Back so soon, eh? Well, I've had this chapter brewing for the longest time, so it was natural that I got this one done quickly. Let the evilness commence!
Chapter LXIII: Love Conquers All
As we live out our lives, we may not think through every decision we make or action we take. As trivial or insignificant as they may seem at the time, they could have untold effects on the future. When this happens, usually all that can be done is reflect on those past exploits with 20/20 hindsight.
Perhaps the most common contemplation involves something that was said or, more likely, not said. Whether it be a confession of love, a plead for forgiveness or even an admission of guilt, keeping quiet can certainly lead to misery and remorse. Most who suffer from this thought that the circumstances of their silence would last forever--or at least long enough for them to bring up the courage to come clean.
When everything eventually falls apart around you, all you may be able to think about is what might have been and you yearn for that one chance to set things right--an opportunity that may never present itself.
--- Friday, 6/11 1:10 AM
It was a cloudless night over the town of Hinata Springs; something that allowed the stars and the full moon to illuminate everything the street lights did not. Included in this was a certain room in a certain building. The building was the Hinata-Sou apartments, and the room was the private quarters of one Naru Narusegawa.
Currently, said girl is laying on her futon, sleeping soundly. Because of this, she was completely unaware of the shadow that took shape in the rectangle of light on the floor. Slowly and silently, the form crept over to where Naru slept.
Naru's trip through dreamland was only slightly disturbed when a hand nudged her shoulder. At first, it was easily ignored, but when the nudge became more of a shove, it forced her into consciousness.
"Keitaro what are you--" she muttered as she rolled over, but the sentence died in her throat and her eyes opened wide when she saw that this was definitely not her boyfriend.
Before Naru could scream, a cloth rag was placed over her nose and mouth. The chloroform in the rag quickly seeped into the girl's system, rendering her unconscious.
As soon as Naru stopped struggling, the intruder picked her up, slung her over one shoulder and went back out the window. Once they were a safe distance from the dorm, a hand retrieved a walkie-talkie from a pants pocket. "The target has been acquired."
"You encountered no difficulties?" a voice asked from the other end.
"None at all. Frankly, it was all too easy."
"Excellent. Return to base so we can prepare for the next phase."
"Roger that." With that, the abductor sped off into the night, Naru in tow.
--- 7:14 AM
"What a beautiful morning," Sean said as he and Shinobu prepared breakfast. As of this point, neither of them have the slightest clue as to what had happened hours before.
"Yeah," Shinobu said. "It kind of makes you want to lay around and do nothing all day."
Sean raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were hanging around Kitsune too much."
"Haven't heard any complaints from you so far," Shinobu muttered, then busted out laughing at the weird look Sean gave her.
"Whatever happened to the innocent girl I met three years ago?" Sean asked.
"She went into puberty," Shinobu said. "This feels kind of weird," she said after things calmed down. "I'm so used to making more food in the mornings."
"I know what you mean," Sean said. Over the last few days, half of the residents have taken a leave of absence.
The first one to go was Mutsumi, who went to Okinawa to visit her rather extensive family. Despite being an only child, Sean could identify with this, as he has a long list of aunts, uncles, cousins (especially cousins) and probably a couple second cousins he doesn't even know about.
Next, Suu went off to computer camp somewhere, but from the way it sounded, she was going as a counselor or something like that.
Motoko traveled to Kyoto to see her sister. The reasoning for her visit was described as "settling some unfinished business." Even from that, it didn't sound like she was going there to shoot the breeze, but all suspicions were confirmed when Jimmy agreed to come along to make sure things didn't get out of hand--a piece of irony Sean picked up in an instant.
Last, but certainly not least was Kitsune. She had decided to try her hand at being a sports writer and had accompanied a local baseball team on a road trip.
This left Sean, Shinobu, Keitaro and Naru to enjoy the relative peace the others' not being there would bring--or so they originally thought.
--- 7:20 AM
Keitaro was slowly roused by the sound of knocking. Still half-asleep, he shuffled over and opened the door, upon which he found Sean before him. "Yeah?" he muttered.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Sean said.
