Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Kuroi ~ Shiroi ❯ a new beginning ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: PikaChan 
Who will win between Weiß and Schabön? The second half of the battle.
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 203 | Status: Completed
Who will win between Weiß and Schabön? The second half of the battle.
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 203 | Status: Completed
- chapter 7 -
With the death of Piranha, and the disappearances of Starfish and Naoe Nagi, the two groups were not evenly matched. Weiß was intact (and had the help of Nusutto Eiki); yet only Manta, Dolphin, Swordfish, and Hammerhead remained of Schabön.
"Damn it, I can't TAKE two of 'em!" Dolphin swore as she dodged attacks from Calico and Eiki. She had many wounds on her arms and legs. She whirled around as Calico came upon her, and she hit her hard in the jaw with her nunchucks.
Calico fell to the ground, holding her hand to her face where she was hit.
Eiki drew her largest knife, slashing Dolphin across the back. The other woman attempted to spin around to hit Eiki, but she fell because of her hurt leg. "Kuso!" she shouted, grasping her ankle.
"What's wrong? Can't you get up?" Eiki asked coldly. Dolphin wiped a hint of blood from her face, glaring at Eiki.
"Go ahead an' kill me," she said, "you still won't win."
"You don't have to ask me twice!" Eiki reached into her trenchcoat, sheathing her large knife. She then took a shuriken from one of the straps on her right arm, throwing it at Dolphin.
She ducked the shuriken, latching herself around Eiki's leg. She took her nunchucks, and hit her hard in the opposite leg. "Let's see 'ow YOU like not bein' able t' walk!"
"Itai! Damnit..." Eiki fell.
Swordfish was having troubles of his own. He too had to put up with two opponents. He held on tightly to his spear as Balinese's wire wrapped around it. Balinese yanked hard on the wire, pulling the spear out of his hands.
*Shimatta!* Swordfish thought. He was now weaponless. *Damn that wire! What the hell am I supposed to do now?* He took a defensive stance.
"What, gonna try some martial arts on us?" Bombay said from behind him. He had an arrow aimed for Swordfish's back.
Swordfish whirled around and kicked the crossbow out of Bombay's hands.
*Not good... definitely not good...* Bombay thought. He backed up against a stairwell, then he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. *Akari!* He looked to Swordfish (who was preoccupied with fighting Balinese), then ran to where Calico was laying on the ground. "Akari? Are you alright?" he asked.
Akari attempted to push herself up off of the ground. She was still feeling pain from where Dolphin hit her. "I've been better..."
Omi noticed a spot on her jaw that was bruised. He gently ran his thumb over it. "Did Dolphin do this?" Akari nodded. "... I've got to get you out of here."
"No! I've got to... I've got to have my revenge on Manta..." She flinched from the pain in her hip where she landed. "He's taken everything away from me... my parents, my brother, my purity..." Her vision started to blur. "It hurts, Omi. I... I don't know how much longer I can go on."
On an impulse, Omi wrapped his arms around her shoulders and whispered into her ear. "Be strong, Akari. I know you can."
His words rang clear in Akari's head. "Be strong... that's what I've been trying to do for so long now... I don't know if I can, it's just so... it's too hard." Akari mentally slapped herself. *Damnit, Nagareboshi! You are strong! You've just got to believe in your own strength...* She shook her head. "You're right, Omi. I've got to be strong, for the sake of everyone else..." She pulled away from his embrace and shakily stood up. But she lost her balance, and fell back down.
"Akari, just rest for a minute. Your muscles are tired..." Omi helped her back up.
"I can't..." She gripped her weapon tighter, then ran back to where Eiki and Dolphin were fighting.
Omi blinked. *Geez, she can be awfully stubborn...*
Dolphin yelled out in pain as the three long blades of Calico's weapon slid through her stomach. "Y-you..." She coughed, a trail of blood running down her jaw. "Kuso... now you've done it..."
Calico angrily withdraw her weapon from her opponent's midsection. "I hope you rot in hell," she growled.
"Geez Akari," Eiki muttered. "Something really pissed you off..."
Calico looked down at Dolphin, whose eyes were closed. She wasn't moving. Calico wiped the sweat from her forehead, brathing heavily. "I'm not done yet," she said. "I won't stop until all of Schabön is burning in hell..."
********************************************************* **********
"Nagi-san, why did you have to help me like that?" Mei asked as Nagi gently set her down on the ground. The two of them had fled from the battle.
Nagi's face turned a little pink. "I... I didn't want you to get hurt, Mei-san. You're one of the only friends I have, and well..."
"... I see." Mei smiled lightly. "But you could have at least waited until I killed that Nagareboshi brat..."
"It wouldn't have been that easy. I could sense her power... she was fighting with her whole heart, everything she had. You wouldn't have made it." Nagi crossed his arms. "If I hadn't gotten there when I did, you could have been killed. And... well, I didn't want that to happen, y'know..." He looked down at the ground.
Mei's face flushed a little. "That's sweet, Nagi..." He looked up and sort of half-smiled at her. "Well... thank you." She reached over and quickly hugged him.
Both of them turned bright red. They looked at each other, smiling.
