The world is full of colors. This is something everyone can tell. But what no one has noticed yet is that... The world is losing its colors.

However, there are some whose colors are strong enough to stay despite everything that is happening around them.

Well then, let me tell you this story…

A male deep voice spoke. “Ksh. What a piece of crap.”

“Ryuuga! Watch your language!” a feminine one replied.

“Auch! Don’t hit me!”

These two friends, who sat side-by-side on the rooftop of their school during lunch break, were named Ryuuga and Airyu. They were 17 years old and in their last year in high school.

Ryuuga was the spikey, white hair that was pulled back, short, with gray bangs boy. His eyes were purple colored and showed annoyance and menace. He wore, obviously, his school uniform: a black opened jacket and black trousers, not to mention the obvious pair of sneakers and white undershirt. He was eating a pack of instantaneous noodles that he now regretted of ever buying.

Next to him was his best and only friend: a girl named Airyu. Her hair was a soft, light blue that reached her shoulders. It blew along with the gentle breeze. She was also wearing her school uniform as well: a black skirt and leggings, a white buttoned shirt, and a dark gray colored pullover.

“Then don’t swear. After all, I warned you not to buy those.”

“Alright, alright, I got it. I’ll just stick to the usual from now on.” he said as he stood up and threw the noodles into the garbage can. “Hey, give me some of your lunch, Airyu.”

“Only if you ask politely.” He growled at her smug grin. Her smirk looked as if she wanted to say ‘Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyehhh!’ right in front of his face. He sighed and gave up.

“Could you please give me some of your lunch?”

“Since you asked so nicely, I guess,” she spoke, opening her two-story lunch box and handing him the top part.

“What the-? Why did you bring so much food?!” Ryuuga asked, astonished. The lunch boxes were filled with rice, sausages, egg rolls, and so on and so forth. Everything inside the box appeared to be the delicious.

“I had a feeling something like this would happen this morning. Here.” He sat down, accepting the tray of food. He stared at it for some moments, until he muttered a word, as he looked away.

“Thanks.”

“Awww…!”

“Hey!” Ryuuga barked at a blushing Airyu. “I get it, you have a crush on me, just don’t make those sounds.”

“Sorry, sorry…”

For those who are confused, allow me to explain: Airyu has a crush on Ryuuga, but his feelings don’t match hers. He never was a fan of romance to begin with. They did agree to stay friends, since they’d known each other for the longest of times and she agreed to try to get over him. But she still couldn’t do so.

After quickly eating, Ryuuga stood and walked towards the grid of the roof top, looking over the crowded school grounds. “I need a smoke.”

“R-Ryuuga! Smoking kills!”

“So does living.” He answered, as he took a cigarette pack and a silver lighter out of his pocket. He placed a cigarette between his lips and quickly lit it with the lighter.

“B-But… it makes kisses taste bad…” Airyu whined, as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She shook her head and asked, “What’s on your mind? You only smoke when you’re in the middle of a dilemma.”

“I’m unsure about something… You see the class president over there?"

Airyu looked over his shoulder and spotted their class president, talking to two of her friends. The class president possessed blond gravity-defying-curly, blonde hair and deep blue eyes that were protected by a pair of thin glasses. Her school uniform was identical to Airyu’s, with the exception that instead of wearing leggings, she was wearing long white stockings.

"I do. What’s the problem with her?"

"I don't know if... I should tap her ass or not."

Airyu blinked twice and sweatdropped. "Eh?"

"I don't know if I should tap her ass or not. I can't get it off my mind!" He yelled as he sat with his legs crossed.

“You’re unsure whether or not you should or not pinch-slash-touch-grab a girl’s rear?” Airyu asked, not believing her friend’s excuse for smoking.

“Hey, she’s smokin’ hot! My kind of hot!” Ryuuga admitted, with a cocky grin. “Not to mention she’s kinda busty. I heard that she’s a DD Cup!”

“Gyah!” Airyu showed shock on her face. “I can’t compete with that! I’m only a C Cup!” She felt that her chances with Ryuuga only lowered. She tried to pose in a somewhat considered sexual position and called for Ryuuga, making him turn. After some seconds, Ryuuga spoke.

“Sorry, cute isn’t really my style.”

“C-Cute?!” Despite finding it a rather nice compliment, she felt rejected. She sighed and decided to keep eating, somewhat frustrated. “I think you shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“We’re going to be graduating soon. Are you sure you want to get in trouble right before that?”

“Hmm… Meh. You’re right. Plus, I have a feeling if I did it and she liked it that she would get clingy and all that. Not my favorite type either.”

“C’mon, let’s go. The break is almost over.”

“I want to skip class.”

“No!” Airyu quickly grasped his arm and pulled him along into the building.

“Wha-!? Grrr… If you don’t like my decisions, why are you my friend?” Ryuuga asked, following Airyu due to her pull.

“Because I want to. Plus… I’m not pulling you anymore, and you didn’t really struggle.” Ryuuga only noticed that he was following Airyu into the classroom. He couldn’t figure out why though… “Little tamed dragon.” She giggled.

“What did you call me…?” he asked in a threatening voice, but Airyu simply turned and smiled, which made him flinch. He returned a confident grin. “Alright, I’m going to class, but I’ll skip club activities.”

“Deal.”

-_-_-_-_-

Ryuuga walked back home slowly. He felt no need for running, and the spring breeze ran through him softly.

“Ksh. Why the hell am I weak-hearted when it comes to Airyu? I don’t like her or anything, but I sure can’t say no to her…”He stopped on his tracks. He felt like something was… poking his brain, if that makes any sense. He looked around with his teeth clenched, annoyed. “What the hell…?”