Keitaro nodded a bit. "Alright," he said. "I'll go get Naru."
"Okay," Sean said. Inwardly, he was thankful for this, since history has shown that Naru tends to take a wake up call better if it's Keitaro doing it. For anybody else… well, it can be like trying to wake a hibernating bear--and just as painful.
Closing the door, Keitaro made his way to the trap door, briefly pondering Sean's secret to being such a morning person. "Naru, time to wake up," he said as he poked his head through the hole…
---
"They'll be down in a minute," Sean said as he walked into the kitchen.
"Alright," Shinobu said, only briefly diverting her attention from the food she was just about to transport to the dining room.
"Seriously though," Sean said, moving to assist his girlfriend. "Did you have anything planned for today?"
"I was thinking about going on a Legacy run," Shinobu said.
"Sounds fun," Sean said.
What Shinobu referred to was an NES game from the late '80s called Legacy of the Wizard. Despite its relative anonymity in the video game world, even when it was first released, it quickly became one of Sean's favorites. After watching him play it (both on the outside and the inside), Shinobu decided to give it a go (again, both outside and inside) and found it to be to her liking as well.
Just as they were bringing out the last of the morning meal, Shinobu spotted Keitaro at the base of the stairs, his face unnervingly pale. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"There's something you need to see," Keitaro said, his voice barely more than a squeak. Not even waiting for a response, he went back up from whence he came.
Without hesitation, Sean and Shinobu followed in Keitaro's footsteps; a path that lead to Naru's room. "Is she sick or something?" Sean asked.
Keitaro only shook his head, the expression on his face appearing to say "I wish". He opened the door, revealing a surprisingly vacant room.
"Where is she?" Shinobu asked.
"I don't know," Keitaro said. "When I went to tell her breakfast was ready, she was already gone.
"Hmm…" Sean strode into the room and knelt down next to Naru's futon.
"Did you find something?" Shinobu asked.
"Yeah, I did," Sean said, taking out a piece of paper that had been tucked almost completely under the pillow. As he read it, Shinobu and Keitaro could already tell it wasn't good news. "…Oh no…"
"What? What happened?" Keitaro asked, making the transition from petrified to panicked.
Sean sighed before rereading it out loud. "Keitaro, if you want to see Naru again, come to the address provided…"
"Naru's been kidnapped!" Shinobu cried.
"Seems that way," Sean said. Without warning, the note was snatched from his hands. Looking up, he found Keitaro reading it for a moment before heading for the door. "Hey, where are you off to?" As if the question needed to be asked.
"To get Naru back, what else?" Keitaro shot back.
Shinobu was still in shock, so she was no obstacle, but Sean was another story, as he suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Now hold on," he said. "You need to calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down!" Keitaro yelled. "The woman I love has been taken from me and you tell me to calm down! What would you do if you lost Shinobu?"
For a moment, Sean looked at Shinobu, who had snapped out of her daze at the sound of her name. "Alright," Sean said. "You made your point. But still, you can't just charge in like that--that's just what the kidnappers want you to do. Besides, in your current state of mind, you would agree to whatever demands they make."
"Okay," Keitaro said, still fuming a bit. "What do you propose I do instead?"
"We need to think this through," Sean said. "Come up with a plan to free Naru and punish whoever it was who did this."
"What kind of punishment did you have in mind?" Keitaro asked, starting to warm up to the idea.
Sean merely shrugged his shoulders. "I know I'll think of something when the time comes."
Keitaro accepted that answer, knowing he has done some truly evil things in the name of vengeance.
It took a little cajoling, but Keitaro finally relaxed somewhat and accompanied Sean and Shinobu downstairs for breakfast. After all, you can't go on a rescue mission on an empty stomach, right? While they ate, they discussed the current situation.
"Who do you think is responsible for this?" Keitaro asked.
"I'm not sure," Sean said. "But whoever they are, they know both you and Naru, at the very least, since they referred to both of you by name. That says to me that this was not some random incident."
