experience with just yet, you know."
"True that, but you're a double major in philosophy and sociology, I doubt the actual parenting skills are necessary at this point." Rio said. "I think I know what you're problem is, how to approach Yukari more properly, huh?"
"That's my point. Normally, it shouldn't be a problem, but in this case…I'm actually at a loss on how I can deal with a situation she's in on a personal level." Greg said as Rio shook her head.
"Man, you don't have to think too hard on it, just do things how you're used to with everyone else and she'll get attached to you in no time." Rio said. "Its not like her condition's made her a recluse, she's still got a bright future despite what's happened."
"I'm not saying it's a real problem, there's one major thing to consider. Aside from that, I'm more worried about her mentality or more likely, her connection that she could still have towards her father." Greg said with a serious tone. "No matter how you look at it, she's going have to live with the fact that she's the old bastard's daughter by blood, gene and DNA for the rest of her life, something you, I or anyone else in this world CANNOT change, no matter how hard we can wish for it."
Rio stayed quiet to what Greg said and took his point seriously, while he continued on.
"In that case, as much as I hate to admit it, I want to do whatever's in my ability to help improve her condition, but I won't do it to take over any important roles for the Imada family, just being somebody they can lean on when there's trouble is enough for me." Greg said. "I guess that's pretty much where I'm stumped on how to do it properly, though."
"Afraid you'd get too attached to each other?" Rio asked as Greg fidgeted in response. "In case you haven't realized by now, you were in a similar position before when I first found you if I recall. I think you can't avoid both facts since you too have been neglected by your own father, yet still are bound by his blood."
Greg leaned back, knowing Rio was right on this one. Rio then placed a hand on Greg's shoulder as she smiled.
"Still, it's not an entirely bad thing if that can connect you two better, just think about it." Rio said. "Knowing you already, you're going to be just fine dealing with Yukari when she needs the company. Of course, if you're actually having problems and need some more professional advice, you've got the rest of us and Seishiro-san to help you out. So, don't be afraid to ask, okay?"
"Okay, you win me over this time, sensei. I'll be sure to take note of what you just said." Greg let out a relaxed sigh as he heard this and nodded his head. "Man, somehow I just felt ten pounds lighter and it probably wasn't just due to the exercise, seems like talking does really remedy a situation like this."
"Now that I assume you're feeling a little better, how about we head back inside to talk things over with Linn and Seishiro-san, huh?" Rio asked as Greg looked at her with a quizzed look.
"What do you have in mind, sensei?" Greg said, wiping his chin of the remaining sweat he built up during training as Rio continued.
"Well, since we already have the people from the NSWF Child Welfare Department being kept under wraps about how Yukari was treated by her father, in order to protect her mother's legal custody over her, one step is making sure she is protected not just by the new laws they've set up, but possibly any group that may want her since she survived some harsh experiments in the past." Rio said.
"Oh, yeah, I've been hearing about those people, they've been taking their job rather seriously since the Great Quake that hit Japan around the time Second Impact occurred when it comes to children's safety and how they are being treated these days." Greg said. "Of course, you and the rest of WARRIOR never had that kind of problem when you took me in, but not so many children who were in the same position I was years ago are so fortunate."
"True, that's part of their operation, no matter how cruel it seems, but so far they've done nothing for the police to accuse them of. " Rio said. "Also, I'm sure if you want to look around a bit, there could be leftover IEM forces who'd want the girl to themselves."
"In other words, have them be investigated by FOXHOUND when the time comes to minimize Team WARRIOR's known activity towards the group in case something happens, huh?" Greg asked. "Sounds like an idea to me, but…"
"I know, I know, we can't have your buddies find out about Yukari just yet, even though I told you to trust them whenever you're encountering problems." Rio said before Greg made a notion with his hand.
"Well, I guess I can ask that shinobi kid from my group, Riku, for a hand in regards in gathering intel on IEM secretly, his ninja clan's supposedly good in those sort of areas, as well as scouting areas without raising a ruckus from what I heard from him." Greg suggested.
"You think he can be trusted to keep the secret about Yukari?" Rio asked as Greg titled his head.
"The guy owes me some favors to pay back from a past set of joint missions; it shouldn't be a problem if I tell him about it eventually." Greg said. "Though, I won't do that just yet, its best to wait a while since it looks things are inactive for the time being with IEM's movement and Haruko-san putting an indefinite stop to the MD weapon's research."
"Right, just don't leave the guy out in the cold since he seems the type to get worried if you ask him about IEM out of the blue unless you've got a good excuse for it that can keep Yukari out of mention." Rio said, while Greg gave a little friendly gesture as if he had given in to one of Rio's ideas yet again as he gave his reply.
"Heh, to think you'd actually planned something like this. If I had known any better, you're just trying to have me show more of my softer side by doing things like this, not that I'm complaining." Greg said with a grin. "For instance, you did something like this when I first moved to the States by suggesting I joined that pen pal volunteer program, thinking I'd get lonely without you guys. It pretty much came as a surprise to me that I'd ended up getting in contact with someone who has gone through the same mess with her father in the past."
"Hey, all I did was just gave you a little push, that was all. Everything else afterwards was your own doing." Rio said, putting her hands up. "Though I'm glad for both you and that An Shouji kid that things turned out okay from what you told me so far about her, with her being adopted by that author, Ryo Sakuma, who you said sponsored for her private boarding school education."
"Yeah, if you hadn't pushed me to be her pen-pal a few years back before to begin with when I moved over, then I wouldn't have known how properly I would get to be friendly with Yukari-chan or other children her age by now." Greg replied.
"Most of that came naturally to you over the years, but you are right that I was planning quite a benefit for you back then, and not just because you two have had difficulty with your actual parents compared to now." Rio said. "But then again, most of that charm of yours that only you have around people like her is a natural thing you must already have."
"That's true; I'm not really like this with everyone else, am I?" Greg asked, as if he wanted to be sure of his genuine feelings.
"Well, that only applies whenever you're with people like yours truly, that much I do know of by now." Rio replied as Greg sighed heavily with his back turned to her, the cold night air turning white from his heavy breath.
"I guess you're right on that point, looks like I still got a long way to go." Greg said. "Man, all this time, here I thought I was tough enough to handle these sorts of things mentally, but I guess I'm still really a softie, huh?"
(Nothing's wrong with that caring attitude of yours, Greggie, I guess that's why Yukari's already gotten attached to you and even have her mother entrust her friendship to you.) Rio thought to herself while looking at her surrogate son in silence. (While it's true what you said before that none of us can ever attempt to replace the position of Yukari's father, but at least if it's you who can help give Yukari the happiness she truly deserves that was taken away from her, if only on a temporary basis, I'd be more than just content knowing she wouldn't feel bad about her existence as it is right now anymore. And, hopefully in turn, maybe she can do the same for your troubled soul…)
Rio soon found herself choking a bit, as she felt some light tears trickle down her cheeks as she quickly wiped them clean and cleared her throat. Just dwelling on how the two are almost alike which would be a basis of sorts for the two of them interacting with each other soon was making her emotional a bit and clearly she didn't want Greg to find out how she was still trying her best to get used to Yukari's current condition.
"Come on back inside, Greg, its getting way too chilly out here for my tastes." Rio lamented as Greg turned back around, putting back on his shirt from before as she suddenly thought of something.
(Still, I've never seen Greg pull that kind of stance before, which means he must have found another way to use his abilities for combat like that while he was in FOXHOUND.) Rio thought to herself. (First he started by storing psychic energy into his limbs to increase body weight while maintaining a limited ability to jump to a certain height, then transferring the gathered energy to some of the attacks against the heavy opponents in order to create lifting properties while fighting them. It also looked like each attack was planned one after another in order to maximize some of the lift he used for some of his aerial attacks. Didn't think he'd advance like this in terms of combat, but as he said, he was still experimenting with the idea…sometimes I frighten myself thinking I raised a guy like this.)
"Is something the matter, sensei?" Greg asked as Rio shook her head.
"Nope, just have something in my mind, but it's nothing to worry about." Rio replied, as she decided to drop the idea of asking Greg about most of what he was practicing, and placing an arm around his neck. "Come on, everyone else is rather concerned for you. Let's go and tell them what we just talked about and hear what they have to say."
"Hai, hai, you just go in first, I'll join you shortly." Greg said, waving to his surrogate mother. "I'm just going to clean up out here first before I get inside and call it a wrap for the night."
"Need any help?" Rio asked as Greg shook his head.
"I'm cool, really, it's no big thing." Greg said in a quick reply as Rio looked at him at first before smiling silently as he watched her head back inside to join the rest of their friends first, but at the moment he was alone once more in the training yard, he suddenly grimaced by clutching his chest with his left hand and holding unto his mouth with his right hand. With widened eyes, Greg hurried over to a nearby set of bushes and began to throw up, the effects of his experimental training and Violent Greg's influence now taking their toll on his body that he couldn't show before in front of his surrogate mother.
Finally getting himself to breathe properly once more, he then heard his counterpart's voice speak from within.
"I warned you before, didn't I?" Violent Greg said in an echoing tone. "Try to do things the way you want with my power and this is what you'll get. I don't understand why you'd try in the first place, just because you're pissed at how some old guy treated his daughter, you just wanted to use me as an excuse to beat something up, namely yourself."
"Che, what about you, who was giving hints to do just that once you heard everything?" Greg asked in return. "I could care less what you're thinking, I'm going to go with my instinct and help out in any way I can, and I certainly don't need you to butt in when you feel like it."
"I only gave you access this one time since this is about the only thing we can see eye to eye with, but think wisely about what I can do to you the next time you attempt that crap." Violent Greg said. "This will be my first and final warning to you."
As if he was being held down due to his heavy breathing, Greg suddenly felt the tension around his chest lessen its pressure as he removed his hand, allowing him to gather his senses. Standing firmly once more to face the clear moonlit sky, Greg thought to himself.
(So much for thinking I had finally have full control over him, my first real attempt to control my powers is actually a failed one after all.) Greg thought. (Still, what Rio said before seemed like a bright idea. Maybe I should try her approach and with time, I should be able to make the right decision for Haruko.)
With that, Greg hurried along in racking up the training equipment and robots that he brought out and soon afterwards, returned inside to join his friends and family.
Sometime after, when everyone heard about what Greg and Rio spoke about, they all agreed in the favor of pitching in to help Greg make himself a role model for Yukari to look up to while he finalized his decision for her mother the next time they met, during which he was very grateful for her to allow this. Soon after telling her that he made up his mind, Haruko seemed pleased by this and told Greg to take his time in getting to know Yukari more.
During the short time period in which they became friends, as told by Seishiro and Linn who also supported him, Yukari needed to experience as much of the outside world as possible, since she was in still in the late learning years of her school life and may have missed much important information about the current happenings of the world. Aside from teaching her some of his experiences since himself, Linn, and Seishiro had been to several places around the world in the past, one idea suggested to him was taking Yukari for a surprise trip to an amusement park Greg would frequently visit in his neighbor-hood region that was really popular with all the kids in the area.
One day after getting Haruko's permission, Greg and Linn made a surprise visit to Yukari during a day off from school one morning, having the full day to themselves as Greg personally requested one of FOXHOUND's helicopter pilots for a 'personal escort mission' with him, since he didn't want too many people to know that he would have used the Harrier 2 just for that reason, people like Matthew Reese being one of them in particular that Greg wanted to avoid answering his nosy questions.
The elated look on Yukari's face was unforgettable to those who watched her reaction when she accepted Greg's invitation, as she picked out one of her favorite outfits for the occasion, consisting of a purple, long sleeved fur jacket, since the city area of Washington that she'd be visiting would be in a near winter like state, even though the cold climate's been eliminated completely due to the global warming caused by the Second Impact.
