Seiko walked into the smoke-filled room. The details around her were fuzzy - some bottles along the wall, a large window by the door, and some stools and a bar opposite the door were all she could make out. In front of her was a table, with four people and one empty chair surrounding it. Odd-colored chips were piled neatly around the table, as well as a set of playing cards for each set of chips. One of the players, wearing a mask and a patchwork quilt, motioned her over and offered her the empty chair. "Welcome. We were wondering when you'd arrive. Hey, Dealer!" The man in the smiling mask turned to a person cloaked in shadow. "Deal her in, will you? Ah, I see you brought your stake." He pointed to her right hand. Seiko, her mind struggling to catch up to the events around her, looked at the hand in question. In it, she saw a small statuette, shaped remarkably like herself. She set it on the table, as the dealer tossed her...her bracelet? "Ante up's on the draw," said the dealer. "If you don't like your cards, fold now." Seiko looked down to see a set of cards in front of her. She quietly picked up the cards and looked them over. A seven and eight of spades, a ten and jack of clubs, and a queen of hearts. Seiko didn't know much about poker, but this hand probably was a piece of junk. Fable chuckled quietly. "So, like your hand? If you think you have a chance, go ahead and ante in - who knows what you'll get for a card? But, is it worth the ante...?" Seiko woke up, shook her head, and got ready for school, a nagging in the back of her mind tagging along for the rest of the day. -------------------------- Nightmare Fighter Yumeko Chapter 12: Fate -------------------------- Fable stepped out of the dream, and into...someplace. He was chuckling and talking to himself. "Ah, yes, warnings, always in threes. That's how it is, that's how it should be. Fours and sevens are good on occasion, but are a bit...overkill." He peered in on a nearby dreamer, the mind occupied with whether he should take Tai Ho and Ridley or go with Kasumi and Long Chan Chan. "One hundred eight is definitely overkill. That dream almost reminded me of someone...what was his name...the guy with the vivid dreams and quiet demeanor...ah, never mind." Shrugging, Fable walked over to another area, and went into another dream. "There's only so much night here. No need to waste it. Now, what are you dreaming about, little girl?" -------------------------- Misako looked around. An eerie landscape, as lonely and as dark as her mood. There, in the distance, stood two figures. A second's pause was all it took to recognize them - Yumeko and Miwako. Were they talking about something again? Why wouldn't they let her in on it? What was going on? Misako suddenly noticed they were moving away, and raced to catch them. She called out to the two, running as fast as she could, but neither her feet nor her voice could keep her friends from falling away.... ...falling? She sped her pace. Something was wrong. They weren't just heading backwards, they were slipping downward into...something she couldn't make out just yet. Misako wasn't sure if she was screaming; the effort of running was making it hard to concentrate. Then, she came to an edge of a pit. There, below her, Yumeko and Miwako, both in long, elegant dresses, lay unconscious and bloodied. Misako felt her stomach clench as she saw the odd angles of their limbs. Then, standing near her friends, she saw a beautiful woman. A hint of perfume rose from the depths of the pit, the choice of odor perfectly fitting for the lady. The woman made Ayumi Hamazaki look like a tramp. Then, a sudden gust of wind brushed the woman's dress aside, revealing her legs, and Misako vomited, her eyes still uncontrollably fixed. The upper body was worthy of a supermodel. The lower half looked like a horrifically nasty reaction to one of those zombie viruses or whatever in those Biohazard games. Her exposed muscles were twitching horribly, putting Misako in mind of gray, wriggling things. While her face showed a smile that could drag a man to bed, the flesh below her torso was a flesh- dangling, festering nightmare that not even the most desperate of bachelors would dare touch for fear of catching whatever form of STD she had picked up two eons ago. One could not tear their eyes away from the top's beauty, but, as it required looking at the putrid bottom, one could but wish it were possible. The woman, her luscious smile unchanged, spoke softly. "Don't fret about losing them, child. Now that they're here, you'll join them soon enough." A chilling laugh followed, punctuated by a shrill beeping. Misako stirred. Her alarm clock continued its auditory assault on the room. Misako was not a light sleeper by any means, and so it was that she had bought an alarm clock that regularly woke her parents long before it woke her. She slapped the top of the alarm, looked at the time, and then briefly recalled the image of the woman. She shot upright in bed. -------------------------- "The usual...parents leaving, feeling of loneliness. Nothing I haven't seen before." Yumeko yawned and closed the book, then went to the kitchen for her daily routine. Masaro was in his room, snoring