Episode 11 The Information Hunters

Ivy yawns sleepily as she stirs and wakes, stretching rather exaggeratedly. As a result, her fist is sent flying straight into Kunai’s face.

Kunai jumps up in a dazed surprise, glancing around stupidly for the source of the blow. He turns to Ivy as she gasps in surprise, crying out her apologies in a shrill voice.

Ryuu and Ayame both awake from their slumbers as well, their hair ruffled and irritable looks on their faces. Ryuu grumbles in a sleepy, yet incensed voice. “What the deal here?! Trying to get some sleep…”

The four of them lie on soft blankets on a blank wooden floor in the middle of a living room setting. Around them are two comfortable-looking leather sofas, enclosing their sleeping quarters. Just behind Ryuu lies a small fireplace, with a simple fire crackling jovially in it still.

Ayame glances outside through a closed window, and sees the sky littered with stars and glowing with a faint moonlight. “Heh, heh, it’s still night! Back to sleep!” She falls flat on her face and immediately begins snoring.

Ryuu glares at her exasperatedly. “Anyway, I suppose now that we’re awake we might as well head over to start our new jobs.”

Ivy turns her head from side to side. “Where’s Sasha? Has she left town already?”

“It looks like it,” Ayame mutters with a rather muffled voice, as she sleepily rises with a pillow clamped to her sleepy face.

Ryuu rises to his feet, stretching slightly and cracking his stiff bones. He strides over to the mantle above the fireplace and picks up a small framed photograph depicting Sasha and what appears to be her parents.

Ayame notices Ryuu and peers over his shoulder at the photograph in his hands. “I wonder what happened to Sasha’s parents?”

“Probably dead,” Ryuu mutters bluntly, “judging by the way she doesn’t like to speak of them.”

Ayame stares, startled by Ryuu’s bluntness. “I wonder if it had anything to do with…”

“I wonder too,” Ryuu replies, understanding Ayame’s words.

Ryuu trudges reluctantly into the busy studio of Skylark City Channel 10 News. The station remains in an uproar, caused mostly by the imminent arrival of ‘Apple.’

As Ryuu enters, a loud shriek rings through the air, and Jasmine automatically binds her arms to Ryuu. With a rather harsh heave, Ryuu removes Jasmine from himself and strides over to meet with Mason.

“Okay, let’s get this over with…” Ryuu mutters, “What embarrassing thing am I doing today?”

“Hop in the Apple Mobile, you’re conducting an interview with the Skylark City Police Force today,” Mason replies offhandedly.

An eyebrow twitches rather irritably in Ryuu’s temple. “Do you really have to call it the ‘Apple Mobile?’” he sighs.

As Ryuu exits into the studio parking lot, he notices a large, round-shaped car painted bright red with an apple logo on each door. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Ryuu grumbles.

All at once, the door to the car bursts open, revealing a brightly smiling Jasmine inside. Ryuu’s usual twitching eyebrow grows larger at the sight of her. “Come on, Mr. Apple! Let’s go straight where the story is!”

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Ryuu cries, failing to hide his displeasure.

Jasmine, however, remains somehow impervious to Ryuu’s unkind remarks. She waves at him and forcibly pulls him into the Apple Mobile with him. “I’m your lovely assistant! Didn’t Daddy tell you?”

Several passing pedestrians glance to their sides as a loud yell rings from the parking lot of Channel 10 Station. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Kunai sighs deeply and wipes a bead of sweat running down his forehead as he pauses to take his break inside a fancy bar built into the hotel. He takes a seat in front right next to the bartender, and orders a drink with quick raise of his hand.

“One Warrior Potion comin’ right up!” the bartender replies from behind the counter.

Kunai removes his red uniform jacket and places it on the empty stool next to him. Only a few other customers sit at small round wooden tables inside the bar.

The bartender slides a glass of a clear, purplish liquid towards Kunai and after a quick swig from it, Kunai raises the glass and toasts the bartender. “To tending after people you don’t give a crap about.”

Ivy suddenly bursts into the room wearing her maid uniform, dripping wet. She plops onto the stool next to Kunai with a large grin splashed on her face and orders a drink from the bartender as well.

Kunai cries out loud at the sight of her. “Ivy! You’re all soaked!”

Ivy laughs it off and pats Kunai on the shoulder, thus soaking his sleeve as well. “Heh, heh! I had a little accident while cleaning the toilet!”

Kunai’s eyes stray from Ivy to her butt, which is sitting on his bellhop’s jacket. “MY JACKET!” Kunai yells, hopping to his feet.

“Oh, whoops! Is this yours?” Ivy replies, rising to her feet as well and handing him the jacket, which is now drenched with toilet water as well.

Kunai does not reply as the bartender slides another Warrior Potion in Ivy’s direction. She takes the glass and takes a quick sip, tasting it.

