Chapter 15 – The Passing of Love
Daybreak
“Yuko and I were….lovers….”
Kazama stared down as Yurei slumped in her grip, still angered with him. He continued talking to her with his head held low. “It seems like….it was yesterday when we first came here. We were like anyone else four weeks ago, all alone and frightened in a game of death…..” He opened his eyes as he stared at the ground beneath him, crying sullenly. “I promised I would keep her alive in this game…..no matter the price. And that’s the whole reason I met the mistress…..”
Kazama released her grip and Yurei fell to the ground like a wet bag of cement, bending his head low. Kazama turned away and looked out of the massive hole in the wall, watching the sun fully rise. “You say that you wanted to protect her, yet you kept her mind enslaved to your will! How is that “protecting” her?!”
Yurei lifted his head and looked at Kazama as she had his back to him. “There was no way else to keep her safe….that woman, the mistress, would have killed her! She even asked me to kill her a long time ago! You can be angered with me all you want, but you will never know the burden of protecting someone is! Never!” He got up on his bended knee and bit his lower lip, causing it to bleed. He was angrily crying now, truthfully upset over Yuko’s passing. “I took the code so that I could protect her! How was I to know of its side effects? All I was doing was keeping her alive!”
“Then this is not your fault,” Kazama and Yurei turned their heads as Hina broke up their heated argument. She held a hand over her heart and frowned with sad eyes. “You were corrupted by that woman’s code, and so the guilt of death does not lie on you. Yes, you may have hurt her in the name of love, but you were only doing what you thought was right. No matter what, please be at ease. Both of you.”
Kazama frowned as she looked over at Yurei, still very unpleased with him. “But this creep really meant to hurt her back there. How come he’s….changed? It makes no sense!”
“That’s because the logic of his action were controlled by that woman.”
Yurei looked up at Kazama with wide eyes, still upset and crying. He raised a hand to wipe a tear away, speaking as he did. “The yellow color of my eyes were from the effects of the code given to me. It enabled me to create and manifest myself through other projections, but the more I used it,” He got up and stood with his hands clenched. “The more I grew lost within my own mind, forgetting about Yuko or even who she was. The code had begun to re-work my memory and thoughts, turning me into a rampaging lunatic. All I knew was that what I was doing was in the name of a holy cause. That it was right to hurt others who got in the way of that “noble” cause. I was as enslaved as she was…….”
Kazama walked over to him silently and looked into his eyes with a deep frown. She was beginning to let go of her anger towards him and began to listen more. “Then you were never responsible for your actions…..as much as it pains me to say, I guess I will have to let you live. She gave her life for yours, so you bet give it your all to live the life she saved!”
“Why should I? I’ve hurt so many people….even her…”
“Because you and I are in the same boat. We both have been hurt by that damn woman. She killed the girl you loved, and she has manipulated the lives she sent to fight me. Don’t you want to get her back for that?”
Sheshiro and Hina stood in hushed silence as they watched her talked to Yurei sympathetically. “Id….if there is any way I can be forgiven….then yes. I want to prove to Yuko that I still am the man she loved so long ago…”
“Then join up with me and the guild.”
“Eh?! Why would you want me?”
“Because my enemy’s enemy is my ally, and you have a history with the woman. You must know something about those twelve.”
“I know a little but….” He looked over at Hina with a wayward glance, “She might be of more help to you. She’s got the code too……”
Kazama turned to Hina and looked at the white haired girl with a raised eyebrow. “So you have this code shit too? Then you better join us as well, you might be useful for counter acting these assholes.”
Hina bowed her head with a stern face. “I am pleased to accept your offer, mostly because of this guy over here,” She wrapped an arm around Sheshiro’s neck and brought him closer to her with a smile, “He’s just so cool!”
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Kazama’s face twitched a bit, not understanding what just happened. With a controlled grin, she said, “W-whatever you say.” She shrugged as she looked over at Yurei once more. “And you?”
“I will join you as well…”
“Cool. Then we better head back to the safe zone be-“
“THERE YOU ARE KAZAMA!!!”
Kazama and everybody turned around to see Nabiki huffing and puffing up the stairs. Shohei followed silently behind and waved. “Hey Kazama, Sheshiro. How did things go?”
Sheshiro nervously rubbed the back of his neck and Kazama stayed silent. Nabiki stopped in front of Kazama and looked at her with big eyes. “What happened? Did you get hurt?! Where your safe?!”