loudly and smelling badly. Another day, Yumeko thought to herself, the scepter charm swinging lightly from her neck as she prepared breakfast for Shinichi and herself. Sunlight shone brightly outside, and it even allowed a few beams to brighten the apartment. Yumeko didn't appreciate the favor. A decent breakfast and a short cleanup afterward, and both Shinichi and Yumeko were headed for school. The walk was quiet and peaceful...with no Seiko and cronies popping up to bother her. Odd, but not of real importance. As it was, it allowed her to make homeroom on time for once, a rare event sure to surprise her homeroom teacher. Looking over beside her, she saw Misako sitting quietly, eyes fixed forward. Yumeko tried to get her attention, but to no avail; the only time Misako spoke was a weak, "Hai," to the teacher as her name was called on the roll. Yumeko was concerned. Misako had been angry yesterday over her belief that Miwako and her were hiding something from her. To tell the truth, they were, but what else were they supposed to do? How are you supposed to explain to a friend, "Hey, I just gained magical powers and fight for justice and the world!" without them thinking you needed a few days' stay at the local sanitarium? "Misako? Misako?" whispered Yumeko, as quietly as she could without the teacher noticing - "Kobayashi! No talking in class!" ...too late, he did. This would have to wait - again - until later, Yumeko decided. She frowned - how much longer would this go on...? -------------------------- Lunchtime came, and Keiji and Takuya were discussing problems. They almost wished said problems were theirs. "Have you seen Misako today? She's quiet...too quiet." Keiji paused to slurp some chicken broth around his cup of ramen. "No movie quotes, please." Takuya swallowed a piece of chicken covered in teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. "Yeah, I've seen her. She's here, but her mind's somewhere else." "Could it be because of something like what *we've* been getting from Yumeko? They are good friends, after all." "I dunno." Takuya tried to scrape some rice out of the corner of the box. "She looks a bit...scared, really. If Yumeko's mood hasn't scared her by now, I'm kinda worried as to what would." "Hmm...good point." Keiji chewed on some ramen for a bit, lost in thought...and then spied Hiro idling by. "Hey, Hiro! Over here!" Hiro jumped a few inches, almost losing hold on his bento. "Wha- oh, hey, Keiji. Takuya." "Come on, sit down," said Keiji, using motions and arm-dragging for emphasis. "How're you doing?" "Uh, fine, I guess." Hiro finally got the point, resigned himself to his fate, and sat down. "And yourselves?" "We're okay...some people around here aren't." Takuya put down his bento box, the sun glistening off the inside. "Yumeko's getting worse." "She is?" Hiro opened his box, revealing simple fish-and-cucumber sushi, rice, and soy sauce for dipping; the latter was covered by no less than three layers of sesame seeds. "Yeah, and we're worried it might be affecting Misako." Keiji grabbed some ramen and chewed thoughtfully. "*You're* worried it's Yumeko," said Takuya. "I'm worried she's scared of something. Hey, you gonna eat all of that?" "Oh, go ahead," said Hiro as Takuya plunged his chopsticks towards the sushi. "Why do you think Misako is scared?" "Look at her." Takuya pointed over toward the corner, where Misako sat alone, eating her rice and curry. Her eyes stared straight ahead, as if attentive to someone, but she was either studying the group of seniors play pranks on a poor freshman with glasses or staring into open space. Hiro looked at the face, and guessed it wasn't the seniors. His years of being a spirit guide in the midst of gods meant that he knew well and good what could cause that type of fear, and it wasn't something he wanted to think about. "Poor girl," muttered Hiro. "What did you say?" asked Keiji. "Uh, nothing, really." Hiro let out a hesitant laugh. "So, Yumeko is still giving everyone the silent treatment?" "More or less," said Takuya, grabbing for another piece of sushi. Keiji blinked, as a thought bubbled up from his memory. "Hey, Hiro." Hiro gulped down a piece of his sushi. "Yes?" "What were you and Yumeko talking about last week, anyway?" "Um..." Hiro twitched slightly as he struggled to respond, but was cut off by a bell. "I'll see what can be done regarding Yumeko," said Hiro, already closing the lunchbox and walking away. "Pleasure talking with both of you." "Uh, and with you," said Keiji. "Thanks for the sushi!" said Takuya. -------------------------- Another day of stupid teachers and moron-level homework assignments over, Yumeko left for home. If all went well, she would be home about fifteen minutes ahead of Shinichi - a few blessed minutes of settling down and listening to X-Japan never hurt anyone. "Oof," said both Yumeko and the person in front of her as they collided. "Hey, watch where - Hiro? What are you doing here?" "I'm on the lookout, really." So saying, he looked around the area while avoiding Yumeko's gaze. "What for?" Yumeko started feeling for her necklace. "None of your business. I'm not helping the powers of darkness." "Powers of darkness? What is up with