Author's Note: I graduated, woo!
Black Rock Shooter and co. belongs to Huke.
Defeat can sometimes be a bitter thing to swallow, but for Geshumaru's robot, it was bearable. B RS fought in a hard rematch, but she came out the victor when her powers fully awakened. The machine mused it had something to do with her memories, there is no other explanation behind her usage of the Rock Cannon or the Black Blade. The machine felt its left arm detach from its body as Dragon Slayer took it away, placing it on a table. She set tools on the table and began repairing the appendage, the robot watching her as it sat on a stone bench.
Dragon Slayer looked inside the arm, a small blowtorch gripped in her right hand, "I wonder when was the last time you underwent repair, a tuning should occur regularly, no?"
"I've done it myself," The robot told the woman as she placed tinted goggles on, mending the metal inside the appendage, "Geshumaru got preoccupied with..."
"Understandable," Dragon Slayer stated as she scraped out scrap pieces of metal.
The machine let out a quiet hum for a moment, "Did you set the events that lead to her victory?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Dragon Slayer told it, "I only assisted when needed, therefore, I had no other hand in her actions"
"How did Shooter arrive then?"
"By a bridge in the Sky Gates that appears in a form of a tower, which opened a vortex that sent us here," Dragon Slayer explained, sealing up the open appendage, "We didn't arrive together though, but the time difference isn't by much"
"So, you learned something new about the Otherworld, interesting," The robot mused.
"Considering the Otherworld has shifted since the start of creation, it's a wonder we still have mysteries," Dragon Slayer commented, walking over to a storage box.
She opened the storage box and removed a duplicate of the robot's chest, fully intact and freshly made. Geshumaru's robot still remember the explanation Dragon Slayer gave to it about its repairs, which she called "tuning". It is a process that the machine undergoes when it's transferred from one body to another one that's set up. The process isn't necessary unless there was too significant of a damage to its body, which it is now. It also remembered Dragon Slayer telling it that the person doing the tuning needs to go ahead with caution, as one mistake could cause some adverse effect to its existence.
"I'll be attaching your remaining arm and legs to this," Dragon Slayer told the machine as she attached the repaired arm, "During that time, live inside the head and wait until you feel yourself flowing though a current..."
"I know, it's not the first time I suffered heavily from a battle," The robot told her, grimness within its voice.
"No, it's the second," Dragon Slayer said, walking up to it, "Rest, you will be up and ready to fight in a while"
The machine nodded slightly before any traces of blue smoke disappeared throughout its body, the smoke only coming out of its head as Dragon Slayer separated it from the body. Dragon Slayer rested it on the table as she removed the right arm from the damaged body, taking it to the replacement and attaching it in the socket, hearing the whirs of the gears inside as it locked itself in place. Dragon Slayer walked back and opened up the armor plating as she adjusted the joints before removing the legs and taking them back to the table. She started to attach the legs as her mind wandered, focusing on the fight that she managed to see, reflecting on the powers she saw B RS use. It wasn't that she had access to her original weapons, but how she used them and the force she applied with it.
"She's still inexperienced, even so, that display of power is enough proof," Dragon Slayer thought as the gears inside the body turned before locking in place, "She's growing, which means she will have to learn of the other risks that being an Anomaly has..."
Dragon Slayer shook her head before taking the head and attaching it to the empty socket, watching the wiring link up and gears turn before slowing and dropping inside. The blue smoke started coursing through the body as the machine woke up, eyes glowing before they faded away, the machine flexing its arms as it got off the table. It looked around, but couldn't find Dragon Slayer anywhere in the room, meaning she probably stepped out for a reason. Looking down, the machine touched a centerpiece around its collarbone, the chest opening up as a glowing sphere appeared, resting on a gear-like socket. It turned the gear three times to the left before turning it half way to the right, the mechanism sinking back as the chest-plates closed.
The robot stepped out of the room as it watched Dragon Slayer looking out the window, the woman staring at it, "I saw an omen..."
"Omens are common in the Otherworld, you shouldn't worry over one," The robot told her.
"The vortex that tower in the Sky Gates also created a storm, much more cataclysmic than when I got taken in along with my maids," Dragon Slayer explained, looking out of the window behind her, "I've seen things in the Otherworld, but that tower is unusual, not to mention, it's a recent creation"
"Hmm, but I thought that..?"