His ears caught a sound, a hard to describe one at that. It sound like a resonating metal piece, but with a lower pitch…

“Hmm?” Ryuuga turned towards the nearby wall and quickly placed his hand over it, with a hunch that the origin of the sound could be there. And then, his fingers managed to touch something that definitely wasn’t a rocky material. I wasn’t attached to the wall, and so he took it into his hand with a tight grip and opened it in front of his eyes after withdrawing his arm. In his hand, there was… a crystal. The sound definitely came from it, but it had calmed down. Despite his desire to throw the crystal away, he felt the urge to analyze it.

The crystal appeared to be between 3 and 4 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters wide. It looked like some sort of diamond, and it was pitch-black in color.

“What the hell is this thing? This can’t be natural… Designer’s? Eh?” He suddenly realized what he was doing. “Wait a minute, what do I care?!” He pulled back his arm in order to throw it, but…

“I wouldn’t do it, if I were you.” It was a deep voice. It appeared to be… cosmic, in a way of saying. Ryuuga, scared, quickly looked around, but couldn’t find anyone in the surrounding area.

“W-Where are you?” Ryuuga knew that the street could only be deserted. After all, he skipped club activities, which meant that all the other students would stay at school, and it was a workday, meaning that every adult would be in their working schedule, with, obviously, many exceptions like him. But that street in particular wasn’t wide enough for cars, and it wasn’t really frequented by most people due to being a long road to anywhere at all (due to the turns and everything).

“In your hand.”

“Eh?” Ryuuga looked at the crystal and within the darkness inside it, two triangular eyes opened inside it. Ryuuga froze for a moment. Reality was bending right in front of him.

“Now… Let me take a peek into your heart!”

Energy came out of the crystal he held, and surrounded him, instinct obligating him to close his eyes. After some seconds, after understanding that there was no direct harm, he opened his eyes and found himself in a completely different location. And when I say location, I mean a completely different world, surrounded in darkness and violet lights, and he felt as if he was floating around space.

“Ok, where the HELL AM I!?!?”

Energy formed in front of him, without a distinct of certain shape, besides the triangular eyes he had seen before and the crystal in between them.

“Do not worry-“

“Don’t give me that crap! Just tell me WHERE THE FREAKING HELL I AM!”

“Uh- Umm… It’s hard to explain. You’re inside me.”

“Wow, talk about not being aware of your first time.”

“Eh? I don’t understand.” The eyes shaped so it would look like he was confused.

“It was a joke. I spit those every once in a while, whether I like it or not.” Ryuuga admitted, until he noticed that he had forgotten about the current situation. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, INSIDE YOU?!”

“The crystal you found… I’m supposed to be encased inside it, but when a rational life-form touches it, I am able to connect with them and leave the crystal.”

“Oh. And you… surrounded me?”

“Hmph! You’re smarter than you look.”

“Ksh! I’ve been told that before.” Ryuuga admitted, looking away with a cocky grin.

“I see. Well, I guess you’ve calmed down now. I’ll explain everything.”

“But be quick. I’m craving for a soda.”

“Alright then. I am one of twenty entities, each encased in a colored crystal, each representing a color. I represent the color of darkness, black. The sound you’ve heard means that I am able to connect with you, for one reason or another. And I WILL connect with you. I’m sick of just staying inside a crystal case.” The dark crystal flew out of the energy and hit Ryuuga’s chest, passing through his clothes, somehow.

“OUCH! WHAT THE HELL, MAN!”

The energy began to take shape. It looked like… a dragon. A dragon with the triangular hollow eyes and dark color in body. His scales appeared to be incredibly spikey, and small limbs.

“Wait, why are you a dragon now?”

“I’m shaping according to your heart.”

“Wow, so cliché.”

The dragon’s eyes widened. “What’s a cliché?”

“Never mind. Just get me out of here.”

A bright flash passed through Ryuuga, obligating him to close his eyes. During it, he felt his feet stand on solid ground. He opened his eyes again, finding himself in the same deserted street. He noticed that the crystal had disappeared from his hand, and he blinked twice.

“Did I… hallucinate that? Man, I should lay off the mint cigarettes.” He spoke, feeling an itch across his chest. He placed a hand so he would relieve the itchy feeling, but then… he felt something. Something hard. He looked down and pulled out the collar of his t-shirt, finding the crystal. It was embedded into his chest. More specifically, right in the middle of his sternum. He froze again. “What the hell…?”

A little string of energy exited the crystal and passed through his clothes, taking shape of the dragon once again.

“So this is Earth?”

“THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”

“I’m now part of your body.”

Ryuuga was about to yell at the cosmic entity, but then looked down at the Crystal again. “Ksh. You’re lucky that it looks freaking awesome.”

“You can’t really hit me; I’m made out of energy.”

“Alright.” Ryuuga appeared to be calm.

“How are you so calm? I mean, I might not know a lot about humans, but I do know that they wouldn’t act so relaxed in a situation like this.”

“Hey, there’s nothing I can do. Plus, the crystal does look awesome. The girls will melt!” Ryuuga spoke, picturing images not appropriate for children regarding him and certain girls he had showed interest on, such as his class president.

“O-Ok… I don’t really get it, but ok.”

“Hey, by the way…” Ryuuga took out his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He also needed to relieve some of the stress he had felt before accepting the whole situation. “What’s your name?”

“Name?”

“Yeah. Everything has a name, right?”

“I don’t.”

“Hm?” Ryuuga looked over and analyzed him carefully with his eyes. “Well, I’m Ryuuga. And your name will be… Kurogon.”

“Kuro… gon?”

