.hack//SIGN Fan Fiction ❯ Yasashii Yoake (Gentle Dawn) ❯ Folklore ( Chapter 3 )

Yasashii Yoake (Gentle Dawn) By Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)     3: Folklore              ;  Lady Subaru smiled, glad to see her second in command had made a full recovery. “I’m glad you’re feeling better now,” he said as the gondola traveled down yet another of the city’s canals. “As your second, I should have conveyed my intentions better. I apologize, my lady,” Silver Knight replied, kneeling. “My second…” she murmured. The cobalt haired angel turned to gaze at the city passing serenely by. “I apologize for overstepping our authority since the council hasn’t ordered the capture of that demon. Though I must say that there are many of us who consider it our duty. We Crimson Knights –“              “Silver Knight,” she interrupted, “You must remember, that we ourselves are adventurers. We have no residences or businesses in any city in any kingdom. Therefore, we do not belong to any one place. Please try to remember that.”           &n bsp; “But, my lady, does that not defeat our purpose here? Was Lord Crim right after –“ “Do not mention that name,” the cobalt haired angel said, clearly upset at the mention of her former friend. “His ideas are in the wrong.” “Forgive me, my lady,” the knight said, looking up at her, “But didn’t he leave the Crimson Knights because you disapproved of his ideas?” “No.” The tone in which she replied left no room for argument, so the horned man kept silent. “I must go report to the council now. This discussion must wait for another time.” “As you wish, my lady,” he said. Inside, Silver Knight was fuming at his commander’s lack of willingness to see his side of things. The rest of the boat ride was in complete silence.   *****************   Meanwhile in Dun Loireag, a human merc and a blonde angel were sitting at one of the town’s few fenced off cliffs discussing the events of the previous day. “I find that hard to believe,” the angel said. “I know it sounds crazy,” her blue and white painted partner replied, “But you’ll have to believe I’m not exaggerating. It really did happen yesterday.” “You do realize that such a monster couldn’t possibly exist, Bear. Let alone being able to travel without using a gate.” “I know. That’s why I’m concerned about Tsukasa.” “So how do you think he got those powers?” “No idea. He refused to tell us anything.” “And you’re concerned because…” B.T. prodded. “It’s as if the laws of nature don’t apply to him for some reason.,” he replied, “And it scares me.” To tell the truth, the blonde angel was just as worried as he. The idea of a demon who could do things that had been considered impossible did not sit well with her either. “What about that rumor?” she asked, deciding to change the subject, “What do you think of it?” “Which rumor?” “The one about it.” “B.T., it’s just a rumor. Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn’t exist.” “Be as it may,” she said, looking up at the clear blue sky, “I believe our demon friend may have found it. How else could you explain what he can do? After all, it is said that it makes the impossible possible.” Bear’s eyes narrowed in even more concern, “If you’re troubled now, I can imagine how much more troubled you’d be if that were true.” “Hmm…” the painted man pondered. “I’d like to meet that boy,” she said, “However,” “It is one thing. I do agree that we should meet with him again.” “Oh? Then should I arrange a meeting?” “Let’s not rush into things, B.T. I’d rather think this through first.” “I’ll see what I can find out.” The blonde angel then left and warped out of the town.   ****************         &n bsp;     The green haired demon stood on the snake statue on top of the dungeon, watching his latest prey trudge through the snow. Smirking evilly, Sora pounced and landed a few feet behind the cobalt haired angel. Hearing the noise, Subaru whipped around brandishing her long axe. She then lowered it recognizing this was obviously the one who had asked to meet her in this particular field.             “A lady of her word, I see,” the demon said, in greeting. “So you are Sir Sora?” she asked. The smirking demon gave a curt nod. “My, my, so polite. I’ve never been called sir before, but yes I’m Sir Sora.” Not liking the vibes she was getting from him, she decided not to mince words with this evil looking demon. “I’ll get straight to the point,” she said sternly, “Why did you call me out here?” He continued to smirk at her. “If you think I enjoy being played with then you are mistaken. I’ll take my leave now.” She turned to leave. “Now wait, my lady,” he called, causing her to pause. “If you want to get to the point, then that’s fine with me too. I’d like to discuss The Key of the Twilight.” Subaru stiffened. If this demon wanted to talk about the mythical item every adventurer had been in search of one time or another, then it couldn’t be good. “Interested?” She started to leave again. “There’s no such thing. It’s only a faery story,” she called without bothering to look back. Not one to be ignored, Sora began walking beside her, “You’re not being so polite now,” he mock chided, “You really should listen to what others have to say, you know.” The angelic leader of the Crimson Knights continued to ignore him. “STOP!!” he commanded, shoving one of his blades inches in front of her face. Seeing that this demon was serious, she was left with no choice but to stay and listen to what he had to say. “Good girl. Now let’s talk shall we?” Sighing, she let him lead her to a group of rocks so they could sit.   ****************   At another part of the world, Mimiru was sitting in front of where a Gott statue and its treasure used to be. She stared off into space as she recalled yesterday’s battle with Tsukasa’s guardian. However, she didn’t have much time to ponder since she heard approaching footsteps. “Hey,” greeted Bear. “I had a feeling you’d be here.” She gave him a silent nod in greeting. “So what’s up?” “I’ve been trying to contact Tsukasa again, but he hasn’t responded. You know, I’m getting tired of playing his games. I think I’m going to give up on him.” She got to her feet and stomped out of the dungeon indignantly. The taller merc couldn’t help chuckling as she left.   ******************    Tsukasa watched the sleeping cherub. Wondering if the girl were real or not, he reached out and gingerly touched her pale cheek. It was warm and baby soft almost as if she had been made of the finest silks. Suddenly he gasped as an image came to his mind.   “You poor widdle kitty,” the silver haired boy of six or seven said, carefully picking up a malnourished kitten he’d found in the village near their mansion. “Don’t worry I’m gonna make you all better.” He knew he was risking his father’s anger by bringing home the stray animal, but he just couldn’t leave the motherless cat with no way to take care of itself. Once he had gotten it home safely, he begged Cook for some milk and a dropper to feed it with. The aging servant agreed to help look after the kitten, but it was done so reluctantly. The human female knew her master despised animals since he felt they were useless creatures that were leeches feeding on one’s hard earned money. The kitten seemed to be getting better over the next few days, however, the boy’s father wound up finding out about it and ran to his son’s rooms. “Just what do you think you’re doing!” he bellowed, slapping the boy with one large clawed hand. “How dare you waste food on that disgusting thing!” The demon child held his stinging and bleeding cheek, fighting the tears welling up in his amethyst eyes. He knew if he dared shed any tears, the beating would be worse for him. “I can’t believe you would deliberately disobey me!” his father continued to shout. “I’ve told you time and time again not to bring any of these mangy beasts into my house and yet you still continue to disobey!” The irate demon grabbed the kitten by the scruff on its neck, causing it to give a pleading mewl that went straight to the gentle boy’s heart. “Father!” he cried, grabbing hold of his leg, “Please don’t! It’s only a baby! He’ll starve!” The boy’s father kicked the demon child, knocking him into the wall. “Serves it right too!” he spat, “Worthless piece of $h*t!!” The demon then promptly stormed from his son’s chambers, still carrying the kitten. “What’re you gonna do with him father?! Please don’t hurt him!” the boy begged running after him.              ;  The vision ended, bringing Tsukasa back to reality. {Don’t be afraid} came the woman’s voice again. {Share some your essence with her.} “My essence?” he parroted. “I don’t understand.” {You can do whatever you want, Tsukasa. I will protect you.} He stood there, unsure of what this strange person wanted. {You needn’t fear, my child. Do as you please.} There was a warbling sound and the priest’s ‘guardian’ appeared a few feet away from them.   ******************   Meanwhile, Mimiru had decided to blow off some steam by going off in search of monsters to kill and was now in the middle of a fight with a large lizard like creature. It growled at her, sensing she was weaker than him. The bronzed girl let out a battle cry as she lunged at the lizard only to have her strike blocked by its hammer. “I have to get stronger!” she vowed. She let out another war cry and lunged again.   ***********************   “Welcome back, my lady,” the horned knight said as Lady Subaru warped into Mac Anu. He was about to inquire about her meeting when another person warped in beside her. Recognizing the infamous demon assassin, he went for his sword. “Don’t,” she commanded. Stunned, Silver Knight stared at his commander. “This person is our guest for now until I can learn what he knows. Notify the others and make sure they are to treat him accordingly.” “A pleasure to meet you, Sir Knight,” Sora drawled. The knight started to protest, but kept his mouth shut at the stern look from Lady Subaru. “Would you please go on ahead?” she asked her ‘guest.’ “And miss all the fun?” he said, pouting. “I have a private matter to speak with the Crimson Knights,” she said, leaving no room for further protest. “All right then, take your time,” he said waving cheekily as he walked into the city. “Are you going to explain why you were consorting with the likes of him?” Silver Knight asked. She began to walk into the city as well, not looking to see if he was following. Subaru knew that the man would not leave without permission. “Do you recall when we talked about Lord Orca the other day?” she asked, stopping at one of the city’s bridges. “Yes,” he replied. “I feel that something big is coming,” she said leaning on the railing. “This Sora told me that the Key of the Twilight might be involved somehow.” “Surely you do not believe him, my lady!” Silver Knight said incredulously. “Of course not,” she said sighing, “I myself believe that it does not exist. That there is no all powerful item that overrides all the laws of nature.” “But why bother to even listen to him then?” “I can not explain it, for I don’t know. However, I can not ignore the possibility of it actually existing. That is why we are to tolerate this demon. For a while at least.” “As you wish, my lady, but I must request that you make sure he keeps far away from me.” She looked at him sternly, but chose to ignore it. “Sora believes that the cleric we are pursuing, this Tsukasa, is the root of all this.” The horned knight gasped, shocked to even think of such a possibility.   **************   The silver haired demon laughed as he ran through the darkened wasteland, his guardian warbling as it followed him from above. “Fetch!” he commanded, pointing to nothing in particular and laughing. The guardian let out another warble then flew off several feet away only to turn and come back to hover above his still laughing master. “Good boy,” the cleric said, patting one of the golden balls. “Now I can go wherever I want.” The guardian gave an affirmative warble.   ********************   A few days later, Mimiru squatted and stared at the strange baby pig like creature. The grunty began to give her the dreaded p.d.e’s (puppy dog eyes) and whimpered, hoping for a free handout. After several moments of staring at each other, the grunty’s abnormally long tongue lashed out and licked the scantily clad girl’s face, causing her to cry out in disgust and fall over backwards. Bear’s blue and white painted face appeared hovering above her. “So what’s going on?” he asked. “Nothing,” she replied, embarrassed. “I mean that message you sent me.” “Oh that,” she said, recalling why he would be in Dun Loireag talking to her, “Let’s go somewhere more quiet.” They then left the grunty ranch and went to one of the town’s more secluded bridges. “That demon priest contacted me again. He wants to meet again, but I really don’t feel like seeing him right now. I mean all we do is argue about stupid stuff whenever we do see each other.” “Let me guess,” her taller companion interrupted, “You want me to go in your place.” “You betcha!” she chirped, “So ya gonna do it? For me?” She batted her eyes at him, hoping her feminine wiles would work on him. “I have no problem, but are you sure you want me to go?” “You’re the only one I can trust not to make him run off again,” she said, ruefully. “Why not B.T.?” “No way, besides, you saw what happened that day.”   Tsukasa’s guardian warbled in warning as it floated over to them. “If that’s your guardian,” the tall human said, scowling, “then I’m not impressed.” Not liking to be insulted, the monster shot a golden tentacle at them.   Sighing, the painted man resigned himself to the girl’s demand. “What are the keywords?” he asked. “Δ, Hidden, Forbidden, Holy Ground – the Hulle Ganz Cathedral,” she said grimly, still remembering the horror of watching her friend get knocked out by that thing before having the same thing happen to her.   ***************   Bear frowned as he warped onto the cathedral’s bridge. Ominous black clouds gathered above its spires, surely not a good sign in his eyes, the howling of the wind didn’t help matters either. Amethyst eyes lit up as the doors sprung open, but soon narrowed in disappointment when they saw who had come. The silver haired boy gulped nervously, unsure of the large man’s intentions. “Mimiru sent me,” Bear explained, “I mean you no harm.” “She’s… not coming?” “She told me that she didn’t feel like fighting with you.” “She hates me,” he murmured. “That’s probably what she thinks you believe.” “Even so, I can’t do a thing about it,” he said glumly as he sat down on the altar. “However, that’s not a problem anyway.” “What do you mean?” the human merc asked, puzzled by the demon’s words. “Has your memory returned?” “That’s not it,” he replied. He then gave a mischievous smile. “Wanna see?” he asked. Bear furrowed his brow in apprehension. The demon priest stood up on the altar and raised his staff, silently summoning his guardian. With a warbling sound the dumbbell monster appeared. The blue and white painted man frowned, not liking where this was going. The monster then floated over to his master like an obedient dog. “Don’t worry,” the cleric said smiling, “See?” He held out one semi gloved hand and the golden monster put a tentacle into it, as if it were a dog offering his master its paw. “Just what is it you want me to see, boy?” the man fumed. “I’m saying that what happened the other day won’t happen again. Ever.” “And you contacted Mimiru for that?” “Yeah, isn’t it great?” Bear continued to scowl at the impertinent demon. “Do you really think that makes you Mister Wonderful now?” he snapped. “Because I don’t get any of it.” The silver haired priest stared at him for several moments, a hurt look on his previously happy face. When the man showed no signs of relenting, he and the guardian warped from the cathedral. “No, wait!” Bear called, but the boy was already gone. Sighing he walked out of the church, surprised to see Mimiru standing outside. “I couldn’t not do anything, so I came too,” she said. “I messed up,” he said, sullenly. “I knew it,” she said, giving him a wry smile. “I fear I may have to talk to the Crimson Knights about this.”     *******************      &nb sp;        The blonde angel surveyed the ruin littered meadow before her. Sensing a presence behind her, she whirled around only to see nothing. “How nice to see you again,” purred the demon she ran into before.             