Pride of Sakura
Chapter 5: Starlight
AN: Something will actually happen this time, I swear! This is the final turning point in the story. I'd say next chapter is last. Or the one after that. Unsure. Chapter title after the awesome Muse song, Starlight. I am such a fan. Though I think my favorite by them is Stockholm Syndrome. X3; Go download it! That and anything by Garbage.
I apologize if things have seemed a little serious, but I didn't intend for this to be pure humor. It's not. I will right a pure humor, some day. Haha. So anyway, the turning point. Also I'd appreciate comments, to ascertain people are reading. O_o
Pride of Sakura Playlist!
Starlight by Muse – Because it's kind of sad and mostly cool.
Konna ni chikaku de… by Crystal Kay – Sugary sweet but not obnoxious, definitely a theme song of sorts to this fic. I listened to it A LOT.
Agony by KOTOKO – Pretty and dramatic. The lyrics fit.
PS: Jenna action figures on sale 01/01/2080.
X x X
That day started off pretty bad. Mostly because that night sucked. I was having a nightmare about the Onmagoug run, except instead of the actual Onmagoug it was Yuu, apparently continuing his Tenblasted campaign of terror. It was one of those ridiculously melodramatic dreams where you ran and ran but no matter what you never really gained any ground. Whatever was behind you could, of course, cruise along like Flying Satan, immediately catching up to you. Normally, dreams end just as you're about to die. It's odd, how it works. I wonder if the adrenalin finally sends a shutoff signal to our brain. But being abnormal, mine decided not to do that. I had gone tumbling down a hill in the CD, coughing up those accursed Mizuraki leaves.
"You could have just given me those MAIDEN BOMB tickets, but no, you had to keep them." Yuu's strangely distorted voice rang from above. "And then you had the nerve to try and hang Christmas Decorations off my ears. Dammit, just because they're there doesn't mean you have to fool around with them all the time. Damn humans." I stood, facing him, in a suggestively ripped up outfit. Classically, it was a white sundress. How cliché. There was still cheesy music wailing in the background, and Yuu looked as hilariously terrifying as in my previous fantasy. Overall it was basically his head on a Tengogh's body, deformed. It was the fangs out of the nostrils that sort of finished it off, and the Mohawk. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
He also had purple toes.
"You jerk," I spat. "I worked really hard to get those tickets. I had to get a second job as a beer sample salesgirl, and that Ryght fag pinched me on the ass so many times there are now permanent indents there! Plus, why would I do anything for you? I risk my life for you, and the first thing you do is tell me I smell like poop!"
He flapped his wings, sending another gale rocketing my way. I noticed his wings were held up my strings. Wow. My imagination really went into detail sometimes. Of course, only when that thing was unpleasant. Among my numerous whipped-cream-and-Rutsu fantasies, there was only the barest detail. I also seemed to remember finding out that the whipped cream had gone bad in one dream. Reality doesn't whisper, it roars.
Then promptly everything stopped, and I was standing in an all-white room, with regular Yuu standing in front of me, his shoulders slumped.
"I never did thank you for that. I'm sorry. I should have swallowed my pride. But after you healed me, I was afraid of what you would think of me."
"Huh?" I asked, taken aback and mystified. His eyes held me still, freezing even my thoughts. Man, this suddenly went from stupid-strange to creepy-strange. Even if it was just a dream, seeing Yuu looking at me seriously at me while not yelling at me was disconcerting.
"Abnormal as you are, I very much doubt you could deal with what you saw."
"Saw…what?" I ignored the slight insult.
His arm jerked, thumb pointed at his back. "That. You saw."
"Saw? Saw what?! What the hell are you talking about?" I yelled as he loped forwards, grabbing my arms and pinning me completely, eyes drilling into mine. I opened my mouth to make some sort of comment about meds, restraining orders, and what I was about to do to his crotch, when his frantic, angry voice cut me off.
"Don't play dumb, Gray. I know you know what I am. Or rather, what I used to be." His grip remained tight, mouth tightened to the point where his lips where white, in an angry line.
"I'm not playing dumb." I pleaded, frantically trying to convince him of that. I continued with "And I want you to be able to trust me with whatever it is I'm supposed to know anyway. What, you're a sex change patient? I'd say you came out pretty good. I mean, yeah, your face is a little girly but…" I trailed off as his eyes remained hard and fathomless.
