Disclaimer: Thank all things holy I don't own Digimon. XD Imagine if it took me this long to update, how long it would be to get a new episode out. Also, the sugarglider-dragon, teenage guy with short black hair, Nameless, and Nanashi belong to Solange MacLeod. Whisper belongs to my friend Ayame.
Obstacles can be overcome, no matter how painful they may be. Determination is the main ingredient for going beyond what has been put before you on your path to your goals. It doesn't matter if this obstacle is that of one in a contest, getting a gift, doing a favor… or one in love. There had been a great many tales about witches and vampires falling in love, and even though in the end both were burned, they managed to defeat everything that came between them. Just as there were stories of lycanthropes and vampires falling in love with one another, even though if a vampire took of the werewolf's blood they would die. Then there's the tales of the witches and werewolves, the werewolves and werecats, and the list may very well go on. But the one thing all these stories have in common is that their characters overcame the obstacles of impossibility. There was love, and from that love was born a determination to be with the one they loved, and nothing could stop them. Sure, there were the few that went about it in the incorrect manner, but there always have been and always will be.
What of the obstacles brought on by the tournament? Well… what of them? The participants either let these problems crush them in their wake, or manage to overwhelm what got in their way to achieve their ultimate goal--whether their goal is to destroy all of humanity, or to save it. If one is curious to see who overcomes the obstacles that has gotten in either the 'villain's' or the 'hero's' way, one must continue to read. And always remember, everyone has his or her own definition of right and wrong, which means that in all reality… there is no such thing as good and evil, when one really thinks about it. So is there really an obstacle in love, or is it just a figment of imagination? Is the destruction of all humanity, which pollutes the world around it and kills it's forests… is it truly such a bad thing, or is it all for the better? That's up to the individual to decide.
Kouji
Voices. Soft voices. Words being whispered and hushed, not making any sense. Shadows… shadows everywhere. Where they shadows of people, or were they shadows of demons? Was he dead? Or alive? If he was dead… why didn't he see the Grim Reaper, or his wife Serlio? It didn't make sense. Why were all these shadows moving, speaking no words, yet sounds were coming? Why couldn't he feel anything? He was dead, that had to be it. The Grim Reaper came, and then Serlio took the soul of him that the Grim Reaper handed to her and now he was here. Wherever 'here' was. 'Here' was so noisy now… it was best if he slept… just slept…
…just sleep… sleep tight… sleep well… let everything go away…
Where was Kouji? Where was he? Memories flooded back, and the shadows soon were engulfed by utter darkness, and then they returned when the light resumed. Kisei. Zanshi. Pain. Kouji. Silence. Where was Kouji? As everything came back to him, he suddenly felt his eyes snap open. So they had been closed? He was asleep, that was all? Takuya blinked blearily, looking around him. He saw the cause of all the shadows; it was from Junpei, Izumi and Tomoki hovering over his bed. All three wore a relieved expression, and for some reason it relieved Takuya as well. Perhaps because he wasn't sure what to feel, and was going by their expressions to know what emotions should be dictating him right now.
"Takuya, thank all things holy you're okay!" Izumi cried, and immediately hugged the startled human. "We thought you were never going to wake up; the Mages said you'd be in a coma!" she continued, tears streaming down her cheeks as she hugged the brunette. He was confused, and knew she was crying merely from the wetness on her cheek that was pressed against his neck.
"It's good to see you awake again," Junpei commented, nodding his head in agreement with what Izumi said.
"We were all so scared…" Tomoki added, walking around to be closer to his older friend. Takuya blinked, still somewhat confused. What had all happened?
"Did I… miss something?" Takuya asked softly, still rather confused. How the hell does a person risk going into a coma if they merely had a large quantity of blood drained from their system? He had worse. No seriously, he did. Remember when he got shot before and nearly died of blood loss then? He seems to risk dying a lot when it comes to blood.
"Uh… eheh…" Izumi laughed nervously, and let go of her tight hug. "Depends… are you referring to before, or after you passed out?" She asked.
"After? I kind of was awake and aware before," Takuya grumbled.
"Well, you recovered fast," Junpei remarked, noticing the brunette's easy arrival to normalcy after returning to the world of the conscious.
"You see… uhm… Yamaki was having issues finding a doctor…" Izumi began, fidgeting some. Takuya watched her, waiting for her to continue. "And, ah… how do we put this nicely?"