“Yeah. ‘Kuro’ means ‘black’, and you’re a dragon. So, you’ll be named Kurogon.”

“That name sounds… ridiculous.”

“It’s better than no name. Plus, why should I care if you like it or not? I’m already being nice enough to give you a name, don’t you think?” Ryuuga asked as he lit up the cigarette.

“Thanks then.” Kurogon replied, withdrawing back into the crystal.

“Eh? You’re going away?”

“I can talk to you telepathically, and I also need my share of sleep.”

“At least tell me you don’t snore.” Ryuuga didn’t even care for the fact that a cosmic entity did need in fact sleep. Kurogon laughed, thinking that he had stuck with someone interesting.

Ryuuga thought that this would make his life more interesting, but he was wrong…

This would make his life MUCH more interesting.

A sudden sound of footsteps went into Ryuuga’s ears. He turned around and flinched in surprise, finding what he could only describe as see-through zombie-like beings, with a male stature, with a blank face without eyes, nose and any features, their bodies appeared to be muscled but slim. They appeared naked, and lacked genital organs. Their hands possessed sharp claws.

“The hell is that, Kurogon?”

“Oh no… Colorless!”

“Colorless? But they’re… grayish white.”

“No, I mean they are named “Colorless”. That means that it is already out.”

“It?” Ryuuga was relaxed regarding the beings in the distance due to them having a slow pace of motion. “You mean you know the guy?”

“More or less.”

“Friend?”

“Not really.”

“And those things are supposed to be… dangerous?”

“They can slit your throat.”

“Alright then. Time to run.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Hm?”

“I can lend you power for you to fight them.”

Ryuuga appeared intrigued. “Despite sounding like some sort of crappy cartoon, I don’t want to run from this fight. So, what do I do?”

“Just stay still.”

The crystal embedded into his sternum began to glow brightly, and released energy which surrounded the boy, and, out of instinct, he closed his eyes.

Upon finding that there was no harm once again, he slowly opened his eyes, looking towards his hands. He flinched. He didn’t see the sleeves of his school uniform. He didn’t have clothes over his arms, but his wrists appeared to be surrounded by two violet-silver metallic rings. Ryuuga noticed that it wasn’t only the sleeves that were missing. He looked down and noticed that he possessed a different outfit. He had a long pale brown ripped scarf tied around his neck, actually looking like some sort of thin cloak. He noticed that his muscles were also much more defined than before. He didn’t possess a shirt of any kind, and his trousers were replaced by a pair of large brown shorts that reached below his knees.

“The hell? Why am I shirtless? What’s up with the dumb outfit?” he placed a hand behind his head in order to scratch it, but then he noticed it… “WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE GIRLY HAIR?!”

His white hair had become grayish-black, and incredibly long and spiky (like a thinner version of the super saiyan 3 haircut for those who would like a reference), easily reaching his waist.

“What’s wrong with the hair?”

“Eh?” Ryuuga could hear Kurogon’s voice, but didn’t spot him anywhere, until he spoke again.

“This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

Ryuuga’s eyes became furious as he used one of the hands to hold his hair in place and turn his head in order to catch sight of Kurogon’s head… as the end of his long spikey hair.

“You comfortable?”

“Pretty comfy.”

“Good.” Ryuuga popped up his leg, hitting Kurogon with his ankle. “WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MY HAIR?!”

“How should I know? Leave that for later, you have to fight them off.”

“How?”

“You know how to punch or kick?”

“Yeah.”

“Than do so!”

“I’ll trust you on that one.” Ryuuga dashed forwards and pulled back his right clenched fist. He jumped and slammed his fist against the face of one of the Colorless. He felt… amazing. His punch was much stronger than he ever thought it could be. Ryuuga grinned with amazement, as he fought off the remaining Colorless. “This power… is amazing!”

But what hedidn’t know was that he was being… observed. Observed by a short teenage girl with flowing white hair and piercing amber eyes. She slowly spoke to herself… Or at least to what appeared to be herself. She was talking to a caged white tiger.

“So… A friend of yours?”

2: Chapter 2 – The White Wild Hunter – The Metallic Tiger

Ryuuga kept punching, kicking, bashing and chopping the Colorless, driving them away, but after a while… he noticed that he wasn’t really finishing them off.

“Hey, Kurogon, they’re not really disappearing or dying, or anything at all.”

“Stay still. Don’t move.”

“Eh?” Ryuuga, despite the confusion, obeyed, but he felt… weird. Like something was messing around with his scalp. He looked up and flinched. His long hair had bent up and twisted around, making Kurogon look clearly at the faceless enemies. “What are you doing?”

Kurogon took a deep breath and suddenly spit out three dark-purple fireballs in a row. The projectiles hit one Colorless each, making them turn into ashes.

“Wow.” Ryuuga was honestly impressed. Ryuuga made the hair return to normal after the boy’s remark, which made the dragon feel somewhat happy. The ashes of the burned down Colorless floated towards Kurogon and were absorbed into his mouth. “What are you doing?”

“Absorbing their ‘Colored Essence’. It makes me, and consequently you, stronger.

“Really?! Then the more faceless bastards I kill, the stronger I get?”

“I-I think that’s a way of putting it, yes.” Kurogon started to wonder if this teenager was really a good option as a partner. “But the colorless don’t release that much essence. They’re not really strong, you know?”

“I can see that.” Ryuuga recalled that a single large fireball was enough to defeat them, showing that they weren’t the strongest enemies. “But I can’t get rid of them just by punching, and it just looks weird when you shoot fireballs. What do I do?”

“Use fire.”

“Fire?”

“Just focus.”

