Just another Saturday. Nothing too unusual going on, nothing to complain about. The sun was shining, the traffic was pretty light for Tokyo. There was only one thing that had made this day different from anything else: the girls were going to have another get together. Just like they did with Daisuke, they were going to get to know Hiru, Andrew, and Josh. The only place that everybody could agree on was the arcade (Josh's idea).
Yuri had looked a little dressed up for the occasion, and she did it on purpose. A mini skirt, and a white top, making her look like a possible schoolgirl. She was thinking of tying up her hair in ponytails or pigtails, but that would be too obvious to everyone else. She had simply worn nothing too revealing, but not covering up too much skin.
Unfortunately, Yuki had seen this opportunity to win Daisuke as well. Although, she did it a much different approach. Wearing practically the same thing as Kitsune did on their date, she wore a plum sweater-like shirt, a slightly frilly normal sized skirt, and high combat boots. She kept her hair down, and made sure she looked plain in a dressed up manner.
The battle had begun, the two had known about it. They had agreed, unspoken yet still agreed, that anything and everything was fair. The two were going to duke it out for Daisuke's heart. It wasn't going to be easy, but they had to do it. They needed to know who Daisuke was going to choose once and for all, even if it meant this small fight with each other.
As they both arrived at the arcade, they had looked at each other in a skeptic look. They both examined each other's outfits, and they entered without saying a word. The spark between the two was more than obvious. When they had seen their friends, and their friends had seen them, the conversation had faded away. Something was wrong. It was prominent. The two looked like they were going to snap at each other any second. There was the infamous awkward silence for a couple of seconds, until Momo had broken the silence.
"So, who wants a sandwich!?"
And poor Josh had been the first chosen as she placed his head on her lap and started to shove more food down her throat.
"If she's not shoving food down her own throat, she shoves down someone else's." Raine said in disbelief.
Yuri had looked around, noticed something was wrong with the picture of the arcade.
"Where's Daisuke?" she asked.
"He'll be back. Momo got mustard on his shirt. He only lives a couple of blocks away from here." Kori said. "Well, aren't you all dressed up for the occasion."
"Wha…? What are you talking about?" Yuri asked, feigning innocence.
"Aw, c'mon! You're dressed like a freakin' schoolgirl! Are you finally offering Daisuke some–"
"Will you shut up!"
"Hey, guys." Daisuke voice had rang out from the entrance of the arcade. "Couldn't really find a shirt I liked. I just had to go with this."
A simple, plain white T-shirt. That was it. But the more you looked at it, you could noticed the outline of Daisuke's six pack.
"Staring a little too much, are we ladies?" Kori said with a grin to Yuri and Yuki.
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Yuki said.
"It's a boring shirt. What's there to look at?" Yuri said.
The two of them spoke out in a loud and quick tone, one that suggested that they were caught red handed.
"What are you three talking about?" Daisuke asked.
"NOTHING!" All three of them said, not realizing he was standing right there.
"So, when are we going to play some games?" Josh asked excitedly. "I've got some money to blow."
"Go ahead. Don't wait for us." Daisuke said.
"Ooh, ohh! What game are you playing first!?" Momo demanded.
"I don't know. Are you a gamer too?"
"Am I a gamer? Are you kidding? You're looking at third place champion of Kyoto's video game convention competition."
"Really? That was you? Nice job. But I'm afraid you're looking at first."
"You!? You only one because my controller busted during the game."
"Well, maybe if you didn't throw your controller onto the ground every couple of minutes, it would have worked."
"That's it! Bring it. Any game, any time."
As the two had stormed off, Raine cocked a brow. "Cute couple."
"Hey, Hiru?" Deíji asked.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that if we work together, we can get enough tickets for that?"
It was a small teddy bear, no more than two hundred tokens. Hiru had nervously looked at Deíji. He had never really been alone with a girl before, and to do this would be something unusual.
"Sure." Was all he said, and she wrapped her arm around his as the two walked off. Before they went, Hiru nervously looked at Daisuke, making sure this was okay. Daisuke smiled and waved him off.
"Nervous little boy." Kori said as she latched onto Andrew with the same seductive ways she did at school. "You're not a nervous inexperienced little boy, are you Andrew?"
