Fading – chapter 1
I don't own sCRYed. I just own this story. SUNRISE gets the credit for creating the cool anime. P
My first sCRYed fic. No flames please… and this is a treat for all those ex-readers of mine so everyone will know that I am still alive. No people, I'm not dead. Just so you all know, I haven't lost my touch in fanfiction-ing so, I hope everyone will enjoy this little sCRYed inspired story I'm writing to celebrate my comeback!
The story happens somewhere around the anime time-line, before Cougar starts popping up more frequently, proving himself to be quite an important character and shocking everyone with the fact that he's Kazuma's big bro. OO;; Trust me, up till this day, I still have problems believing this bit of news.
Oh, just a mini note for everyone; Cougar has quite a role in here, since the poor guy hasn't got much love in the anime… So, anyone who is a Cougar-hater, please, don't bother reading unless you're on the brink of liking him. D
Just a fair warning to everyone; I'm sorry for any OOC-ness that you may encounter.
Read it and like it. Drop a review if you're nice enough. XD
HOLY HQ
Day by day, more Native Alters were brought back from the undeveloped areas to the extent that it was quite worrying to know how many Native Alters who were mostly punks have been living amongst other people and causing trouble, one way or another. Either way, these Native Alters are taken into HOLY's headquarters and would be put to work as a new recruit in the organization.
Today, one of the Native Alters that they caught was quite a find.
She was just like any of the Inner punks you'd find littering the Lost Ground, what with her article of clothing, her colorful swear words and undeniably short temper, not to mention being very aggressive when cornered.
Her shoulder-length copper hair was let loose and was currently untamed due to her very recent brawl with Ryuho, one of HOLY's finest members. Though she had exhausted her Alter power by rebuilding her broken Alter numerous times continuously on end, she was still fighting claw and tooth to get free, biting or just simply scratching her way to freedom. This little 'war' she waged had gone on for around 10 minutes…
And they were just near the entrance. Even the Dars unit was almost exhausted by her alone. For some reason, her attitude reminded Ryuho of a very hateful Native Alter; Kazuma. Her lavender-colored eyes burned into Ryuho's crimson ones when she screamed,
"I'll make you pay for this! You HOLY snobs aren't going to make me kneel down to you!" Ryuho remained silent at the string of swear words that she unleashed upon him, and the threats she threw in barrages at him just gave him a migraine.
A blue-haired girl by the name Scheris Adjani appeared in the scene, feeling sorry for all the vocabulary abuse Ryuho was taking in. Tagging along behind her was Straight Cougar, forever indulged in one book or another. He heard the racket and said, without looking up from his book,
"A pretty loud catch you've got today. She kinda reminds you of someone, doesn't she?" he glanced sideways at the shorter young man, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. Ryuho heaved a sigh,
"You have no idea…"
Just then, their wild little rogue looked up and upon seeing the three near the elevator area, let out a war cry, freeing herself from the Dars' Alters and dashed towards the three HOLY members at full speed. Scheris hid behind Ryuho for cover, Ryuho was just about to summon Zetsuei when she jumped and planted a well-aimed and well-executed drop kick in an unsuspecting Cougar's face,
"COUGAR YOU IDIOT! YOU SAID YOU'D COME VISIT EVERY TWO MONTHS AND I DON'T EVEN GET A FRIGGIN' LETTER OUT OF YOU! Talk about forgetful! Take this!" she then proceeded to stomp on the poor guy, knocking the wind out of him while he pinched his bleeding nose in an attempt to stem the flow.
The scene would have been hilarious if only she wasn't considered an intruder in the building. Zetsuei instantly picked her up with its two ribbons and constricted her easily, making sure it was also covering her mouth to shut her up.
She continued to wriggle and writhe in Zetsuei's grip as she was being carried away, shouting muffled abuses through Zetsuei's ribbon.
Scheris knelt down next to the red-head and poked him in the side, "Hey, you still alive?" she only got a pained grunt in response, which was good enough for her.
In the cafeteria
"Ow-ow-ow! Watch it! That hurt!" Cougar cried as Scheris pressed a bandage onto a cut on his nose. The blue-haired girl sighed and leaned back to look at her handiwork. Well… it wasn't the best patch job to ever exist, but at least it would prevent someone from dying from a nosebleed…
"You should thank your lucky stars you're still alive and breathing. From the looks of her just now, she could've killed you," Scheris said lightly as she took a sip of her orange juice, leaving Cougar to press an ice pack to the bruise on his cheek, "Do you know her? She did call you by your name, didn't she?" the blue-haired girl questioned, propping an elbow up on the table and resting her chin in her palm as she watched Cougar scratch his uninjured cheek absent-mindedly, eyebrows knitted, searching for an answer from his messed-up memory cabinet.
