And bam, just like this we have what may be the last chapter of Demon Battle Rises for the next three weeks, or what may be the second to last chapter. I'm honestly not all that sure, but I'm hoping to be able to post one more chapter before I lose all of my internet connection to spend time in the country. Over all, I can't do much about this, but I'm just glad I'm getting to share seven or eight chapters of this series before hopefully coming back in a little under a month with at least ten new chapters ready to posted after all my rewrites. I can't promise anything, so I guess this is all up to fate.
Anyways, if this is goodbye for three weeks, I bid you adieu and hope that some of you will leave me amazing characters to return to and be able to bring life to. Don't ever be shy, trust me when I say that this story isn't just mine, but also yours.
Enjoy the next chapter.
xKiha
Now what do we do? Nothing's changed since we went to the hospital even though we're technically going to work with Kenja now. I guess, we'll just have to sit and wait to see what happens. But for some reason, this week just doesn't feel right.
Kimiko twirled her pencil in her fingers as she sat in Chemistry, trying to focus on her teacher but finding herself unable to do so, sighing in frustration as she reached into her book bag. Her fingertips hitting the spine of her spell book as she lovingly stroked it, trying to occupy herself with something other than everything that was making her upset.
Kenja's seat remained empty where it was a few rows behind her and that wasn't the greatest sight to behold. It wouldn't be easy staying in an alliance with a boy who was constantly ill, but she didn't have much of a choice. He was the only person she knew for now that she could ask and since the other person was somebody she didn't have the courage to talk to, this should have been expected.
However, Aislinn was always in her place in the back of the room, watching Mr. Kincad with intent. She hadn't spoken or even looked at Kimiko since the day she attacked them both, which the brunette hadn't decided if it was to be considered a good or bad thing yet. From what she now knew, Flynn was a friend of Aislinn's, or at least he knew enough about her to know she was also a bookreader. Well, no matter if it was a good or bad thing yet, as long as she and Cheshire didn't attack them again everything would be alright.
However, that was probably the issue at hand, that everything seemed to slow down slightly. Somehow she expected to be dragged into the heat of battle every waking moment of the day, being forced to fight everybody around her and Tsumi without having anytime for things like school and alliances. That wasn't true after all, and it was beginning to put her on edge. She began to worry that everything was growing stronger without them, or maybe that somebody somewhere has plans and was keeping the both of them out of battle to make them all the weaker.
"Isahowa?"
The girl looked up at the clock, realizing that class had ended as the students stood up for a bit of a break, going to speak with their fellow classmates or stepping out for other things. Kimiko then sighing as she stood up, knowing she had to go speak to her teacher, who had probably noticed she wasn't paying attention this time around. "Yes sir?" Trying to hide her fear of getting in trouble or being punished for not listening.
The blond teacher frowned to her sullenly, watching her with a look of misunderstanding. "Is something the matter? You didn't seem to be paying any attention today."
She couldn't really explain what was going on, he would think she had lost her mind or something on that line, that she had no doubt of. "A little tired I guess, I couldn't really get much sleep last night." Figuring this would sound at least realistic enough for him to believe at this point. A lot of students were known to pull all-nighters for stupid reasons, but then again both her and Kincad knew that she wasn't one of those stupid students that did that kind of thing.
"I see, well try to go to bed earlier I guess, I don't try to give out enough homework to keep you up very late."
Nailed it, Kimiko nodding. "I'll try to keep my schedule more intact, it won't happen again sir. I promise." Seeing him flash her an approving look before turning back and returning to her desk, not sure what she would say if she ever came to class in pain from a fight or weak after something serious happening. How could she simply dismiss a broken limb or a black eye, somehow almost every excuse that filled her mind just sounded juvenile. This simply wasn't going well and she didn't like it at all.
.
Tsumi loyally waited outside the school gates for Kimiko, hearing the loud bells go off and getting excited. He hadn't been on edge as much recently, gripping his hands together in fists before smiling in joy. 'She'll be here in a moment.' Knowing that his book reader liked to be ahead of time with most everything she did, which meant she would be one of the first students out of the building. Which for a child who wasn't always the patient type, made him all the happier.
However, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his bookreader's head. He had seen his partner sitting at her desk at home and doing work of some sort on paper last night way after everybody else had gone to sleep. He hadn't had the courage to ask her what exactly she had been doing then, instead just watching her for a while in pure silence, listening to her muttering to herself in frustration. It had been a little bit frightening at first, but he hadn't said anything, at least for then but now he was beginning to worry about what could have been happening right then.