“Are you on your break too, Kunai?” Ivy asks, resuming her seat on the barstool, now free of Kunai’s jacket.

“Yeah,” Kunai answers, taking his seat as well.

“So how was your first day?” Ivy asks kindly.

“Terrible,” Kunai responds. He remains silent for several long seconds. “My hands aren’t used to holding bags of luggage instead of Steelys!”

“This is nice…” Ivy mutters softly, trailing off.

Kunai turns to glance at Ivy. “What is?”

“This,” Ivy replies, “Just us, talking. We haven’t really had a chance to talk like this for a really long time. With everything happening these past few weeks—”

“I know what you mean,” Kunai replies, “We’ve been so caught up with all this fighting going on, what with Lord Kimura, the Naraku, the Soul Eaters…”

“Did you know,” Ivy murmurs quietly, “I was so worried about you after we found you alone in the woods unconscious. I almost thought you were dead, and all the time that I was holding your hand while you slept…I prayed that you wouldn’t die.”

“My hand?” Kunai whispers under his breath, staring at his open palm.

Kunai shakes his head, smiling to himself. He turns to Ivy. “Yeah, well, it’s not like you haven’t given me a ton of things to worry about, either,” he jokes.

Ivy smiles and laughs, but stops suddenly as a soft patter sounds from the bar’s windows. She turns and cries in wonder as large crystal raindrops fall from the sky, some landing on the glass panes and sliding down until disappearing out of sight.

“It’s raining!” she mutters.

“So it is,” Kunai replies simply.

“No wonder why it’s been getting so cold the last few days,” Ivy shivers, drawing closer to Kunai. She leans her head towards Kunai’s shoulder, who immediately begins blushing uncontrollably.

A fire automatically bursts into life in the hearth behind the couple, crackling merrily in the stifled silence. Kunai peers into Ivy’s clear black eyes for several moments, unable to think of anything to say or do.

“Y’know, Kunai…” Ivy whispers, “I never got a chance to say this back then, but I…I love—”

Kunai cries out loud in pain as a large sponge nails him on the side of the head, the impact somehow so strong he’s sent flying backwards in his seat. Kunai glances up in surprise. “Oh crap! It’s my supervisor!”

“Hey! You! Yeah, you, noob! Get back to work! Your break was over five minutes ago!” the supervisor growls angrily in the doorway.

The Apple Mobile skids to a dangerous stop in front of a large official-looking building composed of bricks. As it does so, the car slides several dozen feet forward before screeching to a halt.

The passenger side door of the car opens, and Ryuu tumbles dizzily out of it, rubbing his head rather sickly. He sighs and shakes his head, suppressing a feeling to retch. “Ugh…a combination of crappy car and crappy driver can not be good for my health…”

“Come on!” Jasmine yelps, hopping out of the car and dragging Ryuu by the collar towards the entrance to the police station in front of them. “We have to meet the star of our interview!”

“And who the hell kind of fat doughnut-faced, coffee-drinking cop is that gonna be?” Ryuu groans.

The two of them pause in their steps as a brand new figure stands brightly in front of them, waving to Jasmine and Ryuu happily.

Ryuu glances up and starts in surprise. “HUH?!” he growls, pointing at this new officer. “What’re you doing here?!”

Ayame smiles politely at Ryuu, a police badge pinned to her chest. “Hi, Mr. Apple! Nice to meet you! Ready to start the interview?”

“What are you doing here?” Ryuu growls under his breath, as he approaches Ayame with a pen and notebook stuffed into his hands courtesy of Jasmine.

“You think I’d trust you to be alone with that, that…that promiscuous witch?” Ayame whispers harshly back into Ryuu’s ear, sending spit flying this way and that.

“Jasmine is not promiscuous,” Ryuu answers, folding his arms. “She hasn’t tried to do anything to my handsome body…yet, anyway. She may be a little weird and maybe a little insane, but she’s definitely not—”

“OWW!” Ryuu gasps, as Ayame slams a fist into the back of his head.

“WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING HER?!” Ayame shouts, kicking Ryuu in the shin.

Ryuu bends over, grabbing his shin. “Ouch…”

“Now,” Ayame continues in her polite, strangely kind voice as if nothing had happened, “Shall we start the interview? I’ve got a lot of things to do for my first day in office.”

Ryuu grumbles under his breath as Ayame leads him away to a more private setting. “Women…”

As Ayame and Ryuu reach a narrow alley just outside the police station, Ryuu turns to Ayame. “So, Ayame…am I really interviewing you, or is this all just a big, stupid hoax of yours—”

“Starting camera on 3, 2…1!” a large cameraman with bulky muscles cries out loud suddenly.

All at once, Ryuu starts in surprise as a bright light flashes in his eye, blinding him for a moment. Ryuu blinks frustratingly, attempting to gain his sight back.