"Wha…?"
Without even getting an answer she took him, and the two went off to "get to know each other".
"Poor kid." Raine said.
"Aw, you look all alone Raine." Ryuku said. "Let's go!" he started to push her from the back.
"Where the hell are you taking me?"
"We're playing a couple of games. You're going to have some fun! You're far too stiff, and you don't want to wrinkle too much at this age, do you?"
"Wrinkle?"
"Let's go! You're going to learn how to have fun!"
"But…wait!"
With everybody gone, that had just left Daisuke, Yuri and Yuki. Being Daisuke he hadn't even noticed this yet, but the two had glared at each other in heated battle. To win Daisuke's heart, it was going to take, skill, timing, and patience.
"Hey, look! They're selling churros!"
Lots, and lots of patience with his density.
The two had followed Daisuke as he had gotten food and sat down. Each one of them got on one side, and sandwiched him in.
"So…" Yuri started. "How're you doing today?"
"Alright. Momo's little incident was kinda frustrating, but then again, she's Momo, so I can't get too mad at her."
"You've got some stuff on your cheek." Yuki said, pointing to his cheek. Daisuke continuously attempted to wipe the cinnamon off, but failed. "Here, let me do it." Yuki said as she licked her finger, and wiped it off, giving Yuri a devious grin.
"So," Yuri said as she gently wrapped her arm around Daisuke's free arm. "What do you want to do?"
"Well…" he said as he took his last bite of his churro. "We could go play some games."
"What do you have in mind?" Yuki asked as the three started to stand up.
Daisuke looked around. So many games, so many choices. He should have been able to spot a game he liked… wait a sec…
"There!" he pointed. "Street Fighter III!"
"Street…fighter?" the two asked in unison and shock. It was such an old game. It came around the time that they were born, and he wants to play it?
"So, which one of you want to play me first?" he asked.
The two looked at each other in fierce competition, and both raised their hand, and said: "I do!"
"Well, then, you both can play each other." He said with a smile.
The two didn't want to look like they wanted only to play with Daisuke (that would have looked stupid), so they didn't refuse. Then, as if they were both connected with the same brain, they had taken this as a chance to prove to Daisuke which one was the better out of the two.
The two looked through the character list carefully, looking for somebody strong, but not cheap. Somebody they could relate to a little. When Yuri had chosen Chun-Li, and Yuki chose Sonja, Daisuke smiled.
"I used to watch the show. It's kinda funny; the two girls used to fight over Ryu all the time. You know…" Daisuke had gone through his talk about Street Fighter and its history while the girls fought each other. Any conversation, they had kept quiet enough for Daisuke not to hear.
"You can't beat me in this, Yuri. I've been playing games like this for years."
"Oh yeah? Well, when you're playing against Momo for mere months, you can take on anybody. I've been going at it with her for years. You still want to challenge?"
Through some knowledge of the characters, and a lot of button smashing, the two had each won one round, and the third had been the last one.
"How about this…" Yuri said. "Whoever wins this, gets Daisuke?"
"Over a video game? What kind of pansy are you?"
But before they could even discus the rest of their problems, there had been a horrible aura. The very power had sent small headaches through the three's head. When it was over, everyone looked at each other.
"You alright?" Yuri asked Yuki.
"I think I'll live." Yuki replied.
"What do you think that was?" Daisuke asked as he looked around.
"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was strong."
"Do you think we should look for it?" Yuki asked.
"Don't ask me why, but I think that it, whatever 'it' is, will be back again soon."
Yukin leaned against the wall as he sat, holding his gash in his stomach. He looked up as Kagori had started to make way towards his slowly. Yukin tried to stand, but the pain was unbearable. But he couldn't just die there. Not in such a wimpy position. But it was nearly impossible to stand at the moment.
Fighting Kagori was a mistake, he was just realizing. He had heard that Kagori had grown stronger, and he needed to see how much stronger. Yukin himself had learned how to grow strong, and thought that he would be able to take on the old Kagori. But Kagori's power had multiplied by dozens of times. And he was powerful to begin with. What was Yukin going to do in his position now?
"So," Kagori asked, three yards away from Yukin. "You came to me, and tried to kill me. Am I not suppose to kill you? You've committed treason. I should have your head for this."
