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Episode 37 The Naraku Return!

The smoke from the explosion clears, only to reveal the slender figure of Zack as he leans laxly on his Kage, watching the destruction unfold before him. “Well, well,” he mutters, as calm is restored in the courtyard, “lookie-look! I spy a girl with a book!”

“And I spy a crook,” Silver responds contemptuously.

“So that guy’s one of the Naraku, huh?” Tide wonders, as he stands next to Silver. He draws his Zard, flashing its curvaceous blade for Zack. “Look, bub, I don’t know who you think you are, but if you lay a hand on Silver, I’m gonna rip you apart!”

Ignoring Tide, Zack steps purposefully forward towards Silver, who remains standing still. Tide forces himself in between Silver and Zack angrily, grabbing the latter by the collar. “Look, man! Get away from the lady!”

“Tide!” Silver cries warningly, “Get out of the way!”

Tide’s grip on Zack relaxes slightly at Silver’s words. He glances over at her, his expression puzzled. “Silver! But…this guy’s trying to hurt you…”

A sly, sheepish smile breaks Zack’s lips at Tide’s hesitation. “Well said, my darling Silver,” Zack murmurs, before disappearing in a flash, leaving Tide holding on to nothing but empty air in his clenched fist.

“Where’d he go—?”

The next second, Zack pops up just behind Tide, blasting him several feet back with a blow of his Holy Arrow. Tide lands heavily on a broken clump of what had been part of the wall surrounding the courtyard. He groans wearily, as he does so, but fails to get up again.

“Tide!” Silver cries, rushing forward to help the fallen Tide. However, Zack intercepts her on the way, standing poised with a Holy Arrow in hand.

“Nuh-uh,” he orders commandingly. “I’m ‘fraid I can’t let you do that.”

“Move out of the way!” Silver shouts, attempting futilely to push Zack out of the way.

“Damn you, Zack!” Ryuu growls, hatred flashing in his eyes. “You think you’re so big, don’t you?! Come here, and fight me like a man!” He draws his sword, stepping angrily towards Zack.

However, halfway there, a Tobi rains down from the sky, crossing Ryuu’s path and dancing across the floor until it skids to a halt with a clatter. Ryuu looks up, only to find Shuriken and Arayu standing side by side, in his way.

“Stop right there,” Arayu mutters coldly to Ryuu, his eyes blazing with fury.

Ryuu grins, waving his sword about the air. “Heh. I was just about starting to get hungry for a fight, and then you showed up. This is perfect.”

“We’ve come for the Third Phoneme,” Shuriken replies objectively.

“Ayame.” Ryuu speaks without taking his eyes off of Arayu. “Take Lily and the others and get out of here. Don’t hesitate, don’t hold back. Run as far as you can, as long as you can. Do you hear me?”

“Got it,” Ayame answers. She turns to Sasha, Lily, and Ivy. “Ivy, Lily, Sasha! Come on, we have to get out of here while we still can!”

“Right!” the three of them chime in unison.

“Shuriken,” Arayu growls to Shuriken, who remains standing next to him, “go and give them chase. I will be able to manage things from here.”

“I understand,” Shuriken replies, before fleeing after the retreating Ayame, Sasha, Ivy, and Lily.

However, before they can even exit the parameters of the courtyard, a fourth assailant intercepts them, striking down Ayame particularly.

A cloud of black lightning shoots down from the sky, slamming directly into Ayame. She draws back, flailing her arms about to protect herself from the devastating blow.

As the smoke from the attack clears, the lean and threatening figure of Iris stands before Ayame, her eyes gleaming dangerously. In her hands she carries her Doombringer, as sparks of black electricity dance about her like splashes of black rain.

Ayame wipes her cheek, where a trail of soot has developed from the initial attack. She turns fervently to Sasha, Ivy, and Lily, who remain standing still, reluctantly watching the stand off between Ayame and Iris.

“Go!” Ayame shouts to them, “Get the hell out of here before it’s too late!”

“But…what about you, Ayame?” Ivy cries worriedly.

“You heard her!” Sasha cries, grabbing Ivy by the wrist and nearly dragging her away, “We have to get away! We can’t let them take Lily.”

Meanwhile, as the stand offs between Ryuu and Arayu, Silver and Zack, and finally Ayame and Iris begin, Shuriken begins chasing after the three runaways, disappearing as only a black and white flash.

‘Dammit, run, Sasha. Lead them out of danger.’ Ryuu stares for some time at the spot Sasha and the others had been standing, his eyes worn out from the threat of danger.

“Your battle is here, Ryuu,” Arayu mutters contemptuously, his eyes lit up with the glee of battle.

At that moment, Iris gives Zack a signaling glance, who winks back. “Do it, Iris!” All at once, another loud, blasting explosion rocks the earth nearby, as another building in another sector erupts.

To Ryuu, Ayame, and Silver’s dismay, a crushing wave of fearful cries rushes out from the spot the explosion had occurred, signaling the involvement of civilians.

“Damn you!” Silver cries over the din, “What have you done?!”