"Yamaki wasn't paying attention to where he was going because he was worried about you, and then someone opened a door and it knocked into your head and probably gave you a slight concussion which is why for a moment Yamaki thought you died from the impact because you wouldn't respond to anything," Tomoki blurted. Takuya stared. That bastard… he gave him a concussion!
"HE WHAT!" Takuya yelled, and his three friends cringed.
"He didn't mean to, I'm sure!" Izumi assured him.
"I doubt it…" Takuya grumbled. After he had made his reply, interestingly enough, Yamaki walked in carrying a tray of food for the brunette, his glasses concealing his eyes as always. Glancing up, he saw that Takuya was awake, and acquired an almost, but not quite, relieved look.
"So you didn't suffer a concussion; that's good," Yamaki stated, nodding in approval as he set the brunette's… dinner? Sure, his dinner down next to him.
"No thanks to you," Takuya grouched, and grabbed the tray to start eating. He was so hungry!
"Ah… they told you about that then," Yamaki mumbled softly, nervously, turning around not too long after. "You aren't dead, and seem well enough to make annoyed remarks so I'll look at it as a good sign," he went on, obviously trying to avoid any angry outbursts. Sweat dropping, the brunette shook his head and decided to ask a question that was increasingly bothering him.
"Hey, Yamaki…" Takuya began. The blonde gave him his full attention, and the three in the room exchanged glances before scuttling out, only to eavesdrop after they shut the door. "How long have I been out?" he asked first. The second question could wait… he needed to search the room with his eyes first.
"Oh… I'd say close to two days. If it hadn't been for the training you all endured before the tournament, and your past experiences… I'm sure it could have very well been much longer," Yamaki answered him.
"…" Takuya said nothing for a moment. "Okay… so, what's the deal with the battle against Kisei?" came his next question, but once more he delayed in asking the inquiry that really did lay heavy on his mind. Yamaki was clearly aware of this, but didn't mention it, and patiently waited to hear the brunette ask the very question he dreaded answering.
"Our last fight… the one against Kisei…" Yamaki started, a slight smirk on his face. "Well, for one, it's being delayed even as we speak." From the brunette's confused face he decided to elaborate. "Ah… let's just say the referee is trying to stop a disqualified participant from wrecking this entire building." He said, an amused grin on his face.
"Oh… uhm… Yamaki, where's Kouji?" The brunette asked softly. Yamaki's grin immediately disappeared, and the man sighed in a manner that made it apparent he did not wish to answer this. "Yamaki…" Takuya pressed.
"Are you sure you want to know?" the man asked. Takuya wasn't entirely so sure now, but he had to know. Nodding some to show he truly wanted, and needed, to know Yamaki sighed yet again. "Last I heard, he had locked himself in a dark room somewhere in the coliseum. Beyond that, I don't know much else," he explained. Takuya looked downcast, and removing the pillow from behind him, hugged it tightly.
"Is he okay?" The brunette asked, although he already had a fairly good idea what the answer was.
"The last I saw him was about two days ago and he was practically throwing up his insides. Ruki told me he had said, 'I don't want it,' and in reference to the blood he had taken from you. Some Mages got in there later and managed to drag him to a room where they fixed him up, good as new. Then, when no one was there, he took off and hid. Kouichi was the one who found him, but won't give us any info as to Kouji's exact location, and only visits us when he's asked to get updates on how you were doing," the blonde man told him. "So you tell me if you think he's okay."
"…" When Takuya said nothing, Yamaki stood and prepared to leave before he was stopped. "Can you… tell me everything about Kisei's team?"
"Oh! Yamaki's going to tell him!" Junpei exclaimed.
"About time!" Izumi grouched.
"Oww! Guys, be careful! …Are you sure we're allowed to be doing this?" Tomoki queried insecurely.
"No, but who cares?" Izumi retorted, and pressed her now cat-like ear closer to the door. The three were all pressing their ears against the wooden door of the 'hospital' room. The 'hospital' itself was no more than an area of the coliseum dedicated to the wounded, dying, and recovering. It was also where the unfortunate Mages were forced to stay, and so several rather disgruntled ones would pass by every so often.
"…Do you think he knows we're listening?" Tomoki asked in a hushed whisper. He received no reply, and he automatically assumed that they either didn't hear him or were considering that it was possible.
"Define 'everything,'" Yamaki said, his shoulders sagging.
"You said you had a theory… as to why Tomoki might play an important part in our battle against Kisei," Takuya reminded him.
