Radiant Garden- Four Years Ago
Having not attended enough days of school, Ikari was not able to take part in the graduation ceremony. But she didn't mind, really. She got to sit in the audience and watch Arleen and Tai walk proudly onto the stage to receive their diplomas, trying to clap for them louder than anyone else. Afterwards, there was plenty of photo-taking at their favourite spots around the high school and Ikari had to bite back the urge to tease Arleen as she started to tear up when they were walking home that afternoon. Ikari didn't have a lot of feelings towards the school, but she was definitely grateful that she had made two wonderful friends there that she planned to keep for life.
…
About a month later, Ikari was on her way home after a particularly busy day at work. The garden on the left side of the footpath and the river on the right were both lit up and equally beautiful in the evening summer light. The sky was full of scattered colours; light blue over here, some pastel orange over there. The warm air was perfect and gently embraced Ikari as she walked slowly down the path, taking her time as she drank in the soothing atmosphere.
With all her senses soaked in the rays of the setting sun, she had completely forgotten about the one thing that the residents of Radiant Garden always needed to be incredibly aware of: shady people.
Her stomach flipped and her throat became very dry when she heard the shuffling of footsteps behind her. She could hear unfamiliar boot-steps followed by the jingle of a chain (Ikari guessed it was an accessory of some sort) steadily making their way towards her. She couldn't do it. She wanted to, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around.
She began to hurry her pace. The person was getting closer, obviously taking long, quick strides to catch up with her. Ikari was terrified. No one ever walked that close to each other. Strangers would always keep a very reasonable distance from one another at all times. But this person was not even two metres away from her.
"Hey there, what's your hurry?" it was a British man, maybe in his late twenties, early thirties.
Ikari kept her eyes on the path ahead of her, power walking like her life depended on it (and she knew that it probably did).
"You'll tire yourself out if you walk so fast. Why don't you slow down a little?"
"What do you want," Ikari demanded without looking back.
"Just a friendly chat. Is that so bad? My name's Ruldo, what's yours?"
"Please just leave me alone," Ikari was nearly crying with fear and desperation, tears just beginning to prick the corners of her eyes.
"What's wrong? You don't have to be shy with me."
Ikari tried ignoring him again. Ruldo stepped up so that he was now walking side by side with her. Flicking her eyes to the corners, she got a decent look at him. His bottle blonde hair was very short and slicked back. He was wearing a white and blue blazer and black jeans. Ikari caught a glimpse of a couple of earrings that he was wearing and his azure-coloured eyes which were looking down at her in a way that made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Before she knew it, he was reaching out a hand covered in a grey fingerless glove and taking hold of her arm. Ikari was forced to stop in her tracks and she stood there frozen, looking straight ahead with dilated pupils and a light sweat brewing on her forehead. Ruldo pulled suddenly and her back hit his front. With a swift movement, he held both her arms behind her so that it hurt when she began to struggle.
"Please! Let go of me! Stop!"
Ikari cringed as Ruldo leaned in close, breathing on the side of her neck. "Don't be scared. Let's play a little game," he smirked.
"No… Please don't…"
"Take your hands off her!"
Ruldo gasped and turned around, releasing the tight grip he had on Ikari's arms. He grunted as a black shoe connected with his cheek. Stumbling backwards, both he and Ikari looked up to see who the attacker was.
Tai ran forward and took Ikari's hand, sprinting down the path with her.
"Dammit…" Ruldo cursed under his breath as he took off after them. Fearing that either of them might decide to tattle on him after what he almost did, he knew that the only way to avoid being locked up was to get rid of them.
Ikari was panting hard as her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Tai was much faster than her and so she nearly tripped up more than once as she was dragged along behind him. She looked back over her shoulder quickly and squeaked in fright when she saw Ruldo starting to chase after them at double their speed. Tai pulled Ikari as the pathway cut sharply into a side street. After running a couple more metres, he turned Ikari so that she was facing him and made the biggest jump he could out towards the tall bushes on the side of the path. He twisted his own body so that he landed on the grass on his back with Ikari on top of him. With the bushes acting as barrier, Tai moved to position himself over Ikari as close to the flowering shrubs as possible. Ikari stared up at her rescuer, eyes wide in fright as she heard Ruldo footsteps drawing closer, becoming louder by the second. Tai leaned down low to make sure that he couldn't be seen and gently placed his hand on the whimpering girl's mouth.
