Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Guardian Children ❯ Operation Take Back Failed; A Fight for Survivial? ( Chapter 9 )

Wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it. Sorry, just needed time to get my school life back in control. Now it’s Spring Break, so I have a lot of time to focus on writing. I get really lazy on days off, though, so this might take a while…

-Kouji Tamino

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Legend of the Guardian Children

Book 1: The Light of Destiny

Chapter 9: Operation Take Back Failed: A Fight for Survival?

And so, the next day finally arrived. Ayumi, hoping to see the results of her meddling, hurried to school to see Shimohara arriving at school alone, without her big brother to protect her from what she and the rest of the club had in store. Oh, the look on that wretched girl’s face when they utterly embarrassed her would be absolutely delicious. She just couldn’t wait anymore! The suspense was killing her.

Unfortunately for her, however, her plans weren’t exactly going as she was expecting them to. You see, her memory failed her on that morning: her plans to get ‘big brother’ out of the way had failed. She had witnessed it herself, in fact. Walking next to Kiriko as she appeared was her older brother Kyoji, just like he usually did. Her jaw dropped as she stared at them, angry at the Shimohara siblings for always foiling her and angry at herself for forgetting that her plan was quickly unraveling. Losing control of herself, she screamed, running towards the siblings furiously. “You!” she shouted, pointing at Kyoji accusingly. “What are you doing here?!” Realizing her mistake, she quickly covered up her mouth, looking away with a blush on her face.

“What the hell do you mean? I always walk my little sister home.” Staring at her suspiciously, Kyoji was quick to brush those thoughts off. He didn’t know this girl, she had no reason to have it in for him. There was no way she could be the one who caused the meeting with Domon yesterday, could she? No, that couldn’t be right. It didn’t make any sense. Shrugging it off, he continued on his way towards the school with Kiriko, leaving a completely flustered yet relieved Ayumi.

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“Good morning, Iincho-san!” Kiriko greeted, taking her usual seat behind the girl. At that moment, she and Tsukino were suddenly swarmed by a pack of their classmates, getting bombarded by a rush of questions involving the snake incident the other day. Some were questions of concern, such as “Are you all right” and “That was so scary yesterday!” Other questions were just ones of self amusement like “So, did you start tripping out?” or “Did they have to cut you open to get the poison out?”

Either way, Tsukino did not enjoy the excess attention, so she quickly asserted her authority over the class, standing up and pounding on her desk a few times. Her left eyebrow twitched violently as they ignored her and continued their rush of questions. Growling, she stomped over to the chalkboard and planted her fingernails against it, quickly dragging them over the surface to produce the infamous, bleeding ears inducing screeching sound that they’re known for. Smiling in satisfaction as everyone stopped what they were doing in order to scream out in agony and plug their ears, she refrained from continuing her torture. She cleared her throat to grab their attention, standing at the front of the class. “Ahem. That will most definitely be enough questions, if you please. Shimohara-sam-- er, Shimohara-san had a very stressful, scary, and almost life threatening experience yesterday. I’m sure she would appreciate being left alone for a while.” Sighing in reprieve, she took her seat and waited for class to start. Turning around as she was tapped on the shoulder, she turned around to face her classmate and ward. “Yes? What is it, Shimohara-sama?” she asked, quietly. She didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea about her addressing Kiriko in such a fashion.

Smiling cheerfully, she giggled cutely, causing Tsukino to blush. Not noticing this, she continued. “Thank you for getting me out of that mess”, she said, quite grateful indeed. She was getting so nervous and disconcerted with everyone asking her all sorts of questions. If it hadn’t have been for Tsukino, she didn’t know what she would have done.

Simply nodding, she gave a small smile. “It was no problem. They were giving you a hard time, so I had to do something.” Trying to not seem too nice, she attempted to justify her actions. Crossing her arms, she smirked confidently. “You’re a completely lost cause without me, you know…” Chuckling playfully, she began to put up a faux-cold demeanor.

