Crimso's Notes
Sundays are a sad thing, because we all know that it's the day before Monday, one of the most dreaded days on earth, and the last hours before it hits Monday are always very sad. The only reason why I like Sunday nights is because that's when Mirai Nikki subs are usually out, though a lot of the time I have to wait until Monday for subs. I guess that makes it a highlight of Monday when that does happen, though. Good. Monday needs more highlights.
Note One: Get ready for the beginning of the end, which half begins this chapter
Note Two: Pace is picking up…
Note Three: My updates have increased, which is good. I am expecting to meet the deadline of the beginning of January at this rate. We'll see if school continues to be kind. That said, we have Thursday and Friday off. I don't know how much writing can be done on Monday and Tuesday. Monday, I have a test to study for, and Tuesday, I have a project to work on. A big one at that.
Note Four: Takes place around two to three days after the last chapter.
~~~~X~~~~
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Coldness
It was a sunny afternoon after school when Keiichi and Rena decided to go and visit the Furude Shrine, simply because the days until the Watanagashi were decreasing and Rena wanted to show him how things worked in advance. Sure, he had heard a lot about what happened during the Watanagashi, but Rena wanted to actually show him how it was set-up in advance. Keiichi had accepted, but he reminded her that he needed to get home so that Mion wouldn't be so lonely.
The two of them were now standing in front of the Furude Shrine, where a whole bunch of men were working on setting up the stage. The heavy restraining board had been positioned to the side of it, and there were two chairs set up to the side of that and positioned a little further up. They were also adding some decorations to the shrine, though Keiichi wasn't quite sure what they were and what purpose they served.
"This is where we stand when the execution takes place," Rena explained to him as she pointed towards the floor. "Right here. Usually, when people go to see movies or shows or anything similar, they always fight to get the front row seats. Here, people struggle to stand in the very back. No one wants to see someone get their guts ripped out right before their eyes."
Keiichi nodded as he bit his lip. The thought of that was disgusting him, naturally.
"No one is used to it, either. You'd think that people would become used to watching someone get their guts cut out if it happens every year, but…" Rena looked down at the ground and clenched her fists. "No one is used to it. Every year, it's practically a contest to see who can scream the loudest, the sacrifice or the audience. Everyone is forced to come, even the little children. Thankfully, Satoshi covers Satoko's eyes and Rika covers her ears, but… no one else has friends caring enough to do that. They want to shield themselves as best as they can, but protection in the form of someone else usually comes better."
Keiichi couldn't imagine having to see that when he was still a little boy. It would probably corrupt his mind and thoughts for a long, long period of time. How the children put up with it, he would never know.
Then again, the amount of children that were going to see the ceremony this year had a dramatic drop. Almost half of the children that had been there the year before were now kidnapped, and most likely dead. He really hoped that the Sonozaki family, who was in charge of picking someone, would be able to capture the man and use him as a sacrifice this year. It would be satisfying for a lot of the villagers to see such a cruel man die, even if it was disgusting.
Well, it would be nice to know he was dead. Keiichi just didn't want to see it.
"Lucky Satoko," commented Keiichi. "I feel bad for the other kids."
"No one covered my eyes when I was little…" muttered Rena sadly.
He hadn't been here when he was little, but Rena had. The poor girl probably had been traumatized by such an experience, though she certainly did show it. She was often a fun-loving girl who was very cheerful, but when a topic like this came up, she became grim and different from how she normal acted.
"You see those chairs up there?" Rena spoke, pointing to the two chairs. "That's where the head of the Sonozaki family, Oryou, sits. The one next to her chair is for the person who is going to be chosen to speak. It's different every year, but it's always someone from the Sonozaki family. The speech they give is sometimes different. They talk about The Legend of Makoto and Koichi, and then the victim themselves. It takes hours for them to finish…"
Keiichi wondered what they had to say about The Legend of Makoto and Koichi. It was probably about how terrible a person Makoto was and how heroic Koichi was for slaying her. However, knowing that that wasn't actually true made his heart hurt. It would be hard to listen to such a speech knowing the truth behind it.
"It's going to be a lot different for me this year, knowing who Makoto truly was. They describe her as being cruel and evil, but she really was just a young girl who wanted everyone to live in peace and be happy. Koichi just didn't believe her," she whispered so that no one else was able to hear her aside from the boy at her side. "I usually just ignore the speech because I don't find it very interesting, but now, I'm going to be thinking about how sad it is how no one understood who she was."
"What do they usually say?" Keiichi asked her.