********************************************************* **********
Hammerhead clutched his face, howling in pain as Siberian swiped him across the face again with his bugnuks. He was now blind in one eye, and had several slashes covering his body. "D-damn you..." He attempted to deliver a punch to Siberian's stomach, but he lost his balance and wound up grabbing the collar of his shirt instead.
"Get the hell off of me!" Siberian growled. With that, he slashed Hammerhead across the chest.
The short man let go of Siberian's shirt, falling to the ground. He found it extremely hard to breathe now; his skin paled. "Well, looks like I'm done..." Hammerhead shuddered, taking his last breath. His eyes glazed over, and he stopped moving completely.
Swordfish frantically looked around the area at his fallen comrades. He wiped a cut on his chin with the back of his hand, creating a streak of crimson across his face. He was clearly helpless now, as he was weaponless and was extremely tired from all of the kicks and punches he had been throwing.
Balinese sneered, tugging his wire. "Time to end it, moron." He threw the wire, wrapping it around Swordfish's wrist.
The thin wire cut into his skin, the bright blood flowing. Swordfish growled (to the best of his ability), taking the pain. It wasn't long before he was backed up against the edge of the rooftop, and was losing consciousness due to the slits in his wrist. *It... it's time for me to go. I'll see you in hell!* With that, he broke the wire binding his wrist and hurled himself off of the building.
Balinese held his hand to his ear, as he heard a dull thud on the ground about sixty feet below. "Wow, that was easy."
"You... you won't beat me that easily, Fujimiya," Manta said as the two katanas grinded against each other. "Your little friends may have taken down our gang, but I will NOT fall so quickly!" He quickly wrenched his sword away from Abyssinian's, and backed up. It was then that he noticed that he was completely surrounded by Weiß and Eiki.
"Not so tough without your buddies, are ya?" Balinese asked.
"Try all you like. You're dead meat now," Siberian said.
"Why don't we show you what it's been like for all of the people you've totrured?" Bombay mused.
"Sounds good to me." Eiki chuckled. Because of her hurt leg, she was leaning against Abyssinian for support.
"I can say this: You won't find it very pleasant..." Abyssinian said, sheathing his katana and crossing his arms. He looked to Calico. "Would you like the honours of putting this asshole where he belongs?"
Calico blinked, then nodded. "My pleasure, Abyssinian." She gripped her weapon tighter.
Manta took a fighting stance. "Y-you think I'm scared of those puny cat claws?" Manta WAS scared. He had never fought by himself before. Damnit, this wasn't supposed to happen! He was going to kill that little harlot and be gone with the Nagareboshi family... But he saw the burning rage in Calico's eyes, and knew that his time had come.
To Calico's surprise, he dropped his sword. He spread his arms out, glaring hard at her. "Well? Are you going to kill me or not?"
Calico's glare darkened, and she swiped at his chest. "This... is for my parents!" She took several swipes and jabs at him, each time yelling something out. "And this is for my oniichan! And Eiki! And Aya! Ken! Youji! Omi! And this..." She drove her weapon into his chest. "... This is for all of the pain that you've caused me!!" She brought her tetsume down, ripping his front side open.
Manta made a few choking sounds, then fell backward, dead.
Breathing heavily from the great amount of energy she exerted, Calico fell to her knees.
"Akari!" Bombay ran to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"It's... it's finally over..." she breathed.
"Yeah, we'd better get paid GOOD for this," Youji said, rubbing the back of his neck. He then noticed Eiki standing next to him, and used the old "yawn" technique. "So, Eiki... what kind of guys do you like?"
Eiki narrowed her eyes and elbowed him in the gut. "Sorry, Youji. You ain't my type."
"Yeah, Youji! We just finished the hardest fight we've had in a long while, and you're already hitting on girls again..." Ken said.
"Yes, well... I'd better be going now." Eiki crossed her arms behind her head. "I've got a reputation to keep up, y'know..."
"But Eiki-san... are you sure you can make it with your hurt leg?" Omi asked.
"Yeah, you could stay with us if you wanted," Akari said.
Eiki simply shook her head. "I'll survive. Besides, like I said before... I don't really work well in groups." She shrugged apologetically, and then turned to go.
"Wait, Eiki..." It was Aya. His expression wasn't too different then usual, except there seemed to be a hint of sadness in his eyes. Eiki looked up at him, confused. Aya suddenly wrapped his arms around, her hugging her tightly.
Eiki's face turned several shades of crimson.
"... Thank you," he whispered. "We'd probably all be dead if you hadn't come into our lives..."
Eiki swallowed the lump in her throat. "How exactly did you get back up here, anyway?" she asked.
"Well, I managed to grab a clothesline when I fell... then I took a note from you and climbed up the drainpipe. Like I said, you can learn a lot from a bandit." He then let go of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You come and see us at the Koneko, okay?"
Eiki grinned, nodding. She turned to look at the rest of Weiß. "Well... see ya, space cowboys." With that, she turned back around and ran off, leaping across the rooftops of the buildings.
"Well..." Ken looked up at the sky, which was now studded with bright stars. "That's it. Now what?"
"We continue with our lives, I guess," Youji said, yawning. "Man, I'm beat. I say we all go home and hit the sack, ne?"
"Not a bad idea, Yo-tan," Omi said. "We're all tired. That was one rough battle..." He yawned.
