Anime Cipher Chapter 16: The Aftermath

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? 

“Heh. Surprise!” she screamed as the large gust of wind began blowing everywhere. She tried to stay her ground, “What the hell is going on, Rayna?!” She chuckled, “Come on, Kia… you can’t be this  naive…”

“Ah!” Keito shouted in pain as Yukio’s sai pierced through his shoulder.

“Keito!” Kyoumi screamed as blood began oozing out. He tried to cover it, screaming, "Shit... Kyoumi don't look!!"

"Too late...." Ryuu said as her eyes went dark and her fear seemed to subside. "Guys, get outta the way!"

"What, why-" Karina inquired as Keito knocked her down as kunais emerged from her tessens and flew out as she swung them.

"Argh! What the hell?!" Rena gritted, too slow to dodge as it sliced her side. She gripped it in pain, "What is she doing?!"

"She can't control it!" Keito shouted as she hit a few of the Kirst and the Pipers dodged. "It happens whenever she sees a large amount of blood flowing out!"

"Well how do we stop her?!" Kei panicked as Hakufu shook Kia, "Kia! We have to help them!"

"... Ray..." She said still staring at her as she blasted winds at the Browsers. "I don't.... I don't understand...."

"KIA!" Hakufu shouted again, smacking her across the face. "If you don't snap out of it, were gonna lose a lot more friends!" She turned to Kyoumi, still rampaging around the Kirst who were trying to take her down as she was hitting them away. The other Pipers were fighting the rest of the Browsers as Keito tried to get to his sister.

"What do we do?!" Hakufu asked seriously as she thought, "Tell Mai to get as many of the Browsers out as possible. You get Keito to Kyoumi. He's the only one who can calm her down. I'll distract the others." She nodded as they quickly pulled into action.

"I don't think so Kia!" Rayna chuckled as she shot out a large dark sphere right at her.

"Shit!" She screamed as she slid on the ground to avoid it. "Appear! Shield!” A shield appeared right in front of Rayna as she sent out another blast. It deflected off the shield, returning to her and hitting her back.

“I got Yukio!” Kei said as he managed to pin him down with his energy formed into a large boulder. He stretched his other hand to trap Akira and Akako in cage as he said, “The rest of you, go!”

“But Your Highness-” Aoki tried to argue as he focused, “GO!”

“We got these three!” Hikaru hit Ronin back. Tsubasa shot out arrows as Kyoko flinched as one pierced her thigh. “urgh! You bitch! You’ll pay for that!” Ryutaro watched her back as Hakufu ordered, “The rest of you go with Mai now! Keito, with me!”

“Let’s go!” Mai said as she grouped up with the others and they managed to teleport out. Hakufu protected Keito from the Kirst while the others distracted the Pipers.

“Kyoumi! Kyoumi, snap out of it!” Keito shouted as he gripped her shoulders. She hit him away, still going a little crazy as he gritted, “Come on, Kyoumi, its me! Knock it off!”

“Argh!” she screamed, still trying to keep everyone and everything away from her.

“Keito!” Hakufu said. “Come on!”

“She’s not listening to me!” he groaned. “Kyoumi!”

“Sleep!” Kia shouted as Kyoumi soon knocked out and Keito caught her. “Hurry up and get her outta here- Argh!” She was blasted back as Hakufu shouted, “Kia!”

“You won’t be able to save everyone…” Rayna smirked. “Better decide now who’s worth saving and who isn’t.”

“AHH!” Kei screamed as he was stabbed in the stomach by Yukio’s sai.

“Nrgh!” Hikaru, Ryutaro, and Tsubasa were hit dead on by Ryuichi’s explosion.

“Shit…” Hakufu thought as she looked around.

“... Damn…” Kia gritted, crawling out of some rubble, however, her leg was crushed by a large debris. She was too exhausted to use more of the code. “Shit… Hakufu! Get everyone outta here!”

“I’m trying- shield!” A forcefield appeared around her, Keito, and Kyoumi as rubble began to fall on them.

“Take them and Run!” she shouted. “I’ll get the others out!”

“There’s too many-” she tried to say Hikaru rushed Kei over, “His Majesty is bleeding to death. We need to get him out!”

“Tsubasa, out cold too.” Ryutaro carried her over, blood dripping all over his face. “Take them. Hikaru and I will go with Kia-” Another blast went overhead as Rayna shouted, “I don’t think so.” A large blast was held over them as she said, “So Kia or Hakufu, was it? You two have a choice. Either open up the next two barriers or all your friends die-”

“All Pipers! Freeze!” they heard someone shout as Rayna and all the others became frozen.

“Wha-” Hakufu said as she soon spotted someone as he said, “Take them and teleport! I’ll get Kia!”