"Why would someone target Naru?" Shinobu asked. "She hasn't wronged anybody."
"Aside from Keitaro and myself, you're probably right about that," Sean said. "Plus, I think the real target in all this is Keitaro."
"Me?" Keitaro asked, genuinely confused. "Why do you think that?"
"Well, for one, the letter was written specifically to you," Sean said. "That must mean they want something from you."
"But why kidnap Naru?" Shinobu asked.
"I seriously doubt there's a better way to get something from him, especially if it's something he wouldn't willingly give."
Keitaro didn't respond to that. Sure, Sean's logic made some sense, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He just couldn't fathom why someone would be so desperate to get to him that they would abduct Naru in the dead of night. It wasn't as though he had any enemies--well, none he was aware of, anyway.
After breakfast, the three set about preparing themselves for the coming operation. All the while, one thought kept nagging at Keitaro's mind. "Hey, Sean," he said as they were about to head out. "Do you think Naru's going to be alright?"
"I wouldn't doubt it," Sean said. "She's the only bargaining chip they have against you right now. If they know what they're doing, they won't hurt her."
"I hope you're right about that," Keitaro said.
"Alright," Sean said. "Let's go." With that, they went out the front door. Shortly thereafter, Keitaro watched the two wizards vanish before his very eyes.
"Hey, where did you guys go?" he asked, thinking they might have left him behind.
"We haven't gone anywhere," Sean said telepathically.
"We just turned invisible, that's all," Shinobu added.
"Why did you do that?" Keitaro asked out loud.
"We thought it would be the smart thing to do," Shinobu said.
"I don't follow," Keitaro said, this time using the telepathic link.
"When I read that note they left in Naru's room," Sean said, "I got an implied message that they wanted you to go alone. Besides, who knows what they might do to Naru if they saw you coming with an escort. Neither of us want anything to happen to you or her, and we're not going to let it happen if we can help it."
"Thank you," Keitaro said. "I wish everyone could have friends like you."
Keitaro was silent and appeared to be calm as he and his invisible support team walked the streets of Hinata. This was designed to avoid attracting any undesired attention. Besides, the address on the note wasn't too far anyway.
After what felt like an eternity, at least for Keitaro, they finally reached their destination. To anyone else, it seemed an ordinary house, but they knew Naru was in there somewhere and, through Hell or high water, they were going to get her out.
"Don't even bother knocking," Sean said as they approached the door. "They should be expecting you, right?"
Keitaro was a bit hesitant at first, but convinced himself that this was not the time to be squeamish. When he opened the door, the sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks.
There before him, staring him right in the face, was none other than Naru, duct tape covering her mouth and bound to a chair. "Naru…"
The girl who had taken on an air of helplessness perked up at the sound of her beloved's voice and a look of hope shone in her eyes.
Keitaro took a few steps forward, but abruptly halted when he heard the front door slam shut behind him. What followed was a voice he immediately recognized. "Hello, oniichan."
"K-Kanako?" Keitaro said, turning around. Sure enough, there was his sister, standing in front of the door, arms crossed. He couldn't help but think she looked older and more… uh… mature since they last crossed paths, but he quickly pushed that thought aside. "How long has it been? A couple years?"
"Two years, two months to the day," Kanako corrected. "What took you so long? I was expecting you to get here a lot sooner."
"Um…" Keitaro blushed a bit, holding the back of his head. "I would have, but when I read the note you left, I… uh… passed out." This was just one of the answers they had prepared during the trip.
"That's my oniichan," Kanako said fondly.
"Incestuous slut," Sean thought-spoke as he wandered over to where Naru was tied up.
"What are you going to do?" Shinobu asked.
"You'll see."
"So," Keitaro said, trying to stall for time like he had been instructed; he was never told why. "What have you been up to all this time?"
Kanako breathed an indignant huff. "After I was so unceremoniously removed from Hinata-Sou, I went back to accompanying Granny Hina on her worldwide tour, but I would come back every few months to check up on you and your relationship with that hussy over there."