"Man, I'm gonna be *so* sore tomorrow..." Akari said, groaning. This brought laughs from the rest of the group.
*********************************************************** ********
That night, Omi had trouble sleeping. As tired as he was, he just couldn't fall asleep. There were too many things on his mind. After tossing and turning for about an hour, he finally got up and walked into the living room.
There was a shadowed figure standing at the window. It turned and looked at him. "Hey, Omi."
He was surprised. He really didn't think that anyone else would be up this late. "Akari?" She was looking out the window. "Hey. Can't sleep either?"
Akari nodded as Omi walked over and stood next to her. "Too much on my mind... see, I really don't think that was the end of Schabön..."
"What do you mean? You finished Manta off yourself..." Omi rubbed his eyes, stifling a huge yawn.
"Well... we don't know what happened to Starfish. I'm not sure, but I think she might still be alive..."
"Hey, don't worry yourself over it. We can deal with her some other time." Omi smiled at her in the darkness.
Akari smiled back. "Yeah..." She looked out the window again. "The stars... they're pretty, aren't they?"
Omi nodded. He saw the reflection of them in her light blue eyes. "Yeah..." He subconsciously put an arm around her, resting his forehead against the side of her head.
Akari felt her face turn a little pink. She smiled, in spite of herself. "Y'know, Omi..." The response was a muffled 'hm'. "I'm really glad I met you guys. It's nice to know that you have somebody that you can trust."
He raised his head and lookd at her. "Yeah." He then bit his lip. "Uhm, Akari... while we're on the subject, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."
Akari looked at him, confused. "Go ahead..."
It was barely noticable, but his face turned a little pink. "Well... do you think... that maybe we could be..." he swallowed the lump in his throat, "...maybe more than just friends?" He noticed the look of surprise on Akari's face, then continued. "Well... you've been such a good friend to me and the others, y'know... and I know what it feels like to have your family taken from you. It hurts. But don't worry, Akari. We're your family now." He smiled.
"Omi, I... I don't know what to say..." Her heart began pounding. She wanted so desperately to be loved, and this was quite sudden...
Omi cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Don't say anything, then..." He hesitated for a moment, but then slowly brought her face to his, gently kissing her.
Akari's face turned crimson, her heartbeat speeding up. It took her a moment to register what had just happened, and she began to kiss him back.
After a few moments, Omi broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Akari buried her face in his neck. Omi smiled, running his fingers through her black hair.
The two of them didn't say anything for a few minutes. Akari finally broke the ice again. "Omi...?" Another quite 'hm' was her answer. "I... I think that we can be... you know..."
Omi pulled away from her a little, so he could look into her eyes. "Really...?" Akari nodded. "That's great! I... aishiteru, Akari-chan." He brushed the side of her face with the back of his hand.
Akari smiled widely. "Aishiteru." She briefly pressed her lps to his, then rested her head on his shoulder. "So... I think I'll be able to sleep better, now..."
Omi nodded in agreement. "Me too." He kissed her cheek, then let her go, holding on to her hand. Akari gave him a cute smile, then went back to her room.
"See you tomorrow, Omi-kun..."
"Oyasumi, Akari-chan."
"Oyasumi."
********************************* ***********************************
"Say, Aka-chan! Couldja help me with this tree?"
"'Kay!" Akari ran over to help Omi lift a potted palm tree.
It had been a week since Weiß had been on any missions, and they were quite happy about it. They had fought long and hard with Schabön, and they deserved the break.
But it had also been a week since any of them had seen or heard from Eiki. They wondered how she was doing, where she was, the normal things.
Akari and Omi sat the tree down on the other side of the Koneko. Omi wiped his forehead. "Arigatou, Akari," he said, kissing the side of her head.
Youji blinked. "Ya know, we've known about those two for a while now, but I still find it a little odd when they kiss and stuff," he said.
"You're just jealous, Yo-tan," Ken said, cleaning the windows of a semi-refrigerated flower case. "Anyway, I'm happy for them. They're happy. Plus, it gets rid of all of those girls that used to come in here..." Ken smiled, watching Omi playfully tug on Akari's ponytail. "It looks like they can't stand to see them together. I, personally, couldn't be happier."
Aya couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous of them, too. *I wonder where Eiki's been... we haven't heard from her in several days. I hope she's alright, wherever she is.*
Youji looked at his watch. "Well, just about closing time..." He shooed the remaining customers out, then grabbed a crowbar and began to close the front door.
A pair of feet appeared in front of it. They were clad in high socks and tennis shoes.
"Hey, I know those legs... or do I?" He raised the door again, to reveal a young woman. Her light purple hair just barely brushed her shoulders, and oval-shaped sunglasses covered her royal violet eyes. She was wearing overall shorts and a black sleeveless shirt.
"Ano... can I help you, miss?" Ken asked, blinking.
The woman scratched the back of her neck. "Jeez Ken, you'd think it would take longer than a week to forget your old pal Nusutto Eiki..."
"Eiki?! Is it really you?" Akari asked, her blue eyes shining.
Eiki noddes. "Yep. I've completely reformatted myself. But... first I had to steal a little money from our buddy pal Manta, eheh... then I got me a new haircut. Now nobody knows I'm the ol' Velvet Warrior. Fuhsheezy!" she said.
