Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 22

Rei strode down the block and turned the corner as she approached her apartment home. So far, it had been a quiet day, with the exception of Nagi's arrival and abrupt dismissal. After she found Nagi in the alleyway, the other woman left off saying that she had to go. It was strange, but Rei didn't have time to ask. After Nagi left, Rei remained in the park a bit longer and then decided to head home. It was mid-afternoon at the time so she would have a lot of time to herself. But she wasn't worried this time. In fact, she had much to prepare for tonight when Shin returned. Shin...

"He was dead set on finding you and making sure you were okay."

That's what Nagi told her. And judging by his demeanor when he arrived that night, she knew that it was true. She knew how protect Shin was of her, but the fact that he could think of nothing else caused her to feel greatly flattered. But that wasn't all. It looked like Nagi was hiding something in her words, as though she was trying to clue her in on some secret. But Rei didn't need subtle hints to tell her how she felt for her guardian. Her friend... Rei shook her head lightly. That didn't sound right either. True, she was close to him, but it seemed...different than friendship. Friendship would be to describe what she had with Kenji and Uriko. Hell, Uriko was in some ways her sister. But it was different with Shin.

Special...

Smiling within, Rei reached her apartment and opened the door. However as she did so, she sensed something inside. She felt herself become rigid as she opened it fully, but relaxed when she saw that it was Shin. But that soon left her when she saw him wearing his blue shinobi garbs, clothing he would never wear unless he was going to battle. Serious battle...

"Shin? What are you doing?"

Shin was tightening his shoulder armor. "Something's come up. I have to go for awhile."

Worry began to set in the young girl. "Go? Where?"

"I can't explain now." He advanced to the open window and placed a foot on the sill. "Don't worry. I'll be back."

"No, wait." Hurriedly, she rushed to his side and held his arm. "Please." she pleaded. "What is wrong?"

Seeing her concern, he tried to reassure her again. "Nothing much. I..."

"Who are you going to kill?"

At this, Shin froze. Up to this point, all he thought about was getting to Kohryu. The thought of what he would do exactly hadn't registered in his mind yet. Would he kill Kohryu? That seemed like as simple question, but at looking at Rei's face, he wasn't so sure.

"...Don't worry about it."

Her grip tightened. "How can I not worry?"

"Please, Rei." His gaze softened and he stepped in for a moment. Keeping his gaze on her, he gently held her by her arms. "Trust me."

Rei stared up at him, trying to find what words to say to him. But nothing came. She saw the sincerity in his eyes. He wasn't going to be stopped, not even by her. Whatever it was, it was very important to him. With nothing to say, she simply nodded and released him. He held her a bit longer and then slowly returned to the window. He wanted to say something, anything to reassure her right now. But the only thing he could manage before disappearing was...

"I won't be long."

"Are you serious?"

Uriko was in Kenji's room, watching him dress himself in his brown ninja gear. Kenji answered her after he fit on his shoulder pad.

"It's the only way. I have to try to talk to him again before he finds Kohryu."

"But what if he finds him first?"

"Then I'll back him up." Kenji replied after some thought. "Kohryu is after me after all."

Due to their last fight, Kenji knew he was the true target. Why was the question. All he knew about Kohryu was that he had the same abilities as he did, in addition to his mechanical abilities. He was most likely a past project designed to have a grudge against him or something. Either way, Kenji would have to face him. It just mattered if Shin found him first or not. Fitting his arm gauntlet on, his uniform was now complete.

"I'll go with you then." Uriko declared. "That metal-head won't know what hit him."

"No."

The rejection came as bit of a surprise to her. Not that it came, but rather how quick and blunt that it did. She expected him to try and dissuade her, but instead, he flat out said no. This caused her to flush a bit in anger. "What do you mean no?"

"Kohryu is dangerous." Kenji replied simply. "I don't want you to get hurt..."

He was on the verge of saying again, but stopped himself from doing so. He didn't want to or have to remind her of their last encounter with the cyber ninja. Uriko realized this and lowered her head.

"...Kenji." She shook her head, fighting away the memory and tightening her fist. "No." she said firmly. "You can't go alone and I won't let you."

"I know."

With that silent sigh, he slowly turned to Uriko. Uriko went defensive on reflex, but then Kenji placed his hands on her shoulders and she relaxed, briefly. Being this close to him like this put a new set of nervousness and confusion in her and by looking into his eyes, both emotions were justified. Kenji was gazing at her softly and his face was slowly leaning close to her. Her eyes widened, 'He isn't going to...' But before that thought could be complete, Kenji lightly placed his lips on hers. Uriko was still in shock about this, but that didn't stop her own lips from pressing on his in response. Her mind went hazy at the fact that Kenji was actually kissing her. Her eyes drifted close as she began to draw into it, but his lips began to move away.

