Kill La College Chapter Nineteen: It all started with the end of the world
A/N: About the length of this story: I planned on making this story as long as the show, so roughly 24 chapters, could be 25 if I take into account the extra episode at the end (but that depends on what you guys want). Just know that it won't be long before the grand finale :) If you guys have any theories on how this will end I'd be interested in hearing them. (List below for music to enjoy) (Also warning: there is a scene of abuse in this, although I did try to keep the details vague and make it vanilla. It was a necessary evil, given the relationship between Ragyo and her daughters.)
Brian Crain- At the Ivy Gates
Interdependence-Book of Circus OST
Vengeance- Dark Classical Piano music
Sad Piano Music-Anger
Cold-Jorge Mendez
Sunrise- Brian Crain
Ryuko spent the following week recovering from her injuries. She had been asleep for roughly two weeks since her fight with Satsuki and the life fibers in her body, those that were hers, had worked hard on repairing themselves from the internal damage that Senketsu had done. Speaking of Senks, she hadn't seen the jacket anywhere. This worried her, as she badly wanted to see him, to thank him and apologize to him. She also wanted to see Mako and Kinagase, and Aikuro and even the elite four as well. But she was confined to her room until she was at full capacity, with no visitors for as long as it took her to stabilize. Only Iori was allowed in, the blonde haired boy making notes of the rate of Ryuko's recovery. He would update her on what was happening outside but getting any small morsel of information out of him was like pulling teeth, so she eventually stopped trying, instead settling for hoping her friends were alright.
Ultimately Ryuko got bored of sitting in bed and staring at her blank walls as she mentally exhausted herself with thinking about the mistakes in her past, and decided she wanted to check up on her sister. Creeping silently from her bed to Satsuki's room, she hesitated in front of the door. What if Nonon was there again, ready to verbally abuse Ryuko into a deep pit of despair again? Taking her chances, Ryuko decided wanting to see her sister outweighed that, so she pushed the door open. Satsuki was sitting up in her bed, pillows propping her up, a thick tome resting on her lap. Her still too slender hands were turning the pages as she voraciously read page after page.
Ryuko stood gazing at her sister, wondering how she could ever have hurt her so badly, this person who was her only family. True, in the past they had had issues between each other but never to the point of such destruction. Now Satsuki looked like a sickly patient, her skin too pale to be healthy and her eyes rimmed with black. "Are you going to talk to me or just stand there?" Satsuki's voice interrupted Ryuko from her thoughts and the girl jumped, a blush at having been caught, spreading on her cheeks. Her sister was staring levelly at her, and folding the page corner to mark her page, she closed her book. (1:22) "Well?"
"Sorry," Ryuko muttered out, closing the door behind her for more privacy. She approached her sister hesitantly. She hadn't exactly thought through what she had wanted to talk about with her sister. She had only seen her once, a week ago when she made that impassioned speech about bringing the life fibers down.
"I wanted to talk to you about...stuff," Ryuko said vaguely, waving her hands around in exasperation as she tried to find the right words.
"You have my attention." Satsuki's voice was weak, soft almost, but Ryuko could still sense the steel in it, the coldness that always infused Satsuki's speech no matter what she was saying.
Ryuko scratched the back of her hair. Lately her hair had grown longer and it was now up to her shoulders. She would have to cut it soon or else it would get even more unmanageable then it already was. Satsuki's, on the other hand, was the same length although it was missing its usual healthy sheen.
"I-I just, god," Ryuko sighed as she rubbed her face hard. Why were words so hard for her to use? Using her fists came to her without a split second hesitation but this-talking about her feelings- was like trying to write an essay in a different language using your toes.