They could hear Ruldo walking along the path by the bushes, very, very slowly. Each painfully slow, dragging footstep made Ikari's heart skip a beat. Tai leaned his head down on the ground, right next to Ikari's face, and shut his eyes tightly.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," he could hear the smile in Ruldo's voice.
He walked right past them. Tai had to press his hand a little harder over her mouth when she started to breathe faster, on the verge of hyperventilating. They felt Ruldo's shadow fall over them for a few seconds, and then vanish completely. Soon enough, his shuffling footsteps turned into a run as he sprinted away from them to continue his search elsewhere.
Tai breathed a raspy sigh of relief and pushed himself up a little on the ground, letting his hand fall from Ikari's face. A few tears streamed down her checks as she whimpered, her chest rising and falling faster and faster. With a quiet moan, her head tilted to the side suddenly and she fainted.
…
"…kari… Ika… Ikari…"
The figure standing over her was blurry at first, and as she fully regained consciousness, she gasped and slid up the bed she had been lying on.
"No! Let go of me!"
"It's okay, Ikari. He's gone," Tai placed a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him, teary eyed. He stared back with a soft expression as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose with two fingers. Ikari bit her lip as she reached forward and wrapped her arms around Tai's neck. His body stiffened a little as he wasn't particularly fond of physical contact, but he managed to force himself to feel comfortable with the situation and hugged her back.
"If you hadn't showed up when you did, I… He would have…" Ikari couldn't bear to think of it.
She let go of Tai slowly and looked away. "Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it. We were both pretty lucky," Tai stood up, rubbing the back of his dark grey hair.
He turned and headed for the door. "I'll make you a coffee."
Ikari tucked her legs underneath her and knelt on top of the bed. "Oh, it's okay. I don't really drink coffee."
"Hot chocolate it is, then," Tai looked back over his shoulder and smiled as he left the room.
Ikari laughed quietly to herself, pushing the pillow further up the bed before leaning back on it. She had barely got a moments silence before the door burst open again.
"'Kari, what happened?! Are you okay?!" Arleen dove onto the bed and landed on all fours.
She grabbed Ikari face and started to examine it quickly. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No, I'm okay, really!" Ikari's voice sounded a little strange as Arleen pressed on her cheeks, causing her lips to pout so that she looked like a fish.
The blonde took Ikari's head and brought it down onto her chest as she hugged her tightly.
"Don't ever worry me like that again!"
"I'm sorry!" Ikari's words were muffled as her face was covered in Arleen's shirt.
The door opened again and the two girls looked back to see who was there.
"Ikari? What happened? When you didn't come home, I called Tai and…" Yori nervously approached the bed, looking incredibly anxious.
"Oh, uh…" Ikari desperately thought of something to cover up the truth so that she wouldn't worry her brother. "Nothing too serious, I'm alright."
"You don't look alright."
Ikari put on her most cheerful smile. "I've been working hard all day and it was so hot outside when I was walking home, I guess I must have passed out."
"You don't have to worry, it looks like Tai's been taking good care of her," Arleen grinned. Tai had already explained everything to her and she was only playing along with Ikari's lie for Yori's sake.
The white-haired boy's expression softened and her let out a long sigh as he shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"
Tai walked into the room, pushing the door open with one hand while holding a steaming cup in the other. He carefully handed it over to Ikari and she took it with both hands.
"Now, I don't want you leaving until you've had the whole thing," he said in his usual half-serious tone.
Yori looked up at him. "But, are you sure that's a good idea? She fainted because she got too hot, shouldn't you be giving her a cold drink?"
Ikari stared into space, trying not to look guilty. Tai glanced down at her and seemed to realise what the situation was without even being told.
"I mixed a potion in there. One that only works when it's heated. It'll make her feel better, I promise."
"Wait, you did?" Ikari blinked a couple of times as she stared into the cup.
Looking back up at Tai, she saw him casually wink at her and she understood that he had only made that up. She smiled gratefully before taking a long sip of the hot drink.
