Ai No Saori, The direct sequel to Matei Mizuki, taking place 18 months later Rating Options

[LinneaKou]

...wwwoooooowww...

Too... much... stuff... to think about! Not... making sense... AUGH!!

Knowing you, this will all become incredibly clear by the end of the story, but right now I'm kinda confused about a ton of things, and it doesn't help that my attention is being pulled elsewhere.

Still, good chapter. I like how there's much sisterly love between Kerrigan and Iris, the aspect of a possible conflict between Kerrigan and Mizuki, and how Anser seems so much more mature than he looks. The "suicide" at the end of the chapter was a bit of a shock, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, if you'll excuse me. Oh, and Megumi Sato strikes me as... well, like the leader of one of those Kool-aid cults (excuse the expression). I wouldn't go near her with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole. (You're a mean one, Mister Grinch...^-^)

The only thing I hate about this story is how I read it so fast and then have to wait a whole week to continue. And that's not your fault, it's mine. -_-

[MorriganAensland]

Megami Sato IS in charge of a Kool-Aid cult. That's part of her character. It's also in-line with one of the characters that she was inspired by... incidentally another person from a doujin I dare not speak the name of here for fear of breaking the minds of little girls.

Some of the really big questions are going to be explained next chapter. For instance, Saori's dear dead friend Usagi her tale are told in full. The mysterious saboteur responsible for cutting Megami's speech off will also make an appearance too.

And the love between siblings is very nice and I'm enjoying examining all these non-romantic loves in this story. The incubus brothers and the Tiam sisters have a nice dynamic. ^_^

[Zhanneel]

(I'm so late on this, I know. I can't seem to get my act together lately, and this coming week is going to kill me even more.)

I think I was more confused in the previous chapter, but his last one you just wrote clarified some things for me. Made my head stop turning in circles at least. =)

I'm totally feeling for Anser right now. I want to help protect him too! ^^

I found the pretzel moments hilarious. Simple, cute humor. (And you made me want pretzels so bad I had to ransack the cupboard for them...though the only ones we had were stale and old.)

I also face-palmed at the zealous religious character. Grrrr *attempts to throw her off school grounds*. Shameless thrusting of religious ideas at someone is a big No-no. And I've been offered my fair share of mini-Bibles when trying to walk to class on campus...at least that's just annoying. Kerrigan, go get her!

As to the end of the chapter, allow me to quote Eri: "Oh my god." Oh my...

[MorriganAensland]

Good to know. Next few chapters will help explain things too. I usually strive for making all the big questions explained a few chapters before the end so we can focus entirely on the action. Well, I usually save a few minor things for the end, but nothing really big or important.

And pretzels are *awesome*. They just are.

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: It was not until I began working on this chapter that I realized that the most tragic and depressing chapter in this story to date is going to be posted on the week of Christmas. I am saying this right now so people will not have their holiday ruined by me: read this when you're ready and can take a dose of tragedy. This is not a goofy or optimistic chapter. You have been warned.

The false

God, it was raining pretty badly out there. Bad enough that as I watched from my windows, I mused it could probably wash my hair dye out if given the time. I was planning on heading out, after all... and considering the purpose of the trip, that didn't sound like such a bad idea.

It had been one week since Eri's little... accident. My life had become very, very formulaic and very quiet in those seven days. Wake up, check in with Kerrigan for any other updates -turns out the woman of Darkness was somebody named Chizuru- until Audrey McCready's arrival, go to the rifle range and drill for five hours, go home, check for any messages from Eri, and then go to bed. Well, besides the basics of eating and bathing. Couldn't forget those, after all.

Tomorrow, McCready would give her speech, and Brian Lernan would try to snipe her. Every single Hachi Satsu assassin in the region had been called in for this, and working together, we would have him. The jerk had managed to evade us in the past due to his loner style of operation, but his newfound arrogance would be his undoing. For today though, I was resting my mind and spirit. Tomorrow would be a team effort. And after a great deal of deliberation I finally decided on it.

Time to pay Shot and company another visit.
_
Walking in the rain is not fun. Especially when you need to worry about your health. Yet I had done that because I needed to get my thoughts in order and mentally prepare myself. I was going to be touching up on some painful memories of my past, as was my intent, and if I couldn't face them now I'd probably just crawl up in a little ball when I was telling Anser.

I wasn't sure if it was just rain on my face or tears as well, and maybe that was a good thing. I put my glasses away for the time being since my damp hair would cover up my eyes well enough I could get by without them.

Eventually I reached shelter in Shot's apartment building, slipping through to the upper levels where Shot lived. I hadn't really touched bases with Anser or Keston in seven days, and I wondered how they were doing.. The press had finally relented a little about Ralyk Arj's death, and Shot could worry about helping out with the Lernan problem too, so I wasn't surprised she was the one that opened the door when I knocked on it.

“...” her mouth was slightly agape as she looked at me smirking weakly in the doorway, soaking wet before she just shook her head. “No, I'm not going to worry about it. Now seriously, what's the occasion?”

Bowing my head down, I sighed. “I'd... like to talk with Anser. Privately, if you could arrange it.”

The red-haired woman looked at me again for a moment before shrugging. “I'm giving you the hallway. And keep it short too, you know what's tomorrow, right?”

I looked up at her and smiled. “I know all to well. Please, I need to get a few things off my shoulders.”

“I already said I would, Ichimonji,” she said with a slight bit of frustration before turning and walking away to call Anser. In the meantime I sat down and rested against the wall. After a moment, the incubus with dark-violet hair came out, a bit surprised to see me in my current shape. All I needed was a worn-down coat and I would've easily passed for a bum.

“Hey there, Anser.” It was kinda hard to realize I was going to tell him about Usagi. But I really did need to just say it and get out of my system.

“S-Saori!” He said my name with such concern; it was nice to know. “Wh-what happened?”

“Oh, relax and sit down,” I told him. My mannerisms also seemed to throw him off. That had to be forgiven though. “I came here to well, talk.”

“About what really?”

I smiled. “Remember that day we first ran into the woman of Darkness? You know, Chizuru Onedara? And how you asked me why I was acting the way I did and why I wanted a kid? I answered you that I was to keep a promise to a friend. I thought it would be... nice, you know... to let you know about why I made that promise in the first place.”

“Is this going to be some kind of long-winded tale that's supposed to excuse all the stupid things you've done?”

“Nah, nothing like that. Justify it, maybe. But that's all, and only at the very best.”

“... Well, okay then, I guess. Fire away.”

“One thing before that, though. Something that'll help put this into context.” I took out my wallet and removed a picture of two little girls. One had very dark red hair and was dressed up like a chicken, except everything except her legs and head were covered up by a cardboard box shaped like a house. The other girl had blonde hair, wearing a red witch's outfit. “That was... me and Usagi for a Halloween. We couldn't have been any older than you.”

“What's she dressed up as?”

“She's the witch. Well, a Baba Yag-”

“WHAT?!? But the other girl has-”

“Red hair. Yeah. I dye it blonde.” I could almost hear little Anser's mind crash from this revelation, and so I decided it was best to continue anyways. “Well, me and Usagi met when we were really young. She was always really vibrant and happy, believe it or not I was once a nice, mild-mannered little girl reliant on Usagi to get me into the wonderful world of action and adventure.”
_
We were the best of friends for as long as I could remember. She really did have an infectious optimism around her. Maybe that's why she got married; she didn't have the shy restraint I did. That Seiya was a nice guy... or at least he was...

It was about two years ago. About this time, I had a desk job working at Interpol. I'd hit the target ranges a few times a week, but I really had no intent of going out in the field, to say nothing about being an assassin for them. Then one day, Seiya came to me. His problem was pretty serious, and I went home to talk to Usagi about it.

They had been trying to have a kid for a while. A very long while... and it turned out Usagi's womb was... well, pretty inhospitable. She had taken various drugs and undergone certain treatments... but they all couldn't accomplish anything. She couldn't get pregnant. It was really a lot of effort,and it was all seemingly in vain. They even had names picked out for the kids, Mamoru if it was a boy, and... Saori, if it was going to be a girl.

It was pretty obvious what I thought I should do, and I offered my uterus so I could carry their child to term. Usagi... she was so happy, her old spark seemed to have returned. And so we were off to visit the doctor's to get everything arranged. Things were set up nicely, and the doctor promised to call us all as soon as the egg was fertilized and would be place inside me. As impulsive as the offer had been, I knew beforehand I could easily take maternity leave.

Then a phone call cost me my sanity, and Usagi her happiness. The doctor called both my place and Usagi's and broke the bad new that I was pretty barren too. I was upset about it, but I resolved to carry on. There were plenty of people out there, after all, that would be more than willing to carry Seiya and Usagi's child to term. I headed over to Usagi's to just let her know things would be alright.

What followed next was screwy. Like a blur and yet crystal clear at the same time. The lights were off and the door was slightly open. I foolishly walked in, only to get jumped by Usagi and knocked out. When I came to, I was bound and gagged to a chair, Usagi right in front of me with a large kitchen knife. Seiya's body, or what was left of it, had been thrown away in a corner. Usagi Sekishiki, my best friend in the whole wide world, had cracked. Failing her had been the last straw and her sanity was gone. For hours I stayed there, scared out of my wit's end and entirely at her mercy. In my entire life, I was never as scared as I was at that point.

For most of the time, Usagi babbled on about crazy, pointless issues before she got a depraved idea. After further tightening my the bindings to my legs,she removed my gag and freed my arms.

“Hey, Saori,” she said in such a sweet, childish tone, “Let's play a game! And whoever wins... some day they'll have a kid of their own, no matter what!”

The game was Russian Roulette. One revolver, six chambers, one bullet. I don't remember who went first, but I have a pretty strong belief Usagi did. Nevertheless, as scared as I was, I played that terrible game. I couldn't believe how unraveled she had become, and every second I kept thinking of all those years we had spent together, preschool, elementary, graduating college. I wondered if she was always like that, always an unhinged murderer.

The last chamber came. I knew the bullet was in there. I was going to die by my own hand...

“Fate's fate, right? End of the line?”

“Yeah.”

Then the gun fired. I had shot and killed my best friend.
_
The child

“Next thing I knew,” the sad, pathetic heap of a woman finished, “I was being hauled away in an ambulance. Interpol gave me the nine-months maternity leave, mainly to let me get my act together. In the meantime, I struggled to get over that event. I ended up creating a persona based off those happy memories of Usagi, memories I didn't want to fade away because of what she did.”

“So-”

“So I did the only thing anyone sensible would do!” Saori said as she looked up at me and I could finally see her gray eyes again. “Dye my hair blonde and act like the little, upbeat kid she'll always be like in my mind! And then when Kerrigan Tiam approached me about joining the Hachi Satsu, I knew I needed something a lot more serious.” Her glasses shone with menace as they blocked sight of her eyes. “And that's where Scary Shiny Glasses Lady steps in. Focusing on the job alone and able to forget about everything else. And that's me in a nutshell, Anser.”

…

“You're pathetic.” Without any shame I slapped her hard across the face. “Why live your life this way! You're throwing it away for someone that nearly killed you!”

