Chapter 12
December 1st, 2014
Koyuki and Ryujin sat on a snow covered bench in the city. The Vaporeon looked tired; Koyuki imagined she looked the same. They had searched the city after deciding that they had to find the kidnapper.
"I want to find Shikuro," he had said at the temple. "I think he probably has something to do with this."
Koyuki had asked him why, but he would simply shake her off.
"I can't explain it. I'll tell you once we find him."
So they had been driven down by one of the older ladies who gave a long winded speech about using "protection" and stuff. Thankfully, Ryujin had some headphones (since when?) so it wasn't too awkward.
But now… sitting on the bench next to him was way worse. He adjusted his glasses as he looked at a map. "Hmm… there is a dojo nearby. But it's already late. What do you say we rent a hotel room?"
"H-hotel room? As long as it's not… you know…" They both nodded in agreement not to go to one of "those" hotels. "How about this one?"
"Mmhmm. It's about a five minute walk."
"Alright then."
The two of them walked through the streets. Koyuki felt uneasy; not because she was close to Ryujin, but because she felt she was being watched.
The Vaporeon must have sensed it too and put his cloak up. "Hold my hand," he murmured.
"Ryujin? B-but… ngh…" The Vaporeon's hand slowly grasped hers.
"We'll look less suspicious while I can cover my face."
The two of them quickly walked into the main lobby of the hotel. "Good evening, young lovers. Do you two need a room?"
Ryujin reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. "Yes please."
"Follow me please."
After being shown to their room, they both thanked the bellboy. Ryujin took off his cloak and hung it before lying on the bed. He rubbed his face. "I miss the others… don't you, Koyuki?"
"Yes… I miss them all. Keira, Kousei… Yusei… Saki-senpai, Rin… even Naruchi."
"I… I'm happy to have you here with me, Koyuki. I'd be terribly lonely without you."
"Me too…" she said. She lay down next to him. "My dad seemed to like you a little, which is big for him."
"Eh, not to brag, but I'm popular with fathers too."
"Oh really…"
They lay there in silence. Then Ryujin said, "If you want to bathe or something, feel free to. I've… got to make a call."
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Koyuki sighed as the icy water soaked her skin. It sent shivers down her spine. It felt great really. She reached for her wooden sword next to the bath. She held it with her wet hands and examined it. Ryujin had given it to her on the car ride back.
"Your dad wanted me to give it to you," he had said.
She felt the wooden creases in it. So smooth… but so deadly. She remembered how natural it had all felt before she quit. She had felt… invincible. Then one hit… and suddenly, she was a monster… but in reality, this sword was the same. Looking pretty and harmless… but suddenly…
But in reality, that was what she admired most about Ryujin. He never boasted and always seemed in control, despite having such skills. And now that she knew that he had known all along but still treated her the same… she couldn't help but admire that. To know someone is a monster… yet not treat them like one…
She lifted her leg out of the water. "We'll find Mitsumi… for Ryujin's sake," she said to herself. "But why would he kidnap her?" mused Koyuki. She continued to look at the wooden sword. "What if… Mitsumi is working with the kidnapper?!" She sighed. "What am I thinking… no way… she'd never do something like that. But why would somebody kidnap her?" There were a lot of disturbing reasons; fanboys, money… but she knew not to look at things so simply. She had a bad feeling it had something to do with Ryujin. He had been shot at just a week ago, so it didn't seem too surprising that someone would try kidnapping a good friend of his to perhaps have a chance to even the score. Or maybe it was just a fanboy… who knew what was going on inside some kidnapper's mind or what they wanted.
She thought about what was going through Ryujin's mind. He must be so worried… and scared for Mitsumi. And… I kind of am as well. She stood up, icy water dripping from her body, and began to dry off. She was drying off her tail and bangs when she heard the door creak open. She covered herself with the towel. "Ryujin?! What are you doing?!"
The Vaporeon looked at her, slightly surprised. "Oh, sorry! I thought that you might have gotten hurt… you were in there for a good hour…"
She felt herself blush. "Get out!"
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A few hours later, Ryujin and Koyuki both stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom.
"You're telling me that anybody can walk over into this mirror world?" said Koyuki with a groan. "How has nobody found it yet?"
"I have no idea… maybe when people go missing, they fell into the mirror and never came out?" A few moments later, they both stepped through.
"So we'll try communicate with the mysterious Pokemon's doppel?"
"Sort of… but we never know what we'll find. We could find something unusual… like my doppel… or perhaps yours."