After flying for an estimate of two and a half hours over the vast ocean that Yukari couldn't help but keep taking pictures of the sights she saw on the way over, the chopper reached the American soil and made a drop point on a field away from the amusement park for the area. After the group consisting of Greg, Linn, Seishiro, Rio, and Yukari Imada got off, they made their way to the entrance where they were greeted by an elderly American lightly bearded man wearing a baseball cap, a blue shirt, and overalls. It appeared that he knew Greg well by the way he noticed him at once.
"Well, well, if it isn't the G-man himself, haven't seen you and some of your folk around these parts in ages." The man said, lifting the front brim of his cap as he looked at Rio, Linn, Seishiro and Yukari who were with Greg.
"Yeah, it has certainly has been, old man Harold. You know me, busy as usual." Greg said simply as he saw his friend send approving nods to the other people behind him as he turned to the curious Yukari's gaze, who was shyly looking back at him.
"Good to see your family's doing well too, but who's the pretty little girl with you today, hmm?" The old man asked as Greg put up his artificial right hand, with his index finger pointing upwards as if it was a friendly warning.
"She's not a little girl; she's an Ojou-san." (AN: Japanese for young lady, also a reference to what Dante says to somebody in the first episode of the Devil May Cry anime when he introduces Patty Lowell to him. Wish they made more episodes…) Greg said in a tone that made Yukari chuckle lightly to the comment as the man joked to this and fixed his overall straps.
"Alright, excuse my manners then, young lady." The man introduced himself to her. "I just happen to be the owner of this small amusement park since the Second Impact, the name's Theodore Harold, but only my good friends get to call me by Ted or Teddy, my nickname."
"A….ano…" Yukari stopped to blush a bit, as she has yet to understand the English language fully, even though she's been getting extra lessons by her friends outside of school, from Team WARRIOR, Seishiro and Greg lately.
"Her name's Yukari Imada, she recently became a new friend of Linn, Greg and Seishiro-san through me, who knew her a while before they did." Rio inputted, placing her hands on Yukari's shoulders. She seemed to be familiar with Ted as well. "We just wanted to treat her today by showing her Greg's favorite place and to let her cut loose."
"Why, Greg, you'd go through the trouble of bringing a girl like her from the other side of the world all the way here?" Ted asked as Greg shrugged.
"Hey, I know you won't disappoint in terms of giving out the best service to those who come here, I'd thought she should have the same experience too." Greg replied. "Besides, I personally would take care of any problems that may come up, I just want Yukari-chan to have as much fun as possible, you're in good hands since you, your daughter, and I are good tenants back home at the apartment building."
"Every time whenever it's you, it's like dealing with a tough customer who is easy to negotiate with. I know Clair would agree with me on that one." Ted said as he nodded. "Okay then, come on in. Rio and Linn should know their way to the food stalls, so they can go and get things prepared in case the special young lady gets hungry."
Rio and Linn both nodded to Ted, since more or less since they knew him after visiting the country a few times, Rio was in charge of managing the sales of the local and popular foods that were made especially for the park before Linn came along for the ride since this was more of a hang out spot for Greg.
"So, that's how it is, Yukari-chan." Greg told her, facing her now. "Just tell us which ride or attraction you'd like to go first and we'll help you have a blast."
"Uhnn!" Yukari nodded as she knew she was being spoiled like this, but she didn't mind because her new friends were there to help her feel how the outside world was like if only for a little while. She got right to taking Greg and Seishiro's arms as she pointed towards one of the joy rides as her first destination.
Making sure to have pictures taken of most of the activities for the day, Yukari made plenty of memories of her first time in America, and was invited to come again by Ted to the park whenever she was around since she has become a complimentary customer.
Sometime after that, Greg often visited her and her mother to keep them company and keep track of her learning process, since Yukari had a lot to catch up on, but she was in truth a quick learner and had plenty of potential as a student. To help further her studies, Greg often brought certain foreign literature at times, so she could get a good idea of the world that she missed all those years, as well as help her develop some language skills for the next time she goes to America.
One evening, after having agreed to stay the night over for the first time since they met in order to help her prepare for a test for her class that was coming in a matter of days, Rio, Linn, Seishiro, and Greg had been taking turns each giving Yukari individual lessons and have been giving her notes and suggestions for her English.
As it was Linn's turn to wrap things up with Yukari's studies, she called out to Greg, who was busy in the kitchen, preparing a late dinner for everyone since he had been assigned cooking duties that evening.
"Alright, Greg, it's your turn to take over." Linn said, placing a hand on his shoulder as if she was tagging him while Seishiro was talking with Rio and Haruko. "Apparently, you're the last one tonight to stick with Yukari until her bed time, so don't do anything to distract her from her studies."
"Come on, what would make you want to say a thing like that?" Greg said simply, as he turned the stir fried vegetables he was cooking over on the pot he was holding as Linn replied.
"I know how much you like to play around just because she's cute and she's gotten used to having you around, but you've got to help her keep her focus too." Linn said as Greg sighed; suddenly taking off the apron he was wearing and giving Linn it as he wrapped it around her slender waist while she smiled at his gesture.
"Fine then, I get your point. Just don't take your eyes off the stove while finishing that." Greg said, suddenly taking one of the cooked carrots nearby which was being kept as a side dish and began to chew it as he left the kitchen. Aside from staying healthy, an old action gun flick named 'Shoot 'Em Up' that he watched while he was in the States one time in which the protagonist's main meal throughout the movie was nothing but carrots inspired him to eat more vegetables often, especially if he wanted to build his eyesight's strength for certain FOXHOUND missions. "See you guys whenever I'm done."
Heading upstairs to where her bedroom was, Greg fixed his shirt after finishing the carrot, cleared his throat, and knocked on the door, announcing his presence.
"Yukari-chan, it's my turn to assist, so I'm coming in now." Greg said simply as he opened the door, only to see Yukari suddenly run up to him to hug him around his waist area.
"Ah, Greg-oniichan is finally here!" Yukari said, as Greg stepped back a bit since Yukari's body weight was enough to almost him fall over.
"Now, now, Yukari-chan, what did I tell you about following Uncle Yuji's suggestions?" Greg nervously asked, although he didn't feel too bad about being called onii-chan by a stranger like Yukari.
"But that was what Rio, Maya, Lilica, and Yuji told me to start calling you by from now on since we've all become such great friends." Yukari replied, wrapping her metallic, prosthetic arms around his waist as Greg sighed. "And besides, you've really become like a real big brother to me that I know I may never get, so what's the harm in that?"
"They did that, huh?" Greg asked in response as he thought if his surrogate family really put him up for this just for their amusement, but he didn't see anything bad in that either. "Anyway, how much longer are you going to hang onto me like this?"
"But you always do fun and helpful things when we're studying together." Yukari said. "I like studying with Linn-oneechan and Seishiro-san a lot too, but you just make learning even more fun sometimes."
"If you're referring on how I helped you ace that English test that I helped you study for last month, it's not a big deal." Greg said, rubbing his nose with one of his artificial right hand's fingers. "Aside from catching up on my native language when I was younger, I did study some classic literature and monologues as well."
"Still, I can't believe that even you suggested I take a hint from one of your favorite games to help me put more feeling into my composition and it actually worked." Yukari said, as Greg simply smiled, turning his back towards her, only to suddenly turn towards her, clenching his fist as if he was acting from a play, or more like a comical scene from Dante's meeting with Agnus in Devil May Cry 4 from the cutscene, 'Agnus Redux'.
"'Is sanity…the price to pay…for power!'" Greg said with an upraised fist, causing Yukari to chuckle a little as she noticed something. "Hmm, what's up, Yukari-chan? I've known that's like one of the funniest things you've seen me do, or was my imitation a little off again?"
"Not really, you just look a little run down to me than usual." Yukari replied.
"Now that you mention it, I've really been going at it making dinner since early evening, I really haven't given myself a chance to relax yet…I must look tired to you, huh?" Greg asked, as Yukari smiled.
"Well, then, allow me to get you ready for studying with me with a complete energy charge hug!" Yukari said as his eyes widened as he heard this.
"Wait, Yukari-chan! That's not necessary, I think I can…" Before Greg can finish, Yukari suddenly tightened her hug around his waist with more strength than he can imagine. "Urrrk!"
"Juuden!" Yukari exclaimed as she used some of her leftover strength that she gained as an experimental test weapon to squeeze (or more in Greg's case, crush) his waist against her body until he started to spasm as a deafening sound of bones being cracked were heard and an unconscious Greg fell forward.
"There, energy charge completed." Yukari smiled as she now noticed what she did to her older brother like figure and gasped, noticing that she still has to control the strength that she possessed, even if she's gotten better in controlling it since the aftermath of being freed of her father's grasp. "Ah, Greg-oniichan, gomen ne! I didn't know what I've…please wake up!"
In response, Greg simply raised a weak hand up as he responded to Yukari's call, giving a short laugh before standing on his feet.
"Heh, I'm just fine, Yukari-chan. I just didn't expect you to use so much strength on me like that since I'm not being used to getting hugged for dear life like that just yet." Greg said as he placed a hand on her head as this was routine. "But thanks to that, my body feels a little better now, I think we can get things started on your studies. Just ease up on the next time you want to hug me like that, okay?"
Yukari nodded as she sat down on her studying table where her school supplies were as Greg pulled a chair from nearby closer to Yukari's position and started to help out.
Several minutes passed on as Greg looked on at Yukari's progress; he then felt his personal cell phone vibrate before a MP3 ring theme of Kamelot's, 'Shine on You's chorus began to play loud enough for both Yukari and Greg to hear.
Cause the light I shine on you
Is what you gave to me
I'm a crystal clear and true
I'm your cairn and creed
Yukari gave a brief smile as she heard this, even though she still hasn't gotten a full grasp of the English language that she was currently learning, it appeared she liked the verses in the song enough to understand what most of it meant.
Taking the phone out from his breast pocket, Greg then quickly attached a small, red customized headset that he was carrying to his left ear which Nanvel had created for his private use whenever he used his cell-phone outside of FOXHOUND a while after he started working with Geese as a means to prevent his phone calls from being traced from by an enemy or outside source. He then answered it so as not to disturb Yukari's studies as he went to the outside veranda of her room.
"Gregory Kinezono here…ah, it's only you, Geese-sensei." Greg said, as he spoke to the person on the other end, who just happened to be Geese Howard.
"That's quite a way to greet your outside sponsor and trainer, Greg." Geese's voice echoed from the other end. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"
"Actually…" Greg stopped midway as he glanced at Yukari for a moment through the open door before he took the headset that he was carrying and switched to nano communications instead so the conversation could only be heard between him and Geese. It was then he began speaking once more. "No, I can talk for a while. I was just helping a friend with her studying."
"Then, I'll make it short and simple. I need you in SouthTown by tomorrow to assist Billy in a mission; some of the rivals are starting to give me a hard time again in terms of collection protection money." Geese said.
"Whoa, hold on, I never said anything about assisting you guys in terms like that, and not especially on such a short notice." Greg said suddenly. "That was the deal when I signed up with you, wasn't it? Can you reconsider another errand for me to do?"
"As much as I'd like to refuse that idea, it will have to hold until we can find out what those Heralds of Orochi are up to, I just want less trouble to deal with by the next King of Fighters." Geese said. "Besides, I need your skills now more than ever, Greg. You're an exceptional soldier that should have no problems handling a mere group of thugs who just stepped on the wrong side of the law, that's all."