Ryuuga was confused, but the Colorless were approaching again, so he decided to give it a try. He raised his right hand, clenching it into a fist, and closing his eyes, focusing on the image of a flame, in many ways: a wisp, and ember, a flamethrower, a match, a building on fire, but… with no result. He opened his eyes and glared at his hand, he closed them again and started to focus on different things related to fire in order to do as Kurogon had indicated.

“Lava… Magma… Stars… Steam… Heat… Hot….. HOT CHICKS!” He suddenly opened his menacing purple eyes, glaring at his dry hand, which suddenly caught on fire! The flames were black-colored, with purple highlights and embers surrounding it. Ryuuga grinned a smile that showed confidence and something else that he wasn’t sure of what it was at the time… He clashed his two fists together, lighting up his left fist as well. Ryuuga pulled back both his fists and glared at the slow-paced enemies. “Burakku… FAIA!” (Black… FIRE!) Ryuuga executed a punching motion with both his arms, releasing a stream of flames, which engulfed the Colorless and turned them to dust. Kurogon absorbed the energy known as Colored Essence and the nearby flames that Ryuuga released in excess.

But it was then when Kurogon noticed his partner’s look. “Ryuuga, are you alright?”

Ryuuga had a maniacal smile, staring at his hands with a huge grin. “Yeah… I certainly am…!” Ryuuga spoke, feeling a huge adrenaline rush run though his body. He certainly loved the sensation of power… Was he feeling… hunger for power?

“Don’t let the power take control of you, okay?”

“Hm?” He turned to the end of his hair. “Aren’t you technically my power?”

“I-I guess…?”

“Hey.”

Ryuuga turned around, towards the origin of the sound. On the top of the white wall, he found a girl. She appeared to be younger than him, and certainly shorter. Her hair was pure white, reaching her waist with ease. The bangs of hair almost reached her amber-colored eyes. Her skin was pale, and her expression was menacing. She appeared to be wearing a rather weird outfit: it was completely white, with the exception of some sharp golden stripes at the sides of her legs, skin-tight trousers, and a stray jacket of the same color. The stay jacket appeared to be closed, binding her arms together. She was barefoot, her feet covering the area between her ankles and fingers. There was this area that exposed skin though: it was little, but large enough to show a white crystal right between her collarbones.

“Uh? A little kid?”

“Little kid? I’m 14 years old!” the girl barked, with her composure broken into pieces.

“I’m 17. You’re a kid alright.” Ryuuga stated, unconvinced.

“Grrr…” the little girl growled as she jumped off the wall. “I already know…”

“What?”

“Your tongue.”

“Eh?”

“Your tongue… is the first thing I’ll eat from you.”

Ryuuga froze for a moment, but then snapped out of his trance. “You’re joking, right?”

The girl laughed. “The sad part is… that I’m not.” She approached him slowly, but her eyes hypnotized him for some reason. “Human flesh… is sweeter than most meats, you know? But the blood… tastes different. It’s a bit… spicy.”

“Stop messing around!” Ryuuga snapped out of the trance again, this time hoping he would not go back into it. “How would you know that? You’re a 14 year old! How could you possibly be a cannibal?”

“Organs are a delicacy too, you know?”

Ryuuga instinctively placed his hands over his crotch. “Hey, you’re not going to eat MY organs.”

“Lungs are salty, the liver is sour… but the best of all is the heart.” The pale 14 year old grinned with a maniacal grin and scary eyes. Ryuuga even flinched as a result from such a terrifying image. Despite his love for horror films, this scared him deeply. “Now... Let me DEVOUR YOU!”

“Ryuuga, snap out of it!”

Kurogon’s voice made Ryuuga break out of his fearful state. He jumped back as the girl launched herself forward to bite his abdomen, but he barely escaped it in time. The teenager breathed heavily in relieve.

“Teehee. I can hear your heart from here.”

“Just shut up, you little runt!” Ryuuga yelled, sweating. “Who are you, anyway?!”

She stayed silent for a moment, but answered afterwards. “I’m Kagami Kozume. And you?”

“Eh?” Ryuuga wasn’t really expecting that question, but, then again, he didn’t know exactly to expect. “I’m Tanhai Ryuuga. Hm?” He looked up and down, focused on Kozume’s figure.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re 14, right? Hmm… You’re already past the age of contentment, right? Only 3 years younger than me…”

Kozume glared at him once more. “What?”

“You might be a flat chest, but your ass sure looks nice.”

“FLAT CHEST? ME? I’LL LET YOU KNOW I’M A B CUP!”

“Ksh. Smaller than Airyu’s.” Ryuuga spoke with a what could only be described as “a perverted yet provoking grin”. Kozume couldn’t tell whether or not he was doing that honestly or in a way to get her fired up for a fight, but she was certain of one thing: that she hated his comments. “If it makes you feel better, that round ass sure is hot. Impressive for a 14 year old.”

“Ummm, Ryuuga, I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but I think you shouldn’t do that anymore. She looks like she’s about to rip your head off.”

“Oh, c’mon, do you think I care? You really believed her when she said she was a cannibal?”

“Shiroga.” Kozume’s words confused both Ryuuga and Kurogon. The white crystal released a string of energy that turned into a medium sized white tiger, with the same hollow eyes as Kurogon.

“It’s you!” Kurogon spoke, making Ryuuga sweatdrop.

“Boy, you really didn’t need names, did you?”

“Roar.”

The tiger opened its mouth a released a huge roar, which froze Ryuuga. He remembered Kurogon’s words…

‘I’m shaping according to your heart.’

“A… man eating tiger…” Ryuuga muttered in fear, seeing that the cosmic entity of the white crystal was such a ferocious beast. Apparently, it was called “Shiroga.” Kozume appeared furious, like a wild tiger aiming at its prey.