Ryuko tried to start up again but failed, her mouth flapping open and shut like a fishes. Satsuki arched her brow amused. "Are you trying to tell me something?" Ryuko let out an annoyed huff and decided that if she wasn't good with words, she'd just use an action to get her feelings across. Taking big strides to Satsuki's bed, she sat down on the edge and wrapped her arms around the slender girls neck. Satsuki froze at this, shocked. (2:08)"I'm sorry," Ryuko whispered against her sister's neck. "I really am. I couldn't stand it if I lost you. I'll stop being such a shitty sister and get my act together. I promised I would save the world with you by your side and not against it. This time I intend to keep that promise no matter the consequences." Ryuko pulled away at this to gauge her sister's reaction. Satsuki's stunned face stared back at her, and from her eyes tears trailed down her cheeks, dripping down onto her hospital gown. "You okay?" Ryuko asked, concerned over this display of clear emotion from her stoic sister.
"I'm fine," Satsuki responded, raising hands to her cheeks and touching the wetness there as if she had never believed herself to be capable of producing any tears. "I'm crying." She said this as if she had just found out Santa no longer existed.
"I'm glad that at least one of us is human. For a second I thought I would have to act the role of the extraterrestrial sister and the human one." Ryuko made a huge effort of wiping the fake sweat off of her forehead in relief. She tried to crack a smile to help alleviate the tension in the serious situation but Satsuki didn't respond to her comment. (2:49)
"Ryuko, you have no idea how much, how much..." Satsuki gulped at this and Ryuko could see the older girl trying to piece her wall back up; to hide behind her impenetrable fortress of solitude. Ryuko grabbed her hands; she wasn't going to let her sister go back to that place. They were going to try and be normal sisters now, it was time they had to truly trust each other, to be there for each other and get through the plethora of problems they had, emotional and mental.
(3:05)"It's alright, you can cry in front of me, Satsuki, I'm your sister. I'm here for you. I promise I will never leave you again." Ryuko vowed, staring intently into her sister's watery gaze to let her know how serious she was. Satsuki let out a half sob.
"You have no idea how scared I was to lose you after all this time," she at last got out, more tears sliding down her face. "I thought I was going to have to kill you, to save you from the fibers..."
"It's okay," Ryuko soothed as she brought her sister into another embrace and patted her trembling back softly. "Just let it all out." Strangely Satsuki felt safe in her sisters arms. Considering these same arms had tried to kill her just days ago she should have been scared, traumatized, should have pushed away, but she couldn't find it in herself to hate the dark haired girl. She had been used and manipulated just like Satsuki had been by that horrid woman and therefore innocent of all this. "Don't leave me Ryuko, I need you. You're the most important person in the world to me." She needed the support of her sister, the burden of what she had shouldered for all these years seeming too much for her now in this moment, draining her mentally, emotionally, and physically. But she didn't want to hinder the younger girl with all her excess baggage so for now all she did was let out all the sadness she had bottled up over the course of the war. She sobbed long and hard into her sister's arms, her body threatening to collapse in on its self if the other girl hadn't been supporting her. And Ryuko, hearing Satsuki's plea, the arrogant girl's outright admittance that she needed someone else, and all the pain that flowed out with her tears, felt for the first time that she truly belonged in this world. That she had a real purpose, and that it was to protect her sister. (End of song)
(Start Interdependence ) Nonon stood outside the door to Satsuki's room. She had heard the whole conversation between Ryuko and Satsuki and her heart clenched painfully. She felt weird, her emotions confusing her. Was it because Satsuki had been crying? That was so out of character that it would make sense to be shocked at this...or maybe it was the declaration that Satsuki needed the dark haired girl that had Nonon feeling this way. Satsuki had only said it once to Nonon over all the years of their friendship and here she barely knew Ryuko but was being so open and human about it. Satsuki's request of Nonon's help had been just that, a request, nothing warm about it. Nonon tried to push away her dark emotions; she should be happy that Satsuki had found someone to trust, that she finally got back the sister she needed. You're the most important person in the world to me. Did Satsuki not value her friendship with Nonon at all? After all they had been together? She grit her teeth painfully and crossed her tiny arms over her chest. What was the big deal with having a sister anyways? Nonon hadn't have one and she turned out fine. (0:40)
There was some movement from behind the door and Ryuko's voice. "I'll come back tomorrow. I don't want to stay out too late or else they'll come looking for me. But I promise I will come back."