His face remained stoic, and then "Wake up, or I will poke out your eyes and use them as festive cocktail decorations to entertain the party I will be serving your roasted innards to."
Guh. Yuu's face faded into Jenna's. She has the eerie habit of standing beside my bed. Groggily, I pulled myself up into a sitting position and starred at her. "Today anything special?"
"Your meeting on Neudaiz. Also, the new PM evolution devices are out."
"Oh!" I said, both excited and not. Oddly, I was more looking forwards to Jenna evolving. "I think I'll go with a 452 for you."
She raised an eyebrow, and I sighed. "Basically the same outfit, but with more support capabilities."
"Like I'll support YOU."
"I'll set your butt back to default, lady," I threatened, throwing my pajamas against the wall and searching about for the top I wanted in my army of blue clothes.
She shuddered. "By the way," she added, amusement creeping into her voice. "Guess what."
"What? You've detected some sort of disease that will melt my organs into taco sauce or something?"
"No."
"Been infected by SEED virus, will turn into Pannon that somehow has a gimp leg?"
"Negative. You have decreased in body mass."
Glory. Victory. Triumph. Conquest. Success.
Epic win.
I have lost three pounds. In my thighs, no less. This is so fabulous, I really felt like calling up a bunch of random people to my room and passing out booze. But that involves money, which I don't have much of at all. I have no idea how I lost the weight, I guess all the running around I've been doing lately.
After my whole doom-dance with the Onmagoug, they had hilariously declared that Yuu and I needed to kill it. Right. They said our performance was somewhat of an embarrassment, and basically something along the lines of Yuu and I being that gay nephew you have but don't really talk about. You catch my drift, right? Right. "They", by the way, were our instructors. Even Leo looked all disappointed and fatherly. Tonnio Rhima was with him, whom I actually get along with for some odd reason. Yuu had also been walked into a separate room from me, leaving me to stand awkwardly in the lobby, twitching and imagining different ways to do away with myself. I had come up with drowning myself in a pond weighed down by the bad luck stored in my chest and humungous new Classica boots when Tonnio came to be friendly with me.
I am told this is an epic feat, one on par with the discovery of photons and just-add-water-capsule-pizza. I happened to be somewhat-laying on floor on the Colony's Guardians HQ, and I think I may have been frothing at the mouth and staring at the ceiling in defeat.
"Cheer up, kid." The miniature beast sighed, hands on his hips. "We've all fucked up before."
I nodded, and let him pull me up into a sitting position. "You're right, I know. But…I just feel like I could have done more."
"Yeah like maybe freezing it, then running?"
"Uhh…"
"Orrrr, maybe just blasting off its' wings, then running?"
"Umm…"
He slapped his forehead. "Actually, that idiot Yuu could have just ca—". He stopped, his eyes suddenly narrowing. "Nevermind, guess he couldn't of with you there."
"Huh?" I questioned intelligently. The beast's blue eyes stayed on me a moment longer, then he turned to walk away.
"Nevermind, Lucy. You'll probably figure it out."
Rightttt. I remained in silence, the beginnings out of a pout creeping up. I had left in such a good mood this morning, too. Even bought a new outfit! A (blue, of course) Flaxo Jacket with matching Classica shorts, and the white boots. Boo. I sighed, and figured it was Jenna time anyway. Luckily, Yuu stepped out of the private conference room at that point.
I waved, hoping maybe to exchange some delightful jabs with him when I realized he wasn't going to help my mood any at all. His face was ashen, and his eyes were completely glossed over. "Um…bad time in there?"
His head came down slowly, then back up. I tentatively reached out and patted him on the shoulder. He gazed at the spot where my hand had been, and then straight at me. "We should go, Gray," he said slowly, like speech was difficult. I nodded anyway, turning to walk out the door and onto one of the many lavender walkways around Ohtoku city.
"What'd they say to you?" I asked, trying to keep conversation going. His blank, lifeless stare was seriously starting to freak me out.
"Nothing that…pertains to…something you need to know," he said awkwardly, then looked at me, embarrassed.
"So it's a secret," I drawled. "Whatever. I need to stop by the colony and pick up an Evolution Device for Jenna."
"Ah."
I poked him in the ribs. "Don't you take care of your PM at all?" I questioned, trying to imagine Yuu's PM. It would probably be a cute little 430, with a sweet personality that didn't discriminate between healing you when you were bleeding because you hadn't made them waffles for breakfast. That she didn't even technically need to eat.
