Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Then came an angel ❯ Diving in ( Chapter 16 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Sapadu 
Ahh... Everything ties together...
Anime/Manga: Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Romance / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 08.29.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 216 | Status: Work In Progress
Ahh... Everything ties together...
Anime/Manga: Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Romance / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 08.29.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 216 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 14
By Sapadu
Well... I'll do my best. I'm really writing it for the sake of "Start so you don't have another month long hiatus." Besides... school's starting soon, so...
Samantha raised her hand and knocked. Hatori-san had been... surprised... to say the least, when she'd shown up at the Sohma House, completely uninvited, but she'd also stepped in without waiting, saying she knew Akito had wanted to meet her, anyway.
"Who is it?" Croaked Akito from the inside.
"The girl you wanted to meet. And I know the door's locked. Get up, off your ass, and unlock it before I burn the door down." Samantha replied, calmly. Hatori was right behind her, looking utterly horrofied, but concealing it well.
"Why? Why should I get up for YOU? Do you deserve to speak to me face to face? I don't think you do. You can talk to me through the door." Akito replied, lazily. Samantha heard a note of smug disdain in his voice, and almost wanted to burst out laughing. It really was fun when people had superiority complexes- The looks on their faces were SO hilarious when you put them in their place.
"Fine. I warned you. And you can replace the door yourself." Samantha held up one finger to the door and pressed it to the paper.
"I'll have you arrested." Akito threatened, sounding almost bored, but slightly annoyed. Samantha had come prepared for that.
"Oh, Source of All Power/
Light which burns beyond crimson/
Let thy power gather in my hand!
Fireball!"
Akito jumped as the fireball shot threw the paper door and hit the mat, setting it ablaze. A girl of about fourteen stepped through the flames, completely unharmed, and walked right over to him, an unimpressed smirk on her face.
"So... the police would believe you if you told them a fourteen year old girl named 'Samantha Phastine' had thrown a ball of flame through your door, yet no other part of your house was even singed, and to top it all off, she walked right through the fire she started and there wasn't a scratch on her? First off, they'd suspect you of starting the fire and accuse you of arson. Then, they'd tell you to check into a loony bin, since Samantha Ann Phastine is an American seventeen year old who died ten years ago. Finally, they'd arrest you and put the rest of the Sohma clan under protective custody because an anonymous tip-off would have told them that you've mentally and physically abused many members of the family you're the head of. With witnesses and evidence."
Akito gaped at her, feeling for all the world, like he was only a child.
"You told Shigure-san that you wanted him to find me and the others who saw Momiji-kun transform. The others, I cannot permit you to find. However, you can try to erase my memories all you want. It will do you no good." Samantha stated, simply. Akito spat in her general direction.
"And WHO are you?" He demanded, getting to his feet and pulling his robe around him. Samantha distractedly played with her hair.
"Why, your match, of course." Sammy replied, smiling. Akito took two steps backwards and hit the wall.
Sammy, as well as the Solar who was laughing from her spot inside Sammy's head, REALLY loved people with superiority complexes.
********************
"Naa... Hisoka..." Tsuzuki paused in mangling the piece of apple pie before him as Hisoka looked through the case file.
"Mmm?" Hisoka replied, only half listening to Tsuzuki. He was looking over the file- apparently, a lot of souls had been disappearing lately. Most were not in the Kiseki, but the reason Enmacho was concerned was because one of the souls was SUPPOSED to have died, and yet, while his soul had left his body, it had not appeared for judgment. For some reason, this man's soul, along with the many others, had disappeared without a trace.
Hisoka didn't know WHY he'd picked up the case file, considering they hadn't been assigned the mission. Some distant corner of his mind wondered who HAD gotten the assignment.
"'Soka? 'Soka, 'Soka, 'Soka, 'So-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Tsuzuki whined, waving a forkful of pie in his partner's face.
"I'M LISTENING! WHAT!?" Hisoka shouted, earning a few stares. Tsuzuki shrank back into his chair, puppy ears, paws, and tail all sprouted and quivering.
(A/N: I've been watching Gravitation for the past two hours, so wouldn't you think Tsuzuki parallels Shuichi and Hisoka parallels Yuki? We should throw those four into a locked closet and see what happens...)
"U-u-um... I just... you weren't eating your food..." Tsuzuki began, lamely.
********************
Fuuma had gotten the bleach out of his hair and it was now back to it's normal dark shade by the time the weekend rolled around. He was still in a crabby mood from the three crazy women beating him up, and not even the snide Kanoe commented on his limp when he passed, still having a few pages of "War and Peace" stapled to a certain area of his anatomy normally not displayed to the public. Due to these pages, Fuuma also had to fore go the tight leather pants, or else walk around with weird wrinkles all day.
In the freezer room, Satsuki was plugged into the Beast, cheerfully hacking her way into any hapless computer that got in her way- Yuuto had been sick the other day, and she was crabby that their afternoon tea had been canceled. Beast wasn't happy that his Satsuki was so attached to another... human... However, Satsuki had been IMMENSELY displeased last time Beast had expressed his displeasure, so the computer did nothing.
"Yo! 'Suki-chan, what's up?" Fuuma called from the floor, grinning as Satsuki glared at the nickname. Fuuma was feeling restless, and he wanted to blow up a keikkai today, so he figured he may as well ask Satsuki for a status report. Satsuki went back to her computer screen.
"An interesting event in a smaller suburb of Tokyo. Apparently, a gaming company is having an international competition, and today, the streets are quite crowded." Satsuki reported as the wires poking into her neck fed her data. Fuuma looked delighted with this news.
"EXCELLENT! What town?" He asked, as Nataku entered into the room to ask if she could come along on the ensuing mayhem.
"Domino City. With Inogashira Park in the very center." Satsuki replied as Beast beeped and whirred directly into her brain, "And there is a computer system in the very center of the city..."
"Deal with the computer, 'Suki-chan. Kazuki and I are going to break the kekkai." Fuuma waved his hand and stalked out of the room with Nataku at his heels. Satsuki smirked as the name flashed on the screen.
"'Kaiba Corp'..."
********************
"Naa... Sapu-chan... how'd it go with Akito this morning?" Koichi asked, stepping out of subspace onto the top of a telephone pole. Sammy and Kendalina were both perched on the other sides of the pole- Kendalina was in her old uniform with her infamous "Black Fury" jacket draped over her shoulders and standing on the right wire frame, while Samantha sat on the other side in a pair of jeans with horizontal cuts along the front of the legs from mid-thigh to mid-calf and a black, spaghetti-strap tank top with a mesh shirt over THAT. Sammy could have worn it to go clubbing, but at the moment, she was on a mission with Kenda.
"Oh... it was fun. I wish you could have been there- you like to put big headed people on their asses where they belong." Samantha said, smiling. Kendalina snerked at that comment.
