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Kojin slept for the next three days recovering. Before, Sly had asked him if he wanted a boost in the flow of time, but he refused.
There had been an obvious increase in Sly using his powers, as though something was coming. When Kojin asked, Sly shrugged it off. He merely said: "You'll find out in due time."
This affected Kojin's dreams, bringing up possible answers, only to leave him with more questions. One of the questions that plagued him the most was: Does this have anything to do with Twilight, Sly's older brother?
When approached with this question, Sly said they would find out later, obviously unsure about it himself.
But as Kojin slept, Artemis spoke to Sly.
"You know, brother, Koji has every right to know." Artemis spoke, crossing her arms, and cocking her hips to one side. She had a tendency to do that when she became annoyed, and around Sly, that wasn't all that uncommon. This increased more, every time she saw his arrogance.
"I don't want to drag him into this. It's not his fight." Sly muttered, shoving his hands into his pocket.
"He considers you a brother. Whether you like it or not, he'll end up a part of it." Artemis replies.
"Fate falls under my command. I can change that."
"Would you stop him? Would you really? You've seen yourself that he's beyond the control of fate, just like you were before. He'll find a way to join you in battle. Even if it kills him."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of! These aren't normal enemies that are gonna appear. I fear their coming for a reason."
"Does Twilight have anything to do with this?" Artemis asked, referring to their eldest brother.
"Kojin asked the same thing. I can't honestly answer that."
"You don't know?" Artemis asked, surprised.
"I don't know everything, I just get occasional premonitions, since I've gotten my abilities."
Artemis sighed. She saw no use in arguing over it. He had his mind made up, and this made him stubborn. "Alright, but just remember that sooner or later, he'll find a way around fate. He's done it before."
Sly shrugged, and turned his back on his sister.
Artemis was about to turn and leave when an old pirate legend came to mind. "Oh no... These enemies you are thinking of. Are they Erasers?" She asked suddenly scared.
Sly remained silent.
Artemis turned suddenly. "No! You aren't seriously thinking of fighting them on your own, are you?"
Once again, Sly said nothing.
"You are! Don't be stupid! You can't win, you'll be absorbed!" Artemis growled at him.
"I don't want want any of you to get involved..." Sly said blankly.
"Fine. If you're gonna play stubborn, so am I. I'm going to get Koji." Artemis mused, crossing her arms once more. She turned, and started out the door.
"Wait!" Sly called after her. Artemis smiled, thinking Sly had come to his senses. "Let Kojin sleep. He is still weak from his wound." Artemis' smile faded.
Sadly Sly was right. With all the pain he had gone through, Kojin needed the rest. Artemis sighed. At that moment, she was no longer in the mood to argue. She simply left the room.
This time Sly sighed Legion attempted to penetrate Sly's thoughts, but Sly pushed him out.
~~~
Artemis made it to Kojin's room, and opened the door. Kojin was still unconscious. She smiled, stepping in and closing the door behind her. Kojin's body was restless, and his face was calm. Artemis sat down next to Kojin and watched him sleep.
~~~
Despite his look, Kojin's dream was far from peaceful. His childhood was before him, and he was reliving the horrors of his parents dieing before him.
Through their pain and suffering, never once did they cry out for themselves. All their cries were towards Kojin, begging him, pleading with him to turn his back and run. He was too stubborn to listen. He saw them breathe their last. His terror turned to rage as he rushed the orog known as Eruta. Leaning his head down, he jammed his head into Eruta's stomach. Eruta staggered backwards, dropping his spear.
Kojin dove for it, grasping it tightly. A horde of orcs crowded around him, and he launched them back with a wall of fire.
~~~
Kojin sat upright, flames seemingly burning in his eyes, the shadows of his past lingering. He looked around. Once again, he was back in his room. Only one other person was in the room with him.
Artemis had fallen asleep sitting next to him.
He quirked a brow. Artemis pulled her head up, and blinked. "Son of a...Koji!" She said, noticing Kojin was siting. She hugged him. "You're awake!"
"Obviously," Kojin said, frowning.
Artemis backed up and frowned. "Sorry..."
He placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled at him. Her smile was quickly replaced with a fearful look.