There was no response back but Nonon inferred that Satsuki had to be smiling. Remembering that she had been eavesdropping the whole time, Nonon quickly jumped behind a potted plant, holding her breath in anticipation. Ryuko exited the room, closing the door softly behind her and padding back to her room. She paused at her doorway, holding it gently with her left hand and casting a glance back at the closed door over her shoulder. (1:00)"Ragyo." she hissed, the hold on the door-frame getting dangerously strong before she closed her door and Nonon was left by herself in the hallway. Waiting a couple of minutes to make sure Satsuki was asleep (the girl didn't-couldn't- face an awake Satsuki now) Nonon crept into the room. Satsuki was not asleep however, instead, reading a book. "Nonon," she stated, looking up at her friend. Her eyes were rimmed red but other than that there was no physical sign of her emotional break down just minutes before. For some reason this pissed Nonon off even more.
"Satsuki-I-I thought you were asleep," Nonon said, backpedaling and reaching for the door knob as she laughed awkwardly. Satsuki frowned at her friends weird reaction. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing is wrong. At all. Just super duper great actually." Satsuki frowned at this.
"Anyways how are you?" Nonon asked, eager to get the attention off of her. "Pillows plumped up enough?" She rushed over to her friends bed and started fluffing up the pillows nervously. Satsuki grasped Nonon's wrist, stopping the girl from continuing.
"Nonon, your acting strange. What happened?" (end of song)
She was acting strange? How ironic coming from Satsuki's mouth. (Start song Vengeance)"Nothing," Nonon hissed, agitation arising from how confused and erratic she felt from all the emotions swirling in her.
"Did something happen that I need to know about? Is it Ragyo and Nui?" When Nonon shook her head at this, Satsuki released her hold on the smaller girls wrist. Heaving a sigh she said, "you heard me crying, did you."
Nonon nodded her head, not trusting herself to say anything right now. "It's alright," Satsuki reassured. "My debilitated condition has left me susceptible to weaknesses such as sadness and I am-"(0:20)
"Satsuki!" Nonon uttered out, angry. "You're not alright. You cried a lot, in Ryuko's arms of all people." Satsuki, if possible, blushed at this. "I do admit to my imperfection. But she is my sister-"
"What about me?" Nonon cried out exasperated. "I've been your best friend for all these years and you've never come to cry to me. I've stood by your side, ready to support you, in whatever decision you make. Ready to cheer you up if you were sad, calm you down if you were angry, or, or, or," Nonon couldn't formulate words anymore, she was so overcome, the words tripping over themselves as she spoke. Satsuki was just appraising her coolly, waiting for the tirade to end. (0:40)
"You know what, it doesn't matter in the end. She is your most important person in the world, so whatever." Nonon finished lamely and turned on her heel to leave, Satsuki's lack of words ripping a hole in her chest. Satsuki had never put in any effort into their friendship, only Nonon had. I guess it was one sided all along.
"Wait," Satsuki said softly, catching onto the edge of Nonon's sleeve. The pink haired girl stopped but she didn't turn around, not trusting her face right now and the expression it was making.
"I apologize for my behavior, Nonon. I do greatly value you. You've stayed by my side the longest of everyone else on the team. You have provided invaluable support and for that I will be eternally grateful. You didn't have to, you could have just left me and gone on to live a normal life, yet you chose me, chose to support my arduous task."
"Good for you," Nonon replied coldly. Satsuki's words of praise would have warmed her before but now it just left her cold, her friend's words lacking the warmth she had used on Ryuko. (1:04)
"Nonon, do not act like a petulant child." Satsuki sighed heavily as if Nonon was behaving unnaturally.
"A child?!" Nonon whirled around, ripping her arm free of Satsuki's hand and surprising the girl with how quickly she moved, as well as with the fire that heated her voice. "I voice my feelings, try to understand if we even have a friendship to salvage at this point and you call me a child? Is that how you see me? As someone below you who hasn't lived up to your lofty expectations, who is not worthy of your respect?"