Yukin didn't know how to respond. Everything that Kagori was saying was true. Would could he say to make things end up his way. But before he could even spit out a syllable, Kagori resumed.
"But alas…you've shown much courage. Knowing that I've grown far stronger, and still coming to fight me."
"What are you going to do? Make my death quick and painless."
"No. I'm letting you live."
"What?"
"It seems that the people that you worked with were filled with too much emotion. We need some people for you that are almost as cold-hearted as you. Their emotions got in the way of their thinking, and that's what killed them."
"Kitsune is still alive."
"Not by the next sunrise. I guarantee that to you."
Yukin understood what he had meant. Kitsune was going to try and fight Daisuke. That crazy girl was going to try and step up to the famous Daisuke all by herself. It was pure suicide. But ever since Doichi had passed away, she had been acting different. The three used to talk to each other every Friday. Maybe it was about Daisuke, maybe it wasn't. This week, she barely talked at all to him. Usually, she couldn't get her to shut up, especially when she was angry, or sad, or in that "time-of-the-month".
"What do you want with me?" Yukin asked, escaping his thoughts.
"Well, Yukin, since you know my power, and are brave enough tot try and match it, I believe that you are almost the most trustworthy person that I have in my group."
"Is that a compliment or are you flattering me?"
"It's simply a statement."
"What do you want from me?" Yukin demanded once again.
"Simple. I just want an answer from you."
"An answer."
"Yes. An honest answer. I want you to think seriously before you answer me. So, answer carefully."
"I can do that."
"Why do you want to fight along side with me, and fight against Daisuke."
"I attacked you. What makes you think that I wish to join?"
"Well, there's two leading reason I believe that you would ever do this sort of thing." Kagori said, pacing in front of Yukin, their eyes never leaving each other's. "One, you aren't the type of person who would attack the weaker one. Two, I know you don't trust the book. You can feel like there's something wrong with it, and by fighting me, you were hoping to find out what."
"How did you…"
"Trust me, Yukin. I know a lot more that goes around then most people expect. The things I am least conscious about are the things that happen in front of me."
Kagori had looked at Yukin even harder, as if trying to get inside of Yukin's thoughts. He stopped pacing the room, and stood there in front of Yukin. His sword disappeared, and he held his hand in front of Yukin. Yukin stared at it for a while. What was he doing? Was he offering his hand to help him up? Things didn't seem right for some reason. But, despite his feelings, Yukin had taken Kagori's hand. When he did, all his cuts and scraps had the pain flee from his body, and his cuts started to stitch themselves. When Yukin stood, he could feel no pain whatsoever.
"What did you do?" Yukin asked when their hands separated. Kagori's smile had been scary, almost like a horror film.
"I've been able to learn many forms of Demon Hunting techniques. The healing forms are far too forgotten. Hardly anybody ever uses them anymore."
"You…healed me?"
"I need to. If I'm going to you to work with me, I'm going to have to win your trust. But at the same time, you must win mine over time, Yukin."
"So…this job. What do you have in mind?"
"I need somebody to gain more Demon Hunters for us."
"What for? You have the eleven of us."
"Well," Kagori started. "The President in is in America. He's getting more people for the war."
"War?"
"Have you ever seen those movies with the big battles. Two opposing sides, fighting for their reasons. Thousands of people, lined up, ready for battle."
"Yes, of course. I watched those as a child."
"Well, that's going to be a reality."
"When?"
"I don't know. It depends on who strikes first. Just like Pearly Harbor, one attack, and the war ignites."
"So, we're simply waiting to be attacked before we do anything?"
"Or we wait for the moment for us to strike."
"And in the mean time, we simply collected soldiers."
"Exactly."
"It sounds a lot like the Cold War to me."
"Yes, but, my friend, this is going to be anything but cold. This will possibly be the bloodiest, most heated battle in the entire time of human history."
"So, you and Yuki are fighting over Daisuke?" Kori asked.
"Well, I wouldn't call it fighting, but we're not just sharing him either."
"Wow. I can't believe that you guys would actually fight over him." Raine said with a slight nod of realization.
The three were in Kori's dorm room, which was located three doors down from Yuki's. Kori and Raine had dragged her in there. They had noticed the fighting that was going on with the two, and wanted to know who was winning.
