Scenario II-Stern Eyes

While retreating after parting ways with Kaede, Miroku and Kyoko, Ikki strays from his friends.

Stranded on an island, he searches for a way back to Sanctuary

Chapter I-The Beast Girl

Ikki sighed, as he walked through the tower.

"Such a pain. All paths back to Sanctuary are blocked. And I've lost sight of the others, too. Guess I better find a way back…"

Ikki kicked off the ground and grinded up a railing leading the fifth floor of the 30 floor tower, after having gotten separated from Miroku and Kyoko. He sighed again. "I wish I had wings. It'd make getting to Chaos so much easier… I guess I better take it easy and stay safe while I'm alone." Ikki said, and hurried through the island, searching, steering clear of the manikins. Suddenly, Ikki stopped.

"Someone's there." he said.

Suddenly, a girl of sixteen stepped out of the forest. She had long, unkempt black hair, crimson eyes, and wore a long, dirty tattered dress. In her hands, she held a curved katana. There was a glazed look in her eyes.

"Destroy…" the girl said dully. "Must destroy all foes… Enemy… Destroy!" she shouted, spotting Ikki, and her eyes gleamed dangerously. Drawing back the katana, the girl emitted a bestial roar from her throat, and charged. Ikki shrieked in fear, and ducked as she swung the sword, cutting off a strand of hair on his head.

"No choice." Ikki tightened the ATs to his feet. Then, as the girl swung her sword, Ikki kicked up a foot, blocking the attack. A metallic clang echoed around the tower as the sword and rollerblades locked. The girl snarled, snapping her teeth at him, like a wild animal thirsting for warm blood. Ikki leaned back, then quickly head-butted her. The girl yelled in pain, but quickly recovered. Ikki leaped into the air as her sword struck the ground, carving up the earth. With a flick of her wrist, the girl swung the sword again, and this time, the blade passed, barely a millimeter from Ikki nose. Ikki spun through the air, and landed on the sword, grinding across it, before grabbing the girl's shoulders, and crashing her into the ground. With a twitch of his foot, Ikki kicked the sword away from her, and it skidded across the floor.

"Must…destroy…" the girl panted, a growl in her throat.

"Stop this! I don't want to hurt you!" Ikki shouted.

"Destroy…!" Suddenly, the girl screamed, grabbing her head. "Argh!"

"Hey! Are you all right?" Ikki reached out, but the girl vanished suddenly, as though she teleported, leaving him crouching on the floor..

"What's her problem? Something didn't seem right with her. Who are Cosmos and Chaos anyway, calling all these different people here? Oh well, I gotta return to Sanctuary. There's gotta be a way out of this tower." Ikki said, and continued skating up the floors of the tower.

Chapter II-Chiropterans

Ikki sighed in frustration as he arrived at the top floor of the tower..

"Still no path to Sanctuary." he said, sighing again.

"Oh, you crack me up, big sister! 'Don't want to fight…' she says!"

Ikki looked up. Two figures stood in the stands: Diva and…

"It's that girl!" Ikki said in surprise, as the girl in the tattered dress cowered under Diva.

Diva placed a shoe on the other girls' head. "Who are you, and what did you do to my big sister, the one who was having such a blast beating the pulp out of people?" she said menacingly.

"I didn't… I don't…" the other girl whimpered.

"Listen, we're Chiropterans. Vicious beasts! With vicious power, meant for mayhem and destruction! Now tell me, how is a person like that going to decide she 'doesn't want to fight'? You'd better straighten up, sis." Diva said.

Ikki scratched his head. "It seems like they're arguing with each other. I…better keep out of it." he decided, and started to walk away. Then a scream split the air. Ikki turned around to see Diva stomping repeatedly on the other girl. At last, Diva drew forth a rapier sword.

"So much for Ms. Nice Younger Sister!" she giggled, and plummeted the sword down. There was a flash of sparks. Diva looked up, as Ikki held one of his feet forward, blocking the attack. The other girl stared at him.

"Go!" Ikki shouted. The girl scampered away, looking frightened. Diva scowled.

"Can't you see when someone's busy? Run along and play now!" she said.

"How about this: leave her alone!" Ikki spat.

Diva scowled. "In that case, play dead! You're about to learn why 'oppose' rhymes with 'dispose'!" she sang.

"I hate lectures." Ikki smirked.

Diva spun through the air, striking out with the sword. Ikki jumped, high enough that the rapier passed under him. Then Ikki lashed out a kick. Diva leaped back, and Ikki's kick shattered the ground as the ATs struck the ground. Diva then charged forward. Ikki dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of kicks. Diva spun her sword around, blocking the attacks. Ikki lashed out again with both feet, his hand grinding along the ground, and his attack knocked Diva's sword out of her hand. With a yell, Ikki grabbed her sword and thrust it forward. Diva's eyes widened as it went straight through her head.

"Didn't really want it to end like this, but…" Ikki began.

"End like what?"

Ikki stared in disbelief as Diva blinked at him, blood running down her face. Reaching up, she grabbed the sword and pulled, the blade sliding out of her skull with a wet slicing sound. At once, the skin on her head began to bubble and mend, regenerating, until there was no sign of a wound. Diva stuck her tongue out, and licked up the blood around her lips.

"Mmm. So, shall we keep playing?" Diva said.

Ikki stared, one of his eyelids twitching, mouth open, a funny choking noise coming out. Diva laughed, falling to the ground and rolling.

"You should see your face!" she squealed with laughter, pointing at him with one hand as she clutched her side with the other. "And here I thought you were just another prepubescent pretty boy… Incredible! That's the most fun I've had in minutes!"