"It's great to see you back, Eiki," Aya said, showing one of his rare smiles.
"So... this is the ol' Koneko, eh?" Eiki looked around at all of the different types of flowers. Her gaze stopped on some small bright pink ones. "Hey, those are cool-lookin'," she commented, "what are they?"
"Oh, those are spireas. They mean 'victory'," Omi said, grinning.
"Spireas, eh...? I like 'em. They're cute." Eiki grinned widely. "So... you wouldn't happen to have a job opening, now wouldja?" she asked.
"I think we can squeeze you in," Aya said.
************************************************************ *******
The navy blue-haired girl jabbed her knife into the table and collapsed to her knees. *I've got... nothing left. Arashi, Soui, Seishuku, Ryoku, and Hata... all dead. It's not fair.* She hugged her knees, burying her face in them. *And I still haven't gotten my revenge on Nagareboshi. She... she took them from me. The only family I have ever known...*
Mei felt a tear drop onto her leg. *I'll kill her... I don't know how, but somehow I will be rid of her...* She began shaking. *It's... not fair.*
She looked up suddenly, as the image of a brown-haired boy popped into her head. *Nagi-san... what would he do in this situation?*
She suddenly heard another voice inside her head. *Mei-san, don't cry. You have another chance to get at Nagareboshi.*
*N-Nagi? Is that you?* Mei blinked, hearing his voice.
*Hai. I am speaking into your mind via telekinesis. Now listen... there is another way to get to her...* His voice was clear as a bell inside her mind.
*... How? I... I don't know anything anymore, Nagi-san. I'm useless. I'm weak.*
*Mei, stoppit. You are NOT weak. You are strong. And you're also smart. You can USE your brains... now think. What is the one thing that Nagareboshi cares about most at this moment?*
Mei thought for a few minutes. *Her friends... yes. I'll get them all, someday... arigatou, Nagi-kun.*
Mei spoke quietly. "Arigatou, Nagi... wherever you are."
"You're welcome, Mei-san," Nagi's voice said from behind her.
She whirled around, her hair flailing about behind her. "Nagi..."
There he was, standing there, his arms crossed. "You say that you'll get them all... but I have something to add to that. *We'll* get them all."
Mei smiled brightly at him, one of the biggest grins she had ever shown. "Yes... WE will be rid of Weiß."
Nagi smiled back, then took a few steps toward her. Mei's grin turned into a look of slight confusion as he placed his hand behind her neck and brought her face toward his, briefly pressing his lips to hers.
He pulled back, and there was a long silence between them. "Nagi..." Mei whispered in surprise.
"Mei..." Nagi was just as surprised. Where had he found the courage to do that?
Mei smiled at him again. Nagi, reading her thoughts, smiled too. They both knew that together, they would triumph.
********************************************************* ***********
Eiki propped herself up on the couch, where her makeshift bed had been made. It had started to get somewhat crowded in the small apartment-like building that they were all staying in.
Eiki, however, was very comfortable.
She reached down on the floor, grabbing her notebook and a pencil. She chewed on the end of her pencil for a moment, then began to write.
*June 29, 1997... Nusutto Eiki.
Oh, look, I'm reminiscing _again_. What's wrong with me?
Actually, that's almost all that I've been doing lately. Ever since the fight with Schabön, it's been pretty... I dunno, easy living on the streets. I guess it could be the fact that after a rough battle like that, anything could be easy.
But see, that's the thing. I'm not living on the streets anymore. I'm not stealing food, I'm not sleeping under newspapers, I'm not... I'm not alone.
For the past three days, I've been living with Ran and the others. It's great. I've got a steady job at the Koneko, and I can honestly say that this is the happiest I've been in a long time. I'm even happier than I was when I used to travel with the Crashers...
Speaking of the old days, It's beginning to be like that with Ran again. It's kind of weird, now that I think about it. Sometimes, when we're the only ones in the Koneko, we just laugh so much... I've never seen him so happy before. It's so sugoi... heh, yesterday when I was on the Internet, I was browsing through a site with a list of cat breeds. Don't ask why, I guess I was just bored. Anyway, Ran came in, just as I was looking at a picture of an... Egyptian Mau, I believe.
'Heh, it's cute...' I said to myself, not knowing that he was behind me. Jeez, what a shock I recieved when he said 'Kinda reminds me of you'. I didn't know what THAT was supposed to mean. But it's funny, since then he's been calling me 'Mau'. I like the nickname, it's cute.
Oh, and I've finally been introduced to Aya-chan. THE Aya-chan. She looks so peaceful in her long sleep, but... Ran seems to get a little sad when he goes to see her. It's understandable.
Anyway... I guess I've written enough in here, for now. Oyasumi.*
She smiled to herself, then set her notebook down on the small table in front of the couch. As she did this, she looked up, noticing that Aya's bedroom door was open. *Ran...* She subconsciously stood up and walked down the hall to his room. She stood in the doorway, watching him sleep.
She walked into the room a little, her face flushing a bit when she caught sight of his bare shoulders. In spite of this, she knelt down next to his bed. She smiled to herself. He looked so serene when he was asleep...