"I never evolved mine," he drawled. "I had no need."
"What? But who makes your weapons and watches bad soap operas with you?"
He snorted, silent as we approached the PPT Spaceport. "Well…it's not like I don't want you to come, but you don't have to subject yourself."
"I want to see what happens when a PM evolves," he said slowly, like he was ashamed of admitting it. "I've never seen it before."
I blinked. "It's…sparkly and…your PM seems really happy with herself. Well Jenna was, at least. She immediately demanded I get a commemorative plaque with the date." I chirped, remembering that fateful day. It was nice, to parade around the colony with my own little black beacon of loud and insult. Jenna's little comment about being a government appointed best friend hit me again, and I sighed. It was really sad that something that couldn't technically even feel emotion was the one I looked to the most for emotional support.
When we arrived at my apartment, Jenna was waiting eagerly in my shop. "Do you have it, you useless pile of organs and teenage angst?!"
"Yes," I sighed, summoning the chip from my Nano Device. Yuu looked on in interest.
"Ah-huh, so you brought Ears! Fabulous. Let him see my moment of glory."
"That's...the idea," he said offhandedly, gazing around my shop.
"Here you go, enjoy." I said, and handed the chip to Jenna, who eagerly took it in dainty white hands to hold it up to the light. It was sparkly, in her defense.
Yuu spoke suddenly, to my left. "You shouldn't give it to her, quite yet."
"Huh?" I turned to give him my 'Well, what the fuck' look. He squinted at it.
"Just a notion."
"Rightttt," Jenna and I said together. I turned to her, completely confident Yuu was just being himself and attempting to spread his own apparent unhappiness.
"Itadakimasu…" Yuu whispered as Jenna gulped the chip down. She blinked, shuddered, began laughing hysterically, and exploded.
I gazed at the slightly smoking spot where my PM had been, littered with clothes and a few strands of purple hair, before I collapsed to the ground and starting sobbing like a ten year old who just got told they couldn't stay up late. Yuu sighed, deeply. "Like I said…she's tweaked, so she's not quite compatible."
"B-but M-Ma—".
"She's good, but not that good. Shidow does mess up."
He leaned, picking me up by my elbow. His hands were cold, and his grip was very firm. He pointed to in front of the counter, speaking calmly, and somehow with what seemed like less of his usual apathy. "Look for a small, silver square. It will be intact." I nodded weakly, still whimpering, and shuffled around, trying to ignore her little sleeves. Sure enough, there was a small chip, fitting into my palm quite easily. It was paper thin, and a rectangle. "Don't worry, you can touch it. It's Jenna's…"
I looked over to him, and I must have looked kicked-puppy pathetic, because the sneer that was playing along his lips faded. "It's her…heart, essentially. Her brain. All of her memories, and even her tweaked AI will be in that."
My heart pulled out of its usual spot somewhere below my stomach, prancing around in my intestines. "So…she'll be okay?"
"Yes. She just needs a body, that's all." I realized he was rolling his eyes at me.
"Screw you," I spat. "Getting all huffy because I dare to have emotions. You're the emo one, I know what you're thinking!"
"Umm?"
"You're thinking," I put up my best nasal male voice, "Ohhhh, there's that Gray, always screwing up and crying over sitcoms like that time Charles dumped Latifah because he found out she was his long lost twin's step parent's third aunt and actually a man, or when she yells at inanimate objects seek to victimize her, such as particularly ferocious rocks like that time in the CD when she tripped and fell down a hill and really hoped you didn't notice even though it's pretty obvious you did." I said in my best Yuu voice, all in one breath.
"Right."
X x X
I seem to be heading back and forth between Neudaiz a lot lately. I will summarize a string of boring things for you. Me, on the PPT Shuttle crying, walking down the street crying, Yuu embarrassed, running up the path to Maya's house, crying. I went in and yelled at Maya, who looked apologetic and scrambled around her shop, before finally giving me a tiny piece of wire. I blinked. She tutted and swiped the chip out of my hands, before stringing the wire through a hole and bending it into a hook shape.
"Here," she said softly, "Wear this. I'll need a bit to make a body for her, so just bear with this a couple days."
I carefully undid one of the little sapphire earrings from my left ear, and randomly gave it to Yuu. He sighed and stuffed it in his pocket. The chip hung lightly from my ear and caught sunlight, throwing beams this way and that. "The auto recovery program is rebuilding her quite well. It'll be tiny, but you should be able to hear her voice in a bit. Obviously she won't have many functions, but she can at least talk to you."
