Freedom Samurai
New and old characters, new cities, new sorrow, and a new Hukari. But all have one goal; to kill Rau. SEQUEL TO STRIKE SAMURAI you must read Strike Samurai before reading this story. KiraxLacus AthrunxCagalli ShinnxStellar MwuxMurrue DearkaxMiriallia YzakxRaine NicolxSparrowxMeyrin AndyxAisha
Disclaimer:
Me: (Very quiet) …
Olivia: (Just walking into the room with a soda in her hand) Hey Sam, Alex told me to come and get you, food's ready.
Me: (Still very quiet, staring at a wall)
Olivia: (Waves hand in my face) Hey Sam…? Anybody in there? (Knocks on my head)
Me: (Very quiet)
Olivia: What are you looking at…? (Drops soda as she stares at the wall)
Alex: What is going on in here? Chelsea's no chef, but she knows how to boil water, unlike you two… (Shuts up and stares at wall)
Chelsea: Guys! C'mon, my food is not that bad…
(The wall says: No one will ever guess who the Eighth Hukari is! No one would ever know it was May-Ink now blotches out the rest of the name)
Chapter 9 Feelings, Are Stronger Than Words
The morning came slowly, but the sun's rays slipped between the screens of the large room and reflected onto the face of a young woman. She opened her aqua eyes slowly and realized something: she felt rested. She didn't feel pain, out of breath, or tired. She felt, better. Sitting up, she felt her long, auburn hair fall across her shoulders. She looked around, and noticed a large bloodstain on the floor by her futon, and she remembered.
Screaming out in pain, she clutched at her chest above her heart and trembled. She felt Tolle's arms wrap around her shoulders, but it felt different, he sounded different. "Tolle, it hurts. So bad," she whispered as she felt a burning sensation running through her body. "Ah!" she cried as she keeled over and hugged herself. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she saw images in her head. Flames, fire. The flames were everywhere, and they were pulling together to form something: a bird. The flames brightened to white, and disappeared to reveal a Phoenix, the legendary bird of fire. Its feathers were colored from red to orange, with yellow at the tips. But the eyes, the bird's eyes were an aqua blue.
The Princess opened her eyes and gasped when Tolle grabbed her and pulled her up to her feet. Before she could say anything, she felt the blade of a dagger lick her neck. The guard that held her was tense, but she felt something strange about him. "Tolle, what are you?" but before she knew what was happening, she heard the doors to her quarters open and heard the sound of feet hitting the wood floors. And then she saw him. "Please, help me," she begged as she felt blood begin to trickle down her neck. She watched as the man with violet eyes lunged, and flipped over Tolle. Then spinning around, he shoved his sword into the other man's back just far enough that it didn't touch the princess. She fell from the dead man's grip, and looked up at the assassin, her eyes filled with fright, sickness, and gratitude, and then she passed out.
"Who, was he?" she asked as her eyes strayed to a dark stain on her floor. It was a blood stain. "Tolle, is dead. He must be. But, my dream…What was it about?" she asked herself as she rubbed her temples. She needed to think, but she really didn't' want to. She heard a door open and close, and heard soft footsteps cross the floor towards her. Turning, the princess saw a girl with long pink hair and light blue eyes. She smiled at the Princess and sat down next to her. "Miriallia-sama, you should be resting. That curse took your body a lot of energy to fight off. You wouldn't have lasted long if Dearka hadn't come looking for us to help you," the princess looked at the girl with an observant eye. She had used her name, and she didn't even know her. "Um, 'us' you said? Who are you?" Lacus smiled at Miriallia. "My name is Lacus, I'm one of the seven Hukari Samurai. The others are the other Hukari: Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, Mizu, and Kitsu. There is another Hukari, but she lives in Junius City." Miriallia's eyes widened. "Junius City? Where did you come from?" Junius City was many miles away from the Martius Region. Lacus smiled, "It doesn't matter, but you really should get some rest. You're just recovering from your illness." the blue eyed girl looked over Miriallia's face, and thought she saw something about her, a power of some sort, she just didn't understand what. The Princess pouted, "What? But I've been resting! Painful resting, but the curse is gone!"
