Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Guardian Children ❯ Cry of a Beast; Visit to Tsukino's! ( Chapter 6 )

Back again, with another chapter of my 5th Anniversary work. I’m having so much fun writing this series. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed writing this much in ages. In recent months I was just writing under the obligation of finishing all the stories I started. But ever since I put all of my other stories aside and started focusing on this one, I’ve been getting a lot more pleasure from writing stories. I think the problem was that I was working on too much at one time, so there was no focus. I was constantly moving from story to story, not able to keep up a consistent flow. I’ll eventually go back to my stories someday, but I think I’ll do it one at a time.

With that out of the way, let’s get started!

-Kouji Tamino

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Legend of the Guardian Children

Book One: The Light of Destiny

Chapter 6: Cry of a Beast; A Visit to Tsukino’s!

About a few miles short of where all the commotion was going on, Kiriko was sitting on a park bench, munching on the last few bites of her meat bun pathetically. She never wanted to go to school ever again after the way she had been completely humiliated and put on the spot that day. How could have they have done that to her? Even if what they were accusing her of had been true, there was no reason to make such a big deal about it. “Besides”, she began, her voice tired and weak from crying all afternoon long, “Tuition is a waste of money, anyway…” Ready to sit there and mope for the rest of the day and even night if possible, she began to hear the sound of someone calling her name. Yelping, she jumped as Kyoji suddenly appeared in front of her, having run at full speed once he had finally found her. “O-onii-san…”

Breathless, he struggled to speak as he held his chest. “I… heard about… what happened… at school… man I’m out if shape…” After hearing about how Kiriko had been grilled and made a fool of, he quickly made his way home, where after discovering that she wasn’t there, went on a search. This sent him searching almost the entire city before finding her in a park. By now, he was much too exhausted to chew her out for worry him so much, so he simply sat next to her on the bench to catch his breath. After a few moments of awkward silence, he finally spoke after recovering his voice. “So… what’s up, squirt?” He asked, quite boorishly.

“So have you come to make fun of me, too?” She asked, sarcasm and bitterness evident in her voice. “I’m sick of people making fun of me and making up nasty rumors.” Looking up at him with a heated, tear filled face, she screamed. “I’m tired, damn it… I want to go home, and I never want to go back to school ever again…” She was just plain exhausted and wanted nothing more to do with her classmates anymore. There was no way she could show her face at school, not after that huge scene.

Patting her head sympathetically, he sighed. “You poor kid…” His demeanor quickly changed, however, as he suddenly grabbed her cheek and pinched it as hard as he could. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself! If you give up, what will that say to the others?” He was tired of his sisters moaning and self-pitying. She was a year younger than him! She was 16 years old and she was acting like a junior high school student. It was really getting on his nerves. Sure, he was sorry that she had a bad day. Everyone has their bad days, but it didn’t give them a reason to sit around and mope about it. Growling in infuriation as she continued to sit and whine, he sat up and began to leave. “Okay, that’s it. I am out of here. Try and get home before curfew though, okay?” He was not about to wait there with her for who knows how long. He had homework to do, and if he didn’t finish it in time, he would miss his favorite show. For a moment he felt a little bad for leaving her like this, but there was no reasoning with her and he was getting fed up with dealing with her every time she got upset.

Watching as her older brother left, she pouted, crossing her arms as she looked towards a group of people across the street. How dare he judge her! He had no idea what she had gone through that day! She felt as if the whole world was against her right now! Why was everyone being so mean to her? As these thoughts rushed through her mind, her gaze began to focus on a television in a store window that was focusing on a breaking news story of a teenage girl facing down a monster. Gasping, she slowly stood up and began walking across the street to get a closer look. Her eyes widened as she recognized the person on screen. “Tsukino-san!”

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Tsukino cursed at her uncharacteristically bad aim. She had managed to hit the creature, but she was off by a couple of inches and wedged the arrow between of his shoulders. This not only failed in vanishing the monster, but it also made it very irritable, and very peeved at the person responsible. Quickly turning its head in her direction, it snarled at her fiercely, its teeth and lips glistening in saliva. Despite feeling incredibly unsettled, the bow and arrow wielding classroom representative of Kaneda Tokio High School’s Class 2-A bravely stood her ground, ready to lay her life on the line if it would help protect the people around her. “I’m… I’m not afraid of you!” She lied, trying to cover up the fear that was beginning to take over. She had never even believed that a creature of this size and stature could exist, much less ending up fighting one.