Satsuki flinched at this, her blue eyes distressed. Nonon didn't feel bad at this, just empowered. How does it feel to be at the mercy of your subordinates? She thought with grim satisfaction. She had always tried her best to be there for Satsuki's every demand and Satsuki was totally disregarding her all this time. "Is that how you feel about all of us?" Nonon hissed and Satsuki turned up her brows in concern, looking uncharacteristically weak at this moment. See I told you your best friend hates you, Junketsu's voice hissed in Satsuki's head and she clenched her hands on her sheets, trying to chase the intruding voice out of her head. (1:37)
"Do you just see me and Ira and Uzu and Houka as just pawns in your little game? You just pretend we mean anything to you, and couldn't care less about us if we died. When you were in that cage we worried out of our minds thinking about how to get you back, fretting about if Ragyo was hurting you. We shouldn't have worried." Nonon was shaking with anger now, not understanding how it could have escalated like this but it felt good, good to hurt Satsuki like the other girl had hurt her throughout all these years. Good to voice how infuriating it was to watch the other girl pick Ryuko over her each and every time. (2:06) "All you care about is Ryuko. Ryuko this, Ryuko that," Nonon mocked in a high pitched voice, making over-exaggerated lovey dovey faces. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were obsessed with her."
"I'm not," Satsuki finally spoke, her vulnerability from before gone. Whatever walls Ryuko had broke down were coming back up, reinforced with spikes this time. (2:15)"Well it looks like it," Nonon shot back. "Why don't you go and run into her arms again. You clearly don't need us. You just treat us as slaves, to be used and tossed away. I feel bad for Ryuko now you know, having a cruel sister like you. You don't really care about her. Most important person in the world," Nonon mocked. "That's only to keep her from falling into your mothers clutches, to use her to save the world which you clearly are sorely sucking at doing. You just want to use her for your own gains like your mother did." Images of Ragyo's hands over Ryuko's squirming and pale form, violating her inch by inch filled Satsuki's mind and she couldn't help from yelling out, "I would never use her like Ragyo would! Never!"
"You keep telling yourself that but I can see it now, you're truly cut from the same cloth as your mother."
"Don't say that," Satsuki warned, her voice hard and jaw clenching in her efforts to control her anger. (2:43)
Oh this is getting good. I can't wait to see what else she says, Junketsu snickered and Satsuki pushed the voice away for now. "Your no better than your mother!" Nonon at last spat out, feeling her chest lighten as she got the heavy load off. "Fighting to destroy her when your just the same!"
Satsuki inhaled deeply, her emotions threatening to overflow. She felt betrayal at her friends comments, deep hurt that this was the way she felt, and anger above all that she would dare compare her to her mother of all people. "I am not my mother Nonon and I never will be. You don't know the things she did, the things she continues to do. I am nothing like her!" Satsuki yelled out, her knuckles turning white from how tightly she was holding the blankets. Nonon opened her mouth to respond but Satsuki couldn't stop herself anymore, the words pouring out of her like a broken dam. And that was what she was, something broken beyond repair. "I don't go around molesting my own daughter just for the whim of it." (3:23)
"She what?" Nonon squeaked out, all the wind getting taken out of her sails. Everything she had planned to say in response to whatever Satsuki was going to say, disappeared from her mind. Her anger transformed into horror as the words sunk in. Surely it couldn't be true, right? Was Satsuki being serious now?(end of song)
(Start Anger) "Every god damn chance she got she was on me. From the moment I turned eight she gazed at me with a predatory look that I couldn't understand because I was too young, because whose mother does that." Satsuki said this through gritted teeth, her eyes glowing in anger and pain as she recalled her childhood. "She even got to Nui, but that little psychopath enjoyed it, and pretty soon each weekend was revolving around pleasuring and being pleasured by those-" Satsuki paused, unable to continue to say those hated women's names. Nonon felt cold all over, disgust coiling around her stomach, her knees feeling like rubber. She was aware how this whole situation seemed surreal right now, as if it wasn't her in the room listening to her friend say all this. (play until 0:23) (Start song cold)
"Satsuki," she whispered wanting to reach out to her friend and comfort her, take this pain away but the other girl no longer seemed to be aware she was in a room with someone else, her gaze solely focused on the blank wall in front of her.