She moved her arms around, unbuckling the stray jacket that bound her. The arms became free and loosened up. She swung them up and the hooks became attached to metallic pieces on her shoulders. Her hands showed more of her pale skin, and sharp nails. “Cross-Scissors.” Her hands shape-shifted, and took the shape of a large pair of scissors each, both connected to her arms. The blades were curved and sharp.

“What the hell is that?!”

“Her weapon.”

“What?” Ryuuga turned to Kurogon in confusion.

“Each crystal user has access to two weapons.”

“And you never told me because…?”

“Just focus, like you did when summoning the fire.”

Ryuuga looked towards his right hand and clenched it into a fist while closing his eyes. Upon opening them again, purplish-energy surrounded his hand, which turned it into some kind of gray device, shaped like a cylinder. Then, a purple laser-like spike, about 43 cm / 17 inches long, emerged from the device.

“Ksh! Nice…” Ryuuga spoke with malice.

"Shiroga, go back for now." Kozume requested, as the white aura-made animal returned inside her crystal.

After that, he dashed forward and attempted to stab Kozume, but she dodged and attempted to strike back. Of course, he managed to block it and the two of them sword-fought for a bit, until a strike between their weapons pushed them back a few feet away from each other. Ryuuga grinned and looked at his weapon again. "I guess I'll call it... The Star Breaker." Ryuuga shot a cocky glare at Kozume, saying that he was ready to fight her.

She dashed forward and she opened the scissors, spreading her blades. Ryuuga blocked the right scissor with his weapon, dodging the left one simultaneously. In a swift motion, Ryuuga, with two stretched fingers of his left hand, clashed them against the white crystal, paralyzing Kozume. "W-What?" Ryuuga withdrew his fingers, clenching his hand into a fist, cracking his knuckles in the process. His mouth formed a grin.

"Aku Panchi!" (Evil Punch) Ryuuga, in a straight line fashion, punched the crystal above Kozume's chest, which released a purple wave of energy upon impact, pushing her faraway against the nearby wall.

"Grr... Nice punch." She spoke, spitting a bit of blood towards the ground.

"Thanks. The name needs working, but, who cares?" Ryuuga said, as he shook his hand a little bit. Suddenly, white energy sparks surrounded his hand. "What? The hell is this?"

"Quick, Ryuuga! Place that hand over the crystal!"

"Ok..." Ryuuga obeyed, pressing his hand onto the crystal. The white sparks entered it, and Ryuuga felt a sharp energy spark run though his entire body.

"What... Is happening?" Kozume asked in confusion. But Ryuuga was in the same state.

"Black is the color that absorbs all the others! You are unique: you are able to harness the powers of all colors!"

Kurogon's words made Ryuuga grin maniacally once again. "All the powers of all the colors?! HELL YEAH!!! Karāringu: Howaito!” (Coloring: White!) The crystal embedded into his sternum became colored in white, releasing energy around Ryuuga. His hair became pure white, and the dragon head shape-shifted, making Kurogon resemble a tiger. His eyes became amber colored, with slit pupils, and sharp fangs protruded out of the power-hungry grin. His cloak-like scarf changed as well, becoming white and shorter, but with long white ribbons with hooks at the end attached to it. His hair had gotten a little bit shorter, by the way. His shorts became trousers, colored white, with multiple rips here and there. He was still shirtless though.

"Ahhh... This... Feels... Awesome!" Ryuuga's hands ran through his spiky hair, feeling an adrenaline rush run up his spine.

Kozume flinched for a moment, but soon recovered. "You think you can stop me just because you have a new outfit?!" She closed the scissors attached to her right hand and dashed forward, attempting to thrust the closed blades into his body. Ryuuga's stood still right until the last moment, where his sneaker-wearing feet moved swiftly, moving him away from the trajectory of the cannibal's attack. Then, he bent his body so his mouth would meet the end of the blade (in other words, the sharp end) and bit it down, making Kozume stop and freeze.

Ryuuga spoke with unmovable teeth, but his speech was still clear. "Metal coated teeth. Nice ability of yours." Kozume flinched upon seeing her powers being used against her. This was the opening Ryuuga's needed. He slid up the blade with his teeth, releasing small sparks and approaching in the process, and extended out his arm, striking Kozume's neck, pushing her away. "AHHH! My mouth!" Ryuuga had gotten the inside o his mouth hurt with the sparks, but he ignored it right after. When Kozume landed on her feet, before she could dash forward, Ryuuga stomped the ground, making a large short metallic pillar emerge from underneath her, throwing her up towards the air. In reality, Ryuuga had done that on accident, but he certainly wouldn't let this opportunity pass by. Running towards Kozume and jumping, the Crystal glowed once more, turning back into its original pitch-black color, making Ryuuga return to its original form. "Star Breaker!" His right hand turned into his laser saber once more.

"This can't be..." Kozume muttered to herself. "How can this be happening?!"

"Yamiji…” (Dark Road...) His feet released a small concentrated stream of black fire each, increasing his speed, approaching Kozume rapidly. "...SURASSHU!” (SLASH!) Ryuuga swung forward his weapon, slashing the pale cannibal, making her fall down head-first into the ground.

"Grrr..." She stood up slowly, growling lowly, but she stopped when Ryuuga landed right in front of her, which made her eyes wide out. She looked up and found him grinning. Both their weapons were withdrawn, and Ryuuga kneed down, placing his hand beneath her chin. His head had the crazy idea of trying to seduce her in order to... Sleep with her, to put it bluntly. He approached her face and placed his lips over hers, pressing them against hers forcefully, but somewhat softly. Upon separating, he looked down at her once more with a seducing grin, but her look wasn't what he expected.