Rena wore a grave look on her face. "How terribly cruel she was and how heroic Koichi's actions were. They call her a male, too… They also says some false thing about demons, like how they don't have emotions even know we know that they do." She gritted her teeth together at the thought. "They also speak about The Legend of the Hero, even though we know that the legend may not be as it seems now." She looked over to him. "Takeru told me."
"He's the Hero," whispered Keiichi.
Rena nodded. "I was shocked. I never expected it to be Takeru-kun. He explained why it was, too. I think that the tale that Koichi wrote explained this, because the information I received came from the village elders and the information that you received came from that book that you read, right? I guess since Koichi is one of the two who heard it, he should know the real tale." She looked up into the sky. "He told me that he feels as if the Watanagashi will be the point where everything comes to a close. He will reveal himself then."
"When is it?" Keiichi asked her.
"This Sunday. So… only a few days. It will not be long at all until it comes to a close… or so people are saying," she whispered to him, making sure that no one heard her. There were some people eyeing them, but aside from that, it seemed as if people were more focused on setting up the Furude Shrine for the Watanagashi than the two teenagers. "Kaede said it, Takeru-kun said it, Rika said it, her friend said it… it can't be nothing. It's going to happen."
"But a big piece of the puzzle is still missing. Who are the twins?" Keiichi asked, not even thinking about the idea of Mion and Shion being the twins. It couldn't be possible.
Rena shook her head. She had just as many ideas as Keiichi did. "I don't know, but Mion and Shion aren't evil."
"Of course not. I'll suppose the real villains will reveal themselves in time, and then Takeru will take care of it. I don't think we'll have a huge role in it at all, aside from maybe being one of the victims." He shuddered at the thought. Was he really going to die? Fear was high in his heart. Hopefully Takeru could save them before the twins, whoever they were, got to him and killed him.
Rena looked grave. "We may die, but Takeru-kun will put up a fight. No wait. He won't let me die. I'm his girlfriend, after all, even if I don't love him. I'm sure he'll fight for you, too," she whispered into his ear. That was one of the benefits of dating him, she supposed.
"Speaking of that, when will you tell him that you don't actually love him?" he asked her, steering the topic away from the Hero to something else that was rather important. It didn't involve saving Onigafuchi or anything like that, but it was still an important matter. She was stuck in a relationship that she didn't want to be in, and there was no sign of her dropping it. It hurt her, and it hurt poor Takeru, who genuinely believed that she loved him back.
Rena froze. "I will grow to love him. I've already decided that and it will become true." She showed no sign of giving up on the idea. "I will definitely grow to love him, and then we will be happy. There is no reason for me to stop dating him."
Keiichi wanted to snap her out of it. All she really wanted was to have a friendship with him, not a romantic relationship. With that in mind, there was no way in the world that Rena would grow to love Takeru. It just didn't work like that. You couldn't force love on yourself, then it wouldn't be real love. He now knew what real love felt like, and if he tried to force love on someone he didn't love, he knew it wouldn't feel the same as how he felt towards Mion when he was around her. He knew that was real love.
It was useless saying anything now. She would have to go further into their relationship… and then he would tell her that it wouldn't work when she didn't feel anything from that.
"…Rena, can I tell you something?" he asked her.
She looked a little confused and slightly curious, but she nodded. "Go ahead, Keiichi-kun. What is it?"
He took a deep breath. "Rena, I'm in love with Mion," he admitted to her. He needed to share it with someone, after all, and Rena was the only other person who knew about her and Keiichi staying together aside from Shion, who was missing and wouldn't understand anyways.
There was a look of shock on her face. "Keiichi-kun…" she gasped. "That's… I mean… I'm happy for you two and all, and I don't have a problem with it, but… what about everyone else? Mi-chan is a demon. No one is going to accept a human and a demon being romantically involved with one another."
He looked away. "I don't care. They don't have to know. I just want to be with Mion." There was a slight blush on his face as he thought about her. "I won't tell anyone if they won't accept us, but that doesn't mean I'm ever going to give up on her. I love her, Rena, and she loves me too. She doesn't know what it means quite yet… but… she says when she's around me, her heart beats fast as she gets this warm feeling. She also blushes as red as a tomato whenever she gets near me." He looked at her, a serious look in his blue eyes. "When I came home, she ran up to me and hugged me. She wouldn't let me go, Rena, and I didn't want her to let go either. We're in love, and I don't care if it's wrong or anything like that. To me, the fact that she's a demon is the last thing on my mind when I'm with her."
Rena listened intently to what he was saying, and at the end of his words, she simply smiled at him. "I'm happy for you two, Keiichi-kun. Don't let anyone else get in your way, okay? I'm sure you and Mi-chan can find happiness… somehow. Even if that means hiding your relationship and her from everyone else…"
"I don't want to hide her for much longer, Rena. I want her mother to meet her someday, and I want her to be accepted as human. When that happens, they will be able to accept the fact that we are in love." He had a determined look in his eyes, and he clenched his fists as he thought about this future. Mion had to become someone accepted so that she could gain the ultimate happiness. It had always been his goal from the moment he laid eyes on her, after all.