I touched the chip lightly. "She's gonna be so apeshit…".
Maya laughed. "Naw. I'll have the new body ready in a couple days."
I nodded in thanks, exiting her house with Yuu ghosting alongside me. Even if I was mad at her for blowing up my best friend, I kind of missed her cheery, bumbling presence. Yuu was massively negative and irritating, worse than usual. Hard to believe, I know. I was hoping Fruit Cup would be cheerier, but Ankh was just as glum. He greeted me on our way to the conservation district, but didn't say much else.
Dammit.
Both of them seemed to keep glancing at me, giving me long, pitiful stares. They would then look at each other, then me. Great.
Were they gonna rape me? I mean, what else could it be? Oh I see it now, they could barely contain their lust for new and improved three-pounds-lighter-Lucy.
By the end of the voyage and an hours worth of walking into the CD, I literally did crouch and klonk their heads together. They both yelped, Yuu more so than Ankh obviously, and turned to give me dirty looks.
"Guys," I sighed, "It's my PM. And she's gonna be FINE. Why are you walking on eggshells?" I looked up at my partners, and my eye was promptly nuked by a raindrop. Mother nature waits, I swear. Leaves came next. Yes. I shielded my eyes against the sudden melodramatic wind just as my Com Device started beeping in an agitating manner. It gets louder and more obnoxious sounding as it is ignored. So of course by the time I got to it, it had gone from BEEP BEEP BEEP to WANK WANK WANK, which just sounded inappropriate.
"Gray here," I sighed.
"Watch your attitude, young lady!"
Blaugh. Yuu and Ankh looked on in concern. "Master Nav," I stuttered. "Do what do I owe the pleasure of being yelled at by you?"
"Smart ass as usual, Gray. Still smuggling hidden cargo?"
If there was a sound for eyebrow waggling, I swear I heard it. "Still old, and kind of creepy?"
"Yes. But on a serious note, your mission has just been upgraded to S2."
"What, why?!" I asked, as Yuu and Ankh's faces showed similar concern. S2 rank was for aesthetics. Meaning people who lived, breathed, and ate Guardians. Not actually consumed them, you know…just had no life and wanted to die young. Yeah.
"Ethan Waber has been confirmed in the area. Laia's seen him, but was unable to challenge him due to certain circumstances."
My heart was already a pro at diving into my stomach, but it had just climbed the high board and dived into my toes. I froze, and was disgustingly relieved to see even Yuu's face pale. "Despite the fact that he looks like an idiot," Nav continued, "He is incredibly skilled. Whatever he's doing, do not interfere."
"Huh?!" Ankh growled. "He's an S2 Ranked criminal, whatever he's out here doing is probably bad!"
"Did you HEAR me, Ankh Teano?"
"Y-yes…"
"Now," he continued, "Your mission deals with the Onmagoug, not Waber. If you see Waber…there's a good chance he's not going to attack you."
"Wow, that's comforting," Yuu sighed. He had taken his handgun out, and was carefully loading it with Megid bullets. I could see the purple glow of the cartridge. Megid was a man eating bullet. I shuddered, my senses as a Force immediately picking up the reek of death. It was an acrid, metallic-smelling thing.
"Do NOT provoke him. If he provokes you, haul ass like you've never hauled ass before. Got it?"
We mumbled an agreement, and I felt the communication line cut out. I took a deep breath. "We'll be okay…" I sighed, not quite trusting my own words. Yuu's black eyes were focused on me.
"I know." He kept his gaze locked with mine, and I felt the heat rushing to my cheeks. God, I fail.
"This…works out really nice anyway," Ankh said in a strange voice.
Huh? Running into the most dangerous kid in the galaxy is convenient? How about…no. We continued along the path, Yuu leading the way. I thought back to pictures of Ethan, even the few times I had seen him around my colony. He had seemed…stupid. Happy, kind of good looking and high on himself. I had no interest. Red heads do not breed. Sorry, law of the universe. My dad's blonde.
A roar shattered the air around me, and the Onmagoug promptly landed directly in front of us.
"YOU DIE TONIGHT, FLYING PIG! YOU AND YOUR LITTLE AGEETAS TOO!" I yelled, suddenly angrier than usual. I summoned my staff, prepared to blast the ungodly thing with every Barta spell in my arsenal. Yuu held out his hand in front of me.