"I eventually learned what was happening and how wrong it was and so I tried my best to keep away from the house. I spent as much time as I could at school, at my job, just anything that would keep me away from her. But still she found a way." Satsuki's voice was soft now, as if she was giving up. She remembered vividly when her mother had visited her at her presidential office one day when she was busy making a call to hire a professor for her school. Satsuki was at her desk, phone to ear when the other woman had let herself into the room, surprising Satsuki with her arrival; she hadn't expected her mother to visit so early on in the semester.
"Give me a moment mother," she had instructed her, focusing intently on her call but the other woman was not going to listen. "Surely you can spare me a moment, my dear. I haven't seen you in such a long time," the woman groaned out at the end, setting Satsuki on edge. So that was what the visit was for. Could she somehow avoid this? Her mind raced with the possibilities of how to get out of this situation as Ragyo walked over behind Satsuki's chair and rested her chin on the top of it.
"You smell good," she commented, taking a deep whiff of the girl's hair and Satsuki pushed down the disgust that welled up in her throat and threatened to over-spill. "I'm having an important phone call," she answered back only to have the other chuckle. "Well since the phone call is so important, I guess you can keep talking," the older woman's hands drifted down to the front of Satsuki's shirt and slowly unbuttoned it, causing shivers to go up and down Satsuki's spine. "I'll just keep myself entertained in the meantime." Surely she wasn't thinking of doing this? It seemed that Ragyo was coming up with more and more inconvenient moments for this. Swallowing thickly Satsuki tried to focus on the phone call but it might as well have been on another planet, the voice small and insignificant in her ear. Ragyo's hands pulled Satsuki's shirt downwards leaving the girl's upper half partially naked.
"I can finish the call later," Satsuki insisted and was about to say her goodbyes to the man on the other end when her mother stilled her hand. "No, continue. Don't be rude." Satsuki wanted to let out an internal scream but instead inhaled sharply. "Did you lock the door, at least?" Satsuki asked, hoping that it had been closed. (1:17)
"No, my dear. It'll be more fun this way," Ragyo insisted and Satsuki prayed that none of her friends would walk in right now. She steeled her mind and her body to the best she could although if she didn't give Ragyo what she wanted then it would just make the woman stay here longer. Satsuki was debating the best option as Ragyo set to work, snaking her hand down Satsuki's crouch and unzipping the pants zipper, as her mouth hummed pleased noises into Satsuki's free ear. (1:29)
"Ms. Kiryuin so when would be the best time to come over for a college visit?" the man on the other end of the line asked and Satsuki had to remind herself to focus on the conversation. (1:40)
"Anytime is fine, professor March," she responded her voice starting to get breathy, and she clutched the desk hard with one hand, fingers turning white as Ragyo began to work faster.
"So this week perhaps?" the man asked and Satsuki wanted to curse him for asking. Couldn't he just end the call already?
"Yes," she nearly gasped out the answer and quickly coughed to cover it up.
"You okay?"
"Yes, just a bit of the sniffles," she shuddered. "I'll see you soon then." Her voice went up in pitch near the end of her sentence.
"Wait-" gosh damn it! She hissed, annoyed at him.
"What?"
"Don't be rude, Satsuki," Ragyo chided. "I raised you better than that."
"Yes, of course," Satsuki squirmed in her seat as Ragyo in punishment passed over a bundle of Satsuki's sensitive nerves causing her kick her legs out and for her head to hit the back of her chair as she held in a groan.
"Is someone else in the room?" Professor March asked. "I can hear another voice."
Why does he need to to know? Can't he just hang up already?
"If so I can call back later to talk," he offered and Satsuki was happy to jump on the opportunity.
"Yes, that would be ideal. My mother is here and she requires my immediate attention."
"As in the woman who leads Revoc's!" He held reverence in his voice and Satsuki could almost imagine the look on his face: eyes opened wide, mouth slack, and a mixture of desire and veneration on his facial features. Disgusting. She definitely wouldn't give him the job anymore.