“Teleport! Serenity Castle!” she said as she, Kyoumi, Ryutaro, Keito, Tsubasa, Kei, and Hikaru vanished. The pipers soon began breaking out of their ice as Yuto shouted, “Debris, vanish!” The rubble covering Kia disappeared as they heard, “Kia!” Just as Rayna came rushing at them, Yuto grabbed hold of Kia and said, “Teleport, Serenity Castle!” In the nick of time, they escaped.

“Heal!” Yuto said as he went around the hospital wing where all the Browsers were. Many of them were injured, but only a few were seriously hurt. Kei, Tsubasa, Ryutaro, Keito, and Hikaru were badly injured, but thanks to Yuto and Hakufu, their injuries were slowly healing. Hakufu sat down, exhausting from using the code as Rena sighed, ".... We had such a good streak going. After infiltrating their place and succeeding multiple times, this really is a depressing change of pace."

"We got our asses kicked." Yuya stated. "Which is the worse thing that could happen. All that's changed from this battle and the last is one girl. How can someone cause so much damage..."

".... Well... We were off our game too." Hakufu stated, looking over at the sleeping Oburi. "I still can't believe she's the last Sight...."

"She's another one of your friends?" Kota asked as she nodded. "Yeah, she's like a slightly less crazy version of Kia."

"Speaking of which, where is Kia?" Rikia asked.

"After I healed her leg, she said she needed a little bit of space and walked away." Yuto answered.

"What about you?" Hakufu looked at him as he said, "What about me? I'm fine, I wasn't in the battle as long as-"

"I think she means you coming back. What changed your mind?" Aoki asked as he thought quietly and replied, "let's just say Hakufu got through to me. This isn't something I can do alone. So I need you all. Just like you need me." She smiled, "Well, would you look at that. Our team is finally complete..."

"If you consider this complete..." Keito gritted as he motioned to his injured shoulder. "Urgh... Not to mention, Kia's completely outta it. She's our strategist! The reason we've been succeeding is because of her and her friend screwed it over the second she was revealed. And now look, Kia's gone AWOL."

"I should probably talk-" Hakufu got up as Yuto stopped her, "you need to rest.... I'll check up on her."

"You don't have-"

"Don't make me change my mind." He said seriously as he left the room and Hakufu smiled, finally seeing Yuto opening up.

"... hey...." Yuto called as he saw Kia laying on the ground outside that night, staring up at the stars. He stood over her, however she didn't take her focus away. He looked up, "What are you staring at?"

"Why bother asking if you don't care?" She said with attitude. He scoffed, "Well, you do have a point there, but at least I'm making an effort this time...." He sat down next to her as he said, "Look... I'm not one to get all touchy feely... But I know what it's like... To lose a friend-"

"I didn't lose a friend, Yuto." She snapped. "This is worse than ever losing anyone. This is a betrayal, a stab right through my heart."

"Either way, you lost someone important to you. And I know how much it hurts..." He stated. "Rayna... Meant a lot to you... Didn't she?"

"...." She just stared up at the sky as he asked, "She was your best friend after all."

"... You don't understand Yuto. She STILL means a lot to me." She said seriously. "She may be a playful, cold hearted bitch now, but I can still see her in there. The girl who made me grow for the better.... And taught me the importance of friendship."

"Kia, she was a fake-"

"She might have been, but the memories we made weren't!" She exclaimed. He was quiet as an awkward silence came over them.

"I still remember our first meeting." She said, not looking away from the stars. "As usual, I was stuck in one of my mangas. At the time, I had no one but my mangas to keep me company. Rarely anything could have pulled me away from them. Yet, Rayna did."

"... What happened?" Yuto decided to allow her to spill her feelings on him.

"... She ran right past me, knocking my book right out of my hand. If she wasn't screaming for help, I might have gotten angry at her. She was being chased by one of the school bullies. This asshole always treated everyone like crap and that day he messed with me and my book. I'll be honest, I didn't beat him up to help Rayna, I did it for myself."

"... Maybe it's karma." She sighed. "I did a selfish thing when she thought I was her hero and stuck to me like glue. I was selfish and she idolized me and became my friend and changed my life. And now.... I get betrayed. I guess I do deserve-"

"No one deserve that feeling." Yuto said seriously. "I wouldn't even wish that feeling on the Pipers. It might have been selfish at first, but you done a lot for her as her friend."

"... That very night, when we first met, she followed me all the way home and even to my treehouse, my sanctuary.” a small smile formed on her face at that moment, the first she’s shown in the last few hours. “You don’t know how pissed off I got. I even threatened to kick her off the tree, but she just gave me an innocent smile and told me I’m too nice for that.”

“So what did you do?”