"I did too at first before I paid close attention to the etchings on the tower," Dragon Slayer told it, narrowing her eyes, "They were intricate, embedded with a specific code designed for it to activate once awaken, it will only work again if a specific switch is found along a hollowed out area"
"Why would you call it an omen?" The machine asked.
Dragon Slayer looked at it, her expression staying the same, "It's my signature when it comes to creating unknown areas, or to develop a passageway"
The machine nodded, blue smoke billowing, "Someone is copying your modus operandi"
"Exactly, throughout this entire sequence of events, I've been watching both B RS and Geshumaru for two reasons," Dragon Slayer told it, "I didn't expect a third to occur, despite neither one of them being able to copy my work; I despise replicas..."
"Who would copy your work?" The machine questioned.
Dragon Slayer shook her head before looking out the window, "I don't know, but whoever it was, they truly tried to find any remnants of my works"
The machine walked up to Dragon Slayer and stared out the window, wondering what was going on.
Saya sighed as the news broadcaster reported about a forest fire near a shrine, "Why..?"
After B RS told them to escape, Saya took Yomi, Yuu, and Kagari to her house for the time being, allowing them protection for when Geshumaru went after them. It was highly unlikely that she would, but Saya wasn't taking any chances, not after the news report. None of them could turn away from the TV, they honestly didn't know what happened after they left. Yomi was rubbing some ointment on Kagari, the blond-haired girl hissing slightly as the cream went over the cuts she received from Geshumaru after she pushed her and Saya off. It was unbelievable that a girl like Geshumaru could pack so much strength in such a lithe body, then again, she really wasn't normal from the start.
"There," Yomi said as she put the ointment down and applied a bandage, "Better Kagari?"
Kagari frowned slightly, "Slightly, but we got other things to worry about..."
"They caused that fire to start, if anything, we don't want any suspicion rising," Saya said as she looked away from the TV, staring at the three girls resting on the floor, "People will start to think the time we left and the fire isn't a coincidence, and if B RS and Geshumaru got discovered fighting against each other, that will add a whole batch of problems for us"
"In other words, we can't help her," Yomi said, frowning.
"Saya is right though," Yuu stated before explaining, "People saw us leave before seeing the fire, that will get their minds running and questioning what we were doing"
Kagari clicked her tongue, "So this is the waiting game?"
"Sadly, yes," Yuu said, nodding slightly.
"Ah, shit," Kagari groaned before lying on her back, "There's so many questions floating around in our heads and the only one to answer them was fighting that Geshumaru bitch back there; any idea how B RS got out to the real world Yuu?"
"I wish, switching places with an other self is easy," Yuu said, shaking her head, "But this goes against the law of physics, even the concept of reality"
Kagari stared at Yuu before looking at the ceiling, "Well, and I'll say it for the benefit of it probably coming up soon... we're boned"
Yomi smacked Kagari in the ribs lightly, "Don't say that, we don't even know what will happen"
"Yomi, this isn't something we can just brush aside lightly, what if people discover super-powered girls from another reality?" Kagari questioned, getting up slowly as she rubbed the place where Yomi smacked, "We're lucky that anything that happens in the Otherworld only affects us in a specific way, but this is going beyond that"
Saya turned around and stared at all of them, sighing, "Listen, whatever happens next doesn't matter, just hope for the best and it will occur on its own"
In that moment, The four of them heard noise coming from up above, footsteps coming down as they neared the front door. Frowning, Yuu got up and went into the kitchen before coming out with a frying pan gripped in her hands. Yuu saw Saya gesturing her to stop, but she ignored and went to the door, opening it just a bit before opening it wide. Yuu took a couple of steps out and looked up to the rooftop, trying to catch a sight of whoever was walking above them, thinking that Geshumaru won and is coming after them. A figure dropped to the platform below and Yuu was about to lash out when she noticed the white-hair, watching B RS get up slowly from where she landed.
B RS looked at Yuu, then the thing she was holding in her hands, "What is that, some sort of weapon?"
"Uh, yeah, and a cooking..." Yuu said before trailing off and snapping back to reality, "Forget that, you almost scared me B RS..."