She took the blow without shame before standing up and removing her glasses again. As... ack, it was hard to chalk her up to just being Stupid Blonde Lady or Scary Shiny Glasses Lady, just walked away she let out a calm laughter. “You know what makes me like you, Anser? You tell me when I'm not good enough. Maybe not in words, but you always do. Although one of these days I will get you back for that slap.

“Well, I'm off to save a life. Wish me luck.”

I...

God damn it. When did she start acting mature?
_
The false

Blargh. Two hours peeking out of an office building with a sniper rifle in hand is very boring, but it was my job. Two hours of continuously searching and scanning a narrow strip of a building several miles away whilst the ceremony continued. Audrey would be talking soon. I was equipped with a radio so I could thankfully listen in if any of the other Hachi Satsu members say anything at all suspicious. Of course, there was nothing but perfect radio silence.

I had long since memorized the placement of the other friendly snipers and their appearances, so I wouldn't make the rookie mistake of freaking out at the sight of someone with a gun and shoot them on accident.

A quick look down to the streets below, and I saw Audrey was taking the podium. Half a dozen bodyguards stood by to save her, but with any luck they wouldn't be needed.

“Okay, head up everyone. If Lernan's going to to be making his move, it'll definitely be soon.” One of the other assassins spoke through the radio. “Look alive, people.”

Some of us gave terse responses to the speaker, but I kept my mouth shut. I had to focus on the task at hand and unnecessary distractions, no matter how slight, had to be swept away for the sake of my duty. There was, however, a profound difference between that and looking away due to nagging solution in the back of my mind.

Behind me.

I spun around, twirling my rifle around a perfect 180 degrees before thrusting it out into the chest of a man in yellow with dark brown hair. I knew his face well, for he had often let civilians snap photos of him just to show off to the police and those trailing him.

“Brian Lernan.” Without a second's hesitation, I fired through his body. Without fanfare, the infamous assassin was blasted to the ground.

“... Ichimonji, what was that?” the same male voice came through the radio again and I remembered the radio was still on. I quickly answered while keeping my eyes on Lernan. Thankfully he wasn't moving.

“Lernan,” I answered. “He tried to get the jump on me, but he's dead now.”

I could hear a collective sigh of relief from everyone else. “Whew... great job, Ichimonji. You certainly saved all our-” What followed was a mass assortment of screams and gunshots, not just over the radio but also from down below. I was shaking in fear as I spun around and looked out the window.

I was just in time to see another hail of gunfire from the other sniper positions rain down on Audrey. From those windows, the other Hachi Satsu snipers then appeared, falling down to the ground so very far below...

What... what was happening?!? Why were-

“Heh... you're a lucky one, you know that?” A smug voice that I immediately associated with Brian echoed in my ears as I turned around, suddenly finding myself not face one Lernan, but three dozen, all lined up in this small, bare room. Each one bore a perfectly identical and entirely victorious expression on their face. “To think you nearly stopped this whole problem from springing forth. Incidentally...” the Brian's all snapped their fingers in synch. “I think it's time for my others to open fire of the spectators. Imagine the panic!”

Even with my emotion-muting glasses on, my mind was spinning. In desperation I raised my rifle up at one of them, figuring I might as well try to deal with the problem with bullets.

“Ah ah ah...” the unnervingly unison voices said as another Brian appeared next to me, jerking the weapon out of my hands before swinging in around and bashing in the back of my neck with it. I stumbled forward as the butt of my sniper rifle struck me again, this time on the back. I was floored just as three of the Lernans picked me up. “Well, time for you to join the others.”

I struggled in vain as the men pitched me out the window straight to my death. So much had happened over the course of the past hundred and twenty seconds... why did it seem like Brian Lernan had gotten his hands on a goddamn cloning machine?!?

Argh! And I was going to die as soon as I hit the ground, and I didn't have anything to-

Instinct took hold. I summoned Cocytus scant seconds after I had been thrown out the building and slammed the weapon into the side of the structure. I dared not look down. For one, at this height I knew the fall would be fatal regardless. Second, I didn't want to see the standard-procedure rioting as gunshots rang through the midday air. And lastly, if someone managed to capture my face on a cameraphone or something, well then that would really suck.

First thing was first, I had to climb back up. That wasn't a challenge as I grabbed the nearest de-facto handhold and pulled myself higher. Gritting my teeth, the only things I could really be thankful for was the fact I was alive, not too far from the window Brian Lernan had pitched me out of, and I still had a weapon.

I'd have to thank Anser for that sometime soon. Like really thank him for that.

Roaring at the top of my lungs, I finally was high enough to pull myself back into the room. I guess the trip had been shorter than expected, since Brian -surprisingly only one this time- was only then walking out to the elevator.

“LERNAN!”

The brown-haired man froze when he saw me standing there with a gigantic cleaver in my hands. Good, I had psyched him out. I bet he didn't count on me having a weapon too. Well, no time like the present to kill this rotten son of a *****.

Lunging at him, I swung Cocytus above my head before striking him down. No clones now, so now salvation for-

The murderer simply smirked as his body split in half, like asexual division except on a human scale. My weapon struck the ground only as the two men sprang in the air and delivered a pair of kicks to my body. My grip on Cocytus faltered as I struck the ground. This made no sense! If this was supposed to be due to Hallowed Prisms, then wouldn't-

“Your foolish mind, Ichimonji,” Lernan mused as his two bodies reunited into one again. He casually walked past me and claimed my rifle. “Is no doubt in a blur. How can I, world-feared assassin Brian Lernan commit these amazing and terrifying feats? Is it not impossible?

“The answer...” he unbuttoned his shirt gradually before suddenly opening it to me. All I could do was gasp. “IS THIS!”

Hallowed Prisms. His entire torso... had someone been replaced with god awful acid-yellow jewels. I noticed a small hole through his body and quickly guessed that was due to me shooting him before. My mind raced even further... did this happen to people who had the Prisms subsume them or was it something different? I... I just didn't understand any of it!

Cocytus was a inches away from me, but Lernan was a little too smart and pointed the rifle at me.

“Ah ah ah... I'm not going to let you Interpol fools get the better of me. Not when I'm so close to victory. My employer gave me all the really important information about you, but I would certainly love to get a few more questions out of the way. Like what's with the axe?”

I didn't want to say anything, but I knew I had to stall. I had to distract him somehow, and if he was going to ask questions, I guess I would have to start supplying answers.

“It's something a little special. Mind if I ask you where you got those crystals?”

Lernan chuckled but didn't take his eyes or the gun off me. Like Erica Fogler, he was experience an intoxicating power. If he wanted to gloat, well, far be it from me to stop him. Even a few extra seconds were invaluable.

“Oh, please...” he mused, “I received them in a dream. A woman with dark purple hair and green eyes asked me what my heart's greatest desire was, and I told her it was the power to become the greatest assassin that has ever existed. Hence, I never go want for manpower now.” With a snap of his fingers, he split into three again. I quickly noticed that the hole in his body carried over too, and my mind got to thinking. “But enough about me,” Brian announced amidst laughter as he become just one again. “You're a bit of an oddball, Ms. Ichimonji, and I applaud you for nearly stopping me. Unfortunately, you're not. You're going to die here and fall out that window like you were supposed to. Audrey McCready is dead, as are your associates. Imagine the kind of chaos that will be born by these few minutes! Canada may not be considered a superpower in this world, but North America has been blessed by long periods devoid of upheaval.

“And just imagine the job opportunities I'll be getting as soon as that upheaval occurs.”

He gradually approached me, slow enough that his aim wasn't sacrificed, but fast enough to let me know he was going to be firing at point blank range. At that point, dodging would be less a one-in-a-million chance and instead something downright impossible.

Cocytus was still close, but not close enough. By the time I'd be in range to grab my weapon and strike, I'd already be dead. With that option out of the way, I was going to need to do something a little unconventional. Something devious. But I knew it would work; I was not going to die here. Anser and company were probably terrified for my well being right now, and I was not going to give up!

Bowing my head down, I let myself sniffle a bit and placed my hands on the back of my head. Brian would interpret it as me accepting defeat. In reality, doing it was going to be the only reason I would kill him.

As my fingers slid to touch the sides of my glasses, I could hear Lernan approach. Now or never.

“Any last words?”

I smirked, glad for the very first time in my life I could emulate Usagi's plucky mannerisms.

“Yeah...” I snapped my head up, removing my glasses. In the most sugary sweet voice I could manage I gave him a command, “FETCH!” and then threw my glasses at him.

The assassin was a bit surprised by the action, but simply swatted my impromptu projectile away into a wall. I watched in mock-horror as the lenses shattered before screaming like a little girl and slamming my hands into the ground.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

If anything was going to shake Lernan up, that was.

“YOU'RE A MEANY! A BIG FAT STUPID MEANY!!!!!”

Grasping Cocytus, I charged while maintaining the facade. No reason not to, after all. My running form was appropriately clunky. I wanted him to think I had cracked under the pressure and was no longer a threat; there was no other way. It thankfully worked like a charm, Brian more concerned with getting out of the way than actually opening fire on me as I barreled on past him.

… Only to stop and smirk.

“Just kidding.”

Cocytus struck out again, burying itself in Lernan's head and killing him. If my guess was right, and that all the damage done to one of them carried over to the rest, it didn't matter if this was the real Brian Lernan or a duplicate. With the kind of damage Cocytus had inflicted, he wasn't getting up again.

As the adrenaline began to wear off, I pried my weapon from Brian's remains and hung my head in defeat. After all, I had failed. Audrey McCready was dead, not to mention everyone else down below and all the Hachi Satsu agents in the region. Lernan was dead, but he had still accomplished his goal. Shot and Kerrigan would be in a lot more trouble now, and the Hallowed Prism users seemed a lot more dangerous. And to top it off, I had lost my glasses.

I was tempted to say things couldn't possibly get any worse, but I really didn't care at that point.
_
The ride home was one of silence. I was afraid to turn on the radio, because I knew what would be on all the channels. It was just me; alone. And tonight it would also be me; alone.

Leaving my car in its usual spot in the parking level, I finished my journey back to the confines of my apartment. This day had been bad, and hindsight was making me kick myself more than I really needed to.

Upon reaching my room, I fumbled with the keys for a moment when I noticed that my apartment was unlocked. Great. Just great. Most likely someone had the nerve to break and steal everything. I was almost-

“Uh... hey there, Saori.”

Standing there was... nearly everyone. Shot, Keston, Kerrigan, Iris hovering behind her, and Anser in front. Giselle was missing, since she didn't know the truth about the Hachi Satsu... but everyone else...

And then I remembered something very important. Something I had been so foolish as to forget entirely about, which was a shame because it was the most important thing in the world.

I was still alive. I was still alive, able to come home and see the people I worked with, cared about, and genuinely did love. And as I ran to them, to find support with them, I knew that would be enough for now.

[LinneaKou]

Merry Christmas, Morrigan! I haven't finished your gift yet (stupid stuff, go look at my DA journal for excuses), but the sketches are completed.

HOLY CRAP you used Usagi and Seiya??? Not Usagi and Mamoru? Wait, this isn't BSSM characters, right? I mean... augh! @_@

It was sad. Morbid. Perfect, in that regards. Poor, poor Saori. She's starting to remind me of a saner Norman Bates. *huggles* At least the psycho murderer was taken care of, admist a bloodbath. Why in seven Hells did he want to be an assassin?? People never cease to frighten me... *shudders* (offscreen: THIS is why I didn't take Psychology, Beth! Now will you get off my back?!)

