Chapter 15: Final Battle, Final Flashback, Final Words
Well, MICC was in action, and I was to be the heroine.
"Beep…beep…hello?" came Utau's voice. I'd strayed away from the lab entrance in case Kuukai lost. I'm assuming he's just stalling and knows Kairi has some trick up his sleeve. I sighed, speaking into the phone.
"Utau?" I asked. Utau was apparently surprised to hear me. After all, it was Kuukai's cell. "Yeah, Mashiro?" she asked. I sighed. "Where are you right now?" I asked, getting straight to the point. There was a pause on Utau's side.
"A few corners away from the exit. How are you guys? Can you get out in time?" she asked worriedly, evidently concerned for Kuukai. I sighed, summarizing what Kairi had told me to them. "Don't exit. Come back. Kairi said we're facing Christmas once and for all tonight," I said. I heard another pause on the other side. "Is everyone alright?" she asked, immediately picking up that something must have gone wrong. I bit my lip, hesitating to tell her.
"Kuukai's fighting Chika, Nadeshiko, Nagihiko, and Amu are captured in the lab," I said honestly. There was another pause on her side.
"Where do I go?" she asked, straight to the point once more. "Back to the business front. Kairi apparently needs your information. He'll meet you guys there and he'll probably give you further information," I said. Utau grunted. "Sure. Bye. And, please, take care of Kuukai," she said sincerely. I gulped. I really wasn't sure if I could do that. "I'll…try," I said.
"Thanks," she said, and she hung up.
Next was Yaya. "Kuukai-kun! Did you guys make it?" she asked all too cheerily. I gulped. "Yaya, where are you right now?" I asked. I heard her sucking on a lollipop. "Right outside the building. Did something happen? Kuukai-kun, why do you sound like Rima-chii?" she asked. I sighed.
"I am Rima. Listen, Yaya, we're having a final showdown with Christmas. We need you here right now," I said. Yaya nodded, happy she could participate in the battle. "Where does Yaya need to head?" she asked. "The lab," I said. "Hurry, you won't be able to get in after 10:00. Good luck," I whispered, and then hanging up.
Finally, the hardest part: saving those three people. How in the world was I supposed to do that? Kairi said getting Nagihiko out was good enough…supposedly. But how—and why? Actually, more importantly is how.
"ARGH!" I heard someone groan from the lab, sounding strangely masculine—and probably Kuukai. "Crap," I muttered as I dashed over. Sure enough, Kuukai was on the ground, still in his Sky Jack charanari but severely injured.
"You can't beat me, Souma-san," Chika spoke, floating in the air with her charanari as Noir Diamond. Kuukai snickered and spat at the ground. "I don't need to. I just need to rescue my friends!" he exclaimed, as he shot another attack at Chika. Surprisingly, she didn't even send an attack to nullify it; instead she simply used her hand to push the ball of energy towards one wall of the lab, causing it to collapse.
"You're weak," she sneered as Kuukai huffed. There really was nothing much more he could do. Perhaps…perhaps…
"My Own Heart: Unlock!" I exclaimed as I felt KusuKusu's energy rushing into me. Finally, the charanari was complete. "Charanari: Clown Drop!" I exclaimed, coming out in the usual clown outfit.
"And if it isn't our clown friend once again," Chika sneered even more. "Whatcha doing here, come to save your Prince Charming?" she said mockingly as she pointed towards Nagihiko trapped behind the bars behind her. Nagihiko's eyes widened. "Rima-chan!" he exclaimed. I focused my attention on Chika. I couldn't get distracted now.
"You wanna know something?" Chika said as she began to descend. "I absolutely loathe you guys. You guys probably think I'm some psycho girl who's gone nuts. Well, I'm telling you: I'm not," Chika said. I blinked. Had she suddenly regained some sense.
"The director of Christmas is my father," she stated boldly. Wow, she's on her personal-information-spouting spree again. "I knew Nagihiko when I small in Osaka. We were good friends," she stated rather neutrally. I could see Nagihiko's face drop in the background. Did something sad come into mind?
"I got a Chara back then," Chika continued. "It was Shizue. She was the one who brought to my attention my feelings for Nagihiko," she said without a hint of hesitation. Through my peripheral vision, I noticed Nagihiko flinch.
"Sadly, he rejected me," Chika continued. "And then he moved away. Haha, that was hilarious of him. Running away from me? What a coward," she insulted loudly. "So anyways, I hadn't intended to meet him here. After all, what were the chances? One in a million," she said. I nodded, slowly inching towards the cage. I still remembered my plan after all. To keep her talking, I began shooting questions.
"What is Christmas's goal?" I asked. Chika laughed. "You're fighting us and you don't know? The Embryo, of course!" she exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. "What about the Embryo? What will you wish for?" I asked. Chika blinked.