B RS arched an eyebrow, "Sorry..?"
Yuu sighed and went back inside Saya's home, grumbling as she walked towards the kitchen, "I tried being useful, but it became redundant..."
B RS looked up towards the roof and found a chain dangling slightly from it, grabbing it and pulling down an unconscious Geshumaru. She had to conjure a set of chains so Geshumaru could be tied down, preventing her from doing anything once she wakes up. Hoisting the girl on her shoulders, B RS stepped inside and saw everyone staring at her with an unusual expression on their face, as if they didn't know how to feel around her. Gripping Geshumaru a bit tightly, she stepped on the tatami mats and walked towards them, not noticing the slight twitch from Saya. B RS placed Geshumaru up against a wall before looking at them, still feeling the uncertainty coming from them.
Saya sighed, "I know you're inexperienced with the real world, but please take off your boots"
B RS was about to say something when Yuu leaned closer to her, "It's a proper thing to do, you're not in the Otherworld anymore, you're in the real world and that's just tradition we have in Japan; a common thing in households"
B RS nodded and sat down on the floor, unzipping her boots before taking them off and handing them to Yuu, who sighed and took them to the doorway. Getting up, B RS tried to understand what to say in a situation like this; none of them were in any immediate danger. She had to fight against Geshumaru's robot before moving on to her, and the unnaturalness of the situation is that she had to do it in the real world. She broke boundaries that wasn't possible, and they still occurred with her appearing, with Mato's body acting as a medium. Saya cleared her throat, catching B RS's attention as her eyes scanned over the white-haired Anomaly's appearance.
"So, care to explain how you got here, we're all curious about it?" Saya inquired, crossing her arms.
"Someone told how to do it, it was like Mato coming to me... if that's the best way to explain it," B RS started, looking at all of them, "I just to break through some barrier that just held me tied to the Otherworld; in one moment, I felt tied down, then the next, I just pushed out and..."
Yuu walked back and looked at B RS, "So you two swapped places and you appeared in turn of Mato, right?"
B RS nodded, "Mato's still here, I can hear her... and she told me to tell you 'hi'"
"Figures, she's probably enjoying herself..." Kagari sighed, exasperated.
"Anyways, how did you two start that fire?" Yomi asked.
"Ah, I didn't know it was possible, but I used my Rock Cannon and it just started," B RS explained, gripping her left arm, "She also used some energy based attacks that caused similar destruction"
Saya raked through her hair, "Just so you know, that fight might get us in trouble if people connect the dots"
B RS was about to speak when a groan interrupted her, causing her to look back at Geshumaru, who was stirring herself awake. B RS took off her coat and tossed it towards the other side of the room, cracking the joints and resetting them. She was sure Mato would feel that once they switch places again, but that was low priority to what was happening now. Geshumaru's blinked slowly before her vision started to focus, allowing her to realize that she wasn't in the forest anymore, that she got taken away. Turning her head, she saw everyone and tried to move, but the chains that bounded her arms and legs prevented that from happening.
"Damn it," Geshumaru cursed as she looked up at B RS's blue eyes.
"I'm not letting you go until you stop this charade," B RS told her, her eyes narrowing.
"Ha, you make yourself out as some sort of hero, when you cause the same pain you're trying to end," Geshumaru said, smirking slightly, "I'm surprised you can't understand how you cause people to suffer, but I guess that's why you're the epitome of antithesis"
B RS frowned, "I know what I'm capable of, and I know what I did..."
"But you don't understand the full extent of your abilities, of how much damage it can cause if placed in someone's hands," Geshumaru snarled.
"You're talking about the Spirit Eater when it attacked, caused so much destruction," B RS said, causing Geshumaru's eyes to widened, "And it's actions being akin to Naomi's car accident which led to her death and your survival"
Geshumaru gritted her teeth, trying to stand up, "Don't talk about her!"
Geshumaru was up to her feet, but a well-placed kick sent her back down as B RS stared at her, "Dragon Slayer showed me everything, all the important pieces, so tell me, how does it feel being Naomi to her family?"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Geshumaru roared.
