Anime Cipher Chapter 2: The Cipher

Rating: M (due to language only) 

Summary: 4 different stories all merge into one great adventure. Kiara Davis, a high school senior has no love greater than anime. But how will she react when some of her favorite anime characters are actually appearing in front of her own eyes? And not only that, but she gets pulled into their world as well! Could it be because of her own private code she created out of pure boredom? What is all this leading to? 

[ “Urgh! Oh, you'll regret that Kyoko!” the young girl growled moving her messy black hair out of her face. She glared her dark brown eyes at the women in front of her, smirking, “Come on Aoki... We both know I'll be the one leaving this fight alive--” A giant hammer then knocked her away as they heard, “Not quite.”A young man with shaggy black hair and kind brow eyes approached her. He held out a his soft hands to her, helping her up.

“Your highness! Please, leave this to me...” Aoki groaned as he smiled, “This is a job that all the guardians will do. Not you alone.”He turned as she looked to see the other guardians battling the twins, Ronin and Ryuichi. Ryuichi was attacking Yuya with his sword, but Yuya easily phased through it, punching him down while Princess Rena had focused on his mind and he began crying out in pain. The others were having a bit more difficulty. Yuri and Mai were trying to dodge Ryosuke's attacks. Ronin had managed to get ahold of Ryosuke shadow and was now controlling his actions. Ryosuke touched Ryuichi's sword, turning him all metal. He began to charge toward Yuri, who tried to protect himself with his powers, however because of Ronin's side power, power augmentation, he weakened all their powers and enhanced his teams. Yuri barely dodged the attack as Yuya called, “Mai! Catch!” He threw her his sword as she caught it and used it to block Ryosuke. She then said, “Yuri, I can hold off Ryosuke. Can you handle Ronin?”

“Leave it to me.”he said quickly running over and trying to strike him, but Ronin leaped away.

“Are you hurt badly? Can you still fight?” the prince asked Aoki as she nodded, “Just a scratch... nothing I can't handle---” She pushed him down as they dodged a cloud of mist that approached them. The mist formed together as Kyoko stood before them smiling, “Nice reflexes--” A punch came in contact with her face as Aoki smirked, “Wish I could say the same for you!”

“You bitch...” she groaned, a big black bruise on her face. “You'll pay!!!” She charged as she said, “Prince Kei, please leave her to me!”He sighed, “I'll back you up...”She nodded as she noticed how he had used his powers. They were out of Ronin's range. They could use their powers. She quickly thought of a claymore as it appeared in her hand. She then charged right for Kyoko. ]

“Come on! Yea!!!” Kia cheered as she sat in front of the television in the living room. Kyoko had managed to dodge Aoki's swing, but Kei had formed a box out of energy, trapping her in it. She jumped up excited, “Go, Kei!! YEA!!” The doorbell continuously rang as she screamed, “Go away! No one's home!”

“KIA! I hear you in there! Open the door already!” she heard Rayna yell.

“Hang on! It's almost done!”she shouted as Kei and Aoki tried to hold her in but she became mist again and escaped. Then it went back to Yuya who did a spin kick knocking down Ryuichi.“Yea! Now knock him out—No! You were suppose to dodge that—Watch your back! Yea! Nice save, Rena!!” Rena had easily gained control of Ryuichi before he could strike Yuya with his sword.

“KIA!!”

“Alright, alright! I'm coming!” She said rushing to the door and opening. She ran back to the TV with Rayna following behind. Rayna saw a battle happening as she sighed, “Anime again? Is this that Scroll Quest you were telling me about?”

“No this is another one. Aluna. This one is a fantasy genre.” she quickly said, completely focused on the TV. Aoki managed to get Kyoko to back up, weakened, but it turned out to be a trap as Kyoko hit her away. She was knocked down as Ronin got ahold of her shadow, keeping her stuck there as well as weakening her powers from teleporting away. Kia screamed, “Ah! Aoki! Hurry and get up!!” Ryuichi smirked as he then said, “This is it for you!” The others called, “Aoki!!!”Ryuichi then exploded, near Aoki as the screen filled with a bright light. But then the screen went black and the ending theme song began to play.

“NOOOOOO! NOT ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!” Kia screamed devastated, grabbing the TV. “Please don't do this to me! Don't leave it off here for another week!”

“Kia, it's just a show! Calm down!”

“It's not just a show! It's Aluna! One of the best fantasy animes ever! Did you not see the way Yuri took on Ronin, even though he didn't have his powers to use?! Or how Ryosuke is trying to break free of Ronin's control on him while trying not to injure Mai! And the way Kei took on Kyoko, even though she has the upper hand on him! This is amazing and now Aoki might get seriously injured thanks to that blast! And Hikaru, who happens to be her best friend, is probably gonna go all psycho crazy on all the Triads! Luckily for them, he's been missing for quite some time after his battle with Ryuichi last time. Ryuichi claims that he's gone, but I know he's still alive somehow... anyways, This is like the climax of the story right now!”