"OhmagoshKojiSly'sgonnafightawaragainsttheerasersandhecan'twinand.." Artemis started rattling off what had happened between her and Sly.
Kojin clasped his hand over Artemis' mouth, causing her to quit talking almost instantly.
"Calm down. Speak in a language I can understand." Kojin said. He pulled his hand away. After a long breath, Artemis spoke.
"Okay. Sly and I were talking, and it was obvious he was..." She began to speak, but was interrupted by Sly.
"I was worried because soon I will be at war with a race known as the Erasers. They are stronger and more cunning than any we have ever faced," Sly explained.
"We?" Artemis asked. "What happened to the stubborn attitude?" She asked smugly.
"'We' refers to me and Kojin. 'You' will be staying here." Sly said.
"No way!" Artemis growled, annoyed again. "I am NOT staying here."
"Okay," Sly said smiling. "But you are not coming with."
Artemis stomped her foot. She knew it was a little childish, but she was annoyed. She decided to follow them regardless.
Sly frowned at her, knowing what she was thinking.
"Stop reading my mind!" She growled, stomping her foot again.
"I can't read minds. I just know how yours works," Sly responded.
Kojin quirked a brow, which had become a common action for him. He had gotten lost early in the conversation. Artemis clung to his arm. "I'm not leaving Koji's side." She blurted.
If there was one thing always true about Sly, it was that he was very protective of his siter. He wasn't sure if Kojin was the right one for Artemis. It was clear to Sly that Kojin wasn't sure who he cared for the most out of Kalena and Artemis. Seeing Artemis cling to Kojin's shoulder irked him to no end.
He held a look on his face that openly said: 'Fine. I hope you DIE with him.'
He turned and walked off.
Kojin pulled his arm away, and frowned at Artemis. He left, following after Sly.
Artemis looked confused. "Wh-What'd I do?"
~~~
Kojin followed after Sly, moving at a slightly faster pace. He caught up easily enough. He grabbed Sly's shoulder, turning him around.
"What's your issue?" Kojin asked.
"My issue is the fact that my sister is clinging to you like you're her husband." Sly growled.
"You and I both know that's a load of bullsh*t"
"Oh is it now?" Sly asked as Kalena entered the hallway. Realizing there was a verbal fight between Sly and Kojin, she hastily left. "How so? Prove to me you don't like her like that."
Kojin frowned. "What happened to 'brotherly trust?'" Kojin asked. "Wouldn't you rather it be me with her rather than some freak who only likes her for her body?"
Sly shook his head and turned. "Whatever..." He took one step before Kojin stopped him again.
There wasn't much time to react, even for Sly, and Kojin's fist collided with the right side of Sly's face. Sly's body seemed to break the laws of physics, not moving fore the longest time. There was an unnatural shift in his jaw, with a sickening crack that resounded in unison. His feet left the floor, and walls shattered as he carved a path through the building they were located in. He finally slid to a halt a couple hundred yards from where he had been hit.
"Stop being so stubborn," Kojin said, closing the gap between them quickly. "We are a team. We're close enough to be brothers. Does that mean anything to you, or should I thin up your skull a little more for you?"
Sly didn't respond. He couldn't. His jaw was broken, and on top of that, he didn't know how to respond, or at least that's what Kojin thought.
He soon realized Sly was no longer lying on the floor. Instead there was a large boulder in his spot covered in cloth. Kojin cursed as he attempted to move. He hadn't seen the boulder soon enough, for Sly landed a solid blow to Kojin's cheek, sending him staggering sideways. Kojin hooked in with his left fist, but Sly ducked as the punch whizzed by.
Sly took a cheap shot, punching Kojin in his stab wound. Kojin coughed, feeling a huge pain from where Sly had hit him. He went to backhand Sly, but missed when his desired target ducked again. He had expected as much this time, and kicked upwards. Sly saw it coming, and stopped time a split second before the kick connected.
He moved around to Kojin's back, and resumed time, kicking in the back of Kojin's knee. Kojin had figured on something like this as well, and fell to his knee, reaching over backwards, grabbing at Sly, who backpedaled causing Kojin's grab to come up short.
Kojin faked turning, and Sly attempted to keep behind him, hastening himself, only to be clothes-lined by Kojin's arm.