Everyone else was watching the scene play out, the words coming out from B RS striking them from within as they started connecting the dots. Naomi was the person that Geshumaru was talking about when Saya and Kagari had her pinned to the ground, she was talking about her real self judging by what B RS just said. That's when the full force of B RS's comment hit them, causing them to feel ill about the thought of a person in the real world losing their life due to the events in the Otherworld. Even Mato, who still resided within her own mind-scape, felt like puking and crying a bit, but she held it back in, knowing that B RS was far from finished. B RS bent down so she was at eye-level with Geshumaru, one set of blue orbs staring at another set.
"I get it, somehow I'm involved in all of this, but I'm not the one who killed her," B RS told her, her voice low, "You have to get that, I'm trying to correct my mistakes and you should do the same, but don't make this one of them"
"What mistakes?" Geshumaru exclaimed.
"You tried to murder me, manipulated Mato's friend, threatened all of us," B RS stated, "And leaving the very thing responsible alive and sleeping in a giant cell that Dragon Slayer made upon your request"
Geshumaru frowned, "It won't do anything, it's inactive"
"It's sleeping, and if it wakes up, you'll have no one to blame but yourself," B RS told her, backing away, "Dragon Slayer wants it dead, and you should too"
"Dragon Slayer doesn't get it, she nothing more than a narcissistic Anomaly who only strives for her own gain," Geshumaru spat, "She doesn't get it, none of you..!"
[She really lost it...]
"What more do you expect Mato, she lost her best friend..." B RS told her.
[I guess I can sympathized with her...]
B RS looked at Geshumaru before she felt someone touch her shoulder, watching Saya walk right next to her, "You think it's just that easy for you..?"
"None of you understand how I feel," Geshumaru told her.
"You're an idiot, we may not get the feeling of having someone close to you die, but we went through our own pain," Saya said, walking up to Geshumaru, "I watched my friend get bullied and having to deal with it before her house caught on fire, and then she decides to swap places with her other self to escape this reality..!"
"Saya..." Yuu thought, watching Kagari walk up as she gave her piece, "When we were kids, I was so close to Yomi and I lost it when she left, I made her suffer because I suffered, and that wasn't right, it never was!"
Yomi got up and walked to the left of B RS, "Having my childhood friend forget me, going manic, switching places with my other self and having my life at risk; don't complain..!"
"We all dealt with our own pain, sure, nothing beats the death of someone close to you, but our struggles were hard on its own" Yuu said, frowning, "Everything was simpler for me in the Otherworld, but what did that get me, I went crazy trying to kill B RS, and STR had to sacrifice herself just to stop me"
Geshumaru looked at all of them before her eyes rested on B RS, whose expression didn't change, "Say all you want Geshumaru, but everyone suffers, no one is an exemption to that rule"
Geshumaru grinded her teeth before mumbling, "Then maybe Mato should have died when you had the power to do so, maybe then you would understand how I feel..."
B RS heard what Geshumaru said and stormed towards her, her blue eyes glowing for a moment as Geshumaru looked up. B RS raised her right hand as blue shards appeared in front of her, the shards breaking as Mato broke through and slapped Geshumaru in the face hard. For a second, Mato felt her joints shift in place for a moment before resting, causing some soreness throughout her joints. She looked back at Geshumaru, who was looking to her right, wide-eyed at Mato reappearing and slapping her out of the blue. The red mark on Geshumaru's cheek snapped Mato back to the situation in front of her, and her expression changed into a mix of anger and pity.
"Don't ever say that, never talk about someone dying so lightly," Mato told her, trying to keep her voice leveled, "I don't want that to ever happen again..."
Geshumaru's head drooped as Mato continued, "I'm sorry about Naomi, but Rock never knew about it, and if she did, she would go after the source and kill it, or at least, she would do that before..."
"She connected with that thing... she has to pay," Geshumaru mumbled.
"And what would that do?" Mato questioned, "I lost my memories before I got them back, and all this has happened to the point where I'm paranoid about my life, I just... want this to stop..."
"Ha, this isn't something that will end in just a second," Geshumaru told her.
"Geez, what is with you, are you really that broken-hearted about all this," Mato questioned, her eyes watering slightly, "You're acting like B RS before she got killed, everything isn't in black and white, you know?!"
