Gatekeepers Fan Fiction ❯ A Rising Power: Your Heart ❯ A Warm Welcome; Awakening! ( Chapter 1 )

A Rising Power: Your Heart

Chapter 1 - A Warm Welcome; Awakening

Legend:

Word - denotes a character's thoughts

[Word] - denotes setting, time

<Word> - denotes a sound effect

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[Starbucks, near LRT Vito Cruz Station, Philippines]

"Man, you should have seen the format! I can't believe that our English professor had to assign that to the entire class. She's so damn serious on the subject! Well, anyway," Jun switched to another topic to discuss with Danilo. They savored their drinks as he went on.

Danilo could only produce a fake smile to show interest at his friend's chat as he tried to piece his thoughts back together on the man in black.

Tch! What's going on? I can't be dreaming this. Why is he following me? Damn it. Jun wouldn't believe me if I told him about it. He might think I'm going nuts.

He quickly shifted his eyes outside the window and looked for the man in black. Many people frolicked about back and forth in the street, going about their own business. A few seconds passed by, and there was no trace of him.

"You alright, bud? Don't tell me that you just saw 'the man in black' out there?" Jun asked him with a questioning eyebrow.

"It was him alright, Jun! Honest! He was right there a moment ago!" Danilo pointed out the spot where he last saw the mysterious figure.

"There you go again! What's with you tonight? You've been like that after we took the LRT coming here. Aye-aye, I think it's the stress of our college schedule that's working through to your mind."

"Jun, we've been best friends since high school. Look, I wouldn't lie to you unless it's either important or secret. You've got to believe me!"

"Look buddy, I can understand that. But seriously, I think you're just seeing things. Come on, let's savor our drinks for tonight!"

He took another slurp of his iced-coffee drink.

Danilo looked at him in defeat.

Tch… I suppose he's right… or is he? What's wrong with me of all a sudden? This is definitely strange, he thought.

He gazed outside the window once more and looked at the walking crowd.

Crap. This is weird.

He took a sip of his hot chocolate as he looked on.

=============================================================== ===========================================

[A particular neighborhood in Japan]

Shun walked quietly along the streets of the neighborhood where his residence was. Leaves rustle and float from the many old trees perched nearby. Several residents seen outside their homes were at their usual activities --- some mowing their lawn, others cleaning their cars, while the rest were family who were enjoying the company of their children.

<WHISH>

A cool breeze air projected a pleasant feeling through him.

The afternoon sun beamed down on him and reflected the neighborhood atmosphere. Yet, he couldn't stop but to get a little sentimental as he enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of his hometown. The Akihara district, was not only home to him and his family; moreover, it was also home to a special person in his heart.

"Rurippe…"

Shun smiled as he saw the Ikusawa residence, which was located next door to his. It had been a few years since the aftermath of the battle with the invaders' near the Diet parliament building.

After a short period of celebration (due to the outcome of the battle), the Gatekeepers offered their support in some of the reconstruction efforts being done in the city of Tokyo. A.E.G.I.S. was no longer concealed in the dark; it became widely known throughout the entire country and to the world. The UN recognized them as a dependable special defense force.

Commander Shirei also took in position as Global Commander of all the A.E.G.I.S. branches around the world. After dispensing with the formalities and etc. regarding the invaders, Shirei decided for the team to resume their daily lives and temporarily relived them of their duties. Much to team's relief, they were glad.

<WHISH>

The breeze waved through his short, spiky brown hair.

He looked up at the sky and recollected thoughts of the team's aftermath. The team graduated High School and set off on their own paths:

Reiko continued her piano studies on London, Britain. A few weeks later she was on newspaper headlines around Europe due to her piano performance.

Fei returned to China to be with her parents along with her pet monkey, Ukeeya.

Bancho decided to remain here in Japan to discover more on his Gate power. He applied for military training at the Far-East A.E.G.I.S. branch, the group's HQ.

Megane still continues to do his tech skills in the branch. By his request to Shirei, he landed a position in the branch as Tech-Resource Specialist.

Megumi, who aligned herself with Kagayama but was betrayed in the end by him, disappeared without a trace. Her whereabouts were unknown.

As to Ruriko, she decided taking up nursing as her course in Kyoto University.

I guess it was her Gate power that convinced her to take that, Shun thought.

Her power led her in discovering a talent in helping out those in ill health, which lead to that course. As to himself, he was inspired by his late father's work on the Gate engine used on the core robot (used in fighting against Kagayama's robot, Shadow. It's now at repairs at the branch and taken care of by Megane).

He decided to take up Engineering as his course at Tokyo University. At his first two years there, he was fascinated with the course and excelled in progress.

"Sigh… time passes on rather fast. I wonder how my mom and sister are doing?" Shun wondered. He walked towards the Ukiya residence and approached the front door. He pressed the doorbell.