“....wow...” Rayna sighed. “I did not hear one word you said. But you really need to calm down. We have work to-” She stopped as she saw a bunch of papers on the table. They had strange doodles on them.

“What are these?” she wondered as Kia panicked, “Ah! They're just doodles!” She quickly grabbed them away thinking to herself,“I can't let her know I have my own secret code! She's gonna think I'm even more crazy!”Rayna smiled, “haha really? Look more like an alien code! Haha are you secretly an alien?”

“Haha, maybe that's my little secret.” she winked as she stuffed the papers in her desk drawer. “Now come on. We should get to work...”She sarcastically teased, “What?! You're actually gonna work... you are an alien! Haha where's the real... lazier, anime crazed Kia I know!”

“Haha, sadly she died after being left on another cliffhanger.” she answered sarcastically. “Are we gonna continue to make fun of me or are we actually gonna do something productive?”

“Productivity would be nice for once...” she smiled. “Let's get to work!”

~

“Thank god... I don't see how you do it Ray...” Kia sighed as the two took a break in their hang out place. They laid in Kia's tree house, staring up at where the ceiling should have been. However, it was completely opened, showing the pretty blue sky and fluffy clouds floating by. “All these assignments are making my brain malfunction...”

“Haha, well I don't have anime as a distraction like you do.” she smiled. “It takes a lot of hard work... it's not easy...”

“Yet, you make it look easy.” Kia stated. “Oh, yea. What classes are you taking next semester? I want to be in the same class with you again...”

“I'm not too sure yet.” she sighed. “But don't you think you should choose classes you want. Not what I want?” She shrugged, “Any class is fine with me. I can survive as long as I have a good friend with me.” They laid in silence as Rayna then said, “A year now huh? Since we've met each other...”

“Yea...” Kia said remembering as a smile formed on her face.“Haha when that bully Jake was picking on you. He's always gotten on my nerves and he just drew the line and I threw my soda all over him.”

“Haha, you got sent to the principal's office with him, but at least he's not that bad of a guy anymore... because he fears you.” she smiled. Kia nodded, “And I've been sticking to your side since... don't you think its strange? The various ways people meet?”

“Haha, we sure had a fun meeting.” she giggled as she sat up. “Anyways. I should probably get going. I still have things I need to get done.”Kia pouted, “What? Come on. The fun's just starting!”Rayna answered, “Sorry... too much work to finish. We'll hang out again tomorrow.”

~

“DUCK!” Kia heard on her way to class the next wednesday. She was then tackled down as she groaned, “Ow! Rayna! Not again!”

“Sorry...It--”

“Excuses again. This has been going on way too often.”she sighed getting up. “You've been acting so strange lately... like how distant you've been getting from me...”

“I'm sorry. I've just been so caught up on the school work we need to do and studying for the finals...”she apologized.

“Ray, seriously. That's not the only reason. What's with these sudden random attacks?” she wondered as Rayna answered, “It's nothing... don't worry about it--”

“You can't just tackle me to the ground and say it was nothing! Come on! What's with you?” Kia responded annoyed.

“Just... forget about it. Please? I won't let it happen again. Promise...”

“Fine...” she sighed. “Now come on, or we'll be late.” Rayna nodded as the two headed to class. But Kia knew something was going on. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Rayna's sudden weirdness was making her worry so much, she hasn't been going all fanatic about her anime and manga. And the weirder she got, the less Kia saw of her. They hadn't hung out for the past week, school was the only place she saw her... until she then stopped showing up there too.

“Hmmm....” Kia thought as she stared at Rayna's empty desk during study hall. “Where....”

“Hey, Kia. Alone again?” she heard as someone walked towards her. She sighed, “Unfortunately...”

“Wow, Rayna must be really sick. Rare to see you without her.”he answered as she nodded, “Yea. I'll probably check up on her after school... Hey. You're not in my study hall session. What are you doing here, Daiki?”

“Haha, I'm ditching Health and Fitness right now.” he smiled. “We're running laps around the whole school today and I'm way too lazy to even do one. Only good and easy place to hide is study hall.”

“Haha I see.” she smiled. “So why don't you take a seat... helps you fit into the class better...” He nodded and sat in Rayna's seat as he asked, “So, I haven't seen you since a couple semesters ago. How've you been?”

