Disclaimer: Hakuouki is a visual novel game by Idea Factory. (They make a bunch of cute guys! Drools. So I always look up new series just so I can stare at them~) Hakuouki then was adapted into an Anime by Studio DEEN. And today, the Anime series is licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. (I got this information from Wikipedia and I believe the information is accurate. I wouldn't know though!)
Author's Note: Please do ignore any typos. I usually read over and over again and correct the errors slowly. But if you wish to point them out, that'll be great too!
"Forever" will not keep us connected
Chapter 14
Caught between in a horse chase, Ryunosuke was giving his four horses a hard time, but the wagon was holding the animals back and a couple of bandits were catching up. Kosuzu was looking from the back of the wagon, narrowing her eyes as the bandits raised their rifles, laughing rowdy. The good thing was, they were unable to shoot at them while riding a horse. So Kosuzu felt a bit at ease. Though, the man with silver hair, who was riding a horse behind the group of bandits, appeared to be more threatening than the bandits themselves.
With the passing moment, Kosuzu looked to Ayumu. He was trying to stay awake and he was leaning back against the wagon. "Perhaps it was not a good idea to leave town," Kosuzu softly said, staring at Ayumu.
"No…" Ayumu grunted, his eyes closing back and forth. "I had my reasons." She studied his face and she felt very nervous for some reason. Ayumu let out a deep breathe and his eyes fixed to Ryunosuke. "You… Ryu."
"It's Ibuki Ryunosuke!" he retorted, snapping his head back. "Don't start giving me nicknames now!"
Ayumu ignored what he just said and told him, "You… have the power to teleport. Use it as soon as we turn on the corner of this road."
Both Kosuzu and Ryunosuke stared blankly. Quickly paying attention back to the horses, Ryunosuke uttered questionably, "So those powers stuff are for real?" He and Kosuzu really got themselves into something big. He wondered how big and how risky it would be. "And how in the hell am I supposed to teleport?!"
"Just tell your body to do it," Ayumu groaned, moving to sit up straight. Kosuzu crawled to him on the shaky wagon and assisted him. "We'll be in a big trouble if they catch up with us… You have to do it, Ryu."
"Stop calling me that!" Ryunosuke blushed, glancing back.
"And you," Ayumu whispered to the woman beside him. She lowered her head to meet his weak gaze. "Your power is…"
Ryunosuke was not able to hear them when someone opened fire. The bullet missed, but his four horses all cried at the same time and the wagon started to rock wildly. 'Damn it!' Ryunosuke glared. If the wagon stopped now, they would really fall into the bandits' hands. He looked back and they were really close. There was no time to run anymore. Ryunosuke had to think of a way. 'Teleport,' he told himself, his eyes widening. He had to do it now. Kosuzu let out a shout when the wagon started to tilt over. 'Teleport, damn it!' And then, Ryunosuke's mind went blank.
The wagon fallen on its right side and the four horses neighed with uncontrollable fear. The bandits soon approached and they made a path opened for Yuma. He looked into the emptied wagon and saw no sign of the three people who were in it. Yuma turned his horse around and the bandits grinned. "Go in groups of two," Yuma ordered, his calm eyes looking over the area. "They can't be that far off."
"Yes, sir!"
Yuma watched them go in different directions and he glanced back to the wagon. Completely quiet, he narrowed his eyes and signaled his horse to head to the right. But then his horse stopped and he looked up. He saw black wind in the northeast and it did not look welcoming. 'What kind of power is that?' Yuma narrowed his eyes.
[…^…]
For some reason, Yumeko's horse was the faster and she almost left everyone behind. Her eyes caught sight of the fallen wagon and she glared when she saw no one inside. There were only four horses lying on top of each other and they were unable to stand by themselves.
"Hey, there's the wagon!" Saburo's voice pointed out.
Yumeko stopped her horse and kicked it bit to go forward. It was dark, but she saw able to see the horse tracks around the ground and it appeared they went in varies paths. Fortunately, she saw no footprints. 'They must have escaped somehow, right?' Yumeko asked herself.
Just as Kyou and Sanosuke caught up to her, Yumeko's horse made a sharp turn on her command and she guided her horse to the west. Sanosuke frowned, "Stop right there." She paused and stopped her horse. "Yumeko-chan, calm down. We're here to work together. Do you hear me?" He was fed up with her solo decisions. Were they not friends? She sure was not treating them like it.
It was then Souji's horse caught up with them and he went around the wagon slowly. "…There's no sign of fighting here," Souji narrowed his eyes. What happened?
Hajime, Kanon, and Saburo reached to them, becoming a group again. During which Saburo looked around the surroundings, Kanon and Hajime both gazed to the fallen wagon. Kanon got off the horse from Saburo and jogged to the other horses at the wagon. While she helped to free them from the reins, Hajime's voice inquired, "Where are Ibuki and the others?"