<DING… DONG>

"Hai, hai! Moshi-moshi…"

A pretty, lively girl opened the door. In contrast to him, she had his hair color and style. Her eyes were a shade of light brown, while her face resembled more of his mother.

"Oni-chan! Is that you? Welcome back!" she hugged him happily.

"Hey there, Saemi. So how's my little sister doing?"

He ruffled her hair playfully as he embraced her.

"It's been a while since I last visited you and Mom."

"What do you mean 'little sister'? I'm 16! Oni-chan, how come you're not writing often to us?"

"Sorry. College life takes a lot out of me. Where's Mom?"

"She's at the kitchen making lunch. Come in!"

He entered inside and walked towards the kitchen. Inside, his mother, Reiya Ukiya, was chopping vegetables as she looked at the mini-TV set in a small table.

"Tadaima, okasan!" Shun greeted her.

She immediately faced towards him and yelped a shriek in shock and surprise. With that, she grabbed a rolling pin and whacked him on the head.

<BONK>

"Ouch! S-S-Sorry Mom! I didn't mean it!" Shun exclaimed as he rubbed his aching head.

"Serves you right for sneaking up on me like that! Now come here!"

She embraced him tightly.

"I'm quite surprised and happy to see you, Shun. How are your studies doing in Tokyo University?" she asked.

"Well, I'm on my 3rd year in Engineering, Mom. Oh, it's just the usual, hectic schedule I'm living up to back there. I thought I might at least pay a visit here and see how you and Saemi are doing."

"Hmm… you're just like your father, who was so much of a workaholic. He would be smiling at you proudly knowing that you followed in his footsteps."

She gave a tender smile and patted his head. She looked at the steam kettle where she was about to cook the vegetables she was chopping. The water inside was boiling.

"Why don't you at least stay here for lunch? I'm almost ready with the meals."

"That'd be great, Mom," he smiled back at her, "I'll be upstairs in my old room."

As he took the first few steps upstairs to his room, she added, "Oh, yes, I kept your room tidy and in proper order. So don't waste my cleaning there!"

With that said, he walked inside his old room. He looked around at the once-messy environment it was back then in his high school days.

Woah… looks like Mom's been quite a cleaner.

Shun traced his hands on the desk where he was doing his schoolwork. Before, he wasn't in the least bit interested in doing schoolwork. During the battle with Kagayama, as he laid his eyes on the Gate engine found in the garage, he felt inspired to his father.

Thanks Dad. It was because of you that I made it this far.

He heard a gasp of surprise coming from the window. He shifted his gaze toward it and saw a beautiful girl with a tear dropping down from her eye.

Light brown eyes.

Long, dark brown hair.

"Ukiya-kun… you're here…" she said.

Ruriko Ikusawa.

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[An apartment in Pasay City]

<CREAK>

"Tadaima, Tito!" Danilo greeted as he went inside his apartment.

Tito Benny, his uncle and guardian, was reading one of the daily newspapers, The Manila Bulletin. He looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh, Danilo, musta ang klases mo?" he asked.

"Nothing much, just the usual stuff, Tito. <Stomach grumbling> Ugh… speaking of which, I'm starving. You got anything to eat?"

Danilo rubbed his hungry stomach.

"Ha, ha… lucky for you there's some ulam I cooked, along with some Japanese food. Check in the refrigerator," Tito Benny replied.

Danilo opened the small-sized refrigerator and took out the said meals. He placed them inside their microwave and pressed the 'Auto Reheat' button. He went to the bathroom and started taking a shower.

"Ah… cold!" he yelped. The water was running cold as always. There was no room to install a heater unfortunately.

"Ah… well, it's better than nothing, I suppose."

He finished showering and changed into his house clothes in his room. Drowsiness slowly crawled into him, and he plopped down onto his bed.

"Oh shoot, forgot about food. Better fill in my empty stomach," he muttered.

He returned to the living room and took out the heated meals from the microwave.

"Itekimasu!" he happily exclaimed as he dig in.

"I've got some errands to run outside, Danilo. Wag ka mag-intay sa akin sa mamayang gabi," Tito Benny said, wearing a raincoat over him.

"Where to, Tito?"

"Just some business to take care of. Nothing you should worry about. O cige, ingat ka!" he then left the apartment.

<SLAM>

"Hmm… I wonder where he's off to?" Danilo wondered. Suddenly the chilling feeling came back to him once again.

This feeling again! I… have a bad vibe about this. This isn't good, he thought.

<DOKI>

"Huh?"

<DOKI> <DOKI>

"Ugh…" he held his head with his hands. It seemed to sound more from his head. It sounded like a heart pumping.

<DOKI> <DOKI> <DOKI>

He was brought down on his knees by the sound. All of a sudden, an angelic voice rang forth in his mind.