"Need I remind you that I'm not a vigilante of sorts for hire, nor is this something out from those Grand Theft Auto games that I usually play where I'm called whenever to punish those who ended up stepping on your toes. I don't do business like that, especially considering my role as a soldier, so I'm going to keep things clean as always and I'd like my criminal record to stay that way as well." Greg said seriously. "I'm just making extra use of my skills on the side while I needed the training and not to mention more importantly, the 'you-know-what'."
"I haven't forgotten your end of the bargain; I have your supply of medicine, plus the money for the last job you handled so well, so you'd be getting handled nicely when you get here." Geese said.
"Then this means that I've got to show up no matter what." Greg said as he sighed. "Anyway, I'll have to tell you some information in regards to what's been happening over at the Japanese branches of the remaining NESTS cartel, but they could wait till I get there tomorrow, same location as always?"
"Yes, we'd expect you anytime since I know that you'd take awhile to get from Japan to the States." Geese said. "That's all I've got to tell you, Greg. The real business picks up from tomorrow on, so get some rest."
"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. See you then, Geese-sensei." Greg said as he hung up and returned his cell, sighing to himself at first. (So much for spending another fun day with Yukari-chan tomorrow before going back to FOXHOUND, man, Geese-sensei certainly knows how to kill my fun sometimes…but no use complaining now that I already accepted the job since I last saw him.)
"Onii-chan?" Yukari's voice called out as Greg turned to look at her with a small grin on his face.
"Hmm, what is it?" Greg asked simply as he took out a small prescription packet containing two differently coloured pills and a glass of water that was nearby where Yukari was studying. "Already having trouble with the homework?"
Yukari shook her head as her long, flowing, and streaking hair followed her movements while she made a cute 'mnn-mnn' sound with her closed lips and replied. "I was just wondering if you'd have to go back to your home tomorrow for, you know, work?"
"My, quite the sharp one, aren't you?" Greg asked with a smile before he swallowed the pills and water. After clearing his throat, he nodded. "Yeah, it seems so, one of my supervisors needed some extra hands for help, so I won't be around to play with you again tomorrow, I'm afraid."
"It will be okay, it's not like I won't get lonely without you or anything. I'll be just fine." Yukari said, placing the pencil near her lips as if she was pondering something. "It's just that…"
"Hmm?" Greg noticed the now worried look on her face.
"It's just that…you don't look at least a bit happy when you're being called off to work. I've noticed that too sometimes when we're together with Linn-oneechan too." Yukari pointed out. "I know it's your job to prevent bad things from happening to people, but…I can tell...it doesn't make you comfortable all the time, especially in your condition."
"Well, you're right that it's not the safest job I can ask for, it pretty much has its downsides. But hey, it's like the only thing I can do with the training I've had so far, also this was something I decided on a long time ago." Greg said, as he reflected on both his jobs as a FOXHOUND recruit and as a disciple of Geese Howard, since he referred to both of them as dangerous occupations that he had to endure in his life as a psychic soldier. And this was causing Yukari to worry about him, which bothered him a little.
"So, are you that worried about me?" Greg asked, wanting to make sure that he was only imagining things.
"Well, a little sometimes." Yukari said. "I know you're Rio's number one student and you can take care of yourself pretty well, but…I couldn't help but do so, since I know now you're such a nice person and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"It's okay to feel that way sometimes, not much kids I personally know your age would express themselves in that manner towards a complete stranger like me." Greg said. "But you have to know something about my role; it's the kind that's full of risks that comes with the territory. Staying out of danger's hardly an issue anymore, so it's not like me or Linn could stay out of harm's way every-time we go out on a mission, even if we wanted to."
"I know, I understand that much." Yukari said. "But, in the end, you really wear yourself out from those missions, don't you?"
"Yeah, they can be pretty grueling at times, physically and mentally." Greg said, nodding his head while stretching his arms. "So, where are you getting at with all this, Yukari-chan?"
"I'm just saying… that it's okay whenever you're having some sort of problems with your work next time, I can comfort you." Yukari said as Greg raised an eyebrow at her.
"Hey, Yukari-chan, hold up for a moment. It's not like you to be saying things like that at your age." Greg said as Yukari shifted her eyes to the side as she touched her chest with her artificial hands.
"I'm saying, that you can cry if it gets too much for you." Yukari said. "I can lend you a shoulder, so it's okay if you let me comfort you…"
(So that what's this is about, huh? This kid…she's really…) Greg thought to himself in surprise at first before grinning to himself as he walked over to the frontal position and kneeling in front of her seated body while she stared at him blankly. Before she could know it, Greg was soon already using both of his hands to tickle her sides, causing her to giggle out loud and move about in her chair.
"Kuchi, kuchi, kuchi, kuchi!" Greg said, as Yukari playfully punched his arms while laughing.
"Hey, that's harassment!" Yukari laughed as he stopped after a few seconds and calmed down. "What was that for anyway?"
"Have you been reading those romance manga novels again? Saying things like 'you'll lend a shoulder to cry on' and that 'you'll comfort me' is really sweet and all, but it doesn't fit someone like you, especially when you say it with such seriousness." Greg replied smiling. "I just had to do that to lighten the mood, that's all."
"But, I do mean it." Yukari said, as she took Greg's artificial right hand with both of hers and placed it over her chest. "Ano-ne…will you…stay with me forever, Greg-onii-chan?"
"Mattaku, there you go again, saying things that are so not your character. Or are you simply asking to get tickled again?" Greg asked as Yukari smiled as she was expecting to get another tickle attack again, as she answered.
"I just…I just want things like this to stay as they are." Yukari said. "Now that I'm able to do the things like I wanted to do before da…I mean, my father did those things to me in the past, I'm so happy that I got to know people like Rio and Warrior, and now along with you, Linn-oneechan and Seishiro-san to help me and Mom from now on. I only want you to be with me as much as you'd like if it makes you content."
"Yukari-chan…" Greg muttered as he lowered his head and took her hands to rest them on her lap before standing up straight as he thought to himself. (As far as she can remember, she's never had a father's genuine love to begin with, has she? It's just like me when I can vaguely recall not liking my father in my past…the only difference is that I really hated his guts for something he did, but I can't sense any of that from this girl. If I had met her in my youth, would I have turned out just a little more different than I am now?)
"Now why would a cute ojou-san like you want to keep hanging out so much with an old guy like me?" Greg asked now, opening his arms. "If people were to see that and get the wrong idea, then that would be pretty depressing, you know."
"You're not old; you're only in your twenties, mooou." Yukari pouted and puffed her cheeks, in which her facial expression and the tone of her voice when she told him that caused him to feel something warm strike into his chest with a heavy hint of affection as he began to think to himself after seeing her innocent gesture like this, which only made her all the more cuter with the way she says 'mou' that she sometimes added at times was something she did whenever Greg or someone from Warrior teased her like just now.
(K…Kawaii! She's just way too cute with that expression of hers from the time I've known her, its as if she's become of one of those Toei female moe characters that you can't help but just adore and love, especially if she's adopted one of their catch phrases from one of my past favorite anime remake series of Kanon made back in 2006 that seriously beat the living crap of the original series in terms of voices, art, story, character and one of the best anime endings ever!) Greg thought to himself, secretly turning away from Yukari while clenching his artificial right hand and shaking it, while recalling one of his most loved anime titles from Toei Animation aside from Air and the Clannad series that grew unto him during his teen years.
It would come as a bit of a surprise to some that he had a rather weak spot for certain cute things as well, which he tried not to show much, despite the image and personality he has given people about him except to Rio who knew more of his softer side than everyone else. Also to contribute to this was due to the times he spent with Yuji in the past and even up to the present, who made sure to get him into more of the anime genre, as well as being with the only pure Japanese FOXHOUND recruit at the time, Riku Hanabishi, who introduced him to the game versions of Kanon, both the original PC and PSP versions, Code Geass: Lost Colors, a PS2 game which was an alternate retelling of the first half of the series, and eventually, Fate/Unlimited Codes, a Capcom made fighting game in used the characters and story from a famed visual novel he was also introduced to named Fate/Stay Night.
Luckily for him, he got the PS2 console version of the Unlimited Codes to add to his import fighting collection since the game ran a lot more better on the system than the PSP's version, but was still having some hard times dealing with the missions of several of the characters, even though he was good enough at the time to have beat over ninety percent of the missions from the old, yet still popular, Guilty Gear X2 and could never get around beating one the most of one of the most dreaded things he or anyone else ever faced in any game…Mission 45.
(That reminds me…the PSP version of that Queen's Blade fighting gameI've heard about was also a hit, but that's so hard to find now since stuff like that are now rarity items, especially to the otaku who are into the ecchi stuff. There's no way the general public are allowed to get their hands on that for a fair price, sadly, which adds to how hard to get it. ) Greg thought to himself as he suddenly shook his head.
(But…I must not let such actions and thoughts get the better of me, those kinds of things are rather dangerous now that I think about it. Can't forget why I'm doing this in the first place and not lose focus.) The psychic thought some more. (Is this what Yuji was referring to as the famed 'moe'? Part of his influence from the 'wrong kinds' of material he had in his possession and he let me read from time to time from the past is his fault to begin with if I'm feeling like this…,come on, Greg. Just think of some of the Vergil combos you finally managed to make in the past just like you saw in the combo vids and you'll be just fine for now.)
Clearing his throat loudly to compose himself, Greg got back to answering Yukari's question while trying to keep a straight face so as not to give her any ideas of what he was thinking of just now.
"It's like I said, an old guy like me. I'm already halfway to that point if you say I'm in my twenties, but I'm actually around midway there." Greg pointed out as he made a friendly gesture of pointing upwards with his artificial index finger. "Why, even because of work, I've started to get some gray hairs, see?"
Yukari giggled a little before she took her time to stand up straight from her seat, but because she hasn't gotten fully used to her artificial legs, she stumbled a bit, causing her to fall over. Luckily, Greg was quick enough to catch her before her body landed on the ground head first as he held her above her chest area gently.
"Oto, be careful now there." Greg said, as Yukari stared at him with wide eyes. "That was almost a nasty fall you got there, wouldn't want you to hurt that precious body you have."
"My precious body, huh?" Yukari simply asked, raising her hands in front of her face. "Even after what my father did to me to make me like this, can anyone else tell me the same thing with a straight face other than you, your family, and friends?"
(Uh-oh, I KNEW something like this was bound to happen eventually.) Greg thought to himself. (Was I wrong to tell call her 'precious' before if it made her upset?)
"Look at me; I can't be a normal girl anymore." Yukari said. "Although I'm still alive, my body's been nothing but a tool for his experiments ever since I could remember, it's not the same as it used to be. How can anyone say that I'm precious?"
"Yukari-chan…" Greg said as he stared at her directly in her eyes. "Look at me; I really don't see anything that is wrong with or about you, as you're a very special girl who I actually prefer to look at as an actual miracle."
"You're only saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?" Yukari asked as Greg gripped her shoulders with a firm and assuring grip.
"That's not true, Yukari-chan. Any other normal child wouldn't have pulled through the harsh things you've gone under, but that's besides the point I'm making." Greg said as he sighed first before continuing. "I do know that your father's the one to blame for making you like this, so I can't stop you if you want to hate him. Is that what you're trying to emphasize?"
"Well…I'm not really sure about it…" Yukari's eyes shifted as Greg leaned back. "Would it really be okay for me just have those kinds of feelings for the man who helped my mom gave birth to me?"
"It's like I said, neither me or Rio or anyone else for that matter is going to make that choice, that's up to you entirely." Greg replied. "I just want to make it clear so that you don't end up denying your own existence because of the things he did to you, or else those feelings would just grow along with you, and only end up making things harder for you to get by as you recover. Trust me, I've been that way once, and in ways, I think I still am, battling with the memories I was given during the time I was with my own father."