“Eh?! What?! The camera’s rolling already?! But I’m not ready yet!” Ryuu cries.

Jasmine hurriedly thrusts a microphone into Ryuu’s hands, while Ryuu stares stupidly into the camera. “Don’t just glare at the camera!” Jasmine whispers, “Start the interview!”

“Uh…yeah!” Ryuu mutters, turning to Ayame, “So, Ms. Ayame…how efficiently do you think the Skylark City Police Force handles Paradox attacks?”

“I think they handle them great, Mr. Apple!” Ayame replies rather unhelpfully.

Ryuu gives her a sour look. “Ugh…so it seems like I’m not the only one who’s unprepared…” Ryuu grumbles under his breath. ‘Geez…all this stupid interview stuff.’

Ryuu pops open a soda can and takes a large swig from it, toasting to Ayame as she does the same. Together, the two of them stand side by side in the now empty alley, the interview being finished.

Jasmine, the cameraman, and the Apple Mobile are nowhere to be found. “Tch, I’m glad that that stupid interview is over. What Sasha was thinking to make me take this stupid job in the first place…”

“So, Ryuu, have you had any luck figuring out Lily’s current whereabouts in this world?” Ayame asks quietly, taking a sip from her soda. Above them a light fog mists about the sky, obstructing the light of the moon.

“None whatsoever,” Ryuu spits, “I’ve asked around the studio, and none have even heard of her. You?”

“Same here,” Ayame replies. “I haven’t found anybody who could tell me anything that we don’t know. This is gonna be a lot harder than we first thought, it seems.”

“No kidding,” Ryuu growls, “we’ve got no info to work with, no leads to follow…it’s like trying to find a single, specific seashell in the entire ocean…”

“Ryuu…” Ayame mutters slowly, trailing off. She turns away from Ryuu, trying not to show him the tears misting in her eyes.

“Yeah,” he replies softly.

“Do you…do you ever think about the old days, what it was like, what it used to be like? Between us, I mean…” Ayame whispers. “Don’t you miss those days? When we would just fall into each other’s arms…”

“Tch,” Ryuu snarls, “You bring that up now? It wasn’t I that left, Ayame. It was you. While you were gone, I was there, training, fighting, watching as our best men and women fell, giving their lives for the cause of saving mankind…while you did what? Fight alongside the Myougun.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Ayame gasps, really crying now. “I’m sorry, Ryuu! I…my actions took over, I was lost in the darkness of that abyss. You’ll forgive me, won’t you?”

Ryuu doesn’t reply for a very long moment, while Ayame sobs, staring at Ryuu, who has turned his face away from Ayame’s. “I’m like fire, Ayame,” he finally whispers in a hoarse voice, “I burn away everything, leaving only the scarred remains. And whatever is left after that, is just there, revealed for what it is.”

Ryuu turns away, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I have to go now, Ayame.”

“Ryuu…” Ayame whispers to herself, watching as Ryuu stalks away, headed back for the TV station.

A fierce wind tears through the city of Skylark, bringing along with it a roll of thunder, and all at once a torrent of relentless rain splashes down from the veiled heavens.

Almost immediately the roads become slick with rainwater, and puddles and large, flowing rivers blossom under the weight of the drops beating down on the ground.

Raindrops clamber and dance at the edge of the thatched roof of Sasha’s home. They slowly trickle down, condensing into a small pool right by the entrance of the home.

A lone figure wades through this torrent of wind and water, holding no umbrella. As he reaches the door of this house, he peers at a flapping piece of parchment pinned to it.

The figure rips it off the door, and stares at the message written on it. All at once, another two figures melt out of the haze of falling rain. Kunai holds a large black umbrella over himself and Ivy, and as the two of them approach Ryuu, they are met with a glance of malevolence.

Kunai jumps back in surprise at Ryuu’s drawn blade. “Ryuu! What the hell’s wrong? Did you hear anything about Lily?”

“Yeah! We’ve been hunting for information all day, to no avail!” Ivy cries. “Have you had any luck finding anything, Ryuu?”

“No,” Ryuu mutters, “All I found…was a kidnapping.” He raises the torn sheet of paper to meet Kunai and Ivy’s eyes.

Overhead another single form stands alone atop an electrical pole. This new figure wears a large black cloak, and stands wrapped in a Black Seraph’s Cape. A gust of wind riffles past him, and though he remains unmoved atop this precarious pole, the hood of his cloak is drawn back slightly, revealing thirteen pupils drawn into the right eye.

Next Time: Episode 12 A Land Drenched in Darkness

Ivy: What do you mean, ‘kidnapped?!’

Kunai: This is bad…who could have done such a thing?

Ryuu: Shuriken.

Kunai: Shuriken?

Ivy: Shuriken, right there!

Shuriken: Let us do battle.

Episode 12 A Land Drenched in Darkness coming soon!