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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 28, 2011 23:48:45 GMT -5
The sky was bursting with red-violet twilight as Yukiko entered the cemetery. A few rays of leftover sunlight reached like hungry claws from the horizon, trying to surivive a few extra seconds before night took over. Shadows crept eerily over the abandoned gravestones. Many of the mourners had gone home today, leaving only stragglers like Yukiko behind. She never came here to visit anyone in particular, just to soak in the strangely calming presence of the dead. Here was one of the few places she ever was at peace.
However, that didn't eliminate any of the potential creepiness that usually came along with being in these sorts of places alone, at night. Most of the times the Ookami could ignore her paranoia, but other times... well that shadow certainly did look like a brain-eating zombie, now didn't it?
Calm, but still on edge, Yukiko wandered. Peaceful, but senses still heightened. Aware, yet still easily startled...
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 28, 2011 23:54:22 GMT -5
Akio was meditating over a tomb stone. The stone simply read "Growth". As he meditated, his thoughts heightening, he began to hear someone go around the graveyard. It had interrupted his meditation, but he didn't care. One of his eyes opened to see the person doing it. It was a young woman from the Ookami. Akio closed his eye and began, once more, meditation.
Growth, I've done everything Tsu're has told me. I've done everything you've told me. I've accepted darkness into my soul and purity into my heart. Good and evil are now both in control over me. I fear I'm becoming mentally ill. Please, Growth, tell me what it is I do now. He heard the wind hum a small tune through the sky. Growth...please...just tell me.
A card from Akio's pocket fell down. Akio opened an eye and stared at it. Change of heart. Akio thought for a moment, but I'm neutral, Growth. How can someone who's not on a side have a change of heart? Akio opened his other eye and sighed, standing up. I'll never understand you, Growth. He gave the tombstone a pat.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 29, 2011 0:03:32 GMT -5
Yukiko paused in mid-stride. Her large green eyes quickly roamed the forest of tombstones. For a moment she tought she saw a human-looking shape nearby; she just wrote it off as nothing and kept on her way. Then again... she really couldn't be the only person here, could she? The Ookami turned around and took a second, more careful look.
This time her vision confirmed it was an actual human being; sitting atop one of the graves, it seemed. Yukiko paused again. She wasn't really sure what to do. She should say something or just keep walking? Well, seeing as this was a cemetary whoever it was probably wanted a private moment. Yukiko turned to move quietly by... and gracefully fell flat on her face.
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 29, 2011 0:09:01 GMT -5
Akio's eyes quickly traced to the girl. It seemed like in a split second he was at her side. He offered his hand, but didn't say anything. His mannerisms, sinful and just, had fled him. Now he was free to be himself. His face didn't seem to match his eyes. A pure smile, but a tempting glance.
Growth, is she the one? Without a mental answer, Akio started to abandon hope. He thought this girl might have been a sign, someone he was supposed to follow. Perhaps it was true. Well, if that was the case, he should probably explain himself. Wearing a dark tuxedo with bright red eyes doesn't exactly scream "stranger-friendly". Still, he would let the person on the ground make the choice as to what the future would hold.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 29, 2011 0:19:54 GMT -5
Yukiko looked up at the man standing over her with confused green eyes. She blinked silently, observing his dark clothes and stunning red eyes before coming to her senses. Flushing, the Ookami gratefully took his hand and pulled herself to her feet.
"Thanks," Yukiko murmured, still embarrassed about her oh-so-fabulous fall. She took another moment to look at the man, unsure of what to say. He looked a bit... well different, but he really didn't seem like he was going to mug her or anything, so she wasn't too aprehensive.
"Seems like I'm always doing that," the Ookami laughed, trying to cover up for her blunder. "Falling, I mean."
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 29, 2011 0:29:09 GMT -5
Akio offered a smile. He stared at the ookami girl. She reminded him of someone, someone he knew quite a while ago. As the years passed he and the Ookami had become to grow far apart, now the members don't know who he is. They recognize him by the wristband he's forced to wear.
He looked up towards the moon, his eyes taking in everything the moon had to offer. He began to walk past the girl, gesturing her to follow him. His eyes continued looking around. Growth, lead me to where I'm supposed to be. He made a sudden stop, looking below at a tombstone. The tombstone was blank, only showing a picture of a skeleton with the words "RIP". The name must have corroded away. He saw a small red rose on the tombstone.
He reached down and picked up the rose. The thorns had cut him, causing a small amount of blood to trickle down his fingers, but he didn't seem to mind. His blood dripped on the tombstone, and he tossed the rose back. His smile seemed a bit less artificial now.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 29, 2011 0:36:39 GMT -5
Yukiko stood a foot or so behind the red-eyed man, watching his actions without a single sound. She'd done this before, the Ookami recalled, and had long since learned that most people didn't need reasons for what they did, and it was best not to question them.
As she watched him, a range of thoughts flickered behind her grass-colored irises. Something within her said that this person was familar to her. However, she had no idea why or how or who he even was. The more she thought about it, the more confused Yukiko felt. Her brain, of course, wasn't giving her any answers. It was typical of her mind to abandon her when she most needed it.