“I just let her do whatever she wanted. I sat there, emerged in my manga once again as she just laid on the floor, staring up at the stars.” she responded. “She was so impatient. She pulled my book down so I’d look at her as she asked me, ‘Why are you always in these books?’ And once again, I snapped at her. I told her they’re the one thing that actually makes my life interesting. And for some reason, that made her laugh.”

“She said to me, ‘That’s all fictional, Kiara! If you actually take the time to get out of that make-believe world of yours, you’ll see there’s a lot more interesting things than in your books.’ That’s still one of the most inspirational quotes I live by.” she told Yuto. “She made a deal with me. If I stay away from my books for the next few hours and let her show me what I couldn’t see in my books and I totally hate it, then she’ll leave me alone. If not, then she’ll continue to hang around me. And so, I took her up on that  bet.”

“And you lost?”

“Big time.” she scoffed. “All she did was make me lay down with her. As soon as I did, I couldn’t pull away. I never realized how clearly we could see the stars from my treehouse. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. It something not even the best artist can recreate in a book.” Yuto pondered the thought as he stared up. He soon laid down, next to her, observing it as she pointed, “Orion’s belt… that was the first constellation Rayna pointed out to me. And ever since, we’ve slowly been able to spot more of them. The big dipper, Sagittarius, Virgo, Leo, and Ursa Major. It’s the one thing that was able to happily pull me away from my fantasy world… and slowly, Rayna was able to do it too. Rayna opened the door to something entirely new to me and if not for her, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

“And seeing her against you, it must’ve killed you…”

“... I tried to think of an alternative. I’m still trying to think of an alternative that Rayna is still Rayna and the Pipers are just using her against me.” she stated. “Hypnosis was ruled out thanks to Rena, she seemed to be enjoy it too much to be blackmailed or threatened… I’m running out of ideas.”

“... Can’t you just accept it?” he asked bluntly. “She tried to kill you and your friends. Doesn’t that already destroy your trust?”

“Yes, but she is still Rayna, I want to give her the benefit of the doubt until I have no other choice.” she stated.

“That’s too risky, Kia. Because you were trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, you were holding back. You weren’t putting your all into that last battle like you did in the previous ones. You wanted to save her, but that became our downfall. The Browsers were seriously injured, we sights are exhausted. We can’t let this happen again.”

“I know-”

“I don’t think you do Kia.” he said sitting up. “What I’m saying is, when the time comes, we’re gonna have to do it. We’re gonna have to take Rayna out.” Silence came over them once again as he said, “She’s not the same girl-”

“Go.” she said.

“What?”

“Go away. I need to be alone.”

“But-”

“I said I want to be alone!” She shouted at him. He sighed but got up and headed back inside. He stopped at the door as he said seriously, "I know it's hard, Kia. But if we don't take care of this, you could lose a lot more friends. It's obvious how much friendship means to you so this isn't easy for you, but you've got to choose. Her or us?" He left as she just continued to stare at the stars, tears slowly falling from her eyes.

"So you're up..." Mai heard as she sat up from her bed, "Hey, lay down. Don't overwork yourself."

“I’m okay…” she said softly. “What happened?”

“You fainted as soon as you got us outta Krysalin. You’ve been overusing your ability.” he pointed out as she looked around to see the gloomy atmosphere within the hospital wing. They spoke quietly enough to have their conversation without anyone else listening, “Is everyone ok?”

“Everyone’s alive, but that doesn’t change the fact that we lost badly.”

“But we succeeded in saving the last Sight right?” Mai asked looking at the sleeping Oburi next to her. “That was the whole point of the mission.”

“I suppose so, but its not who we thought we were going to save.” he responded. She sighed, “Now what do we do?”

“I’m not sure. Yuto went to check up on Kia…” he stated. “Prince Kei is still out cold and everyone else… the battle hit us all pretty hard….”

“Kia’s not doing any better?”

“I doubt it. She lost someone today.” he answered.

“...it’s never been this bad before…” Mai said softly. “We’ve always had trouble with the Triad, but aside from Hikaru’s ‘supposable death’, we’ve never been hit so hard before. I’ve never… imagined it would be this deadly.”

“Being a Browser?”

“Being a Guardian.” she answered. “A Browser… we were just given that title by some being we don’t even know. I wanted to be a Guardian, not a Browser. I wanted to protect the Kingdom, not battle some evil little alien things and blood-seeking psychopaths.”

“I know…” he said giving her a comforting hug. “It’s not an easy job, but if the Alvador thinks we’re cut out for it, then we are.”

“We don’t even know if we are. If the Alvador thinks we are. The only one of us the Alvador has actually spoken to is Hikaru.” she said. “If anything he should be the only Browser.” Yuya saw the fear in her eyes as he asked, “Mai… what’s this really about?”

“... We all could’ve died.” she bit her lip, holding in tears. “I don’t want to do this anymore. What if all didn’t make it out of this battle? This was too close…”

“But we didn’t die. We got out of there.”