"So, 'Chi-chan, what're you doing here?" Kendalina asked, turning to the Drow girl. Koichi glanced over at the Jedi Princess with a serious expression.
"I was just visiting your house and Triclops spotted me and wanted me to tell you both something- Inogashira Park is right in the middle of this Battle City thing and, apparently, Fuuma and the DoE's are gonna attack here sometime today, so keep an eye out, no pun intended, for that." Koichi warned, sitting down next to Sammy. Samantha raised a dark eyebrow at Koichi before turning back to survey all the duelists prowling around in the streets below.
"Thanks, Megami-chan!" She said, raising a hand to examine her nails. Koichi sighed and swung her legs, looking for something to say.
"How're you guys going to duel in this thing, anyway?" She asked, curiously. Samantha smiled and put a hand into her pocket, pulling out a rather large box, filled with Duel Monster cards. Koichi let out a low whistle.
"Where did you GET those? Did you go out and spend your life's savings? And someone else's?" The Drow asked as Sammy opened the box and handed a few stacks of cards to Kendalina, who undid the rubber bands and slid them into her duel disc.
"Oh, no. These are half of my sister's deck. When I ran away from home, she gave me half of her cards as a 'Goodbye' present, figuring that since I'd pretty much bought her half of her deck, I deserved them." Sammy explained, closing the box and sliding it back into her pocket- Koichi suspected that Samantha was using a subspace pocket inside her pants to fit a box that big in without even causing a wrinkle.
"Sammy, you never told me you ran away from home!" Kendalina said, with a mock hurt expression. Samantha shrugged and glanced around the part of Domino that she could see from her perch.
"Well... we've all got secrets..." Sammy murmured, distractedly, before mentioning, "Oh, shit! I just remembered- Remember how Kai-kun said that in the end, the finalists would have six of those... locater cards? He's only expecting eight finalists, including himself. How're WE going to get in?"
Koichi and Kendalina, both knowing perfectly well where Sammy got her information, thought about it for a little while.
"Beat up one of the finalists and take HIS?" Kendalina offered. Koichi and Sammy shook their heads, synchronized.
"No... For starters, the finalists are too important- Yu-kun, Jo-kun, and Kai-kun are going to be finalists..." Sammy said, folding her arms.
"Then Mai-san and Bakura-kun are in there..." Koichi added.
"And then the three Ishtars. We can't beat one of them up and leave them behind... it would throw off the future too much." Sammy concluded, and they all knew she was talking about the visions Triclops had been having. Kendalina sat down and stared up at the sky.
"We could always argue that with duelists from all around the world, eight seems a rather small number of finalists to expect..." Kendalina offered, "But from how you, 'Chi-chan, and Ken described Set-kun, he doesn't like to be argued with and won't buy it." Kendalina shot her own idea down, looking put out.
"I guess... Kendalina could try using a Jedi Mind Trick on him if she needed to..." Koichi suggested. Samantha considered it.
"But Kai-kun is such a stubborn ass... He's got a mind like a Hutt, not even Yoda-san could pull something like that over him. The security guards might fall for it, considering they're just in for the money and the ride..." She finally said, looking displeased. All three women sighed. Finally, Koichi reached into a subspace pocket and pulled out a video tape.
"Here, Sapu-chan. It's a tape of Kaiba when he was sixteen, getting drunk for the first time, and doing a strip-tease. If worst comes to worst, you can blackmail him with this." The Drow said, handing it to Sammy. Samantha stared at it for a moment before glomping her friend around the waist.
"MEGAMI-CHAN, YOU'RE THE BEST!" She squeed, going into, what many artists would call, chibi-mode.
"Sammy, you're special." Kendalina said, blandly, as she lit up a cigarette. Samantha stopped squealing and her ears perked up, as though she heard something. Koichi's pointed ears twitched as Sammy let go of her waist. She'd heard something, alright, and it was coming from Inogashira Park.
"Let's go. Fuu-kun's there." Sammy jumped off the pole and down to the ground, taking off at a sprint. Kendalina and Koichi jumped after her, and were soon panting behind Sammy.
"Sapu... chan... I... thought... you... flunked... the... ten... meter... dash..." Koichi panted, holding her side as Samantha went dashing through the streets, letting out a war cry. Crowds had parted to let the three women through.
"I can run when given the proper motivation." Sammy replied, not slowing her pace. Kendalina and Koichi kept running, both of them feeling thoroughly exhausted.
Sammy skidded to a halt in the park, where she'd pulled out a huge, shoulder-held rifle with a gun barrel about five inches in diameter. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and rested her right eye level with the targeting lens. Kendalina caught up with her first, and immediately set up a shield just in case Sammy accidentally fired at HER.
Samantha was turning around in circles, looking through the lens, until she found herself staring at a pair of brown eyes. Sammy lowered her gun.
"Jo-kun, what're you doing here?" She asked, looking irritated. Joey blinked.
"Uh... I'm lookin' for someone ta duel?" He guessed, holding up his left arm, displaying a duel disc. Samantha shouldered her gun again.
"Well, look somewhere else! I've got a homicidal maniac to shoot and he's in this park." She growled, and Joey ran for it, completely ignoring Kendalina as he passed.
"He's probably thinking that YOU'RE that homicidal maniac." Koichi suggested, finally having caught up. She was interrupted as Samantha fired her gun at something.
"FUU-KU-U-U-U-UN! I'M REALLY NOT IN THE MOOD FOR ANY OF YOUR BULLSHIT TODAY, SO GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF HERE BEFORE I KICK IT, AGAIN!" Sammy shouted. Fuuma, cowering with his hands over his head, stood up and raised his hands in surrender. Nataku was watching all of this, completely expressionless.
"Yes, ma'am..." Fuuma muttered, shrinking out of the park. Nataku looked between Fuuma and the woman with the gun before following Fuuma out. Samantha prowled after them, not trusting Fuuma to not come back after she'd dissappeared.
********************
"Daddy, was that scary woman one of the women who beat you up?"
"Yeah. Just remember- they're crazy, stay away from them, and do what theytell you to do the first time."
"Okay.... Is she the one who made you walk like that?"
"No. She's worse."
Click.
"Keep moving, Fuu-kun."
"I suppose the words 'Give it a rest' would have no meaning to you..."
"NOPE^_^! NONE AT ALL^_^!"
"Daddy, you said to do what she told us the first time..."
"Kazuki-chan, you're a smart girl. Now, Fuu-kun, get your ass in gear and MOVE!"
********************
Keiichi knocked on the door, shifting his weight to one foot and clutching the bag under his arm with sweaty fingers.
"Shirou-kun? Are you awake in there?" He asked, peering through the crack between the door and the frame. Kamui was, for all appearances, asleep in his bed, but Keiichi saw the violet eyes open.
"Segawa-kun?" Keiichi heard Kamui's voice, just barely over the buzz of the machines. Keiichi straightened up and used one hand to smooth his hair down before he opened the door all the way.