At the utterance of that word, Naru redoubled her past efforts to break free, but the knots that held her were tied exceptionally well and did not give in the slightest.
"Why did you do all this?" Keitaro asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kanako asked back. "I wanted to reach out to you so badly, but I couldn't so long as you had your friends around you, especially that wizard."
There was extra venom in her tone on that last word; something that made Sean grin evilly. Shinobu thought this was odd, as Kanako only referred to one spellcaster, which could only mean she was unaware of her abilities--something she hoped to take advantage of should the need arise.
"I just happened to be around when half the dorm left," Kanako continued. "I knew I would never have a better chance to make my move. On that note, I'm a bit surprised Sean and Shinobu didn't come with you, especially considering how long it took for you to get here."
Keitaro shook his head. "They don't know I'm here," he said. He hated to lie to anyone, especially his sister, but these were desperate times.
Kanako actually seemed a tad disappointed. "Oh well. No matter, they'll find out the big news soon enough."
"What news?" Keitaro asked.
"That you broke up with Naru in order to be with me."
"WHAT!" Keitaro cried. "I love Naru! I would never break up with her!"
"Are you sure?" Kanako asked, sauntering up toward her brother. "Nobody loves you like I do. You've just never given me the chance to prove it."
"Kanako, you've always been a little sister to me," Keitaro said. "There's no way I'll ever see you any differently."
"We'll see about that," Kanako said, now invading Keitaro's comfort zone. "I can be very persuasive, you know."
"Shouldn't we be doing something right about now?" Shinobu asked.
"Not yet," Sean said. "He can handle himself for the moment."
"Kanako, this isn't right," Keitaro stammered, trying to keep his sister at arm's length and no closer.
"Maybe to you, but I won't release your precious Naru otherwise," Kanako said, thinking she held all the cards.
"But what about her?" Keitaro asked. "She'll be heartbroken and alone if I do what you say."
"Oh, she won't be alone," another voice said. Turing around, Keitaro saw another familiar face walk in. "She'll be with me."
"Kentaro…" The number of times Keitaro has been truly angry could possibly be counted on one hand, but one just got added to the list. "You're in on this!"
"More than that," Kentaro said. "It was my idea."
"I met him a few months ago during one of my visits," Kanako said proudly. "We discovered that we had much in common and decided to team up to solve our mutual problem."
"Yes," Kentaro said, approaching Naru (passing right through Sean in the process). "For too long I have seen this beauty waste her time with a loser like you." Despite some resistance, he placed a hand on Naru's chin. "Now, with you out of the way, she can know what it truly means to be loved."
"Keitaro," Sean said. "The preparations are complete. All you have to do know is get Kentaro away from Naru."
"How do I do that?" Keitaro thought.
"I don't know, get him angry or something."
"You know what?" Keitaro blurted, interrupting another of Kentaro's long-winded speeches explaining his traits and Keitaro's shortcomings. "Even if I were to break up with her, regardless of the reason, Naru would never be with you."
"What?" Kentaro said, an eyebrow starting to twitch.
"That's right," Keitaro continued. "You should know by now that she doesn't care for pompous, arrogant asses who can't take no for an answer; and you're the king of them all."
"Why you…" Kentaro said, walking toward Keitaro, cracking his knuckles.
"Don't mess him up too badly," Kanako said, stepping to the side. "Especially that cute face of his." Secretly, she looked forward to seeing her brother be put in his place. After all, a relationship without her as the dominant one wasn't exactly something she had in mind.
"Okay, now hold still…" Keitaro actually heard this from Sean as opposed to Kentaro; this was the only reason why he did as he was told.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Kentaro chuckled. As soon as he came within striking distance, he reared a fist back to deliver the first and what should be the only blow. His punch would connect, just not with what he expected. "What the hell…?" he asked as his fist hovered a full eighteen inches from its intended target.
"No…" Kanako thought. "It couldn't be…"
But it was. Shortly after the attack failed, Sean dissolved into being, standing right beside Keitaro and holding Kentaro's fist in his hand. The next message he sent to Keitaro's mind was short and to the point. "Go to Naru, now!"
