Yo, we're getting close to the end of this series. And it only took one long year to do it!
Enjoy the new chapter, I'm sure that most of you shall like it...or at least I hope...
Please R&R!
Chapter 13 - Conviction
Natsuru sat up in his futon and yawned loudly while covering his mouth. It was their last day of their little trip and it had already gone by so fast. He looked around to see the room to find Ken and Higashida still sleeping. Stretching from his slumber, he walked over to the panoramic window at the end of the room and relished the beautiful view that was in front of him. He took out his phone to check the time, sitting down at the couch. There was still plenty of time to spare, but he decided to get dressed anyway. He looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his clothes and hair. He was wearing a grey hoodie along with a pair of denim jeans, it was a cold morning. Satisfied, he left the room, grabbing a backpack on his way out, and made his way towards the main lounge where both dorms meet up. It was empty, save for a couple of workers and teachers who were enjoying a cup of coffee. Natsuru walked out into the patio of the lounge with a 'good morning' as he passed by the adults. He walked out to the edge of the patio, which overlooked the valley and mountains of the area. He took a deep breath and exhaled into his hands, the heat of his breath mixed with the cold morning air created a small plume of steam that brushed his hands.
Suddenly his vision was obscured by what felt like a pair of cold hands. "Morning!" said an enthusiastic voice. He turned around to face her, examining her clothes. She was wearing similar attire; a blue hoodie but with jogging shorts instead of jeans and had her own bag as well. Natsuru smiled and said brightly with a smile, "Good morning."
The two were now walking on a forest trail that ran through the sides of the mountains. There were some things that you could experience only in remote areas such as these, and that would be the peace and serenity this place brings. Away from the bustling noises of civilization, the lack of sound was almost deafening. They continued on the trail for several more minutes before coming to the peak of the hike. The area was a small clearing with a nice view of the scenic mountains along with rustic fences at the edges. They found a spot underneath a tree whose leaves marked the beginning of wintertime. Natsuru opened his pack, taking out a large blanket and set it down on the ground. Natsume took out several boxes wrapped in linen and set them down on the laid blanket, unraveling them one by one.
After several moments, they had a quaint picnic setting laid before them. The two sat for a while, enjoying each other's company, with the fresh air of the mountain side and the beautiful scenery. They looked at each other, neither of them needing to say a word to express their happiness. No, words would only spoil the moment, so they kept quiet, and enjoyed this surreal moment.
"Itadakimasu!"
"Hey you two."
The two shot up and scrambled to turn around in the direction of the voice. "Long time no see!" said Shousuke.
"Shousuke! You're alive, and Nanami!" said Natsuru in relief.
"I wouldn't die that easily," he boasted. "But that was quite something." Nanami nudged him as if to tell him to get on with something. "Right," he cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt so abruptly, but I have some news for you guys. The Whites have launched multiple attacks on us, resulting in casualties," he said grimly.
"Casualties? From which side?" asked Natsuru.
"Both sides. Even though we're winning, we've lost a good amount as well," said Shousuke as he lit a cigarette. He puffed the smoke into the air, "Something big is going to happen, and I have a feeling it will be related to you guys in some way."
"So what do you want us to do?" asked Natsume.
"There's not much you can really do. All I can tell is to be careful with that Kaede girl, we don't know what she'll be planning next."
"Alright, let us know if you need any help though," said Natsuru.
Shousuke nodded, "Very good, then we shall take our leave. Take care of yourselves." The pair waved a quick goodbye before disappearing into the thicket of the woods.
"There's always something, isn't there?" said Natsuru with a sigh.
"Nevermind that! Come on, let's eat!"
Natsuru and Natsume arrived back at the inn, coming in from the main lounge. To their surprise, the lounge was empty. Judging by the time, everyone should have been awake already. The café's window was open for business, but there were no workers there either. Confused, they continued to walk through the buildings of the inn, checking for anyone who might be around. They searched and searched to no avail, something was definitely going on. Natsuru pulled out his phone and tried to dial Shizuku's number, he was sent to voicemail. He tried Akane's and Mikoto's numbers as well but received the same result.