Are you still going to do that Mizuki drabble for Christmas? I'm in the Yuletide mood right now, and no one shall escape!

[MorriganAensland]

Yes. I was a little busy, but hopefully I can get it done for New Years, which technically is more accurate since it happens on that date anyways. I could probably do it tonight as long as Castlevania doesn't distract me.

And the whole thing with Usagi was mean to be a *very* elaborate, triple-series pun.

First of all, is the obvious with Sailor Moon. There's someone named Usagi, Seiya, and Mamoru in it. Saori's goofy personality was *slightly* inspired by Usagi Tsukino.

Second of all is Saint Seiya. In it, there's someone named Saori and someone named Seiya. The Order of the Goddess will also eventually be shown to be a painful deconstruction of Saint Seiya's Sanctuary, complete with a goddess at its helm whom every member of the group is totally loyal servant.

Lastly is GaoGaiGar. In it, there's *also* someone named Mamoru, who is a very young child in kindergarten and serves an important role in the story. Anser had two big inspiratoins; Meat from Kinnikuman and Ultimate Muscle because he's young and yet much more mature than his childish caretaker, and Mamoru from GGG because he's a kid in a conflict in which he is key to their victory.

Not to mention that in the GGG universe, where there was an entirely separate story taking place in the same universe called Betterman, which was also much more serious.

[Zhanneel]

Ack... *head swimming with anime references* At least I know the Saint Seiya reference. Kinda.

Overall I guess I didn't think it was terribly depressing, but then to be honest my brain is kind of turned off right now too. Been overloaded with work. The events were definitely sad though, especially due to the event that followed at the end of chapter. Too many people died =(. Crap, if I had been part of an organization only to find that all of my team mates and co-workers were suddenly silenced in a matter of moments well...I'd crack. I'd crack bad. The Usagi story is very scary though. People who can suddenly change rapidly like her just scares the crap out of me. Like you can never truly know someone, and I do like being able to predict things. Keeps me balanced and grounded. But flipping into murderess mode....@_@. Scary holy crapness. But the ending scene was incredibly sweet. I loved that.

[MorriganAensland]

^_^

The ending sequence was actually added as an afterthought. I realized I'd been handing Saori nothing but tragedy for the entirety of the chapter, and it makes *sense* they'd be there too. It's also meant to be a sign of Saori starting to get over her past, due to the loss of her glasses. That and the downward slope of the stability of L++ needs to be counter-balanced somehow. Gradual psychological recovery for Saori is an appropriate choice.

And technically, the Satsu hasn't completely been wiped out; only the entire east Canada branch. But those were the ones Saori was at last familiar with *are* dead.

And the Usagi story is, well... it was meant to be shocking. I wanted something so bad that Saori would have to adopt an entirely new set of mannerisms to get over it.

Anyways, next chapter will be dealing with the aftermath of all this.

[MorriganAensland]

The child

That day had been... scary. When Audrey McCready got the firing squad and Hachi Satsu agents were defenestrated, I had genuinely been fearful Saori was among them. In spite of all her faults and her childish excuse for acting like, well, a child, I didn't want her to die. Keston was the same; after all this was a woman who had willingly given me up just so I could be with my big brother and she had a concerned soul under her facade.

I was glad, really glad, when she came home that day. After all, there was only one blonde-haired woman with glasses wearing gray in the Hachi Satsu in the buildings that day. She had almost fallen, but she hadn't. And Kerrigan had been quite right in the assumption that Saori Ichimonji would be a tired, weary woman that night. All of us being there did a lot to brighten her spirits.

Her glasses were missing and I guess the day had been hard enough she didn't have any desire to spend energy on being Stupid Blonde Lady. Instead she just told her story, describing Brian Lernan's ghastly empowerment due to the Hallowed Prisms -those things seemed everywhere these days- and concluding with coming home to loved ones; the first positive note in her otherwise dreary day. The only detail she omitted was me slapping her.

“... And with that...” the gray-eyed woman declared with a mock salute, “This is Saori Ichimonji, signing off.” She promptly collapsed right on me and that was... embarrassing, yeah. After Keston pulled her off, amidst complaining that no human could be that heavy, we all sorta spent a moment wondering what to do. She was out like a light, perfectly justified... but there were other, grown-up issues to discuss. Keston and I got the hint eventually and dragged Saori off to her bedroom, hoping Kerrigan would know what to do.
_
The flawless

“I can't believe I can't find the tea...” I groaned, fumbling through drawers and cupboards. Ichimonji's arrangement of foodstuffs boggled my mind, lacking both rhyme and reason, and for a second I was going to denounce her as insane, but then I caught myself. I gave up on it after opening one cupboard and nearly drowning in bags of ramen, and eventually got back to the table for a nice chat with Kerrigan and her dead little sister.

The elder Tiam had her head bowed in defeat, recalling the repeated tragedies that had beset us in the past two weeks. Eventually though, she spoke. “Today was... was bad. We've lost a lot of good people today... and, well...” she let out a shout of frustration before looking up at the ceiling. “The entire northeastern branch of this operation was wiped out in a matter of minutes! It's a miracle Saori survived too!”

Seeing Kerrigan like this was mind boggling. Even Iris's specter was surprised. Then again, we'd been hit hard enough so many times, what with Ralyk dying, the library going all Fetus-of-Evil on us, and now Lernan's “defeat”. I didn't have any idea where to go from here, and probably Kerrigan was-

“We need to break the news to Giselle.”

“You mean Higashi's protégé,” I answered. “But, but what could she accomplish? She's-”

“All our problems can be chalked up to the Hallowed Prisms,” Kerrigan stated. “Chizuru Onedara's ability to emulate the Great Sea of Evil, Brian Lernan's duplication powers, and all those problems with students and L++ are the cause of Hallowed Prisms. We know so little about them, and Giselle's spent months tracking down their users and destroying those accursed jewels. She's not going to like us when she finds out, but we need to take that risk.”

“What if she blows up on us? I mean... you didn't really admit to her that we're the Hachi Satsu when she accused you of that before.”

“She was scared,” Iris just suddenly stated. “Scared and worried. It's better she hears it from us now than any later on down the road.”

“Think we could convince any of our higher-ups to actually get off their duffs and actually bankroll some therapy for-”

“Most of them probably wouldn't hear anything of it,” Kerrigan shot me down before I could finish. I quickly found myself gritting my teeth as she continued, but eventually forced myself to calm down. Ichimonji was a nutcase, and we were on a razor's edge... she could at least try to see if that would work out. “At any rate...” The black-haired Tiam finished, “For the time being just stay on guard.”

“Can do, Kerrigan.”
_
The student

“Man... finally a bit of good news...”

I was with Leona, Bridget, and Erica in the only modestly-packed cafeteria at L++. Since classes were off the table, a good portion of the student body and faculty had up and left, leaving the rest of us to just linger on in the shell of the university. Not that it made any difference to me, though. I wanted to rescue Ikki and deal with the problems with the Hallowed Prisms, as numerous as they were here.

The news channels were all reporting the same story, one which had managed to brighten up everyone's spirits at least a little. Because, well... it meant that Brian Lernan had failed.

Audrey McCready, by the grace of God, had survived her assassination attempt. She had been nearly killed, but between so many little things going right that day, she had managed to be stabilized in the emergency room. Honestly, I really couldn't believe it myself... not many of us here could. And yet we were promised tonight at nine in the evening, Audrey would be addressing us from the hospital.

The four of us just soaked in the moment with the others for a while, but then Leona's cell phone went off. She'd gotten a text message, and she suddenly seemed even happier as she leaned over to me.

“Hey, Giselle... you're not going to be doing anything serious tomorrow, are you?”

“What? Why would I-”

“Well...” Erica and Bridget knew something was up as the pink-haired girl played with her phone. “I did a little bit of networking and found out there were some other people at L++ that all share an acquaintance. Ikki.”


“Mr. Higashi?!?” the sudden, enthusiastic exclamation surprised my three friends before Leona continued.

“I looked around, try to find people that might've used Hallowed Prisms. Erica and I couldn't have been the only ones, after all. Ikki apparently did a lot around here before he went missing... and I thought it would be smart for us all to get together and try to fit together everything we know about the Prisms and where they came from. It probably won't be much but...”

“Don't worry. I'll be there,” I told her. “Where are we meeting?”

“The student union... we'll practically be the only ones in there. There's going to be about a half a dozen others, including us three.”

Wow. Six people? Ikki really had hit the jackpot this time. We were usually lucky to find more than one Prism user every other week... kinda made me wonder for a moment what made this place so special. My mind drifted onto the subject of both Anser and that Megami Sato woman... they both looked so similar to that goddamn Midori Ai.

Nevertheless, I had eaten my fill and bade my friends goodbye. I hadn't been in contact with Kerrigan or any of the others for a whole week, and I was starting to get a little worried. Don't get me wrong, time off from the struggles of hunting down and destroying Hallowed Prisms was greatly appreciated, but there was that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. All these little problems, there was no way they were just isolated incidents, so-

“Giselle.”

Kerrigan's voice came from my left, and I quickly turned and faced her. “Oh, hi there, boss. How goes work?” The question was trite; the library was closed. However, the attempt to be friendly was not lost on her.

“Could be going better,” the older woman said before looking around. I had just walked out of the cafeteria, and for a second I wondered if she was supposed to meet someone else. “Actually though, I wanted to talk to you.”

“What about?”

“Just follow me.”
_
In my short time at L++ I had gotten a modest grasp of the campus, and after a few moments of following Miss Tiam, I knew where we were going. There was a small set of stairs a short distance from the cafeteria with enough shade the Sun wouldn't be any discomfort. Sitting down, I was almost expecting us to get to business immediately.

Instead, Kerrigan just let out a sigh.

“Something wrong, boss?”

“You're not in my employ.”

“Sure I'm not, but I still like the sound of it. I guess it's just an old habit from time with Mr. Higashi. You know how that is, right?”

“Yeah... I've had lots of people work with and under me.” She leaned back, but didn't seem any less uptight. “Look... Giselle... about that time when you accused me of being part of the Hachi Satsu...”

What? Why bring that up now?

“Giselle... as baseless as the accusation was... it was correct. More than correct, really, since I founded the organization.” I could feel my mind crashing and it wasn't like Kerrigan was giving me time to recover. “It was founded to try to curb the problems with political assassinations started getting more and more frequent after the blackout of August 2012. A number of Interpol's best, including the recently-returned Saori Ichimonji, took up the roles of the 'assassins', mimicking the enemy's habit of disguising as minor political officers handling clerical work. They would locate their enemies and kill them.

“Due to the obvious morally gray-area this plan tread, the Hachi Satsu served as a scapegoat. In the meantime, Shot Ichiban oversaw the investigation team to ensure nobody caught onto the truth. All in all, it was fairly routine, but then things took a turn for the worst yesterday when Brian Lernan-”

“Just shut up. You have no right to justify your actions to me.”

