There, I'm back and in only seven days! That's like a record!
Thanks for your reviews, and thanks for those who aggregated the story to the alets and favs, it means a lot to me!
This chapter was checked by Hikari no Okami, thank her for taking part of her time to be Beta when she could be writing her own fic
Fears in the Dark
Margery opened her eyes; she was on a nice, warm, and comfortable bed. Bandages wrapped all over her body. She incorporated with difficulties. She was dressed in a loose night robe, her usual clothes were on a chair near the bed; they were shattered and ripped all over.
She recognized the room, it was Keisaku's. She walked out of the room into the apartment's living room.
"You are awake" said Marcosious noticing her
"BAAKA MARC-" Margery started yelling, but Marcosious silenced her
"Shh, you will wake them up"
At that moment she noticed that both Eita and Keisaku were sleeping in the living room, their clothes were covered in dry blood, her blood.
"The kids worked hard to bring us here, and they were also the ones that patched you up" said the crimson lord in a serious tone
"We lost that bad uh?" asked Margery looking down
"Let's just say we got our ass served!" laughed Marcosious
"Kasugano Tezuka, Manipulator, Holder of the Dragon Orb" said Margery remembering the young man that had defeated her
"Where could he have obtained such an item?" asked Marcosius
"He said that from the Dragon Princess herself" Margery gazed to the city through the large windows
"But the Dragon Princess doesn't exist; she's nothing but a fairy tale, the goddess of some old myth"
"The orb is real; therefore…" the blond woman turned to see Marcosious "the princess must be real. We just have to find her, I'm sure she can help us"
"Even if that's true we have no idea of where she is" reminded her Marcosius
"Something will come to our mind. The companions of that boy, they said that the midget had left the city isn't it?" asked Margery
"Yeah! They said something like that"
"The Reiji Magio is still in the city" assured Margery concentrating on detecting the Mistes "which means that she left without the torch boy"
"Why would the enemy be after the flame Haze of Conflagration upon Earth and Heaven, and not after the Reiji Magio?" questioned Marcosius
"There's only one reason which would make the enemy hunt her and be dangerous enough for her to leave the boy: The Red Days" revealed Margery
"But the Red Days would mean the end of the world as we know it, it's a challenge out of our league" accepted Marcosiuos
"That's why we need the Dragon Princess, unless we increase our strength, we'll just remain sitting unable to do a thing!" said Margery rising her voice
"Why are you interested in helping that Flame Haze? That's not like you!" laughed Marcosious
"One of the companions of the manipulator, the one in the armor, I'm sure he's the one I've been looking for all this years!" said Margery "however, if they are all as strong as that manipulator we are no match for them"
"That means we are going to leave the city and go look for the princess" said Marcosious understanding
Margery released a sigh "Yes, that's exactly what it means"
"Then you should at least wait until morning Ane-san" said Eita making the other notice he was awake
"Especially if you have no clue of where this princess is any way" added Keisaku denoting he was also awake
"You two were up already?" asked Margery "That's not good for you, you did a lot today, and you should rest"
"So do you" replied Keisaku "rest tonight, we can leave in the morning"
"We?" questioned the blond
"Yes Ane-san, we are going with you this time" assured Eita
"NO, you are not" stated the flame haze
"We took this decision long ago" explained Eita "that we would go with you"
"No. You need to sleep and recover"
"Listen the brats this time my exquisite nymph, Margery Doe, and all of you go to sleep; we can continue this in the morning" almost ordered Marcosious
"You know? Baaka Marco? It's good to know one can have a serious talk with you when the situation turns complicated" said Margery smiling "Lets go you two! The bed is large enough for the three of us!" and the blond dragged the two boys into the bedroom
oOoOoOo
Tezuka entered his room and without turning the lights on he dropped on the bed, it had been a long day and he wanted some relaxation, or maybe just some time alone
"That Hono" cursed Tezuka "Shana was supposed to remain in Misaki city for a while longer, it's his entire fault for not keeping an eye on her" although Haruhi isn't free of guilt; after all she is the one who attacked Shana and Yuuji "Shana is still too weak, she won't survive the ritual. Even if I tried to make her improve in our fight, she didn't performed as well as I expected her to" said Tezuka a little worried "if things remain like they are now Yuuji will get hurt, but I'll obtain what I want" Tezuka took a look at his hand Am I really getting this desperate? As to hurt someone that has nothing to do with this? I took the Dragon Orb from princess Sakura because I thought its powers would return me to my real form, but right now I have no other choice but to do as he wants
Tezuka was brought out of his thoughts by a sound. Someone was knocking the door
"Tezuka-sempai?" it was Haruhi "ca-can I come in?"