"My mother. She died. My father will bring her back to life," she said ominously. I gulped. W—what? She was bringing someone back from death? That was scary. "Shouldn't you let those who died to move on? There's no need to pull them back into the world. I'll bet you your mother's relaxing in Heaven now," I said. Chika laughed. The laughter slowly turned rather maniacal. I couldn't help freezing in my steps.
"She wouldn't be in Heaven. She's probably a ghost right now," Chika said spookily. I blinked. Huh? "Why?" I asked. Chika turned towards me and glared into my eyes.
"Nagihiko killed her. The love of my life killed the one I loved the most," Chika spoke spitefully. Nagihiko finally spoke up for the first time.
"Chika-chan, I swear, it was an accident!" Nagihiko protested. This time, Chika turned around and glared at him. "SHUT UP! If it weren't for you, Ma would still be ALIVE!" Chika hollered. Nagihiko winced, turning down to look at the ground. From inside the jail cell, Nadeshiko and Amu attempted to comfort him.
"What happened?" I asked daringly. Chika turned her attention back to me and smirked. "You really wanna know? Then I'll tell you," she said. "It was just a fine, spring morning. When everything began perfectly normally. When everything turned horribly wrong. When everything ended in the worst way."
Flashback:
"C'mon, Nadeshiko!" a younger Chika explained joyously, grabbing onto a smaller Nadeshiko—Nagihiko's hand. Nagihiko gave a nervous smile. "Chika-chan, my mother told me I can't leave the house today…" he spoke nervously. Chika rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Nadeshiko, it doesn't matter! Just go against your mother for a day! She won't kill you," Chika said. Nagihiko gave a huff. "Well, she will kill me but I guess I can't really kill Chika-chan's enthusiasm now…" Nagihiko thought worriedly. "Sure, let's go," he finally agreed unwillingly.
"Yay!" Chika exclaimed cheerily with a child's innocence and naivety. The two children dashed down the road, excited by the prospect of freedom to go anywhere they wanted. "I wanna go to Italy and have some spaghetti!" Chika exclaimed, as the two children began listing off their dreams.
"I wanna go to Florida and play on the beaches…" Nagihiko spoke dreamily. Chika rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, even if you're going to Florida, you should be surfing!" she exclaimed ambitiously. Nagihiko laughed. "I can't swim. You know that, Chika-chan," Nagihiko said. Chika rolled her eyes. "Well, you said you were allergic to chlorine, but not salt water!" she exclaimed. Nagihiko laughed along nervously.
"Well, I also wanna see the Eiffel Tower," Nagihiko said. Chika laughed. "Sure, sure. I wanna go watch the Super Bowl!" Chika exclaimed. Nagihiko blinked. "Wow, Chika-chan, you really like sports," he commented. Chika rolled her eyes. "Duh, Nadeshiko. Just noticed?"
"Well, I also wanna fall in love," Nagihiko spoke truthfully. Chika scoffed. "Fall in love? That's useless! It's just two people living together and catching cooties," Chika said, disgusted. Nagihiko chuckled at the naïve girl's definition of 'love.' However, he did not catch the girl's subtle glances towards his direction. "Well, true love's not like that," Nagihiko spoke proudly. "When people really fall in love, it's a beautiful thing. There's this feeling, and it's like all the good stuff in the world wrapped together in one thing and you drink it," Nagihiko said. At this, Chika sighed.
"Hey, Nagihiko," Chika whispered really softly, afraid someone would overhear the two conversing. "Y—yeah?" Nagihiko responded, alarmed by Chika's sudden addressee. Chika smiled softly.
"When you fall in love, tell me what it's really like, 'kay?" Chika said. Nagihiko blushed at the prospect of falling in love. To be truthful, he didn't even know how it was like. But what else could he say in response? "S—sure," he said. Chika smiled dreamily at Nagihiko's definition and metaphor of love.. And compared it to a feeling she already had.
What would a wonderful, beautiful thing look like?
"Nadeshiko? Chika?" a distant voice called out. Both kids raised their heads to come face-to-face with a brown-haired woman, her hands carrying several groceries. Chika's face beamed. "Mama!" she exclaimed, rushing to give the woman a hug. Chika's mother smiled kindly. "What are you two kids doing here?" she asked. Chika shrugged.
"Enjoying ourselves," she responded truthfully. Chika's mother laughed. "C'mon, it's getting dark," she said, looking towards the faraway sun dipping below the horizon. The sky was colored a dark crimson near the horizon, slowly becoming dark blue and black as it reached the sky. "Sure," both kids said. "Nadeshiko-chan, do you want to come over for dinner?" Chika's mother asked. Nagihiko raised his head anticipantly. "Really?" he asked. At home, dinner was so solemn and silent. Talking was considered rude and there were so many table etiquette manners for him to follow.