"The one and only," Ragyo said, snatching the phone away from Satsuki. "How nice to speak to you." She made a pleased noise and then laughed at some comment he made. "Of course," she twisted her thumb and Satsuki let out a sharp breath, hating how she was reduced to a crumpling mess in mere seconds by her mother. She hated herself the most in those moments for being weak, and she hated her mother most in those moments for violating her privacy and her very being. (2:32)
"Why yes Satsuki is such a pleasure to have," Ragyo cooed as Satsuki clawed at her desk top in an effort to control herself. Each time this happened she tried preserve a bit of her dignity by not giving Ragyo the joy of seeing her controlled by her baser human reactions but every time she failed.
"I'm proud to be her parent, truly she is astounding in more than one way." Satsuki could feel the pressure behind her eyes that signaled she was coming close. Ragyo must have known this because that was when she decided it was time for her to pass the phone back to Satsuki. "Well, now it was nice to talk to you but I must give the phone back to Satsuki so you may cordially end your conversation." Satsuki would have cursed her mother into oblivion if her mind could string together so many creative words in a row, but her brain was lacking coherence in this instance. (3:00) She grasped the phone in shaking hands and decided she had to end this before it could escalate to the worst.
"Thank you for your time professor March. I will talk with you later. Good day." And before she could check if he responded, she ended the call and flung the offending device as far from her as she could, where it broke on the stone floor.
And not a moment too soon as she finally unraveled with a huge cry. (3:15) She let her top half bend forward, dragging Ragyo with her. She stayed like that, trying to catch her breath and put up the walls that she could hide her shame and embarrassment behind. She must have taken too long because Ragyo grabbed the back of her head and pulled her up so that her face was forced to look up into her's, inhuman eyes gleaming with sadistic satisfaction. "I guess you didn't want to talk to him anymore." Satsuki frowned and pulled herself free from Ragyo who didn't try to stop her. Satsuki pulled her shirt back up and began buttoning it, trying to regain her composure and steely look, but her body still burned from where she had been touched and she had to resist the urge to take Bakuzan and remove the offended flesh.
"If you're done mother, you can leave."
"How cruel," Ragyo sighed, faking a hurt look. "And after I took off a work day to come and visit you in your new office."
"I appreciate it, but the visit was unnecessary. I can accommodate and handle things on my own."
"Ah, yes, I do know that, but I just wanted to help you break in the new office." Ragyo walked over to her daughter and cupped her chin, smiling down at her as Satsuki finally snapped the last button into place. Satsuki knew exactly what Ragyo had on mind when she said breaking in the new office and she did not like it in the least. "Perhaps another time, I have much work to attend to in order to settle into my role as president of a university." 4.05r
"Yes, but all work and no pleasure leads to a very boring life," Ragyo responded. "I even brought wine," she added, gesturing with her free hand to the basket she had placed on Satsuki's desk.
"Another time mother," Satsuki insisted trying to hold back her irritation and fear. Ragyo paused at this, her eyes taking on a dangerous look.
"I don't know why you bothered buttoning up your shirt. You won't be wearing it for a long time." She said after a while and Satsuki clenched her hand to stop it from shaking. She had succeed in pissing her mother off and that was never a good thing, especially when she was in an already detestable mood. "And Nui is dropping by too. She wanted to celebrate your new office." Double shit, Satsuki cursed as Ragyo ripped the shirt off, sending buttons shooting in various directions across the room. After that night Satsuki could not go back to her office for weeks on end without being assaulted with unpleasant memories.
"She always found a way." Satsuki's brain finally exited that fresh memory and she looked up at Nonon. "So please don't tell me I am like my mother, because I would never, ever, do that to someone." (end of song) (start When it all falls down)
Nonon at this point was reduced to speechlessness, tears silently dripping down her face, hands covering her mouth in horror. She couldn't have known the exact details of what Satsuki went through but just the gist of it was bad enough that she wished she could take back what she said. She wanted to say so much but couldn't, her tongue frozen in fear. Someone else said it for her, however.