"Oh no you don't!" Kanako yelled when she saw her lover-to-be rush to aid her rival. She tried to intercept him, but suddenly, a blue blur appeared, tackling her and sending her to the floor. "You…" she gasped, having completely forgotten about the female mage of Hinata-Sou.
"Don't worry," Keitaro said when he reached Naru. "Everything's going to be alright. We're going to get you out of here." Just as he was about to start on the knots, something amazing happened.
It was then that a circle of light appeared on the floor around the couple, sending its radiance throughout the entire room. "No…" Kanako moaned, reaching out from her prostrate position to stop or at least disrupt what was going on, but the circle was just beyond her reach. As for Kentaro, he was preoccupied elsewhere. As quickly as the circle arrived, it left, taking Keitaro and Naru with it.
---
"Wow." That was all Keitaro could say. He had been teleported before, but not in a very long time and never in such dramatic fashion. The only thing that broke him out of his reverie was some incoherent mumbling from Naru. "Oh, sorry," he said, getting to work on the ropes that still bound her.
After a minute or two of trying to undo the knots, he gave up, resigning to his sister's ingenuity. Then, an idea popped in his head and he rushed off to the kitchen. Along the way, he mouthed a silent thanks to some higher power--or to Sean and Shinobu, who's to say?
Keitaro would return from the kitchen with a knife in hand and proceeded to cut Naru loose, being extra careful not to cut her as he did so. Once that was done, the first thing she did after stretching out her aching limbs was wrap Keitaro in a tight embrace, thankful for not having to bear the disgrace of being Kentaro's girlfriend.
However, there was still one thing that needed to be done; something Naru was quick to point out once they separated. "Um…" Keitaro said, noting the duct tape that continued to prevent Naru from using any intelligible speech. "I was kind of hoping you would do it."
Naru rolled her eyes at that, but she could see why Keitaro said what he did, since he always hated to cause pain for anyone, especially friends and loved ones. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and ripped the tape off all at once.
The resulting yelling and cursing (not all caused by the pain) was somewhat expected, and Keitaro was glad nobody else was home at the time--which brought up the next point of discussion. "What do you think Sean and Shinobu are going to do to them?" Despite everything, he was still concerned about his sister's well-being. On the flip side, he couldn't care less about what happens to Kentaro.
"Whatever they do, they deserve every bit of it," Naru said. "I only hope they let me get my licks in when they're done."
"Mm hmm," Keitaro muttered, looking nervously off to the side.
"What's wrong?" Naru asked, her anger spent for the time being.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now," Keitaro said. "What happened today made me realize that I should probably do it now while I still have the chance."
"And what's that?" Naru asked, her curiosity piqued.
Reaching into his pocket, Keitaro pulled out a small box. Going down on one knee, he opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring. "Naru, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Naru was speechless. Yes, she had future plans for marriage, but she figured there wouldn't be a proposal for maybe another year. Who knows, if certain people hadn't just interfered, that might have been the case. Gently placing a finger under Keitaro's chin, she coaxed him onto his feet, at which point their lips met in a passionate kiss.
"Is that a yes?" Keitaro asked afterward.
"Of course it is," Naru said. "He may be a clueless idiot sometimes," she thought. "But he's my clueless idiot, and there's nothing on this planet that can change that."
"Well," Keitaro said, having not thought this far ahead. "What do we do now?"
"Sean and Shinobu should be gone for a while," Naru reasoned, grinning. "I think we should take advantage of having the dorm all to ourselves, don't you?"
---
"Oniichan…" Kanako whispered. Her hand still reached toward where her brother had been just moments before, but she was forced to face facts: her plan had completely fallen apart. It was then that she diverted her attention to the blue-haired sorceress still sitting on top of her.
"You…" she said, despair quickly turning to hatred. "You bitch!" She followed this up with a slap to the face with enough force to knock Shinobu flat on the floor.
