[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

"Well, if you stay here, I'm not going either."

The young man named Sorata Arisugawa was clearly sulking. He was facing the girl we had seen the first time we had met Kamui. The strange girl in school uniform. Arashi Kishu. The girl he loved. One of the seven Seals. One of the Dragons. She sighed, and shrugged.

"Do as you wish. I don't care."

He was being silly. He was playing bad sulking boy to hide the depth of his committment. And she was hiding herself behind a wall of her own. Sure of her Fate. Sure to die. And refusing to attach herself to someone and cause that person pain. And I couldn't help understanding her. Understanding her wish to protect him. Also knowing he would not let her. She would fail.

The princess Hinoto smiled, and her soft voice filled my mind.

"It will be wiser for you to stay Sorata-dono. Our enemies know you. And your strength will be useful to defend this place."

Not only this place. First and foremost, Kamui. Kamui who was not happy about staying behind. Kamui who wanted to act, desperately needed to act. To fight. To forget. And to forgive himself. Subaru's hand gently squeezed Kamui's left shoulder, and the youth closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Ashura shook her head, asking :

"So, are we gonna spend the day talking here ? I thought we had no time..."

Kujaku chuckled hearing this, and I imitated him. The shadow of a smile appeared on the princess's lips.

"You are right indeed Ashura-ou..."

Her expression became grim.

"But, please, remember. No matter what happens, do not use your power. Do not draw your sword..."

Ashura shrugged.

"Hey ! I know..."

She pressed herself against Yasha who held her protectively close. Her voice became a whisper.

"I know..."

Suddenly, running steps broke the heavy atmosphere, and a youthful voice said :

"Sorry I'm late !"

I looked back, and saw...

A big, very big wolf. Running, galloping towards us. I gasped and stepped back. Kujaku's arms embraced me gently, and he chuckled.

"It's okay love, this one's a friend..."

The wolf stopped, and looked back. A young girl came through the door, running. She took a few seconds to catch her breath, then came towards us. The wolf turned back to us, and came to me, curiously sniffing my fingers. I let it, a bit apprehensive, then it licked my hand and I giggled. It tickled. The young girl said reproachfully :

"Inuki... You'll frighten everyone..."

I shook my head, smiling.

"It's okay miss, he frightened me a bit, but I think we're gonna be good friends now..."

She stared at me, apparently amazed.

"You... You can see Inuki..."

Ashura smiled.

"Sure we can see him. He's a beautiful wolf !"

The young girl whispered :

"Not a wolf, a spirit... But how can..."

Kujaku smiled gently, reassuringly :

"We are not standard people miss. I am a Seer, Ahura and Yasha are gods, and my beloved Fiona is the Keeper of the Seals of Chaos, so you see... We are friends..."

The wolf went back to her, and softly nuzzled her right hand. The light in her blue-grey eyes was...

Confusion.

Strength.

Confidence.

Committment.

Loneliness.

Uncertainty.

Need.

Need for friends. Need for love. Need to be normal, ordinary...

She smiled, stroking the wolf's head and looking at us.

"Well, I didn't know I would meet people who could see my friend..."

Suddenly, she chased the sadness and need out of her eyes and chuckled.

"I'm glad !..."

She ran to me and shook my hand.

"I'm Yuzuriha Nekoi. Very pleased to meet you."

I nodded, a bit surprised by her sudden cheerfulness.

"And I am Fiona Watson Nekoi-san..."

She smiled.

"Call me by my firstname, you are Inuki's friend, and thus mine..."

She looked at Kujaku.

"My you are gorgeous Sir..."

Kujaku chuckled, and I elbowed him.

"Stop that, silly..."

He winced, and then hugged me, whispering in my ear :

"I love you, my jealous lady..."

Yuzuriha Nekoi sighed, shrugging.

"Oh well, too bad, but I'll find someone else... Where is Saiki-san ?"

She giggled, and shook Kujaku's hand. Kujaku smiled gently.

"Well, you certainly are a very special lady Yuzuriha-san. And very beautiful too. I am sure Saiki-san will fall under your spell in no time... Whoever he may be..."

She winked, and went to Yasha and Ashura. Once all the presentations were done, she said :

"Okay, let's go..."

