Men and Miasma: Midori's Challenge
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Setsuna's Room, Mikamuro College Dorms, Tokyo, Japan
{We can't just ignore it, Setsuna...}
As the transparent, spectral apparition of Karin floated slowly in the
air around her, Setsuna quickly set about fixing her room around for
Midori's arrival. She had none of her friend's sloppiness when it came
to personal living; but her dorm room spoke differently today. The
Guardian Angel whizzed around the room with great speed, picking up any
items of hers that were simply not necessary to have hanging around.
These included the usual stuff. Unwashed underwear, unfolded clothes,
random CD cases, old fast food wrappers, etc. It was about time that she
cleared all this stuff up anyway. Of course, Karin's focus was not on
the state of Setsuna's dorm room. Far from it.
By now, Setsuna was riffling through a collection of thick books that
had been stacked up in the corner of her dorm. Taking great note of what
she was withdrawing from it. "...I'm not ignoring it. But you said it
yourself. It was a brief flicker, probably nothing more than that."
Karin clutched her hands together. {I know that that happens sometimes,
but... that feeling was... different somehow. It may have been a
sporadic burst, but... I've never felt miasma that strong. Not since...
Vice...}
"..."
Not that Setsuna wanted to think about him. Something Karin could both
see in the Japanese girl's face, as well as feel in her heart. A vivid
look of sadness passed over Karin's face. She had forgotten how much
resentment Setsuna felt for her nemesis. {I... I'm sorry, Setsuna. I
really didn't mean to bring him into this...}
The young woman shook her head. "No. It's okay. Vice will have to be
contended with again at some point. We can't avoid that. But if it is
him... we'll be ready. After all... you were the one who told me not to
hide my weaknesses from you, right?"
Karin nodded with a renewed smile. {Yes.}
"You shouldn't worry so much, Karin," Three history books were taken by
Setsuna from that pile of schoolbooks, "if it means something more then
we will investigate. But for now I just want to help Midori with her
History Report. She can be such a slacker when it comes to her student
life. But she's come a long way so far. I can't let her screw up now."
After taken the books she assumed that she'd need, everything was pretty
much set. All they needed now was some takeout. But Midori was the one
bringing that today. There was just one last thing that needed to be
taken care of.
Klau Solas.
Setsuna's smooth eyes rolled to her bed on the other side of her
moderately large dorm room. The polished and powerful sword of Justice
had been placed there this morning. She couldn't leave that hanging
around while Midori came here. The Japanese woman quickly strode over to
her weapon and clutched the hilt in a firm grip. Then kneeled down and
slipped the blade under her bed, hiding it from view. With that one last
action, the room looked just right for Midori.
Setsuna beamed and rested both hands upon her delicate hips. "Well. I
think that looks about right, don't you, Karin?"
{Yes.} She replied.
Of course, anything more Karin wanted to say would have to wait. Both
women cast their eyes to the right as they heard an impatient knock on
the door to their dorm. It had to be Midori. Karin sighed with
resignation. Although she liked Midori, just as much as Setsuna did, she
hated having to hide herself within her host's body. Especially in
private. These times alone weren't rare... but keeping her friendship
with Setsuna and her own existence private was a hard choice. But also
an unavoidable one. When a second knock came, a little louder than the
first, Karin shifted herself over to her host and entered her body.
Setsuna slipped her eyes shut with the sudden addition of Karin's
warmth, then strode over to the door.
Her hand gripped the doorknob and she opened, revealing none other than
the Fuin Martial Artist herself, Himeno Midori. In one hand was a pizza
box, and in the other was backpack. At least she came prepared. "Hey,
Yuki. Hope you don't mind a slice of western life today. I don't usually
trek all the way to Roppongi for a pizza; but you can't really get one
this good anywhere else. It's like Gaijin heaven."
"It's not a problem," Setsuna said, turning and walking back into her
dorm, "it's better than your staple bowl of rice every now and again.
Besides... we've got work to do."
Midori heaved a sigh, walking into her friend's dorm and placing the
pizza box down on the bedside table. As much as she enjoyed spending
time with Setsuna, she couldn't stand having to do this History work.
Maybe that was the real reason she put it off for so long. All due to a
blunt distaste. Who knew?
Then Setsuna looked over at the taller girl. "First things first. What
exactly do you have to do? If we haven't got the right books then we may
have to go to the library to pick them up. It doesn't close until 10.00
tonight, so we've got a couple hours."