"You mean 'their' battle. You aren't fighting Kisei," Yamaki spoke up and ignored the glare that burned into his back. Luckily, it wasn't literal this time.
"Why not?" Takuya demanded. Not that he was too hot on the idea in the first place… but he was now.
"…So far, ever since this tournament, it seems as if nothing but bad things have happened to both you and Tomoki. Zanshi attacked your brother, you almost got killed when a monster was trying to locate Junpei as a recruit… and then during the tournament, what happened to Tomoki and Daisuke… and then, finally, what happened to you and Kouji. When I got you two to take part in this tournament, I hadn't expected so much to befall you both. That was a fool's mistake, not expecting something like this to occur in a tournament such as this one. I'm sorry to you both, and I regret I can't take back my decision to sponsor you." Yamaki explained. "All I can do is get special permission from Cursed to replace you and Tomoki, and pray that Kouji is willing to continue on," he ended, and heaved a deep sigh. Looking up to the ceiling, he removed his glasses for a moment and rubbed his eyes. Ever curious what the man hid behind his glasses, the brunette attempted to see, but to no avail--all he saw was blonde hair, some of the peach skin on Yamaki's forehead, and the black glasses held up and then placed back on.
"Y'know… you can't decide for me," Takuya mumbled, and drew little circles on his beds blanket, the pillow still clutched tightly.
"I doubt you can win in the fight now, Kanbara," came Yamaki's response. Takuya's eyes hardened, and he looked back up to the blonde man. Outside the door, the three eavesdroppers exchanged glances, already knowing where this was going. No one told Takuya he couldn't do something, because he was the rare type of person who would stop at nothing to prove the person wrong.
"Why is that?" the brunette asked him coldly.
"You're in no condition to fight," Yamaki said, turning around with his glasses covering his eyes still and waving at the brunette lying in bed still.
"So? You said the fight was being delayed, so for all you know, by the time an official date and time is released I'll be at 110 percent." Takuya countered him, and the blonde man couldn't help but laugh light-heartedly.
"You got me there…" Yamaki shrugged, and then turned serious. "Do you want to fight Kisei?" he asked. He received a nod as a response. "Are you sure you're ready?" Hesitation. He thought so. "I'll show you and the others later what's causing the delay if it's still going on. But before then, I'll see if I can find Kouichi and get him to take you to Kouji. You need to talk to him. He needs to know you don't hate him," Yamaki continued, giving the brunette an encouraging smile, and walked out the door, ignoring the yelps of three teens (or would it be two, considering Junpei is several centuries old?). Takuya watched him leave, and wondered if Yamaki had planned this all out… or if he merely respected his own decisions enough to not argue with him.
Eating the food given to him was no problem, neither was stretching some; when the nurse came, though, the hard part began. Apparently, they didn't have enough blood to spare to give him a full blood transfusion, so he was still a bit low on blood cells and thus moving was somewhat strenuous. She gave him some special medicine that was supposed to help, but it didn't make changing into his usual clothes any less difficult. Once ready and prepared, Takuya waited for the appearance of Yamaki with Kouichi. What came instead rather unsettled him.
"Hello again," Lucien said curtly. Behind her, on a special leash, was a sulking Kouichi.
"…Did I miss something?" Takuya asked, glancing between the two uncertainly.
"I think you lost something," Lucien growled, and then shoved the leash into a very confused Takuya's hands. "Next time he tries to get between my wife and that… whatever she is, I'm going to be the hell he didn't go to!" she snapped, turned on her heel and left.
"Saddest thing is, I believe her," Kouichi sulked, and blinked. Once realizing who he was next to, he immediately perked up. "Oh, Takuya, you're alive and no dead and not in a coma and alive and well! That's so wonderful! It means I didn't break the rules in vain!" he cheered.
"Are you really sure you should be this happy to see me?" Takuya asked, raising a brow at the poltergeist.
"Of course! This is such wonderful news! In fact, I'm so happy I want to sing… something! Something with a little bounce in it perhaps?" Kouichi pondered, and tilted his head.
"Not Disney!" Takuya yelped quickly, making a great deal of effort to save his dwindling sanity. "But, since you're in such a good mood I might let you if…" he trailed. Kouichi immediately latched onto the chance to sing to his heart's content without being yelled at, threatened, or have a shoe thrown through him. What very few people realized was that sometimes… on rare occasions, he could feel it. It wasn't a good feeling.