"Well, I wouldn't quite call it fighting." Yuki repeated softly.
"Are you kidding me? Any time two girls like a guy, no matter how silent the acts of violence are, there are still battles between the two. You may not see it now, but you
guys are at each other's throats."
"Don't be ridiculous." Yuri said as she shooed them with her hand. "Yuki and I are good friends. Why would we fight over something like a boy? We already had our feuds in the past."
"Are you sure they're completely over, though?" Kori asked. "I mean, if it was me somewhere in that fight, I wouldn't give up until I had that man."
"Since when is Daisuke a man?" Raine asked.
"You know what I mean."
"Guys, I appreciate your help, but I really don't see anything going on between me and Yuki."
"And that's exactly the naiveté that's going to get you to lose him. What do you think she's doing while you sit here and just talk?"
It just so happened that Deíji and Momo had invaded Yuki's personal life with the same questions.
"There's nothing going on between me and Yuri." Yuki said dryly as she straightened up some books that were scattered on her desk.
"Then how come you guys were fighting earlier today? Don't deny it, I saw you guys fighting for Daisuke." Deíji said. Yuki moved to making her bed.
"Do you have any sweets in here?" Momo asked, both Yuki and Deíji ignoring her.
"Then how come you and Yuri were giving each other dirty looks through out the whole trip at the arcade?"
"Did you have you own date to worry about."
"Don't change the subject."
"I can't find any sweets." Momo whined as she went through cabinet after cabinet, looking for something yummy to eat.
"I'm not changing the subject." Yuki replied to Deíji. "I simply don't want to answer the question. Besides, I never invited you in. So, if you can please leave, that would be great." She said as she pushed the two out. But before she slammed the door, Deíji threw out a couple of words.
"You know you love him!"
Slam! What would she know? Deíji didn't know a thing about Yuki. But then again, she never hung out with her, so it wasn't necessarily Deíji's fault. Yuki was somebody who had shoved most people out of her life, kept her self cold, and didn't open up to people easily. What did it matter? She's lived that long most of her life, and she's turned out okay.
Yuri had managed to escape Kori's room without having to answer any embarrassing questions. As she walked down the hall, she had seen Yuki's room. She was about to knock on the door, but then suddenly decided against it. Deep down, she knew that the battle was true. That it was raging, and even if they hung out together, something might be said to tick the both of them off. That wouldn't be good for anybody, so she started to leave. But as she did, the huge aura had come again, and Yuri held her head in pain until the aura was gone. Yuki's door flew open, and she saw Yuri.
"Did you feel that?" Yuki asked, zipping up a sweatshirt.
"Yeah. Where do you think it's going?"
"I don't know. What I really want to know is who it is, not its location."
"You don't think it's Kitsune, do you?"
"Possibly. I think that there's a large chance that it's her."
"What should we do? Go after her ourselves?"
"No way." They heard a voice behind them, and when they turned around, they saw Ryuku. "We should get Daisuke and hunt Kitsune down. Although, I think we should let Daisuke fight this one by himself."
"Are you serious? Do you remember what happened last time he fought?" Yuri demanded. "Our lives were put on the line. I don't want to risk my life just to watch a battle. It's just stupid."
"But Daisuke seriously needs to fight this on eon his own, you guys. I know that you've been training, and you really want to help, but Kitsune swore to kill Daisuke. Not us. We have nothing to do with his fight."
"Thanks Ryuku." They heard Daisuke's voice just a little down the hall.
"How long have you been standing there?" Ryuku asked.
"Eh, a couple of seconds." Daisuke turned his attention towards Yuri and Yuki. "But Ryuku's right. I need to fight Kitsune myself."
"But we don't even know what she power she has besides that one illusion attack."
"And that's one thing we need to keep in mind. She's a fox. She's good with illusions. If we can see past those, then we'll be fine."
"What's this we stuff. I thought we were going to sit back and watch."
"It's not like I can't have audience help."
"Well, how are we even suppose to watch if we can't even find her?"
"She's waiting." Was all he said.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Yuri said.
"At the front of the building. She's waiting."