you?" "Actually, your schoolmates were wondering exactly what is up with *you*. Trust me, it'd be easier if you just gave it up." Hiro continued to look away from her, annoying Yumeko. "Why?" shouted Yumeko indignantly. "Why should I give it up? Just because some no-help bird *said* so?" "This game is dangerous, and it's getting more dangerous as it goes along. There is only supposed to be good and evil - no mix of both!" Hiro clutched his head and nearly screamed in frustration. "And why not?" Yumeko's hands were on her hips. Hiro quieted instantly. "...I'm not going to tell you. It...is not something for me to say." "WHAT?" Yumeko's hands left her hips and flew into the air momentarily. "How dare you harass my Hiro so!" Both Yumeko and Hiro looked around, one more nervously than the other. Neither of them had spoken that last line. "You and that other girl the other day - the one trying to take my Hiro away - you're allied with each other, aren't you?" Chie stepped from the shadows, and what few people were in the area began to scatter when they saw the bird-woman, in between transformation, speaking. "She most certainly is not. She uses the power of nightmares. The Dream Fighter only uses the powers of light." Hiro looked at his old flame and wondered what had happened to her long ago. She was...insane. "But they fought together," said Chie. "They both fought together to keep me away from you, my beloved Hiro. I can't have that." Wasting no more words, Chie rushed Yumeko, trident suddenly in hand and aimed at Yumeko's heart. Yumeko wasted no time in sidestepping the attack and, seeing the area clear of spectators, grabbed for the scepter charm on her necklace. No time was given, however, as Chie swung the weapon around, connecting with Yumeko's back like a major-league batter. Yumeko half-rolled, half-skidded into a handy lightpost, and barely managed to rise in time to dodge the stabbing attack that followed. Hiro, sensing that this deadly fight was neither his nor one he wished to see the conclusion of, backed away until he reached an alley, then turned and ran. He didn't care who won; something was wrong with Chie, and Yumeko was an enemy, as far as he was concerned. -------------------------- Miwako looked up at the teacher. She was in class...or was she? Hadn't it ended a while ago? ...anyway, here she was, in Political Science, and the teacher was lecturing. You could tell - everyone else in the class was already asleep. "Now, class," the teacher began, his monotone voice in rare form, "it was realized at some point that, when you have excessively large numbers of troops fight each other, it is not worth the time to go after every single person on the battlefield. It is only important to go after the decision makers - officers and such - so that the enemy has no idea what to do next. Thereafter, they become much easier to slaughter. "The same strategy applies in politics. Going after certain individuals works much better than targeting the group entire. For example, World War I was started over one man - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Upon his assassination, Austria declared war on Serbia, the country in which the assassination took place, then Serbia called in its alliances, followed by Austria, and so on and so forth. Even today, we discuss whether or not we could take care of the Iraq problem by removing Saddam Hussein." Miwako found herself falling asleep with the rest of the class. She barely noticed the teacher walking over to a projector screen. "Today, we have one new example. Look at this gentleman/bird/... whatever." So saying, the teacher raised the screen, revealing a picture of Hiro underneath. "With his death, events have been set in motion that will lead, ultimately, to the destruction of the very fabric of reality. It seems simple enough, doesn't it? Just one small thing, and there goes the neighborhood." Miwako woke up. She was at home; she'd taken an early nap before confronting the monster that her homework regularly was. Her intuition leading the way, she immediately transformed and bolted out the window. -------------------------- The alley was dark, as alleys often are. Wind trapped in the corridor provided a haunting sound and ruffled trash and leaves. Hiro walked along, looking behind him once or twice to make sure that no one, particularly Chie, happened to be following. Why wouldn't Yumeko give up her scepter? Hiro looked at the walls surrounding him and wondered if her will was stronger than the brick to his sides. Brick...a rarity in Japan, that. It wasn't...right, in his eyes. The good girl fights evil, protects the innocent, and is *PURE*! She wasn't pure, she was evil, she was the problem and that's not how it should be done - "You know, I finally realized something." Hiro turned around. It was too dark in that direction to see what was making that sound. Not liking the situation, he began to pull himself into his natural shape, but a sudden pain lanced through his arm, billowing through his mind and blotting out the delicate threads of magic. The pain from his earlier injury returned and multiplied, a hollow crack sending shards of pain driving through him and gnawing at his gut. "Don't