"Sure, the door is open" said the boy
Haruhi opened the door and entered the room
"Why are you in the dark, sempai?" asked the girl surprised
"I just didn't feel like turning the lights on" explained the boy "what is it? You know I enjoy your presence in my room, but I can tell you didn't come to keep me company"
"N-no, I didn't" Haruhi blushed "Shiro-kun wants to speak to you"
"I have nothing to say to Shiro" said Tezuka turning and giving his back to the girl and silence reigned a few seconds
"I heard what you said to Shana-chan!" said Haruhi "What's the matter sempai? Why do you want Shana-chan to succeed at the ritual?"
"I met her boyfriend yesterday" explained the manipulator
"The mistes?" repeated Haruhi confused walking towards Tezuka
"He's a good boy, I would hate to take her away from her" he said moving his head in order to see Haruhi "I imagine how I would feel if someone took you away from me"
Haruhi blushed "bu-bu-bu-bu-but sempai, that's the only way to return you to your former appearance, besides, if you don't do it, he will destr-" Tezuka turned and put Haruhi against the wall, his arms at each side of her head, preventing her from escaping
"Don't worry" said Tazuke moving his head closer to hers "I'll make sure this all works out, and after it finishes, and I have recovered my true form, we'll marry" his lips moved closer to her
"Tezuka…sempai" she said almost breathless closing her eyes readying to receive his kiss
Tezuka's lips almost touched Haruhi's when Momo's voice came from the hall
"Haruhi-chan? Tezuka-chan? Where are you, nya?" she stooped at the door which Haruhi had left opened "What's taking you so long? Merihim-chan is waiting for you"
Tezuka moved back, angry with the interruption "Damn that Shiro!" Tezuka turned and started to walk towards the hall "go and tell Shiro, that I'm on my way"
"Hai nya!" Momo ran through the hall, turning in a corner
"Hey don't run! You can fall and hurt yourself!" warned Tezuka "Sorry for the interruption, we'll have to continue this some other time"
"Ye-yes, its ok, don't worry" said Haruhi, her cheeks still pink
Tezuka left the room and walked swiftly through the hall. Finally, he entered to a large circular room. The room was empty except for a single and simple low fountain: it was only a simple pool in a large marble pedestal. Merihim, The Rainbow Swordsman was waiting for him standing in the middle, next to the fountain, while Michaella, Momo, Silver, and Hono were a little separated. On the other end of the room a small shadow covered the vision, a pair of white eyes observed from there, in the shelter of darkness
"Did you called me Shiro?" asked Tezuka as he entered the room striding towards the tomogara
"What do you think you did?" questioned Merihim "You created a disaster in the human world! Do you have any idea of the number of Flame Haze that can bring after us?! It could disrupt the ritual!!"
With blinding speed Tezuka grabbed Shiro by the neck and looked at him with his demonic eyes
"Listen, Merihim-kun, the fact that I'm working with you doesn't mean that I'm working under you" he said with a treating voice "We may have the same boss, but that doesn't mean I'm one of your underlings. I have my own agenda"
"Let me go fiend" warned Merihim in a serious tone, Tezuka let go
"I also brought the child to you as you wanted" finished the black haired boy
"And what will happen if an army of Flame Haze comes after us?" asked Merihim
"I'll deal with them myself" assured Tezuka to a now astonished Tomogara "I'm sure you have no problems with that, right?"
"Fine, if you take care of them I have no problems" said Shiro
"Can I leave now?" asked Tezuka returning to his usual tone "I'd like to take a bath and catch some sleep" Shiro dismissed him with the head and Tezuka left after doing a courtesy to everyone in the room
"Jun" called Shiro after Tezuka had left the room
"Yes?" replied a man's deep voice from the shadows at the end of the room
"I want you to keep an eye on Tezuka and another on the human world, inform me of any abnormal behavior"
"As you wish" accepted the white eyed figure from the shadows
OoOoOoO
Kazumi knocked the Sakai's door. It was late at night, but she had to talk to Yuuji. Chigusa opened the door.
"Oh, Yoshida-san, what can I do for you at this hour of the night?" asked Yuuji's mother surprised
"I'm sorry for coming this late, is Yuuji still awake?"
