.hack//SIGN Fan Fiction ❯ Yasashii Yoake (Gentle Dawn) ❯ Wanted ( Chapter 4 )

Yasashii Yoake (Gentle Dawn) By Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)   4: Wanted             & nbsp; Mimiru warped into the field to see dozens of adventurers mulling around, some going solo, some in groups of two or three and some even riding a grunty. As she started walking, she couldn’t help over hear the conversation of two male adventurers passing by. “A new skill?” one asked his partner. “A friend of mine said he saw someone using some kind of power he’d never seen before. This guy had a monster following him around and it was killing the other monsters for him,” his friend replied. “Wow! What kind of person was it?” “A gray robed priest.” “Weren’t the Crimson Knights asking around about a guy like that?” “So you’ve heard that too.” “Yeah, it’s all the gossipers have been talking about these days.”   *********************   The silver haired demon priest sat down on the bed. He had just returned from a hard day’s ‘work’ of killing monsters and exploring dungeons and decided to spend some more time with the strange sleeping angel floating above the bed. {Tsukasa,} called his strange benefactor, echoing over the blowing wind. {I have something wonderful for you} “Oh? What?” he asked, curious. {You, me, and her. We will never be harmed by anyone. We’ll all live peacefully and happily where there is no pain or worry.} “You’re wrong!” he shouted, “There’s no such place!” He turned away, remembering the pain of Mirmiru’s slap. {Oh Tsukasa,} the woman said mournfully, {How can you say such a thing? Do you distrust me that much?} “I…” he stammered, clutching the crisp white sheets. “I don’t even know you. All I know about you is your voice. You never let me see you. How can you expect me to believe you if you keep hiding?” {My poor child,} she cooed, {Have you truly forgotten me?} Suddenly another memory flashed before his eyes.   The silver haired boy stood by the freshly dug grave, tears flowing unheeded from amethyst eyes. A tall winged demon stood by his side, the man’s face a mask of stone. A portrait of a beautiful human woman was displayed on an easel beside the grave.   “Okasan (mother),” he whispered. Crystalline tracks began to flow down his marked cheeks as he began to sob uncontrollably.   *****************   “So what is it now?” asked the blonde angel, obviously annoyed at being summoned by the human girl sitting on one of Dun Loireag’s fences. “Huh?” she asked, not expecting to see B.T. In fact she had been expecting a certain blue and white painted partner. “Isn’t Bear coming?” “He couldn’t make it,” the angel explained. “Why?” she whined. “Don’t know,” B.T. said, sitting down next to her. “All he said was ‘Tell her I’m sorry, but I’ll have to break my promise.’” “Just great,” Mimiru muttered. “I had something to ask him.” “About that priest?” “Yeah.” “I can understand how you feel,” the blonde said, laying a hand on her thigh. “Rumors about this Tsukasa have been spreading like wildfire.” “You’ve heard.” It wasn’t a question. “You shouldn’t pay attention to any of them, not as long as he keeps putting himself in the center of attention.” “I know, but what’s the deal with him anyway?” “He hasn’t contacted you again, I take it.” “Not a word.” Suddenly a multicolored bird flew onto her shoulder and whispered something into her ear. “Oh not again!!” Mimiru complained. “Hmm?” the angel queried. Noticing her, the bird flew over to B.T. and began whispering in her ear. “Oh, it’s him,” she said, realizing the reason for Mimiru’s odd mood and gave her a sympathetic smile. The messenger bird flew back over to the merc. “Sora!!!” she yelled, “Quit it already!!!” “You’re not going to meet him?” “You’ve got to be kidding me!!” However, Mimiru somehow knew that there’d be no getting out of this and sighed, following the blonde angel to the town’s Chaos Gate.   ****************         &n bsp;     The two females walked through the mushroom and toadstool forest, until the taller blonde stopped and pointed her staff at one of the giant fungi. On top stood a smirking green haired demon. “Idiots just love high places,” B.T. muttered. “A pleasure as always, ladies,” the demon said cheerfully. “Quit calling me!!!” Mimiru demanded, “You’re annoying me!!”           &nb sp; “Whatever,” the demon replied. He really didn’t care what the ‘little’ girl thought, besides he got a kick out of annoying others – it was such a delicious emotion and he never could get enough. “When are the Crimson Knights getting here?” the angel asked. “They aren’t,” he replied, “I’d thought we’d take a break from them today. Don’t tell me you don’t find them stifling do you?” “If you hate them so much, then why even bother working with them?!” yelled Mimiru, getting even more annoyed since their meeting didn’t involve Tsukasa. The demon gave her a sly smirk. “You understand, don’t you miss angel?” “What’s that supposed to mean?!” “There’s a saying,” B.T. explained, “’Information is where the Knights are.’” “Got it in one!” crowed Sora. “Since the Crimson Knights take orders from the council of the Twilight Kingdoms, any information the administrators deem important goes straight to them. Mind if I ask you a question?” she addressed to the demon assassin. “Go ahead, miss pretty angel, but I can’t guarantee an answer.” “Do you think our much discussed priest has gotten hold of the Key of the Twilight?” “Hmm,” the demon mused, then jumped to the ground before them, startling the shorter merc. “He doesn’t have it. Yet.” “And you believe that because…” B.T. prodded. “Just a feeling I’ve got.” “Well that’s pretty much useless,” the angel said, turning away to leave, “Good day.” She then warped out of the field. “Hey! Come back here!” Mimiru cried, “Don’t leave me with this guy!” “Hey!” chirped the demon, “Let’s go to the dungeon! We could make it a date,” he said, smirking at the scantily clad human. “Eew! Gross!” she said, before warping out after B.T.   ****************   “I’m sorry, my lady,” the shopkeeper said apologetically, “That’s all I know.” “I see,” Subaru replied, bowing slightly, “Thank you for your help, this is for your trouble.” The cobalt haired angel placed a small pouch of coins on the counter. “Forgive me, Lady Subaru, but I couldn’t possibly take this,” he said, pushing it away. “I insist,” she said smiling, “I’ve taken you away from your work, please accept it as my apology.” The shopkeeper blushed, finding himself unable to resist that gentle smile and warm bronze eyes. “Well…” he said, scratching the back of his head, “if you insist.” He then took the pouch and went back to tending his shop.  “My lady,” the horned knight began, as they walked through Mac Anu. “What is it?” she replied. “What’s wrong?” she asked when Silver Knight had stopped several steps behind her. “How dare that demon flaunt himself like this! More and more reports of sightings of the cleric Tsukasa have been coming in almost every day. Must we continue to ignore him?”  “No of course not, however, I fear that the Crimson Knights may not be able to handle this by ourselves. This is the feeling I get from our current situation.” “My lady…” “I do not doubt your loyalty or your swordsmanship, Silver Knight. But there are things that can’t be solved by loyalty alone. What this priest is capable of… what he is doing is stumping the council as well as my own countrymen. If they are unable to figure this out, then how can we, mere adventurers, stop him?” “I wish I could tell you, Lady Subaru,” the knight said grimly. “But there must be something we can do.” Sighing she gazed up at the orange sky, seeing that sunset was at hand. “I wonder…” she mused if Crim were here, what would he do?” Suddenly a black clad figure jumped onto the street from a nearby gondola. “Show some respect!” demanded Silver Knight, rather indignantly. “Aww,” whined the green haired demon, “All I wanted was to ask how little Tsukasa was doing.” The knight continued to glare at him, while the cobalt haired angel said nothing. “Don’t know? How about we go ask him ourselves? Hmm?” “We eliminate all who defy the council’s laws,” the horned man warned, “There are no second chances.”  “Oh is that so?” sneered the demon. “Do you think you can ‘eliminate’ him? Hmm?” “Only the administrators have that authority,” Subaru said, giving her second in command a stern look. Though there were a few evil demons the council still believed that the rest of the demon race should be treated as if they were members of the human and angel race. “Only if he uses those powers,” said Sora. Silver Knight narrowed his eyes, “What is it you’re trying to say?” “Weren’t you listening? I said you have to talk to the boy. Surely a high ranking knight like yourself should have no problem catching him.” Silver Knight turned to his commander, but the cobalt haired angel remained silent, waiting for the demon to continue. “Little Tsukasa’s got his guard down now. Even though he’s recognized everywhere now, he still does what he wants. Why he even has that monster that defeated you sir knight following him like a little puppy. It seems to me he may be getting quite an ego.”  “And,” Subaru prodded. “All you have to do is make it harder for the brat to move around.” “I assume you have a plan,” scoffed the horned knight. “Put up a wanted poster. Why not put a nice juicy bounty on that pretty little head of his?” “We can’t,” refused the angelic commander. “Oh come on!” whined Sora, “Why not?!” “We simply can not do this.” “But if you do, then more reports will come in, then you can track his behavior patterns and come up with a way to stop him.” “What good will talking to someone like him do?” complained the knight. “Don’t be so pigheaded.” “Why you!” Silver Knight went for his sword. “Silver Knight!” his commander ordered, forcing him to stand down. She turned back to the green haired assassin. “You wish to talk to this priest because of the Key of the Twilight, am I right?” “No wonder you’re the leader,” the demon said, smirking, “You’re one smart lady.” “Unlike you, I do not believe it exists,” she said. “But I am beginning to believe that the way he’s been acting may say otherwise.” “So, you want to know the answer to this little conundrum of yours before he gets eliminated, right?” “Yes. That is why I have been worried as of late.”   **************************    “There you are!” Mimiru called as she stomped through twilight lit forest. “You know it’s not easy going solo!” “I’m sorry,” Bear said rising to his feet. “What’s wrong?” she asked noticing the concern clearly written on his face. “It’s nothing,” he replied, keeping his thoughts to himself. “Yeah right,” the girl said skeptically. “Anyway, why are we meeting here?” “There’ve been too many eyes in the usual spots lately,” he replied, remembering the increased security in Dun Loireag, not to mention all the adventurers and mercenaries that had showed up once rumors of Tsukasa liking to wander the town sprang up. “To tell the truth, I don’t know what’s going on anymore.” “You? Not know?” Mimiru asked incredulously, surprised to see the knowledgeable man stumped for once. “Why don’t we check out the dungeon?” The bronzed girl sighed. “Might as well,” she said, not having anything better to do. After making their way into the dungeon and past the first level, they paused at a lone spinning disk. Bear stood staring at the magic portal as it slowly revolved in front of them. “The name Tsukasa,” he began, “Pretty hazy isn’t it? It could be a nickname, first name, last name, male, female. Anything.” “Yeah, so?” “I might have found out who he is, or I might have found someone else,” he went to explain. “I went to the Helba Empire to see if I could dig anything up. But I’m still not convinced.” He then approached the portal, his sword at the ready. The yellow disk stopped spinning then flared, releasing the monster within. “You’re not convinced? What about me?!” Mimiru yelled, charging the giant crab. “Stop playing around and tell me what you found!” she demanded, swinging her huge sword. “What I found?” he parroted, blocking one of the monster’s pincers as the girl leap out of the way. “Yeah! Hurry up and tell me already!” “What I found out was that the Church of Morganna was one priest short. He went missing around the time you and Tsukasa met.” He grunted as the crab attempted to push past his block. “The missing priest was said to be some nobleman’s son, but when I asked the nobleman about it, he said all his children died at birth.” Mimiru gasped, missing the pincer heading her way until it was too late. The tanned merc was knocked back several feet and then her world went black.   ********************   “My lady,” the horned knight said, approaching the cobalt haired angel. “Lady Subaru,” he tried again when she didn’t answer right away. “Oh? It’s you Silver Knight.” “Is something the matter, my lady?” “It’s… nothing.” “My lady?” he queried, not buying it. “I do not like this plan of Sora’s,” she finally confessed. “You are our leader, my lady, should you start to doubt… do not hesitate to ask for our aid.” “I have asked the council to officially declare Tsukasa a criminal. He will not be able to travel so easily now.” “A most decisive way to handle this, my lady, however, I do believe it was wise. Why must you let yourself doubt it?” “You are mistaken,” she replied, “What I am about to say, must not be repeated to anyone else, do I have your word that you will keep it secret?” “Upon my life, my lady!” he vowed. She nodded, satisfied that the horned knight would not betray her trust. “Even though he has officially been declared a criminal, this priest still continues to wander the Twilight Kingdoms and Lios. He is still able to warp without use of any of the Chaos Gates.” “M-Masaka (Impossible)!!” Silver Knight said, his eyes widening in surprise. “Everything he does is impossible,” continued Subaru, “Surely you must have noticed that by now.” The horned knight ‘hmmed’ in thought. “I am certain we will discover the reason for this soon. I’m sure of it.”   ***************   Meanwhile, Mimiru and Bear warped onto the bridge at the Hulle Ganz Cathedral. “There’s no portals here,” the female merc said, this being her first time really looking around here. “It’s the only place left that was built by King Harald,” her taller companion explained. “It’s been said that this church has been here for thousands of years, there’s no one alive who remembers why the ancient king of Lios built it in the first place.” “I’m not surprised Tsukasa would like this place,” she said gazing at the enormous gothic building. “Because they’re both unique?” queried Bear. “I guess, now that you mention it, that kinda makes sense.” Making their way into the church, Mimiru’s eyes darted about the building. She marveled at the marble floor and walls and began to wonder what the four large swinging pendulums were for. Before she could pose a question to her much more knowledgeable friend, a silver haired boy approached them from a side hall. “I had a feeling you’d be here,” Bear said. “Look,” Mimiru said, blushing slightly, “about the other day, well I’m sorry.” “The other day?” Tsukasa parroted. “You contacted me, and I didn’t go,” she replied, refreshing his memory. “It’s alright.” “Oh, ok. Um…” She looked away, finding it suddenly difficult to talk to the demon priest. Now that she knew he might actually be a demon, she didn’t know how to behave around him. “I wanted to show you something that day,” he said, breaking the awkward silence between them. “Wanna see?” He raised his staff and as with before, the golden dumbbell shaped monster appeared. It hovered above its master, silently waiting for a command. “Say hello,” he said to it. The guardian let out a mournful howl, but made no move toward the two mercenaries. “Wow!” Mimiru exclaimed. “It’s trained now?! Neat! Oh um… I wanted to ask you something,” she said, remembering her original reason for coming there. “If it’s about my guardian, I really don’t know how it came to me.” “That’s not it, but I was wondering about that too. What I wanted to ask was, well… were your parents rich?” The silver haired priest gave them a perplexed look at the tanned girl’s sudden question. “I know it’s probably none of my business, but well… are they?” Amethyst eyes narrowed as Tsukasa frowned. “You’re right it is none of your business. Anyway, I don’t have any parents, they’re dead and we were poor. Why are you asking that now?” He gave a mirthless laugh, “You humans are so weird.” Mimiru and Bear exchanged glances. “What are you two playing at?” the demon priest demanded, not liking the way this was turning out. “Why did you think my parents were rich and what’s it to you?” “We just wanted to know more about you that’s all,” Mimiru explained. “You’re lying,” he said, clenching his staff, “You’ve been sneaking around in Helba haven’t you?” “Yes, we did. I’m sorry,” apologized Bear, deciding to join the conversation now. “I can’t believe you!” he cried, feeling violated, “However, I must say you’re good, but I’m afraid you wasted your time. Whatever it was you thought you found was false information.” “Wait,” attempted Bear, when the cleric turned to leave. “I thought you’d be different,” he said, golden rings appearing around him, “I’m very disappointed.” The silver haired priest then warped away from the church. “I knew it,” sighed Mimiru, “He hates our guts.” “You had to ask him, Mimiru,” consoled Bear. “So what do you think?” “He wasn’t lying,” the blue and white painted man said grimly. “And that means?” “We’ve hit a dead end.”     *******************      &nbs p;        Tsukasa sat huddled on the ramparts of a wasteland castle, resting his chin on his drawn up knees. Suddenly the dumbbell monster gave a howl of warning as several iron clad feet marched through the castle.             “Stay!” the boy commanded. It gave a short howl of protest, but obeyed. “So you can feel what I feel,” he mused to himself. “I feel strange all of a sudden, I don’t like it.” The guardian let out another warning but it was too late. A pair of scantily clad female mercenaries leapt at him, yelling and brandishing their spears. The silver haired cleric was knocked several feet and landed on his back. Two more scantily clad women appeared and joined the first two. Clutching his aching shoulder, Tsukasa staggered to his feet. “So you’re that criminal the Crimson Knights want,” said a redhead with a spade tattooed under one eye.             “And you are?” he asked, glaring at them. “Nothing personal,” she said, ignoring the question, “But you’re coming with us!” “Oh really now,” he retorted, sneering. “I don’t think so.” “Excuse me?” said a blue haired merc with a tattoo of three diamonds under her eye. “I’m just not in the mood,” he jeered. “I’m gonna wipe that smile right off your face!” said the redhead, pointing her spear at him. “Prepare to die!” “Just try to remember, I gave you baka (idiots) a chance,” he said, silently calling to his guardian.             ; The dumbbell monster warped over to them, placing itself between its master and the mercenaries. “What is that thing?!” cried the blue haired woman. Smirking evilly, Tsukasa tapped the stone walkway with his staff. The golden monster morphed and began to shoot several tentacles at them. “Move!” shouted one of the women as they screamed and dodged the potentially deadly appendages. The redhead who had challenged him ran toward him. “Forget about this thing!” she called to her comrades, “Go around it!” The silver haired cleric continued to smirk as the tentacles smacked them away as if they were flies. “Hmm…” he mused, “I think I’ve had enough fun for now.” He then raised his staff. However, the guardian refused to obey the silent command. “I said that’s enough!” he shouted as the tentacles continued to whip them. “Please stop!” he begged but the monster continued to refuse. Tsukasa was forced to turn his head away at the women’s screams. When it was all over, blood splattered the walls and four lifeless bodies lay before him.   ****************         &nb sp;     “Are you certain that is what happened?” the cobalt haired angel asked. “I’m afraid so, my lady,” replied the knight. “My lady,” Silver Knight said, deeply concerned for her current emotional state. He could see she was not taking the news of Tsukasa’s attack on four mercenaries well. “If what he did is true…” “Don’t,” Subaru commanded, “Don’t say it. If Sora is right, if that priest is still moving around in spite of the bounty and restricted gate access, then he is truly acting against the laws of nature.” The horned man gave a scared chuckle, “I myself must speak with this priest. The council has officially declared this priest, Tsukasa, to be an outlaw and an enemy of Lios. As leader of the Crimson Knights, I am officially ordering you to find him and bring him here to me!” The knights came to attention and saluted her before dashing off to start their search.   *********************   Tsukasa looked in shock to find that the sleeping cherub’s field had changed from a pleasant tree littered meadow to that of a dark and menacing wasteland. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the sleeping angel and the bed she floated above. “W-What happened here?” he asked. However, no answer came.             ~T BC!!!~     Sakura: Ooo scary!!! ^,_,^   Haseo: Talking about yourself again?   Sakura: Oh shut it, brat! Anyhoo, lemme know how I’m doing with this thing ‘k minna? I really could use the feedback. Pweddie Pwees?