"Hai. It's me." He quietly said, tiptoing over to Kamui. The violet-eyed boy was wrapped so heavily in bandages, it was a wonder he could move at all, let alone turn his head to look up at his friend.
"How are you, today? Sumeragi-san told me you'd been hurt in an accident, and Samantha told me which hospital you were in. I figured I could at least bring you a book to read, if you got bored." Keiichi explained, sitting down next to Kamui and holding up the book which had been in the bag.
Kamui turned his head just enough to blink at the cover- There was an illustration on the cover of a girl with dark hair and she held her hands up, holding something between them like a crystal ball. Kamui couldn't see what was IN it, but there was something about the girl's face that looked oddly familiar...
The book was entitled "The Solar's Star".
"...Um... Segawa-kun..." Kamui began, frowning and groping for the button that would make the bed sit up. Keiichi put one of his hands on Kamui's and guided it towards the remote, which Kamui was unspeakably grateful for.
"I've already read it- It's REALLY good... Sort of like those Harry Potter books, except not really, because it's also really creepy and there's a lot of psychological stuff, which is really weird, but you get used to it, kind of, and someone DIES in the end, but it's only the first book- there's another that's supposed to come out soon, and it supposed to go into more depth on the more minor characters, and there's this other series which has a lot of similar characters, because I guess the authors originally worked on the story together, but then split up and it's almost like an alternate universe version of this series, but through the eyes of a different character, and it's called Carnelian, and... Shirou-kun, are you okay? You look dizzy." Keiichi's cheerful, bouncy persona had revived for just a moment before Kamui began to feel lightheaded. Keiichi's rambling always seemed to have that effect on him.
"I'm... fine... Segawa-kun..." Kamui said, absently. Keiichi got off the stool he'd been sitting on to wrap his arms around Kamui's shoulders. Kamui meeped for a moment before calming down, trying to convince himself Keiichi was 'Just a friend, just a friend, just a friend.'
Keiichi mistook Kamui's squeak to be one of pain, which was understandable, because Kamui was stiff from being in bed for three days, and his ribs hadn't COMPLETELY healed yet.
"Oops, sorry Shirou-kun! I forgot, you'd hurt your ribs in the accident!" Keiichi let go of Kamui so fast, Kamui almost experienced whiplash. A nurse came in, saying that visiting hours were over, much to Keiichi's chagrin (Keiichi had raced over to see Kamui just after school let out, but the distance between his class and the hospital was just enough that Keiichi had only gotten here a few minutes before visiting hours ended)
"Well... I'll leave this here, Shirou-kun! Hope you get well soon!" Keiichi said, brightly, putting the book on the side table next to Kamui's bed. Kamui snagged the back of Keiichi's shirt in one of his hands before he left, which made Keiichi's head snap around.
"Segawa-kun... Could you..." Kamui tried to force his blush down, feeling ashamed of having to ASK this, "Could you come again... tomorrow?" Keiichi blinked at Kamui for a moment, as Kamui's head bowed, his bangs dropping in front of his face, hiding his eyes.
"Sure thing!!!" Keiichi finally replied, smiling his usual genki smile. The nurse tapped her foot impatiently, and escorted Keiichi out, leaving Kamui alone with the book.
Kamui looked over at the cover, still unable to shake the feeling that he'd seen a face LIKE that somewhere before. Carefully, he reached out with one arm to pick up the book and bring it over. Kamui held it gently in both of his hands before lowering his face to the cover and drawing a deep breath. It smelled like Keiichi- he must have been carrying it around with him all day...
Kamui smiled at that thought- Keiichi really must have wanted to give him this book if he'd kept it with him all day... And Kamui really did appreciate it. When he wasn't asleep, it was SERIOUSLY boring in this room.
Opening the book to the first page, Kamui started to read, but the first line made him do a double take.
"My name is Sammy.
I'd normally refrain from telling my full name to strangers... but... why not? My full name is Samantha Ann Phastine. I mean, it's not like you're going to meet me outside the coffee shop in YOUR neighborhood, now are you?"
Kamui stared. It COULDN'T be...
********************
Triclops was in the kitchen when Ken got home from school. Normally, Ken would have stopped his father from even coming within three feet of the kitchen entry way, but when he saw his father simply pouring a glass of milk, he felt no need to panic.
"Um... father? We're home?" Ken called, toeing off his shoes as Luke did the same. Triclops didn't turn- with an eye in the back of his head, he didn't need to.
"Welcome home. Thank you for picking him up, Commander Skywalker." Triclops replied, putting the milk back in the fridge. Luke just nodded as Triclops found a jar of sleeping pills and fished one out.
He had a dream to See.
Samantha had called just a few minutes ago, complaining about the young man who had destroyed their house two days ago. Triclops couldn't care less about Fuuma, but he was greatly disturbed to hear that, according to Sammy's "sources", Fuuma wasn't supposed to attack Inogashira Park- a girl called Satsuki was supposed to do that, AFTER this "Battle City" thing had ended, and instead of Kendalina, Koichi, and Samantha there to fight, two girls by the names "Yuzuriha" and "Arashi" were supposed to be protecting the area.
Triclops hadn't needed Samantha to tell him that if he was Seeing things that said otherwise, it meant that someone was messing with the future. And Sammy wasn't the only one who was irritated that someone was screwing around with Fate.
Samantha didn't believe in Fate, but Triclops did. No matter what he did, somehow, everything always seemed to go to hell. He'd tried to stop Kendalina's death, and it had no effect. He'd tried to save the younglings in the Jedi Temple, but they'd all been killed. He'd tried to save his own son, but there was nothing to show for it.
So... in Triclops' mind, Fate was set in stone. And somebody trying to mess with it was something that couldn't go unchecked.
Triclops took his sleeping pill and swallowed it with his milk in one gulp. It wasn't going to be pleasant- He was stressed enough, as it was, and this additional dreamseeing was going to make his ulcer hurt like hell.
(A/N: Triclops seems like the kind of guy who'd have an ulcer. Am I the only one who thinks Triclops seems like the kind of guy who'd have an ulcer?)
Generally, Triclops couldn't sleep well without Kendalina there, so that's why he had the sleeping pills at all. Really, Triclops had wanted to take more than one, but he couldn't do that unless he REALLY wanted to irritate the hell out of his liver. However, when Triclops really had trouble sleeping and Kendalina wasn't around, the solution was generally to take a sleeping pill and take a nap with some article of Kendalina's clothing pulled over a pillow. Today, Triclops found the T-shirt she'd worn to bed last night, and pulled it over Kendalina's pillow before he fell asleep with the pillow in his arms.
He was never going to get over those twelve years he'd spent without her, and that's all there was to it.