“Aww, you can’t fool me, Iincho-san!” Kiriko exclaimed, waved her index fingers. She knew that Tsukino wasn’t as cold as she made herself out to be, and it was all just a cover. “I know that deep down, you’re just a big softie!” She screamed as Tsukino pounded her on top of her head. “Ow, what’d ya do that for? That was mean!” Rubbing her head, she groaned.

“Not so nice, am I?” Tsukino replied, a teasing smile on her face. She may have been her friend, but she was not about to show a moment of weakness in front of their classmates. That would be just suicide to her duties as class rep. No one would fear and respect her as much if she showed any evidence of giving leeway to anyone. Regrettably, this meant keeping up a strictly classmates only relationship with her new friend Kiriko when at school. Keeping up the façade was proving to be difficult, however.

With a hateful scowl on her face, Atsuko snapped her pencil in two with her thumb in intense rage. She had had enough of watching her best friend slowly drift away from her and over to such a snob like Tsukino. Snarling fiercely, her hair began to stand on end as she stood up, trudging over to the pair lifting her hand. Without warning, she brought it down hard against the tall and athletic girl’s face, slapping her violently. “That’s enough!” she screamed, shocking the entire class with her out of behavior feat. “I’m sick and tired of you and Kiri-chan getting closer and closer and leaving me out of it! Give me back my best friend you self important, cold hearted bitch!” Her attack was met with a more powerful one, the girl soon finding herself flying across the room as she was cuffed in the face by a vicious right hook. Her body crashed into the back row of desks, pushing them aside and leaving her in an aching heap on the floor. Calming down a bit, she quickly turned the tables in her favor as she strained herself back to her feet with a nasty remark. “Oh my… Is that anyway for a class representative to behave?” Chuckling cruelly, she gave her enemy a sadistic smirk. Dark, angry feelings began to rush up from within, her pent-up hate driving her forward. “For shame, you might set a bad example for our classmates.” As blood began to rush out of her nose in a dangerously quick fashion, her hands hurried up to it, gasping in horror as she came to a conclusion. “Oh god, my nose is broken!”

Staring at the hand that had struck Atsuko, Tsukino began to shake violently in uneasiness. What had she done? With her own hand, she had injured another student. If a teacher ever found out, she could be kicked out of school. Looking around the class as the others gave her tense, troubled stares and began muttering amongst themselves, she began to think to herself. First of all, what in the world had she been thinking, hitting a normal person like that? She was lucky that she didn’t kill her! Second, this was Shimohara-sama’s best friend! If she didn’t end up hating her for this, she’d be grateful. Most importantly, since when did she start caring what people called her? Students new to the class, thus lacking the proper respect for her, had called her much worse things during her time as class rep. She never ever let people think that she cared what they thought about her. Why had those few harsh words set her off like that? To make matters worse, she had done in front of her entire class. Breaking down, she shouted in frustration, turning away and running out of class.

“Iincho-san, wait!” Kiriko cried out, standing up and taking a step forward before looking back to her best friend. “Oh god, Atsuko! Are you okay?” Running over to check up on her, she winced as her hand was smacked away. “What the-- Atsuko, what’s going on?” Why was her friend acting so strange? This type of conduct wasn’t like her, and it frightened the Shimohara daughter.

“Go to her, if you like her so much”, Atsuko said frigidly, holding her nose. She was so upset about everything that had just happened, she didn’t want to deal with anyone right now. She just wanted to be alone. Besides, at this point it was obvious that she had lost her best friend. She had reached out for Tsukino first.

“No way!” Kiriko snapped, frowning. She now realized what was going on and was not going to abandon her friend in her time of need. “I know that you’re angry and all… But if you’re going to be mad, you should be mad at me!” She didn’t want to lose Atsuko, but she also did not want her two best friends fighting like this. “Please don’t blame Iincho-san! I’m the one that offered my friendship despite her protests! She didn’t take me away from you…” Looking away, she began to cry in shame and remorse. Despite what she may have liked to think, she had inadvertently abandoned Atsuko for Tsukino quite some time ago. “Damn it, I’m such a terrible person. I’m so sorry, Atsuko. If it makes you feel any better, you can beat me as much as you want… I deserve it.” Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the punishment she felt that she deserved. After several seconds of waiting, she slowly opened her eyes. She watched in confusion as Atsuko walked past her.

“I don’t want to beat you up, Kiriko…” Atsuko said weakly, limping her way out of the room. Oddly enough, she wasn’t angry anymore. Just tired, upset, and feeling a little lonely. Still, while she had just suffered physical pain, her best friend was suffering from mental pain. She couldn’t imagine how scared and confused she must have been. “I just want my best friend back.”

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After school, Kiriko decided to go and look for Tsukino. After that incident before class, she hadn’t seen her all day. She was really worried about her. When she had gotten depressed and upset, she wandered the city for hours. Had she done the same thing? She had tried calling Tsukino on her cell phone several times, but she just wouldn‘t answer. Was she really that distraught? To tell the truth, she didn’t blame her. What happened today was absolutely horrible. There was no telling how she was going to be treated when she returned to class. She needed to find her as soon as possible.

Just as she was about to leave, a thought came to mind: She had to visit Atsuko, who had been sent home with a broken nose, first. She was so grateful that Atsuko and the others were keeping the truth a secret. Poor Tsukino was already having it rough enough without getting kicked out of school. The glasses wearing girl only lived a few blocks away from the school, so the trip was quick. After knocking on the door and getting invited in, she made her way to the girl’s room. Poking her head in timidly, she squeaked awkwardly. “Atsuko? Are you all right?”

Smiling at the sight of her best friend visiting her, she waved her in. Her nose had of course, stopped bleeding. “Come on in, I’m not gonna bite!” Giggling as Kiriko wobbled over, she sighed, staring at the floor. She had a lot to get off her chest, along with a question or two. She might as well start now. “I’m sorry… I acted so foolishly today, and now look at me.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to apologize!” Kiriko shouted, waving her arms and shaking her head. She felt extremely guilty for what ultimately happened. “If anything, it’s all my fault for ignoring you!” Groaning, she bit her bottom lip anxiously. “I swear, I didn’t mean to do it, but that’s no excuse! Anyway, how’s your nose? Will you… need surgery?”

“Surprisingly no!” Atsuko exclaimed, sitting up a bit. “They straightened it a bit and then put this on!” She explained, pointing to the bandage on her nose. “It should be fine in a few weeks!” Getting a confused look on her face, she scratched the side of her head. “Y’know, as hard as she hit me, I get the feeling that she was holding herself back a bit. Call me crazy if you will, but I get the suspicion that if she had punched me with every ounce of strength she had…” leaning over, she wiggled her finger towards her to signal her friend to get closer as well. She did not want to risk anyone else hearing this. “…She probably could have killed me. That’s my theory, at least.”

Staring at her incredulously, wondering how her UFO and conspiracy obsessed pal had determined all that from a single punch to the face, Kiriko tried to drive her off of the clue path. “Atsuko, that’s silly! No one is that strong!” She chuckled nervously and clumsily, hoping that she wouldn’t pursue the matter further.

Atsuko grinned eccentrically, getting that familiar crazed look in her eyes that Kiriko could only guess meant that she had yet another insane conspiracy theory. “No one… Except for extraterrestrials or genetically modified human beings, that is!” Cackling in an almost mad fashion, she continued. “Think about it: ever wonder why Tsukino is such an ice-queen?” Thinking for a moment, she shook her head, sighing at her friend. “Sorry, bad choice of words… Anyway, the reason she acts so cold, is so intelligent, and is great at sports is because she is from an advanced alien species that shows no emotion! It was only your kind heart that could melt her cold one!” Catching the exasperated stare her buddy was tossing her way, she pouted, crossing her arms. “What?! Kiri-chan, I’m really serious about this! Speaking of her, where is Tsukino?” Listening as Kiriko told of Hoshino’s disappearance and not answering her phone, she screamed. “Kiri-chan, you idiot? What the hell are you doing here, then? Go look for her, she could be dead for all we know! Killed herself in despair or something!”

“Eek!” Kiriko squealed in hasty comprehension. Turning on her heel, she scuttled out the door, absentmindedly forgetting to say bye. Realizing this, she ran back in and bowed. “I’msosorrybye!” With that speedy recovery, she turned back around, and left, leaving a cracking up Atsuko.