"And I'm sorry."

With a swift movement, her moved his hand to the side of her neck and gave it a slight pinch. Uriko couldn't even react as the pressure point took effect and she suddenly slumped into Kenji's arms. Kenji held onto her to keep her from falling and he placed her in the bed nearby. Lifting himself up, he brushed one of her bangs away and sighed again.

"Forgive me, Uriko. But I can't let you get hurt again."

He moved to the window and stepped out, readying himself for what he had to do. However, before her did, he looked back at the unconscious girl and remembered why she had come over in the first place. Because of what she had said last night.

"I love you too, Uriko." were his last words before he disappeared in a burst of leaves and bark.

Nagi dashed down the streets, not stopping for anything and brushing a few people on the way. She didn't like just leaving Rei the way she did, but she felt that she had to go immediately. She didn't want to frighten Rei or anyone else with...whatever the hell just happened to her. She changed into something else. 'Am I...a zoanthrope?' That seemed like the most logical answer, except she felt as though she wasn't. At least not completely. She finally stopped running and reached a corner-side. Leaning on the wall to breathe, she looked upward and cleared her thoughts.

"gasp!"

Right up in the rooftop she gazed at, she saw the semblance of a silvery figure just disappearing. She blinked and the figure was gone. Nagi couldn't believe it. Was she following him that whole time? Nagi slid down to the floor and grabbed her head as her mind was wracked with the image of the silver person.

'Who...are...you...?'

And in a flash, she knew...

>>>>>>>

It was night. She was just coming out from a movie theater. She wasn't alone. Two of her friends were with her. They were on their way to their homes when it dropped in on them. The silver haired man with intense eyes.

"You can not hide from me, zoanthrope. Your life is mine."

Nagi gasped, unsure of what he was talking about. But it was enough to know that his words was directed at her friend, who was standing beside her. Suddenly, the silver stranger kicked her hard in the gut, sending her flying back. Nagi and her other friend was in shock by this.

"Sharon!"

In rage, Nagi turned back to the stranger and charged at him. The stranger smirked and lashed out with another sharp kick, hitting Nagi in the face at lightning speed. Nagi sprawled to the ground and lay still. As blood oozed from her lips, she managed to lift her head and see what was happening. Her other friend was knocked down as well just like her. The one called Sharon had already lifted herself from the floor and faced down the silver attacker. Suddenly, Sharon let out a loud roar and her body began to change. Nagi watch in shock as her friend suddenly transformed into her bestial form, a long-eared dog-like creature. A jackal... Sharon snarled at the stranger who chuckled at her in return.

"Time to die. Shrrakkkaaa!"

The stranger suddenly changed as well and he looked more fightening than Sharon. He had changed into some sort of silver creature that didn't look like any beast she had ever seen before. With armor-like skin, long, thin protrusions on its back, and sharp blades attached to its arms. Sharon seemed to back away from this creature and in turn, the creature lunged with lightning speed, unhinging one of his wrist blades and cutting across the air. The jackal zoanthrope tried to jump away, but the blade nicked her enough to leave a line of red across her chest. The jackal seemed to be confused by this and the silver zoanthrope grinned. He then pressed on again and despite Sharon's best efforts to dodge and fight back, the silver creature continued to cut across her body with those wicked blades of his. In the end, the silver zoanthrope was untouched while the jackal's body was lined with numerous slashes. Nagi soon got the her feet as she witness the entire fight. She didn't know what to think, but she knew that despite being a zoanthrope, that was still her friend. And she had to help her.

"Leave her alone!"

The silver creature turned its head and soon faced the hurt girl. He cocked his head and then in a flash, his blade was right in her side. She didn't even have time to scream and she was flung back against the wall. Nagi slumped back and the silver zoanthrope raised his blade to finish her off when a pair of clawed hands grabbed the silver creature from behind.

'Sharon...'

The jackal pulled him back and away from her and the white zoanthrope snarled in response. Nagi pushed herself off the wall in order to help, but the white zoanthrope suddenly broke out of Sharon's grip and elbowed back, with his blade folded back and impaling into the jackal. Sharon let out a pained howl and staggered back. Nagi charged again to help, but the silver creature unfurled his second blade and slashed out. Nagi didn't even know what hit her. All she saw was a flash and blood shooting up from her body. Everything spun around and then there was darkness. She wasn't conscious to see her friend try to reach her only to be literally cut down by the silver creature, nor awake when the creature saw her second friend revive only to be impaled. Only blood, pain and darkness...and a voice.