even think of running. Tell me - why is it that you showed up right before my brother disappeared?" "I...don't...who are you...?" For what little he knew about the person accosting him, she - it sounded like a she - certainly knew more than he did about something. He tried to focus on the figure, but still was unable to discern her face or appearance beyond a dark blur. "You showed up, what, two weeks ago? I checked. One Miyamae Kyoko disappeared two days later, followed by my brother shortly after that. Pretty suspicious, wouldn't you say?" Hiro was trying to form words, as well as desperately find a convenient exit, but the voice interrupted anything he might have said and the blur grabbed his wrist to keep him from running away. "Furthermore, the last time he was seen was with Yumeko. Lo and behold, it seems you were seen talking to Yumeko around that time." "How...how would you know?" asked Hiro, scrambling to his feet and pulling hard to try to flee. He could make out the hair and the shape of the face now, as well as...her bracelet? He couldn't recognize the girl, but the bracelet...oh no.... "So I've been told," said the voice, walking out into the open. Hiro glanced at the bracelet again, as well as the switchblade in the hand the bracelet wrapped around. It popped open with an audible click, like the safety on a revolver, and it might as well have been a gun. "So...you first." With that, the girl slashed across Hiro's face with the knife. "No...no...don't-" "Shut up. You're pathetic like that." She continued with his chest. --------------------------- Yumeko was not having an easy time of it. Come to think of it, she'd had problems with Chie last time, and that was with Miwako's help. As the trident lunged again, Yumeko bounced away and hit the wall in that direction rather hard. As she tried regained her balance, she found a smooth metal rod being pressed forcefully into her neck, and oddly felt thankful it wasn't the points on the end instead. She wasn't able to breathe, however, so her gratitude was short-lived. Chie smiled. "How does it feel to hurt? So my heart without my Hiro feels. At least your pain will end soon." Yumeko, unable to speak, offered her a tribute with her third finger (as all those people in American movies would do), pushing all the while at the weapon to no avail. Blackness began to overtake her, and an acute pain could be felt immediately as the neck bones began to give. "Wait...where did Hiro go?" Chie looked around, the pressure on the weapon lessening for a brief moment. Yumeko, seizing the opportunity, pulled the spear down and slammed her forehead right up and under Chie's chin. The blow sent Chie's head back about six feet, along with the rest of her body and the trident she was holding - more than enough space for Yumeko to escape. Chie looked coldly at her adversary. "You'll pay for that, little girl...but later." Her tone then changed abruptly to something more... lovestruck? "I must find my dear Hiro! Where could he have run off to?" Yumeko was already booking for home; she didn't even pause to gag at the sugary emotional display. Shinichi would be worried about her...and probably moreso if she stayed to get herself killed. In the distance, Chie called, "Hiro? My Hiro, where are you? Hiro!" -------------------------- Masaro had gotten off work about an hour ago. That meant, as this was a normal day, that Masaro was about thirty minutes into drinking. A little loose by now, for sure, but not quite yet at the level of buzz he was accustomed to. Thusly, when the lady walked up to him and asked to sit down, he was able to show a grand sort of politeness to the woman instead of looking like a complete idiot. "So, do you come here often?" the woman asked, her scent of perfume cutting through the bar's alcoholic stench. "Well...yeah. But, hey, I'm a bachelor now - I'm free for this sort of thing." "A bachelor, you say?" The woman placed her elbows onto the table, folded her hands, and rested her chin upon the folded hands in a delightfully cute fashion. "Were you at one time not a bachelor?" "Yeah...I was." Masaro's mood darkened slightly; asking about one's ex-marriage partner almost universally guarantees the surfacing of buried, unkind memories. "It went bad." "How so?" The woman leaned in towards Masaro, batting her eyelashes once. "I'd...I'd rather not talk about it." Masaro took a deep swig of hot sake. It was always easier to not talk about something if you had something in your mouth. "I'd like to hear it. It sounds...interesting." The lady stared deeply into Masaro's eyes with the look of a thousand of love's enchantments. "I...was bad." Masaro sighed, then stood. That did it - he was officially not in the mood to drink. "I think I'm done for the night. Thanks for the company, miss...?" "Call me...Helen." She stood and walked away, her eyes offering one last look. "I'll see you again sometime - we can talk some more." "That'd be nice." Masaro left money for the bartender and left shortly behind her for home. -------------------------- Miwako realized all too late that intuition can only go so far. It was getting darker, and Miwako feared the chances of something going bad - or something having gone