"YOU take ME to… Kouji," Takuya stated happily. Kouichi gave him a blank look. Then…
"No, I'm sorry, but I promised Kouji I wouldn't take anyone to him. He wants to be alone," Kouichi sighed. It hurt him so much to lose the chance… how he wanted to sing! He wasn't quite sure why he wanted to sing though. He didn't sing very well. Oh yes, he was a poltergeist… he took pleasure in driving people up the wall. Funness.
"…All right. If I let you sing to your hearts content AND hide my t.A.T.u CD so well I can never find it?" Takuya asked. Kouichi was so… so… SO tempted… hiding that damnable t.A.T.u CD, his greatest rival! Kouji was driven insane with how much Takuya played it; Kouichi was driven insane because oftentimes Takuya would play it to drown out the racket Kouichi made. That damn CD!
"Fine! But only if you tell Kouji that you made me do it. You have a leash… let's just say you strangled me with it." Kouichi said happily, and started floating forwards.
"Good dog," Takuya laughed, and followed after.
"What! I'm not a dog!" Kouichi huffed, mildly insulted. He wasn't… he wasn't! They continued along, passing some strange sights. At least the sights appeared strange at first, but upon closer inspection, they weren't that unusual after all. Takuya followed Kouichi through several corridors, and began to note that it was as if Kouichi was leading him to the arena… but why would he do that? They continued along, until Kouichi stopped in front of the door leading into the arena. Confused, Takuya walked past him and looked around outside, and then jumped back inside to avoid being frozen by a giant stream of ice. Cautiously, he peeked out again and nearly face-faulted.
The referee cast a spell that created a temporary dark hole and swallowed a large flame, and caused the arena to heave upward and prevent any ice from escaping out. The cause of these two attacks was Saga, holding her sword at her side and grinning at said referee - this referee being Cursed, who looked royally ticked off. The stadium was a complete mess, with areas burnt and other parts frozen, snapping apart, and shattering. Saga held up her sword, and brought it down forcefully. Out of one side a fan of fire gushed out, and out of the other, ice shards broke free, aiming in two directions. Cursed yet again cast more spells to try and prevent these from causing more damage to be done.
"Stop trashing this place already!" Cursed snapped. Saga just grinned, and made yet another bombardment of flames and ice aim for other areas.
"This is what you get for kicking my team out of the finals! YOU JERK! We followed the rules! I hate you! You're not my friend anymore!" Saga laughed, apparently not even close to serious.
"No you didn't! The only way a person could kill you is if they break your sword! Which by the way is a PAIN IN MY ASS! Die already! I'm not your friend!" Cursed growled, and soon aimed a curse directly at Saga who, with ease, moved quickly out of the way. Lucien was in the stands, drinking a cup of tea calmly. A few more exchanges of magical attacks was soon followed by physical onslaught between the two, which Kouichi took advantage of to drag Takuya out of the doorway and over to one side of the stands. Once they were safe (somewhat), clambering and floating up the stands, the magical half of this battle resumed. Leading the way, Takuya noticed a dark-cloaked figure sitting by itself a little ways off. He instantly knew who it was, for whom else would be wearing something to cover their entire form from the sun's light? Cautiously walking over, he did his best to keep silent even with the knowledge his vampiric friend knew he was there the moment he walked through to door into the arena.
"I'll be… over there," Kouichi mumbled, and easily removed the leash from Takuya and floated off. He cast an occasional worried glance, though, and pondered what to do… cast a worried glance, pondered what to do… Takuya made his way over, and finally sat down next to his friend.
"We're not supposed to be walking around alone," Takuya murmured.
"I wasn't," Kouji answered, and the brunette glanced at where Kouichi was. "Yeah…" Silence overcame the two, as Takuya tried to find the right questions to ask and Kouji was just quiet. Then it was the vampire who broke the silence, rather than the brunette, whom was trying. "…So you're all right?" he asked.
"Hmm? Yeah. I've been through worse, you know that." Takuya stated, and gave the other a half-hearted grin.
"That's good…" Kouji whispered softly. The brunette frowned slightly, rather worried now.
"Kouji…?" he asked tentatively.
"Ever since what happened… I've been thinking. It's not meant to be…" Kouji said softly, painfully.
"What isn't?" Takuya asked, even though inside he knew what the vampire was talking about. His heart clenched, afraid.
"Us," Kouji said in a voice that could've been stolen by the wind if there was any.
"Why do you think that?" Takuya asked him, tears threatening to fall.