“Iris merely triggered one of the various explosives she’s got stacked neatly away in different corners of this city,” Zack explains nonchalantly. “At any given moment, she can trigger another one, and…BOOM! Another precious building of yours goes off its hinges.”

“Damn it!” Ryuu curses, running in the direction of the explosion and the screams.

“Allow me to reiterate,” Arayu interrupts, “your battle is here.”

“Go to hell!” Ryuu yells, “Can’t you see there are innocent lives being thrown away like trash here?!”

As Ryuu hurries off, Arayu continues to ruthlessly chase after him, firing a pack of arrows every now and then to hinder his progress.

“You’re not getting away!”

“Don’t you even think about going anywhere either,” Iris says tauntingly to Ayame, who’s attention immediately snaps back to her.

Ayame glares back, a thin smile playing about her lips. “Tch!” she cries, “As if I’d even consider it! I don’t know how or why you’re still here, but I’m about to fix my own mistakes by erasing you from this planet!”

“Big words,” Iris comments, “but can you even stop me?”

“Of course,” Ayame grins back.

“Then follow me, if you dare!” Iris retorts, before transforming into another cloud of black lightning again and zooming away.

Ayame watches perplexedly as the cloud of lightning disappears, hovering over the many buildings standing nearby and cutting straight across it towards a certain location. Ayame stares, as it disappears behind a church tower hovering over the roofs of the other buildings.

“Hmph,” Ayame mumbles to herself, leaping onto the roof of the nearest building and chasing after the rapidly disappearing speck of black lightning.

“Well,” Zack comments, “looks like we’re all alone again, Lady Silver. Or, as alone as we could be.” At these words, Zack’s blank, gray eyes zip over to rest on Tide, who still remains laying semi-conscious over the pile of broken-down rubble.

Silver stares at Tide as well, who grasps his Zard loosely in his right hand, groaning painfully to himself. She bites her lip, a hint of tortured emotion reflecting in her usually calm eyes.

“S’the matter?” Zack questions, holding loosely in his own two hands the brightly glowing particles of a Holy Arrow. “I know! I wonder what would happen if I pulled loose this arrow in my hands right now, huh? On your little friend over there? He don’t look too inclined to moving at the moment.”

Silver’s eyes harden at these words, as hatred pounds inside her veins once again. She clutches the shaft of her Asianic Bow tightly, shredding the skin on the palms of her hands even as she does so. Brief images and recollections of her fight against Zack only months ago return to her mind, as vivid as if they’d occurred yesterday.

Within seconds, Silver’s bow is drawn, loaded with a pair of arrows oozing green poison. Zack smirks at this sudden resolve to fight. “My, my, looks like Miss Lady Silver here’s got some fire in her belly, eh? She wants to fight now.”

“If you hurt Tide…” Silver threatens, the hands gripping her own bow shaking slightly, “I won’t forgive you!”

“Silver…” Tide grunts, scrambling to his feet at last. Several loose pieces of rubble slide along with him only to crash onto the granite floor. He grabs his Zard, holding it in both hands and enters a fighting stance.

“Stop!” Silver shouts commandingly, causing Tide to draw back, surprised at the danger in her voice. “Tide, if you get in the way…I can’t guarantee I won’t kill you myself!”

“What…?!” Tide shouts back, outraged. “What kind of way is that to react to someone who’s trying to save you?”

“This is my fight, Tide!” Silver yells. “I won’t forgive this sick, demented freak for hurting you, but if you get in the way, I’ll take you down myself too!”

“No way!” Tide yells, stepping in between Silver and Zack. However, his legs betray him, as he sways dangerously, nearly dropping to the floor once again. “I’m in on this fight as well!”

“Move!” Silver shouts, the hands gripping her bow shaking harder and harder. “You’re only getting in the way! You’re a nuisance! MOVE!”

“You’re too stubborn for your own good, Silver,” Tide mutters.

“I said MOVE!” Silver shouts again, nearly causing herself to go hoarse from the strain. “I’m telling you, no, ordering you, not as your childhood friend but as your commander to move!”

For several moments, Tide stares straight into Silver’s resolute eyes, receiving the piercing stare usually reserved for her enemies. He nods, rendered speechless. He picks up his Zard, and nods again, shuffling again. “Got it…”

“Go chase after Ivy and the others,” Silver replies, much more calmly this time, as if hiding a hint of remorse for her harsh words. “They’ll need you.”

“Got it,” Tide replies, with none of the usual swagger in his voice. He stumbles away, leaving Silver to fight against Zack. ‘I’ll see you later, Silver.’

Next Time: Episode 38 A Sin That Can’t Be Forgiven

Arayu: It is time for revenge.

Ryuu: Why do you hate me so much?

Arayu: You killed my father, and now I’m gonna kill you!

Ryuu: There’s always gonna be two sides to the story…

Otis: So many fights, so many fights! Who’s gonna win? Ryuu or Arayu? Ayame or Iris? Silver or Zack? Only time will tell, and we’re out of it right now!

Episode 38 A Sin That Can’t Be Forgiven coming soon!