"Maybe… oh boy, I hope my doppel isn't too fucked up…"
"Most of them are. Just a warning. Mine happens to be a psychopath. Mitsumi's is a sociopath. I have no idea what yours would be. Hmm…"
Koyuki paused. "Could we meet the others if they choose to go mirror-walking?"
"Possibly. But meetings with others in a mirror are few and far between." The Vaporeon looked around carefully. "I'm picking up a bad vibe. Stay alert."
Koyuki held her sword up. "Alright, senpai…"
"I though I told you not to call me that…"
"What's wrong with that? It's a compliment…"
"Hmph. Reminds me too much of those animes where…"
"Uh, let's not go there," she said quickly. She felt something move along the ground. She scowled, then whipped around and sliced whatever it was that was sneaking up on them. It was a black Seviper. She gasped. "What the-?"
Ryujin quickly stabbed it through the top of its head. "Good eye." It quickly dissolved into a puddle of black sludge.
Koyuki gasped. "Your sword… it's metal now!"
He frowned. "I always bring my actual weapon into the mirror. Most things we kill here are manifestations of fear. Nobody is actually getting hurt," he explained. He smiled; a rather demented one actually. "That's why I like the mirror. I can hone my skills without hurting anybody."
"That's scary…"
The Vaporeon shrugged. "I've known about the mirrors for awhile now. Since me and Mitsumi used them from a young age, I've learned what it means to go all out. That's where I get my strength from."
"Ryujin, more are coming…"
Various dark doppels arose from the ground and air. They both pulled out their swords. "Sorry. We'll talk more later."
"Alright."
The two of them fought back to back, slashing and using special attacks. "Your right, Koyuki," he said.
"Ryujin, above!"
The two of the covered each other with amazing precision. I didn't know kendo even trained us in teamwork… but we can help out one another. Next to the Vaporeon, she felt comfortable. All the years of training seemed to rush back to her hands. She knew she could trust him to protect her.
And she also did her best to protect him. Within a few minutes, they had reduced everything to a pool of black.
Ryujin slipped his blade into his sheath. "Looks like you've got it back," he commented.
"I-I guess. We did work well together."
Koyuki put away her sword. "I wonder where all the doppels are…"
Ryujin quickly reached over her face. "What the- mmph?"
He cupped his hand over her mouth and wrapped his other arm around her stomach. "Shh!" He spoke quietly. "Move into the shadows there!"
The two of them silently moved into a hidden spot.
Around a corner walked two Pokemon. Both of them wore cloaks. It was difficult to discern what species they were; identical brownish coats. On of them looked roughly an inch shorter than the other, but even gender was difficult to make out.
They seemed to gracefully float over the ground. Both of them carried an ominous aura.
"Where are they?" murmured one of them.
"Hmm… I feel them nearby. But I can't see them…" The taller one turned to where Koyuki and Ryujin were hiding. They both quickly ducked.
"Perhaps they kept moving away?"
"Maybe." The taller one wrapped his arms around the shorter one. "We'll catch them…"
Then it hit Koyuki. "Wait. Those are… us?" she whispered.
Ryujin nodded grimly. "Shh…"
A moment later, an icicle imbedded itself an inch away from Ryujin's mouth. "Hehe, found them Ryujin."
The shorter of the cloaked figures pulled hers back to reveal what Koyuki anticipated; a clone of herself. She pulled out an icy blade identical to Koyuki's.
"Looks like I've found you finally!" she said with a smile. "But then again, we've known each other forever, right?"
The other cloaked figure revealed himself; a perfect clone of Ryujin, except without any of the gentleness the actual Vaporeon had.
"Ryujin…" murmured the doppel of the Vaporeon. "It's been quite long…"
Ryujin rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I don't want any trouble. You of all Pokemon should know that."
"I've got no intentions of fighting you at the moment. Surprising when one isn't ready has no honor…" He straightened his back. "But Koyuki has some problems she must sort out."
Koyuki narrowed her eyes at her doppel. "You want to kill me? Come on then."
"How cute. That's what everyone thinks…"
"So?"
The other Koyuki smiled. "You're such a wimp." Softly, she added, "Why don't you just confess your feelings?"
"What? What are you trying to say?"
"You know what you want. You want him to be firm with you. To be more than just his friend. You want to be the one he sets his eyes on." She chuckled. "But you're too scared of rejection." Scared of rejection… is… is that true? No… I… "More precisely, you don't want him to leave you."
"I…"
"It's true," she said with a laugh. "You're scared."
"Shut up already!" screamed Koyuki. Maybe it was how close her reflection's words were to the truth, or maybe she was just unsettled. Either way, she knew that right now, she had made the decision to attack her.
The other Glaceon just laughed. "As expected. No control. Like when you killed her!"
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