Lacus's eyes widened, "You knew it was a curse?" the woman asked the other as her blue eyes were filled with curiosity. Miriallia looked down to her knees and fingered her silken kimono. "Yes, I realized it when I awoke this morning. No illness that powerful would just subside in a few hours. It had to have been a curse. All I want to know is who cursed me." Lacus nodded as she pulled out one flask of the potion she had made. Looking at Miriallia carefully, she felt a tingling sensation in her body and looked down to see her hands glowing a soft blue like when she used her healing powers. She poured the contents of the flask into a cup of water and handed it to the auburn haired woman. "It was a curse, but it was a curse mixed with a deadly toxin. The dark sorcery would only have been activated if you had ingested the toxin through your stomach. Who brought you your meals before you became sick?" the Hukari asked as she watched Miriallia drink the liquid in the cup. When the girl swallowed, she cringed from the terrible taste, and looked to Lacus. "My guard Tolle, but he was killed last night by a man in black. Do you know where he is?" Lacus smiled softly, "Yes, Dearka has been waiting outside your door for the whole night." Dearka, Miriallia thought as Lacus stood up. "Lacus," the pink haired woman looked down at the woman, "Yes?" Miriallia shook her head slowly, "Never mind," the other woman nodded and walked out of the room.
As the woman walked out of the room, the blonde assassin looked at her attentively, "Well? How is she?" he asked. Lacus nodded with a smile, "She's just fine." Dearka sighed in relief and seemed to relax more. The girl's blue eyes looked at his tan face thoughtfully, and she could swear she saw a light blue-ish glow around him. My eyes, I sense a powerful aura inside of Dearka, but what is it? She asked herself as she walked down the hallway.
Dearka watched as she walked away, and felt a sense of relief wash over him. "I wonder," he began, but stopped when he sensed another presence close to him. "Yzak, you know you can't sneak up on me-" he began but when he turned around, his eyes widened. The Princess stood before him, her aqua eyes staring at him.
"Uh, do you need something?" the man asked as he hastily stood up straight, his six feet and two inches high above her five feet and six inches. She smiled a serene smile and bowed politely, "You are the assassin Dearka then?" she asked with a small hint of emotion in her voice. Dearka nodded once. Miriallia smiled wider, "Thank you, for saving my life. I'd be dead by now if you hadn't saved me," she said quietly as Dearka smiled, "It's really not me you should be thanking, Lacus made the potion for you," Miriallia let a silent sigh escape her lips. The man in front of her was hot. His muscles visible through his shirt, his beautifully tanned skin. And his face was perfectly cut into a manly shape, and his sparkling violet eyes drew her to him. Her fingers seemed to itch as she looked at his short, but messy blonde hair. She could almost feel his silky locks, her fingers running across his scalp.
Dearka gave the woman a curious stare. "Princess, is there something wrong?" he asked. Miriallia shook out of her thoughts and smiled with a small blush on her cheeks. "Oh no! Nothing's wrong. And, you can just call me Miriallia, or Miri. Either one is fine." Dearka smiled back at her, her kind face sending his hormones flying. "Arigato, I'll keep that in mind," he said slyly before walking down the hall, a confident and happy bounce in his step. Miriallia watched him as she opened her doors to step back in side of her room. "Dearka, what draws me to you?" she whispered to herself as she stepped into her room and closed the doors.
Cagalli walked around the gardens, taking in the sweet fragrances and colors. The trees were lively with bright green leaves with scattered bits of sunlight caught in their grasp. She didn't realize where she was going till she stopped and looked down. Tiger lilies grew in bunches, tall and thin with their fiery colors. The Tiger Lily Hukari smiled and stooped down to smell their calming scent.
The wind blew by briefly, blowing stray strands of her golden locks away from her face. She sighed happily as she undid the blue strap that held her Akatsuki to her back and set it down on the grass next to her. She then continued to look at the tiger lilies. Their long green leaves shifting, the bright orange and yellow petals shining with sunlight. Reaching out hesitantly, she felt the silky soft petals on her rough fingers. She was so much like the tiger lilies, enduring and adapting to whatever conditions she had to live through. She was lost in her thoughts and unaware of the emerald eyes watching her from afar.