The dreamscape Triclops woke up in was barren, with a floor of glass, except it rippled as Triclops stepped over it. He rose one of his hands and felt his hair, which in his real body was white and stuck up in all directions. Here in the dream, however, it was longer and hanging down, and when he picked up a strand to look at it, it was blond. That was a relief- at least here in his dreamscapes, he looked like his old self before he'd gone through shock therapy.
Triclops began to walk, trying to find some indicator of whose dreamscape he was in. Eventually, a wooden framed paper door came into view. Triclops quickened his speed towards it and found himself before a wall of paper doors. There were shadows and voices on the other side. Triclops tapped on the wood, almost knocking, but soft enough that if he wasn't supposed to be heard, they might dismiss it as some other noise. The voices stopped.
::Is someone else there?:: Asked a quiet female voice, and the door slid open. Triclops found himself staring at two others.
The first was the female who had opened the door. She was hunched over on the floor, completely white, even her skin and hair, except for her bright, purple eyes. The robes she wore reminded Triclops painfully of the traditional omnyouji robes Kendalina wore the night she died, except they seemed to consist of a dress instead of pleated pants. Triclops was also horrified to realize that the water on the floor was actually blood seeping from her wrists.
The second was a young man with platinum blond hair and cat-like golden eyes, wearing a kimono with a pattern of lilacs near the hem. Triclops was alarmed to note that he almost looked like an exact duplicate of the other man, except for coloring and scars.
"Who are you?" Asked the young man in a soft, barely accented, alto voice. Triclops folded his legs under himself and looked directly at the other man. Triclops couldn't help but notice how painfully thin the other dreamseer looked- if he hadn't known better, Triclops would have mistaken the man to be female.
"Triclops. I'm Triclops." He replied. The woman's lips parted, as though she was drawing breath, and unmistakably confused.
::Another dreamseer? But how?:: She asked, not moving her lips. Triclops, quite frankly, was not in the mood to explain everything, so he put his palm to the floor and concentrated on his own story. On the glass floor, a ripple appeared and the black glass cleared to show scene after scene from all of Triclops' past that may be relevent. Triclops saw the other man's eyes widen as the scene of Kendalina's death played out.
"Ho... kuto..." He whispered, pulling his kimono tighter around his shoulders and his eyebrows trembling. Triclops paused.
"No. That's Kendalina. My wife." He explained, wondering why he was explaining this to a complete stranger and feeling a dull ache in his chest. The golden eyes blinked before looking back at Triclops' face, a look of respect and empathy etched across them.
"She was killed... the day after I saw a vision of her death. I tried to save her... but in the end... I CAUSED her death... and there was nothing I could do." Triclops continued, really wishing that the other two would stop staring at him. The man with golden eyes looked away.
"Then why are you here? If you know about the Final Battle... then you also know... there is nothing we can do..." He asked, looking thoroughly miserable. Triclops understood how he felt, especially since this was how Triclops felt on a daily basis.
"Kendalina came back, though." Triclops whispered. The woman let out an inaudible gasp and her eyes went wide.
"We cannot alter the future, or change our Fates... But... Someone else can." Triclops pressed his hand to the floor again and a picture of Kendalina and Samantha appeared, the two of them talking and laughing together, "For some reason... this one does not appear in any of my dreams. She moves outside the realm of Fate, and somehow changes it." The other two dreamseers looked, if nothing else, rather pleased to hear this, "And... she has told me... the Final Battle... is not to take place in the realm of humans."
The white haired woman sat up and looked shocked.
::But... how could that be? The visions I saw... I was told they would not come to pass if the Dragons of Heaven were assembled...:: She protested, looking apalled that she'd been told off. Triclops frowned.
"I don't know... She told me that as long as THIS supposed battle was equally balanced that it would not be interrupted, but... the future has been interfered with. And so, now... it cannot go on." Triclops explained, feeling frustrated- he knew there was more to it than what Samantha had told him, and he didn't like the feeling that Sammy wasn't telling him the whole truth.
The woman with white hair looked away.
::I know.:: She agreed, before pointing her finger at the floor, ::It is this one...:: And the water reflected her, except this one was a woman with a distinctly evil aura about her, ::This other me... is the one at fault.:: Triclops stared down at the evil reflection of the white-haired dreamseer. The expression on her face was unpleasantly familiar, and Triclops felt a stab of pity for the woman sitting hunched over next to him. He got to his feet, only just now realizing he was back in the gray uniform of an Imperial prisoner.
"Thank you. I will tell the One Outside of Fate about this. Maybe she will help." He said, ignoring the astonished look on the woman's face and the slight smile growing on the other man's face. Triclops turned to leave, before a hand grabbed his pant leg and he turned to see the woman looking up at him.
::Why?:: She asked, ::Why would you try? Why do you wish to help?:: Her 'voice' was reaching a pleading tone, which Triclops understood perfectly well. He turned and pointed to his own reflection, which was crouched against the glass.
"I, too, have another me. A second face." Triclops murmured, as the reflection sneered, "A face..." It had white hair that stuck out in all directions, "... That I must hide from everyone." And it's face was old, twisted, wrinkled, and evil.
********************
"So, Kamui thinks that these books are about THE Samantha Ann Phastine. As in, the Sammy we know?" Tea asked, swirling her soda with her straw. Yuzuriha scratched Inuki's head, looking rather upset. Kamui had gotten out of the hospital and had told her about the book- in fact, the two younger Dragons had stayed up well into the night reading it and closely examining the pictures. Both Kamui and Yuzuriha had agreed that the Samantha in the book certainly LOOKED like the Samantha they knew if she'd been younger, but the overall attitude of the girl in the book was far more jaded, sarcastic, serious, and depressed than their friend.
"He's got his suspicions, but neither of us are really sure. The whole book is written through her perspective, but it's NOTHING like the Sapadu-chan I know..." Yuzuriha admitted, putting the book on the table. Tea picked it up and examined the cover, idly sipping her soda.
"Why do you want to talk with ME about this, though?" Tea finally asked, hopelessly dropping the novel, wincing as it's hard cover made a rather loud noise as it hit the table.
"Because it's BOTHERING me! And I don't know who else to talk to about this who might know! Kamui already knows and Arashi-san and Sorata-san don't really know Sapadu-chan and neither does Kusanagi-san. I didn't know who else to go to!" Yuzuriha looked like she was about to cry as Tea reached over with one arm and patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry... It's okay." Smiled Tea as the Seal took a deep breath. Inuki nuzzled his nose against Yuzuriha's leg in an attempt to be comforting.
"Hey, why don't you talk to Bakura? He seems to know Samantha pretty well, since they hang out every week or something like that." Tea suggested as Yuzuriha calmed down. Inuki's ears perked up at hearing the name and Tea scribbled it down on a napkin for Yuzuriha to read, along with an address.
The two girls said their goodbyes and left for their respective homes.