"Well, I want you to know that I'm accepting of your relationship. I hope you and Mi-chan get a happy ending, and I'm willing to help you in achieving that." She shot him a reassuring smile. "You can count on Rena for that!"
"Of course. Thank you, Rena," Keiichi said with a grin.
~~~~X~~~~
When Keiichi returned home later than he wished to, as it was around seven or so when he got back, he was instantly greeted by Mion's smiling face. She didn't run up and embrace him like she did last time, but the smile was enough for him to feel welcome. The hug had been more shocking than welcoming at first, though, as he really wasn't expecting such to happen. He sat down next to her, giving her an equally as warm smile.
"Hello, Mion. I'm sorry that I took so long. Rena and I went out to check out the Watanagashi grounds," he explained to her.
Mion's eyes widened at the mention of the Watanagashi, which made Keiichi wonder if she knew what that was. "When is the Watanagashi this year?" she asked.
Keiichi blinked. "This Sunday, so soon. Do you know what it is?"
The green-haired girl nodded her head instantly. "The Sonozaki family runs it, after all. They used to pick one of the demons each year to execute the criminal, but they have been borrowing Kimiyoshi demons since the death of all the other Sonozaki demons. They never picked us, though. I didn't know why until recently. I think it's because they don't want my… mother… to see me." She seemed uneasy at the mention of her mother. It had to be odd to refer to someone that way when she didn't know what a mother was until recently. She had never considered having one until Keiichi recently started talking about her.
Well, that certainly cut down on the explaining he had to do. "Well, you can see why I'd want to check out the grounds. It seems they are setting up for the execution, and everyone says that there's something coming… like the doom of Onigafuchi," he told her.
Mion looked out the window and out at the darkened sky, and then she turned back to Keiichi with a very stern look in her eyes, something that startled the boy. "I can feel it too, Kei-chan. There's something uneasy about the presence in the air. Everything has always felt cold and dark to me… but this is something colder and darker than usual…"
Keiichi shuddered. Mion felt it too, then. There had to be something coming, though he had already come to that conclusion a long time ago.
Mion looked uneasy, and there was darkness in her eyes, which seemed to be making her seem very sad. It was reminding her too much of the days where she would be locked up in the basement with nothing but her sister to warm here, the days when the only thing she could do was lay on the cold, hard floor and wait for someone to come to her to save her. It was making her unhappy, and because of that, it made Keiichi feel rather upset. He didn't like seeing Mion like this, especially since he had just rescued her and saved her from those terrible emotions for the most part.
He needed to cheer her up and change the subject.
"So, have you thought a little about what I told you?" Keiichi asked.
Mion looked confused. "About what that you told me?"
Keiichi pointed to the bracelet on her arm, and that was enough to spark her memory. She stared at it for a little while, poking it with her finger as she thought hard about the matter. She looked at Keiichi, her face flustering as she did so. "…It's that you're in love with me, right? I mean, I guess I understand… sort of."
Sort of wasn't enough for Keiichi. She needed to fully understand the meaning of his words. She needed to know what love was, so that they could both fully enjoy the feeling.
"Yes, I am in love with you, Mion. I love you so much," he told her gently, reaching out to touch her cheek gently, which instantly became red and warm at the feeling of his fingers brushed against it. He sighed as he looked into her eyes, which seemed uneasy and nervous. "I hope you'll understand someday how much you mean to me."
Mion looked down at her bracelet again. She was supposed to think about those words every time she looked at it, wasn't she? It was certainly helping her understand. She knew that the warm feeling was a romantic love, but it was still a little confusing to the girl. "Kei-chan, do you feel warm whenever you're with me? The romantic kind of warm?"
Keiichi nodded his head. "It feels just like how you feel. My heart beats loudly in my chest and my cheeks get all warm, and there's this very nice warm feeling inside of me. That's how love is, Mion, and because of that, I know that I'm in love with you."
What Mion did next surprised him. She reached out and touched his chest gently, moving to the spot where she could feel his heart beat within. To her surprise, it was really beating very fast, just like how hers was beating right now. She looked up into his eyes, which were staring at her happily. She looked back down to where her hand was on his chest, to where she could feel the beating feeling. She then used her other hand to touch her own chest, feeling the beat of her heart.
"It's the same feeling!" gasped Mion.
"It's the same feeling," replied Keiichi.