"Because I hurt you… even though I'd never want to," Kouji whispered again. His voice was so soft, so lost… it hurt hearing it.
"Kouji…" Takuya sighed, reached for the vampire, and then stopped. Kouji needed him to listen right now.
"I love you, and more than anything I don't ever want to hurt you. But I'm like someone with duo personalities… one that loves you, and another that loathes you. Even though the one that loves you is out the most, the one that loathes you will always try and take advantage of the chance to kill you. The different is, there's only me… and my instincts. It's in me to kill humans, and it always will be. Even if… even if…" Kouji broke off.
"That's okay, I can easily--" Takuya tried, but the vampire cut him off.
"You could. But you'd feel horrible about it afterwards. Like you did the first time." Kouji sighed. "And to be frank, we could never be a 'normal' couple. Most fairs take place during the daytime; we could never go to one together. They go on dates, and feed each other. Honestly, it'd be fatal if we chose to feed each other." Kouji broke that off with a harsh, sardonic laugh. "They keep each other warm at night… I just chill you to the bone," he ended. Several minutes passed before the brunette took the chance to talk to him.
"There's always night festivals, they do have those you know. No one ever said all couples go on dates to restaurants, you know… that's usually the first date anyway. And I think ours consisted of traveling to this place to risk our lives to save all of mankind." Takuya said, giving his best grin he could conjure up at the moment. But it was difficult, especially with how upset Kouji still seemed. The brunette put a reassuring hand on Kouji's shoulder. "You do keep me warm at night, even if not physically. I'm at my happiest when I'm with you, and there's no warm feeling that could ever compare with the one I get in my heart when we're together," he ended, and gave Kouji's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Time seemed to hold still, as if the next moment would never come and this unsteady silence would continue to reign… then Kouji did quite the unexpected. He hugged Takuya, and tried his best to burrow himself into the brunette's arms. Unsurely, Takuya patted Kouji's back a bit uncomfortable in this change of events.
"Don't hate me…" Kouji said with enough ache in his voice to break Takuya's heart.
"Oh Kouji, I could never hate you. You could suddenly join Kisei, and I'd still never hate you," Takuya muttered, and held the vampire close. With the sun beaming on him, and the cold form of Kouji's inside the cloak it was actually a fairly nice feeling… but the setting that came with it wasn't as pleasant.
"So why do you want to fight him?" Kouji asked hoarsely. He must've been crying… the brunette winced slightly at the thought.
"Because I want to protect the people I love," Takuya answered honestly. That was such a silly question.
"What if they don't want you risking yourself?" Kouji asked softly.
"They'll have to hate me for loving them, then," Takuya mumbled. This was a guilt trip if Takuya ever had one, and rather painful one at that. He heard the vampire sigh heavily, and then Kouji pulled away. Once again they were quiet - a habit they were getting into all too easily, although this silence perhaps was that of a more thoughtful one, than one created from neither knowing what to say.
"I don't want you to die," Kouji said finally, having come to some sort of conclusion in that head of his.
"I won't," Takuya announced with assurance, not a trace of hesitation. The front part of the hood belonging to Kouji's cloak turned in Takuya's direction, apparently trying to catch a glimpse of the human in the day.
"Promise?" the vampire asked. The brunette smiled softly at him, and nodded even though the other couldn't see the motion.
"Cross my heart," Takuya promised. The vampire sighed, obviously not fully believing the brunette. Takuya frowned at this, and scooted closer. "Kouji… we both know Yamaki is losing faith. This entire time, he was the one who never faltered in believing we could do this. He had confidence in us… and that made us believe in ourselves too. Now he sees mistakes in everything he does, because he didn't foresee some of the things that came to pass. That never mattered to me though, so long as you thought I could do it too." The brunette finished his speech, and got silence from the vampire. "Have some faith, will ya? I beat a Gensui Demon! …STILL people refuse to tell me just what exactly it is…" the brunette mumbled. He heard a soft chuckle.
"That you did… you even survived the Decay Curse," Kouji admitted. The brunette beamed from this compliment and reminder. "You survived being shot… at least long enough for Kouichi to reach you. Didn't you get hit by a car once?" he asked, recalling the life he had watched Takuya live before the tournament. The brunette laughed light-heartedly, the answer given.
"See? I don't die so easily," Takuya grinned.
"Even though you're a human?" Kouji asked slyly.