“Eh... school's a killer as always.” she groaned. “And its been pretty quiet lately since Rayna hasn't been around. How about you?”

“About the same... dying by school. Trying to stay alive by ditching a couple classes.” he smiled. “Anyways, do you know what classes you're taken next semester?”

“Not quite... Ray and I were gonna plan that for the weekend, but since she's sick...”

“Haha, I've always wondered why you two were always together.” he laughed. “You guys always chose the same classes.”

“Yea. It's more fun that way... being together.”she explained. “Anyways... I should probably be studying right now...”

“Haha, I never remember you being the studious type of girl!”he laughed as she did, “Haha I'm not, but with finals its a sacrifice I have to make.” He made a salute, “Your sacrifice is great, soldier! Good luck!”

“Haha, what's with that?!” she giggled as he offered, “Maybe studying with someone will help?” She replied, “Thanks for the offer, but I think I got it.”

“Alright. I'll just supervise.” he beamed as she rolled her eyes, “Don't you think you should head back before coach notices you've gone missing? You've only got 10 minutes.”

“Eh, It's fine. They'll figure out I ditched... why bother going back if I only get scolded?” he stated as she sighed, “Good point.”

“Now don't you have studying to do?” he chuckled at her as she answered, “Then stop distracting me!” The two laughed as the class period soon ended.

~

“Ray?” Kia called as she knocked on Rayna's front door, just down the street from her place. “Ray! It's me!”

“Oh.. Kia.” she smiled as the door opened, but she was disappointed to see Rayna's mother open the door. “Is there something you needed?”

“Hi, Mrs. Valentine.” she smiled. “Is Rayna home? I've been missing her at school and I have her homework assignments she's been missing.” She gave Kia a confused look, “Are you feeling alright, Kia? Who's Rayna?” Kia froze, trying to figure out if she was messing around with her. But Mrs. Valentine seemed so confused. “Y-You don't know who Rayna is? She's your daughter!”

“What?” she laughed at her. “Kia, I think school is getting too overwhelming for you. You should probably have a nice long rest. Mr. Valentine and I don't have any children remember?” Kia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She quickly asked, “You're not joking with me are you?”

“Why would I joke about this?” she wondered. “Now I think you should get home and rest. Stop overworking yourself...” She then closed the door as Kia called, “But...” She just stood there, still confused about the whole situation. She thought to herself, slowly walking back towards her house, “What the hell is going on? Rayna's parents don't know who she is? Where the hell is she then?!” When she reached her house, an idea struck her. She ran inside and quickly called up some of her classmates. But it seemed no one knew who Rayna was. The next day, she wasn't even on the school attendance. It was like she completely vanished, no one, but Kia, had any memory of her.

~

“You seem more lonelier than usual...” she heard as she sat alone for lunch. Daiki approached her as she sighed, “Aren't I usually by myself?”

“Yea I guess. But you've never looked this sad before.” he said sitting down next to her.

“Well how would you feel... if your best friend had completely vanished off the face of the Earth?”

“Don't you think you're over-exaggerating a little bit?” he wondered. She gave him a look, “No! No one remembers who she is but me?! That's just too freaky! Everyone thinks I'm crazy! Like I'm making up my best friend, but Rayna is real and I know it!”

“Alright... calm down.” he told her. “Don't take it out on me...”

“Sorry...” she apologized. “I'm just worried. Where'd she go? Why does no one know who she is? It's just so weird... This isn't like Rayna at all.”

“Rayna? Your friend? Wait, she went missing?! What happened?”he said worried. Kia gave him a look, “You know who she is?!”

“Well not exactly... you talked about her a lot a few semester ago. When we were in the same class remember?” he stated. “But I never met her.”

“But she attended this school! She was with me that semester with you! That's the first time I met her! Remember she was a new student?!” she quickly asked as she stood up to face him.

“There were no new students that semester... Kia, I'm getting worried now. It does sound like you're going crazy...” he told her as hes groaned, “I am not! Look all I know right now is that you're the closest person to knowing who Rayna is! No one even heard of her name! Except you and me. I have to know what's going on!”

“... Come on. I'm taking you to the nurse...” he said pulling her away as she stopped.

“Daiki, for the last time I'm not crazy!” she pleaded. “Look. Whether you help me or not, I'm gonna find Rayna and prove to everyone she's real! She's missing right now and I'm not gonna leave it like that!” She stormed off leaving Daiki behind.

“Don't worry, Ray... No matter how long it takes. I'll find you.” she thought to herself, staring up into the sky.

~

“Damn...” Kia sighed as she left school. It's been three weeks since her vow to find Rayna, but she's had no luck. She's searched all over town, and still no signs or clues as to where Rayna might be.