Mion looked a little conflicted. If he felt the same way, and that was love, then what did that mean for her? She looked down to her bracelet, and then remembered what he had said to her. He was in love with her, and he could tell that because of the warm feeling. It was a different warm feeling than the one she felt with Shion, so that warm feeling couldn't mean that she was in love with Shion. However, the warm feeling that Keiichi was talking about, the one with the beating heart, meant that she was in love with someone. So if she felt it when she was around Keiichi… did that mean that she was in love with him?
She tried to work this matter out in her head. She thought she had a good grasp on it now.
Just for confirmation, the girl pushed herself up against Keiichi and allowed the warm feeling to embrace her once again, causing her to forget about the doom that was enveloping the village and the uneasy feeling she was getting from it, along with the hollow void that was left from her sister not being with her. Her heart was indeed beating fast, and she could now feel his heart beat against her chest. She looked at Keiichi's cheeks, and found that his face was redder than usual. She didn't have a mirror, so she didn't know if her cheeks were red, but they certainly felt warm.
This was the romantic kind of love, wasn't it? So that meant that she was in love with him.
Keiichi didn't say anything as Mion tried to work things out. Though he had to say, the position she was in against him was making him feel slightly awkward. Her breasts were pressed right up against him as she tried to feel his heart beat against her own, and it was causing his face to get redder than usual. He felt like he should say something, but he decided against it. She didn't understand why her position would be considered a little odd, anyways.
She pulled away from him and blinked up at him with stunned eyes.
"Kei-chan…" she whispered. "I…"
Keiichi blinked at her. "Yes?"
"…I sort of get it now."
Keiichi's face broke out into a grin. "Mion," he whispered as he embraced her tightly, wrapping his arms around her tightly as if to congratulate her on figuring things out. She said sort of, but that was probably because the emotions were a little overwhelming. She would get over that eventually with more time.
She snuggled against him, not feeling shy about it at all. It felt warm, nice and warm. She felt one of his hands moving up towards her hair, and then his fingers running through her long, green ponytail. She didn't know why he was doing it, but it was very comforting to her, and it made her feel a little better. By now, she had completely forgotten about the dark that was beginning to envelop the whole village, and that dark not just being the night that was now spreading through the sky. It felt as if the downfall she was sensing wasn't even there anymore.
Suddenly, Mion froze up and stiffened in the embrace, startling Keiichi. Her eyes were wide with fear, though he didn't know why.
"Mion…?" he asked.
"…I heard something from downstairs," she told him.
Keiichi hadn't heard a thing, but he looked towards the door anyways. He listened carefully, but all he heard was pure silence. Maybe Mion had imagined it. Yet, at the same time, he didn't let go of the girl. After a few minutes, he looked back towards the girl. He hadn't heard a thing.
"You probably imagined it, Mion," he told her gently as he pulled her closer, trying to comfort her and make her forget about whatever she thought she had just heard. She seemed scared for some reason.
"Was that really it?" sighed Mion as she closed her eyes and tried to forget about what he had just said. Keiichi wondered why she gave up on the idea so easily, but it was probably because she too didn't hear anything after it, and that he didn't hear it in the first place. He relaxed as he continued to hold her in his embrace. He didn't know why he was making this last so long, but he felt as if he was chasing the cold away by holding her like this. It was comforting to the both of them, who had just experienced something traumatizing in their lives.
Mion was missing her sister. Keiichi's parents had died. Holding each other like this made them forget about it, and it was comforting to the two of them. That was why neither of them wanted to let go of each other, even though their hold had lasted a very long amount of time. To Keiichi, it looked as if she had begun to fall asleep.
Keiichi smiled warmly at her, clear affection in his eyes. He really loved this girl…
And then, suddenly, the mood was shattered.
"My, my, is that how things are with the two of you?" a familiar voice spoke out, a voice that caused both of them to grow stiff in their embrace and their eyes to grow wide.
Keiichi slowly turned his head around, his heart beating fast, but this time not with the feeling of warmth. It was now beating with the emotion of pure, undeniable fear.
"…You…" was all Keiichi managed to say as he stared at the figure.
In the doorway was the mysterious man cloaked in a robe, a hat over his eyes, making his identity completely unknown. It was the same hat and coat that he had worn during their last encounter, where his parents had been murdered Shion separated from the group, though thankfully not captured. This was enough to make his arms drop to the side, his long and warm embrace with Mion meeting its end very, very, very quickly, though the warmth had disappeared the moment his voice had been heard.
Mion had heard something. It was the man entering the house with ease.
"This is disgusting," sneered the man. "I always thought it was gross that you actually felt bad for the demons, but this is going to far. A demon and a human… that's just wrong and messed up. You really do love demons a little too much, don't you?"