Eiki was a little startled when Aya started moving around, turning over on his back. She quickly regained her composure. She sat there for a few minutes, watching him sleep, then she reached over and brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. *Yep, it's just like the old days... only better.* With that, she lightly kissed his forehead, then stood up and quietly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
With the death of Piranha, and the disappearances of Starfish and Naoe Nagi, the two groups were not evenly matched. Weiß was intact (and had the help of Nusutto Eiki); yet only Manta, Dolphin, Swordfish, and Hammerhead remained of Schabön.
"Damn it, I can't TAKE two of 'em!" Dolphin swore as she dodged attacks from Calico and Eiki. She had many wounds on her arms and legs. She whirled around as Calico came upon her, and she hit her hard in the jaw with her nunchucks.
Calico fell to the ground, holding her hand to her face where she was hit.
Eiki drew her largest knife, slashing Dolphin across the back. The other woman attempted to spin around to hit Eiki, but she fell because of her hurt leg. "Kuso!" she shouted, grasping her ankle.
"What's wrong? Can't you get up?" Eiki asked coldly. Dolphin wiped a hint of blood from her face, glaring at Eiki.
"Go ahead an' kill me," she said, "you still won't win."
"You don't have to ask me twice!" Eiki reached into her trenchcoat, sheathing her large knife. She then took a shuriken from one of the straps on her right arm, throwing it at Dolphin.
She ducked the shuriken, latching herself around Eiki's leg. She took her nunchucks, and hit her hard in the opposite leg. "Let's see 'ow YOU like not bein' able t' walk!"
"Itai! Damnit..." Eiki fell.
Swordfish was having troubles of his own. He too had to put up with two opponents. He held on tightly to his spear as Balinese's wire wrapped around it. Balinese yanked hard on the wire, pulling the spear out of his hands.
*Shimatta!* Swordfish thought. He was now weaponless. *Damn that wire! What the hell am I supposed to do now?* He took a defensive stance.
"What, gonna try some martial arts on us?" Bombay said from behind him. He had an arrow aimed for Swordfish's back.
Swordfish whirled around and kicked the crossbow out of Bombay's hands.
*Not good... definitely not good...* Bombay thought. He backed up against a stairwell, then he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. *Akari!* He looked to Swordfish (who was preoccupied with fighting Balinese), then ran to where Calico was laying on the ground. "Akari? Are you alright?" he asked.
Akari attempted to push herself up off of the ground. She was still feeling pain from where Dolphin hit her. "I've been better..."
Omi noticed a spot on her jaw that was bruised. He gently ran his thumb over it. "Did Dolphin do this?" Akari nodded. "... I've got to get you out of here."
"No! I've got to... I've got to have my revenge on Manta..." She flinched from the pain in her hip where she landed. "He's taken everything away from me... my parents, my brother, my purity..." Her vision started to blur. "It hurts, Omi. I... I don't know how much longer I can go on."
On an impulse, Omi wrapped his arms around her shoulders and whispered into her ear. "Be strong, Akari. I know you can."
His words rang clear in Akari's head. "Be strong... that's what I've been trying to do for so long now... I don't know if I can, it's just so... it's too hard." Akari mentally slapped herself. *Damnit, Nagareboshi! You are strong! You've just got to believe in your own strength...* She shook her head. "You're right, Omi. I've got to be strong, for the sake of everyone else..." She pulled away from his embrace and shakily stood up. But she lost her balance, and fell back down.
"Akari, just rest for a minute. Your muscles are tired..." Omi helped her back up.
"I can't..." She gripped her weapon tighter, then ran back to where Eiki and Dolphin were fighting.
Omi blinked. *Geez, she can be awfully stubborn...*
Dolphin yelled out in pain as the three long blades of Calico's weapon slid through her stomach. "Y-you..." She coughed, a trail of blood running down her jaw. "Kuso... now you've done it..."
Calico angrily withdraw her weapon from her opponent's midsection. "I hope you rot in hell," she growled.
"Geez Akari," Eiki muttered. "Something really pissed you off..."
Calico looked down at Dolphin, whose eyes were closed. She wasn't moving. Calico wiped the sweat from her forehead, brathing heavily. "I'm not done yet," she said. "I won't stop until all of Schabön is burning in hell..."
********************************************************* **********
"Nagi-san, why did you have to help me like that?" Mei asked as Nagi gently set her down on the ground. The two of them had fled from the battle.
Nagi's face turned a little pink. "I... I didn't want you to get hurt, Mei-san. You're one of the only friends I have, and well..."
"... I see." Mei smiled lightly. "But you could have at least waited until I killed that Nagareboshi brat..."
"It wouldn't have been that easy. I could sense her power... she was fighting with her whole heart, everything she had. You wouldn't have made it." Nagi crossed his arms. "If I hadn't gotten there when I did, you could have been killed. And... well, I didn't want that to happen, y'know..." He looked down at the ground.
Mei's face flushed a little. "That's sweet, Nagi..." He looked up and sort of half-smiled at her. "Well... thank you." She reached over and quickly hugged him.
Both of them turned bright red. They looked at each other, smiling.
********************************************************* **********
Hammerhead clutched his face, howling in pain as Siberian swiped him across the face again with his bugnuks. He was now blind in one eye, and had several slashes covering his body. "D-damn you..." He attempted to deliver a punch to Siberian's stomach, but he lost his balance and wound up grabbing the collar of his shirt instead.