"Of course. I'll inform your mother," Chika's mother said. Nagihiko and Chika beamed, clapping hands. "Yay, we can have dinner together!" both cheered.
"Oh hey, I know a shortcut here!" Nagihiko exclaimed as he pointed down a dark alleyway. The Sasaki family frowned nervously, especially the mother. "Are you sure, Nadeshiko-chan? It looks dangerous," she said. Nagihiko frowned. He was so eager in showing Sasaki-san his secret passageway, but this was her response?
Quickly, Chika's mother detected Nagihiko's foul mood. "But nonetheless, it looks like an adventure! Soldiers?" she asked dramatically, as Nagihiko and Chika pretended to salute her. Chika's mother let out a laugh. "Let's go!" she exclaimed, as the two faux-marched for two steps and began laughing, the threesome walking down the alleyway together.
"Hey, are we almost there?" Chika asked Nagihiko, who was nervously looking around. To be truthful, he was worried. It was dark all around and every corner looked the same to him. He didn't dare tell, but he knew one thing: they were lost amongst the back slums of the town.
"Hey, it's rare to get visitors," a deep, raspy voice spoke. Chika, her mother and Nagihiko's head all darted towards the source of the voice: a dark, bulky man standing down the end of the alleyway. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he spoke suggestively, flipping out a pocketknife from his back pocket. "A young lady, and two younger children, along with a week's worth of food supply," he said, taking advances towards the three. Nervously, Chika and Nagihiko ran behind Chika's mother, clutching onto the hem of her dress.
"W—what do you want? We have the money," Chika's mother spoke boldly. The man laughed. "How much? Judging by the looks of you, you probably don't have much on you know," he said. Chika's mother flinched. "I—I can—what do you want?" she asked. The man laughed.
"Well, it's a dark night, and you three seem to be lost. Why don't you spend the night at my place…?" he spoke suggestively. The threesome had begun backing away from the man's advances, inching back towards their original path.
"Going somewhere?" a freaky voice came from behind the threesome. Chika's mother turned around to find Nagihiko and Chika being handled by two other gangsters. "Boy, children these days sure are feisty," one remarked, as they tied their wrists together with a rope. Both of the children struggled. "Let me go!" Chika exclaimed stubbornly, attempting to kick the man but failing to do so miserably.
"Let them go," Chika's mother spoke with new-found courage. The first man eyed her down. "And what will you give us?" he asked. Chika's mother bit the bottom of her lip. "Anything," she whispered, her tone turning desperate. The man threw his head back and laughed.
"Nah. I bet your husband will offer more than everything for his children and wife," he said, as he began approaching Chika's mother to rope her up. Chika's mother took steps back, trying to delay the inevitable. Finally, she thought of a plan.
"D—don't come over!" she exclaimed, flipping out a cell phone from her pockets. "I—I'll call the police!" she exclaimed. She clutched onto her fists tightly. Her cell phone was, in truth, out of batteries. She could only pretend it worked though. Thank goodness it was the type where you flip them open—you couldn't tell it was off.
"Do you dare to?" the first man said. "Turn around," he said as Chika's mother whirled around. One of the men was holding a knife dangerously close to each other the children's neck. "NO!" she exclaimed in horror, as the first man laughed once more.
"Call the police if you want, lady, but don't be expecting to see your children getting out of here alive," he threatened. Chika's mother bit her bottom lip. She was growing desperate. "Please…someone…help," she prayed in her mind.
"Hey!" Nagihiko gave a cry of alarm. One of the thugs was tugging at his hair. "Hey, you've got some pretty hair, young lady. I'll bet we can sell it for a hefty sum…" he mumbled as he ran his hands through her hair. "Hey! You're getting my hair all dirty!" he exclaimed in protest as the man laughed. "You should look around at your position before you speak, brat," he spat at Nagihiko, spit landing on his face. His eyes flared with anger and disgust.
"WHY YOU—" Nagihiko cut himself off, as sakura blossoms miraculously appeared in his hair. Out of nowhere, it seemed like he pulled out a naginata and rather skillfully wielded it at the thug. Said thug jumped back in surprise. "W—what? There are modern day ninjas?" he exclaimed in surprise.
"LET HER GO!" Nagihiko exclaimed, pointing his naginata at the thug holding Chika. The thug, being the coward he was, dashed away down the alleyway in fear of what could happen to him if he dwelled. Finally, Nagihiko turned towards the prior thug, who was slowly drawing out a gun.
"I wouldn't want to waste a bullet on you, my dear," he said as he looked at Chika's mother, "but it seems like if I want to live, I'll have to," he said, loading the gun. Nagihiko gulped. He doubted he'd be able to get to the man in time to prevent him from shooting a bullet.