"Harada, do your thing," Kyou smirked, looking over his shoulders.
Sanosuke used his power again. His eyes glowed and he forced himself to get a wider range. Scanning the area, he moved his horse to turn himself around. "Ryunosuke is in the west…" Sanosuke noted, looking around more. Souji and Saburo looked surprised when Sanosuke told them. "Kosuzu is in the east… and Ayumu is a bit to the northeast. The bandits are still far off, but they'll reach to those three soon since the three do not have horses. …Looks like Yuma is in the same direction as Ayumu too."
"How did that happen?" Saburo questioned loudly, very shocked. Why were all of them separated so quickly?
Souji glanced to Kanon, who free three horses and she moved to get on the fourth one. "Maybe Ayumu gave someone power," Souji thought out loud, looking to Saburo. It was possible and it would mean Ayumu was awake.
"Ow!" Sanosuke's eyes had a sharp pain running through them. He instantly closed his eyes and rubbed them with the back of his right hand.
"Sano?" Hajime made his horse go closer to him. When Sanosuke opened his eyes, they were very dull and dimmed. Hajime narrowed his eyes, "Your eyes…"
Kanon frowned, "He used his power too much." Sanosuke looked around and squinted his eyes. "Okay, we'll have to do this without Sanosuke's help."
"Then let's split up," Yumeko said, looking at everyone.
"No," Sanosuke said, his eyes twitching. He actually could not see very well. There was something black that blocked his view, but he realized it was inside of his eye. "There are too much bandits for you to handle alone."
The look on Yumeko's face turned cold, but she made no eye contact with anyone. "Then I can just burn those who get in the way," she hissed. "Besides, there are three of them in different directions, you say? We'll just split into three groups. I'll go after Ayumu." Yumeko did not wait for anyone to respond and she galloped her horse right away, heading northeast.
Kanon was worried for her brother too, but if she went after Yumeko… Hajime, Saburo and Souji would have to stick with her because she healed the three of them before. That was too much people looking for Ayumu, leaving only Sanosuke and Kyou alone. Kanon's eyes turned to the others, "Okay, Saburo, Souji, we'll look for Ryunosuke in the west."
"Fine by me," Saburo nodded while Souji said nothing.
Hajime was confused and Kanon shook her head to him. "I don't think we'll be too far apart, Hajime," she told him. "Please stay with Sanosuke. You need to be his eyesight."
Just a second passed and Kyou shook the reins to go after Yumeko. Kanon also made her horse turn and she went off with Saburo and Souji following right after her. Sanosuke grunted. Without much of a choice, Hajime said, "Sano, we will look for Kosuzu together."
"Y-Yeah," Sanosuke rubbed his eyes. It was so annoying. Of all times, why did his power have to do this to him?
[…^…]
Kosuzu tripped a little and leaned against the tree next to her. Her eyes searched for any sign of the others or the bandits. 'What did Ryunosuke do?' she pouted, walking forward. For him to teleport her and Ayumu like that, was his power too hard to control? Maybe he panicked and used it in a rush. 'I have to find them,' she picked up her pace.
Suddenly, a voice was heard from above. When she looked up quickly, Ryunosuke came falling down and landed on his stomach. "Damn this strange power," he cursed, getting up.
"Ryunosuke!" Kosuzu rushed to his side.
Surprised, he looked at her, "Kosuzu!" he grabbed her and embraced her. "You're aright! I'm so sorry! Were you scared?!"
"I'm perfectly fine, but," she tried to push him away. They looked at each other and she inquired, "Where's Ayumu-san?"
Heaving a heavy sigh, Ryunosuke turned his head around. "I don't know… but I'm trying to use my power to guess where I could have teleported him," he replied. It felt strange. But he could slightly recall where he made his mistake. That was how he found Kosuzu.
"Then we must find him quickly," Kosuzu gently took his arm and squeezed it. "I'm worried he will get hurt. He's still injured."
"I know," Ryunosuke bit on his tongue. He looked around and his mind tried to sense what was familiar to him. But then they heard horses and the voices of men. "Shit, the bandits are coming this way." He took Kosuzu's hand she blinked. He teleported with her and the both were now on the branch of the tree. It happened so fast and in an blink, she was not sure if they were ever on the ground at all. "I need more time to find where I teleported Ayumu…" Ryunosuke whispered to her.
She nodded and held his arm closely. The bandits were below them now and they did not sense the two of them up in the tree. Ryunosuke clicked his tongue and he touched her hand that held his arm. "What's the matter?" she questioned.
"…I'm worried about teleporting into the tree by accident," he grumbled nervously.
With a pause, she reached to touch his cheek and have him look at her. "Don't worry," she tried to smile. "You'll do fine. I believe in you."