"Get the hell off of me!" Siberian growled. With that, he slashed Hammerhead across the chest.
The short man let go of Siberian's shirt, falling to the ground. He found it extremely hard to breathe now; his skin paled. "Well, looks like I'm done..." Hammerhead shuddered, taking his last breath. His eyes glazed over, and he stopped moving completely.
Swordfish frantically looked around the area at his fallen comrades. He wiped a cut on his chin with the back of his hand, creating a streak of crimson across his face. He was clearly helpless now, as he was weaponless and was extremely tired from all of the kicks and punches he had been throwing.
Balinese sneered, tugging his wire. "Time to end it, moron." He threw the wire, wrapping it around Swordfish's wrist.
The thin wire cut into his skin, the bright blood flowing. Swordfish growled (to the best of his ability), taking the pain. It wasn't long before he was backed up against the edge of the rooftop, and was losing consciousness due to the slits in his wrist. *It... it's time for me to go. I'll see you in hell!* With that, he broke the wire binding his wrist and hurled himself off of the building.
Balinese held his hand to his ear, as he heard a dull thud on the ground about sixty feet below. "Wow, that was easy."
"You... you won't beat me that easily, Fujimiya," Manta said as the two katanas grinded against each other. "Your little friends may have taken down our gang, but I will NOT fall so quickly!" He quickly wrenched his sword away from Abyssinian's, and backed up. It was then that he noticed that he was completely surrounded by Weiß and Eiki.
"Not so tough without your buddies, are ya?" Balinese asked.
"Try all you like. You're dead meat now," Siberian said.
"Why don't we show you what it's been like for all of the people you've totrured?" Bombay mused.
"Sounds good to me." Eiki chuckled. Because of her hurt leg, she was leaning against Abyssinian for support.
"I can say this: You won't find it very pleasant..." Abyssinian said, sheathing his katana and crossing his arms. He looked to Calico. "Would you like the honours of putting this asshole where he belongs?"
Calico blinked, then nodded. "My pleasure, Abyssinian." She gripped her weapon tighter.
Manta took a fighting stance. "Y-you think I'm scared of those puny cat claws?" Manta WAS scared. He had never fought by himself before. Damnit, this wasn't supposed to happen! He was going to kill that little harlot and be gone with the Nagareboshi family... But he saw the burning rage in Calico's eyes, and knew that his time had come.
To Calico's surprise, he dropped his sword. He spread his arms out, glaring hard at her. "Well? Are you going to kill me or not?"
Calico's glare darkened, and she swiped at his chest. "This... is for my parents!" She took several swipes and jabs at him, each time yelling something out. "And this is for my oniichan! And Eiki! And Aya! Ken! Youji! Omi! And this..." She drove her weapon into his chest. "... This is for all of the pain that you've caused me!!" She brought her tetsume down, ripping his front side open.
Manta made a few choking sounds, then fell backward, dead.
Breathing heavily from the great amount of energy she exerted, Calico fell to her knees.
"Akari!" Bombay ran to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"It's... it's finally over..." she breathed.
"Yeah, we'd better get paid GOOD for this," Youji said, rubbing the back of his neck. He then noticed Eiki standing next to him, and used the old "yawn" technique. "So, Eiki... what kind of guys do you like?"
Eiki narrowed her eyes and elbowed him in the gut. "Sorry, Youji. You ain't my type."
"Yeah, Youji! We just finished the hardest fight we've had in a long while, and you're already hitting on girls again..." Ken said.
"Yes, well... I'd better be going now." Eiki crossed her arms behind her head. "I've got a reputation to keep up, y'know..."
"But Eiki-san... are you sure you can make it with your hurt leg?" Omi asked.
"Yeah, you could stay with us if you wanted," Akari said.
Eiki simply shook her head. "I'll survive. Besides, like I said before... I don't really work well in groups." She shrugged apologetically, and then turned to go.
"Wait, Eiki..." It was Aya. His expression wasn't too different then usual, except there seemed to be a hint of sadness in his eyes. Eiki looked up at him, confused. Aya suddenly wrapped his arms around, her hugging her tightly.
Eiki's face turned several shades of crimson.
"... Thank you," he whispered. "We'd probably all be dead if you hadn't come into our lives..."
Eiki swallowed the lump in her throat. "How exactly did you get back up here, anyway?" she asked.
"Well, I managed to grab a clothesline when I fell... then I took a note from you and climbed up the drainpipe. Like I said, you can learn a lot from a bandit." He then let go of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You come and see us at the Koneko, okay?"
Eiki grinned, nodding. She turned to look at the rest of Weiß. "Well... see ya, space cowboys." With that, she turned back around and ran off, leaping across the rooftops of the buildings.
"Well..." Ken looked up at the sky, which was now studded with bright stars. "That's it. Now what?"
"We continue with our lives, I guess," Youji said, yawning. "Man, I'm beat. I say we all go home and hit the sack, ne?"
"Not a bad idea, Yo-tan," Omi said. "We're all tired. That was one rough battle..." He yawned.
"Man, I'm gonna be *so* sore tomorrow..." Akari said, groaning. This brought laughs from the rest of the group.