"Yes, he is, come in please; I'm glad you came" Chigusa allowed Kazumi to enter and closed the door after that "Yuuji's been in his room for a while now, he hasn't even had dinner"
"What? Why is he acting like that?" asked Kazumi worried
"Shana-chan; she left this morning" explained Chigusa
"Yukari-chan? She left? Just like that?" Kazumi was surprised
"Yuuji haven't left his room since then. I hope you can cheer him up"
Kazumi climbed the stairs and knocked the door to Yuuji's room
"Yuuji? Are you there? It's Kazumi"
"Yoshida-san?" Yuuji opened the door surprised
"Kazumi" stressed the girl "I told you to call me Kazumi"
"What are you doing here?" asked the boy ignoring the light scolding
"I've come to talk with you. May I come in?"
"Sure, please do" said the boy moving from the door
"Khamsin came looking for me a while ago" explained the girl entering the room
"Khamsin? The boy with the large metal stick?"
"Yes" said the girl sitting on the bed "He told me that he needs my help once more"
"The city needs tuning again?"
"No, he said that it was a bigger problem this time"
"Is it related to the recent events?" asked Yuuji
"Yes, he says that the organization that's causing this can provoke the end of the world as we know it. We must stop them, Yuuji!"
"You've got to be kidding me. Stop them?" asked the boy
"Yuuji?"
"They are invincible, there's no flame haze with enough power to stop them! They destroyed Bale Masque in a moment! Not even Shana, Willhelmina and Margery together were able to do that!"
"What's wrong with you Yuuji, you don't seem like yourself"
"It's pointless, there no hope, we can't win; it's that simple. Not even a miracle can help us. Even Shana lost her confidence against such a strong opponent"
"I won't believe this! You are afraid!" accused Kazumi
"Of course I'm afraid; we are going against an opponent that's out of our league! We can't win; no one has as much power as them!"
"I can't believe it Sakai Yuuji! Yukari-chan leaves and you fall down!" Kazumi stood up and walked to the door of the room "I'm going to fight" she said opening it "I can't sit here waiting until they win. Even if they are stronger than anyone and even if a miracle can't help us. Maybe if we fight together we can create a chance for a miracle to appear" she left slamming the door
oOoOoOo
"Ane-san! Watch the news!" called Eita the next morning watching the TV
"We have received reports of another explosion in…" said the reporter
"There has been another attack" said Keisaku
"the city is close to Misaki city, where started the explosions yesterday. The police hasn't confirmed if this attacks have some relation to the ones performed…" continued the reporter
"That wasn't an explosion" explained Margery "that's the direction the midget took, she went to that city and was attacked there by Kasugano Tezuka, there's no doubts about it"
"If we go to that city maybe we can find a clue about the princess we are looking for" said Eita
"Most likely. Whatever. That's the only lead we have so far. You two, we leave in 6 hours, I have no idea when we'll come back, so if you have something you'd like to do or settle before we depart, then go do it" said the blond woman
OoOoOoO
"Another explosion?" asked Yuuji as he also watched the news
"Yes, it was in the neighbor city" explained Chigusa "I wonder if it's a terrorist group or something"
"There's no doubt, it was the same" said Hecate looking at Yuuji
The door to the street opened calling everyone's attention. Willhelmina was at the door, her large backpack on the shoulders
"Willhelmina-san?" asked Chigusa
"Are you leaving as well?" Yuuji started to feel as if every support he had in this situation was abandoning him
"The miss needs help. I'll go look for her de arimasu" explained the pink headed flame haze and without further ceremony she left
Yuuji stood there a few seconds, but he also came out of the house, ignoring the calls of his mother, chasing Willhelmina; however, she was nowhere to be found, he ran through the street looking for her
Stupid Flame Haze, where has she gone? Asked himself Yuuji, he was still running without direction. He turned on a corner and crashed with another person, he ended on the ground, sitting on his behind
"Sorry, I wasn't seeing where I was going" apologized Yuuji
"Yuuji?" he recognized the voice
"You! You are that guy from yesterday" said Yuuji
"That guy from yesterday? My, isn't that rude? I'm Tezuka, Kasugano Tezuka" said the boy with his closed eyes. He lent Yuuji a hand to help him stand up "You seem to be always in a hurry, why were you running?"
Yuuji stood up accepting Tezuka's help but stayed in silence
"Lets go somewhere were we can talk calmly about it, ok?" asked Tezuka "Come on, it will be good for you!"
OOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOO
That's it. I'm sure most of you kinda understand the first chapter now. But don't worry if you still don't get where this all story is going, there are some facts that we haven't tell you about, those will come in the next chapters! The story is far from ending!