Midori dropped her backpack to the ground and sat down with it, in a
cross-legged position. "Well... we were asked to choose a character from
a certain historical age and then write up a 'detailed' account of their
lives in regards to their political achievements and legacy."
Setsuna sat down with her friend. "Well then, who did you pick?"
"We were given a choice in class," Midori responded, "out of Frederick
the Great, Stalin, Oda Nobunaga, Kublai Khan, George Washington,
Charlemagne and Winston Churchill."
Not a fair choice of game. "Who did you pick?"
"Charlemagne."
"And..." Setsuna couldn't help but let her shoulders sag, "...do you
even know who he is?"
"Nope."
"So then why did you choose him?"
The red-headed tomboy shrugged. "His name just sounded cool, I guess."
Eh. Again, typical Midori. Setsuna fixed her forehead into her palm with
irritation. This might take a bit longer than she thought it would.
"...We better get to work from now then. I should have a book about the
Holy Roman Empire somewhere around here. If I can't find it then I'll
just run down to the library to pick one up."
And so they worked.
The first thing they did was find that book. Like she believed, Setsuna
had it around. She recalled that a year ago she was asked to write a
report on the Holy Roman Empire herself. And she liked what she read. So
rather than taking out a book from the library, she bought one about it
herself. She would have had no idea that she would be using it to bail
out Midori a year later. Secondly they laid out a plan. Rather than
Setsuna simply doing this for her friend; she motivated Midori into
doing this for herself (hard as it was). Eventually they managed to
carve a plan of action for the essay. Starting in key points from
Charlemagne's first taste of power to his eventual death. That in itself
took at least an hour. But in theory, the hardest part of the work was
done. Now that they knew where they were, all they had to do was fill in
the bulk of the blanks. Both girls were assigned a chapter to read over.
They'd make notes throughout the read and then gather together the
information later. The book itself wasn't very thick, it was more about
the bare facts rather than the overwhelming details, which made this
action far easier. An hour and a half later, the two students had
amassed enough information about the key points they had laid out to
finally start writing the essay. Another three hours and an empty pizza
box later, Midori was tiredly scribbling the final details of the
conclusion. Her pencil (which had to be re-sharpened eight times from
all the writing) came to a rest just a short few seconds later. The last
paragraph: finished off.
"Oh man..." Midori instantly chucked the pencil away, clutching her sore
hand, "I have never written so much in my life! I'll never be able to
punch as hard again! Hey Yuki, I'm..."
The tomboy trailed off when she saw her raven-haired friend. Fast
asleep. They had been working for hours, and Setsuna had been working
her butt off, all to keep Midori on track. The Fuin Martial Artist
smiled tiredly. As much as she hated doing all of this for a report that
she really didn't much care about, she couldn't have felt more grateful
to the Saizuki girl. After all, she didn't have to do this. Nobody was
forcing Setsuna to make such an effort. That was a choice all of her
own. It was simply an extension of her kindness.
"She's so unselfish," Midori told herself, "...is that what I like most
about her?"
But there were so many aspects of the shorter girl that made her so
appealing. To Midori and to others. Her polite mannerisms, her sweet
nature, her unrelenting kindness...
...Her inescapable beauty.
And that was something that Midori had dwelled on more than once. But
simply to see Saizuki Setsuna would allow anyone to understand why
Midori would feel this way. The tranquil Guardian Angel was utter
beautiful. In every possible sense of the term. From her silky raven
black hair to her delicate milky toned skin. Those dark, soulful eyes
and her unbelievable personality... all such details equalled something
close to the perfect woman; at least in Midori's mindset. Though Setsuna
had a tendency to innocently nag at Midori over (in the Fuin Fighter's
opinion) trivial things, there was very little in the world that could
outweigh the caring and attachment she felt for this girl. And it was
times like this that reminded Midori of the severity of those emotions.
Even now, as Midori silently stared upon the sleeping form of her
friend, she could feel the clouds of emotion impinging on her. But this
time the attraction she felt had a stronger angle to work with. The
taller girl ignored the stirring of butterflies in her stomach. But not
Setsuna. And it was at this time that Midori realized she was shaking.
But that didn't stop her from pulling up her free arm at her side. Her
trembling, gloved hand slowly inched towards Setsuna's sleeping visage;
maybe before she even knew what she was doing. Midori laid an unusually
gentle (and frightened) touch upon Setsuna's pale cheek, absorbing the
quaint softness of her facial flesh. Soon Midori grew brave enough to
give that cheek a slow stroke, moving in time with Setsuna's own slow,
sleeping breaths.