A whimper made Ikki glance over. The fight had carried over in the direction of the other girl, who sat, cowering, her hands over her head. Ikki glanced at Diva, who was still laughing. Then he picked up the other girl in his arms. She let out a yell of fright, thrashing in his arm.

"Let's go!" he said, and ran skated down the railing as Diva still laughed. At last, Diva took a shuddering breath, wiping the tears from her eyes, and looked around.

"Hm?"

"We'll finish this next time! For now, I'm just gonna take her with me. Catch ya later!" Ikki called out, and the two disappeared down an elevator shaft.

Diva stood there in silence. "Fine, you just go on and take her with you then. After all, my big sister always comes running back to me anyway." she said, and walked off, singing an opera.

Chapter III-Saya

Ikki ran through the tower, the girl in his arms. Then he skidded to a halt, and set her down.

"Are you tired? Sorry, but we need to move, just a little further. You don't want to get caught, do you?" Ikki said.

"But… I'm a warrior of Chaos…even if I run…" the girl began.

"You'd get caught? You're wrong, you run so that you don'tget caught." Ikki said, and they pressed onwards. At last, they arrived at the floor level.

"This should be far enough away so they won't find us. Oh, I'm Ikki, by the way. And you are…?"

The girl whimpered, clutching her katana sword as though it was a shield.

"Okay…" Ikki muttered.

"You're…one of Cosmos's warriors." the girl said.

"Ah, yeah, I am." Ikki responded.

"Then, please…kill me." the girl begged. Ikki stared. "I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to hurt people, or destroy things anymore. So please!"

Ikki continued to stare. "Couldn't you just stop fighting and not use your powers? I mean, that's gotta be better than the alternative." he said finally.

The girl stared in confusion. "What do you mean? I'm… You're my enemy. Aren't you?"

"People are people, aren't they? It doesn't matter what

'side' you're on." Ikki explained. "Back there, it looked like you were in trouble. So I did what I thought was right and got you out. I mean, I knew you were on the other side, but… What difference does that make, ya know?"

"You don't care?" the girl said, still looking confused.

"Not really. It doesn't change anything, does it? What does you being in trouble have to do with Cosmos or Chaos?" Ikki pointed out.

"Well, I mean we're both soldiers, and we were summoned here to fight." the girl said.

"Sure, we were summoned here to fight. But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna throw away what I believe in. I decided to help you because that's what I wanted to do. And I have no intention of hurting you. That's not me." Ikki said, grinning. "Listen…don't think about things so hard, alright. You don't wanna end up just doing whatever people tell you to, do you?" Then he began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" the girl said.

Ikki stopped. "This battle's gonna be over before you know it. And I can already tell you Cosmos is gonna be the winner. Once Chaos is out of the picture, things oughta settle down a little bit. And then we'll be able to go home, right? Until then, go somewhere safe and hide out until this is all over. Somewhere you won't have to fight. I'll come and find you, then. Then you can come back to see Cosmos with the rest of us."

"To see…Cosmos?" the girl said in confusion.

"Yeah. If you become one of her warriors, you should be able to go back to where you come from too. Anyway, I better get going. I've still got some fighting to do. Find somewhere to lay low. I'll be back for you." Ikki said, and continued off.

"Ikki…"

Ikki turned back to the girl. "Yeah? What is it?"

"My name's…Saya."

"Saya…" Ikki smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Saya." he said, and continued off.

To wish not to fight is a desire that ought not to have a place in this world.

That is precisely why I wished to know what it was she held dear.

Chapter IV-The Warrior of Cosmos

A girl, fearing her own powers as a tool for destruction, decides to fight of her own volition.

Saya sat outside the tower, watching the spot where Ikki had vanished.

"Ikki said… 'You can make your own decisions. You already have. You don't want to fight.' Is that truly…my will?" Suddenly, a shriek split the air. Saya looked up, and clambered off the rock. A second later, it shattered as a manikin struck it. More manikins emerged from the trees, baring their fangs, knuckle-walking towards her. "Those are… Manikins? Where are they—"

Saya's eyes widened. "They're headed for Cosmos's throne! If Cosmos falls, her warriors will… Ikki!" Saya stared at the katana in her hand. Suddenly, her eyes gleamed, and she unsheathed it. "I'll use my powers for everyone!" The manikins attacked. Saya ducked and swing her sword, cutting open one manikin's throat. The others shoved it aside, and lashed out. Saya gasped as one manikin's claws raked her shoulders. Then her eyes widened fearfully, as she spotted the green liquid around her wound. The manikin hissed as the poison dripped from its claws.

"I can't…" Saya charged forward, staggering. "I can't let you pass me to reach Cosmos's throne. I will fight…not to destroy, but to protect!" Saya lunged forward, and swung. The two manikins screamed as their bodies were severed severely. Saya stood there, breathing heavily. Then she keeled over.

"Ikki…" she said weakly, as her vision blurred. The bushes parted. "Ikki…" she said hopefully. However, instead, a different figure stood before her. She couldn't make out his face. Saya's eyes closed, just as he lifted her in his arms…

Cosmos stared at Saya in Luffy's arms. "She was fighting the manikins." Luffy explained. Cosmos nodded silently.

"But…why?" Luffy looked confused.

"I sense a strong conviction in her. She no longer wishes to fight. She wants peace." Cosmos explained. She placed a hand on Saya's face.

"Cosmos… You realize this girl's a warrior of Chaos?"" Luffy said.

"Yes. But even so, she is a warrior who longs to bring an end to this long war. I do not wish that dream to be extinguished." Cosmos said. Her hand glowed with an aura, which passed around Saya. "Rest child, until you are well. When you awaken, you can choose a new path…of your own, free will."