"Hey, Kazanari. Let's go a round; You versus me."
I'm not an idiot. I know full well what just happened. Tsubasa's good enough that she wouldn't make a mistake like that. That was her taking a swing at me.
"I'm gettin real tired of this, so let's just get it over with already."
"Agreed. You and I should fight one another. "
"Ha! About time." I laughed in her face. Doesn't even matter at this point. This is what I've been waiting for.
A roll of the neck, listen to the popping of my knuckles cracking. It's been a long time since I had a fight like this.
This'll be fun.
"Sure hope you don't got any plans for a while, miss superstar. I'm about to mess up that face of yours, then… we'll talk things out, and finally give that whole teamwork thing a shot. It'll be nice."
Tsubasa raised her sword and pointed the tip directly towards me.
"You and I, teammates? Fight side by side? Impossible. Hell will freeze over before I accept someone like you. Now… Prepare your Armed Gear, the embodiment of your will to fight on the battlefield. If you're going to stand there and claim Gungnir as your Symphogear… then you should be prepared to face the consequences of your choices."
And there's more nonsense I don't understand…
Whatever.
"Hey, I got no clue what you're talking about with Armed Gears or whatever. But… you wanna talk about being willing to fight? Then all I need are my fists."
Slowly, I slid my left foot back along the ground. Weight shifted properly… bring my fists up… It's nothing new. I'm always ready for this.
Doesn't matter who I'm up against. Doesn't matter if it's her. Doesn't matter that she has a sword. All that matters is that I can beat her… No…
I have to beat her.
I was ready for her to make the first move. Figured she'd come swingin at me, or shoot another one of those energy waves, or… something. But… no.
She didn't do anything.
She… lowered her sword, and turned her back on me.
She was walking away.
"You treat this like a game. That bravado is worthless on the battlefield. You have no business being here. Now go home, before you get yourself killed."
That's it!
"Don't turn your back on me!"
I couldn't take it anymore. I'm sick and tired of this bitch looking down on me. After everything I've been through, after everything I've done. Where does she get the right to judge me?
I ran right towards her and took the hardest swing I could.
"What the hell are they doing?!" Genjuro was flabbergasted by the events unfolding on the main monitor.
At first it looked like the situation was under control. But then, as soon as the Noise were neutralized, the two Wielders immediately started attacking each other.
"That's the youthful flames of passion for you." Ryoko said it so casually, as if this were the most normal thing to happen.
Genjuro turned and started walking to the elevators, rubbing his neck in frustration.
Tomosato turned away from the computer screens to face him.
"Commander, where are you going?"
"Someone's gotta go stop those two morons."
Ryoko Sakurai watched the commander leave with a grin on her face.
"He's basically the same as them. Really though, this new girl definitely draws attention, doesn't she? Can't just stand around and watch, now can I?"
Okay so… She's good. I knew she was good all along, but it's different when I'm the one getting my ass kicked.
The moment I take my swing at her, she blocks it with her sword. If I try to follow up from the other side, she dodges out of the way. If I try to get around her, she kicks my feet out from under me. No matter what I try…
I Just. Can't. Hit her!
Every single missed punch just makes it even more frustrating! Just one hit. Just one good hit and I'll… I'll…
"HYAAAAAAH!"
I don't care anymore! It's not worth thinking about. I just ran in again, trying to hit her, or grab her or,... anything. Just…something.
One Thousand Tears
"Oh shi-"
By the time I realized what was going on, I was already being flung to the ground. I was so close… so close, then… All those swords just came flying in out of nowhere. There was nothing I could do about that…
I think I'm lying in a crater now. My… everything hurts. It hurts more as I try to pull myself off the ground… All I manage is getting onto my hands and knees.
"Ow. Ow. Owwww…."
I can't even look at her. I don't even want to raise my head. I just keep staring down at the back of my hands. And… There's water falling on them. Is it starting to rain? Am I crying? I can't even tell.
I… I…
"Damn it!" My arm raised up and I drove my fist into the pavement with all the force I could muster. The road buckled and cracked, leaving behind another, smaller, crater. This Symphogear makes me strong. I already know how to fight. So why? Why… I…
"I'm so pathetic…" My voice comes out in barely more than a whisper.
I can't do it. I can't beat her. I can't even put up a decent fight. This was hopeless from the start.
"For two years… For two years I've been going crazy. Just trying to think about what I'd say to you, when we finally met… To apologize. But… no matter how hard I tried… I just couldn't find the words… Even today, the best I could think of was to just pick a fight…"
Tsubasa must have realized I couldn't keep going, or maybe she just never thought I was a threat from the very start, but she lowered her sword and started walking towards me.
"You want… to apologize. To me?" Her voice was… slow, measured. Deliberate, I guess. Whatever she's thinking… I don't have a clue.
"Of course… If it wasn't for me… I… What am I supposed to say? What can I say to make you believe how sorry I am for… It's my fault she's gone… I took Kanade Amo away from you…"
"You…" Tsubasa's voice turned cold and violent in an instant.