"Boo!"
Tsumi jumped in shock as something suddenly grabbed his shoulder and shouted in his ear, turning around to see Kimiko and trying to control his now sky rocketing pulse. "K-Kimi! You don't have to scare me like that!" Taking in a deep breath and trying to look like the brave demon he was meant to be even though he found himself slightly trembling right then.
"Oh, sorry," The brunette giggling softly under her breath. "I saw you just sitting here and you looked so serious, I just couldn't help myself."
The demon child found himself laughing along with her for a moment, even though it really had frightened him quite a bit. Kimiko waiting until the demon got to his feet to speak, a more adventurous and out of place tone now in her voice. "Alright, come on. We've got somewhere to go."
Somewhere to go? What was she talking about; didn't they have to get back home? "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere in particular, there's just something I want to see before we go back home." Kimiko softly said, the slightly glazed over look in her eyes telling him that something much different might just be going on right then instead of what she was saying. "Trust me."
Tsumi felt that he didn't have much of a choice on this, shrugging to himself before nodding. "Alright, let's go. You lead the way."
The duo walked for what felt like at least an hour to the young boy who didn't know much better, following behind her in gritted down silence, well aware that complaining wouldn't really get him very far even though his feet began to hurt. They seemed to walk through the city without saying anything to one another; something seemed to just be in Kimiko's head the entire time.
'Don't panic, she's just a bit tired is all.' Tsumi trying to distract himself as he looked up to her for a moment, trying not to think about the worst case scenario in this point in time. People get lost in thoughts all the time, he did it, so why would it be out of the ordinary for Kimiko to do something on those lines? Well it shouldn't have been alarming, but whenever they were together, she always seemed to be vibrant and constantly talking. She couldn't be hiding something from him, could she?
He swallowed, suddenly not knowing what to believe.
.
.
.
A shore?
Tsumi couldn't believe his eyes as he looked to Kimiko who lay on the sand with a look of serenity suddenly on her face. Something was different about this place that he didn't understand; something had to make this place special from a lot of other areas. Otherwise they wouldn't be here on a whim like this; it wasn't Kimiko's style to do something as sudden and unimportant as that.
"My father used to bring me here…before he died."
Tsumi looked over to the girl, who watched the clouds go by with a soft sea breeze playing with her free brown locks. Was she trying to tell him why this place was important? And so out of the blue like this, almost like she already knew that he was going to ask why they were where they now stood, or in her case lay. "Your father?"
The school girl only nodded, turning and looking to him with her hazel eyes, head propped up thanks to her left arm. "Yeah, back when he was alive he used to spoil me and my siblings. We'd go on trips, or he'd just show up with random little gifts suddenly. But I always wanted to go to the beach; that was the place I always felt I had to go to. He always used to laugh when I begged him, promising we would another day no matter what." A soft and somewhat sad smile slowly taking over her lips. "I don't know how he was always smiling when I asked that, it's like that never got old. I'm sure I whined, or got annoying, but no matter what he'd always just keep smiling to me. Maybe it was because it just reminded him that he was the greatest thing ever back then, or maybe it because I was so young and naïve, but whatever the case, I don't think I can ever remember a time when he wasn't smiling to me."
The demon nodded, sitting down in the sand beside her. "It sounds like your father was a really good man; I wish I could have met him."
"He would have liked you," Kimiko rolling over to her side and looking at her partner with a gentle look. "What about your parents? I know they're not on Earth, so you've never told me anything about them."
Tsumi's body went ridged as he heard the girl ask that, hanging his head in hidden shame for a moment before looking to her with his violet eyes. "I-I never met them." Seeing her look of pity and upset as she looked him over, obviously a little embarrassed that she had asked something that made him visibly upset. "At least that I can remember, I lost the both of my parents when I was a little baby in an accident. I lived around the palace area or spent my time traveling or wandering around. But I preferred to stay in the royal city above all other places, which is why I know the king so well and why I am in this battle in the first place."
"So, you know nothing about them?"
"I don't know anything," The boy pausing in a bit of dismay. "Every time I would bring them up, somebody would change the subject or ignore everything I was saying all together. Almost like they were some group of criminals or something like that."
The girl sat up, brushing the sand off her clothing before ruffling his purple hair softly. "Well, we may know nothing about them, but I am sure they were great people and I'm sure they would very proud of you if they could see what you are doing right now."
