Disclaimer: I do not own To Love Ru, otherwise Nemesis would have gotten her own OVA. That seems scary, now that I write it down...
Yami watched as the Lunatique quickly extracted itself from the sight of the nearby town, to wait for her command to return and pick them up. She was tired of Kuro's whining by now, and choose against her better judgment, to have him join her on the supply run. This was why she chose to go the farthest she could from Sainan Town, while still being within a short distance of via the Lunatique, in case she was needed to help deal with anything strange going around there. She knew that Azenda, or whoever hired her, would be returning to Sainan at their most opportune time, meaning they would lick their wounds and set up plans before trying to attack Rito Yuuki or Lala-hijme. Still, Yami wanted to be cautious and stay out of Sainan as long as she could, knowing her friends would ambush her and try and tell her all that had happened to them while she was gone.
Perhaps it was also the fact she would have to eventually face Rito, that made her a bit hesitant to return as well. In a way, she was responsible for Azenda attacking them again, due to her petty and frankly annoying, need for revenge. Even though Rito had survived because of his newly acquired powers, had she never been sent after Rito by Lacospo, this very likely would have never happened to him. Conversely when she thinks about it, she would have never met a boy as friendly and forgiving as him, or made friends with Lala or Mikan, nor would she have discovered that she could go above and beyond her own programming as a living weapon, and she never would have discovered the greatest creation that the universe had ever provided, Taiyaki!
Smiling, she also thinks back to the exciting life she had been living since coming to such a peaceful planet as Earth. She had made friends and memories, met and connected with her sister Mea-chan, and attempted to make connections with Nemesis, in her own odd way. She had Rito Yuuki to thank for all of this, because her life could have been so short sighted. Maybe one day she find a way to thank Yuuki Rito for being his wonderful, slightly perverted, kind, and caring self. And now, she got to spend time with the young man who had freed her from the restraints of Eden, all those years ago.
Kuro stands a little bit away from her, standing on a boulder as he gives a grin at the sight of the city not to far off from where they had been dropped off. He turns to Yami, which causes her to shake away her musings. "Eve, that's the city you said we're heading for?" Kuro asks, "This one's bigger than that small town we left behind, what did you say this place's name was again, Fukushuru?" Yami smiles, but pauses as the wind sharply blows through the forest.
Kuro is looking down, and can't help but smile at her cute face, as she places her hand to keep her skirt from flipping, while trying to keep the hat she made for her outfit from flying off of her head. Her blonde hair whipping in the wind, Kuro can't help but feel his heart race, as he watches her cute face scrunched up due to the cold blast that came out of nowhere. She straightens herself back up, and Kuro can see she's back to her old self. He jumps down from the boulder and takes off the black jacket he was wearing. "Here," he states, handing the slightly too big jacket to the petite framed girl, "The wind feels fine to me, you can use this while we walk into town..." Yami slightly smiles, her heart warmed by the gesture.
"It's Shurufuku, it's the farthest in range from Sainan, that still falls within the Lunatique's sensor range," Yami states, "Come on, it will take us about ten minutes to reach the outskirts if we start walking now." Kuro nods, and begins to follow the living weapon's trail, smiling all the while. He saw her smile, and it felt good to know she was still happy to be with him, even out here. Ever since he met the confused child, when he was barely sixteen, and she was barely twelve biologically. She may have looked like a fifteen year old even now, but Kuro knew that those eight years showed how much of a difference there was between the two of them. She had came to Earth when she was sixteen, bordering seventeen, and he found that she was still as adorable as ever, for a twenty year old stuck in the body of a teenage. He knew she could obviously alter that, though it seemed to take a toll on her for long periods of time, which is why he was happy that the playing fields were evened now.
He had suffered a late growth spurt after he hit twenty one, but now that he was physically reconstituted as his twenty-year old self, he noticed that their height wasn't that different standing between the two of them right now. He saw it, as they passed by reflective windows and he noticed that when she stood tall at her full height, he barely stood an inch above her. He smiled as she showed interest in all kinds of stores as they walked through the city, it was almost like she was a normal girl, which is all he could ever wish for her to be. He wondered if people would think they were on a date, like they were a couple, but he laughed that off knowing she likely had eyes for that Yuuki Rito-kid. He didn't know how it happened but he knew that kid had to have shown her the first bit of human kindness she had ever received, even after she declared her intentions of killing him, and he seemed to try and be friendly with her still.