"And when were you going to tell us all this? Tell me this?" It was Ryuko, who had stood in the doorway, hands fisted.
Satsuki just looked tiredly at her, the truth taking the toll on her.
"How long were you there?'' (0:30)
"Long enough. Your fight attracted me; you were arguing so loud even I was woken up, and now I hear this, this bullshit." Ryuko spat, storming into the room. "Why did you never tell any of us this, why?"
"Because Matoi, it's all in the past and no one could have stopped it. Ragyo has a way of always getting what she wants."
"That doesn't mean you don't tell people about it and not get help. This shit can seriously mess you up!" Satsuki just rolled her eyes at Ryuko's angry concern.
"Exactly. Statistics tell that such childhood trauma can lead to problems in the adult life." Inumuta showed up behind Ryuko, pushing up his glasses with a finger and reading the info off his phone.
"Damn Satsuki, I didn't know you had to go through such tough shit." Sangeyama voiced, coming out from behind Inumuta. His face was in a scowl and arms crossed over his chest. "I'm sorry to hear this. Makes my childhood story sound weak compared to yours."
"My lady I bow before you and ask if I can disembowel myself for failing to protect you from these horrors." Ira too appeared and prostrated himself on the floor next to Satsuki's bed, head pressed to the floor. Satsuki closed her eyes and everyone in the room waited with baited breath to see what she would say. The elite four in all the years they had stayed by her side had not known that she had suffered through something like this. It just made them hate Ragyo and Nui all the more.
At last Satsuki opened her eyes and sardonically smiled at them briefly. "I am touched by all your concern but now is not really the time to talk about this."
"Yes it is!" Ryuko cut her sister off before she could even finish her sentence. "You got assaulted, we need to talk about this now! You've already kept this a secret long enough. In fact how long were you going to keep this hidden?" (1:30)
"Indefinitely." Was Satsuki's non-apologetic response. "A leader's duty is not to burden her people with her own issues, just help them with theirs."
"Satsuki, even leaders have close advisers to confide in." Inumuta pointed out.
"Yea and we're your friends. We're here to help you." Uzu added, scratching the back of his head, unsure what to say in light of these recent events. "Don't keep such important things a secret from us. We want to help you, not hurt you. All of your best interests we hold at heart."
"Did we not swear to work together no matter the trails in order to defeat your mother?" Inumuta thought back to the past. He had been a sixteen year old boy hacking for fun and to fuel his pride and ego. He had tried to hack into Revoc's industry and had succeeded, feeling immense joy for this was one of the companies with top notch firewalls and security. But not a second later Satsuki had burst into his room, knocking the door off of the hinges. She had crossed his messy room and thrust her sword at his throat, in the time he had managed to swivel his chair to face her, the blade effectively pinning him to the chair, as she went on a monologue. (2:00)"Inumuta Houka, high school dropout who shows beyond average computer skills. You spend your time hacking into governmental and corporate systems for fun, in an effort to prove yourself to your internet peers. Today you attempted to and succeeded in hacking into the Revoc's system. As such I have been sent to dispatch you, however."
At this Satsuki sheathed her blade slowly, the sound of metal sliding permeating the tense silence, penetrating gaze never leaving Inumuta's frightened one. He was sweating greatly and heaved out a great sigh as the pressure of the sword tip on his Adam's apple went away. "I will not,"(2:20) Satsuki stated. "I have use for your abilities and I wish to employ your assistance. In exchange for your help you will have your life and the chance to do all the hacking you could ever possibly desire to do."
"R-Really?" Inumuta squeaked out, noticing his glasses were askew. He quickly fixed them and Satsuki nodded her head.
"Yes. My offer is genuine. If you should refuse it then I will have to end you on the spot."
"I'll take it." There was no point in deliberating longer when the choice was so clear. (2:33) And so had began Inumuta's and Satsuki's partnership. What had once started out as a forced servant relation quickly grew to one of mutual respect and eventual friendship. And now, he couldn't have been more glad that she had found him. His path had not been easy, and now they were facing the end of the world, but it had been worth it for all the friendships he had made.