"But, you don't seem to be too bothered by it, Greg-oniichan." Yukari said. "What was it that made you think otherwise about yourself up to this point?"
"Good question, Yukari-chan and I'll even provide a good answer for that." Greg said. "It's quite simple actually, despite the things he did in the past, I'm still here as part of the living world as a human being. Just as your father and mother worked together one time to bring you into this world; it's the same with me. Without my father and mother's combined DNA and genes, I'd never have existed or be here standing chatting with you right now. It was thanks to him that I'm here, and that's probably one benefit about him I should be grateful for, aside from the family he made of my deceased biological mother and younger sister as well."
"Our situations are a bit different, now that I think about it." Yukari said. "I mean, I always yearned to be with my father and helped him in any way until the last experiment, but…I can't be just grateful with being born into this world because of him…"
"Of course, something like that isn't much to satisfy that growing curiosity of yours, but that's doesn't mean that you should worry too much about it." Greg said as he raised his head. "If I were to place your old man between the category of good and evil, I'd sure label him on the evil side for the bad things he did, but I should also commend him on the side of good only for having bring to this world, a very special and cute girl like you that I can be friends with."
"There you go again, saying weird stuff about me…" Yukari couldn't help but blush as Greg grinned slightly. "But, I think I get where you're getting at, that I'm very precious not just to you, but to everyone else I know."
"You see? You shouldn't give up on life or on yourself so easily. That'd really be a waste." Greg said to Yukari, who seem elated to hear him tell her this. "Someday, when you get older and seen how much you've accomplished, you'll understand. As the saying goes, 'Give the world the best you have and the best will come back'."
"Greg-oniichan…" Yukari muttered as Greg then made a pose with one of his arms.
"Also, if there are people out there who dare to tell you other wise, all you got to do is point them out to me or Rio-sensei and we'll make sure to give them a Kinezono style punishment that they will never forget." Greg said, causing Yukari to stare at him blankly, before she started to giggle. "Hey, I'm being serious here, you know?"
"But, I can tell you're only kidding when you say that." Yukari smiled. "You're way too nice to do such things, you're not a bully."
"So, you already figured me out, huh?" Greg said as he rubbed his head. "Alright, no argument there, I won't be beating up anybody for your sake, that'd only make ME look like the bad guy now, wouldn't it?"
"Hmm, I'll make an exception for you and Rio only if it's somebody who I don't really like." Yukari said as Greg chuckled to himself as he placed his artificial right hand on top of the young girl's head and gently patted it.
(I guess this is what they mean by innocence being a scary thing, eh?) Greg thought to himself. (She's really a cute and remarkable girl, I'm glad that I made this the decision to stick by her like this, she really needed this kind of company.)
"Anyway, now with that out of the way, we should go back to the studies, before it gets any more late than it is and we won't be able to cover as much as we want to tonight." Greg said as Yukari nodded.
"Okay, but remember we got to revise that book we're studying together before we call it a night." Yukari said, taking up a hardcover fantasy novel that she seemed to have started to take a liking to.
"Yeah, I haven't forgotten." Greg said as he went over to a small couch which was situated at the side of the room with one of Yukari's books as the girl herself came over to sit next to him. "You sure you're okay coming over here to finish your studies? You might get sleepy if you're too comfy with me."
"Mouuu, you're being too unreasonable, Greg-oniichan. I'm okay once I'm close with you like this." Yukari said, pouting at him once more.
(T…too kawaii! I swear, it's as if she's like one of the Hirasawa sisters from that old, popular and extremely moe music anime, K-ON!) Greg thought to himself, also recalling another anime he loved, although he was more of a personal Ritsu Tainaka fan because of her loud and energetic, tomboyish personality, looks and her gifted ability to play drums. It was then once more before he yawned some, as the fatigue for the day was catching onto him. "Fine then, suit yourself, ojou-san. Don't blame me if you end up falling asleep on me like the last time."
"Muuu, that won't happen this time. And it seems you're the one ready to fall asleep any time." Yukari pointed as Greg sighed.
"Oh? Wanna see which of us can stay up more?" Greg said, staring closely at Yukari's face.
"This is still part of my study time, I dare you to let your eyes wink for once while I'll stay up and finish tonight's chapter." Yukari said, placing the book into his hands. "Now, start reading, and no slouching."
"Oi, aren't you being a little too fired up tonight?" Greg asked as he started to read word to word from the book to Yukari. "Never mind, let's go…"
Meanwhile, back downstairs, Linn had finished collecting plates with Rio and Haruko, while Seishiro looked at his watch, wondering about how long Greg was gone for.
"It seems he's keeping himself busy with Yukari's studies." Seishiro said as Haruko looked on with a small grin. "Are you sure its okay like that, getting them attached like this?"
"If it will help Yukari get along with people, I'm sure it's a first step." Haruko said. "As Rio mentioned before, Greg's got an outgoing personality, so she should be just fine if she adapts to it quickly."
"Be careful that you don't spoil her too much, though." Linn said. "I really can't say for sure what kind of advice Greg must be sharing with her, but I know he would put her in the direction you want. It's also a good way to make him behave himself at times too if he has a role that important to act out."
"Yes, I'm certain of that as well, he's somehow mellowed down a bit since he started getting attached to Yukari, hasn't he?" Seishiro said as Rio contemplated how true their words were until she broke her silence.
"I'm heading upstairs to get let Greg know it's time to leave and say good night to Yukari as well." Rio said to Linn and Haruko as she turned around and made her way to the first floor area of the Imada house and saw the door to Yukari's room was slightly open as she knocked it gently.
"Greg, it's getting kind of late over here. I think we should already be on the…" Rio stopped midway after she stepped inside Yukari's bedroom and gasped lightly, before smiling to herself at what she was seeing in front of her.
"Awww, they've must have tuckered each other out." Rio whispered, looking to her side, she went across to pick a large enough blanket to put on both a peaceful looking and sleeping Greg and Yukari who were sitting close enough to each other on the small couch as her head was leaning on his right artificial shoulder while her artificial left hand rested on his right's as it was holding a closed book they were reading before together.
Not bothering to disturb the tender moment she was witnessing, Rio quietly returned to where she came before silently closing the door behind her and saying 'Sweet dreams' to the two sleeping individuals.
It wasn't till the next morning after Greg woke up, only to find out that he slept the whole night through with Yukari right next to him undisturbed, as told by not just Rio, who ended up telling everyone else who was staying over at the Imada's house the previous night.
Yuji Naruo, who was asked the night before to pick up Greg and Linn to drop them off to their destination where they will meet their FOXHOUND comrades for the new mission they will be having later that day, heard what had happened and couldn't stop laughing due to the constant reddened look that stayed on Greg's face after he heard this.
"I can't believe this! The ever so composed, Gregory Kinezono slept through the night like a log with Yukari!" Yuki exclaimed as Greg sighed, easily embarrassed by this.
"Like that's something to be making a big deal out of, Uncle Yuji." Greg said as he looked at Rio. "And I can't believe that you went and told everyone about it, Rio-sensei."
"Not just tell, but came back to even taka a few pictures of it too." Linn said, waving something important that looked like it belonged to Greg as his eyes widened.
"Hey, that's my digital camera!" Greg noted as he felt around his jacket where the camera was supposed to be stored as he knew now that Linn had it all along. "You…you had it all this time?"
"Don't think you're the only one who has fast moves between the two of us." Linn warned him as Greg gritted his teeth.
"Just what are you and Rio-sensei plotting this time, hmm?" Greg asked with a wry grin. "It's not common for the two of you to work together like this."
"Nothing really, we just wanted to take visual evidence of showing that sentimental side of yours since all we do see is that roughened, American influenced, rebellious attitude you've got." Rio replied as Greg raised one of his eyebrows at her comment.
"Huuuuh?" Greg asked as he shook his head. "In any case, you'd better not show anybody else what you've taken; my so called reputation as you put it is needed since you know I'm working for one of SouthTown's most dangerous crime lords."
"And keep something this good to ourselves?" Seishiro pitched in, shocking Greg as it seemed he was in this too. "I know, girls, since most people from FOXHOUND are on FaceBook, how about we post these cute pictures for them to see what kind of compassionate and soft person Greg really is?"
"Seishiro-san…not you too?" Greg exclaimed. "And anywhere but FaceBook! Almost everyone I know both outside and inside FOXHOUND and KOF will know!"
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, Seishiro-san." Linn said.
"Oh, man, it will be quite the eventful day when the secret of the psychic, Gregory Kinezono is out, that he's truly a caring person with a younger sister complex." Rio said as Greg's eyebrows twitched.
"You're really starting to rub it in, Sensei…" Greg said as he knew he was the target of being teased once more now that Linn's joined forces with his surrogate family.
"I knew there had to be a weakness that we haven't spotted in our Greg that we haven't accurately pointed out since he joined FOXHOUND." Yuji said as he pointed out to him. "Now, I can personally say this, it's true you do have a thing for the 'moe' type of girl who calls you 'onii-chan', don't you?"
"NANDATTO!" Greg exclaimed, as if the blushing red on his face had already turned more crimson as it is and any more of it would eventually start changing his light dark skin tone. "That's so not true, Uncle Yuji! And stop making references to ero-manga for instances like this!"
"Aw, come on, I know for sure you've become rather attached to the theme, thanks to some of the…historical literature I've told you about." Yuji said as Greg began protesting telepathically, so he wouldn't have Rio and everyone else in the room overhear the conversation he was having with Yuji.
(That's because all you gave me to read when you said that I should start learning to read Japanese was some h-manga, even some of your favorites by that famed artist, Gunma Kisaragi!) Greg replied.
(Didn't I tell before you that everything he draws is pure gold?) Yuji teased Greg as the psychic shifted his eyes. (While Giri Giri Sisters will be a best hit among all perverts, he does have a dozen titles that are just as good.)
(Well, I do agree that I personally enjoyed one shot titles such as Sakura Rises to the Front, Step Up, Kimi ni Youseihannou and it sequel, Positive Reaction to You Sunday Edition, simply mostly for the stories…, but sadly, not all of the manga he creates follows the same theme, which can be said for most other h-manga artist out there that you've become a fan of.) Greg said, before he stoppedto stare at Yuji with widened eyes.(You on the other hand aren't just satisfied with those and have even got stuff like, Mai Favorite, Love Selection and Miss Contest Rhapsody among things! What kind of example are you trying to set when you have titles like that?)
(You'll never understand until you see things as I do, Greg. It helps to be bold at times, trying out new stuff like that.) Yuji said as Greg shook his head and crossed his arms in the form of an 'X', indicating a 'denied' signal.
(No, thank you, Uncle Yuji, I've learned my lesson after finding out there is stuff out there that are just waaay out of my league. That's why I'm going to stick with the normal, couple, love/confession themed h-manga that I favored very much over the years from various artists like Amatarou's Futari no Yume and Confession Warning, Yarii Shimeta's Sweet Temptation, Jingrock's After School and Futari de Obenkyo, Unagimaru's Just As Planned, Fudotei Student Academy, Your Smiling Face and Inu's Wildly Imaginative Girl, Yukina-chan! from now on after this if I need to avoid…) Greg thought to himself as he noticed Rio smiling at him, cracking her knuckles. (Oh, crap.)
(What's this going on here, a secret conversation among perverts?) Rio thought, which made Greg and Yuji realize that Rio too also shares a mental link with Greg, so she was hearing the thoughts they were conveying together all along, which made the two of them sweat nervously.
