Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Guardian Children ❯ Battle's End. Victory Goes to...? ( Chapter 4 )

Hmm, last chapter had a heavier ending than I originally planned. It became a lot longer, too. Hell, this entire chapter is basically an extended version of what I had planned for the end of Chapter 3! So anyway, enjoy.

-Kouji Tamino

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Legend of the Guardian Children

Book One: The Light of Destiny

Chapter Four: Battle’s End. Victory Goes to…?

Pain was all Tsukino felt at that moment. Agonizing pain seared through her body as Akito lifted her by her hair. She was bleeding so much that she kept her eyes closed for fear of any blood running into them. Her uniform was going to be completely stained by this end of the night. If she managed to live through this, she was going to have to get back at Akito for that. Gritting her teeth as he mocked her, she restrained herself. She had once chance to get herself out of this mess, and she was not about to screw it up.

Turning his nose up at Tsukino’s battered form, he began laughing triumphantly. In her state, there was no way she take any action to stop him. In his mind, there was no reason to kill her. To do so at this point would just be cowardly. “Ha ha! Victory is mine! You’re pretty much done, you pain in the ass! Now no one can get in the way of my mission!”

“Hhhhyaaaa!” Kyoji screamed, running towards Akito with a lead pipe that he had managed to obtain from the rubble of the school. Tsukino had risked her life to save Kiriko. He was not going to let her die like that. Swinging with all of his might, he aimed right for the back of the loathsome boy, watching in total disbelief as the pipe bent on contact. Thankfully, the act was not in vain as Akito toppled over in pain, dropping Tsukino. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! What’s he made of, rock?” Unfortunately, he had become the overpowered high school student’s new target, wheezing as he was suddenly grabbed tightly by the neck.

“Ah, I remember you from the other day!” Akito shouted in fake excitement. Glowering fiercely at him, he squeezed tighter. “Do you want some more, hero?” he said tauntingly, using his free hand to grab his prey’s right hand. Placing his thumb at the base of Kyoji’s first finger, he chuckled. “Have some more!” he screamed, emphasizing the last word by bending the finger back, snapping it with a sickening cracking sound.

Kyoji shrieked out in excruciating pain, clutching his broken finger as he was tossed to the ground. Curling up into a ball, he cried silently as the initial pain slowly dulled.

“Onii-san, no!” Kiriko wailed out, tears flowing down her face. Falling to her knees, he began to blubber miserably, blaming herself for everything that was happening. “It’s my fault, it’s all my fault! I should have listened to onii-san, now everyone’s hurt!” As Akito approached her, she lay there submissively, her hope all but lost. “P-please, Akito-san… If you’re going to kill me, make it quick.”

“Don’t you worry, this will be nice and painless.” Akito assured her cruelly. “Out of the three of us out there, I’m the most pleasant.” Leaning down to grab her and make his kill, he paused abruptly, grunting in pain. “What the--” Dropping to his knees, he double over to reveal several giant needles sticking out of his back. “Damn you, Hoshino…”

Standing with some difficulty, body shaking, was a furious Tsukino. “Did I say that this was over?” Looking out of one eye, she prepared another arrow for the final blow. She had had enough by this point. Akito had gone too far. “Die”, she said coldly, pulling back the bowstring.

“Iincho-san, stop!” Kiriko said, begging. Running over, she stood in the way of the path of the long distance weapon.

“Shimohara-sama, what are you--?” Tsukino began, utterly perplexed. Why would she want to spare this guy? He was the worst human being she had ever met. “This boy, he is trying to kill you! He won’t stop until he’s done so and must be eliminated!”

“I… I know that Akito is a bad person, but I don’t want anyone to die!” Kiriko was so torn. Deep down, she wanted to see him die, see him suffer in agony until his breath left him. But she didn’t want to see Tsukino become a murderer, and she could never wish for death against anyone. She would absolutely hate herself if she ever got to the point where she could think that way. “Please, whatever you do, please don’t kill him!”

Staring at Akito’s fallen form, then back to the girl she was supposed to protect, she clenched her eyes tight, growling furiously. “Shit!” she shouted, abruptly aiming towards the sky and letting the arrow rush into the air, flying up roughly 25 feet before falling a safe distance from anyone, impaling the concrete.

“Eeeek!” Kiriko yelled, eyes widening at the sight of a wooden arrow wedged into the hard compound. “Y-y-you were shooting those things at another human being?!” Calming down a bit, she stared at Tsukino with a pouted lip. “I’m sorry, Iincho-san…”

“Don’t be”, she replied, walking over to the girl. “I suppose I should thank you for keeping me from making a rash mistake.” Slowly closing her eyes in exhaustion, she leaned over and collapsed onto a surprised Kiriko, who quickly caught her.

“Iincho-san!” the girl shouted, gently shaking her. “Iincho-san, wake up please!” Feeling tears coming, she shook her head. “Oh, please be okay!”

“Hey, Kiri-bozu…” Kyoji muttered tiredly, supporting a weakened Akito. “We’ve gotta go and get these two to a hospital.” It had been a long night and he was ready to go home.

Nodding slowly, Kiriko began to slowly guide along the barely conscious Tsukino. “R-right…”

-----

When they arrived home, having admitted Akito and Tsukino into the hospital with a story about them both being ambushed by unknown gang members, the Shimohara siblings were both thoroughly punished by their parents. They were both now forbidden to leave each other’s side and had a curfew of 8:00 P.M. until further notice.

A few days passed and word of the hospitalization of two of Tokio High’s own students began to spread throughout the school. Rumors blew up and stories exaggerated until it finally all came back to the two people who knew the truth. “Hey, Kyo-kun!” began Saeko, who hadn’t heard the news until much later due to being out sick for about a day or two. “Is it true that underclassmen Hoshino-san and Tonomaru-san both were attacked by yakuza and took them all on by themselves, getting critically injured and rescuing you and your sister in the process?”

“What? No!” Kyoji shouted, that being the 6th time that day that someone had asked him a question like that. “They got ambushed by some random punks, that’s all!” he continued, using the story that he and Kiriko had agreed upon as he sat on top of his desk. “My sister and I witnessed the last moments of it and watched as they ran off, so we rushed over to help. We only saw the guys from behind, so we don’t know what they look like!”

“Oh”, the shorthaired tomboy replied, placing a hand on her head. “Well that’s no fun!” She giggled as her friend toppled over off of his desk. “Hey, is it fun down there on the floor?”

“You’re insane…” Kyoji mumbled, once again surprised at the things that came out of the girl’s mouth. Grinning deviously, he suddenly thought of a way to let out some of the stress that had been building as of late. “Hey, wanna go to our special spot after school? I can’t stay long, though, kinda grounded.”

Grinning slyly, Saeko blushed. “Why Kyo-kun, you devil… Of course.”

-----

Meanwhile, in class 2-A, Kiriko was being questioned in the same way. “Nooo, no ninjas! And eeeew Atsuko, how many times do I have to tell you? They were not anal probed!” shuddering, she sighed in exasperation. It was like being interrogated, they just wouldn’t let up. She couldn’t wait for this day to end. Unfortunately, the first class even started yet!

“Hmm, I don’t know”, Ukichi Tenya said in a suspicious tone. “Both the class rep and Tonomaru-san were in the same place at the same time after school? And you both happened to end up in the same place and came to their rescue?” Adjusting his glasses, the dark haired boy smiled darkly. “That seems to be too good of a coincidence to have been what really happened…” His smiling brightening, he chuckled. “Oh well, what do I know?”

Sighing in relief, Kiriko slumped in her seat. As her eyes began wandering aimlessly around the room, they stopped upon the doorway. Suppressing a scream, her eyes enlarged at the sight of Akito, who for the most part looked fine, save for the lone bandage on his cheek. Although when she thought about it, it made sense. Both him and Tsukino had demonstrated enhanced strength and durability, but the latter had taken the brunt of the damage in their fight several nights ago.

As he grunted and took a seat, she watched as he quickly scribbled something down on his paper. Wondering what on earth he was doing, she squealed as the note was folded and passed down amongst the students to her. Unfolding it, she slowly read it. …Or, at least she tried to read it. His handwriting was completely atrocious! Squinting to attempt to make out the managed looking characters, she wrote on the back ‘What does it say? Write more clearly, please’ and had it passed back to him. Whimpering fearfully as the boy shook violently, she froze as he stood up and stared wide eyed at her. “It says ‘Meet me outside by the fountain after school’, you dumb broad!” Eyes switching from classmate to classmate as they all stared at him, he glared. “What the hell are all you looking at?” He smiled in satisfaction as they all diverted their gaze and went back to whatever it was they were doing.

“Kiri-chan, are you really going to go do it?” Atsuko whispered, aware that her friend was uncomfortable with the proposition. “You don’t have to go, you know. Just tell the teacher that Akito has been harassing you lately.”