Keiichi felt rage burn in every part of his body. How dare the man say something like that? "It's not gross!" he snapped at him.
If he could see the man's face, Keiichi was sure that he would be rolling his eyes right about now. "Oh yeah, huh? Well, we'll see what everyone says when you end up impregnating her with a human-demon spawn. The entire village would shun you. And when she gives birth, that thing would be the most disgusting creation ever, and it would surely die. How gross. I can't imagine what a human-demon thing would look like. It would be hideous."
Mion stood up instantly, rage and hate burning in her eyes. "YOU!" she screamed out. "YOU SEPERATED ME FROM MY SISTER! YOU KILLED HIS PARENTS!"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I did. And you expected me not to return after finding the location of you two? I don't know where Number Twenty-Eight is, but at least I found you, Number Twenty-Seven." He sneered as he spoke those words.
"Those aren't our names!" screeched Mion. "I'm not Number Twenty-Seven, I'm a free demon! My sister certainly isn't Number Twenty-Eight, either! She's a free demon, too!"
"You are not a free demon, those don't exist. Besides, all that happened was that this boy stole you," he spat in disgust as he looked at him. "And now, it looks like the two of you have fallen in love with each other. That's just sick. I can't wait to be dealing with a bunch of human-demon hybrids. The demons were gross enough. I can't imagine such a filthy thing combined with the blood of a pure human. But that's not the reason why I came here. I'm getting off topic." The man reached a hand down one of his sleeves and pulled out a sharp knife. There was some blood on it, presumably the blade having cut him from keeping it up his sleeve. "I'm going to finish what I started."
They had no time to react. In seconds, the man had already ran at the two of them with the knife, and Keiichi could feel his feet stick to the ground, as if someone had glued him down right in that spot. However, right before the man could do anything, Mion tackled him out of the way, causing the knife to lodge within her skin instead. She let out a cry of panic and pain as she grabbed the man around the wrist and tried to make him pull the knife right out.
"Mion!" screeched Keiichi. This was the man who had killed eight demons and fought off many others. Killing Mion would be easy for a man with such skill.
The man removed the knife from her stomach. "Oops, that was a little too much. I can't have you dying. The head of the Sonozaki family oh so desperately wants you back."
Keiichi didn't know what to do. It would be hard to fight the man off, but he couldn't let him take Mion just like that! There had to be a way!
"Mion! The katana!" he cried, pointing to the wall. He then ran into the man and gave him a good punch in the back, which unfortunately had little effect with how little training he had gotten in terms of fighting and how big and hulking the man was compared to him. He had to have had a ton of muscles. It seemed as if the man didn't even feel anything.
But it certainly did distract him. He turned around and punched Keiichi right back, though this one had much more effect than his had had. Keiichi felt his whole body stumbled backwards and he cried out with the pain, but he tried to endure it as best as he could. He had to stay there and distract the man so that Mion could grab her katana. Sure, she was good at fighting without a weapon, but a katana could sure do a lot of damage with how sharp the blade of it was.
Keiichi, with some blood trickling from his mouth, punched the man again, once again having little effect. But as he saw the man's hand lunge forward to punch him again, he reached for his wrist and held it tightly, preventing the blow from reaching him. He had learned little about how to fight, but he had learned that grabbing someone's wrist was a good way to go.
He stepped forward and kneed the man right in the groin, causing him to cry out in pain and stumble backwards. He smirked in satisfaction. He wasn't good at fighting, but at least he could do something to help Mion fight this man off. He couldn't allow him to do anything!
And what he did certainly worked well. Mion had gotten the katana out of the sheath and was now running behind his back, and with a quick slash, she managed to cut his back. In a rage, the man turned around and punched the girl without thinking, though it only managed to barely hit her shoulder. She was acting fast, determination burning within her. She couldn't lose again! After all, she hated losing.
Keiichi grabbed the man from behind, wrapping his arms around his back, though it was pretty much useless as he managed to easily break away from his grip with how strong he was combined with how big he was. Keiichi looked around the room frantically for something that he could use as a weapon. Even if he wasn't trained, he needed a way to help out Mion in her attack.
Mion continued to fight off the man with swings of her katana, which he was dodging despite the deep wound in his back. His knife hadn't done much damage to her, thankfully. A demon's healing truly was something amazing. He probably didn't dig the knife too deep within her, seeing as his goal wasn't to kill her and rather to capture her. He had to wonder how the man managed to fight despite the wound in his back. No normal human could do that!
Keiichi grabbed a large textbook and slammed the man in the back with it, causing more blood to spurt out from his wound. He turned around without thinking and punched him blindly in the face, his hat in his eyes finally getting the better of him. It was important for him to conceal his identity, but the hat over his eyes was really restricting how he could fight. It made Keiichi wonder how he could see through it in the first place.