(Wait, how did she find out?) Yuji asked with a stressed look as Greg replied.
(How, you ask? To put it simply, since I've been with you guys for so long, we've developed this mental link using my psychic powers, so we can talk to each other telepathically on a light scale, but you seem to forget that even while thinking, your habit of expressing your favorite preferences can be heard too, didn't you know?) Greg explained. (And worst yet, I even picked up that habit from you while growing up! How else would Sensei find out?)
(Oh, seems simple enough, now that you said it…) Yuji replied as Rio closed in on the two. (Um, Rio, this isn't what it seems, I was just talking about certain 'adult stuff' to Greg and…)
(Oi, I really wouldn't call what we just talked about stuff like that…) Greg said as Rio tilted her head.
(Saying those kinds of things in front of Yukari like that, you two have no shame for grown men. And Greg, I'm ashamed that you probably read more of those kinds of things since you recall each title and artist so well.) Rio said as Greg cut the mental connection and talked plainly to his sensei.
"I'm not sure about that, coming from you who actually poses and thinks up of seducing techniques and poses in front of Yukari-chan…OW!" Greg didn't get to finish his sentence as he felt a strong punch on his head, as he keeled over, holding his temple area. "Damn it, I should have just kept my mouth shut…"
"I think that's quite enough from you, Greg. Oh, and Yuji…" Rio said, as if a dark tone was covering the atmosphere while Greg began to count from three backwards for the incoming sign of impending doom as he quickly recovered.
"Three…two…one…" Greg said as a looming figure of Rio was over Yuji by the time he was already done.
"Huh, what is it, Rio?" Yuji asked nervously as Rio cracked her knuckles, before she exclaimed.
"SHI-NE, HENTAI!" Rio shouted, as a large cloud of dust began to form and a series of punches and kicks were heard as Rio began to give Yuji a lesson for almost making loud sexual references in the open. As this was happening, Greg gave a nervous laugh as he couldn't make out just how nastily Yuji was getting his punishment.
(While though he's my uncle with a good intention, even he doesn't deserve this sometimes.) Greg thought as he looked at Rio. (And sensei herself…the way she's going at it, I swear it looks more like a 'Distortion Drive' from that old fighting game we'd all play against each other named BlazBlue, wasn't it called? That's just overkill, man.)
"My, it seems like all of you are having fun." Haruko said as she walked into the room with Yukari next to her. "I assume you've a good night's rest, Greg-san?"
"Yeah, I had, thanks for asking, Haruko-san." Greg said simply as he looked at Yukari. "I hope I didn't bother you much last night, Yukari-chan."
"No, I had a great night, thanks to you and everyone else." Yukari smiled, all dressed in her school uniform. "Now I think I can deal with this test with ease now."
"That's good to hear; we're all wishing you the best of luck and try your best to apply all that we taught you." Linn said to her. "But suffice to say, we won't be here when you get back to help you celebrate your supposed success later."
"I know, you guys are going back to America today." Yukari said as if she sounded a bit discouraged, but looked up as Greg got on one knee to place his hand on her shoulder.
"You should be a little more honest with yourself, Yukari-chan. I know you're going to miss us already, but like I said, don't let stuff like what we talked about last night get to you." Greg said sternly. "I'll be counting on you to keep your wits throughout that test until I can call you later to hear your results."
"Unnnn!" Yukari nodded as Greg stood up to look at Linn.
"Hey, Linn, how about adding one more picture to what you guys have already taken?" Greg asked as Linn looked back at him surprised.
"Are you sure about this?" Linn asked with a smile as Greg kneeled next to Yukari with a smile of his own.
"Anyway you look at it, this is just another memory that the kid and I will get to share and to add to the list as well." Greg said. "You guys practically conscripted me into doing this from the beginning, which I have no complaint about; we might as well go with the flow for the sake of it."
"Mou, you're so carefree…" Linn smiled as she raised the camera to take a picture of Greg standing close to Yukari's side, as an idea came in her head. "Hey, even though it's just a picture that the two of you will be sharing, how about adding some variety to it?"
"And how are you going to do that, Linn?" Yuji asked as Linn smiled at Yukari.
"Hey, Yukari, why not have Greg give a really big hug around you while you both face the camera?" Linn as the psychic's eyes widened.
"Now wait just a second….!" Greg said as suddenly, Yukari nodded.
"I like the sound of that, Linn-oneechan." Yukari said as the young girl looked at Greg with almost pleading eyes as he felt his cheeks turn red. "You won't do it, Greg-oniichan?"
"You know I can hardly say no to women and children, I'll do it alright." Greg got to one knee at Yukari's side since he was much taller than her and he wrapped his left arm behind her head with his artificial right hand holding onto it over Yukari's chest while the young girl's small, metallic prosthetic hands held onto his right arm. "This is what you wanted, right, Linn?"
Linn swallowed at the cute sight and nodded. "That's right, just perfect. Okay, give me your best smiles, you two."
"Hai." Both Greg and Yukari said at the same time as Linn took their pictures, and some more involving herself and Seishiro afterwards as the time came for Yukari to leave for school and the FOXHOUND trio to leave. After a promise of visiting again soon from the departing party, they made their way to the outside to their waiting vehicle.
"Looks like that's the time we should be heading to the airport." Seishiro said as he opened a transport wagon's door, ready to drive.
"That's right; we don't want to keep the superiors at home waiting any longer." Linn said as she noticed Greg's look while he was seated. "Hey, I'm sure they'll be fine until the next time we're ready to see them again."
"I know, Linn…I was just wondering if there's anything else I could be doing for the kid with the way things are now…" Greg said as Seishiro looked at his surrogate son from the side.
"Even though you said that, you've managed to accomplish a lot so far by having the girl trust in her will to live on, despite what happened to her." Seishiro said as Greg leaned back. "Before when Rio was teasing you about that personality you have, I think she was making it known that you've done your part rather well, Greg."
"You think so, huh?" Greg simply said as he took out a copy of the picture taken before as he smiled. "Well, you could be right about that, Seishiro-san, I made quite the influence, even if it's a little in her life."
"And the same goes for her influence to yours as well." Linn said as she smiled at Greg, who returned her look by fixing his jacket with an uncomfortable look.
"A-anyway, we should hurry on to the airport, I don't want Geese-sensei to chew me out on the account that I stayed back just to take pictures." Greg said as he then remembered the part of the pictures taken prior to that morning. "And even though the two of you were joking back then, I'm dead serious about having those pictures posted."
"We hear you, Greg; it never actually came to mind." Seishiro said. "I advised Maki before that we'd make sure any visual or photographic evidence of Yukari's existence be kept amongst ourselves and not for the likes of the Patriots or any of the enemy groups we're fighting against to find out."
"For now, at least, Seishiro-san." Linn said. "If only the few of us can keep Yukari a secret until we can gain some more trustful allies for an extended amount of time, we should be okay."
"But don't count on it on lasting forever, though." Greg said, placing his hands behind his head to rest on them. "All we can do for now is continue supporting her and her mother from the sidelines, and hope and pray that none of the enemy groups get wind of them for a very, long time."
The trio stayed silent as Seishiro started the wagon to drive off, while Yukari looked on from the door's entrance, leisurely waving off to the wagon, holding onto a copy of the same picture of her and Greg holding each other.
Back to the present, as Yukari simply placed back the portrait on her dresser after recalling the memory, she then smiled to herself for a bit.
"I know I won't have to wait longer to see him again, he probably must be really busy with his work." Yukari said to herself. "Well, I'd better be doing my part as well and be heading off to school now."
The young girl then proceeded to get herself prim and properly dressed as she made her way to the kitchen to meet her mother after gathering her things.
"Good morning, Mom." Yukari said, as she took a seat and started to eat the healthy breakfast that her mother prepared for her, while wearing a black and white sailor school uniform. "Wow, you really went all out this morning, huh?"
"I just know you have some big tests coming up again, you'll need to get all the nutrients you'll need for when the day comes." Haruko said as she looked at the calendar. "Speaking of which, I'm supposed to be getting a call from Rio soon, it is around that time she and her friends are to visit us."
"Really?" Yukari asked. "Then I won't have to wait much longer for Greg-oniichan to come over to help me with my studies soon."
"Well, he and Linn-san did put a lot of effort into helping you get the second highest of passing marks in your last language test, but I do hope you're learning these things by yourself, Yukari." Haruko warned.
"I am, Mom. It's just that studying is a lot better when I've got friends around to make it fun." Yukari said as she looked at her watch. "Anyway, I'll finish on the way to school, time for me to get running to the train station."
"Watch yourself while in traffic and remember not to talk to anyone weird." Haruko said, kissing her daughter's forehead. "Even though you have a bodyguard to watch over you, just be careful out there, there's plenty going on at Tokyo 3 already that everyone's on edge right now."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine, Mom." Yukari said as she grabbed a toast with her mouth and left through the front door. "Well, then, I'm off. See you later."
Haruko simply waved to her daughter as she watched her run off on the sidewalk with a burst of vigorous energy, it has been awhile since she saw her daughter so high spirited.
"It looks like its going to be an eventful day for her, huh?" A female voice said from behind Haruko as the woman turned to see a familiar face, taking one of the slices of toast and eating it. "Or should I say, for the rest of us?"
"Nagase-san!" Haruko exclaimed as she noted the young ninja's appearance in her home. "Why are you here still? Yukari just left…"
"Relax, ma'am, you're talking to one of my clones." Nagase tilted her small glasses as another one of her clones appeared next to her, also having her fill of Haruko's cooking. "The real deal is already in pursuit of seeing Yukari gets to school safely. We're here on a bit of a recon mission."
"I see, well, don't do such frightening things next time, you had me worried." Haruko said as Nagase tilted her head. "Somehow, I'm not used to having somebody with your skills around to watch us."
"Ah, but it was the boss's idea. I know, it's a hassle to me too, but I'm just doing them a favor." Nagase said, recalling how Greg suggested to Geese to have her act as a bodyguard for Haruko and Yukari while he is out of Japan most of the time. Nagase wasn't particularly fond of kids, but she made Yukari an exception after hearing of her story.
"Well, I must say you're doing a rather splendid job so far, even though the danger's minimal." Haruko said as she sat down. "In any case, any word from Greg-san?"
"Nope, even though I learned that the group he's part of are in Japan for awhile now. Whatever's going on in Tokyo-3 other than the Angels invading that side must be serious to have him holed up there."
"I just hope it's not a sign of things to come…" Haruko said as Nagase sighed.
"Let's not worry too much about it; I'm sure it's just your imagination." Nagase said as she pondered to herself. (Maybe I shouldn't be saying that at a time like this, but with Ash Crimson at large, he could target just about anyone if he's still chasing for power. His recent action from the last tournament when he stole Iori Yagami's flame powers has proven that he's only getting warmed up. That's why I sent the clones around the city to gather info on his whereabouts, but nothing's come up…)
"Anyway, I don't want to take up more of your time, but I need to be going to continue my mission." Nagase stood up as Haruko shook her head.
"Please, if it's not too much trouble, at least stay and we can chat for awhile, I'd like to know more about you, Nagase-san." Haruko said, offering her some warm tea. "This place is too quiet at times without Yukari around until in the evening."
"Hmm, I guess I can spare some time with you, but let's not get too comfortable, shall we?" Nagase asked as she lifted her tea cup and started drinking to relax for awhile.
"I just hope I'm not late for the train to take me to school…" Yukari said to herself as she then found herself near a park after running for awhile, but something seemed to be happening there as a large crowd of people were formed near the outside auditorium and large fountain. "Hmm, what's going on over there?"