"Stick close to me," said Natsuru. Natsume nodded in acknowledgment.
He quickly dialed Shousuke's number and was relieved that he answered. "Shousuke! Something's happening at the inn, everyone is gone!" said Natsuru.
"What? Alright, just stay put, we're on our way." said Shousuke.
Natsuru put his phone away then broke into a sprint towards the front of the inn with Natsume following close behind him. They burst through the large entrance to the drop off area where they had first arrived. As they walked out into the courtyard, they noticed three bodies that were lying on the ground. As they got closer, they realized that it was Shizuku, Akane, and Mikoto.
"Shizuku! Shizuku wake up!" pleaded Natsume as she held her head. Natsume moved her head closer to Shizuku's mouth to check for a breath. She was relieved to have found her rhythmic but slow breaths.
"Yo!" said a voice. The two looked up to see Kaede standing in front of them along with her four lackeys, each wearing a crude smile. "Since I don't feel like force would work out too well with you, how about we make a deal?" said Kaede.
"We're not making any deals with you," said Natsuru.
"Oh, but I believe it would be in your best interest to do so. You see, I've taken everyone here as my hostage, I'm sure you've noticed their absence."
Natsuru scoffed, "You're bluffing."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But would you really take that chance? Now then, give Natsuru-chan to me and I'll release everyone unharmed."
"You bitch, do you think I'll just take this sitting down?!"
"I think it's a good of a deal as any. You get your normal life back, no one gets killed, and everyone's happy."
"Everyone's happy huh? What about her? Do you think she'll be happy!?" he shouted as he pointed to Natsume.
Kaede couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Of course she'll be happy, and after all, if she stays here any longer, she will definitely die."
"…What the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh my, you didn't know? There's a reason why your Kampfer forms are intertwined. Even if they draw their energy from the host's life force, they can only do so for so long until they break down."
"I don't believe you, there's no way I'd trust those words." He turned to Natsume, "That's not true…right?" he asked, his voice pleading for an answer.
She looked back at him with solemn eyes then looked to the ground. "It is true. As the days passed, I started to regain little bits of memory prior to being with you. It's as she says, all of our bodies are tied to one source. And if we are away for too long, our bodies will eventually break down."
"Then where is the source?!" he demanded.
"It's with us," said Kaede. "That's why I've been trying to take her. Every moment that passes by when she is with you is literally killing her, and I won't bear to see my darling suffer a death in a place like this."
"She doesn't belong to you, and she isn't going anywhere!" snapped Natsuru.
"Are you sure? You'd risk the lives of your classmates and even her so you can spend just a little more time with her?" scoffed Kaede.
Natsuru was cornered with no options. Either way, the choices he was presented with were not viable to him.
"It's okay, Natsuru," said Natsume as she gently grabbed his arm. She looked at him with eyes of compassion with a warm smile. "I'll go…"
"…What do you mean?" said Natsuru, his voice and demeanor was at a loss.
"I won't have anyone dying for me!" she said.
"No! I won't let you! Don't go deciding things all by yourself!" said Natsuru.
"Hang on folks! Don't count us out of the fight just yet," said Shousuke. Streams of lightning flew towards the five, scattering them as they jumped away. "Sorry we're late!"
"Don't interfere you assholes, if you haven't realized, I've got hostages," said Kaede with an attitude.
"Hostages huh? Well I think you'll be sad to hear that they are no longer your hostages," said Shousuke with a smile.
"What are you talking about?" demanded Kaede.
"We've defeated your minions Kaede, you have nowhere else to run," said Shousuke. All of a sudden, pairs of Black Kampfers appeared onto the courtyard, each wielding a variety of weapons and magic. Kaede's four bodyguards were quickly incapacited by gunshots and magic alike, leaving her scrambling away as she jumped off the mountainside.
"Tch, she's a crazy one," said Shousuke as he sheathed his sword. He walked over to the two young Kampfers, "You guys alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for the save," said Natsuru. "Did you plan this?"
Shousuke smiled, "Come on, we have to get moving."