She looked surprised, sad, furious, and confused, all at once. "...T-Th-That w-was m-m-my first k-kiss...?! You jerk! Why did you steal my first kiss?! Give it back! Give it back! BAKA! BAKA! BAKAMONO!" She looked embarrassed, timid, and even shy. She continuously hit Ryuuga with light continuous taps.

"Hey! Stop it! C'mon!" Ryuuga felt annoyed at her hits.

"I hate you! I'm going to eat you up!" She ran away with her amazing speed, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Ryuuga was left dumbfounded.

"What's her problem? It's just the first kiss. It's not that important." He stood straight up, stretching his muscles. "Kurogon, how do I turn back?"

"Leave that to me." The dragon spoke, making energy surround Ryuuga, which made him return to his normal appearance. "Umm... Ryuuga?"

"What's up?"

"Why did she run off like that? What is a kiss, to begin with?"

Ryuuga grinned as he looked down to his crystal. "Oh man... This is going to be fun."

3: Chapter 3 – Life of the Dark Dragon

“So let me get this straight…”

Ryuuga opened the door to his house as he talked with his new “pet dragon” telepathically.

“So male humans connect with female humans through a process called ‘sex’ and a new human appears after a period of nine months?”

“That’s the gist of it.” Ryuuga replied, closing the door behind him. He quickly took out his school jacket and threw it towards an arm chair in the living room. “Alright, you can come out.”

The purplish-energy made little dragon emerged out of the crystal. “Wait, what about your… what were they called again?”

“Parents. Mother and Father.” Ryuuga reminded the cosmic energy, as he walked into the kitchen. ”What about them?”

“Won’t they panic as soon as they see me?”

“They’re not in the country.”

“Eh?”

Ryuuga took out a can of soda from the fridge, and popped the can open. “They work away from Japan. My mom has some sort of political crap job I never understood what it is, and my dad is in the military, constantly doing missions.”

“And they are fine with leaving their offspring alone?”

“They only left when I turned 14. I was already used to taking care of myself by then, so it wasn’t hard. They keep sending me money in order for me to, well, live, and they don’t care about grades.”

“Grades?”

“School marks. It pretty much tells you if you’ve learnt something or not.” Ryuuga informed, taking a sip from the soda afterwards, walking towards the living room. “In other words, I can suck at Japanese, just enough so I won’t stay back. I can’t wait for the graduation next week!” Ryuuga lay down on the couch, legs crossed, and turning the TV on with the remote.

“Graduation?”

“Is pretty much the end of school. I’m planning to ditch college anyway.”

“College.”

“Man, won’t you stop with the questions?” Ryuuga asked, half-annoyed, but with a sense of mockery in his mind.

“S-Sorry…”

“No worries man!” Ryuuga sat up with a grin. “College is pretty much the school that teaches you in a certain area, so you’ll get a degree, which is necessary to get a job. And before you ask, a job is basically work you do in order to get money. And money is what you use in order to obtain food and other stuff like that.”

“Alright…” Kurogon processed all the information at once.

“Now…”

“Hm?”

“Since I’ve answered your question, it’s time you answer mine.” Ryuuga grinned, almost like how a chess player would when speaking the words ’check-mate’.

“S-Sure.” Kurogon answered, his hollow eyes widened in surprise.

“First of all, what are you exactly?”

“I am… a cosmic entity of sorts. Like a representative of the color black in the universe.”

“Alright. Question 2: how the hell are you speaking Japanese?”

“Oh. I’m not exactly speaking Japanese. I’m just communicating with you. You’re the one hearing me in your language. The same happens from you to me.”

“I see.” Ryuuga spoke, rubbing his chin. “Question 3: how many of these… colored crystals are there?”

“We are a total of twenty.”

“So… twenty colors and twenty colleagues of yours.” Ryuuga quickly deduced. “What are these colors?”

“Counting the Black and White colors you’ve already seen, there is Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Pink, Brown, Gray, Green, Orange, Ruby, Prism, Sapphire, Emerald, Indigo, Violet, Copper, and Purple.”

“Umm… isn’t Ruby technically the same as Red?”

“No.” Kurogon’s answer was blunt and direct.

“And Prism? That’s not a color.”

“What color is that?” Kurogon turned towards the window, making Ryuuga turn his head as well.

Ryuuga glared at his partner, annoyed, feeling that Kurogon was mocking him. “That’s made out of glass. It has no color.”

“Wrong.” Kurogon answered, leaving Ryuuga dumbfounded. “The absence of color is ‘black’. If that didn’t have colors, it would be black.”

“So… when you say ‘Prism’, you mean see-through objects.”

“I guess that is the best comparison, yes.”

“Alright… And what about the Colorless? What are they?”

“Hmm… Each crystal has a ‘unique’ ability of sorts. For example, yours has the ability to absorb and save the powers of other colors, since, again, black absorbs all colors. If you want another example, the ability of the White Crystal is similar to yours: she is capable of reflecting the colors of her opponents and transform, pretty much like you, but she can only keep that up while she is battling the opponent. Well-”

“Wait a second just there!” Ryuuga interrupted. “How come she didn’t do that to me?”

“White reflects all colors, but for that to happen, there needs to be colors in the first place. Black is the absence of it, so she is not capable of copying you.” The explanation made sense to Ryuuga. “Well, as was saying, creating Colorless is the ability of the Prism Crystal.”