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 29, 2011 0:43:29 GMT -5
Akio finally spoke. "You're..." he chose his words carefully, as if it was life or death, but he knew it wasn't. Still, if he didn't speak correctly, he may ruin Growth's plan. "You're here for a reason." His eyes were still at the tombstone, red from blood. The red almost matched the color of his eyes. Slowly his eyes moved away from the tombstone and towards the girl he got to follow her.
"My previous mentor has selected you to be..." it seemed like Akio was having trouble speaking, "the one I'm supposed to protect." The tombstone began to move a little bit. Akio's foot immediately shot back, breaking the tombstone in half. A card was located inside. Akio grabbed the card. It was blank, and only had a small number on it.
He whistled a small tune that seemed to come alive in the cemetary. A tune echoed back. "I thought so," he mumbled under his breath, "quick, follow me." Akio grabbed the arm of Yukiko and began to run towards a lone tombstone.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 29, 2011 0:51:31 GMT -5
Yukiko followed, eyes wide in confusion. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, but she wasn't protesting. A small voice in the back of her head was assuring her that this man wasn't a maniac and he wasn't going to harm her. And, for some reason, Yukiko believed it. Weirder things had happened.
"What are you...?" she began to ask softly, only to have the words die in her throat. Her voice, both mental and phsyical, fell silent.
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 29, 2011 0:56:21 GMT -5
Akio immediately stopped. A helicopter could be heard in the distance. Akio put his bloody palm on the tombstone as a small passageway opened. Akio went under the passageway and dragged Yukiko with him. The tombstone fell over the entrance, blocking it. Still, the tunnel was illuminated with torches. The torches didn't seem like they'd be going out soon, either.
"I'm your guardian. As I said before, I'm sorry for us having met. It's a burden I've placed on you, that I can't lift from your shoulders." He decided he'd answer her question a bit more fully. "I am the person the government and resistance wants dead. They call me the king of nothing. My name is..." a small explosion was heard overhead. "Don't worry, they won't break through. They don't know this underground tunnel exists.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 29, 2011 1:04:37 GMT -5
"My what...?" Yukiko's eyes were enormous in the torchlight. She winced at the sound of the explosion. Okay, now this certainly topped her list of 'weird days'. She glanced at the red-eyed man uncertainly, unsure of whether or not it would be a good idea to keep asking questions.
"Why would the government want you dead?" The Ookami inquired quietly. "And what do you mean by 'guardian?'" And why does it feel like I've just stepped into a fantasy novel? Yukiko glanced nervously at the torchlit walls and dark walls. Thank God she wasn't claustrophobic.
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 29, 2011 1:07:36 GMT -5
Akio sighed, "The government wants me dead because I started a resistance movement. The resistance wants me dead because...well...I've undergone some changes and lost a few friends along the way. I'll leave it at that." His eyes went towards hers.
"When I say guardian, I mean that the government is going to start asking you about me. I'm going to make sure that they don't. If you need help with anything, remember to ask me." Akio sat down in a meditative stance. "Something is troubling you, and I don't think it has to do with our conversation. What is it?"
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Post by Kaito Nakamura on May 29, 2011 1:18:20 GMT -5
Yukiko sighed and sat down as well. Of course, what was bothering her could be the fact that she was in an underground passageway with who seemed to be a complete stranger with helicopters flying overhead, but that didn't really seem to be what he was asking about.
"You just seem really, really familar and I can't figure out why." The Ookami tilted her head to one side, allowing her long russet hair to cascade over her shoulder and sweep the dirt-covered ground. "But at the same time you're a stranger. Which doesn't exactly make sense if I've met you. It's a contradiction."
Maybe that wasn't exactly what was bothering her (actually even Yukiko didn't know what that was), but it was something on her mind at the moment.
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Post by Akio Nyuhara on May 29, 2011 10:10:00 GMT -5
"I used to be a child amongst the monks named Akio Nyuhara. After that I was the leader of a rebellion. Same name. I've had to change a little bit sense those days, though. Hold on." Akio reached in his pocket and pulled out purple contacts. He put them in his eyes. "I used to wear these." He looked a lot like the first, younger Akio. "Does this look familiar?"
The strange thing was, after his metamorphosis, he didn't remember much of his past. He remembered how he looked, yes, but he didn't quite remember the faces of the people he's met before. All he really remembered is to do what Growth instructed, as Growth was the key to Akio turning this fight.
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Post by Yukiko Oshiro on May 31, 2011 23:04:39 GMT -5
"Oh!" Yukiko's eyes lit up with sudden enlightenment. She put one hand thoughtfully to her mouth as she spoke. "Akio, right. You fixed my wrist at the hospital." And then creamed me in a duel, the Ookami added silently.
Funny, how a single change in appearance could confuse her so badly. But then again, the eye-color wasn't the only thing that seemed different about Akio. He was different from the calm pacifist she'd met so long ago, though she wasn't sure how. Although it wasn't an obvious transition, Yukiko still felt the difference like a weight in the bottom of her heart.
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