"Is there anything else I can get you?" Tai asked, pushing back his fringe.
Ikari shook her head and closed her eyes. "You've done more than enough already."
"I'll walk you home when you're ready to leave, 'kay?" Arleen said that in a very insistent way so that Ikari wouldn't be able to refuse her offer.
The raven-haired girl nodded before taking another sip of the hot chocolate. Yori sighed and sat down on the end of the bed, pursing his lips into a sad smile.
"What am I going to do with you…"
…
Ikari was kneeling on her bedroom floor with Arleen, reluctantly letting her braid her hair. As strange as it seemed, the blonde was actually a decent stylist.
"Can I try you with pigtails next?" Arleen giggles, obviously enjoying this very much.
Ikari sighed. "You're lucky I'm even letting you near my hair."
"So, I guess that's a no?"
"Just do what you want," Ikari smiled, shaking her head a little bit.
Arleen slid a hair tie off her wrist and twisted it around the end of Ikari's thick black locks. She sat there, grinning as she admired her work.
"It looks really pretty!" she beamed.
Ikari reached back over her shoulders and ran her hand over her braided hair. Not being able to see it, she could only trust that Arleen had done a good job of it.
Arleen pushed herself up from the floor and dove onto her bed, lying on her back. She lifted her arms up by her head, stretching. She reached over and picked up four pencils from her bedside table. She stuck them in between her fingers so that they looked like claws when she clenched her hand into a fist.
"So, what's the deal with you and Tai? You seem to be always going over to his house lately."
Ikari pushed herself onto the end of the bed and sat cross-legged on it. "Is that weird? I mean, we're friends, so it's normal for me to want to hang out with him, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah. But we're friends too and you don't hang out with me nearly as much as you've been hanging out with him."
Why does she care so much all of a sudden…? Ikari found herself wondering.
"I guess we've gotten pretty close since he saved me that day. I don't know, I guess I feel safe with him and so that makes me want to spend more time with him?"
Ikari looked over Arleen and saw that she was smirking, tilting her head up a little from her lying position.
"You sure you don't just have a crush on him?" she grinned.
"No…" Ikari started to reply, but then she decided to have a better think about it.
It's true that since that day, I've been wanting to be with him all the time. I really enjoy his company. He's always got something sweet to say and he makes me smile. And there's also the fact that I think he's completely gorgeous… But… No… Could it be that…
"I love him."
There was silence for what seemed like an age.
Arleen laughed awkwardly. "Um… You wanna run that by me again?"
Ikari slowly turned towards her friend, looking completely shocked at this new fact she had just realised. "Arleen… I think I love him."
Arleen looked equally shocked and she sat up on her bed, staring at Ikari with her mouth open. Ikari was completely frozen, still trying to process her thoughts and feelings.
"What… do you think I should do?" Ikari stammered, desperately seeking her best friend's advice.
Arleen blinked. "Uh…. Well… I don't know, maybe you should tell him?"
"Really…? Do you think he feels the same way?"
"Well, you won't know unless you ask," Arleen composed herself and smiled her usual cheeky smile.
With Arleen's calmer attitude, Ikari was able to relax and smile as well. "Okay. Okay, I will."
…
The Next Day
Ikari jogged all the way to Violet Cliff, her heart nearly pounding out of her throat with excitement and anxiety. There were so many thoughts flying around in her head that she couldn't sort any of them out. She had nearly run completely out of breath by the time she got all the way up the path to the top of the hill. She was relieved when the ground flattened out, allowing her to run over it a lot easier than when it was steep. The sky was grey and the air was cold, but that hardly bothered her.
She could see Tai standing a little further down the path just as she had expected him to be. He was facing the other way. Eventually, she saw that someone else was standing with him. As she slowed down her pace, Ikari squinted her eyes to try and get a better view of who it was.
Arleen…?
Because she was standing at a reasonable distance from them, it was hard to see what was happening. But something about what she could see just seemed a little… off. Arleen was beginning to drape her arms around Tai's neck. Ikari shuffled closer to them, hiding behind a thick-trunked tree where she could get a good side-view of the two of them. She gasped, throwing her hands to her mouth in shock.