"You have been chosen...Spurious..."

>>>>>>

Nagi's eyes snapped open; her mind feeling suddenly free as this memory came back to her. 'It was him.' She lifted herself off the ground, remembering the pain coursing across her arm and body. But she remembered. Her friend was a zoanthrope and that guy came after her...to kill her. And they were just extra point. Anger soon flared within the brunette and as it did, her arm began to change again. Nagi saw this and half-panicied, until she realized that it had come on on her anger. Taking a deep breath, she began to calm herself, thinking only about retracting the blade. On command, the blade retracted and her arm returned to normal. Nagi held up her hand, twinkling her fingers just to be certain. She had controlled it. Something happened that night, something that changed her, quite possibly forever. But that wasn't on her mind right now. Now she realized what she had to do. All that time with her somehow finding him, she knew what she had to do. She had to find him and make him pay for what he had done.

Now she would hunt for him...

Library

"What's this?"

In the library where the two zoanthropes were still researching, Long lowered his finger down to a smaller group of text on the corner page. "This speaks about of a Shinto oracle...Sealing of the beast."

Yugo looked up tiredly from his books. "An oracle?"

The Kenpo master narrowed his eyes and read. "The great dragon...sealed by the oracle…marked by nine-tails?"

"Nine-tails?" Yugo blinked in askance. But he became silent and then spoke again. "A fox."

Long, whose eyes were already wide in thought, were now turned on Yugo in mild surprise. "You've seen it?

Yugo nodded, a bit surprised himself for even remembering it. "Yeah. A white fox with a weird tail. It was standing outside my house at one time and then it just...vanished."

Long turn back forward. "The same with me. I saw a little girl staring at me from outside. When I went out to meet her, she had vanished, with a strange white fox running away in its place." Placing a finger on his glasses, he continued. "She must be the oracle."

"Oracles, white foxes, beast-sealing, earthquakes…" Yugo commented and sighed. "This is well beyond weird now."

"Nevertheless, all these things are related." Long responded. He then gathered the scroll books together and stood up with them in his arms. "I'm going to check up some more information on this oracle."

Yugo nodded. "All right. Let me know whatever you come with."

"I will."

Night

Alice strode out of the hospital, a bit worn out. The day had been exhausting as many were injured and hurt from earthquake. Alice did her best, but in the end many of the staff had to convince her to go home, reminding her that she had just recently gotten married and that she should enjoy her time with her husband. And...She was still technically off-duty now anyway. With a pleasant sigh, she strode down the street toward her car. She began reaching for her keys when a tall figure came out of a nearby alley and stood before her.

"Alice Nonomura."

'Ohgami' she thought shortly to herself. That thought now past, she addressed the stranger. "Who are you?"

A dark grin came over his youthful face. "You don't look so tough."

"What?"

The young man suddenly dashed at Alice and swung his leg out. Instinctively, Alice hopped back and then ducked when the stranger twirled around with another swift kick. Rising up, Alice clenched her fists together and as the stranger came back to attack, Alice twirled around in sidestep and swung her fist out in a spinning backhand. The stranger's head snapped back and Alice stood in wait. The stranger stood still for a moment and then chuckled as he rubbed his cheek.

"Well, well, well. This might be more fun than I thought."

"Why are you doing this?" Alice questioned. She didn't know this guy, even less as to why he is attacking her. Although...she might have seen him before. At the school, with Uriko and the others...

"I've heard about you." the stranger replied. "You're supposed to be one of the strongest beastmen alive. This will be a great warm-up for me until I get the white zoanthrope."

'The white zoanthrope?' Alice's eyes lit up at this. 'Could he mean...No, no him!' "I don't want to fight you." she pleaded.

"Then this will be a very boring kill."

The stranger grinned once again before crossing his arms together. Then with a shrill cry, a burst of energy flared out of him. Alice backed away as she realized what she had suspected from his movements. He was a zoanthrope. Alice was now faced with a zoanthrope species she hadn't seen often. A bird... Pitch-black feathers covered his body, showing only the silver earring that had been on his ears. His hand and feet were clawed and large black wings stretched out from his back. Alice nearly backed away from the dark piercing eyes of the crow zoanthrope. She knew that look.

It was the eyes of a killer...