Wow. Chapter ten. I don't think I've ever written such a long work. Well, I did write that 90,000 word original work in high school but it was basically trash so I doubt it counts. Hmm. Writing is fun. I miss it when I'm busy! I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it.
xxx
Faster. Faster. Faster.
Heavy. Heavy. Heavy.
Ryuko's mind had disintegrated into this searing mantra, using the words like a pot-lid to force down the sizzling, bubbling panic. She ran, tearing to the left to find the wooded path where she left her bike, intent on outstripping the lilting screech of Harime's rage. It was growing louder. The gravel scattered between the gardens crunched and skidded beneath her trainers and Ryuko felt like she was choking on her own breath as she took several extra steps to regain her balance. The weight on her shoulder was unfamiliar and oppressive, forcing her to lurch unsteadily through her regularly smooth gaits.
Satsuki hissed through her teeth as Ryuko's shoulder pounded unfeelingly into her aching body. Her mind worked slowly as she acted on impulse. Shifting her weight so she could unclench her hands from Ryuko's shirt without face-planting into her butt, Satsuki brought her hands together to pound them down into the lower back below her. Mid-swing, however, her brain finally overpowered the throbbing rawness of her fighting instinct, and, working against the original inertia of her fists, she managed to turn the punishing blow into a firm bump.
If I incapacitate... no, if I slow her down, Nui will have her. Satsuki frowned ferociously, sharp lines slicing over her forehead as she thought. Around the corner of the house, she caught a glimpse of gold speeding over the shrubbery behind them. I can't run away again. An unbidden streak of fear wormed over her, but she roughly shoved it aside. The plan. I can't afford this. Taking a deep breath and bracing her abdomen against the punching of Ryuko's shoulder, Satsuki pinched her ear and tugged on it sharply.
"Matoi, don't stop running, but -"
"Yeah," Ryuko gasped, tightening her grip around Satsuki's legs as she finally reached the trees. "No shit."
"- Put me down!" Surprised, Ryuko slowed slightly, still sucking down huge lungfuls of air.
"You want me to leave you here?"
"Yes!"
"Hell, no!" Doubt crept into Ryuko's mind. She... she doesn't want... is it... consensual? She resisted the urge to gag as she cast a glance over her unoccupied shoulder. She was sure she saw something move, and she could still hear Nui cackling like a maniac behind them. Gulping, she set her mouth into a strict line. I'm not putting her down.
"I didn't ask for your help, Matoi!"
"Tell me again when I give a fuck!" Satsuki suddenly tightened her grip on Ryuko's ear and threw her weight into a fierce drag at the sensitive cartilage. Ryuko howled as her neck snapped to the side and her momentum sent her into a skidding spin. She fell to her knees, her jeans tearing over the uncultivated ground as Satsuki squirmed from her grip. As quickly as she escaped, Satsuki appeared at her elbow, pulling her up and shoving her on, tucking one hand into the breast-pocket of her coat to grip something inside.
"Go. Go!" she yelled, her hair glinting in the dapple of the trees as at swung around her shoulders. "I won't be able to hold her off for long." Satsuki's breath came in a frustrated whine as she saw that Ryuko refused to budge. She was standing with her fists clenched and feet apart, breathing heavily through her nose. A determined look had settled over her features and the red streak in her hair seemed to glow.
"No. I'm not going without you."
"Damn you, Matoi! I don't need your help!" She's ruining everything! "Just go!" From between the bushes, Nui's face appeared. It was grinning sweetly.
"Hi, guys!"
Satsuki dug one foot into the ground and cracked the other into Harime's face, the force of the blow coupled with Nui's already massive speed sending waves of shock up into her hip. Flying back with what sounded like giggling, Nui disappeared back into the foliage. Replacing her foot on the ground, Satsuki turned and considered Ryuko. She hadn't budged and had raised her fists. I can't waste any more time, she realized with steadily increasing annoyance. She's... we're both going to die. Growling, Satsuki grabbed Ryuko's hand and started running.
"Let's go, then." Ryuko grinned wolfishly at that, but the expression turned into a look of queasy uncertainty as she caught a peripheral glimpse of the blond banshee throwing her shoulder into a tree instead of taking the time to go around it, splattering the ground with powdered wood and foam from her mouth.
"Ready or not," she screeched, still laughing as she tore the wood apart with the whirlwind of her bare fists. "Here I come!" Her voice rose into an impossibly high tone, and the birds in the trees surrounding began screeching back at her, egging her on. Ryuko braced her trainers into the loamy earth and sank into a sprint, quickly passing Satsuki. With a strength and speed she realized impossible from some dark corner of her consciousness, she shifted her fingers over Satsuki's wrist and dragged her along behind her.