Arleen was kissing Tai.
The silver-haired boy had his hands up, looking extremely uncomfortable, eyes wide open in shock. After a couple more seconds, Arleen pulled away. Ikari couldn't hear him, but Tai looked very serious as he started to talk to her. Whatever he said caused Arleen to become frantic as she took his hands in hers, her expression switching between sadness and hopefulness. Tai tore his hands away, walking briskly down the path in the opposite direction. Arleen called after him loudly, taking a couple of steps towards him before falling to her knees, covering her face.
Ikari watched Tai leave and waited until she couldn't see him anymore before coming out of her hiding place. She clenched her teeth as she approached the sobbing and sniffing girl, her blood boiling with anger.
"Arleen!" she barked.
The blonde looked up, her pupils dilated with fear. "I-Ikari?"
A few drops of rain landed on Ikari's head, but she ignored them completely, barely even feeling them. She stopped in front of Arleen.
"Why… …Why?!"
Arleen stood up and took a few steps back. "Ikari… I…"
"Why would you do something like that when you know how I feel about him?!"
Arleen growled in frustration. "Because I love him too! I always have! So… so it's only fair that I get to be with him!"
Within a matter of seconds, the rain was pouring down in sheets, drenching the two girls.
"Then why didn't you tell me?!" Although the water was ice cold, it didn't cool Ikari's anger down even a little.
"I didn't know what to do, okay?! You took me by surprise when you told me and I freaked out!"
"And so you handle it by going after him, trying to confess your love to him before I did?! Do you even see how selfish that is?!" Ikari was walking towards Arleen at a steady pace, forcing her to keep walking backwards towards the railing at the edge of the cliff.
She couldn't control her anger. It was building up quickly, raging inside her heart. "Aren't you even going to apologise?!"
"I have nothing to apologise for! Nothing!" Arleen was trying with difficulty to scream back even louder than Ikari over the sound of the rain.
"Nothing?! Don't you even see the horrible mess you've made?! The fact that you've hurt me?! If you'd had just told me that you liked him, I would have never even considered going after him. Because that wouldn't have been fair on you! That's not what friends do!"
Ikari and Arleen were only a couple of metres away from the edge now.
"Well, then I guess we're not friends!" Arleen's voice cracked a little as her eyes welled up with tears.
Ikari stopped, making her hand into a tight fist as she closed her eyes. "No… I guess we're not."
Arleen stared at her in confusion as Ikari's eyes slowly slid open again, revealing that they were completely filled with the blue colour of her irises. She stared at Arleen coldly. As if a demon was possessing her, Ikari raised her hand, flexing her fingers towards Arleen. The blonde cried out, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in her chest. The aching began to course through her whole body and she felt herself getting weaker by the second.
"Ikari! What are you-?" Arleen staggered backwards as the pain increased.
She grabbed onto the white railing that was as high as her knees, trying to keep her balance. Ikari was standing there with both her hands out now, staring at Arleen blankly as she drained her life force with her new-found power. Then she lifted her arm up as high as she could and then brought it down in a quick sweeping motion. Arleen gagged, her hand slipping off the rail as she felt a horrible stinging feeling slice through her whole body as if she had been cut by a sword. Arleen screamed and fell forward, managing to grip the lowest bar ion the railing as she did, and she quickly found herself hanging from it by one hand.
Ikari suddenly snapped out of her zombie-like state and she clutched her head, starting to feel sleepy. She rocked back and forth a little bit before collapsing.
…
She lay there unconscious for only about 30 seconds before coming to, pushing herself to her feet.
"What…? How did I get here…?" Her memory of the past few minutes was completely clouded.
As the background noise of the rain began to fade into her hearing, she heard Arleen's terrified screams coming from the edge of the cliff. Ikari ran to where the noise was coming from and looked over the side of the railing.
"Arleen!"
The blonde was barely hanging on, her fingers nearly slipping from the wet bar as the rain fell over it, threatening to push her into the river far below her. Ikari gasped and stretched her hand down, trying to grab Arleen's right arm that hung lifeless at her side.
"Give me your hand!" Ikari cried, leaning over as far as she could, keeping a hand on the top of the railing to steady herself.