Kazama put her hands on the anxious girl’s shoulders and gave her a forced smile. “Everything is just fine Nabiki, I was safe. And now we have some new guild members…no, sub leaders I suppose.”
Nabiki looked at Kazama and could tell that something was off. “Your eyes are puffy and red! You’ve been crying huh?! And him too! “ She pointed at Yurei, who silently gave her a solemn smile. Kazama frowned, knowing it was impossible to hide her sorrow from the girl. “Something did happen….someone I just met, and someone close to him….died….”
Nabiki grabbed Kazama’s hands in her own and gripped them tightly, staring up at her with a stern look. Kazama was slightly shocked that Nabiki was so upset with her. “Don’t you hide your pain from me, you hear? I’m always going to be right here whether you like it or not! Your someone I don’t wanna lose your know?!”
Kazama nodded her head to Nabiki, telling her she understood. Shohei spoke up to break the moment with a question. “What went on here? Did you find out who’s been kidnapping the PC’s?”
“Yeah, but unfortunately none of them were here. And what’s worse, they say this was a staged event to keep me busy. While I was here, they went all around Shara and kidnapped PC’s.”
Shohei thought hard to himself as he heard what she said, trying to digest the information. “But how would that make sense? If you’re here, and they have the power to send other elsewhere, why bother? It makes no sense whatsoever, not to mention a waste of time.”
“Because the mistress and the legion of twelve seldom make sense.” This time it was Yurei who spoke, trying his best to answer the question. “The mistress was overjoyed by how you defeated Midnight single handily, and so she wanted to test you once more. The thing is, Fuma, the man from earlier, is her right. He says whatever the mistress wishes him to. Meaning….”
“Meaning they lied? When why all this misleading…” Kazama was pretty confused, the actions of the woman and her followers breaking her brain. “I think she was learning more about. AT the same time, she decided to use me to see what lengths you would go to save people. It’s not entirely impossible that they did kidnap PC’s, but just not on the scale Fuma said.”
Kazama said nothing in response and squinted her eyes in contemplation of the events that had happened. “What’s wrong?” Nabiki asked, worried about Kazama. Kazama stopped and smiled at her, not wishing to make her upset. “No……nothing Nabiki. We have new plans of our own to work on now, like what we will do with our guild?”
“Well we can just take control of the smaller guilds and expand our territory.”
“Then that’s just what we will do Nabiki,” Kazama was rubbing Nabiki’s hair with a wry grin, “Let’s go back home now eh?”
“O-okay!”
Nabiki sprinted off and was followed by Sheshiro and Shohei, who were both arguing over something. Hina walked by Kazama and softly smiled. “Later we will discuss more about that woman and Yurei, hm?” Then she sprinted off after Sheshiro. Kazama looked back over at Yurei, who was picking up his old mask. “You coming?” She asked him. He looked over at her and nodded, “In a moment….”
Kazama sighed and turned to leave. Yurei examined the city before him, holding the crows mask before him. “Wherever you are, I wish you peaceful happiness. I will live by those last words you spoke to me. You said, “I know the old Yurei I fell in love with is still somewhere in you, so please come back. Be happy again, and please stop her, not for me, but for everybody.” That is what you said, and then you said you loved me always, and I love you still as well. I will make you happy again.”
As he finished his words, he tossed the mask over the ledge. The wind carried the mask far away from him, and hopefully his past with it too. The he turned and walked away in silence.
xXx
Unknown Location
Fuma bowed low as his mistress sat and spread her legs over her large seat, dangling them over the edge. The woman still wore her mask, but now she wore a long flowing black dress in place of the armor. She smiled as she saw Fuma bow to her. “So you placed the bait for the future Fuma?”
“Yes, I did as you instructed me to do. They now believe that we have kidnapped PC’s from far and wide. In truth, our operation was much smaller.”
“Yes, but they must be slowly figuring that fact out by now. What we really did was show the girl that we are much more then she had thought before. We planted the seed and now we must wait to see if it grows.” Fuma looked at the woman in dead silence as she continued on, not daring to interrupt her. “And now with that seed, I know she is the one we need for that.”
“She will be the one granted that secret?”
The woman’s curled up into a great smile as she spoke, happy over the thought. “Yes, one day my dear Fuma, one day. But until then, she must grow and become more aware of this new world we live in. Now,” She stood upright, pointing a finger at Fuma. “Summon the twelve. It is time to make the plane move forward to the next phase.”
Fuma bowed his head to her with the manner of a gentlemen.
“Yes mistress. It is as you will.”
End Chapter 15