“Yeah, but bleeding to death.” she looked around. “Sure we’re almost healed up thanks to the Sights, but they only have so much power.” Yuya nodded, “I know that, but that’s the idea of working in a team. We watch out for each other-”

“Yuya, we almost lost Prince Kei. He’s still out cold.” she said seriously. “What if… What if I lost you….”

“Is that what you were worried about?” he said as she gave him a small punch on his arm, “Of course you idiot! I get worried even when you go off into the Dark Forest with Hikaru for training! I’m always scared that it might be the last time I see you… And that battle, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get out of it-” Yuya hugged her tightly as he said, “I will never leave you Mai. And I swear, I’ll always protect you, no matter what.”

“Yu-”

“I’d risk my life to protect you…” he smiled at her. “But even when death comes, I’ll always be here with you.” He pointed at her heart as she finally let her tears fall and hugged him happily.

“What are you doing?” Ryutaro heard as he looked away from the map of their worlds combined. Rena approached him as she continued, “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Shouldn’t you be doing the same?”

“I wasn’t bleeding to death when I got here.” she pointed out, leaning against the table as he looked back at the map. “Is there a reason you’re up and about?”

“What does it look like?” he said. “I’m trying to think of a strategy against the Pipers.”

“Why?”

“Kia’s obviously in no state to do it. So someone’s gotta step up.” he answered.

“Don’t you think the other Sights should lead?” she told him as he answered, “One’s out cold, both Hakufu and Yuto don’t know anything about our enemies, so the only good they’d do is in the fight.”

“Well, you don’t know Triads or the Masterminds as well as Kia…” she pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter. I know their army. The Kirst.” he said.

“Then why haven’t you found out their weakness yet?”

“It’s not that easy. But at least I know what will distract them.” he answered as she waited. “Keito mentioned it to me. While Delta team was battling them, he noticed how they were all charging at Yuya. It turns out, that they were charging at him for his sword. It was shining , reflecting the light that Mai was holding for us. They seem to be attracted to shiny objects.”

“Hm, not a weakness, but it could help.” she answered. “But it still doesn’t explain why you aren’t resting…”

“The sooner we take of the Pipers, the sooner this will all be over.” he said.

“You’ve got to have another reason than that.” she asked. He was silent as he turned to look at her, “... I just… really need to get to the scroll…”

“I’ve been really curious…” she said. “None of you but Keito really knew what the scroll was right? So why are you so set on it if you just heard it from someone who’s never even seen it himself?”

“Actually. The scroll has been whispered around in our home. I was going to give up looking for it until I heard Keito was looking for it too.” he answered. “I think its just the girls who heard about it from us.”

“... so you were looking for it before you even joined the group? Why?” she wondered.

“It’s really none of your business.” he said observing the map again.

“Well, if it puts you off your game and throws the team off and gets me stabbed, then yes it is.” she pointed out.

“I’ve never been off my game.” he said as she scoffed, “Oh, so you didn’t get your ass kicked in the last battle?” He gave her a look as she smirked. He laughed, “Oh I see what this is about…. you’re worried about me.”

“Heh, what are you talking about?” she gave him a confused look. “I barely even know you…”

“Well, if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be insisting on me getting rest.” he teased as she glared, “The only reason why I’m insisting is for my own safety. After all, if we get teamed together, I don’t wanna risk my life to save your ass.”

“Aww, you do care.” he chuckled. “At least you wouldn’t leave me there to die.”

“I’m starting to have second thoughts…” she gritted. He just chuckled as he continued to plan something out and she said, “Who’s Hiro?” He flinched as he got defensive, “Get the hell outta my head! Don’t invade my privacy!”

“Hey, your mind wandered! I can only hear your thoughts if you let me!” she answered as he glared, “Why the hell would I want you to hear my thoughts?!”

“Well, you tell me. You’re the one who let me in!”

“Tsk. Just stay outta my head!” he stormed off as she thought, “Hm, maybe Keito know- no! Forget about that jerk. Why would I waste my time on him...” She shrugged off the thought and left.

“Hikaru…” he heard as he stood by the prince’s bedside in his chambers. Aoki leaned against the door frame as she asked, “How is he?”

“The blood stopped, but he still lost a lot. He may be out for a while.” he said softly.

“... I need to talk to you about something…” she said as he nodded. They walked out and into the hall as he asked, “What is it?”

“There’s only one way we could’ve been found out so easily.” she said. “That plan was brilliant, yet they turned it on us so fast.”

“... The mole?” he questioned as she nodded. “Someone must have warned them when we were regrouping outside of Krysalin. One of us gave us away to them and we need to take care of thhis now or we could end up in a far worse state than Prince Kei’s.”