Arleen looked up at her with fear in her eyes. "No! Get away from me!"
The haze cleared and Ikari's memories returned in a blinding flash. But this time, when she thought about the fact that Arleen had betrayed her trust the way she had, she didn't feel half as angry about it as she had before. All she cared about was saving her best friend.
"Arleen, I'm sorry! I don't know what happened! I don't know what I was thinking! But I… just… Let me help you!"
"I don't want your help! I'd rather die!"
Ikari looked back over her shoulder when she heard footsteps running towards her, splashing over the wet ground.
"Ikari, what's wrong?" Tai panted, nearly out of breath. He gasped when he saw Arleen and threw himself at the railing, leaning over it as he called out her name.
Ikari guessed that he had come back to check on Arleen, probably feeling bad about walking off the way he had.
"Come on, just give me your other hand! You can trust me!" Ikari drew in a few shaky breaths, starting to fear the worst. "Right?"
Arleen looked up slowly, staring at Tai who was leaning over the railing as well. He stretched his hand down towards her.
"Arleen, come on!" he cried in desperation.
"You trust me, right?!" Ikari frantically screamed.
Arleen looked up at her, a tear running down each of her cheeks, merging with the rain that dripped down her face.
"No… I don't."
Arleen started to lift her free hand towards Tai and he reached out even further, taking hold of her wrist and allowing her to wrap her fingers around his. Ikari sighed a little in relief now that the two of them were both tightly grabbing onto their friend. Tai started to pull and Ikari did her best to do the same, grunting as she gave it her all.
For a second, Arleen smiled. And then Tai's finger's suddenly slipped from her wet arm and Ikari, who was unable to hold her friend's weight by herself, was forced to let her go. The last expression she saw plastered across Arleen's face was absolute terror as she screamed all the way down to the river far, far below them.
"Arleen!" Ikari and Tai screamed in unison as Arleen disappeared.
Tai slowly brought his hands to his mouth, taking a few slow steps back in shock. Ikari held onto the railing with both hands, leaning over it as she called her friend's name in a raspy voice, bursting into tears.
"What happened… Ikari, what happened…?" Tai whispered, staring down at her with tears flowing from his own turquoise eyes.
Ikari was choking on her own sobs, gripping the bar tightly. "I don't… I just… We…"
"Ikari, what happened?!"
"I didn't… It was… an accident…" Ikari had to take big gasps of breath before each attempt she made to speak.
"An accident…? What did you do?!" Tai could hardly believe anything that was happening and he started to feel light-headed.
"We got… in a bad fight and… I lost control…"
"Of what? Lost control of what?!"
"My… anger…"
Tai paced back and forth, a hand on his forehead as he tried to process everything. It took a lot of effort in the state he was in, but he eventually began to fit the pieces together.
"So you… So you tried to kill her?" his voice broke a little as he looked at Ikari sadly.
The words hit her like a wall of ice. She had to pause for a few seconds, staring wide-eyed into space.
"No… I would… I would never… That's just not something… that I'd do…"
Tai's sadness turned into anger and he turned quickly, walking away from the edge of the cliff as fast as he could. He didn't even care about hearing the rest of the story, all he wanted was to get away from the person responsible for Arleen's death. Ikari swallowed the lump in her throat only to have a new one form in its place. She spun around, running after him.
"Where are you going?!"
"I'm leaving," Tai said firmly without looking back.
Ikari tried to smile, but only because her heart was exhausted from feeling so much sadness all at once. "But you can't. I mean, there's nowhere else to go…"
"I've been working on something that can take me far away from this world. I'm calling it a Gummi Ship. I was planning on taking you and Arleen with me, but… But…"
"Tai, no. Please don't go. You can't…!"
Tai turned around suddenly, grabbing Ikari by the shoulders. "You've ruined everything!"
The force of his words sent a wave of a mixture of sadness and shock through Ikari's body and she wondered for a second if this was the same kind of pain that Arleen had felt when she was being tortured. She stood there frozen as Tai walked away.
"Tai…" her voice only came out as a whisper at first. "T-Tai! Come back!"
"No. If this is the way things are, then I'm leaving."