Cagalli, Athrun whispered almost silently as he watched his blonde haired beauty stare at the flowers. He longed to feel her bare skin against his hands, to feel her hands through his hair. But he knew he wouldn't get that chance. He was a hentai after all, and he looked at all women. But Cagalli, you're different. When it comes to you, I'm different. He took a deep breath and began his walk towards her.
Cagalli tensed when she felt someone coming close to her and she stood quickly, forgetting her Akatsuki lied on the ground behind her. She was about to turn around when she felt a man's arms wrap around her waist and his lips pressed against her ear. "Cagalli," Athrun whispered deeply as he turned her around to face him. He was surprised when the woman leaned forward and pressed her lips against his own, one of her hands going through his hair, the other pressed against his shoulder. His emerald eyes were wide in surprise, but then he closed them and fell into the kiss.
Leaning against a sakura tree, Stellar stared out across the large garden at a sitting figure with black hair. Her magenta eyes were faded out as she traveled through her mind, trying to relive memories. Her long white skirt blew around her knees, her long sleeves blowing around her wrists.
Shinn sat cross legged, his mind on other things. He was dreaming about her every night now, her face always etched into his mind. He felt a longing to be with her again, but knew he couldn't just leave the Hukari and Stellar to go find her. But he would always remember the most important moment that they went through.
Memory
"Houshu, get to the boat, now!" a young boy, probably around the age of eleven stood behind a girl with long black hair and red eyes. "But Houseki," he protested. The girl turned to look at him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and hugged him quickly, "If I don't make it, go without me." her words scared him, but the girl then pushed him away, "Go!" he ran quickly to avoid any guards and raced through the hall ways. Opening doors and jumping through court yards, he ran in the tangled path he and Houseki had planned to keep the guards off their trail.
When he finally got out of the palace walls, he found himself on the edge of a beach. A small row boat rocked softly in the water as it was tied down to a peg embedded into the sand. He scrambled over to it, ignoring the fact he was getting wet sand and salt water all over his royal robes. He jumped into the boat and sat still on the bottom of it till it stopped swaying and then poked his head up. He had to strain his eyes to see the figure of a girl around thirteen years old running towards him with guards behind her. He winced when he heard the shot of a cross bow, and then his eyes widened as the girl took out a dagger and cut the line to the boat before pushing it of the shore and into the sea. She kept pushing the boat till the water reached her knees. Then did she jump into the boat and grab the oars to row. It was then when Houshu noticed the arrow wounds, dagger slashes, and blood trickling over Houseki's face did he realize what happened to her. "Houseki, why are you bleeding? You're hurt," he began, but the girl cut him off. "Shut up Houshu, and just lie down in the bottom of the boat. Try to get some sleep." the boy did as the girl commanded, and lied down. He fell asleep easily.
In the morning, before the sun had risen to clear the fog off of the salty water that rocked the boat, Houshu awoke, but he had to hold back a gasp. Houseki had passed out sometime a few hours ago, and she hadn't stopped bleeding. Her blood was smeared everywhere over the bottom of the boat, and his clothes also had blood stains on them. But the girl's clothes were now dark red, and he could see she had paled greatly since last night. "Houseki?" he asked quietly as he reached out to brush her cheek. His touch caused her to stir and she opened her blood red eyes to see him with a horrified look upon his face. "Houshu, don't worry about it, I'm fine." she said hoarsely as she struggled to sit up. "We've almost crossed the Sea of Tears, we're halfway there," she struggled to say as she grasped the oars tightly, so tightly her knuckles turned white. "You just try and get back to sleep." Houshu frowned as he watched her struggle to row the boat, and he cringed when he saw one of her wounds reopen and begin to let blood trickle down her face. The wound was a shallow gash above her left eye brow. Houshu took a deep breath and moved towards Houseki and sat down next to her, taking an oar in his hands. The girl smiled weakly at him as they both rowed to hopefully the other side of the Sea of Tears.