Tsumi softly laughed to himself, smiling to his bookreader. "Thanks, I really hope they are." The girl standing up and brushing off her skirt, signaling that she must have gotten whatever she had wanted to get before by able to just sit in the sand and remember some of the better memories she held onto. This was all she needed, this little bit of calamity was the only thing that could reassure her at this point and it worked. "Alright, let's get going."
"Mi-Bakudan!"
Tsumi whirled around and he heard the sound of a spell being shouted out, finding a blast of water coming straight at him as he shoved Kimiko out of the way and back into the sand. The water crashing into him only for the demon child to find that it was scalding, screaming in both shock and pain as the force of the stream along with the heat began to pound into him.
The brunette quickly reached into her book bag after getting over the initial shock of Tsumi beginning to scream in agony, pulling out the purple book and opening it as Tsumi let out another shriek, shivers running down her spine as she heard how painful it sounded. Turning and looking to her partner in shock and fear. "A-Are you okay?"
The demon nodded slowly, getting to his feet and brushing off the sand that now clung to his body. "I'm fine." Then beginning to look around in desperation, narrowing his eyes. "Where are they? The demon and book reader. Where are they hiding?"
Kimiko looked around for a moment, soon finding that the duo they were looking for stood out in the water on a sand dune. "Found them."
The two simply stood there, saying nothing to anybody or even moving. The demon having long blue hair in twin pigtails that blew in the wind, wearing a white tunic and having emotionless green eyes. The human having long black hair, emotionless blue eyes and wearing nothing but swim shorts. It was pretty obvious that this wasn't right.
"They're in that trance thing." Kimiko couldn't help but point this out, figuring this would be important for the both of them to remember. Without having anything to worry about, they would be harder to fight. "Just like those guys who used metal spells."
The boy frowned to himself, unable to believe this was happening again before shaking his head. "Alright, let's do this quickly." Tightening his fists and getting himself ready to fight.
Tsumi and Kimiko both took off into the water, shoes and all. Spellbook in the girl's hand while the little boy tried to think logically about what to do, knowing that this would probably not have a happy ending. His arms stinging and his legs a little numb thanks to the water spell, the child shaking it off only because he knew that he still had to fight.
"Rachido!"
As soon as they were close enough to make a hit, Kimiko called out the spell, watching the poison gas leave the mouth of her demon and head towards the duo they were fighting against. Figuring this would work well since they didn't seem to have any interest in leaving the dune as the salt water began to burn at Kimiko's ankles, the girl trying to keep herself from starting to desperately itch it.
"Mi-Bakudan!"
That didn't sound right, the school girl turning to see that the demon had created another blast of water and sent it right into the Rachido which began to bubble on impact and created a singing gas that began spreading itself in the air. Tsumi covering his mouth and trying not to inhale any of it in as he watched them both in shock. "N-No, way!"
Kimiko nodded, trying to keep her mind straight as she thought about everything that might happen after this. The first person in this situation had been so shaky and unpredictable in a way that didn't give them any advantages. These two however were in slightly more control, obviously knowing how to counter a little better than the ones before them. "We'll figure something out; we just need to buy some time before I figure everything out and come up with a plan."
The poison child nodded slowly, grateful she had at least a little idea of what they were going to be doing right here and now. "Alright, hurry." Watching the duo before them barely move and narrowing his eyes with awareness.
The bookreader seemed so soulless, his blue eyes being so empty and his breathing shallow. However, the only little bit of humanity inside him seemed to appear when he looked to Tsumi and slightly trembled. The child gasping in shock as he found that whoever was doing this to him didn't take away all of his consciousness.
Did they even want to fight?
No, he couldn't focus on this right now, if it meant freeing these two from whatever prison they were in, he would burn the book. It may not be the most noble way to handle this, but it was the only way he could think of that would both protect himself and free these people from a prison he wasn't all that sure about.
"Misuto!"
Tsumi whirled around to see his partner waiting to see what was coming with her eyes narrowed, obviously plotting as her grip on the cover of the spellbook tightened. She gave him a look that told him to turn back around, then bracing herself for whatever impact was about to come.
Tsumi watched as a tidal wave was formed before them both, gasping as he began to worry about the temperature of the water heading towards him. Holding his ground even so as he watched the soulless eyes of the bookreader.
This wasn't going to end so easily, not when they were fighting in their own enemies element.
"Rerano!"
Kimiko gritted her teeth as she called out the spell, praying for the diversion she had wanted. The shield appearing right before Tsumi who had covered his face with his arms in fear of the boiling water scalding or even scaring his face, removing them as he watched the spinning shield but frowned anyhow. The child quickly turning to the high school girl with desperation, eyes wide. "Protect the book!"