Times like this allowed Midori to be more honest with herself. Just not
enough to express those truths to Setsuna in the full. "...I wish... I
could tell you... Setsuna..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mr. Kakemono's Room, Mikamuro College, Tokyo, Japan
"Well class, I must say that I'm very pleased with your reports. Maybe
more so than usual, in fact."
One week had passed since Midori and Setsuna had stayed up all night to
complete the put-off History Essay. Things had gone by swimmingly that
night. Despite all the work and despite that fact that Midori hated such
work, they had managed to get the report ready for the following Monday.
Now it was time to see what the results were. The essay counted for over
a third of Midori's grade. If she screwed up the essay, then the rest of
this lesson was practically a complete write-off. The Fuin School
student nervously ran a hand through her spiky red hair as her History
teacher, Kakemono Gendo, strode up aside the aisle of desks in the
middle of the room. The same aisle that Midori sat it. As he passed by
each of the firm wooden desks he handed the students their respective
reports. Most gave expressions of joy, others weren't as pleased. But
that was to be expected. Midori just hoped that she didn't fall into the
latter category. Slowly but surely, Mr. Kakemono made his way up to
Midori, with her History Report in hand. He stopped before her desk and
gave her a surprised smile.
"Ah, Miss Himeno..." He began ominously, "I'm actually quite surprised
by your work on this account. Some of your other teachers expressed the
same sentiment when I spoke to them of it."
Midori blinked, squirming internally. "...So then... what's the verdict,
teach...?"
"...B+." The teacher said, "I was quite surprised at the amount of
detail you put into this report, Miss Himeno. Especially considering
some of your previous efforts. If only your handwriting were more
legible, I could have offered an even higher grade."
With a surprised, cheerful expression on her face, Midori socked her
fist into her palm. She did. She actually did it. "I can't believe it...
I passed!"
"Just keep up the good work. My misgivings of your ability are beginning
to fade, but you have to maintain the effort. Understand?"
Midori nodded to her teacher, as he soon moved on to other desks to hand
each student their essays. Then as she settled down again, the school
bell went in that drab, monotone way it always did. But most of the
students were more than happy to hear it. Including Midori. With this
essay out of the way, she could finally get back to preparing for the
Keisho Ritual. The fiery teen leapt from her desk with her essay,
slotted it into her backpack and slung that over her shoulder. Midori
then made a b-line straight for the door and paced quickly down the
following hallway, zooming past all those students who happened to be
pouring out of their own classrooms. Unlike most of these guys, Midori
was heading home. She was one of the few people who didn't live on
campus. She lived at the Himeno Training Grounds with her Father, unlike
Setsuna, whom had chosen to live in the dorms. After worming her agile
way through the many halls and staircases of Mikamuro College, she ran
through the gates of the outer wall and sucked up the cool afternoon air
of the 'outside world'. It seemed like the end of the day would never
come.
Once Midori was out on the main road she slowed down a bit. Thinking
back to her earlier success. It would have never happened if not for
Setsuna. There had to be something that she could do to thank her.
Because of that thing with the report, they couldn't get to go to the
new arcade in Shinjuku. But simply taking Setsuna there now seemed...
inadequate. There had to be something more that she could do for Setsuna
to show how grateful she was. Right now there was nothing she could
think of. But if she went down to the nearest high street, maybe she
could find something that would show just how much she appreciated
Setsuna's help.
Which was exactly what she did. By running (Midori's preferred choice of
travel) the teen bounded across the streets and roads and made her way
right into the heart of the current district. The girl spent the
following hour touring through all the malls and individual shops around
that it could offer. Normally Midori hated shopping with a passion
(another arguably un-feminine trait she possessed) but a present for
Setsuna came first. Eventually the tomboy found herself staring into the
glass of a jewellery shop. Her eyes scanned over all the rich items of
gold, silver, ruby, diamond and the like. Although all of it was so
expensive. And Midori wasn't exactly rich... by any standard.
Midori heaved a sigh. "Dammit! Why is everything in this town so
expensive? I gotta get a gift for Yuki. But my cash flow is so weak
that-"
"AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"
A blood-curdling scream drew in the attention of everyone around,
including Midori. The flowing length of her white headband whipped
around her shoulders as she turned around to see what the problem was.