"You would sit there and… apologize for Kanade's death… You're saying it's your fault?"
I wasn't looking close enough to see it clearly, but… I think Tsubasa was holding back tears of her own. Every word sounded like it had to be forced with great effort.
"She…" I can barely even talk. I feel a wrenching in my gut. Every word gets caught in my throat and I keep choking on them… It hurts…
"She died saving me… If I'd just been brave enough to run, she wouldn't have had to. If I'd just been strong enough to get away faster, she wouldn't have had to… If I hadn't been there at all, she… It's all my fault. I… I wish I could change it. Every day I wish I could… I'm so sorry… I'm so…"
*WHHAAACK!*
My head hit the road again. Broken shards of concrete and asphalt try to bore their way through my skin, but… that's nothing compared to the pain on the other side of my face. Tsubasa she… She slapped me, I think. Hard enough to throw me back down into the ground.
"You egotistical, petulant CHILD! Of all the unbridled arrogance… For you to stand here and claim responsibility for that day… Kanade Amo was not some child needing to be coddled!"
"So…You… don't blame me…?"
"What could you have done?! What could you have done that day that Kanade couldn't? That I couldn't? We knew! We knew the dangers… You… A sheltered child like you could never understand her!"
She's yelling at me. Shouting even. But… It still feels like a massive weight was just lifted off my shoulders. I can finally breathe again. This is great. Really great! After all, she…
"You… you don't blame me… That's good. Because… If it wasn't my fault… then…"
I reached out… and grabbed Tsubasa's hand. It hurt. It really hurt. But… something in me was just screaming that I had to reach out to here, here and now. I have to do this.
"Then it wasn't your fault either!"
Tsubasa recoiled. Maybe it's because I started shouting. Maybe it's because I suddenly grabbed onto her. Either way, she tried to escape. Either way, I didn't let her. I'm not letting go…
"What are you-"
"That's what this is, isn't it? She's gone and… we wanted-. No. We needed someone, something, to blame. To… justify the fact that she's gone and we aren't. That's how it's been for me, at least. Isn't it the same for you? Everyday… Everyday I think about that; about what she did… And everyday I think the same thoughts. That it had to have been my fault. Because… if it isn't. If she didn't die because she had to save me, then… then that means it was no one's fault. She… was overwhelmed by the Noise… and couldn't make it out the other side."
I felt my arm go slack. I let go of Tsubasa's hand, but she didn't try to escape this time. She just… stood there. Listening to me. Looking at me. Her face is flush, her eyes are watering…
"Is that… is that really what we have to accept? Is that easier than blaming ourselves? Is it harder?... I don't know. But… I don't want to be your enemy."
Everything… just hung in the air. Neither of us said anything else for a while. I didn't know what else to say… or what she was gonna do to me for saying it.
"... You said your name is Hibiki Tachibana, correct?"
"Yep."
"You're a fool."
Heh. Ha. Ha ha ha. I couldn't hold it in. After all of… that. That's what she finally says to me? Incredible!
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Now, come on." I finally finished pulling myself off the ground. I couldn't help but watch the small bits of dust and debris fall off in clouds as I tried in vain to dust myself off.
"We still got a match to finish."
Tsubasa was taken aback. Completely flabbergasted, by the look on her face.
"You want to continue?"
"Of course! I've got a pretty good feeling about this now. I think I could beat you."
"Impossible." All of the surprise drained from Tsubasa's face, replaced with… anger? Pride? Determination? All of them, probably.
"Hit me with your best shot, then. Betcha I can match it."
Tsubasa drew her sword again as she began to walk away from me.
"You asked for this. It's not too late. You could kneel, apologize, and leave. It would be a peaceful end for you."
"Not a chance!" I must be smiling. As I brought myself back into a decent fighting stance, I couldn't help it. She's… different, suddenly. Still mad at me. Still probably hates my guts. But… She's actually talking to me. Progress!
"You want to face my strongest attack…"
Tsubasa leaped into the air again. She really likes doing that, huh?
"Then take it!"
She threw her sword at me. That's not so…
Oh. It got bigger. It's still getting bigger. It's that giant blade she guillotined that Noise with…
Heaven's Wrath
Well… Nothing to it, but to do it! I clamped my eyes shut, and threw the hardest haymaker I could manage at it.
I might've bitten off more than I can chew here… Yeah, I totally did. But it's too late now!
…
It hasn't hit me yet. I'm still standing.
That must mean… I did it! I must have stopped her attack. With my fist!
Is this that Armed Gear thing she was talking about? It's gotta be.
Feeling confident, I opened my eyes…
It never reached me. Damn it! I was sure I had it…
So what stopped…
The Commander is here! He… he stopped that huge sword, with his bare hands!
"HAAAAYAAAAHH!"
Stopping it wasn't enough, apparently. With another hearty push, Genjuro shattered not only her sword, but the ground around him too. A shockwave, a literal shockwave, came flying out of him.
"Uncle?!"