"Stop. I will take care of this." He said softly, his back to me. I barely had time to protest when Ankh's arms wrapped around my waist and hoisted me back a good ten feet. I struggled, increasingly frantic as the Onmagoug stomped towards the Newman.
"YUU! ARE YOU NUTS?! HE'LL CRUSH YOU INTO NUMAN-BASED GOO! NO AMOUNT OF TECHNICS CAN HEAL GOO! GOO, DAMMIT!"
He looked over his shoulder at me, eyes oddly luminous. "Can it, Gray." He then held up both arms. I contemplated telling him to stop dancing because that wasn't going to help the situation any, when there was a strangely familiar electric-bell sound. And just when the world couldn't possibly get any stranger, stupider, or more lacking in goodness, I realized Yuu had summoned an SUV.
I looked up at Ankh, who looked unsurprised, his eyes locked on the…Numan? CAST? What. My heart was doing flip-flops. He lifted it easily with his lithe arms, leveled, and fired. There was a battery of noise and lights, and when the smoke and kicked-up leaves cleared, he simply waved the thing away. It beamed back into orbit, and the place where the monster and the woods behind it leveled. Needless to say, the one who ended up being goo was the Onmagoug. I realized I was shaking as Ankh let me slide out of his arms, and I fell to the ground without the support. For the second time that day, I was thrown into complete shock. Astounding, without soap operas. He sighed, I know because I saw his shoulders fall. He pulled the handgun out of his holster, checking it, before turning to me. The eerie blue glow faded from his eyes, and he took a few steps towards me. I felt Ankh shift to my left. What…was going on? I was so confused. I know CASTs can be organic based, or look it, but I healed Yuu. There was no way he was a straight up CAST.
The ping? The rain was coming down hard now, splattering stands of red hair that had come loose from my bun to the sides of my face, and dripping off my lips. I looked up at Yuu, who squinted at me. I looked at Ankh, who tilted his head at me.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. "Before you even start blathering on, Gray," he said quickly. "I was originally a Numan. I was a 2nd Rank sniper for the Communion of Gurhal. About a year ago, I was in an explosion."
I stared. He carried on, looking skywards, water streaking down his face. "You are right…technics…cannot heal…goo." I winced. "My arms were basically gone. They were reconstructed in a secret lab under Parum. I made a deal with Parum and Neudaiz, and joined the Guardians. All a secret, of course. That's why I can call SUVs."
I nodded numbly, completely blown away. All of this happened to him, and I've been such a bitch? I felt terrible guilt. Even if he was a douchebag sometimes, nobody deserved that. Except maybe Latifah. Conniving bitch. Er, bastard.
"Why…tell me all this now?" I asked, standing up. "Why not before? I wouldn't have said anything, or cared."
He shrugged. "Some people don't think so. A few people know, of course. But not many."
Tonnio! So he did know…Bastard. "You must have been able to tell, when you healed me. I was serious when I said you're a good Force, Lu—Gray." He stopped. I must have looked like a fish, with my mouth hanging open. So, my dream.
"Yuu. We're on a time limit," Ankh aid suddenly, and Yuu's head snapped to the sound of his voice. Huh? I'm so confused, seriously. I was wishing over and over Jenna was with me. Yuu's look was odd, somewhere in-between angry and horrified. I was confused, when a feeling of dread started to push down on my shoulders. The megid bullets glowed eerily against Yuu's pale skin, casting a purple light.
"Right." He took a deep breath. "It's…well. I just want to say that…you really aren't so bad, Miss Lucy Gray. But I have orders. You know too much, and aren't supposed to."
I took a step back, and Aknh's arm shot out, inhumanly fast. I struggled against him, even as he knocked my nano device off my back. The blood was rushing to my ears, my mind dissolving into complete ataxia. "It would be a treat, if I could glance at you in heaven just once, from the edge of hell." He said, with some odd emotion clouding his fathomless eyes and voice, and leveled his gun at me.
X x X
AN: (head hits next) Sorry it took so long. XD HAHAHAHAHA. PUA HA HA HA HA! Next chapter will be…well it won't suck as much compared to this one and the last. Anyway, thanks for reading. Comments keep me writing. 3 I guess Starlight would be the ending theme if this was an anime.
Later! Farrrr away, this ship is takin' me farrr awayyy~ (dodges bullets)