“Hmm… Yeah, that makes sense.”  Ryuuga took out his pack and lighter, prepared to light up one of his cigarettes.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s called smoking. It kills, but so does everything else.” Ryuuga chuckled, laughing at the joke Kurogon couldn’t understand. “People say that it’s addicting, but I never saw it that way. I just smoke in one occasion.”

“And that is?”

“When I’m in the middle of a dilemma.”

“And your dilemma is…?”

Ryuuga released a small amount of smoke from his mouth. “I don’t know if I should call Airyu or not.”

“Airyu?”

“It’s my only friend.”

“Your only friend?” even Kurogon understood the concept of friendship, and as so, thought that it was weird someone having only one friend. “Why only one?”

Ryuuga froze for a moment, but then puffed on the cigarette once more. “Kurogon, let me show you something.”

“Hm?”

Ryuuga slowly walked up the stairs, into his bedroom. He opened the wide window on the ceiling and climbed out of it to the roof. Kurogon, of course, followed him. Ryuuga sat down on the roof and the orange-colored night became the sight for his eyes.

“You see that?”

“What?”

“The lights of the street.”

“What about them?”

“They take away the colors of the night…” Ryuuga spoke, releasing a puff of smoke after. “Call me a wuss, weak, or whatever you want, but the world is constantly losing its colors… People don’t look lively anymore, they look more like… the Colorless.” He took the cigarette out of his mouth and Kurogon was amazed to see Ryuuga speaking such words. He had met him for only some hours yet, he was already surprised with this turn of events. “Airyu… Is the only person I know who is full of color.” His grin became soft. “She has a crush on me for some reason, but I don’t look at her that way. Besides… I don’t want to tinge her color with black.”

“I… understand.” Kurogon admitted. After all, in a way, he was proof that Ryuuga’s colors were dark.

“But I sure wouldn’t mind tinging her with white!” he cracked a laugh, even dropping his cigarette.

“I… didn’t understand.”

Ryuuga recovered from his loud and strong laugh quickly. “My friend, I sure have a lot to teach ya!” Ryuuga walked back into his bedroom, closing the window behind. “Oh, and that albino chick as well. Even if she is all white, I sure want to tap that ass. Oh! And I can’t forget about Prez as well.” Ryuuga spoke, almost as if he was alone, but since Kurogon was unable to understand him, it was just as good as if he was actually alone. “Well, I’m off for a suspiciously long shower. Kurogon, mind waiting here?”

“I-I guess…” Kurogon couldn’t understand what in heaven’s name Ryuuga was saying, but obeyed nonetheless.

-_-_-_-_-

A darkly lit room is an amazing place. Mainly when the Crystals of chosen users are able to glow in there. A red, a yellow, and a blue light shined, suggesting that the users were looking towards someone that possessed the green light.

“You understand your mission?” the one illuminated in red asked.

“Yes, yes, I got it: kill that kid with the black crystal without letting him touch me. Don’t worry. After all, no prey escapes me.” The grown woman finished with a giggle.

4: Chapter 4 – Graduation, Green, Grim

“Umm, Ryuuga?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you explain again what graduation is?”

Ryuuga sighed. He was in the middle of the street, wearing his school uniform for one last day. He was on the way to meet up with Airyu.

“Basically, it’s the end of school. It’s a ceremony to congratulate those who are leaving secondary school.”

“And you’ve completed it, right?”

“Just about.” Ryuuga spoke with a grin. “Then it’s going to be a never-ending summer!”

“Why?”

“I told you before: I’m planning to ditch college. I have no objective in life that university would help me in.”

“Then… What is it?”

“I want power, and nothing else.”

“Absorbing the powers of the White Crystal… it made you addicted to the feeling, didn’t they?”

“Straight on!” Ryuuga spoke, with a bit of a maniacal grin. “I’ll absorb the other 18 Colors, and become the strongest there is. Then I’ll think of something.”

“I see…”

“Oh, we’re here.”

Some feet away, Airyu waved her hand with a bright smile. “Ryuuga! Here, here!”

“I know…” Ryuuga replied, speeding up his pace a little bit.

The two of them started walking at the same pace in the school’s direction.

“Nee…”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you nervous?” Airyu asked, blushing a little bit. “It’s our last day of high school.”

“I can’t wait for it to end.”

“Aren’t you afraid?!” Airyu asked, blushing in nervousness.

“Why should I? I have no plans for the future at the moment. But you do. So, yeah, I can see why you are afraid, but I have no reason to be.”

“Hmmm… I still think you shouldn’t wait to go to college, despite your parents giving you money.” Airyu muttered, making Ryuuga smirk.

“Hey, at lea-”

“And…” she interrupted, which was actually pretty rare. “We won’t see each other that often…”

Ryuuga was stunned for a little while. “Are you an idiot or what?”

“Eh?” Being insulted threw her off a little bit.

“I would see you even less if I went to a different college. Who said I would be going to the same as yours to begin with?”

“Ghee?!” Airyu’s mind froze for a second, and then her upper body became somewhat limp. She sighed and became depressed. “I shouldn’t just assume hypothetical situations, should I?”

“Nope. Especially when I’m in the formula.” Ryuuga laughed, making Airyu sweatdrop. “Plus, you have my phone number. If you want to go out for a little while, or just talk to me, just dial. That’s why you have a cellphone, you know?”

“I guess…” Airyu sighed. “Nee, Ryuuga...”

“Hm?”

“I really don’t have a chance with you, do I?”

Ryuuga’s smile quickly vanished. He sighed in discontentment. “You already know the answer.”

“I see…” she took a hold of her right elbow with her left hand. “Then… I know what I’m going to do after this day!”

“Eh?” Ryuuga turned to her, finding her with a bright smile and pink blush.