Tsubasa barely had time to sputter in confusion before getting thrown back in a flurry of wind.
… And then I followed. I went flying too, with an extra helping of debris for good helping.
What is it with these Kazanaris and throwing me to the ground? Seriously…
*cough* *cough*
While I was busy coughing up bits of road, I noticed water falling on me again… A lot of water. Okay, this time I know for sure that's not me crying.
Looks like the big guy made a water main burst, Tsubasa's getting drenched.
"Good grief. Just look at this mess. What on Earth were the two of you thinking. These shoes were expensive, you know."
His… shoes? What the heck is he…
… Oh.
I guess whatever trick he pulled just now shredded his fancy shoes. Sucks for him.
"Do you have any idea how many movies I could have rented with that money?"
Genjuro started walking straight towards Tsubasa. And with her laying flat on her back, I don't think either of them even noticed me over here…
"That wasn't like you Tsubasa. Looked like you were swinging at her for real. Just what…" Genjuro's words trailed off as he looked down at Tsubasa.
"Are you… crying?"
"I am not!" Tsubasa snapped at him before he'd even finished speaking.
"I never shed tears. I cannot… I am a warrior… Nothing but a sword. I…"
"And who the hell is expecting you to do that?"
I couldn't take it anymore. What kinda nonsense is that?!
"You've been through Hell and back! So what if you need to cry?! You can't? You can't cry because you have to be a 'warrior'? So what, you go out every night, risking your life, and you're just supposed to feel… nothing? That doesn't make you a fighter. That's just a tool."
Won't lie… I'm in a whole world of pain right now. Just standing up and walking towards her is making the whole world spin. But… if I don't do this now… It feels like I might not get another chance. Still… it's all I can do to just make it to her side before I finally fall back down again.
"I've met plenty of tools out there. Tsubasa, I don't think you're one of them. So… you shouldn't treat yourself like one… I meant what I said before, back before we left… I can't replace Kanade; and I'm not going to try. But… I want to think that there was some value in me being here tonight. That it wasn't just random chance or some accident… I'm going to keep fighting, and there's not a single damn thing you, or anybody, can do to stop me. So you better get used to it."
…
She didn't say anything. Just kept looking at the ground.
"Hey, Tsubasa…. One more thing."
"...What?"
*POP*
I slapped her. Not hard enough to hurt. She barely felt it, I promise. But the sound it just made was so satisfying!
"That's for the handcuffs earlier."
"You… HAH!"
"WHA?!"
She shoved me! These Kazanaris really do have a thing for pinning me to the ground!
I can even hear the big guy snickering under his breath…
Later that night…
Tsubasa sits alone in her family's dojo; a few scattered candles as her only source of light.
The day's events replayed in her mind, over and over. The ease of dispatching the Noise. That girl barging her way into things. That girl's arrogance. That girl. That girl! WHY?!
Why is she here? Why is the third relic in her possession? Why… why isn't it you…
'It's all… dark. Where are you… Tsubasa?'
!
Back here again… Surrounded by rubble, in the haunting orange glow of that sunset…
Kanade's in her arms. Eyes glazed over, spitting out blood… She knows what happens next; this story has played out in her mind practically every day since then… But, it never gets easier.
'Sorry… looks like this was… our last gig…"
'Why… Why would you say that? Why are you being mean to me?'
The same words, every time. How many things were there to say? How many other things would she have wanted to hear? But… no matter how hard she wished… the story never changes. Always the same lines, the same stage, the same script. Over, and over, and over, and over…
'It's because… you've always been a weak little crybaby.'
'I don't care!... I don't care if I'm weak! I just want to keep singing with you forever…'
Was that really her? Did she really say those things back then? She must have. There's no other option. But even still… the words sound so… alien to her now. Tsubasa Kazanari cannot cry. She can't afford to. Can't… have the luxury. She… is a sword. A simple weapon with which to slay the enemy. Swords can know neither love nor affection; such things are simply wasted.
So why… why does she keep coming back here? To this one moment where she can do nothing but cry and beg.
'Hey, Tsubasa… did you know… that when you sing with everything you can give… you feel really hungry?'
And… there it is… the… the last words she ever… That… that was the only time Tsubasa had ever seen her partner cry… Just for the briefest of moments before…
…
Tsubasa can't do anything but scream and wail as she feels the weight lift from her arms… and the dust is carried away by the wind.
!
Tsubasa Kazanari opened her eyes, grabbed her sword, and aimed it's point towards the entrance to the dojo in a single swift motion.
She wasn't alone anymore. Something had disturbed her. Someone. The enemy was here, in her very home.
Hibiki Tachibana was standing there in the doorway…
Author's Notes
This chapter's title comes from It's My Life by Bon Jovi.
This chapter ended up taking a lot longer to finish than I expected it to. Got laid off from my job, so things have been... stressful. Hoping to get chapters out more consistently going forward.
And I hope everyone reading this is looking forward to next time, when we cover events that never occurred in the original anime, in any capacity.