After a chase into downtown Tokyo, Kitsune had finally agreed to stop. She turned and looked at the panting faces of her enemies. Daisuke looked around, and saw innocent people, and lots of people traffic. What was she thinking. She couldn't have thought of attacking innocent people to let Daisuke's guard down did she.
"See this place?" she asked as she pointed a little café to their right. Daisuke knew this spot, it was a were most of the teenagers he knew hung out during winter to get nice warm cups of hot green tea. Sometimes, when they had enough money, they'd get hot chocolate.
"What about it?" Daisuke asked.
"Me and Doichi hung out here all the time. It was our one place where we came to share each others thoughts, we stared out into sunsets for everyday during our free time. This was our spot."
"Why'd you bring us here, then?"
"Because, Daisuke… if I am to die, I'd like to die in front of our spot."
That form of speech. It came out before the end of fighting Doichi. Calm, passive, like they were themselves for a split second. Then again, Kitsune had never really changed. She had been nice, and she had been friendly. She had never wanted to fight Daisuke, he knew that deep down, and so did she. But as Doichi's friend, what other choice would there be but to seek revenge?
Kitsune had taken out a book, similar to what Doichi had. Except that this one had a fox on the cover. She opened the book, and chanted the same thing that Doichi had. The whole world had started to fade away. Everything was engulfed in a very thin colored, but thick volumed, dazing fog. The four couldn't see past each other.
"Is she still here?" Yuri asked.
"I don't know." Daisuke replied.
"I don't sense her or anything." Ryuku replied.
"We can't sense anything." Yuki pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Yuri asked.
"Look at us. I'm standing no more than three feet away from you, and I can't sense a speck of your aura."
"You're right. I can't sense anybody's." Ryuku said, trying with all his might to feel something.
"Something's wrong." Daisuke said, looking around. "She's an illusionist, and she's trying to throw us off with fog. You'd think she'd try to pull something a little fancier."
"Perhaps…" Yuri started. "She's one of us in disguise."
Everybody suddenly looked at each other, looking for some sort of flaw in their expressions, their speech, seeing if anybody was Kitsune.
"You mean, she could be any one of us, just waiting for us to slip, and let out guard down."
"Exactly."
"But the question is, which one of us is it?"
"We may never know." Ryuku said. "Kitsune's been around us, and has the title of being the most observant person in the world. She can imitate any one of us."
"What ever you do, we have to be careful." Daisuke warned.
As if on cue, an arrow was fired from in front of the group, piercing Ryuku in the throat. Daisuke turned around to see his friend fall unto his back.
"RYUKU!" Daisuke had squatted down next to the corpse, and when he felt for a pulse, and looked at his face, he knew it was too late.
"Where the hell did that come from?!" Yuri screamed, fear surrounding her voice. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"You better be careful children. This is my battlefield. This land is known by me, and me only. No other person knows this world like me. You wouldn't want to lose another friend would you?" they could hear Kitsune's voice, echoing all around, as if she was a god. All hearing, all knowing, but invisible.
Daisuke looked at Ryuku's body. Damn. How could he just let his friend get shot at like that. The arrow wasn't even that fast. He could have saved him if he was paying attention. Daisuke had let his guard down for a split second, and Ryuku had to pay the price. Anger had started to build up into Daisuke' s heart. His hands formed into a fist. He was going to find Kitusne, and…and… What was he going to do? Kill her? Right there on the spot, like a murderer? A person who's so driven by rage he would just end one's life like nothing.
"Tell me, Daisuke…" it was Kitsune's voice again. "How upset are you? I mean, he was a friend after all. Are you upset. Do you want to kill me? Do you want to end my life, make me pay?"
"Kitsune…" Daisuke's voice crackled, trying to hide all the anger that had resided inside him at the moment. "I don't want to fight. You've already ended a life. Please don't make me do it. Not again. I honestly didn't want to kill Doichi."
"Yes, I know. Just like I didn't wan t to do this."
Another arrow shot out, hitting Yuki in the leg. Soon after the piercing, come two more, impaling her left shoulder and her right rib. Arrow number four five and six had come piercing her throat, side of her neck, and heart. As Yuki's body fell, Daisuke saw a sword in her back.
"YUKI!" he shouted, and he slid like a baseball player, and caught her falling body. She was barely alive when he caught her.
