All
for the Love of You Chapter Fifteen "Misako, stop it!" "Shut up, Saikaku!!!" I didnt tear my eyes off Ashiga and her stupid dyed hair. My finger was already glowing, bursting with energy, pulsating with life Someone pushed me aground. Saikaku! "What the" "Misako, dont spoil the plan!" Koenma whispered sternly. Oh, right. The plan. That plan we cooked up back in the Reikai. I stood up, shaking the dust off me. This dimension was the one where Toosan was kidnapped. There still was the orange sky and the land that looked as if we were in the era of the dinosaurs. How could Ashiga live in this place? "Well, I see youre all in here for good measure," Ashiga said, smiling sweetly. I hated her. Why did she have to be so beautiful? Why did someone so beautiful could be so evil? As she stood on that boulder, her hands on her hips, a slim leg advanced like a professional model, her hair flying in the direction of the wind, she looked more like a superwoman who was there to save us from evil spirits. Looks can be deceiving. Very true. Very damned true. "Why does it seem as if you cant defeat me in a one-on-one?" Ashiga continued, smirking. "How many of you are here? Six? You are afraid, arent you?" "Hn. Whos afraid of a woman like you?" I heard Hiei-san comment with his hands folded across his chest. Ashigas eyes narrowed. "Youll see, Hiei, what I mean." "Ashiga, tell us where Yusuke is," Kazuma-san told her, his voice hard. "Why should I?" Ashiga told us. "If I didnt tell Yusuke that I poisoned Keiko a long time ago, things would have been very different. And Im not about to make the same mistake again." What?! Kaasan poisoned? Kaasan knew this woman? My vision of Ashiga seemed to swim right before my eyes. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Just like what Im trying to say. I tried to kill your mother. If my tongue had shut up, you wouldnt be here right now." My teeth ground together as my hands balled into fists. "Where did you put my Toosan?!" I demanded. "WHERE?!" "Even if I tell you, its worthless," Ashiga snarled. Then, an evil grin spread across her face. A grin that made my heart freeze. Something was terribly wrong. "Why?" I said in a half-whisper. Her eyes narrowed at me, but her smile didnt waver. She seemed so delighted to tell me. Tell me what? Hours seemed to pass before she told me. And as she said it, my world shattered. "I killed him." "I killed him." "I killed him." Time seemed to come to a halt. The face of my father appeared before my eyeshis happy face, the one that always made me laugh, the face of the man I looked up to ever since my birth. He was my hero to the world. Those eyes looked down on me affectionately, like I was his most treasured possession, and I knew from the bottom of my heart that I was. He always held my hand as we went with Kaasan to the City Park, to the shopping mall, to the zoo, to school, or wherever. And those same soft, warm hands assured me whenever I felt scared or hopeless. My father smiled at me. Then he turned around. Little by little, he disappeared before my eyes. And Ashiga killed him. "No." The voice wasnt mine. It came from me, but I didnt hear it. I didnt feel myself fall to the ground. I didnt feel Saikaku catch me. I felt numb. Voices entered my ears but failed to register in my mind. "We dont believe you." "Youre just scaring the hell out of Misako." "So what if I do? I was just trying to tell her the truth, not like when all of you kept quiet to her about your Reikai tantei job years ago." "Thats in the past now. We didnt have to tell her if she didnt inherit Yusukes powers." "But she did!" Silence. The Ashiga spoke up again. "Now since youre here, Ive prepared a small welcome party for you." The ground began to shake. Rumbling sounds filled the air. "Kuso," Saikaku muttered. "Guys you know what to do." It was Koenma. Someone shook me. "Misako, theyre here." Who are? I felt too numb to care. "Misako ." Toosan. The bitch killed Toosan. But why? No matter how hard I thought, nothing came into my mind. All I knew was that hes dead. I was in shock. For real. I couldnt move, couldnt hear, couldnt see, couldnt feel. "MISAKO!!!" Saikaku gathered me in his arms and jumped away as a powerful force hit the ground where I had been lying. He leapt again and again until he found a protectivequiteplace for us. No. I didnt know what was happening. Except that Toosan was dead. Dead! "Misako!!!" Sharp pain hit my cheeks, but I didnt notice. "Misako, snap out of it!" "S-Saikaku " A faint whine escaped my throat. Then I tasted my own salty tears. "H-hes dead." "Misako, dont tell me you believe that woman!" Saikaku was going hysterical. "Your father is not dead!" I clutched his arms and grasped them tightly, my nails digging on his skin. "Hes dead," I repeated. Toosan is dead. All the efforts I made to save himthose three days and nights of training, giving up my normal life just to be a tantei, just to save himwere wasted. We were too late. Too late to save himtoo late to get him out of Ashigas dimension alive. And defeating Ashiga was worthless. Hes goneand even Ashigas life couldnt repay him. What would Kaasan say? She didnt even know that we were here, in Ashigas dimension. What would I tell her when I get back? That we tried to save Toosan, but hes dead long before we came? "Listen to me, Misako!" Saikaku shook me violently by my shoulders. "Your father is not dead! Yusuke-san is not dead!!!" He scowled at me, angrily, for crying at that moment when we were in dire straits, when we should be fighting. "But but ." "MISAKO!!! Damn it, are you going to waste everything by crying here and not do something about your father? Hes alive, Misako!!!" Something snapped in my head. I blinked lots of times, and for the first time in minutes, I saw Saikakus face clearly. He seemed so enragedwith me. His usually sympathetic eyes were now icy, colder than anything I had ever seen from him. We should be fighting. My own brown eyes enflamed with rage that suddenly burned inside myself. My body grew rigid, but with wrath, and