The last sentence that came out of Mato struck Geshumaru in a way she didn't expect, and that was because she had to expect it. Dragon Slayer told her a similar thing a year ago before she started planning B RS's death, and now Mato told her the same phrase. Geshumaru slowly turned her head to stare at Mato, shock slowly appearing on her face. Thoughts were running through her head at an alarming rate; the picture on the TV flickering in turn with Geshumaru losing control over her power, the instability caused by her disheveled thoughts. Saya grabbed Mato by her shirt collar and pulled her away as the lights flickered too, the group staring at Geshumaru as she shook her head side to side.
"She always knew... she knew this was the outcome," Geshumaru muttered to herself, looking down, "I was never meant to win... she knew..!"
Electricity surged around Geshumaru, breaking the chains that bound her as she gripped her head and lurched forward, her eyes watering slightly. Mato wanted to move towards Geshumaru and help her out, she knew something was wrong when Geshumaru's eyes widened and she started mumbling. A rip in reality appeared and Geshumaru disappeared in it before the rip sealed up, the lights and TV returning to normal. They stared at the spot Geshumaru was at for a moment, wondering what just happened before they looked at the TV, the fires being put out slowly, but steadily. Mato continued to stare at the TV as everyone else relaxed a bit and started talking about what happened, she couldn't take her eyes off from the fire as it caused a stirring inside her stomach.
B RS didn't have to voice her thoughts, she was reacting like Mato, contemplating what the strange feeling meant.
Geshumaru dropped to her palace from a rift in the air, hitting the platform and skidding forward a bit before getting up. Tears rested at the edge of her eyes, ready to flow down, but she restrained them as she walked towards the hallway. She heard footsteps near her and looked up to see her partner heading towards her, looking freshly rebuilt. Her partner must have been stable enough to fix itself up, but there's no way it can walk now, or even be active after its fight with B RS. Her old weaponry combined with her new power should have a devastating result on its body, much less the palace, but that was cosmetic compared to anything else.
"Geshumaru..." The machine said, faint blue smoke exiting from the mouthpiece.
Geshumaru didn't move as she heard another set of footsteps, a voice to complement them, "I would say 'I told you so', but that wouldn't be fitting for my ego..."
Looking behind her partner, Geshumaru saw Dragon Slayer walking up to them, apparently dressed to fight and armed with just her gauntlet, her sword resting elsewhere in the palace. Tears started spilling from Geshumaru as her face twisted up into anger, her emotions driving her as she rushed towards Dragon Slayer, fist drawn. Dragon Slayer frowned as she sidestepped and grabbed the attacking hand, twisting it around and pushing up against Geshumaru's back as she got slammed to the floor. It could hardly be called a fight as Dragon Slayer tightened her grip on Geshumaru's wrist, causing more tears to spill, this time from pain. The machine watched Dragon Slayer dig a knee into its partner's kidney, raising the arm she was gripping and twisting it.
"You idiot, I warned you and you didn't heed it," Dragon Slayer told her, her amber-colored eyes dull and emotionless, "Your actions brought upon the very thing you were never meant to exist for: revenge, and that was your undoing"
Geshumaru tried to move her head to look at Dragon Slayer, "Why..?"
"Hn, such a trivial one-word question that isn't worth my time, but shouldn't you ask yourself that question," Dragon Slayer said, her eyes narrowing, "Tell me, you didn't have the Spirit Eater killed because you feared it, and yet grew attached because it reflected the side of you that you don't want to accept, the broken side of you: human"
"None of this had to happen, so why did Naomi had to die?!" Geshumaru shouted.
"Fate isn't something we can manipulate so easily, we're condemned to follow our lives, whether we're human or other selves," Dragon Slayer told her, "But you knew this, you just didn't accept what happened because you want to deny the inevitable fate for your real self, which is why other selves who are born as Anomalies are just troublesome brats with identity crisis"
"Geshumaru, just stop, the pain will only worsen if you continue," Her partner told her.
Geshumaru gritted her teeth as her eyes reflected sadness, "But... this..."
"Geshumaru, you're feeding your own guilt, which will rip you apart," Dragon Slayer warned, letting go of Geshumaru's arm and getting off of her, "Remember, you have to take the concept of balance and apply it to your existence, that also means your existence as both Geshumaru and 'Kimura Naomi'"
"But I'm not Naomi!" Geshumaru shouted.