In the middle of the shopping plaza was a small, broken crowd. Each of
them had haunted and frightened expressions on their faces as they
watched what was happening between the three people at the centre of the
group. Two men and one woman. The woman stood at the side, still
screaming, as she watched what went on between the two men she stood
nearest to. One of them was draped in a huge cloak, obscuring his face
and body from view. But out from that cloak protruded a long, very thin
blade, the colour of blood. And it was lodged right the abdomen of the
other man. With one swift jerk, the sword-wielding mystery ripped the
weapon from the shorter male, who then collapsed dead upon the cold
floor of the Tokyo streets. Once a pool of blood began to spread from
the body, the crowds around fled in terror amid screams and crying.
Someone had actually been killed in broad daylight. Who on earth could
do such a thing?
Midori narrowed her eyes. "Damn. This would have to happen when I'm
making an effort to shop, right? I swear, my luck sucks. Well... I
suppose someone's gotta deal with this before it gets out of hand..."
The man in the cloak gripped the large piece of clothing in one hand and
pulled it straight off his body. It came down to the ground slowly,
revealing the killer in all his glory. A lean, thin man, clearly of
western origin. Maybe English. Possessed of scruffy, un-brushed hair
beaming the colours of white and blue, a pair of firm leather trousers
that clung to his legs tightly, and dark black bracers around his
wrists. Most glaring of all this man's traits was the tattoo across his
chest.
A tattoo of an inverted pentacle.
From his cruel, humoured face came a dark grin. "Wonderful! The smell of
blood! The breaking of bone! The slashing of flesh! I'm gonna carve you
all up with this Shahal!"
"...Well done..." And surprisingly enough, the sword had its own voice
too, "...Linedwell Rainrix... you have passed...the test... set for
you."
But before Lie could move on to kill someone or something else, a
cross-armed Midori stood before him, devoid of the fear that those other
people had. Or that anyone else would have expected. In particular, Lie
himself.
Midori shook her head. "I don't normally get involved in this sort of
thing. But then again... this isn't exactly normal, is it? But I suggest
you stop while you're ahead, man. I'm pretty pumped up right now... so
I'm not beyond kicking your ass all over the street."
The psychotic English rocker scowled at her. "Don't be so arrogant.
You're no match for me. No one is! With Shahal, I can kill God himself!"
"Damn. You're as crazy as you are ugly."
"Crazy!?" Lie repeated angrily, "Ugly?! I'll kill you a hundred times!"
His action was swift. One second Lie stood with an irate expression on
his face, the next he was lunging forwards, straight at Midori. The
younger woman blinked and let all of her years of training kick in,
vaulting upwards with the sudden stroke of motion. Shahal was shot
straight under her legs, missing the mark of the charge. But Midori knew
better than to think of that as a mini-victory. As her lithe body
rotated backwards mid-air, she took the time to study the fighter below
her. For such a feeble looking person, this 'Linedwell Rainrix' had a
bit of speed to his name. And although it might not be the most
opportune time to test out her new techniques... she might as well give
it a shot. Midori's red trainers placed her firmly into the ground upon
descent, re-assuming her natural Fuin fighting stance.
She smiled. "Not bad. You're not all talk, are you?"
"Oh, I'm gonna do much worse than that, girl. Yes, I'm gonna do much
worse! With this Shahal, I can slice you into ribbons! You hear me?!
Ribbons!"
Following that, Midori gave the time to spread her arms from one side of
her body to the other. She took a moment to focus her Ki (A/N, I know
the EZ Encyclopaedia spells it 'Kay' but I just don't like how that
looks. Go figure.) slipping her eyelids shut and concentrating her mind
on the task. Then came the money-maker. As she re-opened her eyes,
Midori thrust both of her lissom arms forwards, in a sort of 'pushing'
motion, which conjured a powerful orb of intense sapphire blue energy.
The power ball was thrown straight at the English Rocker, whom only
sneered at it. The second that the power ball reached within striking
range of him, Lie brought up Shahal and mounted his defence. Placing the
blade in an awkward looking position over his face and chest, the power
ball collided brutally with Shahal; the sound of the clashing ringing in
both fighters' ears. Lie grit his teeth and held his own against the
power ball as it sought to smash his defence. His feet skidded back
along the stone pavement of the plaza, waking traces of dust. His wild
azure-white hair was blown back as a sort of vacuum was created around
the stand-off. Midori kept her hands forwards as she watched her attack
being held off in such a manner. But it didn't last. The glint of anger
in Lie's eyes became a flash of pure rage, as he sliced both upwards and
downwards in two solid, swift actions. The first slash broke the
power-vacuum created from the clash, and the second one went straight
through the power ball. The attack forged of pure Ki was broken into
glittering pieces that slowly fell to the ground.