Wiping a tear of joy from her eye, Atsuko looked at the empty doorway with a bright smile. Things were going to be all right, she just knew. Perhaps she and Tsukino could become friends some day, and they could all hang out together.

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In the city center, Ayumi was being followed, she was sure of it. These days, she could always tell if she was being stalked or not. Her steps became quicker as she walked down the sidewalk, her breathing more erratic, shivers running down her spine as her chest started to burn. Whoever was chasing her, she had to keep away. She was not getting good vibes at all from her pursuer. She gasped as a male hand grabbed her wrist, dragging her over to an empty alley and turning her over to face him. “Oh hello, Domon!” she greeted weakly, waving pitifully as the rather tall boy and his gang glared irritably at her. “What brings you here?”

“Don’t screw with me, bitch…” Domon growled darkly, squeezing her wrist tighter and eliciting a groan from her. “I know you’re the one that sent me that phony note. What the hell are you trying to pull?” Gritting his teeth as he got no response, he grabbed her by the hair and pulled up hard, making her scream in agony. “Tell me!”

“Hey!” another male voice shouted. Everyone’s attention shifted to the source. Walking over with an infuriated expression was Kyoji. “What do you think you’re doing, Domon?” Gasping as he got a closer look at the girl, he clenched his fist closed tightly. “So it was you… But why? I don’t even know you!”

“If I tell you, you’ll kill me!” Ayumi yelped helplessly, tears streaming down her face. Why had her plan failed so horribly? Now she was about to be hurt very badly, she could tell. Licking her lips, she looked away in fear.

“Come on, I won’t kill you…” Kyoji assured her, giving her a comforting smile. This quickly turned into a cocky grin. Pointing over to Domon, he chuckled. “I’m not like that… This guy, on the other hand, he will probably beat the hell out of you. Now come on, I just want to know why you went through all this to create a meeting between two people you barely know.”

Whimpering weakly, she sighed deeply. The jig was up. Her plans were ruined, and she was in for a world of hurt. At the very least, she could avoid a beat down from Kyoji. “I did it because… I wanted you two to fight and take each other out so there would be no one to get in the way of my plan to embarrass Kiriko Shimohara and teach her not to mess with Tsukino Hoshino-sama! She belongs to the Hoshino-sama Appreciation Club, not her!” After saying that all in almost one continuous breath, panting like mad.

Staring at the self-centered girl plainly, seemingly cool and calm despite the threat against his sister this girl posed, he took a deep breath and stepped backwards. “Hey, Domon… When you’re done with her, leave some for me to kick around.” He was pissed, to say the least, that she had even tried something so stupid. In his mind, she deserved every beating she got from his insane former friend. Leaning up against a wall, he watched apathetically as the gang began to surround her. After a moment of watching them torment and torture her with suspense by pushing her around and feigning striking her, the better half of him decided to step in. “Hey come on, do you really have to punish her like this? With your reputation, a simple warning should keep her out of your hair forever!” Taking a step forward, a few Red Hawks ran towards him and intervened. “I see… So it’s gonna be like this, huh?”

Just as he was prepared to starts swinging fists, a scream from one of the other gang members not in front of him jarred everyone out of their current mind frame. Their concentration transferred to the cause of the noise, and what they saw made their blood run cold. Holding one of the gang members in it’s grimy grip was a large reptilian creature. It’s head was lizard-like, it was covered in rough green scales, and it had a long thick tail. The most distinguishing feature of the beast, however, was the fact that it stood up on two legs. It smiled dangerously with it’s razor sharp teeth that gleamed in the darkness of the alley, the creature’s claws grazing dangerously against the frightened boy.

To Be Continued…

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“This is terrible! I’d rather get beat up then killed by that ugly thing!”

“Shit, I can’t die here! Shimohara, this is your fault!”

“My fault?! Get real!”

“Iincho-san, why won’t you help them?!”

“I… just don’t care anymore…”

“Well if you won’t help them, I will! Next time on ‘Legend of the Guardian Children’: Do Your Best! Kiriko’s Fight?! Oh, something tells me this wasn’t such a good idea…”