Kiriko shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I think it might be something important.” Since she had been unable to see Tsukino because of her condition for the past couple of days, she was worried. Akito could be her only link. Besides, if she didn’t go, Akito would probably literally chase her to the ends of the earth.

-----

As she waited by the fountain, Kiriko checked the time with her new cell phone. She had gotten it the day after she was kidnapped, so she could keep in touch with Kyoji, who already had one. Figures that it took her almost getting killed until she was finally allowed to have a phone of her own. As a figure placed a hand on her shoulder, she screamed. “Kyaa, please don’t kill me!”

“Whoa, calm down squirt…” Kyoji replied, raising an eyebrow. “Listen, I’m gonna be busy for about an hour or two, so I need you to go off and do something since mom and dad’ll kill me if you show up at home by yourself. If they happened to call, tell them I’m on the crapper or something.”

“Ewww gross, onii-san!” Quickly recovering, Kiriko gazed at him warily. “Okay, I have to wait for someone anyway.”

“Okay, thanks!” Running towards the back of the school, he quickly added. “And if you go anywhere, call me so I can come pick you up later!”

“All right…” she said softly, mostly talking to herself. Wincing as her brother ran into a tree, she groaned in exasperation as he awkwardly got up and continued on his way. Staring at her reflection in the fountain, she froze up as Akito appeared alongside her. Regaining her composure, she turned to face him. “H-hello Akito…”

“Calm down, spaz”, Akito said, crossing his arms in annoyance. “I’m not here to kill you, I’m here to thank you.” Looking away, he grunted. “You saved my life that night, even though I tried to kill you, your brother, and Hoshino. For that, I am grateful. So don’t worry, I won’t attack you for a while!” Handing her a half-eaten candy bar, he smiled. “That’s for sparing me!”

Sweat dropping, she reluctantly accepted the gift, putting it in her bag. “Um, thanks. How is Tsukino? Do you know anything?”

Shaking his head, he sighed. “No, we were in separate parts of the hospital due to the difference between our injuries.” Winking, he chuckled. “Although, I heard that she would be able to get visitors starting today. If you hurry, you can make it in time and go see her.”

Gasping, Kiriko burst into a run, looking back to the boy. “Thank you, Akito-san!” Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all…

“No problem!” Akito said brightly, amused by her sudden excitement. “Tell her that I want to fight her again someday! A fair one next time!”

Chuckling uncertainly, Kiriko waved weakly. “Um, heh heh… Yeah, I’ll be sure to tell her!” Thinking to herself, she moaned. ‘I don’t know how she’ll react, though.’

-----

When Kiriko arrived at the hospital, she made her way to the front desk. “Excuse me, do you know what room Tsukino Hoshino is in?”

Staring at the girl plainly, the receptionist pushed her glasses up her nose. “Are you a relative?”

“Well, no but…”

“Then I’m afraid that you can’t go in.”

“B-but…” Growing anxious, she racked her brain for ideas. “Well you see, I am…” She hated to make up stories, especially ones so serious, but she just had to see Tsukino. “I’m her girlfriend!”

“Yeah right, kid.” the receptionist replied, shaking her head. “Unless you have some sort of proof, I--”

“She wears a black pair of panties with a white star on them!” she suddenly blurted out, blushing heavily afterwards.

“Hmm, that far, huh?” Smiling, the receptionist checked her list. “She’s in room 406. And please tone down your voice. This is a hospital.”

“Thank you!” Kiriko shouted, quickly hushing herself. “I mean, thank you…” Turning on her heel awkwardly, she walked to the elevator and took it to the 4th floor. As it stopped and the door opened, she walked through the hallways, reading the labels on each wall. “403, 404, 405-- Here we are!” Knocking on the door of room 406, she opened the door and slowly entered. “Iincho-san?”

“What are you doing here?” Tsukino asked. Her body was wrapped in bandages, but not in as many as was expected. Her arms and legs were wrapped up and there was a large bandage on her forehead along with some smaller ones along her cheeks. “In fact, how did you get in here? The nurse told me that I would only get family members visiting for the time being. My parents did visit, but they were busy and had to leave early supposedly.”

“Well you see,” Kiriko began nervously. “I kinda told the receptionist that we were dating.” Shying away as Tsukino growled, she stepped forward. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just that you got really messed up the other night, and I was worried and wanted to see how you were doing and--”

“Okay, okay, I get the point,” Tsukino interrupted, a frown on her face. “Look, I don’t want you here. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”

“Huh?” Kiriko squeaked, eyes widening in shock. “What do you mean?”