*********************************************************** ********
That night, Omi had trouble sleeping. As tired as he was, he just couldn't fall asleep. There were too many things on his mind. After tossing and turning for about an hour, he finally got up and walked into the living room.
There was a shadowed figure standing at the window. It turned and looked at him. "Hey, Omi."
He was surprised. He really didn't think that anyone else would be up this late. "Akari?" She was looking out the window. "Hey. Can't sleep either?"
Akari nodded as Omi walked over and stood next to her. "Too much on my mind... see, I really don't think that was the end of Schabön..."
"What do you mean? You finished Manta off yourself..." Omi rubbed his eyes, stifling a huge yawn.
"Well... we don't know what happened to Starfish. I'm not sure, but I think she might still be alive..."
"Hey, don't worry yourself over it. We can deal with her some other time." Omi smiled at her in the darkness.
Akari smiled back. "Yeah..." She looked out the window again. "The stars... they're pretty, aren't they?"
Omi nodded. He saw the reflection of them in her light blue eyes. "Yeah..." He subconsciously put an arm around her, resting his forehead against the side of her head.
Akari felt her face turn a little pink. She smiled, in spite of herself. "Y'know, Omi..." The response was a muffled 'hm'. "I'm really glad I met you guys. It's nice to know that you have somebody that you can trust."
He raised his head and lookd at her. "Yeah." He then bit his lip. "Uhm, Akari... while we're on the subject, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."
Akari looked at him, confused. "Go ahead..."
It was barely noticable, but his face turned a little pink. "Well... do you think... that maybe we could be..." he swallowed the lump in his throat, "...maybe more than just friends?" He noticed the look of surprise on Akari's face, then continued. "Well... you've been such a good friend to me and the others, y'know... and I know what it feels like to have your family taken from you. It hurts. But don't worry, Akari. We're your family now." He smiled.
"Omi, I... I don't know what to say..." Her heart began pounding. She wanted so desperately to be loved, and this was quite sudden...
Omi cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Don't say anything, then..." He hesitated for a moment, but then slowly brought her face to his, gently kissing her.
Akari's face turned crimson, her heartbeat speeding up. It took her a moment to register what had just happened, and she began to kiss him back.
After a few moments, Omi broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Akari buried her face in his neck. Omi smiled, running his fingers through her black hair.
The two of them didn't say anything for a few minutes. Akari finally broke the ice again. "Omi...?" Another quite 'hm' was her answer. "I... I think that we can be... you know..."
Omi pulled away from her a little, so he could look into her eyes. "Really...?" Akari nodded. "That's great! I... aishiteru, Akari-chan." He brushed the side of her face with the back of his hand.
Akari smiled widely. "Aishiteru." She briefly pressed her lps to his, then rested her head on his shoulder. "So... I think I'll be able to sleep better, now..."
Omi nodded in agreement. "Me too." He kissed her cheek, then let her go, holding on to her hand. Akari gave him a cute smile, then went back to her room.
"See you tomorrow, Omi-kun..."
"Oyasumi, Akari-chan."
"Oyasumi."
********************************* ***********************************
"Say, Aka-chan! Couldja help me with this tree?"
"'Kay!" Akari ran over to help Omi lift a potted palm tree.
It had been a week since Weiß had been on any missions, and they were quite happy about it. They had fought long and hard with Schabön, and they deserved the break.
But it had also been a week since any of them had seen or heard from Eiki. They wondered how she was doing, where she was, the normal things.
Akari and Omi sat the tree down on the other side of the Koneko. Omi wiped his forehead. "Arigatou, Akari," he said, kissing the side of her head.
Youji blinked. "Ya know, we've known about those two for a while now, but I still find it a little odd when they kiss and stuff," he said.
"You're just jealous, Yo-tan," Ken said, cleaning the windows of a semi-refrigerated flower case. "Anyway, I'm happy for them. They're happy. Plus, it gets rid of all of those girls that used to come in here..." Ken smiled, watching Omi playfully tug on Akari's ponytail. "It looks like they can't stand to see them together. I, personally, couldn't be happier."
Aya couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous of them, too. *I wonder where Eiki's been... we haven't heard from her in several days. I hope she's alright, wherever she is.*
Youji looked at his watch. "Well, just about closing time..." He shooed the remaining customers out, then grabbed a crowbar and began to close the front door.
A pair of feet appeared in front of it. They were clad in high socks and tennis shoes.
"Hey, I know those legs... or do I?" He raised the door again, to reveal a young woman. Her light purple hair just barely brushed her shoulders, and oval-shaped sunglasses covered her royal violet eyes. She was wearing overall shorts and a black sleeveless shirt.
"Ano... can I help you, miss?" Ken asked, blinking.
The woman scratched the back of her neck. "Jeez Ken, you'd think it would take longer than a week to forget your old pal Nusutto Eiki..."
"Eiki?! Is it really you?" Akari asked, her blue eyes shining.
Eiki noddes. "Yep. I've completely reformatted myself. But... first I had to steal a little money from our buddy pal Manta, eheh... then I got me a new haircut. Now nobody knows I'm the ol' Velvet Warrior. Fuhsheezy!" she said.
"It's great to see you back, Eiki," Aya said, showing one of his rare smiles.