The girl took it in her arms, shielding it from anything as she clasped it close to her chest and braced for whatever was going to happen.
The tidal wave began to hit, the Rerano spell seeming to cut right through a majority of it, but scalding bursts of water still did manage to get through and burn Tsumi's skin, the child crying out as he felt a sharp pain begin to tug at his legs. However, he forced himself to stay standing up, waiting until the wave and shield were both completely gone to turn back to his partner.
Kimiko stood there for a moment before pulling the book away from her chest, looking to him in relief and showing him that the novel was completely dry. However, she wasn't the same, her arms and legs slightly burned thanks to the water. "Ready for the next attack? I know what we're going to do now."
Tsumi put away all of his feelings of fear for her well-being for a moment and nodded, smiling softly in a powerful way. "Yeah. Let's do this!" The child feeling no need to show her that he was afraid of any further attack that might be sent his way.
The school girl smiled softly, thinking about how proud her teacher would be if he could only see what she was about to do with what she had learned a few days ago. Just as Kenja had said, if you mixed X and Y solution, which she had right in front of her, they would explode.
At least she could only hope this would work like the board had told her it would. Oh, please do! "Rachido!"
The poison demon child released a shot of the acidic gas, watching the soulless book reader focus on him for only a moment before retaliating. "Mi-Bakudan!" The shot of water running into the Rachido and creating another wave of gas that set itself up in the air, floating above them in a ghastly shade of slight grey.
Kimiko smiling all the while as she watched this happen. "A perfect chain reaction, now all I need is some power, from something like an acid." The girl giggling to herself in joy before looking over to her partner. "Tsumi! Look up at the sky!" The child loyally doing so, completely unaware of what was going to happen next. But the actions of Chemistry at work probably wouldn't interest him all that much, well at least the mechanics wouldn't.
"Rachido!"
The acidic gas soon began heading up towards the grey creation from before, Kimiko grabbing the collar of Tsumi's cloak and running back to the shore in awareness of just what was about to happen. The entranced duo on the dune staying completely still as the child never stopped watching them.
Moments after the two of them hit the dry sand and Kimiko braced for impact with the book against her chest, the Rachido hit the grey gas from before. In a matter of moments everything around that area erupted in an explosion, water flying around in a flurry as if to cover up whatever was happening to their enemies on the other side.
When the water did calm down, Tsumi stood up and rushed right back into the ocean. Finding that the two lay on the sand dune, the book in the hands of the bookreader set ablaze. The boy wasting no time as he took the demon by the collar, shaking him in desperation until the green eyes gained life as they looked up at him in shock. The poison victor holding back all emotions as he shouted only one thing. "Who did this to you!?"
The water demon looked up at him silently for a moment, obviously both confused and upset. "I-I don't know. All I can remember is he had a cold voice, a cold voice that wanted to swallow every bit of me if it had the chance." The child shuddering in Tsumi's arms before the last bit of the book faded away, leaving the demon to do the same right before the stunned Tsumi's eyes.
Kimiko had woken the bookreader, who only said the same thing about a cold voice that wanted to swallow every bit of him. This wasn't helping them very much, letting the bookreader leave because both figured he was in no shape to be interrogated by them both right after losing his partner and having no honest clue what he had just been through or even where he was.
"It's another demon doing this." Tsumi said suddenly as the both were walking back from the beach, holding his burned arm tightly in the one palm that hadn't been scalded by another attack.
"What do you mean, another demon?" Kimiko watching him in slight worry as she noticed the serious look in his violet eyes. Or was it maturity imbedded within them?
"I mean that somebody has the power to control these partners. That somebody is toying with them and with us. What's scary it that I'm worried whoever this is might decide they want us to be their next playthings. That they might decide that we'd be the next fun people to try and play games with or make toys of."
The school girl only shook her head. "That won't happen, they won't be able to take us, we're too strong for something like that."
The demon turned around to face her. "I can only hope you're right, because we might not have a lot of time to figure out what's going on around here. We have to find out who's doing this to other pairs of partners in this battle and fast. If we let this happen, eventually we'll be under control or somebody we are close with will. Can you imagine if this happened to Kenja, or if we had to fight him and Kesai?"
Kimiko nodded, gritting her teeth. "Yeah, it's going to be a race against time to protect ourselves and everybody. Don't worry; we'll be able to do this. We'll take them out and stop this."
At least, I only hope we can.