When they finally sighted land three hours later, Houshu smiled hopefully. There had to be someone who could help Houseki. "Houseki, we're almost there!" he exclaimed happily. The girl gave hm a weak smile. "I'm glad," At least you'll be able to get out of this, I shouldn't have done this. He won't be able to do this, it's my fault anyway, I shouldn't have been so selfish. "Houshu take of your royal robes, no one can know about us now. And you'd be sent back if the ever found out." Houshu nodded, he understood. If he told anyone, Houseki would die. "Houseki, please don't feel responsible, I wanted to come with you, I could never rule a kingdom. You maybe, but never me." Houseki turned her head sharply, a slight frown on her face. "Never doubt yourself, understand? You can do anything you want to if you have the will to do so! Nothing can ever stand in your way!" The boy's eyes were wide, the girl had never yelled at him like that. But he knew her words were true. "I'm sorry, Houseki. I'll always remember what you say."
The girl smiled and turned away from him. "All right, now c'mon. Get your robes off and put on the clothes under your seat." Houshu did as he was told, and found an average looking black haori and a pair of red hakamas. They looked hand stitched by an inexperienced hand. But they felt light and airy, unlike the heavy and thick royal robes he'd worn in the palace. "Houseki, did you make these-" he began as he turned around, but his eyes widened greatly. Houseki turned her head slowly, and her eyes fell flat, "Houshu, turn around!" the boy did so and felt heat rushing to his face. Houseki was also changing into a black haori and red hakamas, and he had turned around as she was removing her royal kimono. His first sights of a woman, and it wasn't half bad; Houseki did have a nice body under her clothes.
When they had finished changing, Houseki had taken their clothes and thrown them of the side of the boat into the water. The water around them turned a bloody red as Houseki's bloody kimono drained into the water. Houshu looked at Houseki, and paled when he saw large blood stained already appearing on her clothes. Her black haori made it hard to see the blood, but the boy knew it was there. "Houseki!" the girl's eyes were faded, and she seemed to be ghostly pale. She turned her head to look at him, and she tried to smile as she fell forward in the boat, landing on the bottom of it. Houshu felt panic coming his way, but he thought about what Houseki would do, and he grabbed both oars and rowed with all his strength toward land. It took him two more hours to reach land.
When he finally got there, he felt relieved to see a small hut sitting close to the shore of the water. He rowed the boat till it hit the shore, and then he hurried out of it and ran towards the hut and rushed through the curtain like sheet used as a door during warm months. He felt a bit of relief when he stepped inside to see three people sitting around a fire pit. "Please, you have to help me!" he cried out as one of the three, an old woman about Houseki's height stood. "What ails ye child?" she asked in a kind voice. Houshu had no time for formalities, and quickly shouted, "Houseki, she's bleeding! It hasn't stopped since last night and she passed out in our boat two hours ago and I don't know what's going on!" he exclaimed in one breath. The other two people, and old man and a young man probably in his early twenties stood. "Where's your boat?" the young man asked as Houshu led them out of the hut and towards their boat.
When he reached the boat, Houshu saw that Houseki was white as a cloud now, and her arms, face, and legs were covered in blood. "Houseki, hold on please! I can't do this without you," he whimpered as he got into the boat to try and lift her into a sitting position. "Houshu," she mumbled as he saw the three people hurry over. "Houshu, if they ask, we're from Februarius Village. And your name is Shinn. And mine is-"
End Memory
Shinn felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Stellar standing above him. "Shinn, are you thinking about her again?" she asked. He nodded, and she sat down next to him. "I can't get her out of my head lately. I see her everywhere, in my mind, my dreams. I feel so guilty, I promised to go back, but I haven't seen her in three years." The blonde girl placed a hand on his shoulder, "Shinn, I'm sure Houseki understands. She'll be all right. "If it wasn't for you two, I could've died." Shinn looked up at the sky which had begun to turn gold and orange. "I'll have to see her again. "If we head towards Novemberus City, I'm going to see her," Stellar smiled. "I'll be going with you then. The grave will need to be cared for after all this time too," she added a bit sadly. Shinn looked down at the soft grass, "Yea, but that's the way she would have wanted to go. I can't wait till tomorrow! I can convince Kira to let us go that way." Stellar smiled at the boy, He really does miss Houseki, seeing her again, would be the world to him. After all, she's all he's got. Shinn placed an arm around Stellar's shoulders. But he's got me too,
Mizu sat against an oak tree, staring off into the sunset with Kitsu sleeping in his lap. He was running his hand through her long brown hair, and stroking her head. He wasn't surprised when Yzak appeared out of no where. The man walked towards them and sat down, his eyes cautious as Kitsu stirred, but snuggled closer to her brother. "So, what happened to your parents?" the assassin asked as his ice eyes stared into the sunset. Mizu sighed, "They were killed, on a Red Samurai raid. We lived in Sakura Village, one of the four Hukari Villages. When the Red Samurai came, our father told our mother to hide herself and us, but she hid us in a secret room. And then she ran away from us to help our father. Kitsu got scared, so she broke out of the room." Mizu felt tears coming, he felt that pinching in the back of his throat. He rubbed his eyes and continued.
