Author's note: As the last few missions approach for the Gantz hunters, so does Tomoko reaching her breaking point. Is she close to getting her happy ending? Read on to find out! (BTW, this is one lengthy chapter!)
Oh, and enjoy the incoming lemon in this chapter!
The Price of Freedom
Chapter 5: The Nurarihyon Alien Mission
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Total Points So Far
Tomoko: 78
Natsuki: 76
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Tomoko, this is your conscience speaking.
You must make a choice, as you are reaching the 100 mark.
Should you free yourself, you may have missed a golden opportunity.
However, if you make yourself stronger, then you could continue your quest.
Yet, will you be really free after all this?
After all, there's only one obstacle standing in your way...
...it's called 'love'.
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As Tomoko stared out the window of her bedroom, she could feel a chill across her back. She turned around, but saw nothing behind her.
Letting out a small sigh, she told herself, "I must get ready. I don't want to keep him waiting."
Gathering up her equipment, the brunette then left home and made her way to Gantz's building. Of course, she realized that the hunters were off to Osaka for their next mission.
Their latest target? The Nurarihyon alien.
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From there, the hunters found out that there was also a Gantz team in Osaka. Just as the mission was about to start, however, some vampires made their way into the city, attacking Kurono.
The brown-haired boy, and a few other hunters, as well as Tomoko and Natsuki, who eagerly volunteered to help out, began taking them out, but it led to his demise. The hunters were then transferred back to the building, where Gantz explained the Nurarihyon mission to them.
Yet there was a clear surprise: two of the vampires, Hikawa and Chiaki, had managed to join the team. The brunette had no clue why they would be part of the hunters, but had to keep her focus on the mission instead of questioning the two vampires's agendas.
And so, as the mission began, the dark-haired girl teamed up with Kato and his allies, unaware of Tomoko following Nishi's lead.
"Harada...I want you to assist me. Plain and simple." he told the brunette.
"Okay." Tomoko replied with a nod.
"Tomoko...be careful out there." Natsuki called out to her.
The brunette nodded once more, this time to the short-haired girl. Meanwhile, the vampires were unaware of the rules that were designated, and attempted to leave.
Unfortunately, three newcomers that joined the vampires, were immediately killed, and when "Host Samurai" and "Kill Bill" discovered that there was a bomb in their brains, they returned to the battlefield. Once back in the game, the two vampires encountered some of the aliens.
Initially, the vampires and aliens teamed up to kill some of the members of the Osaka team. But as time passed, the aliens attacked Hikawa and Chiaki, causing the former to lose a finger, and the latter to be injured by losing an arm.
Thus, the three aliens - Nurarihyon, Tengu and Inugami - had their point values detected by an Osaka team member. And when Hachirou Oka, the strongest of the Osaka team, felt that he couldn't destroy Nurarihyon due to his changing shapes, he decided to allow the Tokyo team to take control.
Kaze was the first to fight Nurarihyon, but felt that he was losing the upper hand when the others came in to assist. The team then began to come up with a strategy: to snipe the Nurarihyon alien to further weaken it.
Meanwhile, the dark-haired girl, alone and without any help, had found the strong Tengu alien. However, despite his advantage over her, she managed to use her X Shotgun to obliterate him.
Tomoko, on the other hand, requested to split up briefly from Nishi, which he accepted, so that she could locate the Inugami alien. Although he was not as powerful as Tengu, he tried to use his cunning to take down the brunette, but was eventually sliced by her sword.
Returning to the dark-haired boy, she resumed their strategy against Nurarihyon. When the alien returned, he killed off Oka, and went after Kato.
As the Osaka team had no hope remaining, Nishi managed to obtain a Z Gun in the process, and had plans to rescue the dark-haired youth from Nurarihyon. Just as he was ready to go, however, Tomoko called out to him, saying, "Allow me to join you!"
The dark-haired boy nodded his approval and said, "Fine." before the two went after Nurarihyon.
When Nurarihyon confronted Kato, they engaged in a brief conversation before the alien felt several blows to his body. The hunters, having successfully carried out their strategy, had allowed "Host Samurai" to split the alien down right the middle.
With Nurarihyon weakened, Nishi also attempted to kill the alien, but he ended up losing an arm. The brunette made sure not to let her guard down, as she decided to take over for him.
"Harada...you're taking over...for me?" he asked Tomoko.
This caused the brunette to notice and nodded with a small smile. "I am. Kato will make sure you're alright." she replied.
Nishi simply nodded back, an unusual but welcome half-smile appearing on his face.
After he saved him, the taller man's legs were soon dismembered by Nurarihyon, and he managed to lock onto the trigger of his H Gun, aiming it straight at the alien. However, the alien was also aiming his lasers at Reika, but Anzu Yamazaki, whom he was falling for, shielded the girl from the attack, allowing herself to die.
The attack on Nurarihyon succeeded, and he was completely destroyed. Other than the three newcomers, Kenzo Sakata was killed during the mission.