Telling Kerrigan of was literally the only thing I could say besides throttling her within an inch of her life. Getting this kind of truth broken to me was... not good. I had remembered even during all of my little Prism hunts that Ikki would get in a bad mood whenever the news of another Hachi Satsu murder was released to the public.

“I don't want you to try to make me understand and I don't want you to follow me.” Standing up, I almost felt disgusted to have personally known the woman. I... I mean... she was responsible for people dying! And I had... I had trusted her and-

“Giselle.”

Great. She had noticed my composure was cracking. If I started acting hysterical she'd probably try to kill me! Sure, have a dead little sister and have friends that just-so-happened to have summoned demons, I could handle that no problem. The goddamn Hallowed Prisms could end up being the least of my worries!

“You... you... YOU DID TAKE IKKI, DIDN'T YOU!?!”
_
The preceding

The swift punch to the jaw that followed that accusation knocked me to the ground. She certainly had a great deal of force behind her blows when she wanted... although I kinda deserved it. For a girl half my age and with an easily smuggled lethal weapon, I was kinda surprised that was all that I got as Giselle tried to keep from becoming an oh-so-clichéd screaming and incomprehensible teenager. It was still a losing battle, but hey, it gave us at least a few moments to try to discuss things.

“Believe me, Giselle... our only interaction with Ikki was when Saori ran into him saving Leona. We're not your enemies here... the Hallowed Prisms are a threat, a very big one and their danger seems to grow every time we run into someone with them. Believe it or not, Brian Lernan had them, meaning working together is practically required!”

That seemed to shake her up a bit. Grimacing, Vega-Stroheim shook her head left and right before pointing at me.

“How can you consider yourselves on the right side! You're stringing along pretty much the entire world and probably a decent-sized chunk of your own organization!”

She had me there, as painful as it was to admit.

“We are over, Kerrigan Tiam!” Giselle turned her back to me and began walking away but suddenly stopped. Maybe...

“And I swear to GOD if I get the faintest hint that you get the idea to shut me up and I'm going straight to the media. At least one of them'll lend me an ear, and I can imagine a fairly large portion of the international community would tear you to pieces for all of this. And count yourself lucky; I'm going to find and save Ikki -and take care of the Prism users- on my own- and provided you stay out of my business, we can all just forget about this.

“Now shove off, Kerrigan Tiam.”

…

That... hadn't gone very well. That hadn't gone well at all.

I grit my teeth in aggravation and suppressing the desire to think up creative accidents for Giselle to suffer from. It wasn't as hard as I had initially feared. It was more just the fact I had alienated pretty much one of the four people involved in this situation familiar with the Prisms and able to fight.

Well, with any luck Saori would be up and around by now. I could drop her a line and take things from there. Well, that and pay Iris a vist and break the bad news to her too.
_
The child

“Dig in, Ichimonji.”

“Well... thanks, Shot.”

Nothing quite like pancakes for dinner. Well, technically this was my first time having pancakes, but Saori had thrown out most of the non-ramen foodstuffs after letting me be with Keston and a few things of pancake mix had miraculously escaped the purge.

Shot, Keston, and I had payed Saori a visit a few hours after noon. She was up... and surprisingly restrained. It was kinda odd hearing her talk in a normal tone and act like a normal 28 year old instead of a bipolar government agent.

The official reason for being there was the good news that Audrey McCready had survived. I had almost expected a comical spit-take from Saori when she heard about that, but instead she showed her amazement through subtler means.

… Shot and Keston must have been on the exact same wavelength as me though, considering we nearly ended up choking on our meals. Judging by Miss Ichiban's expressions, she was not familiar with this mild-mannered Saori. I guessed maybe the story of the maddened Usagi Sekishiki was not one Saori would tell easily.

“Just wondering though...” Ichimonji asked again. “What about the others? I mean, I was there and Brian opened fire on more than just Audrey.”

“Some lived and some died,” Shot answered. “Primary concern at the hospital was Audrey. Audrey though had the devil's luck considering the hell she went through.”

“What about Lernan?” Keston asked.

“Found dead in a car three miles away from a really bad axe blow to the skull... and also in the building you were stationed at,” she gestured towards Saori. “Oddly enough, the entire midsection of his body had up and vanished. The coroner's going to be scratching his head over this debacle for a long time to come.”

“No doubt work of the Hallowed Prisms I bet,” Saori sighed. “Everyone else in the entire area though... he certainly did enough damage to make this a Pyrrhic victory if ever there was one.”

“Any chance to, you know, recover?” I cautiously asked. Both of the women just shrugged. I guess this was one of those things you couldn't take an intelligent guess about at first. They'd have to work together with Kerrigan and the higher-ups aware of the Hachi Satsu's true purpose to find viable candidates to fill in old positions. Until then, I guess Saori would just have to be on her own...

Saori checked at her watch again before speaking. “Think McCready's conference is on yet or are they still stuck with the commentary from the news groups?”

“Conference?” I asked. What was this all about?

“Her press conference,” Shot answered. “She said she wanted to give a speech after she got out of the emergency room. Said it was something very important. Honestly, I'm kinda wondering what it could be.” Learning back, the red-haired woman took a few breaths before continuing. “I mean, there's lots of things she could discuss, but what I'm really hoping for is some explanation as to why Lernan would want to kill her. Well, Lernan's a nut job that took the assignment to try to kill her. But who'd want her dead. Anyways...” standing up, she walked over to the remote and turned the television on.

Finding the conference wasn't hard; it was on pretty much every channel. I saw Saori's expression darken a little bit when she suddenly realized she'd miss tonight's installment of Maji School. Tough break, Subtle Blonde Lady.

… That doesn't quite work.

The broadcast was being held outside of the hospital, with at least half a dozen bodyguards in suits flanks Audrey. After yesterday, I couldn't blame her for pumping up security.

Audrey herself was gaunt and pale. Her long, curly black hair contrasted greatly with her ghostly-white skin, and I wondered for a moment if she was going to collapse at a moment's notice. In spite of it all though, she was wearing a very humble business dress.

She approached a prepared podium, her bodyguards walking in unison with her as she smiled.

“Sorry to step into the limelight again so soon,” she joked. Whichever channel we were watching, their reporter's mic was sensitive enough to pick up a few chuckles in the crowd. “Anyways... after yesterday, well, my faith in a great many things has been shaken. I mean... I nearly died, and I know who was responsible.

“Interpol. Interpol and their goddamn scapegoat counter-assassination group... the Hachi Satsu, were responsible.”

“WHAT?!?” All four of us were united in our disbelief, falling out of our seats before lunging at the television. Something was wrong here. Very, very wrong.

Audrey smiled again, noting the shocked murmurs going through the spectators. Even the bodyguards were shaken up by this fact.

“You see... I grew uneasy the moment Brian Lernan announced his desire to kill me, enough my dreams were plagued with visions of my own demise. After all, he had always gotten his target before. Why would this be any different? But then... a kind of light began to grow, in my dreams, that is. A beautiful woman... truly a goddess for the new era, asking me my heart's desire.”

“Hallowed Prisms...” I barely had the focus to say those words.

“I would survive the attempt. That much is certain. And then, a few days later, I received a call from a certain man on the task for assigned to capturing the Hachi Satsu... a Mr. Arj.”

“RALYK!” Shot snarled, causing me and Keston to both inch away from her as fast as we could. She... Shot was furious...

“Needless to say, he died not too long after that. Mr. Arj's death was in all the papers, and although the details surrounding it are quite unnatural, many horrifying things have been happening here in the past few weeks.”

Her hands struck the podium as she smiled. “I urge you all. If our world's governments and their protectors are so corrupt as to lie to us for months on end about their operations, can we trust them? I will no doubt be forced to step down after this, but I beg you to do this: question all authority, believe in the goddess and her Hallowed Prisms, and-”

“That's enough of you.” It was Saori. She couldn't stop the words elsewhere, but they would not be words we would hear.

Saori clicked off the broadcast before turning to us. After giving us all a moment to calm down, she closed her eyes and bowed her head.

“I don't care what she says. Shot, we are in the right. Don't ever forget that, okay?”

Ichiban looked at the blonde-haired woman before over at Keston and me before smiling.

“Hey kids,” she suddenly joked. “How about we stay over at Saori's for tonight, just to be safe?”

“No problems here,” Keston answered. I had the same sentiments. After all, no matter how bad things were getting out there, I guess Saori was finally losing the desire to keep up her false personas. The scary shiny glasses were gone, and she didn't seem that stupid any more to boot.

********

A/N: Argh. Wasn't that happy with this chapter, for some reason. Maybe it's my inner shonen wanting some hardcore violence. Well, things are coming to blows, and L++ is going to become a warzone in a matter of chapters, so what's it matter? Be pumped for next chapter!

Saori: Hmm... I wonder if I should get a new pair of glasses...

Shot: *skims Maoh Soma* What's with you wearing blue sunglasses in the promo? I never saw you wear them.

Saori: Blue sunglasses... those might be interesting.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Jan 3 2009, 1:02 AM

[MorriganAensland]

The child

The night came and went without incident. After checking the morning news the day after, we all found out that Audrey had been hauled away not long afterwards by a few people that thought she had crossed a few too many lines. Unfortunately, what she had said was true, to an extent.

“Pretty brilliant,” Shot had begrudgingly admitted. “The intended victim here was the Hachi Satsu, not Audrey. And the result is appalling.”

That was putting it lightly. A lot of the politically-slanted talk shows were screaming bloody murder in regards to the revelation that the Hachi Satsu was sponsored by Interpol. They didn't have any names, but those were really just one subpoena away. After that, Shot, Kerrigan, Saori, and all the other agents around the world would probably be tried as international criminals.

“I think we might need to look into Ralyk's phone and email records, Shot,” Saori pointed out during breakfast. In a bit of a subversion, we were all having ramen, since as bitter and salty as the stuff tasted, it would still be a change of pace from the pancakes last night. “He must've contacted more than just Audrey, maybe the people that orchestrated all of this.”

“Easier said than done,” the redhead answered. “But I'm betting I can pull it off given enough time. Might take a bit longer than I expect if our day jobs are disclosed to the public.”

“Hopefully they won't be.”

We all turned to see Kerrigan standing in the doorway, flanked by Iris's specter. The founder of the Hachi Satsu approached us with a weary look on her face. “Besides... I've got bad news and worse news.”

“What kinds?” Keston asked.

“Giselle... didn't take the news well...” Iris slowly said. “And she threatened to go public with Kerrigan's name and yours as well, Saori and Shot, if she even gets suspicious or worried that we'll come after her.”

“You're kidding!” Shot said as she stood up. “That's about the last thing we could afford right now! And if we're revealed, then Interpol could easily just use us as scapegoats and get off with a few slaps on the wrist!”

“That won't be happening,” Kerrigan snapped. “At least not yet. As it stands, I'm going to discuss with our higher-ups about this whole issue. They very well can't sweep it under the table, but it wouldn't be too challenging to simply give us the funding to go into hiding. They'll have to find someone in charge of tracking down the Satsu since Shot will be taking leave of the task force, and they'll throw in someone a little under qualified.”

“That would only get them so far until somebody caught on.”

“Naturally,” Kerrigan answered. “But it would be plenty of time of time to move to somewhere else in the world, craft up new identities, and let life go on. Unfortunately, I did mention that it was worse news. Meaning we'll be so focused on restoring stability to our lives-”

“The Hallowed Prism users get a free run of it,” Saori finished. “Isn't there anything we can really do?”

“I've got an appointment. I'm going to try to argue our case. Tragically, I'm not too sure our higher-ups are going to believe a lot of what's happened with us, including you two summoning demons.” I couldn't help but blush a little in embarrassment at that statement. “I'll do what I can, if it's any consolation.”

“Well... it's a chance, isn't it? No matter what, it's better than nothing,” Keston remarked. Too true.
_
The student

Argh. Stupid, stupid Audrey McCready. Just blow the lid on the Hachi Satsu being an Interpol operation. I had pretty much lost my only bargaining chip of staying away from those murderers, and Kerrigan could easily enough just pop up right behind me and-

“I know you're there!” I shouted and spun around, only to see a pair of very startled college students I had never seen there looking at me. I cursed the tense situation I had thrown myself into and continued on my way. This meant simply meandering around L++ without any rhyme or reason, but there was nothing else to do. I had initially relied on Ikki to help track down Prism users, and then when I was working with the murderers, Saori had supplied me with Bridget and Erica's names.

Speaking of which, today was the day. I was going to meet with other people Ikki saved during his brief tenure at L++ and try to make heads or tails of this whole situation. With any luck, I could find a lead or something and rescue Ikki. If not, well, at least I would be surrounded by genuine comrades clearly on the higher ground. I just had to kill time until things were ready.

“You're bitter, aren't you?”

It seems my suspicions were not as ill-based as I had feared. I had only heard that voice once, but I remembered it well. With the machine-like precision caused by months of practice, my kendama lashed out and struck the blonde-haired incubus fifty feet away from me right in the face, knocking him down.

“I thought I made it clear I didn't want to be followed!” I spat as I looked at Shot Ichiban's demon, on the ground with a hand over part of his face.

“You... you broke my nose!”

“That's karma for you, considering Kerrigan Tiam did that to me!” I answered before walking up to him. If he had been standing, Keston would have had a few inches on me... but right now I towered over him. And I couldn't help but feel that sequence was like some kind of twisted running gag by now... “Anyways, what are you here for?”

“I'm here to try to convince you that Shot and the others aren't enemies.”

“They're still a little too amoral for my standards,” I answered as he pulled himself up. The blonde haired Incubus was indeed slightly shorter than me, not that he seemed to notice.

“So what?” he answered. “Wow. They've killed people. Saori killed Brian Lernan, you know that?”

“Yeah. After he shot Audrey McCready. And lemme guess, the Hachi Satsu didn't join in on opening fire on her at all.”

“That was all Brian!” he exclaimed before suddenly realizing someone could overhear our conversation quite easily. He blushed slightly as he shook his head and tried to continue quieter. “He had Hallowed Prisms! The Hachi Satsu were stationed there to try to protect her! Those bodies that fell out of the buildings were Hachi Satsu members!”

“Sure, they played by the usual rules of counter-assassination this time,” I said as I walked around. Enough was enough. The craze over the Hachi Satsu could still cut me a good news deal, as long as I didn't get laughed out the door.

“Now just hold on a second!”

I was floored, Keston having tackled me and refusing to let me stand up.

“Get off of me this instant!”

“I'd rather not!” he grunted in exertion. “I'm not going back home unless I feel I've achieved something here! Anser's had Saori to rely on all this time, and she's finally starting to straighten out. But... but I'm supposed to be his big brother! What kind of brother would I be if I didn't do everything I could to make sure he was safe? I'm not letting you do something stupid that would ruin our chances of defeating the Prism users!”

“I've already got a possible lead,” I groaned as I got enough footing to flip over and slam Keston into the ground. Hearing him give a short yelp of pain, I stood back up and looked down at his body. “I will not be bunched with a group of uncaring killers!”

Panting, Keston just stared at me before bowing his head down.

“Would those be your ideals or Ikki Higashi's? You must miss him a-”

“DON'T TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT!” I reached for my kendama, but it was already over. The stupid dirty jerk swung his leg out and tripped me before using it to keep his balance while he thrust his other leg out and hit my forehead. The force was... well, there was no doubt from it that Keston knew at least a little about defending himself. I was knocked on my back and for a long time... the two of us just stayed there and took in the moment.
_
The flawless

Rubbing my eyelids, I rode the elevator up to the Hachi Satsu investigation task force's new office. After the damage done to it by Mizuki impostor Chizuru Onedara we had relocated. I hadn't checked in there since Audrey McCready's speech, and I was kinda worried how things would turn out. I tried to prepare myself for the worst while at the same time remembering that McCready hadn't disclosed my name, so technically there was no way for them to know.

At long last, the Ascension stopped and the doors opened. I stepped out and walked for a brief time, determined not to let the uproar about the Hachi Satsu's identity throw off my A-game. I was not at all surprised to see the twenty-something men and women under my supervision standing when I arrived.

“Hello, Miss Ichiban,” one of the men said as he stepped forward. “We... kinda missed you...”

“I was... preoccupied,” I answered. “Sorry about that. So what's up?”

The already somber tone became even more dreary as they bowed their heads down. “Is... is it really true about us? We were just a bunch of stooges, weren't we?”

Looking at them was painful among many other things. They had worked under me and trusted my judgment, but at the end of the day they were really just meant to be Interpol's excuse for not acting on the Hachi Satsu. Having a career involving the noble pursuit of criminals, only to be told you weren't intended to accomplish anything, was thoroughly demoralizing.

“The Hachi Satsu were saving lives by taking others... ma'am. But that's still doing something with their time,” another individual said as he stepped forward. “We've spent months of our lives trying to bring them to justice, and at the same time accomplishing nothing. And worst of all-”

My composure almost cracked. Did they know? Had Ralyk told the damning truth about me to anyone before he died? If so, these people were in a position to tear me apart. They had every right to, seeing as how I lied, cheated, and misled them to the absolute best of my ability.

“Worst of all, the Hachi Satsu were out there. Doing... something! Can you understand that Miss Ichiban? Not whiling away the days chasing every pathetic excuse for a lead that came our way but stopping actual assassins! Their methods were abhorrent and we're all appalled that Interpol would authorize such a procedure but the fact remains they accomplish more every time they kill another assassin than we have during our entire time here!”

“I...” slamming my eyes shut I almost felt like they were stabbing me in the back. After all, I had been accomplishing what I had set out to do: ensure Saori and the others had free reign to kill other assassins. I had sold out my underlings for the sake of appeasing my comrades... and now those good men and women that had served under me with unwavering loyalty were realizing how useless they all were.

“I am sorry.” The most depressed and shameful part of me urged me to admit the truth to them. I'd probably get the firing squad right away. But I didn't know what would happen to Keston after that. Granted, he was just here for convenience and so that Ichimonji would not drive Anser insane with her antics, but I had no right to just take that away from him. “Believe me... I truly am. And you were all my responsibility. I know what I have to do.

“I'm staying. Just because the Hachi Satsu were killing other assassins doesn't mean they're all gone. I'll plead our case... we'll go after the real assassins out there!”

They were good men and women... I would not desert them. I owed it to them, who followed me as I led them down the pointless roads without question, to let them feel useful. And so it was decided.

I, Shot Ichiban, would fight so these men and women could make a difference. I would plead and fight so that our superiors would recognize there were other means of bringing assassins to justice. Kerrigan would be proud.
_
The student

“... Hey... Keston...?”

“... Yeah?”

“How long were we out?”

“Don't know. I think people thought we were just a couple soaking in the springtime sun and left us alone.”

“Nice idea.” I had to admit we were about the same age so lots of people could naturally assume we were a couple or were friends that would eventually be a couple. That was kinda funny. “Anyways...” I pulled myself up and checked my watch. “OH CRAP! I'M SOOOOOOOO LATE!”

“Late for-”

“No time!” I shouted while grabbing Keston's hand and dragging him along. “I was going to see with a bunch of former Prism users that Ikki saved. They've already started the meeting about fifteen minutes ago!”

“What?!? And why wouldn't you tell Kerrigan and the-”

“I thought we just went over this!” I snapped. “I'm not going to have anything to do with them, no matter what. Killing people, even assassins, is bad enough... but lying to pretty much the whole world so Interpol could get away with such a program. You're lucky enough I'm bringing you along!”

It was true, after all. I had every right to just let him go home to his killer of a Tower. But... well, he and Anser were good people that just happened to be in the care of terrible people. I didn't want the blood of those two incubi on my hands, considering how Anser had been a target for Chizuru Onedara and that Prism monster from before. So if I brought Keston along, he could be my proxy and be my way around my refusal to discuss things with those murderers.

That and Keston understood what being a big brother meant. I wouldn't disrespect his wishes to protect Anser.
_
We barreled through the doors of the meeting room only minutes after that, horribly out of breath as the six of them looked at us. I was familiar with Erica, Bridget, and Leona... but the other three were entirely new to me.

“Uh... hey there everyone...” I blushed in a little bit of embarrassment, and then my face went beat-red when a black-haired girl four years my senior said those horrible words.

“What's with the blonde kid? He your boyfriend?”

“What? No!” he answered. “I'm just here because-”

“For his brother's sake,” I said while looking at him out of the corner of my eye. “Anyways... I'm really sorry to be late. What's happened so far?”

“Not much. We were kinda waiting for you to show up,” Bridget remarked. “But now that your here... want to start us off?”

Well... that was to be expected and I forward to be at the center of attention while Keston took a seat.

“I met Ikki a number of months ago after my life had been turned upside down by the Prisms,” I began. I didn't want to get into details and these men and women didn't want to hear a sob story. “Ikki was on a sort of crusade, to destroy them and save their users from becoming drunk on their power. He saved nearly all of you. Well, Miss Ichimonji's saved you two, Erica and Leona, but Ikki helped her out anyways.

“What I do know about the Prisms was that they give people the power to achieve their hearts' desire and the only way to remove this power is to have the jewels destroyed by a great force or hypothetically shaking the faith of the user. There's also the instance that if the Prisms are touched by someone other than their owner, they attempt to subsume the user as some sort of safety program.”

“Like what happened with Erica and me, right?” Leona asked. I confirmed that.

“I honestly don't know what would happen to the person if the process wasn't stopped, and I don't want to find out. Now I've heard stories from some people here that you receive the jewels in dreams. Is that the case for everyone?”

Almost everyone nodded, but that glasses-wearing, black-haired girl from before raid her hand again.

“Um... I think I had a little more than that happen to me.”

“Really? What else happened, Amano?” Bridget said as she looked over to her.

The woman stood up and waved. “Uh, yeah. I'm Amano Nagato. Sorry about that boyfriend line earlier. Well... I'm not sure if this really helps... but not too long after I had that dream... I think I... met that woman. And after seeing her show up here for some speeches...I think it might be Megami Sato.”

Megami Sato... that seemed so... obvious. Her first name literally meant “Goddess”, after all. That crackpot cultist... was she really behind it all? Keston certainly seemed attentive anyways.

“You talked with her?” Bridget asked. Amano nodded.