“Kia, hello? Anyone home?” she heard as someone waved a hand in front of her face. She came out of her daze, “Huh? What?” She looked next to her to see Daiki smiling happily as they walked, “Hey, there. How's wonderland?”

“Haha, not so wonderful.” she smiled a bit. “I've just been thinking about Ray again...”

“Look relax. Maybe she just went on vacation or something.”he stated.

“Without telling me?”

“Maybe it was a last minute thing and she didn't get a chance to?" he replied.

“And she did bother to contact me since?” Kia raised her voice. “Ray wouldn't have done that!”

“I'm just giving you different possibilities okay? They could happen.” he answered. “Anyways. We have to get this assignment done. Can we focus on this first and then we can talk about Rayna?” The new semester had started a week ago and Daiki and Kia now had some classes together.

“Fine...” she sighed. “Let's get this...” She trailed off as something caught her eyes. She stopped walking as she saw a group of people run by her, “Riki, Kyoumi, get to the town! See if there's any rebels there. Tsubasa, you and me will distract Yukio. Ryuu, watch our back.”

“Got it, Keito!” Kyoumi stated. “Let's go Riki.” Kia rubbed her eyes, thinking, “God... I'm going crazy again. Seriously more hallucinations...” Its been weeks since she started seeing anime where ever she went. But they didn't seem to vanish. They just continued on, getting ready as Yukio soon appeared, throwing kunais at them as they easy dodged.

“Ah!” Kia freaked as one came towards her. She stumbled back, almost falling as Daiki stopped her, “Wow, you alright there?” She looked at him and looked back to see that they were gone. Like they hadn't been there at all.

“Did you see...” she wondered, hoping that she wasn't crazy seeing fictional character right before her eyes.

“See what?” he wondered confused. She sighed, “I am going crazy... forget it. Let's get to my place.”

~

“Urgh...” Kia sighed as she sat in her class impatiently that Friday. She was getting tired of her crazy hallucinations. This time she saw body laying at the front of the class, blood all over as Detective Karina, from the manga series 'Missing Culprits', stood over the corpse. She was looking at the knife that was pierced right in the victim's back and observing everything in the room. Her teacher seemed to walk right through both the body and the detective so she knew that they weren't really there. She was so confused on why she's been seeing all this bizarre stuff lately. As soon as the bell rang she rushed out of the classroom, thinking, “Maybe I've been watching too much anime lately... yeah, that's why I'm going crazy. Maybe I should cut down to only 3 a day...”

“Kia... are you in a rush for something?” Daiki soon caught up to her.

“No, I just want to get home and rest... I seriously think I'm going crazy now.” she stated as he laughed, “So you finally admit it! Took you long enough...”

“Shut up!” she laughed giving him a slight push. “Anyways, I'll see you monday. Have a good weekend.”

“Same to you. See ya.” he waved as they exited the building and headed home.

~

“*sigh*... where could you be Ray?” Kia softly said out loud. She laid on the wooden floor of her treehouse staring up at the bright blue sky. The sun was gleaming brightly besides a bundle of clouds slowly drifting by. They looked so soft as they usually did every day, almost intangible. It looked practically like a painting... except in motion. She felt a slight breeze flow by, making her hair flutter across her face, making the trees rustle and leaves fall as it dances around the breeze towards the ground. Kia could hear the sound of small children, her neighbor's children, playing around their yards. It was so peaceful and sound. She felt so at peace... yet at the same time, lonely. No one by her side to enjoy the scenery and the quiet with her.

“...” Kia squinted her eyes as she continued to look up. She could see the top branches of her tree house and something caught her eyes, she saw something white in the tree. She stood up and saw something stuck between branches. She grabbed a small, white folded note and stared at it suspiciously, “What is... when did this get here?”She unfolded it as terror filled her eyes. She froze in her place, unable to believe what she was seeing. She quickly climbed down the tree house and went into her house. She swept everything off her desk placing the note on it as she pulled out papers from her drawers. She stared at her codes and then the paper she had found.

“..They are... exact.” she confirmed as she sat on her floor, worried. She grabbed the note on her desk again, staring at her made up code.... written in blood. You could see thick clots of blood, the distinct scent it gives off... I made her want to gag. But the code that was written... was unimaginable.
“Anime... is... real.” she read it once again. It was inconceivable... her code... the one she had made up completely on her own was know written right in front of her, but who had written it. And why in blood? Who's blood? And what was it doing in her treehouse? She remembered the day that Rayna had seen her code. “Could... this be from Ray?” She thought, “Ray is the only one who has seen the code... so it must be her... but she couldn't have seen all these symbols... and if she did write this, does that make this blood hers? What the hell is going on?!”