Almost... There.
Ryuko crashed head-first against her motorcycle, wasting no time clambering aboard and forcing the key roughly into the ignition. Just as she was yanking Satsuki onto the bike behind her, a rough hand grabbed her by the bangs and ripped her head back, hot breath misting over her skin as Nui seemed to float over her, her purple eyes wide and bloodshot, boring into her body with such unrestrained hatred and lust that Ryuko absolutely froze, her head swimming.
She regained her wits, however, as Nui recovered from her leap, bracing herself against the ground as she jerked against her hair, trying to pull Ryuko to the ground. Just as she felt the pressure increase against her scalp, she hunched into the yanking, gripping the handlebars and furiously gritting her teeth as she felt her hair beginning to tear from her scalp. Blood ran down her nose and into her eyes and she shouted out a grating yell. Despite her death-grip on her bike, she was losing her seat.
I lost. Oh, God...
The air suddenly hummed, smoothly broken with sharp metal, and Ryuko's head snapped forward, free. With an instinctive kick, she cracked into Nui's throat, sending blood choking out of her damp lips now pulled into a small 'o.' Ryuko punched at the accelerator, a feral growl tensing her body. She gasped as she felt Satsuki curl her arms tightly around her waist, gripping the front of her shirt, but instinctively curled into the contact, rolling her back into Satsuki's stomach. With a jolting whir of skidding rubber, they were racing over the uneven ground, safe. Ryuko sighed heavily, nearly collapsing over the handlebars in relief.
Agitated, Satsuki sheathed Bakuzan and replaced it in her coat, looking over her shoulder at the Kiryuin mansion growing ever smaller in the distance. She wondered how far they would get before she had a chance to get back. Sighing, she pressed her face into Ryuko's neck to keep from being stung by the wild hair lashing against her face.
"You idiot," she muttered, too quietly to be heard over the roaring of the wind and engine. Despite the trouble Ryuko was causing her, she couldn't suppress the bloom of heat that surfaced just under the skin of her stomach.
She's trying to... save me? The thought was so adorably ridiculous that she couldn't help but chuckle. No one saves the indomitable Kiryuin Satsuki. She suddenly found herself nuzzling against Ryuko's shoulders, and she jerked back, appalled with herself. What...was that? Blushing feverishly, she set her mouth into a firm line and turned to other difficulties. Twisting again, she just managed to catch a last glance of the mansion before it slipped out of sight. I can't... I can't be running away again. I can't afford this. She resisted the urge to throw herself onto the side of the parkway. Resigned, she let her eyes drift shut and pinched the bridge of her nose.
I can handle this.
xxx
"Hello, Mother."
Of course, it wasn't really her mother. Not in any human sense. But what else do you call the one who gave you your body, your life?
Well, in her case, her new body, her new life.
Ragyo lifted a hand to softly stroke the supple, glowing threads. They were softer than silk and hummed lightly at her contact, the entire orb pulsating with a demure orange glow. A spark of pure pleasure shot through her as she stepped into the body of the original life-fiber, the threads parting like smooth water before her. The shifting of the material sounded like the whispering of hundreds of ancient voices, softly purring their wisdom into her ears. She smiled softly, letting the tender threads slowly wrap around her, embracing. Her mind slipped slowly into a state of transcendental meditation, floating, letting the fiber feed from her.
This is the end of humankind. Such...beauty. She saw with superb vividness the planet bursting into bloom, its cool blue surface splitting to reveal the layers of red and orange beneath. For a moment it pulsed in an ever-increasing sphere of brilliant color before the edges wilted and faded, losing their color to the harsh frigidity of the heavens. Finally, then, perfect silence. A silence in which she was one perfect crystalline note, ringing out its joy for all eternity.
The note was singular, and yet hummed with a soothing harmony. Ragyo was suddenly pulled back into herself in a motion that stoked her senses into giddy ecstasy, and she was struck with a sudden wet warmth as she remembered that even as a god at the end of time, she would not be alone. In her wisdom, she had created another like herself to share in her singularity.
Within the cocoon of the primordial fiber, her hands began to drift slowly over her own body, never tiring of exploring the well-trekked landscape, but in her mind she was still at the end. They were folded, folded together within the silky creases of absolute domination. Ragyo reached out to touch her face, tracing the planes of bone perfectly identical to her own, dragging the tips of her fingers through the hair braided into the weave of the cloth. Black hair, blue eyes. White hair, red eyes. So perfectly alike and yet utterly contradictory.