"It's because I am a human. I noticed that all you demons and supernatural creatures give up way too easily," Takuya explained to the vampire, smiling softly at the sky. Kouji gave this some thought, and finally shrugged it off.
"Care to elaborate?" Kouji inquired.
"No, I'm horrible with examples. You know that," Takuya snorted. Kouji let a soft chuckle escape, and shook his head.
"Fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But if you die, so help me, I'll send Kouichi in after you," Kouji warned him. The brunette held a slightly panicked expression while repeating, 'Don't be so cruel!' over and over again. As this went on, Kouichi smiled in approval. Those two certainly had a knack for bouncing back when it came to each other. Not to mention he got endless singing hours along with permanently getting rid of that t.A.T.u CD as a nice bonus! What? He was going to take Takuya to Kouji eventually, he wasn't so cruel as to let the two lovers wallow in their own self-pity.
"And my work here is done!" Saga announced, startling everyone in the arena. Cursed stared at her, Lucien raised a brow, the poltergeist gave a quizzical look, and the strange duo already figured it was best they never knew.
"What? What work? You aren't working! You're totaling a sacred coliseum created by--" Cursed snapped, but got interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah, by the demons and angelics to solve their constant disputes and give way to an even-matched tournament in order to prevent powers from getting out of hand. I know! I'm… twenty-nine! Beat that!" Saga proclaimed, and gave a peace sign.
"I know you're twenty-nine! I've had the misfortune of knowing you for four years!" Cursed growled, shaking an angry fist at her.
"Uhm… so… now that I totally ruined your day, trashed this place, and such I'm going to take my leave as well as my lovely wife who will hopefully join me in bed tonight!" Saga smiled, giving her best innocent, 'you know you love me' look to Lucien, who merely rolled her eyes.
"I'll play a drinking game with you, but beyond that I'm not listening to any other suggestions you make," Lucien grouched, and hopped off of the stands. Saga looked like she had just been stabbed before she fell to the floor weeping.
"You don't love me!" Saga whined.
"Nope, now let's go before psycho-bitch decides vengeance is sweet." Lucien suggested, grabbed her wife by the bangs and proceeded to drag her away. Saga released several shouts and cries of pain that went disregarded by her 'lovely' wife. Cursed watched them leave with a rather disturbed look.
"…I AM NOT! Just irritable!" The referee finally shouted, and sighed. Noticing three onlookers were staring at her, her ears pinned back and she growled. "What are YOU staring at? Don't you have a match in a few days? Beat it, I gotta clean this hellhole up!" She yelled, and with alarming speed the threesome left the referee to do her job.
It was the day before, and Yamaki's team ate quietly in Blood Moon's Café. Most of them were treating this like an innocent prisoner would treat their final meal before sent off to the electric chair. Their waiter, Azumo, attempted his best to try and get them to lighten up, but to no avail. After failed attempts every now and then, he'd sulk off and explain his woes to Kita, who would cheer him up, and then Azumo would return and try all over again. Once they had all finished their meals, they sat in silence. Contemplating, thinking… hoping. "Yamaki, if there's anything you need to tell th-- us, please do so now." Ruki said softly. Ever since the incident Kisei had inflicted, she seemed a great deal less harsh, and more considerate. Not by much, but it certainly was an improvement from when they first met her.
"…In the last tournament, Kisei had won. His request was that rather than vampires, werewolves, or other such beings getting the blame for bad occurrences in the human world, it would be the witches. They'd be the scapegoats for the unnatural world," Yamaki murmured quietly. "Gennai and I were on the same team in that tournament, and we lost," he announced to the table. It got, if possible, even more deathly silent. Then, life came back as questions arose.
"Why are you still alive?" came Kouji's still untrusting nature.
"Why are you telling us this now?" Izumi's question followed.
"You think we're going to die, don't you?" Junpei asked coldly.
"Does this mean we're pulling out?" Tomoki asked with mixed emotions.
"You misunderstood me, didn't you?" Ruki sighed.
"That was meant to encourage us, right? Not discourage, I hope…" Takuya grumbled.
"Anyone want seconds?" Azumo asked. Everyone at the table turned and raised a brow at him. "I guess not…" he said quietly, and sulked off yet again.