Kuro watched her, as they stopped in front of a store that looked like it was meant to sell mainly clothes for girls, and watched as her eyes lit up at seeing a dress that seemed to suit her style of dress. He looks towards the other mannequins in the display, before a face in the reflection catches his eye. Turning with a panicked look on his face, Kuro begins to try and determine where she was. He then spots her, and sees that she was wearing a school uniform. He doesn't know how she is here, only that it couldn't be her. But his curiosity won out, causing him to follow his gut and go after the girl. He hears Yami behind him, obviously trying to see why he reacted so suddenly, only to shout out as she watches him dash across the busy road, narrowly avoiding getting hit as he does so.
He watches the girl turn the corner, and follows her. He watches as she stops talking with two other girls, before parting ways with them. He sees his chance, as she turns another blind corner and he follows her into the alley. "Saya!" Kuro shouts, as he follows the girl down the alleyway, he hears Yami catch up behind him as she enters to follow after him, "Saya-chan, how are you-" The girl turns, and Kuro's heart catches in his throat. He knows he shouldn't be so disappointed, he knew that when he followed the girl, that she wasn't going to be Saya. The facial features give that away almost instantly. Instead of lovely aquamarine, the girls eyes are a cool purple, instead of silvery-brown hair, he finds the girl has natural, dark purple locks, loosely pinned by a pair of red hairpins to keep it from falling into her face.
"Sairenji Haruna?" Yami states, after catching up to the shocked Kuro, "Do you know her, Kuro?" Haruna looks surprised to see the living weapon, and more surprised that she had been approached by this stranger Yami called 'Kuro'. The former assassin merely smiles and closes his eyes, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, I saw your reflection in the window- you look like someone I used to know," Kuro states out loud, much to the confusion of Haruna and Yami, "Sorry to confuse you for an old ghost, Sairenji-san, my name is Kuro, but you may call me Black; I believe when I last saw you, you were at Miss Tenjouin's estate when I went after Khameleon." Haruna's eyes widen, as she now recognizes why the man looks so familiar, and she turns to Yami with her mouth slack jawed.
"What happened to him?" Haruna asks, "Why are you here, Yami-chan?" Yami merely smiles, and approaches Haruna. "Did something happen to Yuuki-kun?" she states, a bit of fear enetering her voice as she asks, "Is something wrong?"
"A lot has happened, Sairenji Haruna," Yami states, as she puts her hand on Haruna's shoulder, "I should probably inform you of what happened to Yuuki Rito, but first is there a place we could go; this tale is better told in private." Haruna nods, before motioning for the two to follow her.
Back in Sainan Town
As Kuro and Yami began their unofficial date, Saruyama and Yui managed to arrive in one piece to their second date. The two had begun to date a week after their meeting in the park, brought together by their mutual concern for learning of Rito's condition, and their love of cats. Saruyama had managed to convince Yui to come on a 'Kitty' picnic for their first date, Saruyama somehow managing to not only convince Yui to wear the Cat ears for the whole experience, but also managed to make her genuinely happy by helping her finally attract the attention of the white stray that roamed the park. She was smiling, knowing that the white cat had finally managed to take her offer of a cat treat, and even played with the both of them as they ate lunch, chasing Yui's feather toy and having a generally good time. Saruyama had been happy that his plan at wooing Yui had succeeded, before he decided to man up and do the one thing he had been dreading to do since confirming with Yui that she did, in fact, want to go on a second date.
Standing in front of his piggy bank, Saruyama is almost left in tears as he brings out the hammer. He can almost hear the squeals of death, as he smashes the ceramic bank into pieces, releasing a massive wad of money from its stomach. Ever since he was a kid, he had put money in this bank, for when he eventually asked a girl out on a date, and now he had a use for the massive amount of money he had squirreled away. Counting it all out, he was happy to learn just how much he had squared away, and after checking pricing online, knew exactly where he was going to take Yui for their second date. It was a slightly above average, not quite fancy restaurant, but it had good reviews suggesting it was a place for young couples to hang out at when they began to date. Now here he sat in front of Yui, him in a rented tux, and Yui in a semi-fancy dress she had found her mother had bought for her, upon learning she was going on a date.