Concerning the Osaka team, fourteen hunters were also killed, including Oka and Anzu. Kazuo Kuwabara, Miho Yamanaka and Sumiko Yamada, the latter two having been put in the care of the former, who mistaken the Nurarihyon for hordes of beautiful women, earned their freedom.
Tomoko scored 48 points, while Natsuki scored 51.
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Unexpectedly healed, all the hunters had also returned to their respective buildings. Kato used his 100 points to revive Kurono, and the 17-year-old virgin of the Osaka team vowed to revive Anzu.
Tomoko and Natsuki had a whopping 146 points and 147 points, respectively, and decided to use their 100 points each to obtain new weapons. The next time the brunette had to get 100 points, however, she made sure she would use it to free herself from Gantz once it was all over.
She managed to catch up with the dark-haired youth and he told her, "I want to thank you for telling me that I had to protect Nishi when he was attacked by the Nurarihyon. If he lost his other arm, then he'd be even more defenseless."
"You are quite welcome, Kato." Tomoko replied with a smile.
As the brunette then got dressed in her usual clothes, she stepped outside for a breather when a voice called out to her. "Harada..."
The brunette turned around and saw Nishi, also in his normal clothes, as he spoke, "You were quite the assistant...so much so, that I want to talk to you in private."
"Yes...what is it?" she asked.
The dark-haired boy then approached Tomoko and began talking. "There is a secret I've been wanting to tell you concerning a certain event that will happen to everyone on this planet. However, I don't want anyone else to know, so I want you to meet me somewhere much, much more private tomorrow night. Do you promise...Tomoko?"
The brunette was taken by surprise that he began referring to her by her first name instead of her last name. However, she nodded and replied, "Yes, I promise."
"Good. Because if you don't make it in time...then you'll have to find out for yourself." Nishi said before leaving her alone.
Tomoko had no idea what he was saying: perhaps it seemed cryptic, but she needed to know as quickly as she can.
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The next day, Tomoko had finished eating dinner with her parents, both whom had been unaware of her being a part of Gantz, yet had also been aware of her death at the bank robbery. Once she was through as a hunter and earned her freedom, she could return to her normal life, although she would not remember the missions and the events concerning the aliens.
The sun had already set, and the sky was rather black-blue, indicating it was close to nighttime. The brunette immediately wrote a letter on her bed and left her room; the note read:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I'll be gone for the evening, but I'll be back home tomorrow.
I hope you understand.
Love, Tomoko
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Upon arriving at the city streets, Tomoko began searching high and low for Nishi, until she stopped at what appeared to be the very same love hotel that Natsuki and Izumi went to. She entered the building and asked the receptionist.
"You don't need to pay, miss. A customer had reserved a room for just you and him for the entire night." she told her with a smile.
The brunette nodded and discovered the room he rented was the Romance suite, a pure white bedroom which almost looked like Heaven, something that anyone that died would've moved on to. It was located on the top floor, room 3.
Using the elevator, Tomoko decided to travel to the highest floor of the love hotel and found the room she was looking for. As she knocked on the door, a voice called out to her, "You may enter."
As she opened the door, she was surprised to discover the dark-haired boy sitting at the edge of the large bed, looking down at the floor, perhaps in deep thought. Clearly, the brunette didn't expect him to shack both her and himself in a love hotel, but she knew he had already told her that he would tell her something important in a private, discreet location.
Tomoko then sat next to Nishi, and began to come up with something to say to him. However, she seemed more and more nervous, as well as rather tense. Finally, she said, "I'm going to use the bathroom."
"Fine, very well." the dark-haired boy told her, and the brunette then opened the door leading to the bathroom.
To her surprise, the tiles and walls were as white as the snow, the fixtures were made of pure gold, a large bathtub full of water and with red rose petals on top which were a splendid sight, and a large gold shower with a 'cover' so that other people could see only the silhouette of the man or woman in the shower. Tomoko realized it was gorgeous...too gorgeous!
Perhaps the love hotel was a perfect location for anyone to spill their true secrets to, and Nishi picked the right place at the right time. the brunette sighed as she began undressing, until she stood there completely nude after letting her hair down, then entered the shower and closing the door behind.
Closing her eyes, Tomoko began to allow her mind to wander...until she heard the sound of a door opening. She opened her eyes and looked around, and investigated the bathroom from the glass doors.
She then saw what appeared to be a man getting undressed...but could that man be the dark-haired boy she briefly spoke with? The brunette swallowed before facing the walls yet again, her eyes closed shut.
The door leading to the shower opened once again, and Nishi entered, tracing a finger up and across Tomoko's spine, and allowing her to turn around. She gasped as she tried to cover her breasts before he told her, "No one's here but the two of us. Now I shall tell you..."