B.T. turned and glared at the green haired demon leaning against a well. “You and I are not friends, so stop acting as if we were,” she said, still miffed about him knocking her out.             “You’re being very rude,” he said, “I’d though you angels had better manners than that. You’re the one who invited me here.”           &n bsp; “What makes you think I would invite someone like you?” she spat back.             “You didn’t?” he asked, puzzled.             “I was told to come here as well.”           &n bsp; “By who?”           &nb sp; “You didn’t send that message?” Now it was her turn to be stumped.             “Why would I want to talk to some snooty angel?” the demon retorted.             ; “Be quiet you!” came Silver Knight’s voice.             “Hey! She started it!” whined Sora.             Lady Subaru glared at him and the black clad demon immediately went quiet.             “HHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!” they heard. Looking over to the meadow’s dungeon they could make out the figure of a scantily clad tan girl with yellow tattoos waving at them. “Over here guys!!!”              “So you’re the one that priest pwned,*” B.T. said once they all gathered at the dungeon.             “It wasn’t him!” Silver Knight said glowering, “It was a monster I’ve never seen before.”              “Oh, well, isn’t that a shame.”           & nbsp; “Wait a sec,” Mimiru piped, “Tsukasa’s not evil. I’m sure he didn’t mean for it to happen. I know what he’s been doing is wrong, but ano…”          &n bsp;  Sighing, the blonde angel glared at her, “Get to the point!”           & nbsp; “She means that it’s possible that the boy may be a victim too,” Bear said, defending his friend. “Just like the rest of us”             ; “I’ll not stand here and listen to this rubbish!” said the horned man.             “I don’t agree with all she’s saying,” the merc said, trying to placate the knight.             “Then explain yourself,” the cobalt haired angel demanded.            &nbs p;  Mimiru dodged the tentacles continuously lunging at her. “Tell that thing to stop!” ordered Bear, “We’re not enemies! Can’t you see that?!”              “I know that,” spat Tsukasa.            ;  However, the guardian wasn’t listening and it continued to attack them. Bear let out an enraged roar and leapt at the monster, his sword at the ready. A single tentacle was headed straight for him. Mimiru could only stand and stare in utter fear as the two combatants rushed headlong toward each other. “STTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!” screamed Tsukasa, not wanting to see anyone get harmed.              The tentacle knocked Bear to the ground, causing his sword to go flying from his hand with the force. The tanned girl gasped.              To their utter surprise, a gray and purple cat in baggy clothing and hat appeared in between the guardian and the human male. One hand was outstretched, the palm mere centimeters from being impaled by the monster’s tentacle.          &nbs p;  <<You will not harm these people,>> it said, giving the monster a stern look, <<Tsukasa-sama does not wish it.>>          &n bsp;  Mimiru continued to stare as the ‘guardian’ withdrew the tentacle back into itself. The cat demon floated over to the monster. <<We apologize for the inconvenience,>> it said before vanishing along with the golden dumbbell.            ;    “A cat?” Subaru asked, surprised. ‘Could this be the one we’ve been searching for originally?’          &n bsp;  “Yes,” replied Bear, “I believe our problem is that cat demon. Not Tsukasa.”            ;  “That may be so,” Silver Knight said, glaring, “But we can not catch that demon unless he gives us the information we need.”           &n bsp; “Which is right where we started,” countered Bear.             “Time’s running out,” Mimiru added.             “We have to find some way to stop this from happening again otherwise there will be more victims.”            ;  “We’ll have to put access limits on the gates,” said Subaru.             “Find the truth with your own eyes. When you do, don’t hesitate to contact me.” The tall merc then rose to his feet.             “You Crimson Knights are privy to all kinds of information right?” queried B.T.             “Yes, but we are given limited access,” replied the other angel.             “How about anyone finding a certain legendary item?”           &n bsp; “I’m sorry, but there’s been no records of anything like that lately, and we definitely would know about that.”           &n bsp; “Oh come now, don’t play dumb. I’m sure this Tsukasa has this… what was it again?”           & nbsp; “The Key of the Twilight,” Sora piped, eagerly.             “Oo sounds important,” the blonde purred.   *********************        & nbsp;      Meanwhile, a certain silver haired priest was standing on top of a monolith in one of the many desert wastelands and gazing at the sunset, a golden dumbbell like creature hovering faithfully at his side.             &n bsp;           ~TBC!!!~ & nbsp;   * This is not a typo. For those of you nongamers, pwned is a term commonly used in gaming. It means you’ve had your butt handed to you big time. ^_^    Sakura: Gomen, for making you wait to learn what happened to Bear and Mimiru, but I’m following the episodes here and this is how episode 3 was. Anyhoo, tell me how I’m doing so far ‘k?