"And so I followed her out. Just as we reached, the front room…we found our parents. Our father was a samurai in the Chinese War, but he had been hurt in battle, so he came home on leave. He was trying to hold the Red Samurai off. But they killed him. Kitsu ran towards our mother, and the Samurai killed our mother right in front of us. In front of a five year old girl!" Yzak looked away disgusted. "That's terrible," he said softly as he looked into the sleepingface of the little girl. Mizu felt tears in his eyes, "Yea, but it got worse. Our mother's blood spattered over us, Kitsu was horror stricken. And then Iyoku, she was our older sister. She had a terrible disease that kept her in the house. She knew what was going on, and she ran out of her room to see the Samurai almost kill us. She raced to us, and used her body as a shield to protect us. She had a power, that if you looked into her eyes deeply, you could see your future. She knew she had to die, because we would grow up to be the Hukari of legend. We were the only ones in our village that had been blessed with the Hukari symbols.
She was killed on the spot, but before that, she told us to look into her eyes. I don't know what Kitsu saw, but I saw people. I saw the Hukari, and then I saw Miss Lacus and Kira. And then I felt something happen, and when I woke up, Kitsu was in my arms and we were in the secret room again. I don't know how we got there, but we were alive. I got up to look out and see what had happened, and I found my sister, mother, and father's bodies. Then I heard Kira and Lacus and Kitsu's running footsteps," Yzak looked down at the grass again. That little girl had watched her parents be unmercifully slain, and her older sister. Mizu smiled a bit. "Wow, you're one of the only people I've ever told about our sister. Our parents never even told anyone about her. But, I think when Iyoku told us to close our eyes, I think Kitsu forgot half of what happened to us that night. I think all she remembers is that our parents were killed. Thanks for listening. Having all of that off my chest helps a lot." Yzak flashed the boy a rare, true smile. "Hey, anytime." Yzak got up and helped the boy to his feet as the little girl in his arms yawned.
She opened her big white eyes and looked over to Yzak. "Jikei," she mumbled before snuggling into Mizu's shoulder. The twilight had begun to prepare the sky for night. Yzak walked with Mizu towards the palace when Mizu remembered what Kitsu had said. "Yzak, remember when Kitsu called you 'Jikei'?" Yzak looked down at the boy and furrowed his brow. "So?" Mizu chuckled, "You need to catch up on language skills. Jikei means 'affectionate elder brother' you baka." Yzak's eyes widened in annoyance, but then he looked down into the girl's face and smiled. "Well you're a much better brother than I'd ever be." Mizu shrugged, "Yea, but when Kitsu says something, she puts her mind to it and sticks with it. Until something new comes along." Yzak grinned at the two kids.
It was beautiful, like a midnight haven. The stars were shining in the sky as the moon glowed with a luminous light. The garden was filled with the darkness of night, it wrapped around the foliage like a blanket. The trees rustled quietly in the serene landscape as she stood on one of the stepping stones in the middle of the crystal clear pond. Lacus looked down to see her reflection glimmering in the water. She then looked to the sky before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the fresh air.