"If you defeat Kisei's team, you'll find out," Yamaki briskly stated, eluding Kouji's question. "I'm telling you this now to, as Takuya asked, encourage you. Make you understand just how much you're really accomplishing by defeating him," the blonde man said in response to both Izumi and Takuya. "Junpei, if I thought any of you might die, I'd pull you all out instantly. Therefore, you know that you are all remaining in this tournament still, Tomoki. Would you like to leave? At this point, it's entirely up to you," he said softly to the young illusionist. The young male bit his bottom lip, and shook his head to show he would now leave them in their time of need. "That's reassuring." Yamaki gave a broad smile with these words, and shook his head at Ruki, the two holding a silent conversation with their eyes. What was up with those two anyway?
"So what's the game plan, then?" Takuya asked, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.
"There is none," Yamaki replied, a grin much wider on his own face. The teens (or those that held the appearance of teens) gave him horrified, blank looks. "I figured, if Kisei knew enough about Takuya and Kouji to pull off what he did, what's the sense in planning something he'll find out anyway? So all decisions will be pulled on a whim." His grin broadened. "I trust you guys, I'm sure you'll make the right decisions."
"Are you… asking us to commit suicide?" Izumi asked him warily.
"If I was, then do remember you're free to leave me, the madman, at any point in time which you deem appropriate," Yamaki reminded her.
"Right…" she mumbled, turning away from him, a bit disturbed.
"Oh, don't do that." A silky voice complained, and upon recognizing it Izumi slowly turned her head fearfully. Akabane sat there, his hat tilted downwards and the slit in it permitting his eye, closed in satisfaction, to peer through if it chose to open.
"D-don't do what?" she asked, scooting away from him. For those who don't remember, he was the fighter she went against in their first match that died and came back to life. Her lack of comfort in his presence was understandable.
"Don't leave the tournament. I still need your phone number so we could have another little skirmish. It is a rather pleasurable experience to fight with such a skilled predator such as yourself," Akabane said all-too happily. Izumi turned a mild shade of red, not quite sure how to take his statement, and Junpei looked ready to fry the guy on the spot. "Don't bother with any amount of voltage, I've had my fair-share of lightning-wielders trying to kill me in that manner. I use ceramic knives, plastic gloves, and other assortments to keep me protected from that specific area," he said, and gave a soft, hearty chuckle.
"He's creepy," Junpei whimpered after he received this bit of information.
"Please… don't drop out," a girl's soft voice requested. Takuya instantly recognized it, and turned to look at 'Angst' and her sister, Void. "I… you saved my life, and… you did a lot for me. I… we… we believe in you. If you guys leave this tournament, what will be left to believe in?" she asked, her words hesitant but sincere enough to get her message across. Void nodded, standing next to her in a somewhat protective manner.
"If any of you leave this tournament, I'll make it my personal permission to make your lives a living hell," Yamato's voice called, and several of Yamaki's team members jumped at his voice. "Don't let Taichi and Mimi's sacrifice go to waste," he growled. He still seemed to hold quite a bit of a grudge…
"That reminds me, Taichi wanted to say hi!" Kouichi said happily. Everyone turned to him. "What? We spirits like to keep in touch. Taichi and Mimi were really cool, so I thought…" He mumbled, feeling like he just dug himself a hole.
"Tell Mimi… tell Mimi to wait for me," Miyako said softly, looking up at the floating poltergeist. He blinked, gave her a soft smile and nodded. They all seemed to be getting a great deal of attention, ne?
"Yeah! Beat that… that guy!" a little girl cheered. Everyone stared at her. She had orange hair with neon green bangs, and two large horns protruding from the back of her head. She had red eyes, and wore a red dress with puffy sleeves. Standing next to her was a boy who looked about eleven or twelve, and had red eyes as well. His hair was blue, but faded out to white. He was wearing a net tank-top with a red long-sleeve shirt, and baggy blue jeans.
"Uhm… who are you?" Izumi asked her. "Little girl, are you lost?"
"Why hello there Kyuusei, what brings you here?" Yamaki asked her gently. Everyone looked at him and raised a brow. "She's the step-sister of Kaishi and Zanshi. That kid next to her is Whisper, an android of sorts. Don't worry about her, she might be a rather… interesting little girl, but she has a good heart," he assured them. They stared at him long and hard.
"I'm not lost! I'm here to watch Onii-san and Onee-chan!" Kyuusei said happily. Whisper looked up from his guitar and nodded in agreement.
"Why are you encouraging us? Don't you want to root for your family?" Tomoki asked her. He didn't necessarily like Kisei… or anyone on his team… but she was a little girl with relations to them. Generally younger siblings wanted their elders to do well.