Stopping for a moment, she went across while excusing herself to see what was happening and to her surprise when she saw what was going on, she saw two young men, apparently teenagers, engaging in a martial arts fight. One of them was a brash, yet wild and fierce looking male with a tan skinned tone, with dark blue and long flowing shoulder length hair that was held together by a yellow head band with a tiger stripe imprint while wearing a red, open jacket and a long jeans. He seemed to be the stronger of the two fighters as he was easily landing punches on his challenger.
"What a combination by the ever so powerful Shizuma Kusanagi!" A cheerful girl's voice rang out as Yukari turned to see a blond Japanese girl wearing a school uniform holding onto a microphone and was talking unto it, as if she was the announcer. "Once again, the outcome of this K-Fight has already been determined from the get go, as the favored Shizuma dominates the boxing club's main champion yet again in this K-Fight rematch!"
The youth named Shizuma turned to raise his fists, one of his clearly known facial features is having a single formed eyebrow and a somewhat devilish smile. Shizuma raised his fist upwards in victory.
"Yeah, baby!" Shizuma shouted as the crowd cheered for him.
"K…fight?" Yukari asked no one in particular as she was witness to something like this for the first time when a brunette girl with short hair, who also appeared to be one of the emcees next to her noticed Yukari's stature.
"Oh, this is the first time you've seen one?" The brunette girl asked as Yukari nodded.
"Isn't something like this, um…illegal?" Yukari asked as the blond shook her head.
"Nope, this is perfectly normal for those who attend the Daimon High School. The K-Fight is a system for fights to properly settle disputes between clubs and one another since the school couldn't control them any more. Of course, they can be held outside of school as well as long the fighters stick to the rules." The brunette said as Yukari had question marks over her head.
"Who'd be crazy enough to organize something like that?" She exclaimed as the girl put up a smile at Yukari.
"Why, our own principal, of course." She replied as Yukari tilted her head.
"Now I think I should say I'm glad with the school I'm going to…" Yukari said as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm not used to that sort of thing like you people are, although my close friends and family do say I'm pretty strong."
"Eh, then I bet you'll do nicely, how about visiting our school one day and see how it's like?" the brunette girl asked. "By the way, I'm Tamaki Nakamura one of the emcees here, the one who was just announcing the fight is Natsumi Fujishima."
"Yukari Imada, it's nice to meet you, Tamaki-san." Yukari bowed. "As for your offer, I'll give it some thought."
"Well, I'll keep the offer open whenever you're ready." Tamaki replied.
Yukari then looked over to where Shizuma was standing. "In the meantime, who is that guy?"
"He's the former K-Fight champion, Shizuma Kusanagi. From what I heard, he's in training to build himself up for a rematch against the current champion, our modern day samurai named, Ryoko Mitsurugi." Tamaki answered as Yukari looked on in surprise.
"Wait, the K-Fight's champion is a girl?" Yukari asked surprised. "So you're saying just about anyone can be part of a K-Fight?"
"Yeah, but there are even some other tough ones out there too, not just those two. I've seen them in action myself too." Tamaki said as she watched Natsumi approach Shizuma with her mic in hand.
"Shizuma, what did you think of today's challenge?" Natsumi asked as Shizuma brushed back his hair.
"Heh, that was too easy, if you ask me!" Shizuma said, easily putting up a V sign. "Lately, I haven't been getting the kind of exercise that would get my blood going, maybe I've already gotten too strong."
"So, does that mean you're ready to issue a rematch against Ryoko Mitsurugi?" Natsumi asked as Shizuma glanced at her before answering.
"Well, that depends on if she's ready for one, I've been going non-stop in building up my stamina so I can go all night long if she wants me to!" Shizuma said, causing several of the people in the crowd to react to his comment. "Hey, get your minds out of the gutter, I didn't mean it that way!"
"Well, if the master of the famed 'Honoo no Tora' can boast about his sexual performance in the open like that, I don't have anything to worry about." A coy male voice spoke from the crowd's background as Shizuma looked in the direction where it came from.
"Who the hell said that?" Shizuma asked loudly as the crowd looked back to see a surprising sight walking towards them. "Show yourself so I can teach you to keep your comments to yourself."
"Oi, that should be my line, Shizuma." A Japanese male in his mid twenties with short hair stepped forward, wearing a dark brown jacket that had a flaming circle on its back, as well as on the fighting gloves he was wearing. The crowd and Yukari herself gasped at the person who casually spoke to Shizuma like this. "Or should I say, long time no see, cuz."
"K…Kyo?" Shizuma muttered, as Kyo Kusanagi of the famous KOF Japan team appeared before him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Just passing through, taking in the sights. Actually, I snuck away from the rest of the guys to be myself for awhile and that's when I heard you of all people causing this ruckus." Kyo said simply as Natsumi jumped at seeing Kyo.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're witnessing a new event that's never before happened in the history of K-Fight!" Natsumi said. "The King of Fighters' very own flame wielding, Kyo Kusanagi stands before Shizuma as a comrade! Kyo Kusanagi-san, if you may, what sort of relationship do you have with Shizuma?"
"How long has it since the family gathering, cuz?" Kyo simply asked. "A year?"
"Heh, that's right, I remember we held a sparring match with your old man that day to test how far my strength's gotten." Shizuma said.
"Then, does this mean you two are…" Tamaki jumped in, not wanting to waste a chance like this as Kyo responded.
"That's right; Shizuma and I are cousins, but distant ones." Kyo said. "Even though he doesn't show it, Shizuma here has a decent amount of the Kusanagi lineage within him."
"That makes perfect explanation of the flame wielding abilities and fighting style that he used in the previous set of matches!" Natsumi shouted. "What a revelation indeed, folks!"
"Hey, speaking of that, we never finished our match that time, did we, Kyo?" Shizuma asked as Kyo adjusted his jacket.
"Now that you mention it, you're right, we never did." Kyo said as Yukari swallowed, seeing something was out of place here. "Tell you what, how about we settle it here and now, in front of all these people? Seeing you fired up this much has gotten me in the mood to spar with you a little."
"Heh, you just can't deny your fighter's calling, huh, Kyo?" Shizuma asked as he adjusted the bandages on his hands. "I'd like that."
"Then, let's do this!" Kyo said, raising a flame covered right fist, then extinguishing it.
"Hey…is it just me, or has it gotten even hotter here?" Yukari asked, feeling an unnatural heat rise in the area, as was everyone else when they saw an aura emanating from the two Kusanagi males who were facing each other.
Both Tamaki and Natsumi swallowed hard, and almost felt like passing out at the idea of seeing a fight as fierce as Kyo against Shizuma occurred in front of them. The two girls took their positions away from the two men as Natsumi started to announce the fight's progress.
"Everyone, hang onto whatever seats you have, as for the first time, the K-Fight committee proudly presents a new fight between renowned King of Fighters veteran Kyo Kusanagi and Daimon High School's Shizuma Kusanagi in a match to determine the height of their unmatched skills!" Natsumi said as Tamaki followed.
"That's right, Natsumi, and knowing the fighting prowess of each of these particular individuals, this is going to be a hard match to decide who will be the winner!" Tamaki said. "Will these two men go all out with their unique abilities as fire wielders, or as skilled martial artists?"
"Go for it, Nagi baby!" a blond girl, named Sara Himekawa, called for Shizuma who waved back to her as Yukari stood by watching.
"This is…an actual fight…" Yukari tensed as she heard the bell made its clank noise and the match was on.
Battle theme: The Chase of Highway from Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children.
(Author's note: Oh yeah, even though this is more of a chase scene theme, this song also has 'badass fight coming through' written all over it, I just had to use this one, especially when it has such a sick solo drum part that comes right after the first minute of the song as things really kick off.)
"Ready….fight!" Natsumi shouted as the two fighters squared off at each other. Kyo launched the aggressive first strike as he charged at Shizuma.
"Here I come, cuz!" Kyo said, executing the starter of his chain attacks, from his right fist, the 114 Shiki Aragami, which Shizuma dodged easily. Kyo didn't let up as he continued the chain, now shifting to his left fist this time to the 128 Shiki: Konokizu attack. Shizuma sidestepped that blow as he was already near Kyo's open side.
"I have you now!" Shizuma said as Kyo smirked back at Shizuma as he cancelled into one of the Shiki finishers, by executing his 412: Hikigane, a single standing, spinning roundhouse kick that Shizuma didn't get to block on time, as Kyo's boot met its mark to the side of Shizuma's face.
"Hmph, barely even felt that…" Shizuma grinned, feeling some of the blow that slightly bruised him. "I see you're up to your old tricks, Kyo."
"Not really, I just added some new attacks to my style from the last time we fought." Kyo said as he brought up a flame from his fist. "Why don't you show me what you got, you monkey."
"Oh, now you've got me all fired up." Shizuma said as his aura grew enough that even his hair was resonating. "That was a bad call, man."
"It looks like despite the skill Kyo Kusanagi displays, it isn't enough to faze Shizuma's fiery spirit, as Shizuma decides to take the initiative once more." Natsumi said as Shizuma started to dance on his feet before seeing Kyo advance once more, his fist covered in flame.
"Oh yeah!" Kyo shouted, as he executed his rising, spinning fire infused attack, the 100 Shiki: Oniyaki, but it was suddenly countered as Shizuma pulled out a similar blow, the Akai Kiba, or Red Fang, the two techniques clashing against each other, creating a small explosion mid air from the attack.
The two fighters leaped back to catch their breaths, but Shizuma was still on the warpath. Already set to execute a second Akai Kiba, he then charged at Kyo who side stepped Shizuma's lunging punch made of fire, as Kyo crouched low enough to sweep Shizuma before executing his 75 Shiki Kai rising double kick, giving Shizuma two powerful rising kicks that juggled his body airborne.
"I'm not done yet!" Kyo shouted, igniting his fist once more, ready to let his cousin know he meant business as he spun his body to perform his R.E. D Kick, knocking out some of the wind from Shizuma's body and having him land hard on the pavement.
Most of the people stood in awe to see Shizuma getting beat by Kyo; it was due to the fact that Kyo's been around the fighting ring more than Shizuma has, although the younger Kusanagi was known to store a lot of power.
"Come on, is that all you got, Shizuma?" Kyo asked as Shizuma got back on his feet and charged Kyo once more, surprising the older fighter as he didn't expect his opponent to still have that much stamina going. (This guy's gotten tougher from the last time I faced him…I'm going to bet he's going to be tougher to deal with soon.)
"I give it to you, Kyo, you've gotten stronger, but I can tell when you're holding back your true strength." Shizuma said as he waved his hand. "Those attacks felt like baby punches compared to the last time, or have you gotten soft?"
"Keep talking big like that and you'll live to regret it." Kyo said as he put up his fists. "Let me see more of your techniques, Shizuma."
"You asked for it." Shizuma said, as he then leaped at Kyo, spinning his body with an outstretched leg. "Take this…Guren Sankyaku!"
Shizuma spun his leg as flames started to dance around it, surprising Kyo and hitting his chest area three times, making the crowd scream in excitement.
"Now, it seems that Shizuma has gotten the edge of this fight with the Guren Sankyaku, or to those who don't know, the Scarlet Flame Three Legs attack!" Tamaki said as Shizuma landed on his leg as Kyo was still stunned, ready to continue his attack.
"And to add to it, Guren Senpuu!" Shizuma said, as he now executed a rising, vertical kick also covered in flame. The crowd went wild as they saw the display of martial arts in action.
"That was the Scarlet Flame Gale technique!" Natsumi shouted. "Shizuma's not taking any chances with this fight, is he?"