His eyes snapped open with realization and an 'oh' escaped his lips, "Anything came to mind?" Scheris asked, curious at what information the crazy driver had to offer.
Cougar nodded a couple of times, smiling gleefully as he did so, "Now I remember why she hates me so much. Her name's Arabite. We used to be really close friends, before I went and got shipped off to the mainland. Haven't set my eyes on her once till this afternoon!" he nodded, smiling at the memory, "Ah, she never fails to impress me, that girl. Always hot tempered, but very soft once you get to know her. ...Come to think of it, I forgot what her Alter was..." he scratched the back of his head with his free hand, again frowning in a frail attempt to remember some more of the Native Alter's past.
It was only for a split second, but Scheris could see a pained look on the orange-haired Alter user's face. The look on his face disappeared as quickly as it had appeared where a smile made the blue-haired Alter user think twice about ever seeing that pained expression. He stood up, picking up his pink shades from the table and said, "Well, I guess I have just had enough of reminiscing. I'm gonna go get some shut-eye in case anyone's looking for me, okay?" he said cheerily, pocketing the little ornament and walking towards the elevator, waving at Scheris with his free hand, not even bothered to turn and look at her.
The minute he reached his room, he made a beeline for his bed and fell face-first on it. He was careful enough not to injure himself further! He spent a few good minutes just lying down motionless, but ended up rolling onto his back when he recalled the unpleasant meeting he had with the Native Alter that morning. He knew she meant something to him, but he just doesn't know what to say to her. Sure, she'll be questioned and all, but he was just wondering, if she joined HOLY and they became friends again,
Would he have the guts to tell her what he's going through? The thing's been bugging him ever since he came back from the mainland and it's been a weight on his chest that he can't just remove by himself. He wanted to tell someone, but he didn't want to burden them. He knew he could trust this old friend of his,
But would she be able to accept the news?
He dismissed the idea shortly and sighed, crossing his arms behind his head and deciding that he'd just keep it to himself a bit longer. After all, it was unlike him to ponder and feel bitter over what has already passed. It must be one of those days where people get so stressed out; they get into mood swings in the blink of an eye.
Birds flew past his window as he looked at the small winged creatures flap away into the distance freely, without a care in the world. He's heard some people saying things like he's as carefree as a bird, but he had his doubts. Was he really as carefree as people said he was? With all the refining that's been done to his body, he's not sure how much longer he has. A week? A day? An hour? It may even be just one more minute, for all he knows. It's like being attached to a time bomb, living like he currently was.
Oh well, he decided to live out the remaining time he has as a devoted HOLY member, so why turn back now? It's too unlike him to just quit halfway through something. Smiling to himself, he laughed the thoughts he had away quietly and turned over on his side to really get some rest. He's been working himself too hard...
'Arabite, or whatever your name was, it was nice seeing you again.'
Meanwhile
The Native Alter was now in her cell, waiting for her turn to be interrogated. She was lying in what would be a comfortable position, looking up at the gray ceiling above her. Her body finally succumbed to the fact that she was exhausted, and plus a bit of a 'wake-up' beating from Zetsuei, she was in no shape to actually climb onto the bed. Leaving that matter far in the depths of her mind, all she could think of was, 'So... Tired...'
She sighed and closed her eyes, letting fate take care of her. As her mind drifted off to the point of falling asleep, flashes of her younger days resurfaced, then the event this morning. Smiling to herself, she allowed a single tear to escape her. She was glad she could see him again after all this time.
"Cougar..." she mumbled, looking up at the ceiling again, "It's been too long, my friend... you have no idea how much I missed you..." as soon as she finished her sentence, she drifted off to sleep, her turn to be interrogated coming closer and closer...
Phuah...
Well, I can safely say the ending to Cougar's train of thoughts isn't very much to my liking... --;; I changed it several times over, but I guess I'll just settle down with the one I have up there. Oh, and about her name? Naturally, Cougar got it wrong. :P
If you wanna know what her name is, you'll all find out in the next chapter. Since it's school holiday, I may be uploading more. )
If you like it, do review. But if you so happen to not really like it and have some suggestions to spice up the story some more, please, by all means, send in your thoughts via reviews. After all,
Speed is power. The faster you review, the more ideas I get and the more chapters you can get out of me. )
Ciao! Till the next chapter!