"Oh, you didn't…" Sean suddenly switched his grip from Kentaro's fist to his wrist and, with a quick yank, sent him face first into the nearest wall. "You're going to regret doing--"
"Shut up!" Kanako interrupted as she stood up. To say she was fuming would have been an understatement. "This is all your fault! My Oniichan and I would be happy together right now if it wasn't for you! This was entirely a personal matter and one you didn't need to get yourself involved in!"
"Let's see, one friend gets kidnapped while another gets blackmailed; that sounds like it's my business, doesn't it?" Sean said. "Besides that, you just assaulted my girlfriend, which earns you my full attention."
"Wait," Shinobu said, getting up, her hand on the side of her face and looking none too happy. "Allow me."
"Are you sure?" Sean asked.
"I can handle myself," Shinobu responded. "Besides, I think there's someone else you should deal with first."
Sean's eyes followed Shinobu's outstretched finger and saw Kentaro, who was starting to recover from the blow he had been dealt. "Good point," Sean said. "Go ahead, but don't be too hard on her, alright? I want her in good condition for her punishment."
"No problem," Shinobu said.
Kanako saw all this as utterly ridiculous, even to the point where she could barely keep from laughing out loud. From what she has seen, Shinobu is the kind of girl who wouldn't harm a fly. What could such a pacifist ever do to her? "This'll be too easy," she thought.
Meanwhile, Kentaro had fully removed himself from the wall and was giving Sean a death glare. This wasn't even close to surprising, since it looked like he might be suffering from a broken nose. Letting his rage guide his actions, he charged, fist raised to return the favor and then some.
Sean saw the attack coming and easily dodged to the side. As the battle went on, Kentaro delivered one wild swing after another, all of which Sean blocked or evaded almost effortlessly. In fact, this task was so simple, the only magic he employed was a minor agility enhancement just to be on the safe side.
"I don't believe this," Sean thought after a little while. "I'm holding back this much and I'm still getting bored. I think it's time to end this." Once he saw an opening--which wasn't difficult by any stretch of the imagination--he reached out and grabbed Kentaro by the neck.
At first, Kentaro thought Sean was going to choke him, but quickly realized his adversary wasn't applying enough force for that. Seeing an opportunity present itself, he readied himself to beat Sean's head in, but before he got the chance, a strong electrical pulse shot through his body and everything went limp.
"How do you like that?" Sean asked. "Shocking, huh?"
Kentaro tried to curse him out, but nothing came out of his mouth. His body had been paralyzed from the neck down, and that included his voice box. The only thing that kept him from slumping down to the floor like a sack of potatoes was Sean holding him up by the neck. It would have been a simple matter to just knock him out, but Sean wanted his subject to remain conscious--at least for now.
"Alright, that's one down…" Sean said, turning around to see how Shinobu was doing, and was shocked by what he saw.
Kanako was once again on her back, groaning while Shinobu stood overtop her, one foot planted on her conquest's stomach. "Hey," Shinobu said, grinning. "What took you so long?"
Initially, Sean wondered how his girlfriend defeated Kanako so quickly, but then shook his head, figuring he didn't really want to know. "Okay then," he eventually said. "Time for the punishment to truly begin." He let go of Kentaro, but used a levitation spell to keep him upright and close at hand.
"You settled on something, then?" Shinobu asked.
"Yeah," Sean said, walking over to Kanako and had her paralyzed and levitated as well. "I know just what to do with these two." Once everything was situated, he transported the entire group back to Hinata-Sou.
As a group, they navigated through the dorm, Sean leading the way and Shinobu following right behind him, accompanied by the floating forms of the two villains. Throughout the trip, Shinobu couldn't help but wonder where they were going, but when they reached the third floor, she could fathom a guess. That was when Sean stopped unexpectedly.
"Is something wrong?" Shinobu asked.
"No," Sean said, facing the door to Naru's room. "Not at all." Shinobu could swear she could see his eyes glow blue between blinks before an evil grin appeared on his face. "I just got a great idea."
With a wave of his hand, Kanako and Kentaro wafted over to him and he had them face the door as well. "This should be interesting," he thought as he covered their eyes with his hands. When he removed them a couple moments later, the two captives could see through the door as though it was never there--and they both gasped at the scene before them.