"Of all worlds… you, the keeper of the Gate… it's time to realize your… destiny…"

"W-W-What do you mean?" Danilo demanded as he still held his head on his kneeling position.

"The darkness returns once more… it is awakened."

<DOKI> <DOKI> <DOKI> <DOKI>

Danilo felt light-headed as the entire world around him began to fizzle like a bad movie on TV. Then, a circle with outer rings appeared in front of him. It radiated with a gray glow.

"H-H-Hey! What do you mean?" he asked the voice. A shocking force ran through him.

<ZAP>

"Argh! W-Who… are… you?" he struggled to speak in gasping breaths.

<ZING>

He felt his eyes searing with the aura pulsating from the circle.

"Ugh---!" he yelled in pain. The force rang throughout his body once more, and he collapsed onto the floor.

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[Ukiya residence, Akihara district, Japan]

"Ukiya-kun… you're here!" Ruriko exclaimed as her eyes widen in surprise in seeing her boyfriend in his room next door.

Shun smiled mischievously at her. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, she immediately disappeared. He could only smile as he thought of what happened next. He rushed quickly downstairs and opened the front door to find her about to knock quickly. The two stared at each other for a moment --- Shun, breathless at the sight of a lovely angel, and Ruriko, excited and relieved to see him again.

"Ukiya-kun…"

Her eyes were welled up with few tears. They embraced each other in an instant. She could only cry against his shirt (his school uniform was opened) as she held onto him with all the love and other emotions that had been dug up from beneath her heart.

After the team went to their separate ways, she took up nursing in Kyoto University. It had been two long, passing years of silenced contact from him. During those times, she often wondered why he hadn't kept in touch.

"Shhh… it's ok. I'm glad… to see you. Daijoubu ka?" he said with a cooing voice, comforting her. She looked up to him and had a smile plastered on her face. Her smile then turned into a frown as her eyebrows arched downwards in anger.

"You… baka!"

She smacked at his head with a punch.

<WHA-POW>

"I-Itai! What was that for!" Shun asked annoyingly.

"That was for not keeping in touch with me all these years! Why didn't you at least write to me?" she demanded.

"Rurippe, gomen! I was REALLY busy in classes! Honest!"

<POW>

"Itai!" he exclaimed in pain rubbing the sore part on his arm.

"Don't you call me by that name! You know how annoying it sounds to me, you baka!"

"O-O-Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Rurip-ah, er, I mean, Ruriko-chan!" he apologized awkwardly. She smiled at him calling her by that name.

"Hmm… that sounds better."

She hugged him once more. They stayed in that position for a while. Meanwhile, his mom and sister were watching at the dramatic sight inside the living room.

"Shun, darling, that should teach you a lesson in keeping touch with your loved ones now and then," Reiya added with a smirk. Deep down, she was happy for her son to find a suitable girlfriend like Ruriko.

"Yeah, oni-chan, shame on you!" Saemi added, wagging her finger in caution. The couple blushed.

A sudden thought ran through Ruriko's mind.

"Ukiya-kun, would you like to come to my place? My father and I are having dinner tonight. I'd be glad if you would join us," she said, with a slight trace of blush still on her face. Shun looked at his family.

"It's ok, son, besides she's missed you for a long time. She deserves the most of your time. Go on, don't worry about us. We'll have a family dinner some other time," Reiya answered, as if reading his thought.

"If you're worrying about dinner, don't worry I'll save some for you," she added with a smirk. She knew how food came to be the love of men around the world. Her late husband was no exception, despite being such a workaholic as an engineer.

Shun looked at his sister, who was all smiles and raising eyebrows.

"Don't worry about me, oni-chan, I'll be helping Mom out! I don't have much to do anyway. Go on!" Saemi said.

He checked his watch for the time --- 4:00 PM --- and returned his gaze on Ruriko.

"Well, I guess I got no other choice, no? Sure… I'll join you and your father for dinner."

Ruriko smiled once more and gave him a peck on his cheek. Shun's eyes widen in surprise and his mouth became like a fish's. She giggled excitedly as her blush continued to redden brighter.

"Arigato… Shun-kun."

She walked back to her residence next door, leaving an embarrassed, but happy Shun Ukiya standing still with his hand feeling the spot she kissed on his cheek.

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[Danilo's apartment in Pasay City, Philippines]

<DING… DONG>

"Danilo, si Tito Benny mo! Ibukas mo ang pinto!" Tito Benny exclaimed outside. He waited for his response for a few seconds.

None.

"Danilo, open up! I'm home!"

No response.

Hmm… it's not like him to not respond to doorbells, he thought.

Luckily he brought a spare key to the apartment just in case. He inserted the key onto the keyhole and opened the door.

<CREAK>

A dreaded wave of horror ran through him as he laid eyes on his nephew's crumpled form that slumped down on the floor face first.

"Oh my god…"