Dragon Slayer grunted, "Grow up, Naomi died for your sake, she was content with whatever fate comes unto her, so stop acting like a spoiled child and understand that you are her now and she wants you to protect her family, not seek vengeance for them
"You're not a judge, you're not a jury, and you're certainly not an executioner," Dragon Slayer stated, "You are yourself, never forget that and understand that Shooter was never your true target"
"I can't kill it..." Geshumaru mumbled.
"Too bad, you looked into the soul that it was given, its existence works on destruction, not support balance like you are," Dragon Slayer said, walking away, "Shooter gave it the power, but you gave it the existence for its actions, so atone for your sins like I want to"
Geshumaru got up, her hair messy as she watched Dragon Slayer walk back inside, avoiding the droplets of rain coming down on her. Letting go wasn't something she learned when Dragon Slayer trained her, in fact, she never knew how to let go of problems like Naomi. To think she could even be her wasn't a thought she wanted to think on, she was lucky that acting a bit introverted after the accident made it all work. Looking up at the sky, Geshumaru wondered if it was crying for her or for a different reason altogether. Her partner walked up to her and rested a hand on her right shoulder before pulling her close, a warmth spreading though her despite the robot's cold armor.
While Geshumaru remained out at the platform with her partner, Dragon Slayer walked down the tower, the walkway leading her down to the center, where a hexagonal pillar rested in the center. Dragon Slayer stared at the etched markings as Maid Gunner and Underworld Vulcan neared her, ignoring the pillar in front of them. Dragon Slayer looked back at them and nodded, the silent command causing the two young women to jump away and head off to different sectors in the area. She looked back at the pillar marveling at what could have been her masterpiece aside from the palace, but instead sneering at the mere thought of it rivaling anything she created before. Dragon Slayer raised her left hand, a black ring on her middle finger and the etched markings on the pillar glowed a faint amber before it shifted to a different color, one that peaked Dragon Slayer's interest.
"Hmm, seems someone is still thinking ahead," Dragon Slayer thought as a smirk graced her lips, "It wouldn't be enjoyable watching everything play out so calmly..."
Mato stared up at the ceiling in her room, replaying the events of last night in her head, the churning feeling inside her active, despite it not affecting her in any way. After Geshumaru disappeared, she went back home along with Yomi and Kagari, their thoughts wandering around as she watched her two friends head off in the opposite direction. When she got home, her mom made a big fuss over her well-being, probably from watching the news and hearing about the fire near a shrine that was a mile or two away from the amusement park. She needed some sleep, and got it after her mom calmed down, but it didn't stop her from meeting B RS inside her own mind-scape. She was a bit off put about being dressed like B RS again, but it wasn't the thing that was keeping her in her thoughts as she laid on her bed.
"Rock, don't tell me you're worried about me dying, are you..?" Mato wondered to herself as she turned to her left, looking at the notebook on her shelf.
Mato thought back to when Yomi and Dead Master switched bodies, when Dead Master asked her to write her own stories, but all she could come up with were just brief recaps of the incidents from when she first met Kagari to now. Sure, she had the idea to spread them out, but there was no inspiration behind them, besides, it unnerved her a bit to try to write stories about the Otherworld. The biggest one was when B RS went insane, she couldn't write about that as that hit too close for comfort, especially when it was her who almost died. Taking the oncoming thoughts of death and pushing them aside, Mato got up from her bed and stretched out her back, feeling her bones crack slightly. If there was one thing she could be certain about now after the debacle last night, it's that she has to watch out for B RS talking control of her body and cracking about every bone in her body; the soreness was unbelievable.
"Mato, there's a friend of yours here, she said she wants to talk to you," Mato heard her mom call out.
Arching an eyebrow, Mato left her room and headed downstairs, wondering who could be visiting her now after all that happened last night. She was sure everyone didn't want to see anyone else and just relax, let their minds calm down from everything. As Mato reached the bottom of the stairs and leaned against them, looking to her left to see who her mom was talking about, she felt she would lean over the railing and hit her head on the floor. Right next to her mom was Geshumaru, dressed in casual clothes, looking a bit ragged, as if she went out for some long run somewhere. Mato couldn't say she's surprised, because seeing Geshumaru in her house without her katana or glowing blue eyes just blew the limit on the meter.