He rubbed his sore cheek, though kept a grip on the heavy book in his hand. It was hard for him to hold it in one hand, and it was beginning to be a little too much for him…
The man went right back to Mion and the two of them engaged in combat once again. Mion swung at him with the katana, but he managed to catch the side of the blade between the palms of his hand, the blade cutting into a part of his hand and drawing quite a bit of blood, though the rest uninjured. He seemed to not care about this injury, though. If he held the katana with strength pressing into it, she couldn't do very much, though he couldn't either.
Keiichi saw this as an opening. He rammed the textbook into the man's side again, causing him to tilt to the side and the blade of the katana to dig further into the man's skin. A large scream was emitted, and Keiichi hoped that no one was nearby and if they were, they didn't hear or take notice of it. He was sure that everyone outside would be able to hear such a loud scream. A katana was sharp, after all. It could easily cut through someone, and the pain caused by it doing so must be unbearable. Keiichi himself had never been wounded like that, so he wouldn't know, but from the action movies and books that he read, he was sure that it would cause him a great deal of pain.
The man turned to Keiichi, and though his eyes were unseen, he knew that the man was gazing at him with hatred and pure rage. "You…" he hissed at the boy. "You're a fool. You're really getting in the way of this fight… you know that, right?" He turned to the man, leaving his back open again.
Before, the three of them, Mion, Shion, and Keiichi, were too stunned by the appearance and they weren't thinking properly, especially after the death of his parents, and his parents himself were to stunned by the appearance of the demons to find themselves. Things did not go in their favor. But even though they were shocked, the two of them were now composed, making this man not too hard of a target. By his distractions, Mion was able to injure him, and when he was fighting Mion, he could distract him. It was an endless cycle. With the two of them, they could do anything. If the fight kept up in this way, and in their favor, the two of them could very well beat this man and uncover his identity. Keiichi had to admit that that hat he was wearing was very large. He couldn't get a glimpse at his eyes. If he were to knock him down, they could lift up his hat and find out who he was once and for all. Then, they could turn him in, and he would be executed at the Watanagashi.
While the idea of getting someone's stomach ripped open was sick, Keiichi realized he wouldn't mind too much if it were the man before him, if he managed to look away and not watch as his guts were removed. Just knowing that he had died brutally would make up for all the things he had done. They just had to keep this up.
Mion slashed at him once again, but this time, the man saw it coming and jumped out of the way. Keiichi took a few steps back, Mion's katana nearly slashing through him. He had to be very careful around Mion, as he certainly didn't want to get hit with that katana. It would put them at a huge disadvantage.
Mion ran towards him, but this time, the man just dodged with skill. He appeared behind Keiichi's back, much to his surprise, and he felt the hands grasp onto the textbook he had been hitting the man with. Eyes wide, he turned around to look at the man. He tried to punch the man, but his hulking figure was too well built for him to do much damage with a single punch.
"You're getting in the way. Please go away."
The next thing Keiichi felt was the textbook ram into his head with brutal strength, and the next thing he saw was black overtaking his vision and mind.
~~~~X~~~~
Slowly, Keiichi's eyes opened, but the black was still clouding parts of his vision. Dizziness overtook him as he tried to stand up, and the boy simply lay down on the floor, breathing heavily as he tried to regain himself. Thoughts and memories refused to come to mind as he tried to think about what had happened, and how he had ended up on the floor, passed out.
It took a little while for Keiichi to regain himself, and he staggered to his feet. He looked about the room, finding that it was covered in puddles and splashes of blood. Instantly, the memory of the man walking in and attacking them came to him mind, and how the man had grabbed his textbook and hit him over the head with strength that could only be described as inhuman. Keiichi realized he was lucky to only have passed out. He could have suffered serious memory loss. Looking about the room, he tried to spot the figures of Mion and the man, but found that he could not.
Had they gone downstairs? Keiichi dragged himself down to the first floor on heavy legs, looking about the kitchen as he did so. The place seemed to be clean of any blood the first time he looked about, meaning that they had not gone downstairs and fought. There was only blood upstairs. He became thoroughly confused as he looked about the room even more.
Then he spotted it. It was a trail of blood leading out the door and onto the paths of Onigafuchi. Shocked, the boy ran towards it and to the unlocked door, which caused Keiichi to wonder how the man had managed to get in in the first place. He shook that thought out of his head as he pulled it open, revealing the trail of blood continuing on down the paths. Panic filled his heart, causing it to beat faster than ever before. He was scared, scared out of his mind.