"No, this fight's gone way past a sparring match, people!" Tamaki said, raising her arm as a pair of cosplaying cheerleaders appeared next to her, cheering Shizuma on, while Yukari stood at the side, head tilted.
"Ah, mouuu….something's very wrong with this school, I'm heading off before I'm late for mine." She said, not wanting to be caught up into something like this any more. As she left to return to her original destination in one direction, another group of people stopped by in the opposite direction when the attraction of the fight grew.
"Are you sure we should be staying around here for something like this, Rumina?" A glasses wearing boy wearing a school uniform asked, as another boy of the same age, dressed in a simple white dress shirt and black pants, wearing a white headband and carrying a wooden sheath for a sword answered back.
"What are you talking about, Ginnosuke?" The boy, Rumina Asagi, asked suddenly, clenching his fists as he pointed towards Kyo and Shizuma Kusanagi. "We just happened to pass here by chance to become witnesses to a fight such as this! And it involves one of my favorite fighters from the King of Fighters tournament, Kyo Kusanagi! We can't just ignore something so splendid to the male eyes such as this."
"I get your point, Rumina, but, aren't you forgetting something?" The youth named Ginnosuke replied as he pointed towards an angry looking American woman with long blond hair, creepily standing behind Rumina as she cracked her knuckles, while another girl shorter than her with short, pale purple hair and wearing a school uniform was standing to her side. She too was giving Rumina a bit of an angry look.
"Rumina…how could you possibly run off from Ruri's side like that for something like this?" The American said as Rumina fidgeted.
"Crap, I almost forgot you were here, Chelsea." Rumina said as Chelsea glared at him. "In any case, you didn't have to tag along with us, Ruri's perfectly safe with us on the outside now."
"Oh, you can't be too sure, you wouldn't know if any of the bad guys we were told about would be on the lookout for her." Chelsea Rorec replied simply. "From the stories about these Patriots and what not that the outside world has, they may prove even more dangerous than how Pairon was."
"I know, I know…but I promised Ruri already that we'd go together to school, isn't that right?" Rumina said as Chelsea came over to place a chop on his head.
"And already you've forgotten the point of why we're doing this if you only plan to be distracted by the side attractions!" Chelsea said as Ruri cut in.
"I don't mind staying here awhile, if that's okay with Rumina. Besides, I like the scenery of this place and the vibes it's giving to the people around here." The girl named Ruri spoke now, causing Rumina to look at her elated.
"Ruri…" Rumina said as he glanced to the side. (Wait, even if these people weren't here for a K-Fight, and it was just me and Ruri here by ourselves, would that have meant we'd have been…dating?)
"What kind of dangerous thoughts are you having now, Rumina?" Chelsea said as Rumina stepped back.
"Anyway, let's finish watch the fight, then we'll be on our way." Rumina said in an attempt to change the subject as Chelsea calmed down to examine the fighting prowess of Kyo and Shizuma Kusanagi. She was highly interested in seeing the 'surface dwellers' battle capabilities while making comparisons to those from the Underground and the Company.
(I was right to assume that these guys are good, but I didn't expect them to have this much talent.) Chelsea said. (Well, it's too early to tell if they can actually match up to anyone from the Underground, but…)
Kyo then regained his stance after receiving a full assault of Shizuma's attacks, but he could tell that he couldn't keep the fight going longer; he needed to finish it soon.
"Aww, what's the matter, Kyo?" Shizuma asked, noticing his condition. "You ready to throw in the towel so soon?"
"Not really, I can go a little longer. I want to get past the basics of sparring and move on up to the more serious stages." Kyo said as Shizuma got the message.
"You should have said that a long time ago, Kyo." Shizuma said as he was ready to let loose his fire based special and deadly technique as Kyo lunged at him, trading a barrage of kicks towards Shizuma. One of them being the Geshiki: Goufu Yuu, a over head heel kick.
Right after managing to break Shizuma's guard for an instant, Kyo then went for another 114 Shiki combination, this time hitting lower around Shizuma's abdomen area with his 127 Yanosabi, then grabbing Shizuma and raising him off the ground with his 125 Nanase grab, making his body combust upon grabbing him.
Shizuma's shirt was heavily burned off, revealing a white vest underneath while the flames from Kyo's attack died off. Shizuma landed on his feet, his chest area now almost covered in burns and ash.
"Did that do the trick?" Kyo said to himself as Shizuma grinned at Kyo.
"No way, I won't be going down so easily after that." Shizuma said, with a fierce smile. "Looks like things are finally starting to…HEAT UP!"
From a distance, another one of Shizuma Kusanagi's fans was watching the match and was even videotaping the whole thing, Daisaku Kamiya, was noticing how Shizuma's personality was changing each minute as the fight grew even more tense than before.
"This...this doesn't look too good." Daisaku said, swallowing hard. "If he's pushed any more beyond this, it will be hard to stop him now…"
"Oi, you'd better quit while you're ahead, Shizuma…" Kyo said as he saw Shizuma took up a familiar stance. "So, you want to use that technique here, huh?"
"Oh, yeah, I'll try anything to win this match, Kyo. Sorry, man, but it's not personal." Shizuma said as a spark of flames engulfed his hand as Kyo responded the same way.
"Guess it's the only way to show you your place, huh?" Kyo said, igniting a flame of his own as the two got ready to attack each other with their most powerful special attacks.
"I hope you can still talk after you've tasted my…INFERNAL TIGER!" Shizuma shouted as he shot a large fireball at Kyo which took the form of a roaring and attacking tiger, as Kyo's body began to glow with a bright fiery aura as he spun the flame he was holding at Shizuma's Infernal Tiger.
"Don't count me out just yet!" Kyo shouted as he hurled his Ura 108 Shiki: Orochinagi Desperation flame attack towards Shizuma's fireball. Both flames were going to collide to each other which were going to induce an explosion until…
"Gale Blast!" A young boy's voice called out as a heavy gust of wind blew in the direction of the two incoming fireballs, extinguishing them both at the same time before they made impact. When the wind calmed down, everyone looked to see Rumina Asagi breathing hard as he held his katana.
"Hey, you guys better watch it!" Rumina shouted. "You could've gotten people hurt back there!"
Kyo, Shizuma, Daisaku, Natsumi, Tamaki, the K-Fight crew that was with them, students, and onlookers all looked on at a serious looking Rumina as they could see some of the dying embers of the explosive fire dispersing in the wind around him and his sword.
(Did that kid just blow away our attack, literally?) Shizuma thought to himself. (And he's carrying a sword…just like her. Just who is this guy, he doesn't look like he attends Daimon High…)
"Kid, don't interrupt a K-Fight when it's getting this good, okay?" Natsumi snapped through her microphone as she observed Rumina's attire. "Unless you want to join in and challenge these guys yourself, since you look like a student too."
"You're right about that. I'm a mid schooler attending..." Rumina stopped as he remembered the reason why he stopped the explosion before when Ruri looked at him with pleading eyes. "Anyway, I'm not here to fight any of these guys, it's just that…well, if you let yourselves get outta hand any further, then normal people would get involved, you know? It wouldn't be a proper fight if one of you gets somebody like that little girl over there seriously hurt now, would you?"
Rumina gestured behind his back to a crying little girl holding onto her standing mother's leg. While the mother did her best to calm her daughter, Ruri, who was being close-by, stepped in and aided in comforting the girl.
"Apparently, your little show scared the girl out of her wits. I know it wasn't intentional, but still…you guys should be more careful next time." Rumina said as Kyo sighed heavily as he dropped his guard.
"The kid has a point. We'll finish our fight next time then, so let's call this a draw for now." Kyo said as he maintained his posture while turning to his cousin. "You've gotten better since the last time we sparred like this."
"Well, I can say the same about you, cuz. Of course, the size of this area only saved your ass because I have to hold back here." Shizuma said as Kyo nodded.
"Back at ya, we need to do this more often when there are less people." Kyo said as he looked at Rumina from a distance, who was panting and now drawing back his sword after executing his technique that dispersed the collided fiery explosion while Ruri, who was close by, supported him.
(Those two…despite their ability to control flames, they're still incredibly powerful whenever they get into a fight, even if it's just a friendly one, I can tell just by looking.) Chelsea thought to herself in amazement. It was her first time to see more of the surface dwellers use elemental powers on par with those from the Underground. (Even Seki couldn't muster an inferno that strong by himself in his training!)
As some of the people grumbled at Rumina's interruption while others sighed, Shizuma was approached by his two adoring fans, Daisaku bringing him a towel and Sara bringing him a bottled water. She even brought Kyo one since he was a good sport and he was close to Shizuma.
Shizuma then went across to Rumina's position as he noticed the friends he had with him and spoke.
"It's Rumina Asagi, huh?" Shizuma grinned to himself as he wiped his brow. "I hope that I get to challenge you someday in a K-Fight, I can tell that you're powerful just by sensing your aura, kid. You carry some serious fighting mojo within you."
"Same here, I can just tell how skilled you must be, but I don't think my girlfriend's too keen about me fighting without a good reason these days." Rumina replied, rubbing the back of his head, while Ruri glared at him and nudged his side. "But still, you both put up one hell of a fight, I'll give you that. I always wanted to meet somebody from the famed King of Fighters, Kyo Kusanagi."
"This guy's nickname used to be the 'King of Fighters' during his days in middle school, he used to beat up so many people who challenged him in the past, that he earned quite the…" Ginnosuke spoke as Rumina quickly covered his mouth.
"I think my reputation already doesn't need more knowing than it has to at the moment, Ginnosuke." Rumina warned him as Kyo chuckled.
"Well, then, I reckon you must be quite the fighter. I hope to see you in this year's King of Fighters soon." Kyo said to Rumina. "I heard that for this year's tournament we're going to be doing something totally different for almost everyone out there to enter, I'm sure it should apply to you guys as well."
"Heh, I'd like to hear more about it. Is that why you're out here taking in the sights?" Shizuma asked.
"The entourage for this year's KOF and announcements for the fights and its related events should be passing through in a couple of days, they're going to be doing it all over Japan and even some have done so in other countries around the world." Kyo said.
"Looks like its going to be quite the event to look forward to." Chelsea said.
"It would be, depending on who's sponsoring it this time." Kyo said seriously. "I just want to advise you guys to be careful in the KOF if you decide to enter, there's lots of dangerous elements and bad guys out there."
"Well, we'll keep it in mind." Shizuma said as Kyo turned his back to leave before he stopped.
"I'd like to stay and chat, but right now, I'm searching for somebody before any of the fights start." Kyo said as he held out a picture of a French male dressed in a red tight body suit, with dark freckles on his cheeks, white hair that dropped over his head and was holding a green flame. "If any of you run into this guy, will you let me know?"
"Someone we should be on the lookout for?" Rumina asked as Kyo nodded.
"Yeah, that's Ash Crimson, a real troublemaker. He's been causing problems for me and a few others from KOF for awhile; he's even the one who set that fire in South Town not too long ago when I was on the hunt for him." Kyo said seriously.
"We heard about the reports on the news, I knew that you couldn't have been responsible for that blaze." Shizuma said.
"Well, I wish the whole world would stop blaming me for these crimes, but it also seems some of my clones are still running around causing their share of trouble in my name." Kyo replied. "Still, I've got to find Ash and clear my name so that way I'll be able to participate in KOF properly. So if by chance you run into him and he wants to fight any of you, my advice to you is don't do it."
"Okay, we'll be on the lookout though I can't make any promises about the last part, but you be careful out there too, Kyo." Shizuma said.
"Tell your sister I said hello." Kyo said as he began to walk away from the group as Shizuma looked at Rumina now.