"Hi... Mato..." Geshumaru said, as if it was familiar, yet foreign.
"Uh.. ah, um," Mato fumbled a bit, drawing a curious glare from her mother, "Hi Ges- ah, Naomi..?"
Geshumaru pressed her lips together in a semi-frown before speaking, "Can we talk..?"
"Ah, yes," Mato said as her mother walked away to watch over Hiro, "Uh... follow me, I guess..."
[Mato, be careful...]
"Rock... don't you think she's here for a different reason..?" Mato questioned, only to get silence from her other self.
That was another thing that's been bothering her, B RS tends to just go silent after talking with her for a moment, which was troubling to no end. At first, they were able to talk with each other easily, but after certain problems from both their sides, Mato got caught up in staying out of it and B RS just goes silent. It felt like their old connection with each other is slowly coming back, and Mato didn't like it. Focusing on now, Mato guided Geshumaru to her room, wondering what she was planning. That moment of seeing Geshumaru's meltdown came back to Mato, and she had to wonder if it tied into it in any way possible.
They entered Mato's room and Mato closed the door as Geshumaru commented on the room, "Quite plain, but I guess simplistic is the way to go..."
"Why are you here?" Mato asked, preparing herself to run.
"If you're thinking I'm going to attack you, then stop," Geshumaru said, sitting on Mato's bed, "I... just want to talk..."
Mato's eyebrows went up slightly, curious, "About what?"
"I'm... not really sure about that myself, but I want you to know that I... I'm sorry," Geshumaru said, struggling to get the words out, "About hunting you down, killing and trying to kill Shooter, and putting your friends at risk"
"It's going to take more than a sorry to forgive you," Mato told her, narrowing her eyes.
"Then let me say this, Naomi and I were close, closer than to anyone that either I or her know of," Geshumaru told Mato, laying on the bed, "I knew that if anything happened to me, it would be reflected on her, so I tried my best to get stronger so she could live life to its fullest, but I wasn't strong enough
"There was this thing called the Spirit Eater that was originally my partner, but it just wouldn't work since it couldn't connect with me, and it got scraped until it established a link with... Shooter," Geshumaru continued, "It managed to kill me in a way, but that incident reflected in the real world as a car accident, and Naomi didn't make it through"
Mato frowned slightly, "Sorry..."
"I'm not done yet... I managed to get Naomi's body at the cost of her life, but that tore me apart, to the point where I wanted to kill the Spirit Eater," Geshumaru told her, "And I was so close to doing so, but I would have lost myself if Dragon Slayer didn't stop me, it was at that moment that I came to fear the Spirit Eater, thinking it was something beyond my ability to kill... all because seeing it reflected what I didn't want to see, the other side to me..."
"So you went after Rock, trying to kill her because..?" Mato said, curious to Geshumaru's response.
"I thought killing her would prevent the machine to have that power ever again, but killing her was pointless since she came back," Geshumaru said, looking away, "She was different when she came back, you know that, and it's that reason that she can't die, because she's more in tune with her humane side because you mold her into who she is now"
Mato nodded, "Well... she didn't exactly remember who she was until now, and that's scaring me more than anything, that she'll shut me out now..."
"Look, no apology will make up what I did, and I'm sure that blonde-haired girl wants to kill me," Geshumaru said, getting up, "But I want you to know I reflected on what I did, and I'm ready to atone for my sins... so punch me"
"Eh, what?!" Mato exclaimed, jumping a bit.
Geshumaru stared at her, "Punch me, it's fair, I won't tell you when to stop"
Mato was unsure for a moment before clenching her right hand into a fist and raised it, ready to punch Geshumaru across the face. Geshumaru closed her eyes and readied herself for the punch, but it didn't come, prompting her to open her eyes. Mato was staring at her, a frown on her face as she unclenched her hand and rest it on the bed. Mato's actions caused Geshumaru to think to herself, trying to understand why Mato wouldn't punch her after everything that she went through. She knew it wasn't to insult her or anything, that much Geshumaru figured, but there was something in Mato's eyes that spoke volumes why she wouldn't punch: she didn't want to. A simple wish, but the emotion that laced itself with the desire caused Geshumaru to frown, not in irritation, but in mere disappointment.