A/N: Okay... I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY hyper right now, and I've just finished watching the entire Gravitation series (Which was SOOOOO much fun, I highly recommend it) I'm on new medication, taking driver's ed, and school starts in two days. Thusly, forgive me if I don't update.
By Sapadu
Well... I'll do my best. I'm really writing it for the sake of "Start so you don't have another month long hiatus." Besides... school's starting soon, so...
Samantha raised her hand and knocked. Hatori-san had been... surprised... to say the least, when she'd shown up at the Sohma House, completely uninvited, but she'd also stepped in without waiting, saying she knew Akito had wanted to meet her, anyway.
"Who is it?" Croaked Akito from the inside.
"The girl you wanted to meet. And I know the door's locked. Get up, off your ass, and unlock it before I burn the door down." Samantha replied, calmly. Hatori was right behind her, looking utterly horrofied, but concealing it well.
"Why? Why should I get up for YOU? Do you deserve to speak to me face to face? I don't think you do. You can talk to me through the door." Akito replied, lazily. Samantha heard a note of smug disdain in his voice, and almost wanted to burst out laughing. It really was fun when people had superiority complexes- The looks on their faces were SO hilarious when you put them in their place.
"Fine. I warned you. And you can replace the door yourself." Samantha held up one finger to the door and pressed it to the paper.
"I'll have you arrested." Akito threatened, sounding almost bored, but slightly annoyed. Samantha had come prepared for that.
"Oh, Source of All Power/
Light which burns beyond crimson/
Let thy power gather in my hand!
Fireball!"
Akito jumped as the fireball shot threw the paper door and hit the mat, setting it ablaze. A girl of about fourteen stepped through the flames, completely unharmed, and walked right over to him, an unimpressed smirk on her face.
"So... the police would believe you if you told them a fourteen year old girl named 'Samantha Phastine' had thrown a ball of flame through your door, yet no other part of your house was even singed, and to top it all off, she walked right through the fire she started and there wasn't a scratch on her? First off, they'd suspect you of starting the fire and accuse you of arson. Then, they'd tell you to check into a loony bin, since Samantha Ann Phastine is an American seventeen year old who died ten years ago. Finally, they'd arrest you and put the rest of the Sohma clan under protective custody because an anonymous tip-off would have told them that you've mentally and physically abused many members of the family you're the head of. With witnesses and evidence."
Akito gaped at her, feeling for all the world, like he was only a child.
"You told Shigure-san that you wanted him to find me and the others who saw Momiji-kun transform. The others, I cannot permit you to find. However, you can try to erase my memories all you want. It will do you no good." Samantha stated, simply. Akito spat in her general direction.
"And WHO are you?" He demanded, getting to his feet and pulling his robe around him. Samantha distractedly played with her hair.
"Why, your match, of course." Sammy replied, smiling. Akito took two steps backwards and hit the wall.
Sammy, as well as the Solar who was laughing from her spot inside Sammy's head, REALLY loved people with superiority complexes.
********************
"Naa... Hisoka..." Tsuzuki paused in mangling the piece of apple pie before him as Hisoka looked through the case file.
"Mmm?" Hisoka replied, only half listening to Tsuzuki. He was looking over the file- apparently, a lot of souls had been disappearing lately. Most were not in the Kiseki, but the reason Enmacho was concerned was because one of the souls was SUPPOSED to have died, and yet, while his soul had left his body, it had not appeared for judgment. For some reason, this man's soul, along with the many others, had disappeared without a trace.
Hisoka didn't know WHY he'd picked up the case file, considering they hadn't been assigned the mission. Some distant corner of his mind wondered who HAD gotten the assignment.
"'Soka? 'Soka, 'Soka, 'Soka, 'So-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Tsuzuki whined, waving a forkful of pie in his partner's face.
"I'M LISTENING! WHAT!?" Hisoka shouted, earning a few stares. Tsuzuki shrank back into his chair, puppy ears, paws, and tail all sprouted and quivering.
(A/N: I've been watching Gravitation for the past two hours, so wouldn't you think Tsuzuki parallels Shuichi and Hisoka parallels Yuki? We should throw those four into a locked closet and see what happens...)
"U-u-um... I just... you weren't eating your food..." Tsuzuki began, lamely.
********************
Fuuma had gotten the bleach out of his hair and it was now back to it's normal dark shade by the time the weekend rolled around. He was still in a crabby mood from the three crazy women beating him up, and not even the snide Kanoe commented on his limp when he passed, still having a few pages of "War and Peace" stapled to a certain area of his anatomy normally not displayed to the public. Due to these pages, Fuuma also had to fore go the tight leather pants, or else walk around with weird wrinkles all day.
In the freezer room, Satsuki was plugged into the Beast, cheerfully hacking her way into any hapless computer that got in her way- Yuuto had been sick the other day, and she was crabby that their afternoon tea had been canceled. Beast wasn't happy that his Satsuki was so attached to another... human... However, Satsuki had been IMMENSELY displeased last time Beast had expressed his displeasure, so the computer did nothing.
"Yo! 'Suki-chan, what's up?" Fuuma called from the floor, grinning as Satsuki glared at the nickname. Fuuma was feeling restless, and he wanted to blow up a keikkai today, so he figured he may as well ask Satsuki for a status report. Satsuki went back to her computer screen.
"An interesting event in a smaller suburb of Tokyo. Apparently, a gaming company is having an international competition, and today, the streets are quite crowded." Satsuki reported as the wires poking into her neck fed her data. Fuuma looked delighted with this news.
"EXCELLENT! What town?" He asked, as Nataku entered into the room to ask if she could come along on the ensuing mayhem.
"Domino City. With Inogashira Park in the very center." Satsuki replied as Beast beeped and whirred directly into her brain, "And there is a computer system in the very center of the city..."
"Deal with the computer, 'Suki-chan. Kazuki and I are going to break the kekkai." Fuuma waved his hand and stalked out of the room with Nataku at his heels. Satsuki smirked as the name flashed on the screen.
"'Kaiba Corp'..."
********************
"Naa... Sapu-chan... how'd it go with Akito this morning?" Koichi asked, stepping out of subspace onto the top of a telephone pole. Sammy and Kendalina were both perched on the other sides of the pole- Kendalina was in her old uniform with her infamous "Black Fury" jacket draped over her shoulders and standing on the right wire frame, while Samantha sat on the other side in a pair of jeans with horizontal cuts along the front of the legs from mid-thigh to mid-calf and a black, spaghetti-strap tank top with a mesh shirt over THAT. Sammy could have worn it to go clubbing, but at the moment, she was on a mission with Kenda.
"Oh... it was fun. I wish you could have been there- you like to put big headed people on their asses where they belong." Samantha said, smiling. Kendalina snerked at that comment.
"So, 'Chi-chan, what're you doing here?" Kendalina asked, turning to the Drow girl. Koichi glanced over at the Jedi Princess with a serious expression.