"So, kid, what are you going to do now?" Shizuma asked as Rumina placed the sword back.
"I have to head to school, now that this event is over." Rumina replied. "I do hope we'll get to see each other again soon, Shizuma, not to mention have a match."
"Rumina!" Ruri protested as Rumina chuckled and Chelsea did a headlock on him as they left. Shizuma stretched his body and signaled to the group he and the K-Fight committee to follow him to Daimon High School, as he don't want his tardy appearance to give Ryoko Mitsurugi ideas that he was involved in a serious fight with Kyo Kusanagi, who was at a distance by himself, pondering to himself.
"Ash Crimson, I'll get you someday before you cause me anymore trouble." Kyo Kusanagi swore silently as he looked up to the clear sky above him as he contemplated about how he should face his newest mortal enemy at the upcoming King of Fighters…
ShardclawK: Well, that concludes this chapter for this time around, I hoped it met everyone's expectations with some more of the character arrivals, appearances and developments that was portrayed thus far once more in this chapter alone and as you can see, it's still in the time-space of what's been happening since the aftermath of the Mantis arc, there's a bit more waiting time before a new arc can begin based from all that was shown here, in which I'm planning to do since I want things to go at a bit of a slower pace than before for the story to be told better in most aspects, as well as have a number of characters and references turn up before anything major begins.
And as you all saw, even though I had to put everyone through an excruciating wait for my return to fiction writing after so long, I did hold onto my promise of having some of the Real Bout High School and KOF characters show up this time, so I do hope the update was worth easing people's minds about the progress of my stories and such, you know just how tough to remain focused on this sort of thing when life's problems get a hold of you…but hey, I got to manage since I got a reputation to uphold.
Ran: Shardclaw-san, I'm certain no one was bothered of it at this point, they know that you do have other priorities to deal with in real life so they know how it is; they just have to be patient about things, though with your new upcoming revised chapters and story arcs ahead, you're only keeping the readers and fans more in suspense in finding out what's going to happen next.
Shardclaw: You're sure right about that, Ran. Now I know it's going to be troublesome for yours truly to keep up at this rate if even this story has become that popular and still is with all the new anime/manga as well as games being thrown in later on.
Ken: Also, wasn't there something you wanted to tell the fans, something about an addition to the casting list once more?
Shardclaw: Yes, I'm just getting to that, Ken-san. As some previous reviews made mention to adding such games like Rumble Roses and even the anime, Scryed and even recently the anime version of Witchblade as well from Dark-san's suggestions (apparently it was a hit down here in Trinidad for the longest while when it first came out, it was only through Dark-san that made my mind to see the series and hadn't regretted it) I gave it some thought and with Dark-san's suggestions, have finally decided to also include them into the world of COE/SX as well, so I hope that even adds to the growing anticipation of what the fans that already are pleased with the updated cast list will be even more with these new additions.
Youji: I know I for one am anxious to see how this is going to turn out, though readers should take note that Shardclaw-san will just be using the original PS2 version of Rumble Roses as a reference to the story, and not the horribly made, X-360 remake. As for the crossover of the Scryed anime version, storywise it will happen around in the early events of the show.
Shardclaw: Not to sound like James Rolfe AKA the Angry Video Game Nerd or anything, (whose become one of my personal favorite web idols over the hiatus) but truly, it was Dark-san who gave me the heads up about the really bad points of the game if I were to make a 360 purchase soon and after some of the videos of its gameplay I've watched over the hiatus, I must say that it really doesn't measure up to the original one bit as a remake or an actual game. But let's not dwell on that for now, as I also just wanted to say how much of the readers surprised and pleased me with the acceptance of the Yume Miru Kusuri characters into this story since it appears some of the readers here are also fans of that famous h-game and of the more popular Kouhei x Aeka pairing judging from the last set of reviews.
Omi: Yeah, it seems that was obvious to anyone who played that game got to everyone who played that route. We just hope that you'll satisfy the readers out there with their request of seeing that couple and the other wonderful cast characters of the game in this story soon and interpret them well enough. Also, we're curious about what plans you got for the evil, Kyoka 'Antoinette' Nanjou and her 'popular' set of cronies consisting of all of Kouhei's and Aeka's former classroom, not to mention, that deliquent Gaito Yakushiji…
Shardclaw: Alright, you guys, I get the picture already. So, you would rather have me write an omake reenacting the now famous Nishi's classroom massacre from the Gantz manga chapters, 288-289, consisting of all of them instead or something just as nasty to make you happy?
Ran: Uh…you best leave that idea for later, man. We'd preferred if you'd stick with your usual 'getting ganged up by your harem girls at the end of each chapter' thing better.
Shardclaw: Huh, okay then. Just a passing thought that I hoped to entertain soon. But to ease everyone's worries about how the canon characters like Kyoka and Gaito just mentioned are going to be portrayed once any of them meet any of the OC cast from any of the authors associated in the COE saga, I'll be careful this time around for reasons intended for fictional purposes on how interactions will be made from now on, aside from how they'll be portrayed in SX later on which will be quite a surprise to most readers. So if for example, if Greg were ever to cross Gaito in his tracks, the outcome would pretty much a bit of the opposite of what people would expect, although I really want to keep that possibility from happening any time soon as I'm still thinking of how to further both of his personalities character wise…
Just then, Greg himself stepped in after hearing his boss say this, while accompanying him were both Kyo and Shizuma Kusanagi.
Greg: Oi, oi, what's this about developing 'BOTH' of my personalities now? Sure, I understand about what you wanted in the revisions ahead in terms of me meeting up with more canon characters, especially if it's a guy like Gaito, and to make up for the awesomeness I could have had from making jokes of him later on which wouldn't have helped much, you made it even better for me by making me look cool enough during that flashback which introduced Yukari-chan and I really appreciate that even more, but something tells me you're having some sort of twisted fun, toying with your starring OC like this.
Shardclaw: I'm doing nothing of the sort, all I did was borrow some influence after completing the Gundam 00 anime for both seasons during my hiatus and used a bit of Hallelujah Haptism's dual personality's problem for both your normal and your alter ego's actions during the flashback segment and the last scene of this chapter, not to mention rewatching the Saiyuki series a bit that inspired me to use a bit of Sha Gojyo's and Kougaiji's personalities a bit for the 'big brother' role when it came to dealing with Yukari. Just to show readers that sentimental side of you, but of course I got more of that planned later on when I plan to show the readers what you really do while working for Geese...
Omi: That sounds cool, but I hope you're going to advance things after this small part of the story is over soon.
Shardclaw: Don't worry, I won't stick the next time for the update, the next update should be much easier to deal with than this one was since I got certain goals I want to accomplish until we properly kick the new arc off. It's just that as I said before, my job among things got the best of me and I really wasn't able to concentrate on writing for some time, call it another 'massive' writer's block if you will.
Shizuma: Hey, haven't all the new goodies that you found for yourself have been helping you out get out of such a slump?
Shardclaw: Yeah, I've been getting back the vibes to attack this thing like I used to, thanks to some of the new anime remakes and sequels such as Full Alchemist: Brotherhood, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2009, new rare ones such as the very entertaining Queen's Blade. As for gaming, not only I've been busy with the set of Bishoujo and Black Cyc titles I haven't gone through yet, but also a number translated game patches that my good online buddy, Dark-san sent recently for anime based titles like Shuffle!, Kanon, Words Worth and the epic Fate/Stay Night, as well a bunch of others too many to name right now, and console gaming for both current and the second next gen such as the PS2 port of Fate/Unlimited Codes, which I finally got by chance not too long ago until I can get Melty Blood Actress Again someday, the .hack G.U series, and American made titles such as Dead Space, Batman: Arkham Asylum, BioShock, Mass Effect and the PS3 ports of the Ninja Gaiden gamesare giving me some boost of inspiration to get things going again, not to mention finally completing and catching up to long anime and games I've been unable to get back to because of time constraints and work
Mysterious Girl's voice: Are you sure those weren't the only things that kept you back from updating recently, Shardclaw-sama?
Shardclaw: Wait, I know that voice, it can only belong to…
Just as I said that, Scryed's Scheris Adjani, along with Alice Elliot and Margarete G. Zelle from Shadow Hearts, Yuya Shiina, Okuni Izumono and Mahiro of Samurai Deeper Kyo, Mei Momozono, Yayoi Kuribayashi, and Hazuki Kakio of the very ecchi anime Mouse and Honey Kisaragi from the anime, Cutey Honey entered the stage, all of them wearing tight sport bras, and skimpy, skin tight bicycle shorts and carrying large canisters of clear, yet sticky and slimy looking liquid.
Shardclaw: Hmm, there's certainly a lot more different choices of girls grouping together this time around…this could prove dangerous if they all 'attack' me later on…
Scheris: Shardclaw-sama, are you really going through the lengths to include Scyred anime into your fic as well, among others? Does that mean you're going to change to what could happen to some of your favorite characters from that series?
Shardclaw: Hey, it's the most I could do for such a lively and uber cute character such as yourself and it's not just that you were presented as one of my elusive favorites that Dark-san sent as one of my previous shipments when I got into this crossover writing gig, until I got to see the series sometime after and I got to see just helpful you can be as an aide and also…how should I put this…'dangerously effective' your Alter powers are…
Scheris: Well, it depends on how you continue to behave, Shardclaw-sama. Mattaku, to make everyone wait this long for a revised update of this story, we deserve some kind of worker's compensation for the time you didn't work on your fics.
Yuya: That's right; you haven't really done much to the revisions and your fanfiction for quite some time, haven't you? Even though you got other things to worry about, that's no excuse to leave your fans out, so you deserve some form of punishment to get you back on track.
Shardclaw: I knew that was why you all grouped together like this, but that's not enough to scare me if you think your combined strengths are gonna work on…hey, now that I noticed it, what is it that you guys have there?
Honey: Well, at first we were going to just gang up on you after having Scheris drain you of your energy to endure our newly gained techniques as a form of payback, but now seeing the awesomeness of you including the songs that you used for this already epic chapter, we thought we'd also give you some of our…'special service' to help you take off any of that extra tension you may have gained while you worked on this chapter.
Yayoi: So, how does a special, super soft, massage service while getting ganged up by a group of girls like us, covered in nothing but body lotion on sounds to you?
Scheris: Of course, I'd be also applying my powers along for the ride, but you already know that, don't you, Shardclaw-sama?
As Scheris said that, Shardclaw couldn't help but swallow in anticipation (and of fear as well) of the results from her newly Altered controlled technique if he were to be on the receiving end of her powers, as well by the other girls' techniques.
Shardclaw: You girls sure know not to hold anything back these days, don't you? Fine then, I'll consider this as a means to prepare my mind and body to get the next chapters for this and COE ready, as well as getting my other delayed fiction off my back, so it's time to get off my lazy butt and get back to work, starting with you girls first, of course and going through the rest of the Black Cyc titles that Dark-san sent, recent second next gen game console releases, as well getting around games such as the finally translated patch for Kanon, Words Worth, and probably one of the greatest visual novels ever made by Type-Moon, Fate/Stay Night, wish me luck on those. Guys, I leave the rest of the closing to you.
As Shardclaw gets carried offstage, Greg sighs as he turns over to the Weiss boys.
Greg: I tell you, one day the popularity's gonna get him more than he can chew, but I can see he's managing somehow until the stories start getting officially updated eventually...
Kyo: I suppose we'll have to do our best as usual to keep the masses entertained through his writing. I'm sure the next revised chapter's going to be just as good as this one was, so I bet the readers would have some things to say in their reviews for the story so far.
Ran: Right, so until then, we'll see you faithful readers again in the next update.