"Strange how you tell me not to look at things in a black and white view, yet you can't stop looking from that sort of view on violence," Geshumaru said, surprising Mato.
"What are you talking about?" Mato asked, confused.
"There's something wrong with your perception to violence," Geshumaru stated, "You wouldn't take physical action yourself, like you wouldn't punch me when I asked you to, so something inside you prevents that"
Mato looked away, "I... there's just some bad memories, I don't want to talk about it..."
Geshumaru got up from the bed, staring at Mato, "I know Shooter isn't oppose to violence, but killing doesn't seem like her forte now, could it be the incident when she gone insane still plague you?"
Mato flinched a bit, an answer to Geshumaru's question, "Look, I know Shooter hasn't gotten all of her memories back, but she will find out about it one way or another..."
"If you knew about it..." Mato started before the thought trailed off, "Don't tell her"
Geshumaru sighed, "Wasn't going to, but this just means it's really inevitable"
"What..?" Mato said, wondering what Geshumaru meant.
"When Shooter went insane, that caused a reaction to come from the Spirit Eater, who is residing in its own cell," Geshumaru explained, walking back and forth, "It's stilled linked with Shooter, and her going insane over your uncontrollable emotions caused it to start waking up, something that I didn't want happening"
Mato arched an eyebrow, "But how is it connected to Rock now?"
"I don't know, but it's still trying to wake up, and it'll do so if it gets enough power from Shooter," Geshumaru explained, her hands performing gestures to show what she meant, "The Spirit Eater could use that power to end the Otherworld, which will be problematic in the real world"
"I get that everyone would be affected, but how?" Mato asked.
"Think of this, if the Otherworld's annihilated, the effect on the real world will force a massive shut down," Geshumaru told her, "Think of a world with no regrets, no sadness, and no grief, and a world with no happiness, no love, and no hope; it's capable of destroying what makes every human here who they are"
Mato's eyes widened slightly, still trying to take in Geshumaru's words on the Spirit Eater and what it could do. She didn't know about the Spirit Eater, but judging by Geshumaru's words and experience with it, it was something very powerful and destructive, more so than B RS going insane. The thoughts that Geshumaru told her to think about were scary in some ways, but putting them together just made it worse. Geshumaru walked to the door and opened it, looking back at Mato, watching her not move as she took her leave. The conversation strayed into a subject that she didn't want to talk about, and it looked like Mato would be deep in her thoughts about what she just heard.
Geshumaru's steps were silent, all the way to the front door as she put on her boots and left, closing the door silently. She managed to put some distance between her and the house before she heard the sound of sandals clacking against the ground. Looking back, she saw Mato catching her breath as she stopped a couple of feet behind her. Mato could feel the cracked joints aggravating, but ignored it as she looked up at Geshumaru, who was staring at her in confusion. It wasn't hard to know Geshumaru is wondering why she ran from her house after B RS used her body as a medium and whipped it around like it was nothing.
"Wait, that thing... can't you stop it, you did before, right..?" Mato asked, panting between words.
Geshumaru stared at her for a few seconds before responding, "I... can't, anything that happened before was a miracle at the cost of Naomi's life, this time around, none of us are strong to take it on"
"But, it's not that strong after sleeping... is it?" Mato questioned.
"Mato, I get that you're worried, but there isn't anything I can do," Geshumaru told her, "I don't know when it will wake up, but once it does, then we better think of a way to stop it... before Dragon Slayer tried to get her hands on it"
Mato watched Geshumaru walk away, thinking about what might happen in the coming days.
Author's Note: Okay, the last segment bugged me for some reason I couldn't find. Everything seemed right, but I couldn't figure out why it bugged me for some reason. This feeling only came up when I was typing the second half of the last segment, but after reading it, I couldn't find the problem. Weird. Anyways, if you got a question for me, visit Tachibana's forums here and check out the "Ask Mister House" thread. Check out the other threads as well and respond to them, gotta keep it alive and going, you know?
Please review and I'll see you all next time.