The brunette sighed in relief before he began to speak, "I have discovered that the world will end soon, and I had been thinking to myself...when you managed to protect me after I was attacked by Nurarihyon, I was quite pleased with what you had done, so that is why I want to tell you something..."
Cupping Tomoko's chin, Nishi finally said, "I want you to be with me when the world ends."
The brunette immediately knew it; the words in between the two paragraphs on the website were true: the world was actually going to end!
This caused her to gasp and ask, "Are...are you sure? So...so you're saying we're...more than...friends...?"
"Precisely. Clearly, you've been very fond of me when we became unlikely friends. The paintings you've made in your club...they were simply beautiful. Too beautiful, but not as extravagantly beautiful as yourself." the dark-haired boy replied.
Tomoko knew full well that if the world was going to end soon, she might as well spend the rest of her life with him. After all, it seemed that her feelings were ready to be reciprocated.
"Joichiro...I don't care what happens to the world, I'll always be at your side, even if we are freed from Gantz!" the brunette exclaimed.
"So it's settled...we will no longer fight and quarrel like we have used to in the past. It's time for us to become one." Nishi said as he held Tomoko close to his bare body.
Leaning in, he locked lips with the brunette's, causing her to gasp. She wasn't expecting him to take charge, but she knew she had to comply.
Wrapping her arms around him, she sighed happily as their kiss began to intensify, but then the dark-haired boy broke the kiss and said, "Follow me."
Leaving the shower, Nishi put on a light blue bathrobe, and Tomoko, after turning off the water, followed suit by wearing a bathrobe of her own, except it was light pink in color. As they exited the bathroom, closing the door behind them, they stood at the side of the bed, maintaining their gaze with one another before he decided to remove his robe.
The brunette blushed and tried to turn away, but the dark-haired boy reassured her by saying, "Look at me...don't be frightened, Tomoko. We're the only ones in this room."
Taking a small breath, Tomoko ended up taking off her robe, and letting it fall to the ground along with his. With their eyes still locked on one another, Nishi then leaned in to kiss her once more, and they finally embraced once again.
Running her hands across his smooth chest, she was amazed on how built he was, much like Izumi. However, this was also the first time the brunette had ever saw a man naked in her entire life.
The pair eventually got in bed together, and with one hand on the small of Tomoko's back, the dark-haired boy ran the other across her porcelain skin, delighting in the sight of her amazing physique. Two of his fingers began teasing and pinching a rosy, hard nipple before he leaned in to suckle gently.
The brunette gasped as she allowed him to worship her ample breasts, realizing that he was acting unusually gentle towards her, then took notice of him lowering down to in between her legs, running his tongue up and down her secret area. Holding onto the white, silk sheets, she moaned as Nishi held onto her hips, eager to get her ready by inserting a few fingers gently into her.
The dark-haired boy then reached up to Tomoko and with one hand, placed one of hers onto his hardened length. The arousal was due to the increasing tension between both, as their naked bodies also added more fuel to the fire.
The brunette shuddered as she ran her hand across his manhood, then could only watch as he went in between her legs and simply gazed down at her. Nishi then slid himself slowly into her, causing her to almost shriek in pain.
"I never thought I would be your first, Tomoko..." the dark-haired boy whispered into Tomoko's ear, causing her eyes to close as she let out a sigh of sweet pleasure.
"Jo...Joichiro..." the brunette gasped as she allowed him to move within her once her pain subsided.
As they made love, she held onto him, running her fingers across his broad back and shoulders, and he returned the favor by kissing and suckling the nape of her neck gently, before settling his lips onto her nipples once again. Tomoko threw her head back and cried out in bliss, believing that she sealed her fate completely.
Nishi once again kissed the brunette passionately as his movements began to slowly intensify. As they held onto one another, her moans and his grunts began to fill the room, now in their own little world.
By the time their limits were approaching, however, they gazed into one another's eyes as they yelled out their partners's names. Tomoko screamed to the heavens as they climaxed together, before they laid there on the bed, their bodies covered in sweat, while the brunette had a noticeable pink flush to her complexion.
Neither said a word as the unlikeliest of lovers exchanged one more passionate kiss before they fell asleep together. But by the time morning came, they both had said their goodbyes, promising that they will team up again in the final mission.
It was time for Tomoko to claim her freedom.
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We've become one, Tomoko...
And when the world ends, we'll always be in each others's arms...
Yet, there's something I can't seem to understand and grasp completely.
What happened that night made me fully realize...
That the only person I'd ever care about other than myself, was you and only you.
I'd hate myself for saying this, but deep down inside...
I...
I love you.
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Warden: *sigh* Looks like love is in the air...
Mistress: I don't understand. Something's wrong.
Wrong? I don't think there's anything wrong here ^.^
Will Tomoko be able to survive the last mission in Italy? Will Natsuki come to her senses and start acting normal all over again? And can their friendship be maintained, all the while Tomoko focuses on her newly solidified partnership with Nishi?
And as always, be sure to review!
With love for my fans,
Chrissy