(2:40)"Satsuki," he said her name without the honorific causing all the people in the room to look at him. This even got Satsuki's attention, who had been portraying an air of disinterest in this conversation the moment it had started. "You have been the rock that all of us have relied on for years. Ira has depended on you to help funnel his intense sense of righteousness and strength into a more beneficial direction, Uzu has used you as a goal to motivate himself in training and gaining more power, Nonon has utilized you as a friend and as a source of inspiration for her music, and I have benefited in our relationship for you offered me an opportunity that furthered my computing abilities and made me a proper member of society. But we are not the only ones who have trusted you. Nudist Beach has entrusted you to make plans to save the world, Ryuko has relied on you to be her older sister, to help and guide her, and most of all the whole world has left the fate of the future of the entire planet in your hands."
"What are you getting at man?" Uzu asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion at Inumuta's unusually large quantity of talking.
But Houka didn't stop to explain. He could see he had Satsuki's attention now. Placing a hand on his chest he finished up the impassioned speech.
"That is a lot to live up to and many would have long given up at this tremendous task, but not you. You have dealt with the problems deftly and we could not ask for a better leader. However, even the best leaders can still fail prey to failure and dark times. So Satsuki, as your fellow schoolmates, comrades and most importantly friends we implore you to use us too, to come to use when you cannot do something by yourself. I can help you analytically take apart a problem, Nonon can offer a shoulder to cry on, Ira can give you as many hugs as you desire and Uzu, can, well he can be there for you."
"Hey!" Uzu cried out at Inumuta's lame idea but the blue haired boy was on a roll and not stopping. "Do not shoulder this great burden by yourself, let us take a part of it. We implore you Satsuki, to do this, not as a leader, but as a friend, an equal."
There was silence in the moments after his speech and although he expected that, he began to grow a bit uncomfortable. Tugging on his collar he looked at everyone as he fidgeted. Would the lady be mad at him for addressing her this way? Finally, Uzu let out a low whistle, breaking the silence. "Never knew nerd boy over here felt like this. Or that he even had feelings." Houka shot the green haired boy a glare but didn't comment. (3:34)
"What a touching speech!" Ira nodded his head, still not getting up from where he was bowed on the floor. Nonon finally wiped away her tears having at last stopped crying.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you Satsuki. I never meant to say all those mean things. I was just upset, I guess, that you didn't believe in us to be able to be there for you." Then without another word Nonon jumped into the black haired girl's arms, surprising her. The others followed suit, smothering the girl in hugs one by one until only Satsuki's face was visible under their bodies. (end of song) (Start Sunrise)
"Don't be stubborn about this," Nonon said to which Satsuki actually smiled to. It had been years since Nonon had last seen the girl smile and it made her feel hopeful that the speech her gotten to her. It also made her feel bubbly inside, hinting at their younger days, filled with so much laughter and childish games. Days that she longed for with a bittersweet desire.
"Coming from you I find that odd. But I am truly glad to have you all at my side. It may be a while before I am ready to take a step back from always being a rock, but I will try to divulge my secrets to you one by one, so that you may know I trust you." Satsuki admitted, her tone softer than it usually was.
"Since you offered, I wanna know the secret to how you get your brows to be that big," Ryuko piped up, causing the elite four to groan in annoyance and for Nonon to stick out her tongue at the other girl. "Are you being serious right now?" She challenged.
"My brows are big?" Satsuki asked, genuinely confused. "I thought everyone else just had small brows." This caused peals of laughter from her friends and she smiled again, a shy little thing, her mouth having forgotten how to do so in the years of misuse and so the muscles had to warm up again.
"What's going on here?" Iori came into the room, hands on hips. He was frowning heavily behind his mask at the scene in front of him. "Satsuki needs to recover, shoo, all of you!" He began to make shooing motions with his hands.
"Way to kill the mood, Iori." Uzu grimaced. "Nice job."
A/N: So this chapter was more on the feelings between the characters, but don't worry, next one will be on action! Chapter 20 will be the climax of the series. (Hopefully, if I don't end up scrapping my idea and rewriting it)