“I hate the fact that I have to protect you.” Gawking at her own bandages, her nostrils flared angrily. “Look where it’s gotten me!” Closing her eyes shut, she shivered. “But I can’t stop. Something inside is making me do these things. Please, just go away. I hate you.”

Breathless at the words of her classmate, she stepped back a bit in recoil. “Iincho-san, I--” Suddenly, something inside her snapped. She wasn’t sure if it was built up stress or just a sudden reflex at being spoken to like she was some sort of evil being, but she had had enough. “Look here, Iincho-san!” she shouted, stomping her foot. “You don’t have to like me, but I feel that I am in debt to you for saving me and getting so banged up!” Walking over and grasping her hand, she stared deep into the other girl’s eyes. “To tell the truth, I used to think that you were scary, Iincho-san. But I like you a lot and I hope that someday we can be friends! But whether that happens or not, I’m going to keep visiting you until you get better because you’re my classmate and I care for all of my classmates!”

Tsukino’s expression quickly softened at these words as her eyes shimmered with tears. Sniveling like a baby, she suddenly burst out crying, becoming even more overwhelmed by emotion as she was grabbed in a comforting hug. No one besides her parents had ever shown any type of compassion for her ever and she was totally moved. A sudden rush of emotions rushed forth that she had never shared with anyone ever. This girl, this stupid, clumsy, ditzy classmate of hers had done something that no one had been able to make her do in over 8 years, and that was crying.

“It’s okay, Tsukino…” As she consoled the emotional train wreck that was Tsukino Hoshino, she wondered if there was anything else she could do for the girl other than hug her. Pausing for a moment, she gasped in realization. “I forgot the chocolate bar that Akito gave me!” Checking her briefcase, she screamed in repulsion as she discovered that the candy had melted, ruining a good portion of the things in there. “Oh my gawd, my report on pollution that I’ve been working on for the past two weeks in ruined! Wahaaaah!”

Staring at Kiriko’s plight is bewilderment, she groaned, shaking her head. “Idiot.” Smiling a bit, she barely stifled a laugh. “I swear, you are absolutely hopeless. How do you get yourself ready in the morning?”

“That’s so mean, Iincho-san!” Kiriko whined. “How can you say that?!” Growling as the other girl laughed again, she moped. “Not funny!”

-----

Meanwhile, in a shack located behind the school, Saeko was readjusting her skirt and panties. “Geez, you sure were rougher than usual,” she said with a smirk. “Didn’t even let me get my clothes off.”

“Heh, sorry…” Kyoji said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I had a lot of stress to blow off this time around.”

“Mmm, maybe I should get you stressed out more often…” she replied, running a hand through her boyishly short locks. “That had to be the best yet.” As a phone started ringing, she pointed to her friend and boy toy’s trousers. “Your pants are vibrating, bud.”

Quickly grabbing his pants, he pulled the phone out and answered it. “Hello? Oh, hey there, Kiri-bozu… Huh? Oh, that’s cool… Okay, be there soon.” Hanging up, he looked to the still ecstatic girl next to him. “I gotta go. Lil’ sis is over at the hospital and visiting hours are over.”

“Okay. Seeya later stud,” she teased, sticking her tongue out to reveal her piercing. She took it out during class due to school rules, but she was quick to put it back in whenever the final bell rang. “Looking forward to the next time!” The summer of their 1st year of high school, she found this place hidden among a small forest behind the school building. After introducing it to Kyoji, he jokingly suggested they make it their ‘shag pad’. She playfully took him up on that offer, and they soon took part in the occasional ‘stress relieving session’. They never let it develop into anything big, they had promised each other that they were childhood friends to the end and would continue to come to this place until they found someone. Chuckling as he struggled to put his pants on, she held up his belt. “Need some help?”

-----

About half an hour later, Kyoji was walking home with his sister. “So Kiri-bozu, how was Tsukino doing?”

“She was fine…”

“That’s good. Today was a good day…” he replied, a lecherous grin on his face.

Kiriko nodded, oblivious to the perverse nature of his words. “Yes, it was…”

To Be Continued…

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“Yay, Iincho-san is finally coming back to school! But wait, what’s that thing attacking the city?”

“Great, and I just got out of the hospital. How can this get any worse?”

“Hey, have you heard? Hoshino-san and Shimohara-san are going out!”

“Ooh, how scandalous!”

“Wait, what? No, that’s not true! Can you please straighten this out, Iincho-san? Next time, ‘Evil Rumors Afoot, Evil Creatures Afoot!’ Don’t miss it!”

“It most definitely isn’t my day…”