not with fear. Every ounce of energy in my body suddenly seemed to collect in one placemy fistand it was aching, aching with my desire to . To what? I myself didnt know. But as I heard that low growl, much like that of a lion, I didnt feel fear. Not one pinch of fear. With my eyes wide and flaming, I looked behind me. It was a monsterand one hell of it. It roared like a lion, but was more like a combination of a wolf and a tiger. It was a good twenty feet taller than Saikaku and I. Its white glinting fangs complimented its wolf-like mouth; its yellow body was striped in black and brown; and top it all off with two sharp horns. "One of Ashigas creatures," Saikaku told me. I was ready. Ready as ever. I stood up. Then all the fury in my being suddenly seemed to explode in one single powerful nuclear fission. "F***ing s**t!!!" I howled at the tip of my lungs as I lunged forward, my glowing fist high in the air. It also bounded for me, but I knew that in that one heck of a monsters body, a peanut-sized brain existed. I continued to dash for him. I was a meter close when I leapt upward, avoiding the claws that almost slashed my body. It didnt see me jump up. I was too fast, thanks to Shuichi-sans training. There. I was near his chest. "REI GAAAN!!!" I hollered as the ball of light on my fist heightened in brightness. I aimed straight at the creatures chest and released the fireball. I flipped backward to land beside Saikaku. As I landed on hard ground on my feet, I saw the creature fall backwards. As he made contact with the ground, the earth shook. Oh, right. I wasnt on the Ningenkai anymore. But was it over? "Damn it, he wasnt hurt one bit!" I heard Saikaku yell. Yes, it was standing up, seemingly unhurt. Its lips seemed to curve upwards when he saw our astonished look. Then he growled, another land-shaking deep-throated growl. "Misako, you know what to do!" I suddenly realized that I was fighting side by side with Saikaku. Suddenly, my head cleared. Right, we had a plan! We knew from the beginning that Ashiga has three of these creatures. And since among the six of usKoenma-san, Shuichi-san, Hiei-san, Kazuma-san, Saikaku and Ithree have ki, we were grouped into three to defeat each creature. Hiei-san and Kazuma-san were together and Koenma-san and Shuichi-san were fighting another. And here we were, Saikaku and I, fighting what was apparently the weakest of them. I threw a glance at Saikaku. I held a hand out. "Lets kill this monster!" I gnarled. Saikaku slapped my hand. "Sure we will!" Saikaku and I waited until it came very near us. I felt a drop of sweat fall down my cheek. I glanced again at Saikaku. He was concentrating very hard. His feet were digging on the soil beneath him and his fingers were wiggling over his katana that was strapped on his belt. Yep, a katana that Hiei-san gave to him. I focused on the monster again. Now! I dashed between the monsters legs and before long, I was on the other side, behind him. I watched Saikaku leap up and pull his katana. He slashed here and there, trying to put every part of his body into bits. He was getting good at it. Very good, in fact. I aimed my rei gan towards the monster. I almost released it, but as Saikaku landed beside me, the monster still didnt seem hurt. I threw my hands away. "He doesnt even seem wounded, Saikaku!" "I had slashed every inch of my way on that beast!" Saikaku protested. It was lunging forward again. "Lets do it again!" I yelled. "Right!" Saikaku bounded the creature, but it was too quick for him. A big clawed hand sliced the air, where I knew Saikaku was. I swallowed. I saw Saikaku being thrown to the ground. A boulder smashed to bits as he did. "Saikaku!!!" I shouted. Amidst the dust, I saw Saikakus limp body struggling to sit up. His mouth opened, and with a choking sound, blood spurted out of it. "Damn it!" I muttered under my breath. The beast was nearing me. As his hand went over me, I jumped out and flipped backwards. I didnt saw his other hand going towards me. I just felt the heavy hand throw me into the air, putting me off-balance until I couldnt land on the ground anymore on my feet. I was rushing towards a boulder headfirst. Gritting my teeth as I awaited the pain that would shoot through me, I crossed my arms over my head and face. I could feel my bones crunching as I collided on the rock. My arms were almost limp; I felt as if they were shattered to pieces. My breath was forced out of my lungs, and I couldnt almost inhale again with the ache that pressed on every muscle of my body. My fangs tore open the flesh inside my mouth, and I could taste the metallic tang of my own blood. "MISAKO!!!" Saikaku shouted in the background. My blood trickled out of my lips. I wiped it away with my arm angrily and turned my gaze at Ashigas beast. I held my arm outbut suddenly held them back. I couldnt move them. I was fractured on both arms. Well, at least my head wasnt hurt. Damn it. I saw that Saikaku also couldnt stand up. We were both helpless. For the first time since I threw the first blast at this monster, I felt horror. Then Saikaku stood up, holding his left side. He looked at me first. "Misako wait there," he said. "Rest for a few moments." The fierce blue eyes suddenly seemed to soften...to fill with tears. No! He wasnt crying! He was still looking at me fiercely, his hand firmly gripping the handle of his katana. Then he did it again. Suddenly, the background seemed to fade, until it was Saikaku against a blue background, the color of his eyes. He smiledwanly, as if to say goodbye. I blinked once. He was still there, looking at me fiercely. A cold wind seemed to blow, sending shivers all over me. It was a premonition. No. "SAIKAKU, NO!!!" But he had already leapt uphigh. Very high up, above the beasts head. I didnt see him as he jumped up. Then the beast opened his mouth, showing off its sharp, deadly fangs. And snapped them close. And I saw the katana fall to the ground, its pointed tip stabbing the soil. Previous Chapter | Next
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