bad getting worse, she didn't know, really - were increasing steadily with time's dull rhythm. She was looking in random dark places, of which she found many. None of the places she was checking was turning out to be the one she had imagined, and yet she *knew* she had imagined it, and that whatever it was happened to be very wrong. How did those girls in senshi anime figure it out,anyway? She almost wanted to beat her head against a random wall. That was stress talking and not helping, and so she stopped at one corner of the school to catch her breath. She thought back to the image. It was hard - bringing dreams back to the mind in the waking world was always difficult. She'd have to look through some books sometime and see if any studies or analyses or such had been done on the matter, but, for now, she had to remember the task at hand which was to find Hiro. There had to be some clues in the picture she saw - there just *had* to be...and so she closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling a slight tremor in the air, as it suddenly came back to her at full force. This time, instead of opening the eyelids and running to save her mentor - worthless though he might be - she studied the picture - the light, the background.... It seemed fuzzy, indistinct, as if her mind thought that rather unimportant. A little work, however, made out a few details - the concrete paving, the papers strewn about, the brick alleyway like you'd probably find in America or something - - because America had brick, while most of Japan was pre-fab or bamboo, take your pick. There was one exception where both sides of the alley would be brick. She looked around the street - there! It was right behind her, like that book for chemistry in the morning. And there, in the middle of the alleyway, about one-quarter of the way down, was - "Hiro!" A groan was her first response. Running towards the sound, she came to...oh...no...she saw a number of lacerations and stab wounds - someone had put the bird through a knife fight, and Hiro was a mess of blood and feathers as a result. ...feathers? She looked at the spirit guide. He was somewhere in between transformation, leaning on the wall for some slim support. He was probably losing control of his basic abilities, and definitely in critical need of medical care he probably couldn't get on this earth, let alone from her. She should be trying, though, and, upon realizing this, she dashed to his side even faster. "My silence...all for naught...." "Hiro, hold on! I'll get you to...someone, I don't know -" "It's over, Miwako. Huh...I feel...happy...nothing more for me to worry about, I'm going to Hel anyway!" A chuckle turned to a near sob. "Don't say that! We'll get help. Come on!" She looked around for any help, anywhere - someone had to be *somewhere* that could get a doctor or *SOMETHING*.... "You have more important things than me to worry about. There are two Dream Warriors...you know about the second. But, it's when the third shows up...it then all goes bye-bye." "Shh. Save your strength." Miwako tried to help him hold some of the blood in, tearing off parts of his clothing to make a tourniquet, but the cuts were everywhere, all bleeding, too many to stop - curses came to Miwako's mind as she tried putting hands and cloth in fifteen places at once. "No. If I'm going to hell...the rules can bite me. Dream energy... disrupts reality...energy flows from the dream world into the real one... it goes through a barrier." "What rules? What dream energy? Speak to me!" "No time...there's...one more Dream Warrior...evil...and she's ready to...." "Who? Did *she* do this to you? Who is she?" Hiro couldn't seem to hear the question at this point, even as Miwako repeated it while shaking him slightly. "When she activates...reality... and dreams...will be one.... "When who activates? WHO?" "I'm...sorry I couldn't...be brave to help...." Hiro's eyelids stared blankly, even as his body became limp in the Dream Warrior's arms. The body began to dissolve then, mostly sand that became ash that became vapor - only a large crystal was left in Miwako's hands. Miwako felt a pull on the gem, dragging it slowly toward the hole. Air whistled by her hand into the tear in space. "NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS! WHOEVER YOU ARE, YOU AREN'T TAKING THIS!" A hand shot from the pit, its fingers long and slender, and grabbed the gem with a surprising strength. "Who are you to tell me what I shall and shall not take, pawn?" The gem was ripped out of Miwako's hands and arms, leaving rubbed skin and a torn shirt in its wake, and pulled into the hole. Miwako dived for the hole, only to add more scrapes and a bloody nose from hitting concrete. She stayed there for awhile, sobbing and saying, "Why? Why...?" -------------------------- -------------------------- Thank-yous for pre-reading go to Joyce Hawkins and (even if he has to by his own laws) John Evans. Comments? Send to neckert3724@pipeline.owens.cc.oh.us. Wave bye-bye to Hotmail - it's overrun by the spammers, I'm afraid. Nicholas Eckert vidstudent http://members.fortunecity.com/vidstudent Beware the Radish http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/ 8/9/02