"I was just visiting your house and Triclops spotted me and wanted me to tell you both something- Inogashira Park is right in the middle of this Battle City thing and, apparently, Fuuma and the DoE's are gonna attack here sometime today, so keep an eye out, no pun intended, for that." Koichi warned, sitting down next to Sammy. Samantha raised a dark eyebrow at Koichi before turning back to survey all the duelists prowling around in the streets below.
"Thanks, Megami-chan!" She said, raising a hand to examine her nails. Koichi sighed and swung her legs, looking for something to say.
"How're you guys going to duel in this thing, anyway?" She asked, curiously. Samantha smiled and put a hand into her pocket, pulling out a rather large box, filled with Duel Monster cards. Koichi let out a low whistle.
"Where did you GET those? Did you go out and spend your life's savings? And someone else's?" The Drow asked as Sammy opened the box and handed a few stacks of cards to Kendalina, who undid the rubber bands and slid them into her duel disc.
"Oh, no. These are half of my sister's deck. When I ran away from home, she gave me half of her cards as a 'Goodbye' present, figuring that since I'd pretty much bought her half of her deck, I deserved them." Sammy explained, closing the box and sliding it back into her pocket- Koichi suspected that Samantha was using a subspace pocket inside her pants to fit a box that big in without even causing a wrinkle.
"Sammy, you never told me you ran away from home!" Kendalina said, with a mock hurt expression. Samantha shrugged and glanced around the part of Domino that she could see from her perch.
"Well... we've all got secrets..." Sammy murmured, distractedly, before mentioning, "Oh, shit! I just remembered- Remember how Kai-kun said that in the end, the finalists would have six of those... locater cards? He's only expecting eight finalists, including himself. How're WE going to get in?"
Koichi and Kendalina, both knowing perfectly well where Sammy got her information, thought about it for a little while.
"Beat up one of the finalists and take HIS?" Kendalina offered. Koichi and Sammy shook their heads, synchronized.
"No... For starters, the finalists are too important- Yu-kun, Jo-kun, and Kai-kun are going to be finalists..." Sammy said, folding her arms.
"Then Mai-san and Bakura-kun are in there..." Koichi added.
"And then the three Ishtars. We can't beat one of them up and leave them behind... it would throw off the future too much." Sammy concluded, and they all knew she was talking about the visions Triclops had been having. Kendalina sat down and stared up at the sky.
"We could always argue that with duelists from all around the world, eight seems a rather small number of finalists to expect..." Kendalina offered, "But from how you, 'Chi-chan, and Ken described Set-kun, he doesn't like to be argued with and won't buy it." Kendalina shot her own idea down, looking put out.
"I guess... Kendalina could try using a Jedi Mind Trick on him if she needed to..." Koichi suggested. Samantha considered it.
"But Kai-kun is such a stubborn ass... He's got a mind like a Hutt, not even Yoda-san could pull something like that over him. The security guards might fall for it, considering they're just in for the money and the ride..." She finally said, looking displeased. All three women sighed. Finally, Koichi reached into a subspace pocket and pulled out a video tape.
"Here, Sapu-chan. It's a tape of Kaiba when he was sixteen, getting drunk for the first time, and doing a strip-tease. If worst comes to worst, you can blackmail him with this." The Drow said, handing it to Sammy. Samantha stared at it for a moment before glomping her friend around the waist.
"MEGAMI-CHAN, YOU'RE THE BEST!" She squeed, going into, what many artists would call, chibi-mode.
"Sammy, you're special." Kendalina said, blandly, as she lit up a cigarette. Samantha stopped squealing and her ears perked up, as though she heard something. Koichi's pointed ears twitched as Sammy let go of her waist. She'd heard something, alright, and it was coming from Inogashira Park.
"Let's go. Fuu-kun's there." Sammy jumped off the pole and down to the ground, taking off at a sprint. Kendalina and Koichi jumped after her, and were soon panting behind Sammy.
"Sapu... chan... I... thought... you... flunked... the... ten... meter... dash..." Koichi panted, holding her side as Samantha went dashing through the streets, letting out a war cry. Crowds had parted to let the three women through.
"I can run when given the proper motivation." Sammy replied, not slowing her pace. Kendalina and Koichi kept running, both of them feeling thoroughly exhausted.
Sammy skidded to a halt in the park, where she'd pulled out a huge, shoulder-held rifle with a gun barrel about five inches in diameter. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and rested her right eye level with the targeting lens. Kendalina caught up with her first, and immediately set up a shield just in case Sammy accidentally fired at HER.
Samantha was turning around in circles, looking through the lens, until she found herself staring at a pair of brown eyes. Sammy lowered her gun.
"Jo-kun, what're you doing here?" She asked, looking irritated. Joey blinked.
"Uh... I'm lookin' for someone ta duel?" He guessed, holding up his left arm, displaying a duel disc. Samantha shouldered her gun again.
"Well, look somewhere else! I've got a homicidal maniac to shoot and he's in this park." She growled, and Joey ran for it, completely ignoring Kendalina as he passed.
"He's probably thinking that YOU'RE that homicidal maniac." Koichi suggested, finally having caught up. She was interrupted as Samantha fired her gun at something.
"FUU-KU-U-U-U-UN! I'M REALLY NOT IN THE MOOD FOR ANY OF YOUR BULLSHIT TODAY, SO GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF HERE BEFORE I KICK IT, AGAIN!" Sammy shouted. Fuuma, cowering with his hands over his head, stood up and raised his hands in surrender. Nataku was watching all of this, completely expressionless.
"Yes, ma'am..." Fuuma muttered, shrinking out of the park. Nataku looked between Fuuma and the woman with the gun before following Fuuma out. Samantha prowled after them, not trusting Fuuma to not come back after she'd dissappeared.
********************
"Daddy, was that scary woman one of the women who beat you up?"
"Yeah. Just remember- they're crazy, stay away from them, and do what theytell you to do the first time."
"Okay.... Is she the one who made you walk like that?"
"No. She's worse."
Click.
"Keep moving, Fuu-kun."
"I suppose the words 'Give it a rest' would have no meaning to you..."
"NOPE^_^! NONE AT ALL^_^!"
"Daddy, you said to do what she told us the first time..."
"Kazuki-chan, you're a smart girl. Now, Fuu-kun, get your ass in gear and MOVE!"
********************
Keiichi knocked on the door, shifting his weight to one foot and clutching the bag under his arm with sweaty fingers.
"Shirou-kun? Are you awake in there?" He asked, peering through the crack between the door and the frame. Kamui was, for all appearances, asleep in his bed, but Keiichi saw the violet eyes open.
"Segawa-kun?" Keiichi heard Kamui's voice, just barely over the buzz of the machines. Keiichi straightened up and used one hand to smooth his hair down before he opened the door all the way.