Natsuru's group was brought to a large abandoned factory. Shizuku and the others had already awoken and were standing among the crowd of Black Kampfers that had gathered. There were a few other Red and Blue Kampfers around, but there were more Black Kampfers. Everyone was relatively young, ranging from high school to college. Of course, many of the Kampfers were wearing their school uniforms.
"Attention everyone!" shouted Nanami. She stood on a stack of shipping containers that overlooked the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming today," said Shousuke as he jumped to Nanami's level from a crate above. "As you all know, our efforts have pushed back the Whites into a corner. Sure they may have more in numbers, but we are stronger," said Shousuke.
Loud cheering and whistling ensued from Shousuke's announcement to which Nanami gestured for silence.
"But of course…there were many casualties along the way," he said solemnly. "But we're almost there, we have the moderator cornered and have located her whereabouts."
"What do we do after we've taken care of her?" asked a Kampfer.
"Well, we take the fight to the moderators themselves!" said Shousuke confidently. "Our Messengers told us of the civil war between the moderators, ones who opposed the Proxy War and ones who were in favor of it. We must see to it that this war is ended. We don't have much time on our hands, since our Kampfer forms will eventually break down."
"Fight the moderators? Can we really win against them?"
"Of course we can, that is what we were tasked to do. It won't be easy, we don't know what the other moderators are like, but this is our final step in ensuring that no one else is dragged into a war that is not ours," said Shousuke. "In the coming week, we will invade the rogue moderator's hideout and force any and all information out of her. Be ready my friends."
With that, the meeting had ended and everyone slowly began to clear out of the building. Shousuke and Nanami went down to greet Natsuru and co.
"I'm impressed Shousuke," said Natsuru. "I can't believe you were able to round everyone under on banner."
"Well it wasn't easy, we've lost some good people to get where we are," said Shousuke.
"Their sacrifices were not in vain," said Nanami.
"Excuse me, but will we be of any use?" asked Shizuku.
"Of course! We'll take all the help we can get!" said Shousuke.
"We'll certainly do our best," said Shizuku.
"Even though we've reduced their numbers, they are still just as dangerous. Just be warned though, there is no guarantee that everyone will be getting out alive…"
Natsuru sat on the edge of his bed playing with his fingers. His thoughts were clouded about the battle that was to come. He had already stared death in face once, and he may have to do it again. Everything was happening so fast that everything felt surreal to him. He had to be ready, there can be no room for error when lives are on the line. Natsuru was not scared of losing his own life, he was scared of losing those close to him. If it were up to him, he wouldn't have them come with him, but there's no way they'd sit around. He held his head as it sunk, groaning from the anxiety that ran through his mind.
There was a knock on his door, followed by the creaking sound of the hinges as it opened. It was Natsume, smiling at him as she shut the door behind her and walked over to where he sat. Taking her place next to him on the bed, she placed a hand on top of his. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," he said looking at her.
"I know what you're thinking…" she said.
"Do you?"
"Yes, and I think that-"
"Then you know that I can't lose you," he said. He held her slender arms tightly as he held back his tears. "…I just can't."
"Is that what you're worried about?" she chuckled. She hugged him, bringing his head down to her chin. "Do you remember when you held me like this? I was confused and scared of this unknown world, but you were there to comfort me, to accept me." She brought him out from her chin and looked him in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere," she said with the biggest smile she could muster.
She brought their lips closer, starting with a simple peck. Natsuru's idly hand moved to embrace her as she worked her magic on him. His worries slowly slipped away and his thoughts became nothing more than the focus of the present moment. Their kissing became more passionate as hands moved on their own. One by one the pieces of clothes littered the ground until both were left bare, admiring one another's touch. Natsuru's mind drifted away as he buried himself in her hair and neck, relishing in her scent and soft skin. Her breaths became heavy, exhaling sharp breaths with his every movement as she clung to him. The doubts and clouds in his mind had cleared, reaffirming his conviction; that he would protect her no matter what the cost.
"Please, stay by my side."
Eh? Eh? Eh...
Anyways, let me know what you guys think of this chapter and if you'd like to see more action(both kinds). Thanks for reading!