“We can’t just jump to conclusions about this, Aoki. We’re a team.” he said

“If we were a team, we wouldn’t have been found out. Kia’s strategy was perfect getting in an out, but they specifically stationed Rayna, their boss, with the last Sight?” she asked. “They didn’t do that with Yuto, a much more powerful Sight than Oburi. Why would she set herself there with some newbie Sight compared to Yuto? She knew Kia was coming and that Kia would be thrown off seeing her as the enemy.”

“Unless she has some kind of power to hear what we were planning, only the traitor would be able to tell her about the plan or that we were coming.” she argued.

“Well, when the barrier was opened, it let out a quake. What if Rayna had been leading Kia on, making her think she was the last sight so when the quake came and it wasn’t her, Yuto, or Hakufu, Kia would think it was Rayna.” Hikaru thought. “That would mean that she knew that Kia would come to save her, therefore they prepared for any kind of plan, without being warned.”

“... well that still doesn’t explain why she chose this time to reveal herself.” she pouted, knowing he had a point. He shrugged, “Whatever reason that may be, it has nothing to do with us being betrayed-”

“Our disguise.” she said. “She might have know that we would come, but they saw our disguises so easily.” He was quiet as she lit up, “Exactly! She would have never heard that we were hiding as the Kirst! And thanks to the Sight’s abilities, they looked exactly like the real thing! There was no way they could’ve known unless someone who knew the plan told them.”

“Aoki-”

“This is crucial, Hikaru!” she shouted. “Whoever ratted us out almost got the Prince killed and got the rest of us severely injured! We can't let this happen again!"

"Then what do you suppose we do?" He sighed. "This mole is segregating us, which is exactly what the Pipers want. We can't just assume someone, and telling everyone else will only make the segregation worse. "

"Well we can't just let this traitor do anything he- uh or she wants!" She said strongly.

"And we won't. We'll figure this out...." He said confidently. "Just give it some more time-"

"We don't have time. The Pipers are a another barrier closer and they're stronger now." She stated. "We don't know when the next battle will be, for all we know the traitor could already be telling the Pipers where we are!"

"That's enough!" He shouted making her flinch. It was rare to ever see Hikaru angry, let alone yelling, especially to her. "I understand what you mean, but the others are still your teammates! You cannot be suspicious of your own team! As a Knight you're suppose to give your trust to your comrades, even if it means risking your life! That's the most important rule I live by as well as the other knights! Doubt in that trust is what gets people killed...." Aoki was silent as he sighed, "I know this is crucial.... We have never been in a battle as bad as that before, but if we are constantly suspicious of each other, we’ll never be able to beat them." Silence came between them as Hikaru said, "I didn't mean to yell, but I won't have you doubting the team until we know for sure who it is."

“... You’re right… I’m sorry for getting hot-headed.” she finally gave in. “... I’ll go check up on the others. See how they’re doing.” He nodded as he returned to Kei’s side and she walked off.

“She’s still out cold?” Rikia heard as she turned to the door. She saw Ryosuke at the door with a small tray of food. Rikia nodded as he placed the food by the bedside, “If you want some help yourself. Since Mai’s resting Yuri and I decided to make some food.”

“Thanks. And thanks for letting us use your room.” she said softly.

“Don’t mention it. The hospital wing is usually just for healing. The beds aren’t that comfy.” He took a seat next to her, looking at the sleeping Tsubasa as he said, “So… are you two close?”

“We’re okay…” she responded.

“Just okay? How long have you know each other?”

“Over a year." She responded as he then asked, "Are you okay?"

"I didn't get hurt too much...." She said. "Tsubasa... Protected me... Like always..."

"So you are good friends then."

"... I joined the group last... I've only know them for about a year before we ran into Kia." She explained. "Maybe it was the fact that we were all trying to survive and defeat the Kirst, but I still don't understand... How they could let someone like me join their group."

"Someone like you?" He wondered.

"..." She was quiet as he said, "Sorry to pry... You don't need to answer that..."

"What are you even doing here?" She said.

"Checking up on you girls-"

"We don't need you around!" She said making Tsubasa stir. Ryosuke whispered, motioning her away as they moved. He said, "Rikia, is this more about you?"

"I'm cursed alright?!" She gritted angrily. "Everyone around me gets hurt and I end up fine. When the Kirst first came…. it was my fault… It was my fault my entire village perished...my fault that my family died. And now, I almost got Tsubasa and everyone else killed…”

“I’m sure none of that was your fault-”

“Yes it was!” she screamed. “Stupid me just had to think the Kirst were cute and harmless! I brought them into my village, thinking they could be pets. And as soon as the moon rose, they devoured everyones shadow and completely destroyed my home… my family… everyone I cared about was gone… just like that. All because of me.”