"Onii-san said not to cheer for his team. He says Kisei is bad, and Onii-san is always right! So beat up bad Kisei!" Kyuusei cheered.
"Cute… little girl, huh?" Izumi asked unsurely.
"I'm really getting mixed feelings about that Kaishi guy…" Takuya mumbled.
"You're telling me," Junpei sighed.
"If it helps, I know how you can kill him!" Kyuusei said happily. She had everyone's full attention now. "A paper cut!" came the haunting voice with the rather simple and ridiculous answer.
"A… paper cut?" Tomoki asked her, thoroughly confused.
"Yes! Because when you get a paper cut, you bleed! And when you bleed, you die! And when you die, it really sucks," Kyuusei answered honestly. They stared at her.
"Did she have too much sugar?" Tomoki whispered in Takuya's ear, who shrugged in response. At some point in the background during this, some chairs clattered to the floor as two guys randomly started snogging. One had teal hair, and the other had short black hair. A passerby would be unsure if they were really making out or trying to devour each other's faces.
"It's true," Whisper spoke up, startling several people.
"Err, thanks," Izumi humored the little girl and her intimidating friend. They smiled shyly, rather welcoming the compliment before leaving. "Everyone has their own tactics, I suppose…" she murmured.
"That they do," Akabane chirped, scaring Izumi furthermore.
"Ever feel you get the most love when you're nearest to your death?" Takuya asked.
"Actually, I got the most love after my death," Kouji laughed, winking at Takuya. The brunette blushed mildly. Nearby a sugar-glider that looked like somewhere in its family one of it's ancestors had been a dragon flew by and was searching around for two people that apparently went by 'Nameless' and 'Nanashi.' Said sugarglider-dragon crossbreed also snapped at one of the two guys snogging randomly in the background.
"SO CUTE!" Saga and the pony demon with the cat Cursed had been watching a while back squealed from some table far away. Where the hell did all these people come from? No one will ever know… that's okay. At least they know they have a lot of support. Not to mention each other. The sweet keensmell… the sighing sound, the lights around the shore.
A/N: I doubt I can apologize enough for this delayed chapter, so I'll just explain a quick thing. Firstly, italics are only used for flashbacks when at the start of the chapter there's a thing that says, "italics are for flashbacks", otherwise the italics in that chapter are not flashbacks. In chapter 8 "Some Veil Did Fall" at the ending there were some words in italics. Those, it's chapter title, and the ending italics in this chapter all came from a poem by Dante Rossetti. Don't ask me why they're there. I can't tell you that. But, I can tell you that the wonderful and lovely Solange MacLeod edited this chapter which is why there are no nasty mistakes! Yay!
Nathanaelle: We'll just say unwantingly is a word. Neehee. I'm really, really glad you liked that chapter! Feel kind of bad now though because no effort went into this one... -Smacks head on wall- Gomen!
TALA MINE-TALA HOT: No, I really do write crappishly. What's going to happen to them? Oh, we'll see neeheehee... hee.
AnAlternateAkiAndFuyuAnAlternateFallAndWinter: XD lol... does this mean I should get eviler?
takuya: I'm sorry. Couldn't resist being evil... things should get better. Or they might get worse... or... uhm... I'm sorry!
silverkaze013: Now I feel bad... gomen gomen! Yes... we are all sad together! Although I think right now you're probably more mad at me... o.o Meepit.
GemmaniGirl: Yeah, everyones just going through crap aren't they? They do don't they... huh, strange. Aww, Kouji didn't mean to do that.
Bonnie Mizuhara: Kisei is evil. He's such a jerk... hmm, we'll see if Taku-chan kicks his butt. Ack, gomen! I'll try uber-hard to write more chapters! (and to finish the second chapter of "Our Final Destiny")
Sailor Epyon: Who? Moi? Evil? Surely you jest. :D Heheh. Yeah... Ken is luffed because he understnds. Huzzah! Gomen, I didn't do the angst well... at all. Gomen!
Relient K fans: Uhm... later is better than never... right?
Largo-sensei: Gomen gomen! Eh? Why? I'm doubley sorry now! -Crawls into dark space-
Dragi or Kill: Yeah, Kisei doesn't pop up much does he? Aww, I'm really sorry but Takuya can't be kidnapped. It just... wouldn't make sense. I'm really sorry, I royally screwed up. Gomen gomen. T.T Oh, I'd never ignore Dragi-san, she's spiffy.
Shitza: Oops. Sorry I didn't update very quickly... gomen!