What ? Kujaku sighed, and I suddenly understood. She was one of them. One of the Dragons... Unexpectedly, I felt a great sadness in my heart. That they should all be so young. So vulnerable in their own way. So attached to life. It was not fair. Nothing of this was fair. The familiar anger rose up in me and I let it. It helped, it gave me a focus. It made me forget fear. It gave me strength. Yasha nodded.

"So you'll be our guide, Nekoi-san... But where to ?"

She looked at him dubiously, surprised he hadn't used her firstname, and I felt like laughing. She didn't know Yasha. Eventually, she shrugged.

"To the Sunshine 60 building."

Ashura chuckled.

"You want to show us the aquarium ?"

She giggled.

"No..."

She became serious all of a sudden.

"The Shinken is kept under it."

Well, it sure was impressive. The clouds prevented us from seeing the top of the building. I looked around. There weren't many people in the streets. Not too astonishing after the series of disasters which had struck the city. People were afraid. They simply didn't know just how much their fear was justified. Yuzuriha Nekoi looked at us.

"So, what are we waiting for ?"

I sighed.

"This is silly."

Kujaku passed an arm around my shoulders.

"Sweetheart, you do have a computer science degree, you do have field experience..."

I shook my head.

"Yes. But I am not a damn network expert. My field is databases... Not the damn networks... You are asking me to pretend I am... This story won't work..."

Yuzuriha shrugged helplessly.

"Too bad they don't have problems in that domain... They do have network performances problems... So we have no choice..."

I looked at the looming shape of the building and sighed again. I was having serious doubts about this. And I didn't understand what we were doing here. I had expected to end up in the government building... Who was keeping the Holy Sword, if not the people called the Dragons of Earth ? Was there a third party involved with the End of the World ?

I shook my head. I wouldn't find the answer by standing there. We had no choice but to go in. I took a deep breath and walked towards the entrance, trying desperately to remember what I knew about computer networks.

Empty. There was no one. I pushed the door, and it yielded.

There wasn't anybody in here. The building looked deserted. Dead. I shivered. There was something wrong in the air.

"Inuki ?..."

I looked towards Yuzuriha. The wolf's fur was raised. There was a low growl coming from him. His ears were flat on his skull. She said :

"We have enemies here..."

We walked slowly, cautiously towards the lift.

A red stain, at the turn of a corridor.

Liquid.

Crimson.

I clutched Kujaku's sleeve. He held me to him, and I whispered :

"Is that...?"

He nodded, and Yasha went quickly to investigate. When he came back, his face was grim.

"They were all dead..."

The light in his eyes was hard.

"We will not find anyone alive in here..."

Yuzuriha bit her lower lip.

"No. It may not be too late. We must hurry."

We ran to the lift.

Someone had left a key in the place reserved for it. A key which had to be the only way to make the lift go below the ground level. No employee would ever have made such a mistake. I felt fear and dread closing around my heart. I didn't want to think about what we would find down there. I had no wish to see death again.

A laboratory. Huge. I heard a small noise, and saw a big man searching through papers on the other side. Beside two corpses. Someone gasped, and I turned on the right, seeing Yuzuriha Nekoi raising a hand to her mouth. In her eyes...

Disbelief.

Sadness. Sorrow so deep.

Cold.

Hope dying.

She whispered :

"But he saw Inuki... He could see Inuki... He liked Inuki... He was kind, gentle..."

She knew that man. At that moment, he said :

"It would seem miss Satsuki was not mistaken. They have the Shinken here, whoever 'they' really are..."

There was a chuckle in the room.

"Of course..."

I whirled around, and at the same time the door of the laboratory closed.

"I am so glad to see you again, miss Fiona Watson..."

Yuuto Kigai.

No time to think. Ashura summoned a ball of flames and hurled it at the handsome Dragon of Earth, while we were running to the center of the room. The Sword, we had to find it...

"Fiona !..."

I was pushed violently to the side, and saw an arc of light piercing through the air where I had been a second earlier. Shaken, I leaned against a column behind me and saw.

Fuuma.

No... Not Fuuma, Kamui... The other... I shivered. There was nothing human in his eyes, the young man was gone. Paralyzed, I looked at him.

Destruction.

Chaos.

Death.

He was... Like Ashura... Like Ashura when she...

"Don't kill her ! We need her alive !"

I would never have thought I would be happy to hear Yuuto Kigai's voice. Fuuma's left hand shot out and grabbed me, bringing me to him.

Ice.

No feelings.

Emptiness.

Void.

No... Frantically, I searched, I prayed to find somewhere a remnant of who he had been. I whispered :

"Fuuma-san... You... This is not you..."

His other hand moved to strike, and I didn't move, I didn't try to escape. I felt tears slowly running down my cheeks. Tears for the young man I had known, tears for his sister, tears for Kamui... His hand stopped an inch from my face.

Confusion.

Memories.

Pastries and tea...

A sob shook me. Oh Goddess, there was... So deep, so well hidden in his soul, something was left... A weak spark... At this moment, someone hit him savagely and I saw Kujaku pushing him on the left, interposing himself like a shield. Yuzuriha Nekoi was facing the man she seemed to know, unmoving. Ashura was trying to prevent Yuuto Kigai from leaving the door of the laboratory, but she was having a hard time doing that. Damn, he was strong. Suddenly, I saw Fuuma drawing his sword and rushing to her, completely disregarding Kujaku. I cried :

"Ashura !"

There was a deafening clash, and I saw sparks flying in the air as Yama-to stopped the Holy Sword. Yasha. Fuuma laughed, and suddenly Yama-to... broke. Its blade... Cut... Kujaku whispered :

"Impossible... This is not..."

Yasha moved aside, but the Shinken opened a cut in his right arm. Ashura screamed :

"YASHAAAA !"

A wave of devouring flames engulfed Fuuma, and I turned my head, trying to protect myself from the heat and the light.

The column... It wasn't a column, but... Some kind of container. And inside, there was... A human being... A... I leaned my hand on the glass. A human being... Alive... My fist closed, and banged on the surface of the container.

"Stop... Don't..."

I looked back. One of the dead wasn't so dead after all...

"You must not... Wake it... That thing... It's dangerous..."

I said in a voice made hollow by anger :

"You dare call a human being a 'thing' ! You... No one has the right to do this. It is an abomination. I don't know what you have done to this person, but I'm gonna free him. Now."

I grabbed a chair nearby, and hurled it at the container. The shock opened cracks in the surface, and all of a sudden the water pressure made it blow. The liquid soaked me, and the body inside fell on me, unbalancing me.

Heartbeats. He was alive. Very gently, I wiped his face. The anger inside of me was slowly receding. Gods, experiments on living beings... It revulsed me. It made me feel sick. The only thing I could hope for, was that this person hadn't been harmed too much. He opened his eyes, and at the same time a strange vibration resounded through the air.

"The Holy Sword... It wants to return to its rightful owner..."

I looked at the strange golden eyes fixing me. The vibration resounded again. There, behind Yuzuriha Nekoi.

A sword.

Beautiful.

Shining.

Perfect.

Alive.

The Shinken.

The man facing Yuzuriha moved towards it, but she placed herself between him and the blade, whispering :

"I cannot let you..."

He shook his head.

"Move aside young miss, I have no wish to harm you."

I saw tears in her eyes.

"I cannot."

Inuki's ears were flat on his skull. He showed his teeth, and the man moved in a blur. Yuzuriha didn't move. Didn't defend herself.

Arc of light.

"Well, I guess I couldn't stay away this time..."

A tall young man was holding the point of his sword at Yuzuriha's attacker's throat. Coppery hair bound in a pony tail. I felt a smile coming to my lips, unbidden. Steve. He winked towards me, and looked at Yuzuriha, saying gently :

"It's okay pretty miss. Don't worry. Take that sword and go. I will guard your back, and I promise you I shall not kill this man."

She looked at him, and then smiled hesitantly :

"Thank you... I don't know why you're doing this, but I thank you..."

She took the Shinken, and at the same time Yuuto Kigai moved.

"Do you really think I am going to let you get away that easy ?"

Inuki jumped, throwing himself on the young man. Annoyed, Yuuto Kigai lashed out, but the wolf ducked the blow, sinking his teeth in the Dragon's left arm.