Of course, Midori didn't begrudge it... "Now!"
Her trained body form leapt straight into the air. But with a greater
sense of dedication and a stronger feel of speed. Midori's torso
vanished into a blur, leaving behind no trace of her at that specific
point. However she reappeared behind the taller, meaner Lie, leg
outstretched, teeth grinding together. Lie cast his eyes back after
hearing a growl from behind him. The second he did so, Midori's scuffed
red shoe was planted firmly in his face with a vicious slapping sound.
The older man then groaned as Midori's momentum forced him backwards in
that very position, skidding across the plaza with her foot still lodged
in his cheek. Once she realized that she had ridden out most of her
impetus, Midori rotated her body from the hips, dragging her free leg
around her other. This second kick struck with more force than the first
one. It was enough to send Lie straight out of striking range. The
murderous wielder of the Shahal groaned again as Midori's second kick
drove him into the dust of the stone floor, knocking him for six. Midori
soon landed from that attack, with a bright (some might say
over-confident) smile on her face.
She rested a palm on her hips. "You're quick, man. But you're also kinda
fragile..."
Lie dragged his legs under him, and pressed upwards with his thin arms.
Shahal was still locked in his grip. But now his shifty face was
decorated with two matching bruises, swiftly turning the colours of blue
and purple. A vein soon began throbbing at the temple of his head, and
he swiftly looked back at the arrogant Japanese girl who had done this
to him.
"You!" He bellowed, irate, "I'm gonna kill you! I swear I'll make you
suffer for this! I swear that I will! I'll make you regret the day you
ever met me! You hear me!? Do you hear me!?"
Midori shook her head. "Geez man, do you ever stop nattering? Threats
like that are kinda worthless if you can't back 'um up. So you might
wanna think about throwing in the towel."
By this time, Lie had gotten back up to his feet, with a furious look on
him. He was now in the dangerous position of looking ridiculous. Some
Japanese upstart running rings around him? Impossible! No one could
defeat a man who stood against the might of the Tenpouin Clan! He was
invincible! Lie wiped the little trickle of blood that was coming down
from the corner of his mouth, then pointed Shahal at his newest enemy.
Himeno Midori.
"You're dead!" He screamed, "I'm gonna carve you into oblivion! I'll
destroy you a thousand times over! Yes, a thousand times over!"
Midori re-assumed her stance. Not uttering a word, just smiling. But by
this time, Lie was through playing around. The Englishman flicked the
sword into his other hand and poised it behind him. The tip of Shahal
then did something amazing. It made a tear. But not just any ordinary
tear, like that of fabric or muscle, this was a tear in reality. In time
and space. Lie's action ripped open a divide of reality, shaped like a
small black hole. Midori was suddenly overwhelmed by confusion as Lie
thrust his hand straight into that tear. A second tear appeared right in
front of her. And abruptly, Midori was struck by something she could
hardly register in her mind.
"Ah!" The girl gave a surprisingly feminine cry as she was blown back by
the force of whatever had hit her. Knocking her from the readiness she
assumed she had. Lie pulled his hand out of the black hole which soon
sealed itself. He simply scowled at this new found opening and ran ahead
with another ramming charge. He pulled back the mighty sword of the
Cocutos, then reared up over Midori with all the speed she had seen
before. He brought down the blade and gave one swift slash. Curved.
Midori's eyes widened with both shock and pain, as the thin edge of
Shahal cut straight through her blue tank top and down to the middle of
her midriff. Things seem to slow down at that point, as blood was hurled
into the air and a grin finally returned to Lie. The two separated from
each other; both possessing different feelings from the outcome of the
strike.
"...D-Damn..." Midori skidded back across the ground, gripping the
bloody bottom half of her elongated body wound, "I... underestimated his
speed again..."
Once again, Lie pointed the Shahal at the weakened Midori. "What
happened to all of your arrogance?! You fool! I'm powerful! Now you know
I'm very powerful! This is just the beginning of all the pain you'll
suffer! Yes, this is just the beginning!"