He turned around slowly, noticing that the trail of blood was coming from up the stairs. He didn't even bother to think about how he could have missed it before, his mind was in too much of a panic. Turning around, the boy walked back up the stairs into his bloodstained room.
And when he did, he began to rummage about the room. Was Mion hiding somewhere? Panic was filling his eyes quickly as he threw his futon to the side and began to dig through various things, even though he knew it was stupid of him. There was no way a body like Mion's could be hiding under things that were flat on the ground. He turned to the wardrobe and looked under it, hoping that someone would be there, but he found that no one was.
There was more fear in his heart, causing his logic to get all confused. He wasn't even thinking now as he ran down the stairs and began to look under every couch, ever chair, every single piece of furniture he could find for Mion. And yet, try as he might, he could not find the girl anywhere. He ran into the kitchen and looked on the ground, in the small storage areas, and anywhere that he could find.
And when he looked on the counter, he found a sheet of paper, one that had certainly not been there before.
He picked it up. On the sheet of paper were five words.
"I'll be back for you."
His heart rate was now at a dangerous level as he placed the sheet down, realizing what it meant. The man had written it. He was going to come back for him, who he had not been able to capture this time around.
But he had gotten someone else.
Fear was present in every single nerve in his body. Did the man really capture Mion? Running outside as fast as he could, he began to look behind the house, where they would usual play whenever they got the chance to. Maybe she was just hiding. Maybe this was all some kind of joke. The man couldn't have captured Mion! There was no way that his Mion would lose to anyone! She was so determined. She could beat anyone. That's what she said, right? Right? Then she had to be playing some kind of joke! Mion was a lover of all kinds of games. This was just another one of her games… right?
He looked in the flowerbeds, in the bushes, and behind the trees. These were spots she would use to hide whenever they played tag outside. Well, not the flowerbeds, but ever other spot was a good hiding place for tag or any other kind of game. The flowerbeds weren't something that could be used, as it would kill the flowers, but there was a chance…!
She wasn't there.
He ran into the forest and looked about, screaming her name as he looked about. This was the same place where they had run into when they had first been attacked. At this point in time, he didn't care if anyone was around to hear him. He just needed to find Mion.
"MION!" he screamed out as he looked behind trees and anywhere else he could find in the forest. "MION! WHERE ARE YOU?"
Try as he might, he couldn't find Mion anywhere in the forest. But the boy refused to give up. She was just playing a game with him, after all. He ran deeper into the forest, in all directions, hoping that she would hear him. He had found her before when he called for them, though he did manage to lose Shion. But this was different. Mion was nearby, wasn't she?
He was now running in random directions through the forest. He didn't even know where he was going. He hadn't been in this part of the forest ever. But he didn't care. He just needed to find Mion and end this silly game.
"MION! PLEASE COME!" he screamed out. "I KNOW THIS IS A GAME, BUT IT'S GOTTEN TOO SERIOUS!"
Mion probably didn't want to come out. She always wanted to win, after all.
"OKAY, MION! I CAN'T FIND YOU! YOU WIN!" he yelled out. "SO COME OUT! YOU KNOW, IF YOU COME OUT NOW, IT MEANS I LOSE! SO JUST COME OUT!"
He looked about some more, frantically, when she didn't respond to his cries. Was she really so wanting to win this game that she didn't want to come out, even if he said that she would win if she did? He couldn't believe how messed up his thoughts were. He didn't even realize that bitter tears were trickling down his face as his mind and heart were beginning to realize the truth, though not accepting it. No, that wasn't it. He had known the truth from the very beginning. He just refused it.
Mion was gone.
The man had got her.
Screaming out in frustration and bitter realization, the boy rammed his hand into the bark of the tree, his mind giving up on refusing the truth when he had known it all along. This was not a game. This was reality. She wasn't hiding so that she could win again… she was gone. Tears cascaded down his face as he realized that she was probably being taken back to the Sonozaki basement, where she would be locked up and never allowed out. She would never see the moon or sun again. And not only that, but she would be all alone, without the warm feeling she relied on so much.
After all this work, everything was lost. She would forget what happiness was when she was locked in the basement with nothing but sorrow and cold to fill her emotions, and she would never be able to taste meat often ever again. Maybe Shion would remain free, and she would be locked back up forever, never to see the face of her sister again, doomed to bare the number Twenty-Seven forever.
Maybe she would forget about the warm feeling all together.
But that wasn't possible… was it? It was such a strong emotions. But in the basement, where it was so barren of anything but cold darkness, she would forget.
Maybe she would forget about him, and how in love they had been.
Maybe she would forget about her sister.
Maybe she would forget about Rena.
Maybe she would forget the emotions she had learned.