“Yeah. She talked about how there was more than one way to really have a Prism... like how there was a whole dichotomy to it. How Prisms given spiritually had to take a physical form and how Prisms given in the physical world were akin to one's soul.”

“You didn't-”

“Of course not,” Amano answered. “That sounded crazy. Really crazy... and I just wanted to have a little more help with my paralegal studies so I turned her down.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Smart choice. The absolute worst thing any of us could do involving Prisms is something we don't know how to undo.”

“Thanks.”
_
“So... learn anything new?” I asked as I walked along with Keston under the night sky. Amano's story really was the only new thing I found out about, but it was still something. And if Megami Sato really was responsible for all of this that would at least answer one question.

“Enough,” Keston answered. “And you know I'm going to be passing on the word, right?”

“Naturally. The difference is I'm not.”

The streets seemed unnaturally empty that night as we continued on our way, Keston growing more and more tense in spite of the pleasant words we exchanged. Finally we reached a curb and paused. “Guess this is where our paths separate.”

“Indeed they are,” I answered. “Watch yourself, Keston. Take care of your brother.”

The incubus smirked. “No problem. See you around!” He waved his hand and then took off running down the sidewalk as I waited for the light to turn green. Looking up in the sky, I mused that the moonlight was growing dimmer by the second, but chalked it up to the street lamps drowning it out.

The “Walk” light came on and I promptly crossed the street. It was about then that I noticed it was getting a little too dark, and a quick glance up showed me the moon had suddenly been eclipsed. Alarms went off in my head right before I was slammed into a brick wall, dazed and unable to make heads or tails of my attack as they shoved in the general direction of an alley.

“We meet again, and so soon... Giselle Vega-Stroheim.”

I looked up, appalled at who I saw.

Amano Nagato was standing there, smirking devilishly.

“You know... that friend of yours is very foolish. Posting a thread on her blog about Hallowed Prisms? You'd think we wouldn't catch wind of it?”

“Y-you mean... you were like a mole or something?”

“Guilty as charged,” she answered. “And incidentally...” she checked her watch before looking at me. “Right on schedule.”

“What the heck are you talking about?!?” I snarled, pulling out my kendama and attacking her with it. Then there was a blur... almost like some kind of red comet as Amano turned to the side and evaded a figure attacking her. With superhuman speed, the figure was thrown straight into me and we both struck the wall.

I looked over for a moment, shocked but also somewhat relieved to see Keston there. He had... tried to save me?

“All part of the ploy,” Amano sighed as she approached us. “Granted, I could've let you guys just stay in the dark and feed my superiors the knowledge... but that wouldn't do at all. Bringing in Ikki Higashi's little sidekick and the older brother of my organization's greatest obstacle to victory's too good to pass up!”

She continued to rant on and on about how she was going to make her mother proud of her and earn respect amongst the goddess's servants. All I could really do was look at Keston and smirk.

We primed ourselves to charge this gloating idiot together. There was going to be absolutely no way she could take us both at the same-

“WAAAAH!!!!!”

Our attack ended long before it had a chance to begin, our bodies incapable of moving away from the wall as Amano just let out a disgustingly high-pitched laugh.

“Too bad for you then!” Amano answered as she pulled out a bejeweled necklace. “My heart's content for this little dandy was reading up all about someone's identity. I know what your capable of, both of you. And I know all about the others. Saori... Anser... Shot... Kerrigan and her stupid ghost sister wielding powers akin yet so different to the Hallowed Prisms...”

“Wait... what do you mean 'for this one'?” Keston asked. Amano's grin grew only more twisted as she clasped the jewel.

“Unite together... Prism of the Soul and Prism of the Body. Grant me the full power entrusted to me by my goddess!”

There was a brilliant flash of light and a gust of wind, both of us unable to keep our eyes open. Even with our eyes shut, I got quite the taste of the light show going on around Amano and when I finally opened I couldn't believe it.

Apparently, the powers that be decided my life wasn't crazy enough. So they threw Magic Girls a-la Arcane Hecate or Maji School into the mix.

Nagato stood in front of us in an outfit of red and yellow, looking victorious more than ever. “Checkmate. The power of my Soul's Prism has locked you down. And with that lunar eclipse...” she pointed above, “He can't come to your rescue either. All that's left...” A dagger's blade flashed from the distant streetlight's glimmer, impaling Keston in the chest. My voice lost its strength as Amano laughed.

“Oh, he's a demon! Incubi are pretty hardy, so that alone won't kill him.” She gradually approached us, and I struggled in vain to escape this mysterious hold. Amano even seemed amused by my efforts and for a moment I hoped she would divulge the secret to my imprisonment. Instead she just pulled out another knife.

“Keston has some use for us. On the other hand, you do not, Giselle Vega-Stroheim. DIE!”

She charged and thoughts raced through my mind. At long last I had found one of the individuals for Ikki's capture... and I was... I was going to die? Right here and right now? Tears of desperation welled up in my eyes as I held them closed.

This... this can't be how it was going to end!!!!

A moment passed, and all of a sudden I felt myself... freed. My body stumbled forward away from the wall, and for a moment I thought all was well.

… Then I saw that Keston was still stuck to the wall and bleeding. Turning around, I saw Amano was pulling herself up from the ground, as if she had... had tripped on something.

Looking down at the kendama still in my hand, I saw that one of the crescent-shaped blades had been detached. Following its nearly invisible cable.... I realized Amano must have tripped on it. And then whatever focus she had on binding me was lost. I took a moment to thank my lucky stars as I reigned in the lone crescent and Amano wiped the grit off her face.

“That... won't happen again!” Amano snarled as she pointed at me. Fearing the worst, I ducked under the gesture, feeling the knife whiz by and graze my hair as I charged. My kendama's ball lashed out, Amano stepping a few inches backwards. The ball tragically came up just short, at which point my enemy grabbed the ball and pulled me forward.

I immediately recalled what happened when I fought Kerrigan and ducked my head down to avoid the soon-to-be-coming punch...

Only to get one instead in the gut that knocked the wind out of me.

“Heh... foolish of you.” Amano chuckled as she threw me away. I couldn't believe how powerful she was, let alone the fact I was still alive! I thought the human body was supposed to shut down when exposed to this kind of pain or something!

Gasping desperately for breath, I tried my best to stand only to see that Amano was charging at me and delivering another punch. My legs suddenly gave out, causing her to slip over me and strike the bricks behind me. Amano's superhuman strength was astounding, not to mention her speed as she effortlessly spun around and delivered a kick to my face before walking further into the alley.

“The others...” she chuckled,” They fail to realize that all the Prisms need to grant for one to obtain victory is power to the body and the ability to understand one's heart. I now all about you and your experiences in life,” Amano sighed. “I know everything. I know about you, Ikki, your mother, and most importantly right now, your speed at the hundred-meter dash and the length of your kendama.”

She thought she had me trapped. I had to admit she was kinda right.

“Assuming you beat me, you will have plenty of time to get Keston to a hospital and save his life,” she continued as she suddenly began playing with a third knife. “I'm am giving you two options. Each one is equally dangerous. The first...” she pointed the knife at me. “Is to run. You are exactly one hundred meters away from the entrance of the alley. If you reach there, you're home free. However, you'll have to run fast since my knife will be coming for you.

“Your other option is to attack and hope for the best. You could try to corner me, but I'll catch on long before that happens and just kill you anyways.”

I clenched my fists before having the segments of my kendama break apart. Amano Nagato was not surprised by this gesture as she pushed her glasses up a bit.

“Increasing the number of projectiles coming at me doesn't change their reach, Giselle. Don't tell me my arrogance is causing you to make stupid mistakes?”

“LIKE HELL!!!!”

I sprinted at her, noticing she was waiting to use the knife. I wasn't surprised. I just needed to take a few more spaces, and...

THERE!

My kendama's blades shot out at Amano, who simply took two steps backwards. This fight had been decided, as far as she was thinking.

…

… You know, that look on her face of shock and horror, when she realized one of my crescent blades had a brick attached to it to give it the extra reach it needed to his her square in the face...

That look was priceless. It was the look that let me know her entire existence had accepted her defeat. She just stumbled backwards before falling down. A quick glance backwards let me know Keston was finally free, and I knew I'd have to call Shot or someone to get him to a hospital. But something was... wrong here.

Stumbling forward -Amano's attacks had still shaken me up-... I was wondering what the deal with her was. Cautiously I knelt down a few feet away from her, looking at her body to see if there was any sign of... well... life.

…

There wasn't any. She was... dead.

Oh my god... I killed her. I... killed her.

I...

I wasn't any better than any of those murderers...

[LinneaKou]

@_@ I feel bad, I haven't been keeping up. *Bad Linnea, bad!*

Saori's newest personality manifestation is kind of nice, provided she stays a fanatic of Majischule. ^-^ Giselle is one headstrong little fighter - I hope she doesn't stumble into anything worse than... uhm... killing... aw, heck. *shrugs*

And am I the only one who smells a conspiracy? *sniff-sniff* Why is it that the OBVIOUSLY bad guy gets the public support behind them and makes the heroes' lives living Hell without exerting more energy than that needed to twitch a finger?? I mean COME ON! *headdesk* Either I've been ground into the pavement too many times over the past few weeks, or I'm reliving something from a past life, excuse my ranting.

All in all, you have ONCE AGAIN proven yourself to be a v-e-r-y tricky writer. Kudos to you *bows*

[MorriganAensland]

Well, I wanted to really build on a sense of hopelessness and tragedy in these stories.

That, and be a brutal deconstruction of WITCH (person mentioning "Heart" all the time, using a jewel, yellow and red are the opposite colors to purple and green) and Saint Seiya. In those stories, the organization with a godly figure at the top holds tremendous sway on the Earth's affairs and I want to show that there is no reason for them to be anything other than utterly evil.

[Zhanneel]

So, there's a new level of mastery to the Hallowed Prisms. Saori and Company are going to be reeling when they meet up with more experienced users. Also, looks like Giselle will soon have to come to terms with the "lesser evil", aka: Hachi Satsu. I liked the "playful" interaction between Keston and Giselle. I'm hoping if anyone can help her come to terms with the Hachi Satsu it will be Keston.

And anyone who would rather work on paralegal studies than hang with a fun, power crazy cult obviously is under the influence of evil. I saw right through you, Miss Nagato, xP.

Overall, this was very nice to read when taking off on the plane (took my mind off of freaking out ^^. However, when I was done reading, the Sky Mall magazine was all I was left with. Too bad it was all redundant stuff, pah. Lots of Harry Potter merchandise still, lol.)

[MorriganAensland]

Giselle: You're crazy to think all lawyers are evil! Ikki was one before he took up the crusade to break the Prisms!

Soma: Um... yeah. His first appearance was Maoh Soma... where he was using Hallowed Prisms.

Keston: Uh... hey there everyone. You know... bleeding from a knife lodged in me?

Saori: Oh, Incubi are hardy. Walk it off!

And yes. From here on out, they cast will mostly be fighting genuine hostile users of the Prisms. Amano was also the first of the five members that would be a pastiche of WITCH.

[MorriganAensland]

The preceding

“I got you some coffee... thought you could use some,” I said as I handed the drink over to Giselle. The downtrodden girl dismissed it with a wave of her hand. So we just stayed there, in a hospital waiting room in utter silence. Frowning, I decided to just thank the fact something had turned around for us and sat down on the same bench as her. “You want to talk?”

“I couldn't have hit her hard enough to kill her.”

Giselle's composure had been crumbling at least since she phoned us about Keston's injury and that Amano Nagato woman. The good news was that we knew that -as clichéd as it was- crackpot cultist Megami Sato was behind it all. The bad news was, well, there were Prisms of the Soul or something now. And just when things started becoming a little easier to understand too...

But Giselle was right. Amano couldn't have gotten enough blunt trauma to kill her immediately, leading me to wonder if this was some other aspect of these new Prisms.

“... I know,” I answered. “But at the end of the battle, you were alive while she was not. And you were doing it to protect someone.”

The Brazilian girl snorted in amusement before looking at me. “Is that supposed to be some parallel to what you're responsible for?”

Ah. Smart girl. She didn't feel like beating around the bush, and neither did I.

“Giselle, you can't do this alone. Not even Ikki went solo, from what you've said. And I know about the Prism survivors... after all, that was what Ikki originally recruited you for. But...” I wasn't sure if I was going to get through to her or not. It was certainly possible I'd crash and burn like last time. “If Megami Sato is responsible for all of this, then she has an entire organization's worth of resources and manpower. We are going to be stretched thin regardless. Even if you've decided you don't need us...

“We will need you.”

Giselle didn't answer right away. Instead she just avoided my gaze and shrugged.

“I'd like a bit of time, if that would be okay.”

“Sure.”
_
The child

Incubi do not have much going for them. The inability to produce offspring without the assistance of humans compounded with little if any mystical abilities, meant that unless one deliberately trained for combat, they'd be severely underpowered.

Fortunately, there was just something about Keston, other incubi, and myself that let us take injuries better than at least humans. My big brother was going to be okay and this was going to be put past us. He'd just have to spend a few days in the hospital, which just kept bothering me.

That Amano woman knew who Keston was. What if some other agents of Megami Sato knew about us too? I just sat there, in that chair all curled up and looking at the ground -I was certainly doing that a lot- and realizing how badly I was in over my head. Saori was to my left, Shot to my right. Both were in deep reflection. We... we could all be in danger and-

“It'll be okay, Anser,” Saori said as she... apparently was playing with a bag of instant ramen. “I've already got a plan so we can keep an eye on him and make sure nothing bad happens to him!” Opening the ramen bag, she gave both me and Shot a thumbs up. “We shouldn't have any problem at all with all of us working together, right?”

“Provided we keep our wits about us,” Shot answered, “But I don't think that would be too problematic. That Amano woman might've known what we looked like by reading Giselle's 'heart', but there's a billion women out there that could fit our descriptions. The way you've been carrying yourself recently,” she smirked, “That might throw them off even more than anything else!”

Saori gave a weak smile as she poured the flavoring into the ramen bag and then began shaking it. “Don't count on that forever. I'm not right in the head, after all... half the reason I'm acting... well, normal, is just I'm tired. I'm tired of all this stress and panic and... well, logic isn't the strong point of the insane.” Opening the ramen bag, she gave a much stronger smile. “Want a snack? I read this in a manga once and wanted to give it a try.”

“I'll pass.”

“Fair enough,” the blonde lady laughed. “Had to get as much of this stuff as possible out of the house though... hate for another accident to befall you Shot.”

“I applaud you for benevolence,” the redhead answered before standing up and looking around. “Anyways Anser, I think we ought to say our goodbyes and head home. I think it's safe to say that our identities should be safe, at least for the time being.”

“But what about-”

“I'll take the first watch,” Saori piped up. “I'll call if anything bad happens and I'll do everything in my power to keep him safe. It was my idea in the first place, right?”

“I guess so.” I gave a brief laugh before finding myself waving goodbye to her together with Shot.
_
The preceding

“At any rate, we're sorting out our own problems,” I remarked as I walked home that night. I would've driven to the hospital or at least caught a cab, but I wanted to at least take the chance another Hallowed Prism user was out on the streets too, if only so we could get some more information. Iris lending a second set of eyes certainly helped to make sure nobody would get the drop on me.

“You sure Saori'll be enough to take care of Keston though?” my dead little sister asked.

“Keston was a merely a target because Amano thought she had a chance. As far as we know, it's just Anser that Megami and the others want. Why? We're still completely in the dark about.”

“Well, I think I have an idea about that,” Iris said. “Amano didn't die because of her battle injuries, it was more a case of her body just... stopping. I'm familiar with this means of murder, especially since, well... she did it.”

“You mean the person that killed you? Mizuki Rajoshin?”

“Yeah. Well, she didn't do it to me, but she did it to the personification of Destiny. It was an attack that involved robbing the body of the ability to sustain life, robbing the mind of the idea it can sustain life, and robbing the soul of the idea it deserves to live. Killing someone in this way is an effective means of denying them reincarnation, because the person's soul has no interest in reincarnation. And what happened to Amano... it's frighteningly similar.”

“But Giselle doesn't have powers like that. You think that those Prisms of the soul could be responsible?”

Iris nodded. “That's been the difference between her and the other Prism users we've fought so far. Well, except for Chizuru... but Chizuru was different than the others.”

I snorted in frustration. “So we've found a little more about the Prisms' effects, but not their origin.”

“We'll figure something out, Kerrigan. We're not in this alone, after all.”

I knew that all too well. But we needed answers. Not vague tidbits that merely taunted us with the truth, but genuine facts that would give us a leg up on Megami Sato. It was only a matter of time until she sent someone after us, especially since Amano Nagato had her own brand of telepathy if we took her word at face value.

Then it hit me. It made more sense than anything else.

“Tax records.” Judging by Iris's quizzical looks, I realized I'd have to do some explanations. Not like I minded, this walk home was extraordinarily boring and I still had a ways to go anyways. “Megami provided Hallowed Prisms to both Audrey McCready AND Brian Lernan. The reason for this was to cast a negative light on Interpol and world governments.”

“Which would mean that her own religious movement would look much more appealing due to the lack of skeletons in their closet!”

“Catching on, it's a good sign Iris.” My little sister could be surprisingly smart whenever I gave her a nudge in the right direction. “Brian Lernan also does not do things Pro Bono, and as far as I can tell, and it could be possible that Megami paid him.”

“Couldn't she just have taken advantage of Audrey's desperation and Lernan's desire for being an even better assassin? Lernan's announcement was known world-wide. Someone else could've been responsible?”

I laughed. “Good point. Of course,” turning to my transparent sibling, a playful smirk grew and grew. “You never know until you try.”
_
The flawless

My right hand felt unusually itchy that night. I could've just chalked it up to the weather or stress or just the fact I was wearing a glove, but those were no real reasons. The issue bothered me because, well, I really couldn't think up an answer that satisfied me.

Anser had gone off to bed, giving me a simple goodbye and leaving me on the couch so I could be alone in my hand-gazing. When curiosity finally got the better of me, I slipped off the fingerless glove and looked at the back of my palm.

“Same as always, huh?”

I slipped the glove back on. It was just my nerves, nothing more. I mean, Saori was acting sane due to all of this, it was perfectly rational I'd be affected too. There was nothing more I could do out here, so I went off to bed too.
_
The true

Do you remember the old cartoons they always air in the morning? They’re all great, aren’t they? They're a great way to stay young at heart, regardless on any personal tragedies or years spent on this planet.

My name is Saori Ichimonji, and I am thoroughly stressed out right now. Every day I wonder if whatever old habits of acting like a child when I wasn't wearing a pair of glasses would spring up, but things have been decent for the time being. My friends and comrades were a little spooked at first, and I think Anser's trying to think up another title that stuck as well as “Stupid Blonde Lady” or “Scary Shiny Glasses Lady” to no avail.

In a way, it reminded me of years ago. Usagi and I couldn't have even been fifteen and we were really struggling with our math. We gave it our all... but we got frustrated all the time and at that point our study sessions would go south. We were praying to pretty much every religion out there to give us some kind of way of passing.

What we got was a pair of bad fevers. Our parents wanted us to just stay in bed, but we refused and kept studying. Something really funny happened that week when we ended up taking our tests. Both of us went in, sniveling and shivering, and walked out having scored perfects. The reason was simple: we were tired physically but not mentally. We got plenty of rest and so our minds stayed fresh, but our bodies were so worn out we didn't have the strength to get upset. Utterly contradictory, but to us at that point in time, it made sense.

I managed to catch a late-night showing of Maji School on one of the hospital's TVs in between checking up on Keston. He was fine and would be heading out of here in a couple of days anyways. I found a bed and caught a few winks every now and then. Keston wasn't too far away, so if he shouted or anything I'd quickly get to his rescue. Truth be told though, I was a bit disappointed he had run off without telling any of us, but at least he had been with Giselle. He had a good understanding of what he had done, and we had a brief heart to heart that morning.


“I'm sorry. Really...”

“Just be careful in the future. The Prism users are even more dangerous than we thought and we were lucky that Amano was defeated like she was.”

“Uh, sure.” He looked down from my gaze before I laughed. “What is it?”

“Just think you should wear some sunglasses sometime. You already got the blonde hair and red jacket, after all! Or maybe a mask...”

Judging by the looks I was getting, I think the boy thought I was regressing. Whatever. He had done a lot for Anser and I really appreciated, so I'd respect his decisions.
_
That being said, I was still getting him those sunglasses. Nothing wrong with killing a little bit of time anyways.

Jogging down the stairwell, I wondered what I would do for breakfast, or when Shot and company would be showing up. I could always give them a call or-

“Oof! Watch where you're-”

“I don't have time for-”

…

You... I couldn't believe... Tears welled up in my eyes as I ran forward.

“ERIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!” I cried out as I hugged my best friend in the hallway. She certainly seemed happy to see me. It was good to know she was okay after that last... horrible moment we shared together. That man committing suicide... I had worried about her so much...

“Saori!” she said with much less energy but just as much enthusiasm. “I can't believe it! What are you doing here?”

“Not much,” I answered as I sized up Eri. She looked well, okay, but I knew she probably had a lot on her hands. What with that appraiser dying on her... “Just visiting a friend of a friend,” I answered. “What about you?”

“I guess you could say the same!” She chuckled at the line before squinting. “You... seem different though. Cut your hair?”

“Nope,” I answered. “Just stuff happening. Same for you?”

“Kinda...” the brown-haired woman answered. “I've had a bit more success with my art though! I'm just really sorry about not contacting you before... it's just I've been so busy... you must've thought I was doing terrible?”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” I told her, “But your my friend and I respect it if you want to have some space. What kind of friend would I be if I said I had to spend every waking moment with you?”

Eri's expression softened as she hugged me again.

“We really ought to make up for lost time, shouldn't we? Coffee or something?”

“That would be-” My voice trailed off when I suddenly caught sight of Shot. “That would be great! But I gotta go, if that would be okay with you.” Slipping out of her hug, I gave Eri a wave, noting that she seemed shaken up by something before running off. “I'll call you tomorrow, okay?”

For some reason, it was like Eri Desrin had forgotten how to talk. She quickly realized something was wrong though and eventually smiled.

“Sorry. Just... remembered something unpleasant. It's okay though. See you soon, Saori!”
_
The flawless

“How was the night?”

“Fine, yours?”

“Hand was acting up a little bit but...” I snorted as Saori and I walked down the hall. “... But it was nothing. Keston still doing fine?”

“I had a talk with him, didn't want him running out like that again. He's a good kid, all in all. Incidentally... how was-” I stopped myself. How brutally ironic. The Devil responsible for my status as a Tower was in care of another Tower, and I had been keeping an eye on her Devil.

“Just fine. Slept like a baby.”

We continued talking, and I informed Saori about Kerrigan's plan to investigate the Order of the Goddess's tax records. She thought it was a good idea and had a chance of success. At any rate, we had to go on the attack sooner or later before Megami's stupid Prism Users backed us into a corner.

“I'm also seeing if I can bring you on the Hachi Satsu task force. You're still a Hachi Satsu, after all... you deserve to bring assassins to justice, after all.”

“Shot...”

We said our goodbyes, Saori Ichimonji heading off to the parking lot to finally get to her car while I headed off keep an eye on Keston. It was only a brief walk to the elevator and I pressed the “up” button. The moments passed all too fast, and I suddenly wished Saori was there backing me up.

Because the elevator opened up to reveal the brown-haired Kai-Gara. Like before, pieces of black cloth covered up much of her face and I could hear more than a few gasps from behind me. Turning around, at least a half dozen members of the hospital's staff were looking in terror at the woman. So it wasn't just a hallucination... I wasn't sure where or not to be relieved or frightened.

“We meet again.”

More frantic shouts and screams behind me as I glared at the servant of the late Chizuru Onedara, and even with the fabric blocking the view of her face, I knew Kai-Gara was reveling in every second of the terror she spread.

“Cut the theatrics!” I snarled with a fierce finger-point. “What's your point in coming here!”

“You want to discuss issues about the Hallowed Prisms, don't you?” A... answers? I couldn't pass this up... and Chizuru had opposed Megami in spite of using Prisms herself... as much as the woman's mannerisms were disgusting me, having her as an ally could tip the scales in our favor.

I tried to answer but the anxious hopes billowing inside of me had an adverse effect on my throat. Kai-Gara found it all too easy to laugh at my surprise as she pushed the “descend” button inside the elevator.

“Go down to the parking levels. I will find you down there.”

…

Conceited... conceited woman...
_
After doing my best to console those that had beheld the unnatural visage of the unnatural Kai-Gara, I followed her instructions. On my way to the parking lot, one big thing was going through my mind.

How was Kai-Gara moving through the hospital without causing widespread panic? You'd figure someone would catch her transforming from her alter-ego if it amounted to throwing on a disguise but... oh, just forget it. This was a crazy world I was in and I needed to start using Saori's crazy moonland, crack baby logic. It had served her well, so far.

I reached the first parking floor of the parking deck, almost expecting Kai-Gara to already be there waiting for me. Instead, all I found was a deserted local. Sure, cars were there, along with an appropriate amount of garbage, but cloth-lady seemed to be late to the party.

I tried the next level down, but nothing. Third time was the charm though, Kai-Gara waiting around in plain sight.

“Nice to meet you again, ma'am.”

“Sorry about your boss,” I retorted. “She had a thing for theatrics and that was fine. That fetus thing certainly freaked us out, but I'm assuming it was purely an aesthetic decision?”

“What Chizuru did was...” she shrugged. “Hers and hers alone. I was merely her servant. That being said...” The woman returned my finger point from before, “Am I correct in guessing you are the Tower of the Devil for the incubus located here?”

“Yes. What's he to you?”

Kai-Gara did not answer me for a long time, all the while I cursed her impromptu mask for keeping me from seeing her face. Instead she just whiled away the time. Things were becoming quite clear she had no interest in answering me.

“If you're going to play dumb,” I spat as the golden spear Elysium appeared in my hand, “Maybe you would like a recap of our previous battle?”

She raised her hands in a sign of mock-surrender. “By all means... if you must...” she began taking steps back. “Then you-”

“Hey Shot!!”

Both of us froze, Kai-Gara spinning around to see Saori looking around quizzically. What the hell was she still doing here?!?

“Have you seen my car? I thought I-”

“NO!”

Kai-Gara's reaction to Saori's foot touching the ground paralleled that of someone having to talk an idiot through defusing a bomb. And it was just at that point the ceiling in front of me suddenly gave out. I dove backwards as quickly as I could, cars, trucks, and concrete falling through and trapping Saori with that woman. And I was beginning to realize more and more that this had been nothing more than a very elaborate trap.
_
The true

“Kai-Gara... I assume?” Cocytus was already in my hand. Shot had said she was dangerous, but if I kept my wits about me there would be nothing to worry about.

“Yes. And I do believe...” she let out a rather gleeful laugh, “This is the first time we've ever met.”

What... what was the point of that last part?

“I do advise you to not go any further though,” Kai-Gara continued. “You're in a proverbial minefield and there's practically no way out.

“What are you talking about? The ground's perfectly smooth. There's absolutely no way you couldn't hidden land mines here!”

I charged at her, Kai-Gara not showing the slightest hint of surprise as the roof gave out yet again, albeit on a much smaller scale. Down came a smaller sports car -probably some trophy of a rich doctor or patient here- , and I could only wonder about whether or not the insurance would cover getting bisected by a supernatural axe.

My attack was swift, it was guaranteed to succeed.

…

… Which is why I started freaking out the minute my weapon was deflected off of it. I barely had the time needed to lay myself flat against the ground so it didn't crush me... but now... now I was at Kai-Gara's mercy!

“So this is what you're capable of in battle, Saori Ichimonji? I was expecting a lot more from you.”

Damn you...

Squirming out from the car, I could see Kai-Gara very cautiously approach me. I wasn't sure exactly why, but I was betting it had something to do with her ability to make ceilings structurally unsound if I were to step on a certain floor.

“You can't break it by attacking it,” Kai-Gara announced as I grabbed Cocytus. “That car's 'flaws'... I moved them. The weak points in the frame are elsewhere. Granted, if you were to attack those points, you could've damaged the car... but attacking it is utterly futile!”

“We'll see about that!” I shouted before slamming Cocytus into the car again. “Just because I can't damage it...

“DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T USE IS AS A PROJECTILE!”

The axe struck the side of the car and delivered enough force to launch it straight at Kai-Gara. That apparently shook the woman up and I was hoping her own “indestructible” attack would be her own undoing. My hopes faltered when she jumped over the vehicle and landed without problems, the car just another piece of the refuse separating us from Shot.

“In... incredible...” the woman foolishly turned her back to me. She was ranting on about how she had never expected someone to turn that technique against her, least of all me, but I wasn't really paying attention. Instead I was charging at Kai-Gara, being extra careful and taking very long steps to minimize the risks of the ceiling raining down any other objects on me. So far my luck was pretty good, and as I was barely a handful of meters away from Kai-Gara and-

“I want wings.”

What?

There was a flash of light, disgustingly trite multicolored butterfly wings bursting from Kai-Gara's back and contrasting with her otherwise black selection of clothes. I guess this went along with Giselle getting the Magic Girl experience before and-

Ow.

My eyes. What had just happened?

I felt a pain in my gut before more pain in my neck and back. I could feel my arms growing numb, the vast difference in Kai-Gara's wings and clothing becoming fainter and fainter.

“The power to have my heart's desire, just as Megami Sato promised.”

Empty words... sounding so far away.

“Die, Saori Ichimonji.”
_
The flawless

“NOT ON MY WATCH, KAI-GARA!!!!”

The woman in black turned and rose as she realized I was standing there again, slightly out of breath and dirty, but once again back in the game.

“How... how did you...”

I smirked as I raised up my right arm. Elysium had draped itself over the entirety of the forearm almost like a glove. I casually reached over, finding a nice-sized piece of concrete and quickly crushing it in my grasp.

“Between me and Saori, there's one big difference. Surpassing. No matter what, no matter when, no matter how, I will surpass her. That's the gift of an old friend. But I can't keep surpassing her if you kill her, so I'm going to have to cut these shenanigans here and now. I smashed my way through that pile of junk, and now I'm going to do the same to you.”

Kai-Gara chuckled as she kicked Saori's body away like it was nothing. As much as I was worried about her, this woman had a lot to answer for already and that really upset me.

“You shouldn't have kicked away the only thing keeping me from doing this.”

“What?”

I thrust my right hand out as creases appeared along the yellow gauntlet, gradually folding open to reveal an empty blackness. Kai-Gara was unnerved by that sight. Why? I had absolutely no clue. But I had it at my disposal and by god, I was going to use everything I had to kill this woman once and for all.

“NI HAJIME!”

A blast of darkness, transcending what Kai-Gara touted on her face, was let loose. The coward turned and ran but it didn't really make much of a difference. The power I let loose tore through the wall, carrying Kai-Gara with it.

She was screaming the whole time.
_
The true

“Saori! Saori!”

“S-Shot?”

I reached up, still trying to let my eyesight adjust. Nothing... nothing was happening. “Shot, are you there?”

“Yeah, Ichimonji. She's gone now. I took care of her.”

“... Good. And it's good too... that we're in a hospital. I've gotta go back, Shot. I've gotta go back now.”

“I don't follow...”

“It's... it's this darkness, Shot. I feel my eyes are open but there's just this darkness.

“She blinded me, Ichiban.”

[LinneaKou]

I'M BACK!! WOOO! Sorry for being so late on the response. I just recovered from a nasty bout of virus invasion on my laptop. >.< Good news is, my antivirus is up and running, so I see no problems for the near future.

First off: OOH NOOEES! Saori... blinded?? GASP! TT0TT There's only one thing to do...

*Alice: Lee, we'll have to donate your eyes to Saori. *advances with a knife*

*Lee: WHAT? NO! *runs away*

... Okay, I'm overdoing it. But GODDAMMIT that was just cruel, and Kai-Gara got what she deserved.

*Alice: Nooooooooo, if she'd gotten what she deserved, _I_ would have taken care of her. *cracks knuckles loudly* No one messes with my fans!

Still confused as to what Shot's "flaw" is, but then again, it's a new semester. X_X At least Shot kicked @$$.

I'll assume all other things I'm confused about will get cleared up in future chapters. 'Till then, I'm gonna go curl into a ball and wait out the winter. *shivers*

[MorriganAensland]

Heh. Saori's mid-season upgrade is coming around. Gotta make things look bad for her before she gets that upgrade after all.

And Kai-Gara's not out of the way just yet. Saori, however, will get her chance at a rematch a ways down the road.

Lastly, concerning Shot's "flaw", it is meant to be another tidbit that helps connect this story with Matei Mizuki. It was an afterthought, but I'm glad how I've taken it.

[LinneaKou]

Of course.

On a side note, do you realize that you just gave away some spoilers? Just letting you know, because I'm _SO_ good at keeping secrets *sarcastic*

*Alice: *sneaks up with a giant hammer - the rest is history*

[MorriganAensland]

Pah! Indulge yourselves on those little spoielrs all you want! They're meaningless compared to the big showstopper of a plot twist I've had planned since day 1!