Reaching under her skirt, she grabbed the giant needles strapped to her right thigh and began to clutch them between her fingers threateningly at the monster. “Stand back! I’ll protect myself if I have to!” Stepping back as the beast leapt toward her, she raised her arm and managed to block the arm of it as it attempted to strike her. Jumping away, she rolled to the side and managed to catch it off guard, driving her fist forward and jamming the needles deep into its flank. In doing so, she ended up getting stabbed in her palm slightly herself. Screaming in pain, she began to back away, grabbing the fiend’s hand as it came down to try and hammer her into the ground. Managing to hold it back, she was still surprised by her newfound strength. Rolling on her back, she managed to flip the creature over and hurled it at a car, totaling it. Wobbling back to her feet, she stared at the smashed car and the unmoving beast dully. Shrugging, she turned around and began walking away, picking up her bow as she did. “Oh well, not my problem.” Halting as he heard the rustle of metal and glass, all she could do was turn back around before being back handed, shooting towards a street light and bending it on impact. The people gathered around gasped and screamed with horror as she fell to the ground in a limp heap, frozen in their spots. No one could gather up the courage to help her as the monster began to slowly stomp towards her, its disgusting tongue hanging out of its slobber filled mouth, dripping thick, nasty, sticky blobs of drool onto the ground.

“Iincho-san!” Kiriko yelled, running to the scene, pushing her way through the crowds. “Please let me through! That’s my friend!” Unable to make her way through the huge group that had assembled, she cried out. “Iincho-san…” She had to be there for her. She had just gotten out of the hospital and she did not want her going back… Or even worse, going to the hospital and never coming back alive. She just had to be there for her, to help her somehow…

“Okay, losers! Out of the way!” A familiar, brutish voice shouted coarsely. Forcing his way through the mob, he pushed the groups apart with ease, intimidating anyone that got in his way. He was not about to lose Hoshino to such an animal without getting a chance to face her again. Besides, if she died, Shimohara would be hurt. She was already suffering, and he had already failed to help her once. He couldn’t fail her again. “All right, Shimohara! Go on! Make sure that Hoshino doesn’t die on us!”

“Akito-san…” Kiriko said softly, tears filling her eyes. “Thank you…” Running her way past the people in front of her, she began screaming at the top of her lungs. Reaching the front of the crowd, she began to cheer the other girl on. “Get up, Iincho-san! I… I believe in you!”

That last line was enough to bring Tsukino back to her senses. She not only had to protect herself right now, as well as the others around her… She also had to protect Kiriko, the sweet girl that had extended her hand in friendship towards her and brought some brightness to her dull life. There was no way that she was going to let her down. Struggling her way to her feet, she smacked away the beast’s hand as it made a swing at her. Left eyebrow twitching, she lifted her leg and kicked the monster hard in the crotch, causing the giant to double over in excruciating pain and fall to its knees, much to the surprise of everyone watching. “Well what do you know, you’re just like a man…” After the dirty blow, she jumped up and kicked it in the head, the creature grinding across the street and leaving a large ditch in the concrete. “Come on!” She screamed intensely, tossing her weapons to the side and raising her fists. “You’ve got more than that, don’t you?” Her sudden rush caught everyone off guard, leaving them all a bit unsettled.

Getting back up to its feet, the furry humanoid put up its dukes. The crowds’ expression changed to one of exasperation as the two suddenly went into a full out brawl. Socking Tsukino in the face, she smirked and began to apply several rapid punches to his gut, forcing him backwards and creating fissures in the ground. She finished it up with a graceful leap that was followed up with a not so graceful head butt to the chin that knocked the beast out cold. Raising an eyebrow as it began to seemingly disintegrate, the particles rising and floating away, she stared at her blood stained palm. “Great, as if I needed more medical attention…” Looking towards the audience that had accumulated, she glared, back to her normal self. “What are you all looking at? Show’s over.”

“Iincho-san!” Kiriko exclaimed in relief, running over and grabbing her friend in a hug. She was so glad that this hadn’t turned into a messier, more public version of the last fight. “I was so worried! I almost didn’t make it in time, but thanks to Akito-sa--” she turned around to address the boy who had helped her, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Huh? Where’d he go?”

“Ah, so there you are, squirt…” Kyoji said rather nonchalantly, walking through the rapidly dispersing group. Patting her on the head, he smiled. He was glad that she seemed to be doing a little better, but these random attacks were getting a little bothersome, not to mention the fact that they were now starting to attract attention. This was not good. “So, how about we get on home, okay?”

“Oh, but I promised Iincho-san that I would walk home with her, remember?” Thinking of home suddenly reminded her of her promise. It would be inconsiderate to break it, and she had never been to Tsukino’s house before. It would be an understatement to say that she was really very curious to see what kind of house a person like her lived in. Besides, maybe she could use the trip to clear her mind.

“Well since you’re both here anyway”, Tsukino suggested, picking up her things. “Why don’t you both come over? My parents are away, and it… gets kind of lonely, to tell the truth”, she admitted, her expression softening. She never would have admitted something like that to anyone until recently, but the frequent visits by a certain well meaning klutz had opened her eyes to just how… nice it was to actually have someone be there for you. Her parents were only around every other week, and they didn’t give her the impression that they really cared for her all that much outside of the whole ‘She’s our child so we have to take care of her’ deal.

“Eh, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Kyoji didn’t really feel like going straight home anyway, so he had no objections. With that straightened out, they all headed to the subway.

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As they arrived at the home of Tsukino Hoshino, the Shimohara sibling’s jaws dropped. The house that they were now standing in front of was a full-fledged mansion. As much sense as it made, they never would have thought of her family being filthy rich. Completely enthralled at the notion of hanging out in such a big house thrilled them greatly. Just when they thought things couldn’t get any crazier, a cluster of butlers, maids, chauffeurs, and other servants suddenly crowded outside and bowed. “Welcome home, Ojou-sama!” They exclaimed collectively, keeping their heads low. After a few seconds, they added. “And welcome to her guests, as well!”

“Wow…” Completely overwhelmed by the reception she was receiving, Kiriko bowed as well. “T-thank you so much! Pleased to meet you!”

Amused, Tsukino walked past the girl, patting her on the head. “You don’t have to bow back, you know. Although you were always a little too nice.” Smirking slightly, she shook her head. Actually, it was Kiriko’s friendliness that made her such a great person. Only a person like her could have stepped up and willingly befriended her like she did. “Hello everyone”, she said, greeting her family’s servants back. “Well, let’s get inside, shall we? I think I shall take a bath after that fight…” Turning around to face her new guests, she gave a faint smile. “Do you both care to join me?”

“W--what?” Kyoji stuttered, a slight blush on his face as Kiriko overheated in the background. “Do you really think that’s appropriate?” He barely even knew this girl, and she was asking him something like that? And with his sister, too? What kind of stuff was this chick into?

As they walked into the building, she gave him an annoyed expression. What kind of dirty thoughts ran through that boy’s head, anyway? It was an innocent enough question. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Shimohara-sempai. It’s an open air bath, like at the hot springs.”

“Whaaat?” Kiriko screeched, absolutely amazed at this sudden revelation. “You have your own open-air bath?” Just how wealthy was Tsukino’s family? In fact, what in the world did her parents do to get a place like this? It was gorgeous! Pure white walls adorned with gold lining and what seemed to be glitter, a chandelier at the bottom of the long staircase, beautiful crimson carpeting… It was an absolute dream! The furniture was nice and clean, and the cushions were oh so soft! She could just fall asleep and never wake up.

Tsukino, however, was bemused by this question. Blinking rapidly, she stared at Kiriko with a sincerely startled expression. “What, doesn’t everybody?” Perhaps living such a pampered lifestyle was getting to her, due to the fact that both Shimohara siblings almost fell over themselves after hearing her reply.

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“Um, Iincho-san?” Kiriko asked, looking left and right as they entered the bath. “Where is the men’s bath?” No matter now hard she looked, she could not see any barriers. Was there another bath that she wasn’t aware of? The only other possible explanation she could come up with was… “Eeek! This is a mixed bath?!” Quickly covering herself up with her towel, she attempted to go back but slipped and fell on her behind. “Owie…”

Helping her up, Tsukino kind of stared at her straightforwardly. “Yeah, so? This is meant to be a family bath, and you’re here, so it’s not like Shimohara-sempai has any reason to peek on me unless he wants to risk seeing you as well.” Thinking for a moment, she continued, still as on the point and monotonously as usual. “Then again, he could be into that kind of thing…” Watching as Kiriko began to whimper, she raised an eyebrow. “What? I was just kidding.”

“With you, it’s sometimes hard to tell”, Kyoji replied, eyeing her oddly as he entered from the men’s changing room. Looking around at the bathing area, he nodded his approval. “Wow, this is pretty nice… You sure your parents won’t mind?” He wasn’t one to compare parents, but with as strange and seemingly cold as Tsukino seemed, he wondered what her mom and dad were like… And as he settled into the water, he wondered how they’d react if they discovered some strange kids they didn’t know messing around in what equated to their private hot springs.

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s not like they’re ever around anyway.” These two were the first people she had taken a bath with in a while. Even with all her servants here, it got lonely. It was nice hanging out with people who liked her for her, and not for her parent’s paychecks. Just then, an idea came to her. “Would you like to stay for dinner? My parents won’t be here, and I detest eating alone.”

His back turned to the girls. “I don’t know… We kind of have a curfew now, and the choice would have to be unanimous…” To tell the truth, he’d rather be anywhere but home right now. That place was getting stuffy, with all the restrictions placed on him since the incident several weeks ago.

“Oh pleaaase can we stay? I’m sure mom and dad’ll say yes, since we’re at a friends house!” Kiriko began to beg and plead, wanting very badly to stay and have dinner. She felt very guilty for being late in meeting Tsukino at the hospital and she desperately wanted to make it up to her. Suddenly remembering the reason she missed meeting her, she bit her lip. “Iincho-san, you won’t be seeing me at school anymore…”

After asking Kiriko why, Tsukino listened in as she heard the tale. Giving the girl a disgusted look, she pounded her on the head, hard. “Idiot! Don’t let them get to you! If anyone gives you crap, beat their ass or at least tell me about it so I can instead!” Calming down, she poked her new friend in the forehead. “But don’t you dare be a quitter, you hear that? I won’t tolerate people that quit.” The speech was a bit severe, but she had to get a point across. Kiriko was much too nice a girl to let herself get pushed around like that.

Watching as his sister nodded frantically, Kyoji chuckled. “Nice, Tsukino…” he muttered to himself, glad that his younger sibling seemed to be coming back to her senses. But wasn’t he supposed to be the one helping her? He was beginning to grow more and more frustrated over the fact that while Tsukino was constantly saving Kiriko, he was powerless to do anything. Now here she was, doing what he couldn’t once again: This time, helping her out of her depression. If he couldn’t protect her, what use was he as an older brother?

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The next day, after school, the two girls were walking together towards the gate to their school. Stopping, Tsukino reached for her cell phone. “Wait a second…” She had been wanting to do this for a while, but hadn’t really had the opportunity. Grabbing the other girl in a friendly embrace, phone flipped open and in camera mode, she began to aim it at them both. “Now smile…”

Kiriko smiled awkwardly, surprised to suddenly be in such a position with the class rep of all people. Still, it was nice that she was opening up a little more. Looking to the girl, she was surprised to find a real smile on her normally stone cold face. The sight made her beam brightly, and she turned back to the camera phone, the machine making an artificial clicking sound as it went off.

Both girls were unaware of a hidden Atsuko, looking on with a dejected looking face. She was glad to see the two getting along, but Kiriko had been spending less and less time with her lately. After years of closeness, had she finally lost her best friend?

To Be Continued…

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“It’s okay… Kiri-chan and the class rep are just getting along more… Our friendship is not in jeopardy… Waaah, I want my best friend back!”

“Hoshino-sama belongs to everyone… I won’t let anyone take her… I, Ayumi Kanakawa, President of the “Hoshino-sama Appreciation Club” swear by it!”

“W--Who the heck are you?”

“An ally! I have needs, you have needs! Lets team up and take back what’s ours!”

“You have a deal! Next time on ‘Legend of the Guardian Children’: A Dangerously Insane Duo! Operation Take Back!”

“It will most definitely… be an interesting experience…”