"You see that?" Sean whispered into the ear of both of them. "I bet you would like to be in there, wouldn't you?" He followed this up with a low, creepy, "Hmhmhm" type of laughter.
"Oh, God," Kanako thought. "He's torturing me--again!"
"Oh, God," Kentaro thought. "She's more beautiful than I ever imagined."
Needless to say, Shinobu was wondering what the attraction was, so she activated her own x-ray vision spell and was stunned to find Keitaro and Naru making love right in front of her. "Sean, what are you doing!" she hissed, appalled that her boyfriend would violate their privacy like that.
"I'm adding insult to injury," Sean said, not missing a beat. "Letting them know what they'll be missing out on. And now that you've caught a glimpse of what might have been, I think it's time to move on to the meat of your sentence. For that, I will need you to take a little nap. Pleasant dreams." With that, along with a tap to the forehead, Kanako and Kentaro fell into a deep sleep.
"Was that really necessary?" Shinobu asked as they continued down the hallway, a small blush still on her face.
"I thought it was a nice touch," Sean said. "Call it poetic justice." Just before reaching his destination, a thought struck him. "Hey, did you see a ring on Naru's finger back there?"
Despite her reservations, Shinobu thought back to that one brief glimpse she had. "Now that I think of it, I believe she did."
"I thought so," Sean said, nodding his head. "Good for them."
---
Both Kentaro and Kanako would wake up with a start at roughly the same time. Right away, they noticed that they could move of their own will, and Kentaro said the first thing that came to mind. "I'm really starting to hate that guy."
"Join the club," Kanako muttered. Getting up, they found themselves in a semi-futuristic city--or what was left of it. "Where the hell are we?"
"I'm not sure," Kentaro said. "Though it does look kind of familiar. I just can't put my finger on it right now. What matters now is how we're going to get back."
Scanning their surroundings, the duo saw someone off in the distance. "Hello there!" Kentaro called out.
"You say hello," the guy in the jet black combat suit muttered to himself. "I say goodbye." Without another word, he leveled his rocket launcher…
---
"Ah, dealing out punishment can be so gratifying, you know?" Sean asked as he and Shinobu left Suu's room.
"I guess," Shinobu said. "How long do you think it will take them to realize they're in Halo?" (A/N: Before you get on me--again--I deliberately left out whether it was Halo 1 or 2 since there might be a 3 or even a 4 by the time 2010 rolls around.)
"Probably ten seconds after they die," Sean responded.
"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on them?" Shinobu asked.
"Not really," Sean said. "It's not like I'm actually killing them or anything."
Shinobu shook her head. "At any rate, they're going to be pretty angry when you let them out."
There was a look of confusion on Sean's face. "Let them out?" he asked. "Who said anything about letting them out?"
---
Later on, Sean informed Naru and Keitaro of what had transpired while they were… occupied. At first, they were upset that they had an audience, and rightly so, but when they heard him explain his reasoning, they found themselves glad to have played a role, albeit unintentionally, and that they had put on a good show.
Aside from the small celebration commemorating the newly found engagement, the rest of the weekend went by filled with the peace they had hoped to get when half of the residents took their leave. Of course, like all good things, it was all too fleeting.
--- Monday, 6/14 11:12 AM
"I'm back!" Kitsune announced when she came in the front door.
"Hey, Kitsune," Sean said. He, along with Keitaro and Naru were lounging in the living room while Shinobu was getting lunch started. "How was the road trip?"
"Pretty good," Kitsune said, taking a seat in a chair. "We took four out of six. So, anything interesting happen?"
The trio on the couch exchanged looks, and all of them found themselves grinning. This caught Kitsune by surprise, since she figured things must have been pretty dull while she was gone. "Oh, no," she thought. "What did I miss?"
End of Chapter LXIII
Ties up a couple loose ends, and a major plot point to boot. Not bad for my story's second anniversary, huh? See you next time! Please R&R!