"Yuki! C'mon, stay in there. Don't fall asleep. Stay with us. C'mon, don't go. You can't; not yet."
"Daisuke…" she hoarsely whispered, raising her hand to touch Daisuke's face. Her fingers brushed his cheek and she forced a smile, and slowly closed her eyes. Her hand fell to the ground, and her body grew heavy as her spirit left her body. He gently laid down her body, and stood up.
"Dammit, Kitsune! Why are we here!? What's you're purpose! What do you want with me!? Why are you doing this!?" he shouted, not sure where to throw his voice.
"Your anger is surfacing, Daisuke. Perhaps you should worry more about Yuri."
When Daisuke turned around to see Yuri with her eyes in a large, pained, and shocked look. When he looked at her chest, he saw a sword tip coming out from the back. She fell to her knees.
"Daisuke…" she whispered the same way Yuki had, and fell face first into the ground.
"YURI!" he knew it was pointless to run to her body. Finally, something had snapped deep down inside him. Something… savage. He was going to kill Kitsune when he saw her. He may have been able to see one, even two friends pass, but killing off three of his best friends, the only ones who understood and trusted him, that was the final straw.
An arrow was shot out towards him, but it dispersed before it even touched him. He looked in the direction where it came from. He could see through the fog a little easier. He wasn't sure if it was the rage opening his eyes a little more, or if the fog was actually lifting, but he saw a shadow. He pounced towards it, but Kitsune and leaped backwards, and leaped high into the sky, flying into more fog. Her landing was unknown.
How did Daisuke see her. Her fog should have kept herself hidden. This was strange. Not even Kagori would be able to see through here. But for some reason, he was able to see at least a silhouette. Why couldn't she hide herself, anymore. There was something different about Daisuke now. Not just mentally, but physically. Something really weird, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Something that seemed a bit magical in a sense.
Daisuke had sensed her. Finally, he could sense her. He flew towards her direction, and threw a couple of swipes with his sword. And she flipped over him. She disappeared into the fog, and when she landed, she had no clue where he was. For the first time in the battle, she had no clue where he was. He was using the fog for his advantage, something that was meant for her.
Daisuke suddenly had come out of nowhere from in front of her, and his sword had finally hit its mark. Kitsune's eyes had enlarged a little, and then settled back down. The sword had gone through stomach and out her back, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt. She looked at Daisuke in the face, whose face was struck with hurt, and his eyes filled with tears.
"Why…" he whispered.
"Now you feel my pain." She said, finally knowing that he knew what she was going through.
"No. Not that. Why' d you set yourself up to die? Why did you fake their deaths?"
"You…you knew?"
Daisuke looked at the three corpse, and they faded, just like doppelgangers. Daisuke had known this after he had struck her.
"Why? Why didn't you kill the real them, but made me kill you? Why!?" he demanded, more hurt than upset.
"I… I just wanted to be with Doichi."
The fog had started to fade, and when Daisuke looked to his left, he had seen his friends, bonded with spiritual rope, but the rope had started to fade as well as the fog.
"Have a good life, Daisuke." Kitsune said with a smile. Her book had exploded into small particles of light.
The city had started to come to view, and Daisuke and Kitsune were separated by that unknown force again, sending Kitsune into the street. When everything resumed to normal pace, there was a honk, loud and deep. When she looked to her right, a speeding car had collided with her, sending her rolling on top of the roof, and sending her on the ground. Daisuke and Ryuku groaned in disgust, Yuri had hid her face in Daisuke's chest, and Yuki closed her eyes and gasped. When the car finally stopped by crashing into a brick wall, and driver came out, holding a foot pedal and his steering wheel.
"Yo, this car is whack! My freakin' steering wheel came off? What the hell is up with that!?"
Police were called, and the whole thing was called an accident. Ironically, the car that the man was driving was a Dodge. Kitsune had died immediately, but something inside Daisuke said she had died seconds before the impact.
"So, the books really are cruel." Was all Ryuku could say to break the silence. Nobody knew what to say. This was far worse than anything that Daisuke had to put up with. It was worse than Doichi. Something told him that it was only to grow worse. Like Final Destination, but the people weren't fighting against Death… they were fighting Daisuke.