It is fitting.
Thesis and antithesis crashing together, finally melding into one. Light and darkness at last existing together, screaming out their unity in a flicker of everlasting fire.
Satsuki...
In reality, her hands began to skim lower across her own belly, teasing out wild, volatile sparks, but in her vivid dream she reached out to caress her daughter's velvet skin, relishing the feel of muscles pulled taut by the strands of their shared web. She breathed her in, eyes humming shut as she grazed her teeth against her neck, spreading a hand at the small of her back to fully feel her shudder and arch. A sudden dampness struck her cheek and her mouth tweaked into a soft smile, still pressed into the smooth contours of her collar. She followed the damp line carved into the skin, rubbing her cheekbone against the planes of her face before pulling back to see the tears pearling in those exquisite eyes.
A variety of expressions would have pleased her. Wonder, disbelief, reluctant pleasure. Hopelessness, defeat, tired acceptance. Even a mad spark of defiance would have made her laugh. Despite her hopes, however, she was met with a look that instantly killed the delight bubbling in her stomach, turning her into a dead mass of hot, dry rage.
Disgust. Utter, contemptuous disgust, a pitying sneer turning up her mouth and crinkling into her eyes. Ragyo opened her mouth, but no sound came out, and instead she lashed out to grab Satsuki's face, trying to force her to change the disdain written indelibly into her features. Sick, slick horror oozed out through her very being as she realized there was nothing left. There was only her and this creature who hated everything she was.
The fantasy began to crinkle at the corners, tearing and shredding as she lashed out and the original life fiber began to constrict around her to force her flailing to cease. In a moment she was still, her body relaxed and her mind a stone vault. Slowly, she swam to the surface, turning to step onto the ground as a hazy frown creased her features.
This won't do. Languidly, she reached out a hand to the oversized ball of yarn behind her, and it sent out a tendril of red thread that materialized into a white, double-breasted suit. It dropped senselessly into her hands, dormant, and she rubbed the lapels absently with her thumbs.
I think it's time Satsuki had a wardrobe change.
She flipped the cloth over, stroking the seams, imagining the alterations she would need to implement. Epaulettes, maybe? A short skirt, gold trim? It was always a shame when attire needed to be fitted. Ragyo shrugged, resigned, all prior emotion obliterated. It can't be helped. Sensing a presence behind her, she turned minutely.
"Nui." Her voice rumbled in her chest. "I need your help with a new design. Do you have your sister's measurements?"
"Oui, Mama," She muttered, but her tone took on a queasy aspect, and she fumbled nervously with something in her hand.
"Nui..." Ragyo turned completely and her eyebrows drove into a sharp 'v.' "Where is Satsuki?" Nui giggled nervously, suddenly clamping her hand over her mouth and looking away.
"She's... gone?"
Crack. Without another word Ragyo drove her fist into Nui's face, throwing her back into the wall. The whole room shuddered and the original life fiber groaned, glowing feverishly as it suddenly began producing suits at a terrific rate. Unheeding, Ragyo flashed like a streak of lighting and beat her knuckles into her daughter, over and over, faster than the eye could follow.
"It's not, augh, mama! It's not my fault!" Kiryuin Ragyo didn't reply, grabbing Nui by the hair and pounding her into the floor, her face horribly expressionless.
"Where is she?" Her voice was almost too quiet to hear.
"I don't - No, NO! I don't know! Ryuko took her!" As suddenly as she had attacked, Ragyo stopped and sat back on her heels, intrigued.
"Matoi Ryuko? She just keeps stringing you along, doesn't she?" Absently, Ragyo reached out to pat Nui in the head. The girl flinched but held still, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth and smearing blood onto her cheek.
"I'm sorr-"
"Shut up." Quirking an eyebrow, Ragyo plucked the item that Nui had managed to hold onto out of her fist, examining it curiously. It was a lock of hair, scraggly and sloppily braided together. Tilting her head, she brought it closer to her face, stroking the streak of bright red, admiring its peculiar texture. "Matoi Ryuko, is it? How very droll." She laughed suddenly, the sound creaking out of her like an old house settling on its foundations. Her hair increased its brightness, spilling its multicolored light into the distant corners of the vast room. She stood and invited Nui to do the same, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I have work for you, my child."
La vie est drole.
xxx
If anyone is still reading this, please stop and write a story. The quantity of fics for KlK has been abominable, truly abominable. Go, be free! Write so I don't have to!
And yes, it is hard to write all this creepy crap. Why do all my plot-moving ideas have to have Ragyo in them? *bemused*