“That was the Kirst’s fault. Not yours.” Ryosuke told her. “And this last battle wasn’t your fault either. The Pipers won a battle, but that doesn't mean they'll win the war."

"But Tsubasa still got hurt trying to protect me... I screwed up and got to close to Ryuichi. And Tsubasa took the blast for me. If the Sights didn't heal her...."

"But they did. That's the point of being in a team. Yes, someone might get hurt but that's their decision. As a team were always there to help." She was quiet. "Why don't you take a break-"

"I don't need rest, I should stay with Tsubasa."

"Tell you what?" He said with a smile. "I'll watch over Tsubasa while you go get some food with Yuri."

"But-"

"Could you also deliver some to Prince Kei? He'll be hungry when he wakes up." He began pushing her out the door. "Thanks." He shut the door as she sighed and headed off. He sighed in relief as he heard, "Why are you trying so hard?" He turned to see Tsubasa sitting up, staring at him as she continued, "you seem... Desperate to connect with her... Why?"

"Well, she reminds me of someone..." He said approaching her, sitting in the chair Rikia was previously in.

"Who?"

"Myself."

"That's hard to believe." she stated. “Rikia… she’s always been pessimistic. She tries to get her mind off it, by goofing off with Ryu sometimes, but whenever she’s quiet, you know she’s thinking the worst about herself.”

“Exactly. I’m the same way. I just don’t say anything out loud. I may be optimistic about others… but when it comes to me…” he sighed. “Well that’s a whole other story. I just see myself in her and it kinda gives me confidence. If I can help Rikia get through this, I know I’ll be able to help myself through it too.”

“I feel like that isn’t your only motive…”

“What other motive could I have?” he scoffed. He lifted the tray of food off the table and onto her lap. “You should eat up. You must be starving.”

“A bit. Thanks.” she answered. She began eating some of the food as she soon saw him gazing at the strawberries. She smiled, holding one out to him, “Want one?”

“Really?” he lit up, reaching for it as she pulled it back, biting into it. She mumbled, “Just kidding.”

“That was mean…” he pouted as she giggled. “Here. i’m just playing around…” She pushed the bowl towards him as she asked, “Do you like her?”

“Who?”

“Rikia.” she asked. “The way you’re always trying to get closer to her… its pretty obvious.”

“Heh.” he scoffed. “Is it really?”

“Yeah.” she said.

“And if I said you were wrong?”

“I’d say ‘yeah, right.’ and then laugh.” she told him as he chuckled. “Well, you are wrong.” She gave him a look as he said, “It’s the truth…”

“Whatever…” she sighed. A small silence overcame them as she asked, “So satisfy my curiosity.”

“What is it?” he wondered as she questioned, “Your abilities… what do you call it…”

“My gift?” he wondered as she nodded. “Yeah, what is it exactly? You like turn into like rocks?”

“Not exactly.” he scoffed. “It’s substance mimicry.” He touched the headboard of the bed and suddenly turned into wood. “See? Pretty self-explanatory.”

“So, how do you get your gift? Are you just born with it or do you get to chose it at a certain time? I mean, not everyone has a gift right?” she said as he suddenly went quiet. “What’s wrong? Was it something I said?”

“... It’s nothing…” he said softly. “Everyone in Serenity does have a Gift. Whether its something small like invisibility or something large like Explosions. We’re born with the abilities according to who we are.”

“Really?” she said intrigued.

“Yeah. Look at Yuri for example. He’s always having fun, no matter what. He could just be cleaning up the stables and he’ll be enjoying it. He can enjoy anything, there for animation seems to suit him. Don’t you always see how he’s using his abilities to have fun with his everyday life?”

“Uhm, I don’t think I know him well enough to know that…” she answered as he said. “Well, then Prince Kei. His strength, his kindness, everything he does is for the kingdom. And thus energy construct is all his energy used to keep the Kingdom and his people safe.” She thought, “I guess I see that. Then what does substance mimicry mean for you?”

“...” he was quiet as she asked, “Do you not know?”

“... honestly I’m not too sure. But the way everyone seems to see it as is an identity crisis.” he sighed. “I mean, it makes sense. I don’t have much opinions of my own. I go along with what everyone else says or wants. I copy others. I don’t do anything myself-”

“Now that’s not true.” she scoffed. “Did anyone tell you to go outta your way to help Rikia?”

“Well no…”

“Or to make us food?”

“No, but Yuri helped-”

“But it was your idea.” she pointed out. “You do do things on your own. You do have your own opinions, so don’t say you don’t. Do the other Guardians tell you that you have an identity crisis?”

“No.”

“Good, because they know who you are. You know who you are too, I’m sure its just you don’t see it yet.” He was quiet as she nudged him, “Come on. Don’t look so down. Your Gift is great. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Thanks, Tsubasa.” he gave a soft smile. “That’s really kind of you.”