"Hai. It's me." He quietly said, tiptoing over to Kamui. The violet-eyed boy was wrapped so heavily in bandages, it was a wonder he could move at all, let alone turn his head to look up at his friend.
"How are you, today? Sumeragi-san told me you'd been hurt in an accident, and Samantha told me which hospital you were in. I figured I could at least bring you a book to read, if you got bored." Keiichi explained, sitting down next to Kamui and holding up the book which had been in the bag.
Kamui turned his head just enough to blink at the cover- There was an illustration on the cover of a girl with dark hair and she held her hands up, holding something between them like a crystal ball. Kamui couldn't see what was IN it, but there was something about the girl's face that looked oddly familiar...
The book was entitled "The Solar's Star".
"...Um... Segawa-kun..." Kamui began, frowning and groping for the button that would make the bed sit up. Keiichi put one of his hands on Kamui's and guided it towards the remote, which Kamui was unspeakably grateful for.
"I've already read it- It's REALLY good... Sort of like those Harry Potter books, except not really, because it's also really creepy and there's a lot of psychological stuff, which is really weird, but you get used to it, kind of, and someone DIES in the end, but it's only the first book- there's another that's supposed to come out soon, and it supposed to go into more depth on the more minor characters, and there's this other series which has a lot of similar characters, because I guess the authors originally worked on the story together, but then split up and it's almost like an alternate universe version of this series, but through the eyes of a different character, and it's called Carnelian, and... Shirou-kun, are you okay? You look dizzy." Keiichi's cheerful, bouncy persona had revived for just a moment before Kamui began to feel lightheaded. Keiichi's rambling always seemed to have that effect on him.
"I'm... fine... Segawa-kun..." Kamui said, absently. Keiichi got off the stool he'd been sitting on to wrap his arms around Kamui's shoulders. Kamui meeped for a moment before calming down, trying to convince himself Keiichi was 'Just a friend, just a friend, just a friend.'
Keiichi mistook Kamui's squeak to be one of pain, which was understandable, because Kamui was stiff from being in bed for three days, and his ribs hadn't COMPLETELY healed yet.
"Oops, sorry Shirou-kun! I forgot, you'd hurt your ribs in the accident!" Keiichi let go of Kamui so fast, Kamui almost experienced whiplash. A nurse came in, saying that visiting hours were over, much to Keiichi's chagrin (Keiichi had raced over to see Kamui just after school let out, but the distance between his class and the hospital was just enough that Keiichi had only gotten here a few minutes before visiting hours ended)
"Well... I'll leave this here, Shirou-kun! Hope you get well soon!" Keiichi said, brightly, putting the book on the side table next to Kamui's bed. Kamui snagged the back of Keiichi's shirt in one of his hands before he left, which made Keiichi's head snap around.
"Segawa-kun... Could you..." Kamui tried to force his blush down, feeling ashamed of having to ASK this, "Could you come again... tomorrow?" Keiichi blinked at Kamui for a moment, as Kamui's head bowed, his bangs dropping in front of his face, hiding his eyes.
"Sure thing!!!" Keiichi finally replied, smiling his usual genki smile. The nurse tapped her foot impatiently, and escorted Keiichi out, leaving Kamui alone with the book.
Kamui looked over at the cover, still unable to shake the feeling that he'd seen a face LIKE that somewhere before. Carefully, he reached out with one arm to pick up the book and bring it over. Kamui held it gently in both of his hands before lowering his face to the cover and drawing a deep breath. It smelled like Keiichi- he must have been carrying it around with him all day...
Kamui smiled at that thought- Keiichi really must have wanted to give him this book if he'd kept it with him all day... And Kamui really did appreciate it. When he wasn't asleep, it was SERIOUSLY boring in this room.
Opening the book to the first page, Kamui started to read, but the first line made him do a double take.
"My name is Sammy.
I'd normally refrain from telling my full name to strangers... but... why not? My full name is Samantha Ann Phastine. I mean, it's not like you're going to meet me outside the coffee shop in YOUR neighborhood, now are you?"
Kamui stared. It COULDN'T be...
********************
Triclops was in the kitchen when Ken got home from school. Normally, Ken would have stopped his father from even coming within three feet of the kitchen entry way, but when he saw his father simply pouring a glass of milk, he felt no need to panic.
"Um... father? We're home?" Ken called, toeing off his shoes as Luke did the same. Triclops didn't turn- with an eye in the back of his head, he didn't need to.
"Welcome home. Thank you for picking him up, Commander Skywalker." Triclops replied, putting the milk back in the fridge. Luke just nodded as Triclops found a jar of sleeping pills and fished one out.
He had a dream to See.
Samantha had called just a few minutes ago, complaining about the young man who had destroyed their house two days ago. Triclops couldn't care less about Fuuma, but he was greatly disturbed to hear that, according to Sammy's "sources", Fuuma wasn't supposed to attack Inogashira Park- a girl called Satsuki was supposed to do that, AFTER this "Battle City" thing had ended, and instead of Kendalina, Koichi, and Samantha there to fight, two girls by the names "Yuzuriha" and "Arashi" were supposed to be protecting the area.
Triclops hadn't needed Samantha to tell him that if he was Seeing things that said otherwise, it meant that someone was messing with the future. And Sammy wasn't the only one who was irritated that someone was screwing around with Fate.
Samantha didn't believe in Fate, but Triclops did. No matter what he did, somehow, everything always seemed to go to hell. He'd tried to stop Kendalina's death, and it had no effect. He'd tried to save the younglings in the Jedi Temple, but they'd all been killed. He'd tried to save his own son, but there was nothing to show for it.
So... in Triclops' mind, Fate was set in stone. And somebody trying to mess with it was something that couldn't go unchecked.
Triclops took his sleeping pill and swallowed it with his milk in one gulp. It wasn't going to be pleasant- He was stressed enough, as it was, and this additional dreamseeing was going to make his ulcer hurt like hell.
(A/N: Triclops seems like the kind of guy who'd have an ulcer. Am I the only one who thinks Triclops seems like the kind of guy who'd have an ulcer?)
Generally, Triclops couldn't sleep well without Kendalina there, so that's why he had the sleeping pills at all. Really, Triclops had wanted to take more than one, but he couldn't do that unless he REALLY wanted to irritate the hell out of his liver. However, when Triclops really had trouble sleeping and Kendalina wasn't around, the solution was generally to take a sleeping pill and take a nap with some article of Kendalina's clothing pulled over a pillow. Today, Triclops found the T-shirt she'd worn to bed last night, and pulled it over Kendalina's pillow before he fell asleep with the pillow in his arms.
He was never going to get over those twelve years he'd spent without her, and that's all there was to it.
The dreamscape Triclops woke up in was barren, with a floor of glass, except it rippled as Triclops stepped over it. He rose one of his hands and felt his hair, which in his real body was white and stuck up in all directions. Here in the dream, however, it was longer and hanging down, and when he picked up a strand to look at it, it was blond. That was a relief- at least here in his dreamscapes, he looked like his old self before he'd gone through shock therapy.