"Easy for you to say," he mumbled. She narrowed her eyes and he quickly said, "I'll do it, without a doubt!" She smiled and nodded to him. Ryunosuke looked away when her hand moved from his face. 'Come on, Ryunosuke… Find him…' Because if he was unable to locate Ayumu, his friends would be blaming him.
[…^…]
Deeper into the forest, Ayumu fell on his knees and touched his chest. His blood was leaking through. And his left knee was killing him. He was hearing a horse coming toward him and he glared back. His eyes glowed black and wind was created. The howling wind turned sharp and cut down the trees in its path to aim where the horse was.
As the black wind died down, Ayumu glared harder when Yuma stepped out of the shadows. Ayumu's eyes glowed black again and this time the trees around them moved to strike to Yuma. The leaves fell all around and Yuma backed away as one tree branch strike from the side. And then he stepped on it to leap into the air with his sword in his right hand. Ayumu's eyes continued to glow black and more trees branches attacked to the silver haired man.
Yuma swung his blade to cut down the branches out of his way and he closed in on Ayumu from the air. Before his blade reached to the injured man, Ayumu disappeared. Yuma landed on the ground as the trees stopped moving. Standing up straight, Yuma looked at the corner of his eyes and saw Ayumu panting meters away from him.
"So, that is the power passed down by the male line," Yuma said, slowly facing to him. "Haru told me about it."
"Who's Haru?" Ayumu angrily demanded, gripping on his chest. More blood leaked and his left knee lost the power to stand. He fell on his right knee and kept his head up. "And what do you know about my father's power?"
Yuma let out a pity sigh and held his sword back. "Haru will never let me speak of her," he replied. "But I can tell you something, Ayumu." Walking to him casually and composed, he explained, "I'm sure you know this story. About your great-great-great grandmother leaving behind the Oni who loved her dearly and who she was engaged to. She married a human and left the Oni to die in pain and agony."
Glaring harder, Ayumu wondered where Yuma was going with the same old story. Just then, Yume's hair near the base of his neck grew long as if it was alive and his hair turned pure white. His eye color switched from silver to golden. Ayumu widened his eyes as two foot-long horns grew out of Yuma's forehead. The wind turned fierce as if it was called upon and Yuma's long hair touched the ground and into the air. The bruise on his left cheek healed completely all at the same time when his form changed.
Using his will, Ayumu's eyes glowed black and he watched the black winds gathering up and tried to inflict damage on Yuma. However, the black wind simply went through Yuma's body and nothing happened. "Tsk," Ayumu bit on his tongue. There was something awfully strange about Yuma's new form, which seemed to nullify his winds of attack. How kind of person was Yuma?
Within reach, Yuma's golden eyes stared down to Ayumu's pale face as he stood there. "That very Oni your great-great-great grandmother tossed away to live with the she loved… He was my great-great-great grandfather's younger brother," Yuma's voice became demonic. The emotion in his eyes remained the same, cool and still. "I am the direct descendant of the Kuromori Oni Clan. …Kuromori Yuma."
'Kuromori Oni Clan?' Ayumu stared at him coldly, slightly remembering the name. The two of them stared at each other and it seemed Yuma was waiting for Ayumu to absorb the information in his head. Ayumu then smirked, "Heh… hahahaha!" Ayumu laughed with mockery, lowering his head. His chest hurt even more, but he ignored it. "Are you serious? An Oni is under a mind control of a woman? How ridiculous! How low have you've gotten?"
While he continued to laugh, Yuma raised his blade to Ayumu's chin and lifted up his head to quiet him. "I hold no grudge," Yuma told him and Ayumu snorted. "I don't care about the past… but it happened. Haru controls me… I have no free will. So I apologize if I will harm you and your sister in the near future."
Ayumu glared, "If you're an Oni, then break free from that bitch's control."
"Do you think I haven't thought of that before?" Yuma's eyes softened. The wind was cold and the blade seemed to shiver. "Her mind controlling has its limit. And she focuses all of her power on me to keep me a her pet." Ayumu grunted and wanted to move, but the blade was already on his neck. "Even if you use your power to release me from her, she would act before you do," Yuma whispered.
He was in a tight spot. But Ayumu was already prepared for his own death. He could feel his life slipping away the moment he forced himself to wake up. Not only that, he already activated his father's side of the power. "It doesn't matter if I choose to free you of the mind control or not," Ayumu hissed, glaring. "I won't let anyone take my sister away. Even when I'm dead, I'll continue to protect her. I made a promise and I won't fail it."
Yuma had a faint trace of smile at Ayumu's determined words. "I wonder what it would be like if we met as friends," he murmured. Ayumu remained cool minded as Yuma turned his wrist that held the sword to strike a blow.
Thanks for reading!