"Tai, please! Don't go, Tai!" Ikari started to panic as he began to get smaller, further and further away from her.
"No… Please… Please don't go, Tai! Taishi!" Although her voice echoed as far as it possibly could, she wasn't sure if it was able to reach him anymore.
…
Ikari lay there on her bed, hugging her knees. Her eyes were bloodshot as if she hadn't blinked in a whole year. Yori came into her room cautiously, holding a tray with a cup of warm milk and a few biscuits set upon it. Ikari looked up suddenly when she heard him, making the young boy step back in shock when he saw how pale and frightened she looked.
"I just… I just thought I'd bring you some…" he held onto the tray tightly with shaky hands as he offered it to her.
Ikari breathed in slowly, trying her best to force a smile. "Can I have it later? You can just put it on my table for now."
Yori pursed his lips and nodded, doing what she asked. "Are you… sure you're okay?"
"Just feeling a little sick, don't worry about me. It's nothing, really. It's getting late, so why don't you get to bed now?" Ikari said quickly in a small voice.
Yori hesitated by the door for a little while before leaving the room again closing the door behind him.
Ikari slowly took her blanket and pulled it high over her head, shivering a little. She bit back a whimper as she felt another lot of tears bubbling up behind her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to think. Her mind had been covered with a thick fog, blinding her completely and numbing her senses.
I'm a horrible person… The haze cleared a little and grim thoughts began to fill her mind. I should have just jumped after her and fell into that river as well. Why should I still be here when she's gone? And Tai… I didn't even get to tell him that I…
I should just die. Someone like me… doesn't deserve to live.
With a noise that sounded like a quick gust of wind, a Corridor or Darkness appeared in the middle of Ikari's room, making her sit up her immediately, throwing the bed sheets away from her. A tall figure stepped out of it; a mysterious-looking woman with pale green skin, wearing a purple and black dress and cloak. She was holding a long staff that had a glowing green orb at the top of it.
"Who are you?" Ikari whispered feebly.
The woman's lips curled up into a sly smile. "My name is Maleficent."
"What are you… doing…?"
"I have been watching you, Ikari. As soon as I sensed a power of great strength in this world, I knew I had to find it. I didn't expect it to take so long, but it seems as though that power has finally awakened inside of you."
"Power? You don't mean…?" Ikari's mind wandered to the events of earlier that day. The way she could inflict pain on Arleen just by willing it to happen.
"If you'd like, I can teach you how to use it. How to control it. Your power is currently beyond your understanding, but I can change that if you'll let me," Maleficent's smile never left her face.
"How?" Ikari had found herself in an incredibly confusing situation.
Maleficent looked around the room, curiously examining everything as she slowly placed her other hand on top of her staff.
"There are two halves to this world. A light side and a dark side. You, my dear, presently reside in the dark part. Recently, I have managed to acquire a castle in the light side of Radiant Garden. I have renamed the town 'Hollow Bastion' and I have taken it as my own. If you were to come and stay with me there, I would be able to teach you everything you need to know. I can help you, Ikari… If you'll let me."
"I have a little brother. He can't know about any of this… And I can't just leave him here by himself," Ikari said decisively.
Maleficent shook her head. "I know that your main concern is providing for your brother. But listen… If you were to learn how to control your power, you would be able to use it as a way to do just that."
That sparked Ikari's attention immediately. "What would I have to do?"
"I shall explain everything to you in good time. But for now… will you accept my offer? You may return here to your brother whenever you like. Just think of Hollow Bastion as your second home. And I promise, I will take good care of you. All I want… is to help you, Ikari."
…
She made up the excuse that the deliveries for Arleen's dad were going to take her to other worlds in a new sort of ship that he had recently invented. That she wouldn't be home for a while, but that she would do her best to come back as soon as she could. Yori was only glad to see his sister up and well again and accepted this without much question.
And so, Ikari went to live with Maleficent, spending her time in Hollow Bastion training with the evil fairy and developing her skills to the absolute fullest. It wasn't long before Ikari found her first job.
This was how it started. Her new life. Her slow decent into evil. A dark, dark place that would take her years to start to crawl her way out of and even longer before she finally found her way back to the light.