Triclops began to walk, trying to find some indicator of whose dreamscape he was in. Eventually, a wooden framed paper door came into view. Triclops quickened his speed towards it and found himself before a wall of paper doors. There were shadows and voices on the other side. Triclops tapped on the wood, almost knocking, but soft enough that if he wasn't supposed to be heard, they might dismiss it as some other noise. The voices stopped.
::Is someone else there?:: Asked a quiet female voice, and the door slid open. Triclops found himself staring at two others.
The first was the female who had opened the door. She was hunched over on the floor, completely white, even her skin and hair, except for her bright, purple eyes. The robes she wore reminded Triclops painfully of the traditional omnyouji robes Kendalina wore the night she died, except they seemed to consist of a dress instead of pleated pants. Triclops was also horrified to realize that the water on the floor was actually blood seeping from her wrists.
The second was a young man with platinum blond hair and cat-like golden eyes, wearing a kimono with a pattern of lilacs near the hem. Triclops was alarmed to note that he almost looked like an exact duplicate of the other man, except for coloring and scars.
"Who are you?" Asked the young man in a soft, barely accented, alto voice. Triclops folded his legs under himself and looked directly at the other man. Triclops couldn't help but notice how painfully thin the other dreamseer looked- if he hadn't known better, Triclops would have mistaken the man to be female.
"Triclops. I'm Triclops." He replied. The woman's lips parted, as though she was drawing breath, and unmistakably confused.
::Another dreamseer? But how?:: She asked, not moving her lips. Triclops, quite frankly, was not in the mood to explain everything, so he put his palm to the floor and concentrated on his own story. On the glass floor, a ripple appeared and the black glass cleared to show scene after scene from all of Triclops' past that may be relevent. Triclops saw the other man's eyes widen as the scene of Kendalina's death played out.
"Ho... kuto..." He whispered, pulling his kimono tighter around his shoulders and his eyebrows trembling. Triclops paused.
"No. That's Kendalina. My wife." He explained, wondering why he was explaining this to a complete stranger and feeling a dull ache in his chest. The golden eyes blinked before looking back at Triclops' face, a look of respect and empathy etched across them.
"She was killed... the day after I saw a vision of her death. I tried to save her... but in the end... I CAUSED her death... and there was nothing I could do." Triclops continued, really wishing that the other two would stop staring at him. The man with golden eyes looked away.
"Then why are you here? If you know about the Final Battle... then you also know... there is nothing we can do..." He asked, looking thoroughly miserable. Triclops understood how he felt, especially since this was how Triclops felt on a daily basis.
"Kendalina came back, though." Triclops whispered. The woman let out an inaudible gasp and her eyes went wide.
"We cannot alter the future, or change our Fates... But... Someone else can." Triclops pressed his hand to the floor again and a picture of Kendalina and Samantha appeared, the two of them talking and laughing together, "For some reason... this one does not appear in any of my dreams. She moves outside the realm of Fate, and somehow changes it." The other two dreamseers looked, if nothing else, rather pleased to hear this, "And... she has told me... the Final Battle... is not to take place in the realm of humans."
The white haired woman sat up and looked shocked.
::But... how could that be? The visions I saw... I was told they would not come to pass if the Dragons of Heaven were assembled...:: She protested, looking apalled that she'd been told off. Triclops frowned.
"I don't know... She told me that as long as THIS supposed battle was equally balanced that it would not be interrupted, but... the future has been interfered with. And so, now... it cannot go on." Triclops explained, feeling frustrated- he knew there was more to it than what Samantha had told him, and he didn't like the feeling that Sammy wasn't telling him the whole truth.
The woman with white hair looked away.
::I know.:: She agreed, before pointing her finger at the floor, ::It is this one...:: And the water reflected her, except this one was a woman with a distinctly evil aura about her, ::This other me... is the one at fault.:: Triclops stared down at the evil reflection of the white-haired dreamseer. The expression on her face was unpleasantly familiar, and Triclops felt a stab of pity for the woman sitting hunched over next to him. He got to his feet, only just now realizing he was back in the gray uniform of an Imperial prisoner.
"Thank you. I will tell the One Outside of Fate about this. Maybe she will help." He said, ignoring the astonished look on the woman's face and the slight smile growing on the other man's face. Triclops turned to leave, before a hand grabbed his pant leg and he turned to see the woman looking up at him.
::Why?:: She asked, ::Why would you try? Why do you wish to help?:: Her 'voice' was reaching a pleading tone, which Triclops understood perfectly well. He turned and pointed to his own reflection, which was crouched against the glass.
"I, too, have another me. A second face." Triclops murmured, as the reflection sneered, "A face..." It had white hair that stuck out in all directions, "... That I must hide from everyone." And it's face was old, twisted, wrinkled, and evil.
********************
"So, Kamui thinks that these books are about THE Samantha Ann Phastine. As in, the Sammy we know?" Tea asked, swirling her soda with her straw. Yuzuriha scratched Inuki's head, looking rather upset. Kamui had gotten out of the hospital and had told her about the book- in fact, the two younger Dragons had stayed up well into the night reading it and closely examining the pictures. Both Kamui and Yuzuriha had agreed that the Samantha in the book certainly LOOKED like the Samantha they knew if she'd been younger, but the overall attitude of the girl in the book was far more jaded, sarcastic, serious, and depressed than their friend.
"He's got his suspicions, but neither of us are really sure. The whole book is written through her perspective, but it's NOTHING like the Sapadu-chan I know..." Yuzuriha admitted, putting the book on the table. Tea picked it up and examined the cover, idly sipping her soda.
"Why do you want to talk with ME about this, though?" Tea finally asked, hopelessly dropping the novel, wincing as it's hard cover made a rather loud noise as it hit the table.
"Because it's BOTHERING me! And I don't know who else to talk to about this who might know! Kamui already knows and Arashi-san and Sorata-san don't really know Sapadu-chan and neither does Kusanagi-san. I didn't know who else to go to!" Yuzuriha looked like she was about to cry as Tea reached over with one arm and patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry... It's okay." Smiled Tea as the Seal took a deep breath. Inuki nuzzled his nose against Yuzuriha's leg in an attempt to be comforting.
"Hey, why don't you talk to Bakura? He seems to know Samantha pretty well, since they hang out every week or something like that." Tea suggested as Yuzuriha calmed down. Inuki's ears perked up at hearing the name and Tea scribbled it down on a napkin for Yuzuriha to read, along with an address.
The two girls said their goodbyes and left for their respective homes.
A/N: Okay... I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY hyper right now, and I've just finished watching the entire Gravitation series (Which was SOOOOO much fun, I highly recommend it) I'm on new medication, taking driver's ed, and school starts in two days. Thusly, forgive me if I don't update.