“Heh, it’s the least I could do.” she answered. “Thanks… for talking to Rikia. She’s my best friend and she’s still hasn’t opened up much to me because she keeps overthinking this curse of hers. This is the first time she’s actually mentioned why she thinks she cursed. You really got through to her.”

“We’re a team. We need to be there for one another.” he responded as they continued to talk and tell them each other’s stories.

"Come on..." Hakufu anxiously heard the ringing, waiting for someone to pick up. "Come on. Answer you phone..." The voicemail voice began talking as she groaned hanging up, "Of all times to be out of reach...." She focused and said, "Search! Daiki Arioka!" A portal appeared, but faded as she groaned, "damn... I'm still low on energy..."

"Hakufu." She heard nearby at the door. He motioned her outside as she took a quick glance at Oburi, still sleeping peaceful, and headed out.

“How’s Kia?”

“I think you should talk to her.” he said.

“What? Did something happen?” she wondered as he shrugged, “I dunno. She got all bitchy all of a sudden and told me to leave her alone-” Hakufu whacked his arm as she glared, “You idiot! Don’t you know thats when she really needs someone by her side?!”

“Geez… I barely even know her. How was I suppose to know that?” he gritted, grasping his aching bicep.

“Don’t you do the same?” she answered. “I know I do. I push people away when I honestly need them near. Whether they stay or go proves whether they’re the ones worth getting hurt for or not.”

“... Goddammit… what is it with girls and reverse psychology?” he sighed. “Can’t you just be straightforward, like guys-” She stopped him, “Now isn’t the time for this. Go check up on Kia.”

“Can’t you do it?” he asked as she crossed her arms and scolded, “You offered to check up on her before. Now you’re gonna continue taking care of this until she’s back to normal, got it? You’re officially on Kia duty.”

“What?” he gave her a look. “I don’t wanna be her babysitter…”

“Well until she gets outta her rutt, someone’s gotta keep the team under control. Oburi’s still new and you just started opening up to the idea of working in a team. If you want to lead it, be my guest….”

“... Fine. I’ll keep Kia company…” he groaned, heading back as she sighed in relief. When she soon spotted Karina and Kota, whispering quietly to each other down the hall. As she approached, they didn’t seem to notice her.   

“We need to find out who it is… we could’ve lost all our Sights because of the mole.” Kota said as Hakufu gave them a look, “There’s a mole?” The two flinched as they saw her. “How long have you two know about this?!”

“Sh.” Kota glared. “We can’t let this get out. It will only make us suspect one another.”

“Maybe that’s why we failed in the first place, because we were suspicious of each other.” she pointed out. “How could keep this from us?!”

“He had to.” Karina said. Kota gave her a look as she answered, “There’s nothing we can do about it now…”

“... Urgh, fine.” he sighed. “The Alvador, spoke to a small amount of us… those that could be trusted. So far, from what I've gathered, its Me, Hikaru, and Kei. We believe one person in each group must have had contact with the Alvador.”

“And why only you guys?” Hakufu asked.

“Our thoughts exactly.” Kota stated. “Why would the Alvador reach out to only a few of the Browsers… unless there was someone here they couldn’t trust.” Hakufu scoffed, “That’s a pretty big assumption. How could you be suspicious of anyone on this team? Everyone’s been fighting together!”

“Yeah, they might be fighting together, but I guess you didn’t notice, that they still stay in their groups.” Karina pointed out. “The only time we are actually working together is if we’re on the same team with one of you Sights.” Hakufu thought and soon realize they were right. The Guardians, the Seekers, and the Detectives rarely mingled with each other.

“Well, that doesn’t mean that we should let this assumption break us apart.” she stated.

“But don’t you think it was a little too convenient that the Pipers found us out so easily?” Karina said. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions either, Hakufu, but the fact that we were found out so quickly, it comes to support that there may be a mole amongst us.”

“...Look, there’s a lot going on right now, with Kia, with you Browsers, and the fact that there might be a traitor among us, just stresses me out even more.” Hakufu said honestly. “Like you said, the Browsers are still apart, but if this spreads with everyone else, then the walls separating the groups, will be definitely grow larger. If we want to beat the Pipers, we need to start actually working together.”

“So you’re not even going to try to see who the mole is?” Kota gave her a look.

“No, because I trust this group. The Pipers just got lucky in the last battle and I will not let it happen again.” she said seriously. “So this is what you’re gonna do. You’re going to forget about the fact that there might be a traitor here, you’re gonna go to one of the other groups and start mingling with them.”

“Why?” Karina wondered as she answered, “You’re gonna start bringing the team together. Now go. I gotta make a call again.” She stormed off, dialing Daiki’s number again as Kota and Karina shared a glance.