A garden.

Flowers.

Laughter.

Mother.

Father. Daddy...

I'm going to be your bride daddy...

Happiness.

Confusion.

Pain.

Loss.

Power.

Dragon waking.

I tensed, looking abruptly at the young man leaning on me. Goddess... I had no idea what had been done to him, but...

"So..."

Fuuma was also looking this way, a smile pursing his lips.

"It would seem we have the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone here..."

The young man was watching Fuuma fixedly.

A picture, dim. Confusion, so great. Almost fear. Memories... He whispered :

"Father...?"

Fuuma laughed.

"Yes... Yes of course little one..."

Fuuma held out a hand.

"Come to me..."

Damn it, no ! I shook my head.

"Please, do not listen to him. He's not your dad, he's lying..."

Golden eyes looked at me. Alien.

A beautiful golden Dragon looked at me. Regretfully.

"I am sorry. You freed me. You held me close. You are gentle and kind. But I cannot stay."

He got up and went to Fuuma.

A Dragon of Earth.

I had freed a Dragon of Earth.

I bowed my head and cried.

Kujaku gently helped me up, while Steve was smiling, saying at Fuuma :

"I am afraid you will only kill one bird here mister..."

He looked at Ashura and said respectfully :

"Will you grant me your help Honored One ?"

Ashura shrugged, smiling :

"Any time !"

Without any other word, Ashura focused herself and I saw a wall of gigantic flames separating us from our enemies. But... I knew they had done that together, but they had worked in harmony... Without words... Undertsanding each other perfectly... Yasha said :

"You are showing off..."

She smiled.

"Not at all, he is... but I like it anyway !"

Her smile disappeared as she saw the cut on Yahsa's arm, but it was shallow. Kujaku said :

"Let's go quickly, this won't stop them forever."

I leaned against a telephone pole, trying to catch my breath. Yuzuriha Nekoi turned to Steve.

"Thank you. Without you, I would have..."

He shook his head, saying very gently :

"Don't worry, I understand, I know..."

Inuki trotted to him and nuzzled his offered palm.

"You have a very beautiful and faithful friend you know..."

Ashura was busy making a fuss over Yasha's cound, and visibly the object of her attention would have given much to find himself somewhere else, muttering :

"I'm all right beloved, I promise you, don't worry..."

Kujaku softly pushed away one of my rebel locks of hair.

"What's wrong Fiona ?"

I could still see the young man's golden eyes fixing me. I whispered :

"I woke one of our enemies... I..."

I bowed my head.

"He's so different. Not evil. Not like Fuuma or Yuuto Kigai or... Sakurazukamori... I know he's not evil, I felt..."

I hugged myself. I didn't know what had been done to him.

"It's not fair..."

"Fairness has nothing to do with this lady..."

We turned around. The young man I had freed was looking at me.

"Now give us that sword back."

I took a step back. They had escaped the flames, they...

Wind.

Hurricane.

Engulfing our enemies.

"Are you okay ?"

Yuzuriha smiled happily.

"Aoki-san ! I should have known you wouldn't let us down !"

A young man in three-piece suit smiled back.

"Well they didn't want to let me go at the office..."

Suddenly, I saw surprise on his face and he asked me :

"You... You are the girl everyone in the sponsoring departement of Kadokawa is looking for !..."

He looked beyond me at the barrier of howling wind.

"Oh well, no time to discuss this now. We had better go."

He led us to a waiting car, and three young men came to us. I recognized one of them as the youth who had tried to stop us after the death of Kotori. He held out something to me, smiling :

"I believe this is yours, lady..."

The saber. I took it wordlessly. The saber Steve had given me. The saber I had hurled at Sakurazukamori. I shook my head.

"How ?..."

He smiled gently.

"Princess Hinoto asked us to find it. We are what you could call experts in investigations..."

He opened one of the doors of the limousine.

"Now, please get in, we must return to the Diet Building quickly."

We got in, and he closed the door rapidly. I sighed, feeling exhausted. The cut in my left palm hurt, not to mention my right wrist and my flank. Kujaku carefully held me close, tenderly stroking my hair and I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of him.

End of Part 9.

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