"So... this is the ol' Koneko, eh?" Eiki looked around at all of the different types of flowers. Her gaze stopped on some small bright pink ones. "Hey, those are cool-lookin'," she commented, "what are they?"
"Oh, those are spireas. They mean 'victory'," Omi said, grinning.
"Spireas, eh...? I like 'em. They're cute." Eiki grinned widely. "So... you wouldn't happen to have a job opening, now wouldja?" she asked.
"I think we can squeeze you in," Aya said.
************************************************************ *******
The navy blue-haired girl jabbed her knife into the table and collapsed to her knees. *I've got... nothing left. Arashi, Soui, Seishuku, Ryoku, and Hata... all dead. It's not fair.* She hugged her knees, burying her face in them. *And I still haven't gotten my revenge on Nagareboshi. She... she took them from me. The only family I have ever known...*
Mei felt a tear drop onto her leg. *I'll kill her... I don't know how, but somehow I will be rid of her...* She began shaking. *It's... not fair.*
She looked up suddenly, as the image of a brown-haired boy popped into her head. *Nagi-san... what would he do in this situation?*
She suddenly heard another voice inside her head. *Mei-san, don't cry. You have another chance to get at Nagareboshi.*
*N-Nagi? Is that you?* Mei blinked, hearing his voice.
*Hai. I am speaking into your mind via telekinesis. Now listen... there is another way to get to her...* His voice was clear as a bell inside her mind.
*... How? I... I don't know anything anymore, Nagi-san. I'm useless. I'm weak.*
*Mei, stoppit. You are NOT weak. You are strong. And you're also smart. You can USE your brains... now think. What is the one thing that Nagareboshi cares about most at this moment?*
Mei thought for a few minutes. *Her friends... yes. I'll get them all, someday... arigatou, Nagi-kun.*
Mei spoke quietly. "Arigatou, Nagi... wherever you are."
"You're welcome, Mei-san," Nagi's voice said from behind her.
She whirled around, her hair flailing about behind her. "Nagi..."
There he was, standing there, his arms crossed. "You say that you'll get them all... but I have something to add to that. *We'll* get them all."
Mei smiled brightly at him, one of the biggest grins she had ever shown. "Yes... WE will be rid of Weiß."
Nagi smiled back, then took a few steps toward her. Mei's grin turned into a look of slight confusion as he placed his hand behind her neck and brought her face toward his, briefly pressing his lips to hers.
He pulled back, and there was a long silence between them. "Nagi..." Mei whispered in surprise.
"Mei..." Nagi was just as surprised. Where had he found the courage to do that?
Mei smiled at him again. Nagi, reading her thoughts, smiled too. They both knew that together, they would triumph.
********************************************************* ***********
Eiki propped herself up on the couch, where her makeshift bed had been made. It had started to get somewhat crowded in the small apartment-like building that they were all staying in.
Eiki, however, was very comfortable.
She reached down on the floor, grabbing her notebook and a pencil. She chewed on the end of her pencil for a moment, then began to write.
*June 29, 1997... Nusutto Eiki.
Oh, look, I'm reminiscing _again_. What's wrong with me?
Actually, that's almost all that I've been doing lately. Ever since the fight with Schabön, it's been pretty... I dunno, easy living on the streets. I guess it could be the fact that after a rough battle like that, anything could be easy.
But see, that's the thing. I'm not living on the streets anymore. I'm not stealing food, I'm not sleeping under newspapers, I'm not... I'm not alone.
For the past three days, I've been living with Ran and the others. It's great. I've got a steady job at the Koneko, and I can honestly say that this is the happiest I've been in a long time. I'm even happier than I was when I used to travel with the Crashers...
Speaking of the old days, It's beginning to be like that with Ran again. It's kind of weird, now that I think about it. Sometimes, when we're the only ones in the Koneko, we just laugh so much... I've never seen him so happy before. It's so sugoi... heh, yesterday when I was on the Internet, I was browsing through a site with a list of cat breeds. Don't ask why, I guess I was just bored. Anyway, Ran came in, just as I was looking at a picture of an... Egyptian Mau, I believe.
'Heh, it's cute...' I said to myself, not knowing that he was behind me. Jeez, what a shock I recieved when he said 'Kinda reminds me of you'. I didn't know what THAT was supposed to mean. But it's funny, since then he's been calling me 'Mau'. I like the nickname, it's cute.
Oh, and I've finally been introduced to Aya-chan. THE Aya-chan. She looks so peaceful in her long sleep, but... Ran seems to get a little sad when he goes to see her. It's understandable.
Anyway... I guess I've written enough in here, for now. Oyasumi.*
She smiled to herself, then set her notebook down on the small table in front of the couch. As she did this, she looked up, noticing that Aya's bedroom door was open. *Ran...* She subconsciously stood up and walked down the hall to his room. She stood in the doorway, watching him sleep.
She walked into the room a little, her face flushing a bit when she caught sight of his bare shoulders. In spite of this, she knelt down next to his bed. She smiled to herself. He looked so serene when he was asleep...
Eiki was a little startled when Aya started moving around, turning over on his back. She quickly regained her composure. She sat there for a few minutes, watching him sleep, then she reached over and brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. *Yep, it's just like the old days... only better.* With that, she lightly kissed his forehead, then stood up and quietly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.