Maybe she would forget what the color of the sky was.
Maybe she would forget about the games they played together.
Maybe she would forget her own name.
Maybe she would forget all but the cold of the basement and all those horrid emotions that came with it.
He didn't want her to forget. They had work so hard for this. And now… everything would just fall apart. He rammed his fist into the tree bark again, this time with more brutal strength. That wasn't just it, either. They would never be able to see each other again, and he himself would never be able to feel the warm feeling he got around her.
He remembered her warm smiling face that greeted her upon his return that day, and then a few days ago, where she had embraced him tightly and didn't let him go. He thought back to the time where they had played Clue, and how she had been able to come up with a strategy on her firs time playing, and then her victorious smirk. He recalled the first time that they had played Go Fish together, when she was still locked in the basement. He remembered how her personality had changed and how happy she had gotten when playing it. She had always had strange tactics to win those kinds of things.
She was a wonderful person, and he loved her deeply. And now, she was gone.
Defeated and in tears, the boy stumbled back to his house. He didn't know what he would do now that she was gone. He had gotten used to sleeping next to her at night, even if it had only been a few days since they started to do that. Without her cheerful smile to greet him each morning, each day would begin dully and depressingly, just like how things were when he had been in Tokyo. Each day was a boring day, because the only goal he had in his mind was to do well in school. He had nothing to do in life other than to solve math problems and get As on tests and exams. That had been his only joy in life, and even then, he had begun to dread studying so much after a while.
But Mion… she had given him a goal in life, a reason to push onwards and become someone new. Never did he think we would become someone like the person he was now, striving to teach someone how life worked and the world around her. And never did he think that he would fall in love with the same girl. Love had never been something he had considered when he was back there. It just seemed like something silly to him.
Mion had really changed who he was. And now he would never see her face again.
He staggered up the steps to his room and collapsed onto the futon after flickering the lights off. He didn't feel like eating. He wasn't hungry. He buried his body into the sheets, shutting his eyes and trying to get some sleep.
But the void of coldness was there now that he had gotten used to sleeping next to her, feeling her warmth.
He wondered if she too was feeling the same thing. Perhaps she was now curled up on the cold, hard floor of the Sonozaki basement, trying to sleep without the warm feeling that her sister had provided for her, and the warm feeling he had given her after the two were separated. How would she sleep without the warm feeling, whether it was romantic or non-romantic? It had been something she depending on all her life, something that she had always known to be beside her as she slept.
There was one thing that was for sure in his mind at that moment.
Neither of them would be getting any sleep that night.
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner V.2
I hope my fighting scene was better than the weak one last time. I don't know what to think about it. It's one of the times where I can't judge my own work. I sometimes have a lot of problems with that, because when I can judge it, it's usually negative even though I know deep in my mind that it's probably not as bad as I think it is. Though it is some of the time, like last time. So I hope that this was okay, and a lot better compared to the last one. You be the judge.
This is the first time in a while that I upload a chapter on a Monday that is a school day and not a day off. Maybe it's the first time this fanfiction. I tend to talk a lot about the days of the week… now don't I? Monday is a very significant day, as it marks the start of the school week. No one likes Mondays. I said the only highlight was that sometimes Mirai Nikki subs are released then, but they were up last night, so no highlights today.
This chapter was certainly significant. You can see why just by reading it. I mean, here's a big turning point. I can't say what will become of this, but I hope to get several chapters up soon. I have off Thursday and Friday, so that's good. I have next week and then I have Winter Break. I'm sure I can reach my deadline. That said, I hope you enjoy what I have in mind…
By the way, please review this chapter. I have noticed I'm getting less and less reviews for each chapter, which is really sad. I mean, I got a ton of reviews for the beginning of BFB and GED, more than most people, and I know it's greedy for me to ask for more than the ones I'm getting now, but I really have been noticing the odd decrease in reviews. Really, guys. It motivates me to do more. I really, really, really want to know what you thought about this chapter in terms of how it's going to go from here, and how good this chapter was in terms of the fighting and writing in general. So please… review! If you review, I will get you an action figure of Mion! There's a good reward! I feel like my rewards have been lame recently. Not that they're real. Their just virtual, but we can pretend, right? Pointing out typos will get you a gigantic cookie, or anything else if you don't like cookies. That's all the cafeteria at my school has in terms of dessert these days. They've been trying to become healthier. They recently got rid of chocolate muffins and replaced them with grilled cheese, which was irritating since the chocolate muffins were so good. The sparkling juice was gone this morning, and if they permanently get rid of it because they want to look better, I will be very, very, very, very, very, very, very upset. Those are the only reason why the cafeteria is any good. I bring my own lunch…
~Crimso