Both of them were blushing brightly, as ambient, foreign music played in the restaurant, and candle light played on their table. Smiling, Saruyama faced Yui, who smiled back nervously as well. "Thanks for inviting me here, I hope the food we ordered is good," Yui states, "Have you been here before, Saruyama?" Saruyama merely chuckles a bit, and scratches the back of his neck.
"Not really, but I checked out reviews, and this place seemed to get good reviews," Saruyama replies, "It helped it fits into my budget a bit too, but I wanted to treat you to soemthing a bit more memorable for our second date!" Yui smiles at Saruyama's frankness, before she looks out of the nearby window, and her eyes go wide. Saruyama is staring out the window as well, as he watches the sky suddenly light up, along with Yui, before they feel a shockwave from some kind of explosion rock the building. "Was that coming form where I think it did?" Saruyama states, looking back at Yui, who can only nod, "What the hell is happening at Rito's house now?"
Yuuki Household
Formerly Lala's Rooftop Housing
The hole in the roof surprised Lala, though the fact her spatially folded home had been ripped open like a can of tuna, yet gladly had not unfolded and crushed the remaining structure of the house under its weight. Though the fact that Rito currently had a blank gaze on his face as he lifted the sword above his head, was concerning to her. She had watched as he grabbed the hilt of the sword and saw him balance it in his hands, swinging it around with practiced ease. Then she watched as his hands started to sound like they were enveloped in a haze, audible popping as the air began to be superheated, before his hands, more specifically the hand he held the sword in, began to be shrouded by energized dark matter. He quickly did the most logical thing he could think of at the time, and pointed his hand and sword upward. The sword had begun to vibrate in his hand, slightly glowing as it did so, before a massive explosion erupted from the tip in the form of a massive lance of highly volatile, purple energy.
Lala now stood, watching as Rito fell to his knees, energy gone from his hands and body unharmed from the experience. It seemed that he had truly changed as whatever reaction with Bladix that occurred this time, while unexpected and uncontrolled, showed Rito was immune to the Dark Matter he now produced. Lala quickly rushes over to Rito's unconscious form, and decides to try and remove the blade from Rito's hand, only to find the sword had somehow latched itself around his wrist. Lala decided that this was going to be a problem...
Rito's Mind?
"Ow," Rito states, as he stands up in the middle of what appears to be a large, grass field. He looks around and sees nothing but grass as far as he can tell. He looks up to see the sky is blue and full of clouds, though wherever he is, he knows something odd is going on. It was then that he tried looking into the sun, and things got weird. The sun closed its single, massive eyelid, and the sun goes out. When it opens next, it takes a moment before Rito realizes that it was giant eye!
"Hahahaha-" the voice of Bladix rumbles from everywhere, "It seems you and I have unfinished business, Yuuki Rito!" Rito tries not to scream, as the massive eye suddenly shrinks down into a smaller size. The phantom form of Bladix appears in front of Rito, looking almost exactly like he did when he invaded Rin's mind with Mea's help. Suddenly a tendril lashes out and grasps around Rito's hand, and he struggles to pull out of the tight grasp of the metal tendril.
"Have you come to take me over?" Rito asks seriously, "I fought you once before, and I know I can break out of here again!" Bladix merely chuckles, which sounds odd for a metal sword, but Rito chalks it up to be somewhere lost inside his own mind.
"Nothing so droll, Master," Bladix states, to the surprise of Rito, "When you blew up the nanites that were trying to extract my 'soul' from your memories, you managed to disrupt any control I could have gained over you." Rito doesn't know whether to believe the sword or not, but then the manifestation starts to sag, before snapping back into place before Rito's eyes. "What little power I have left I used to manifest here, to bring you into this shared mindscape, and ensure I could not be removed before I pass what I can onto you," Bladix states, "I've seen your memories and read the skills you've manifested in our brief contact, when you dispersed my 'true self'; I know with what you lack in skill and self-control, you make up for in determination and courage." Rito doesn't know how to respond to Bladix's compliment.
"What are you playing at, Bladix?" Rito asks, "How can I believe you're dying, when I know for a fact that you're a part of the sword, as long as the sword remains whole, you can't die." Rito smirks, happy to know he exposed the flaw in the sentient sword's cunning plan.
"Normally, you would be right, but as I said, you burned away what was left of the original Bladix," it responds, "This representation, is more of an imprint, left in your memories like a sentient shadow created by your powers awakening at the cellular level, even if not all of your body was damaged it was affected by Dark Matter." Bladix starts to warp again, and Rito truly believes something must be wrong with the living blade. "I am not long for this world, Yuuki Rito, I truly will 'die' after I pass what I believe you need, on to you," Bladix states, "Yuuki Rito, you have determination in your heart, a striving to grow, and the willingness to learn; of all my previous hosts, you need the most training, you need my experience." Bladix begins to glow, lines of energy suddenly expanding outward from the eye at its center, slowly moving down through the connection at Rito's wrist, until it begins to spread onto Rito's arm.
"What are you doing?" Rito asks, as he feels his fingers begin to burn, "Bladix, what are you doing?" If the blade could smile, Rito felt that it was giving him a pitying look. Rito could only watch in horror as it began to travel up his arm, over his shoulder, and onto chest, leaving pinpricks and the feeling of ice in his veins. "Arrgghhh!" Rito hollers, to no avail, as he feels his left leg begin to go numb, "Wh- what are you d-doing?" Bladix refuses to answer, as the lines of energy consume both his legs and both arms, as they now finish with his body and begin to crawl up his neck. The pain is worse than a thousand paper cuts, and wonders if his body in the real world can stand whatever is happening within his mind. "Blad-" Rito chokes out, as the circuitry pattern travels up both sides of his neck, his throat becoming hoarse and immobile, "-ix." Even his eyes seem to be affected by the pattern, as Rito feels himself being cocooned by the burning energy.
"Yuuki Rito," the voice of Bladix states, "Over two thousand years I have hunted for the blood of my enemies, gorging on the life sustaining liquid, fueled by hundreds of years of hate, anger, greed, and the all consuming lust for more..." A flash of memory, and Rito feels like he is swinging the sword into the bark of a tree, missing his intended target. "I have sought one prize above all else, the only kind that could ever slack my thirst, and leave me wanting more!" the sword states, and all Rito sees is a flash of pink, and the terrified look of a young women as Rito drives his sword into her, "You are so much like my former Master, a Holy Man who only wished to end the threat to those he called his." This time Rito gets a flash of Bladix crossing paths with a jeweled cutlass made of orichalcum and its wielder with silver-brown hair, before this memory passes too. "I have been wielded by hundreds of sword wielders, aliens you could only see in museums, some wiped out by my previous wielders, and all I have used like puppets on a string," Bladix states, "But you, Rito, I give you a gift: the inherited muscle memory of all wielders before you, their technique, their skills, are now yours, Yuuki Rito, use them wisely."
Rito can finally open his eyes, as the burning finally passes. He feels Bladix still in his hand, but suddenly the sword feels light, wrong in his hand. He then watches as the blade begins to crumble to dust in his grip, starting from the tip. "Bladix, what will happen next?" he asks desperately, trying to understand why the dying blade is giving him all this knowledge, "Why will this benefit me, why now?" He feels like Bladix is smiling with his eye, and Rito actually feels like a piece of him is dying.
"Yuuki Rito, the f-future has been f-foreseen, and it is inevitable," the voice of Bladix struggles out, "I m-may be dying, but something new will be b-born-" Yuuki doesn't have time to question what the crumbling blade means, as the eye itself begins to crumble to dust. In less than ten seconds, Bladix is gone, and suddenly Rito feels like he is a bout to pass out. As he succumbs to exhaustion, he watches as his body alights in a purplish haze, before recognizing in some corner of his mind that he is on fire.
"Sleep now, Yuuki Rito," a new, younger, kinder voice states softly, "And we shall both be reborn into something new..." Rito closes his eyes, and lets the purple flames consume him.