Footsteps behind her caused the pink haired woman to turn around and look into the cold, and angered lavender eyes of Kira. Lacus frowned confusedly as Kira just stood in front of her. "Kira, what's wr-" the man cut her off as he grabbed her right wrist tightly and pulled it out in front of her. He pulled down her sleeve and dug his fingers into her skin. "Lacus, why didn't you heal yourself?" he shouted angrily, but not loud enough to draw any attention. "Kira, you're hurting me." the woman stated calmly. The brunette man paid no attention to her. "Lacus, you're hiding something from me!" Lacus winced as she felt his grip tighten even more. "That hurts," she whispered softly. The samurai before her grabbed her other wrist and pulled her towards him. "Lacus, what aren't you telling me?" Kira's voice was still angered, but his eyes weren't as cold as they were before. The woman looked away from him. "Kira, I can't heal myself. But I don't know why you're getting all upset about it…" The man tensed and pulled the girl closer to him. "What? You can't even heal yourself? Why didn't you tell me!" She sighed, "Because I knew you'd do something like this," she replied softly. Kira sighed and pulled her into an embrace, "Lacus, I'm just worried about your safety."
Lacus pulled away from him, "I know Kira. But…I'm just so confused," The Lotus Hukari took a step towards her and tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but she moved out of the way. "What are you confused about?" he asked. Lacus felt tears sting her eyes, "You." she whispered and rushed past him across the stones to the garden. Kira stared after her shocked.
Lacus ran until she reached the tall stone wall, and she leaned against it to stare up at the starry sky through her tears. What she said was true, even though she'd told him she loved him, she was confused now. She couldn't tell if she could trust her heart to him, even though he was everything she wanted. A kind heart, a pure soul, and someone who could understand her so easily. She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes. She was unable to notice the shadow coming closer to her.
Two hands grabbed her wrists and pushed her up against the rock wall. She opened her eyes quickly for blue to meet lavender before she felt his lips pressed against hers. She gave way and kissed him back, their lips groping at each other, trying to get more. Lacus felt Kira's tongue lick her lips, and she slightly parted her lips and allowed his tongue to enter her mouth. The first time she did it willingly. Their tongues moved over each other like snakes as he let go of her wrists and her arms wrapped around his neck. Kira's arms wrapped around the woman's waist and pulled her small frame closer to his.
Breaking apart from their kiss, Kira stared into Lacus's eyes. "Lacus, I was only concerned about your safety, I didn't mean to upset you," he buried his face in her neck as she averted her gaze to stare at a small patch of flowers. Their petals were only lit by the moon light and turned a silvery blue instead of a light lavender. That was when she realized theywere lotuses. Lacus took a deep breath as Kira lifted her face from her neck and his soft gaze became level with her eyes once more. She smiled slightly up at him, "I know Kira, I guess...I just don't want to worry you." His lips were on hers for only a moment before he pulled away and embraced her tightly, "Lacus, I love you. It'spart of my oath to worry about you, and protect you-" Lacus broke him off. "I know, but I love you too. It's my part to protect you as well." She reached up a hand hesitantly and ran her fingers through his short hair as his lips met hers and his hand stroked her back softly.
Lacus kissed him with passion she had never felt before, a white hot passion that she knew would never subside, and she never wanted to lose this feeling. "Kira," she said gently as the man twirled strands of her hair around his fingers. "Hm, what?" he asked softly . She smiled softly as tears collected over her eyes. "Lacus, are you all right?" he asked worriedly before she shook her head, "I'm sure now. I love you, and I'd throw my life awayto save yours. No hesitations." Kira sighed and smiled back. "I feel the same way, and I never want to leave you." the woman smiled and closed her eyes as Kira rested his head against her shoulder. Maybe, they could love each other unconditionaly, like this, everyday...
Yes, I've made this chapter child friendly. I do this because the other chapter sucked, and becasue my story used to get a lot of reviews when it was T rated, so come one, come all, my Samurai stories are available for all! May contain mild cursing, slight suggestive themes, crude humor, sexual humor, suggestive situations, and just maybe reference to alcohol. About that alcohol thing, Harvest Moon: It's a Wonderful Life is rated E, and it has reference to alcohol on the rating box, yet you wouldn't know they serve booze at the Blue Bar unless you read the label! I don't get people these, then again, when have I ever?
...Don't answer that question you smart-ass critics...
Sam
Preview of next chapter:
Chapter 10 Fall
"So Kira, looks like someone got lucky,"
"Lacus, are you all right?
"What? What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about!"
"I'm coming with you,"
"YZAK!"
Confused? I laugh at your…confusion…Yea, that's not that funny…I need a new script writer…