"RUN!" Chika's mother suddenly screamed. She jumped and put her body in between the two children and the thug. "RUN!" she exclaimed once more, urgently, pushing the two kids to go. Nervously—and frightened by her behavior—the two nodded, dashing down the alleyway. "SH!T" the man yelled aloud, as the two children ran for their lives—very literally.
A shot was heard.
"Wait…so I'm confused," I commented. "How the heck did Nagihiko kill your mom?" I asked, perhaps a bit too blunt. Chika shot me a sharp glare.
OSAKA WEEKLY NEWS:
Lady Sacrifices Self to Protect Two Children
On August 7th, in the quiet town of Loggia, a tragedy occurred, resulting in the death of an innocent woman. Said woman was found, dead, in a dark alleyway belonging to the slums of Loggia. Scattered around her were her groceries and a pocketknife that was foolishly left behind by the criminal. After a DNA fingerprint inspection, the criminal was easily found: Takahashi Masaki, aged 51, a single man living by himself in the slums. Takahashi-san admitted to his crime and was arrested five days after the event. According to him, the lady had sacrificed herself to protect the lives of her two children. After investigation, these two children have been identified as Sasaki Chika, the mother's daughter, and Fujisaki Nadeshiko, a close friend of Sasaki Chika.
On this lone summer day, we will commemorate the bravery of Sasaki Aiko and mourn for her tragic loss to the Sasaki family.
"IT'S ALL HER FAULT!" a tearful Chika exclaimed at the funeral. "FUJISAKI NADESHIKO, YOU WILL PAY!" she exclaimed. Her father apologized to the guests and attempted to quiet down his daughter. When he failed, he dragged her out of the room and told her to think it over by herself in her bedroom. A tear-stained Chika dashed onto her bed and cried into her pillow.
"It's all her fault—it's all her fault—it's all his fault—his fault—his fault—"
Noticeably, a purple-colored egg seated straightly on her desk dimmed and a rather noticeable 'X' appeared on the egg.
"You idiot. If Nagihiko hadn't even suggested about that passageway, then we wouldn't have been there at that exact time. This is all your fault!" Chika screeched, pointing her finger at Nagihiko in his cage. His head fell, his eyes staring at the ground and his hands barely clutching onto the cage bars.
"I—it was an accident…" I could hear Nagihiko mutter in self-comfort. Chika snorted. "Accident? You could've prevented it! YOU KILLED HER!" Chika exclaimed accusingly. Nagihiko finally had nothing to say in response and slumped down into a blob of purple.
"So? Any last words?" Chika said, facing me once more, her hand facing me rather dangerously. I was afraid she'd have some attack coming my way. She sneered. "Perhaps you know where the Embryo is. C'mon, do some good for the world and save a person's life," she said. I snorted.
"One, I have no clue where the Embryo is and how you can get it. And two, I have no interest in bringing back people from the dead," I said matter-of-factly. From my peripheral vision, I'd noticed that Kuukai had struggled to get up, and was facing Chika, ready to fight. Great. If Kuukai could delay her long enough, I could go save Nagihiko and Kairi's plan could probably—
"Diamonds of the Dead," Chika muttered barely. From her hands, sharp, pointed shards of a black diamond formed. I eyed the pieces nervously. If one pierced somewhere near the heart or neck, there was almost no doubt—that you'd die.
Suddenly, all the shards came flying my way.
They say that when you're about to die, things happen much slower. Maybe as you realize your life's coming to an end, you realize how precious each minute, second, millisecond, nanosecond is. I watched the shards approaching me at a dangerously fast yet super slow speed. My feet were trapped. They were sinking down into a darkness pit that Chika had probably created.
Right before I got stabbed by the first shard, I noticed several things:
Chika floating in the air, her palm facing me, giving off one of her own smirks.
Kuukai's screaming 'CRAP!' and jumping towards me (though evidently will be unable to make it on time).
Distant voices—perhaps a guard's? No…it's Kairi's. "SASAKI-SAN, PLEASE WAIT!" he exclaimed. Yep, Kairi: forever the polite and humble one.
And one last one. The owner of this voice was unrecognizable.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
A scream. Of utter horror.
Those were the last sounds I'd heard, the epilogue of The Life of Mashiro Rima.
A/N: Alright, I'll be perfectly honest: I'm not satisfied with this chapter. (Or story) But I've put it up anyways. And I'll be honest once more: I'm rushing. Rushing~~ rushing~~rushing~~cause frankly...I'm losing touch with my story. So the characters will be OOC, and I apologize. Though it'd be nice if you could point out. Or just say something like "WHAT?? WHAT THE HECK IS RIMA THINKING?? BLAH BLAH BLAH." I don't know...it'd be good pointers.
Well, it's coming to an end! Finally...my first official series story. Took like what--half a year? 0.0 I'll have to learn to do better than that.
Hope you enjoyed it!