Sly hit the floor with his shoulders before rolling. He managed to take a hold of his roll before he got too far, and he was quickly standing once again. At this moment, the thrill of battle replace the rage that had once overtaken him. He rushed Kojin, jumping, and kicking his foot outwards.
Kojin had the same feeling enter him, but couldn't do much. One moment, he saw Sly jumping, and the next, his head was tilted back, and there was a sharp pain in his jaw.
He landed flat on his back. He didn't know why, but the urge to start laughing was too powerful. He laughed deeply. He climbed to his feet. Sly was laughing as well. Once they had their share of laughter, Sly patted Kojin on the shoulder. "Enough fun. We have a war to start." Together they left for the base of the mountain.
Kalena shook her head, watching from the doorway. "Boys will be boys," She muttered as they walked away.
~~~
Sly sighed. He kept thinking about the way Artemis clung to Kojin's arm. It was aggrevating. In fact it was downright infuriating. Regardless of that, he managed to keep a lid on his anger.
Kojin decided now was the time to ask questions. "What exactly are we gonna be going up against, anyways?"
"It's a race known as Erasers. They are humans with no face or hair, who have the ability to absorb the powers of the people who have them, and the life of those who don't. Once they absorb someone's powers, that person becomes normal. From there, the Erasers can take their life as if they were normal people. They can also take on that person's features, imitating them. They even gain the person's memories." Sly explained. Kojin remained quiet for a moment.
He finally spoke. "So have you figured out if your brother is going to make an appearance?"
Sly shook his head. "I couldn't tell you. I sure as hell hope not." He shuddered. He wasn't so scared as much as he was anxious. The thought of another chance, another opportunity to defeat his brother excited him. He wanted that more than anything else at this point in time.
Kojin decided on one last question. "Where will we find them?"
"You're asking the wrong question. Technically, you should be asking: 'When will they find us?'" Sly answered. "To which I would obviously respond: 'Now.'" He hastily ducked as a blast of pure energy pierced the air where his head once was.
Kojin didn't see the second blast coming, and it hit him in the center of his chest. He was thrown backwards, landing flat on his back. He shook his head and stood. A third blast came in, but Kojin punched it into the ground in front of him. That's when he noticed them.
Before him was a group of humans without hair or faces as Sly had described. Every one of them were in the same outfit. They all wore white dress shirts with gold trim, and matching leggings.
Sly stood back up and smiled at Kojin. "Any more questions?"
Kojin nodded as one came to mind. "How exactly are we supposed to win?"
Sly's smile widened. "Dodge! In other words, all we have to do is survive."
~~~
Artemis jumped. Kalena had turned the corner, startling her. "Kal!" Artemis practically yelped.
"C'mon. We can't just sit here while Kojin and Sly are fighting for their lives." Kalena explained.
She knew just as well as Artemis that neither Kojin or Sly would want them to interfere, but neither Artemis or Kalena really cared.
Artemis seemed to get a serious look in her eye. She nodded in agreement. Turning, they rushed off to aid Kojin and Sly...
CREDITS AND DISCLAIMERS: I thought I may as well start giving credit. A lot of you may not know this, but when Sly said 'Dodge!' it was a reference to Dragonball Z Abridged, a video series that is basically a spoof on Dragonball Z. You can find this on YouTube. They used the joke first.
Secondly, I would like to thank Lady Artemis Kisarugi, Sly Kisarugi, and Azekaran Ran for allowing me to use their characters. The reason it took so long for me to post this one up was because I couldn't figure out where to go with it, but Lady Artemis Kisarugi kept me going.
I finished Chapter 3 a couple days ago, and I'm currently working on Chapter 4, which I promptly named 'Twilight Falls'. You will find out why when I release the chapter. I won't keep to the 'one chapter every weekend' nonsense, since I've had a little issue keeping it up to snuff. Here we are over a month after when I promised to release Chapter 3 and it's just now coming out.
Anyways, sorry for all of you who I've kept waiting. Thanks for reading, and I will post up Chapter 4 as soon as I finish it.
~Kojin Fuyuki
Kojin Fuyuki · Fri Sep 25, 2009 @ 05:39am · 0 Comments |
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