Midori slipped one of her eyes shut. Then focused on Lie again. She had
been careless. To let her guard down like that was a mistake. But she
couldn't just fold now. Not with the Keisho Ritual ahead of her. The
young woman kneeled down, but pulled up her right arm. She spread her
palm open and focused. It was time for the Fuin Gensui. That would be
enough to knock this guy out, surely? Regardless of the possibilities, a
faint green glow began to encircle Midori's hand. Lie rotated his head
around his shoulders and relished the sound of the joints cracking
against each other. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be
fooled again by this little girl. The inverted pentacle tattoo upon his
chest soon began glowing too. The colour of pure blue. And unlike
Midori's attacks, Lie's took very little time to charge. Soon enough, a
huge blast of sparkling pressure burst from his chest. The surge of raw
power moved with slow but enormous energies. Midori's eyes widened at
it. The process of gathering energy for the Fuin Gensui was taking too
long. She couldn't be sure that she could complete the attack before
Lie's wave struck her. But if she dodged she would lose all the energy
she had gathered so far. She had to play it safe. Midori abandoned the
Fuin Gensui and roughly jumped to one side of the incoming energy wave.
It zoomed past her and collided with a now abandoned ice cream cart just
a short eleven metres away. The following explosion forced a huge wave
of dust away from the blast point, leaving behind a flaming pile of
metal and plastic. Midori soon looked away from that; but all too late.
Her eyes widened again when a second wave, this time the colour of blood
red, came straight for her. The tomboy swiftly brought up both of her
hands as a fragile defence. Bright crimson light engulfed her
completely. With her reserves of Ki, her spiritual energy, she enhanced
the defence to protect her wrists from the burn. But she would not be
able to hold this off for very long. Midori grit her teeth and struggled
as best she could to hold off Lie's attack. In the end; Midori was
forced right off her feet and sent straight behind. Her body was carried
with the wave and thrown all the way over to the wall of a nearby shoe
store. With a loud bang, she was blasted into the wall, the stone of it
shattering to make way for the new layer of flesh pressed against it.
Once the red light of Lie's wave died away, Midori was left in the
shallow wall crater. Unconscious, bruised, and her head tilting to one
side of her body.
Lie grinned again. "You weakling! No one is a match for me! That's
right! No one! I'll kill everyone with my Shahal! Yes, I'll kill you all
with my-"
"Firebird Attack!"
Before Lie could finish his sentence, a great luminosity of blue
approached from behind. He turned around to meet with whatever it was,
and saw it. A bird of great beauty, born of pure spirit power, flying
towards him with a strength that transcended anything he could have
imagined from a simple human being like himself. The Englishman cried
out with frustration as the Firebird Attack rammed into him with almost
unnatural furiousness. His grip was weakened for just a brief second,
but it was enough to completely knock the Shahal out of his hands. And
that, in effect, was the TRUE source of his power. Just ahead stood the
conjurer of the attack, the Guardian Angel herself, prepared for battle
with her prodigious Klau Solas in hand.
Saizuki Setsuna.
Rather than focus on the downed Lie, Setsuna reverted attention and ran
straight over to Midori. Whom was still unconscious over by the battered
wall of the shoe shop. As soon as Setsuna reached Midori, she crouched
down and took the taller girl into her arms, placing Klau Solas down
beforehand.
"Midori?!" Setsuna yelled, tears in her eyes, "Midori!? Please say
something!"
The beautiful spectre of Karin rose from Setsuna's body, sensing that
the danger and flow of miasma had weakened. {She will be fine, Setsuna.
Her injuries don't look overwhelmingly serious. But we should take her
somewhere to have them treated.}
Setsuna held Midori's cheek to her own. "...I know. I can't believe I
got here so late. I should have protected her... I should have listened
to you when you said that... the surge of miasma was stronger than
usual..."
Though there was no possible way for Setsuna to have actually felt it,
the compassionate Karin placed her ghostly transparent palm upon
Setsuna's shoulder. {...It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself
for this. Blame lies with that man and that man alone.}
Setsuna then cast her eyes at Lie. "Who... who was he? When I sensed the
flow of miasma... it felt even stronger than that of Vice... but now..."
{...He is nobody.} Karin offered, {...Just a weak shell. The power came
from the sword and only the sword.}
That was good to know. But there was no time to waste now, thinking of
Lie and the Shahal. Setsuna had to get Midori treated. Especially to
patch up that nasty gash across her stomach and chest. "...Oh,
Midori..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
...Wha? What the hell is this about?! I get my ass kicked by some maniac
with a hell sword and then Yuki has to come by to rescue me? Oh man, I
have got to talk to the writers about their choice of plot! But hard as
it is to believe, that was the least of my worries! I... I'm finally
gonna have to confront my feelings for... Yuki... I... I... I can't say
anymore! All I know is, you guys had better watch the final episode of
the Passionate Midori OVA! It's Love and Longing: Midori's Passion!
Don't you dare miss it!
Back to If You Have a Reason Index - Back to Evil Zone Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction