The sun has nearly set, and the minions of the night are beginning to blossom. Those whose very cores are the essence of the purest of darkness flourish at this time, and well into the night, until the hour of the turning--from one day to the next.
In a large hotel room, four of these beings are flourishing, forgetting the world around them, if only for a few moments.
A door opens, and Mature steps out, a smile of satisfaction on her face. Almost right behind her is Ryuji, with a similar look on his face. The door next to theirs opens, and Vice comes out with a dreamy, though tired look. She walks over to Mature. Iori comes out, seemingly in a state of peace for the first time in years. The sun has finished setting, but members of the Hakkeshu are nearly ready to paint the town red!
"Ryuji was awesome! He really knows his stuff."
"Maybe, Mature, but Iori's learned a few things since last time. I don't think anything could come close!"
"Ah! Next time, let's trade!"
"Hey, hoes! I'm glad you're so excited about our special time. Playtime's over--time for some work. What do ya say, Iori? Let's go, NOW!"
"Are you crazy, man?" Mature yelled, shocked that even Ryuji would dare to defy Orochi.
"You wouldn't defy Him, would you?" Vice asked, not sure if she wanted a reply.
"If I had a kind, you would be my kind of man. Ready to defy authority, and fulfill the lust for Blood. But the Bitches are right. The instant either of us move, Orochi will drop us like corpses."
"I just had a phat idea," he smirked, and pointed out to a gym across the street, "Surely a bit of a `workout' will be fine," and both men had their own, sadistical looks, while the girls just looked at each other, and then them.
Inside, each agreed, viley, not to use any special techniques. That way, Orochi wouldn't drop them. Deep down, none of them wanted to feel it. Even as deadly as Ryuji and Iori are, they do fear the Dark One. Their powers aren't enough to withstand Him. Defiance will equal a bloody, painful, and slow demise. What if they were to learn that Orochi was sleeping within the body of a boy? What if they were to learn that Orochi rested in Chris? What of Goenitz?
Two of the most dangerous men of the Orochi Clan, if not of our time, feel their blood exploding with raw, savage, unmatched power. Each has agreed for this to be hand-to-hand. There will be no Crimson Flames, Snake Arms, or the like. While each burns with the fire of it being to the glorious end; it shall not happen. However, each is determined to bring it damn close!
Iori yells like he did when he was "drunk with Orochi Blood." Ryuji's insane laughter echoes throughout the building, and all others in the gym stop. Each makes their way to the source, unaware of the fact that they are watching two of their future's executioners. As the two men battle, they heed little from the onlookers, doing as they had done before. Periodically, they look around for any that may be foolish enough to approach.
The audience is entranced by what they see...it seems like a show, or something from a dream. Either way, it is mesmerizing. In a matter of moments, it will turn into a massacre.
Iori ducks under Ryuji's long arm, grabs him by the neck, and slams him. He laughs as he moves in for a second hit, but Ryuji's longer reach stops him. Ryuji slams his head into Iori's face with a head butt, minus the explosion. The longer the match goes, the closer it comes for both of them to heed the call of the Blood. Mature and Vice feel it, and are afraid. They had both felt the fire of Iori; neither wanted to feel it again. They had no interest in feeling Ryuji's wrath. Physically, he's stronger than Iori, and that's enough for them. They watch as each strike is met with a counter-strike. Each look at their foe, dripping in sweat, and breathing heavily. Ryuji has the strength, while Iori has experience. Neither will matter, for the time is here!
"Hey, fags! Showtime's over! Now, get the Hell out while me and da guys do a REAL workout! The ladies can stay. Didn't ya 'ere me? Drop Dead!" but the two men merely looked through them, perhaps visualizing the future.
"Come on, guys," said a second, "Let's show them that they listen to Bloodstains!"
What appropriate names, thought Vice, just before Iori yelled, and Ryuji screamed, each under the Blood's control. The place was turning into a flaming, burning, living Hell! The ground was scorched with Iori's flames, and bodies fell. Ryuji went slicing through a chunk, blood flying all around him. He seemed to be humming "I'm Singing In The Rain!" Mature dashed some hoes into walls, letting them be engulfed in the skull and feel the dark power before they faded. Each time, there was a look of death, and satisfaction in her eyes. Vice acted helpless, and then wrapped her legs and did a series of frankenstieners on one.
Those that weren't fighting, were running for their lives, as they at least had some intelligence. The big guys always expect to run the show, and to have everybody do things their way. They go through life, wanting things to be easy. They surround themselves with others of their kind, and rely on "safety in numbers." Then, one day, they come across this. They can't run and hide, or they lose everything. They stay and die, out of nothing more than stupidity. Why do fools constantly do such things? The four here don't care, and hope that it never ends...they don't want their lives to become boring.
Several minutes earlier, Chizuru had finished a long day of trying to find the man who had given her a little present. She was looking for a guy named Ed. He was what he had called a "half-breed;" he was half Orochi, half Guardian. He had saved her life, as Iori and Ryuji were about to kill her, Leona, and Yuki. The image of Ryuji's head connecting with her head haunts her current thoughts, and she wonders...and leaps back as a figure leaps out of the shadows at her.
"What are you doing?! I said I didn't want anyone to follow me--not even you!"
"I haven't seen you since our last meeting. You are very hard to find."
"I like it that way. Don't follow me --and don't look for me!"
"Why? What have you to hide? We both know that whatever you may feel, you won't do anything to hurt me," and she took his hands, and a warm glow seemed to wash over them.
It felt strange to both of them. It felt wonderful to Chizuru. It was the feeling she had when her sister was alive; it was the feeling of belonging and being with somebody.
For Ed, it was indescribable. He had NEVER felt anything like it. His parents died at a young age, so he never had the feeling of family. How he lived for so long was something that even he questioned. What was it that kept him going? Was it really the fear of eternal damnation for what he had done? Was it some unseen force guiding him? Maybe, it was something that he had been lacking in his short, yet drawn-out life.
Chizuru took a few steps closer to him, and his first thought was as to how much taller he was then her. Why had he thought of that? He then looked closer at her face. He saw tiredness, from a long struggle and having a heavy burden in her heart.
She saw a soul trying to find itself. Was it of the same nature as the man that killed her sister? Perhaps it was more like Kyo? She felt his hands, and saw how incredibly thin they were. She wasn't sure, but at a glance, she thought that she weighed more than him. She pushed it aside, and was just a few breaths away from his face. For a moment, he seemed uncertain. With a cheery smile from her, he seemed to ease. They reached to kiss, each locked in their world...
Instantly, he flinched in pain, knocking her off to the side. He screamed like hundreds of knives were thrust into him, some felt like they were set ablaze. Blood dripped before him, and he stumbled, and fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
She knew what it was. She couldn't believe that she hadn't been able to feel it before now. Her head was screaming with a sense of Orochi around her. She was afraid to try and approach him. From what she had seen and heard, his Riot was exceptionally violent. Yet she had to know--and slowly approached him. She was down on her knees, and turned him over. There was some blood on the ground and his face, and a bad bump on his head. When Ed fell, he must have hit his head, rendering him unconscious.
Glass shattered, and she saw a couple of people fly out.
"Well, if it isn't the Kagura slut," spat Ryuji.
"I'd rather have Yuki, but you'll make a decent sub," Iori said, gleefully.
"Wait! This is a `girl thing,'" said Mature.
"We'll handle her," Vice finished.
For a few moments, she fended them off, but the two-on-one quickly proved too much. Vice grabbed her from behind, just as Chizuru had dropped Mature. Mature now faced her, and had the same look of death in her eyes. Ryuji and Iori looked on with interest. Kagura wondered, was this...The End!
Yea, you know it ain't! However, I think this is a good place to stop, so as to leave you wondering as to what's next. ©1999