“I guess I’ll go check on the Seekers.” Karina gave in as he nodded, “Then that leaves the Guardians to me…”

“Who is it?” Hikaru heard a knock at the Prince’s door . Rikia peeked in and said softly, “Uhm… Ryosuke and Yuri asked me to bring in some food.”

“Thanks.” he gave a sweet smile. He turned back to the sleeping Prince and said, “Are you hungry, your highness? Rikia brought some food for you.” Of course, they recieved no response. Rikia gave him a look, “Uhm… are you … talking to him?”

“It’s something he always did when we were sick or injured.” he smiled a bit. “He always said… that if someone is in a deep slumber, hearing a familiar voice can easily bring them back. It can calm someone down, and mentally heal you.”

“Really?”

“It’s worked for all of us in the past.” he nodded. “After all, hearing the voice of someone you care about is a form of affection. That sound… it must be very comforting. Like a hug for your ears in a way.”

“Heh, unless its your powerful scream right?”

“Heh, yeah. That would be more like a hug of death.” he scoffed. “Sorry, that food might go to waste… He doesn’t seem to be waking up any time soon…”

“Well, you should probably have some too.” she said placing it down next to them. “You all… worked really hard out there.”

“Why does it sound like you’re not including yourself in that?” he scoffed. “You realized you helped out just as much as the rest of us, don’t you?” She was silent as he thought. He sighed, getting up, “Can you actually do me a favor? I need to talk to Hakufu right now so keep an eye on Kei for me, okay?”

“Wait what?” she gave him a look as he rushed over to the door. He grinned, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. just sit there and maybe talk to him… Just.. Don’t leave him alone, okay?”

“Hikaru-” she called desperately, not wanting to be left with the responsibility, but he had already run off. She sighed, turning to the sleeping prince as she thought quietly, “... he’s resting… why does anyone need to watch him…” She hesitated, but soon sat down where Hikaru was once sitting. Silence filled the room as she finally decided to break it, “... So… just hearing a voice of someone you know helps?” No response. “Of course… you’re still knocked out…” Again nothing. She hesitated, “... We don’t even know if you’re stable yet do we?... I probably shouldn’t be here-” She flinched as she saw his face slowly cringe and his breathing became irregular. He began panting, shaking almost as if he was having a seizure.

“Oh, no… no, no.” she quickly stood up. She turned, “Hikar-” She froze as she suddenly felt a grasp on her wrist. She turned back to see he involuntarily grabbed onto her. His once panicked and sweating face slowly subsided, his breathing returned to normal as he slowly seemed to fall back into a peaceful slumber.

“... What the hell was that…” she stared at him. She looked back as his hand grasped around her wrist, a little part of her not wanting it to let go either.

“I made lunch.” Keito heard as Yuri entered the hospital wing with trays floating behind him. They all moved around to the other as Hakufu sighed in relief, “Thanks, Yuri. I’m dying of hunger right now.” Everyone began digging in as he approached Keito, “She still hasn’t woken up?”

“Nope.”

“What exactly happened then?” he wondered as Keito was quiet. “It was… it didn’t seem like her.”

“It’s not her…” he sighed. “She… gets a little crazy… when she sees blood… it’s always been this way. She gets so freaked out about it, she turns into a crazy person.”

“... she was scared.”

“So scared she let her emotions take over and then lose control.” he explained. “I’ve tried… I’ve tried to get her used to seeing blood, but it got so outta hand that I have to prevent her from seeing it. It’s been working out fine lately…”

“Until that last battle…” Yuri said as he nodded. “... She’s your adopted sister right? Where was she before you took her in?”

“It’s really not your business.” he said.

“... I was just wondering-”

“Ah!” Kyoumi suddenly shot up as they both turned to her.

“Kyoumi… it’s okay.” Keito said comfortingly. “I’m here.” She panted, still in shock as she stuttered, “K-Keito.. I.. I saw… I…”

“I know. All the blood’s gone. You don’t need to worry anymore-”

“No… not that…” she shook her head. “I saw him… ah, her, I don’t know….”

“What are you saying?” he said confused as Yuri held out a glass of water for her. “Here, you should get hydrated. Calm down first and then tell us what you saw.” She nodded, drinking the water as she sigh took in a few breaths to relax.

“What did you see?” Keito asked concerned as she said confidently, “I saw.. and spoke to the Alvador.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello everyone~!

I'm so sorry for the wait! I realized I haven't posted in almost a year! I have a goal set for this year. Even though I will be busy with school, I will attempt to make at least one post every other month, minimum. I really plan to get back in the habit of writing so please continue to read and support my fics. 

Please comment ^_^ 
There might only be a few more chapters left ;) 

-Nikki (Mika, Kaori, Kiara, YuuNi, etc)