“I will get over you! And I’ll search for a new love!”

Ryuuga was stunned at first, but then smiled. “Only you to see nothing but good in a broken heart.”

“Teehee! I guess…” Airyu giggled, following Ryuuga once more.

“Umm… Ryuuga? What just happened?”

“A colorful solution. Only she would pull that off so quickly.”

-_-_-_-_-

“Welcome to the final graduation of this school, ladies and gentleman.” The director of the school spoke, as he read the opening statement of his speech. “Today, in the year 2029, will be the final day this school stands. And I thank every student here for having stayed in this school for the last 3 years.”

“Just get on with it.”

“Ryuuga!”

Airyu punched the back of his head, luckily no one having heard him speak.

The ceremony began shortly after, everyone receiving a diploma inside a cylindrical case.

Ryuuga and Airyu received theirs and they congratulated each other. Well, Airyu did, though Ryuuga was obligated to return the favor.

The Class President received it as well, and as she returned, she winked at Ryuuga.

“What the-? Since when does she acknowledge you?”

“Since I tapped her ass yesterday.” Airyu could only sweatdrop. “What? She even gave me her phone number.”

“And thus, this is the end of the graduation. I thank you all for-”

“Not so fast!” Everybody turned to the wide door which was opened wide in a single second. “You can’t finish this yet, Mr. Principal. Otherwise, my prey will escape.”

A woman walked into the room, slowly walking towards the stage. Ryuuga looked over and drooled a little bit. She appeared to be a young woman, around 25 years old or so. Her hair was of a reddish-brown color, and was wavy-styled, reaching her lower back. Her eyes were of a bright green, similar to the color of freshly cut limes. Her clothes consisted of a skin tight pair of jeans and a short sleeved bright green jacket, which possessed a hoodie and was rather revealing.

“W-Who are you?”

“Hmm… If you are asking for my name, the answer would be ‘Garagara Hami’. If you are asking what my intentions are and what I intend to do, the answer would be ‘I’m looking for a person named “Tanhai Ryuuga”'."

“Wh-What do you want with one of my students?!” the principal appeared nervous, but did not want to accept these events.

“Ryuuga…” Airyu turned to her friend, who appeared to be confused.

“That’s easy.” She climbed onto the stage through the stairs and faced everyone in the room, all confused and with curiosity present at the back of their minds. She placed the zipper of her jacket, between her fingers and pulled it down, opening her jacket slowly. It revealed that she wasn’t wearing anything besides a green piece of cloth that was rather similar to a bra. The eyes of every male fixated on it in desire, and the female eyes were either staring in jealousy or glaring at their partners in life. Ryuuga was no exception to the law of stares and busts.

Hami’s eyes spotted the user of the black crystal.

“There they are… those pure purple eyes of darkness!” Hami yelled, unzipping the rest of her jacket, revealing something that shocked Ryuuga: a green crystal was embedded on her stomach. “It’s so easy to obligate men to show their eyes!”

A little stream of energy emerged from the crystal, forming into a snake-shaped being with hollow eyes. Very similar to Kurogon, the dragon of the black crystal, and Shiroga, the tiger of the white crystal, this was the snake of the green crystal.

“Let’s do this, Oujako.”

“Certainly.” It appeared that the snake was named ‘Oujako’. Green energy surrounded Hami, which scared the principal and made him fall over.

Airyu looked over at Ryuuga in instinct and was surprised to see what she saw: he had a wide grin, almost maniacal.

The energy disappeared and revealed Hami after her transformation. Just like Ryuuga, her eyes didn’t change color. Her hair became pale green, and tied up in a braid, long enough to reach her thighs. Her nails had become polished in a green color, and her arms were tangled with a long ascot. Her clothes consisted of a rather revealing deep green tank top, exposing her stomach and a large part of her cleavage, a pair of skin tight snake-scale-made jeans. It also emerged out of her body a green reptilian tail. Her crystal was as bright as it was before.

“Tanhai Ryuuga!” she pointed at the protagonist, causing him to flinch. She lowered her head slightly, making a slight shadow cover her eyes. “I’m here to kill you!”

“Ksh!” Everybody turned to the teenager. “Me? Killed? You must be smoking something you shouldn’t. Kurogon!”

“Hai!” his partner appeared the same way Oujako had.

Black energy surrounded him, making him transform and exposing his black colored crystal.

“Alright! Everyone, get the hell out of here.”

“Awww, worried about your friends?”

“Friends? Listen here, this is the last day I’ll see almost all of these people. Do you really think I care what happens to them? There are just one or two people I really don’t want to get involved, the rest I just want them to leave so I won’t have any sort of obstacle running around in panic!”

“Ryuuga…” Airyu spoke, still confused at everything that was happening.

“I see.”

“Actually, I only have one motive to battle you.”

“And that is…?”

“To absorb your damn POWERS!” Ryuuga executed a punching motion, releasing a fireball-like projectile, which flew towards Hami.

She leaned her neck to the side, easily dodging the fireball that flew towards her face. It exploded behind her, but she didn’t move, unlike the principal and the rest of the crowd who started running away.

Airyu turned and saw the power-hungry face of her friend. She was confused, but she smiled for a second before leaving. “Mou… Ryuuga. You’re an idiot.”

The large room was soon empty. “Wow. This place is huge when there aren’t any people filling it in.” Ryuuga noticed. “Well, enough talking.” Ryuuga’s eyes focused on Hami and he stomped the floor with his right foot, behind his left. It became engulfed in purplish-dark flames and he leaned in his body. “Doragon Kurō!” (Dragon Claw) he jumped forward and positioned his leg to the side, leaving behind a trail of purple flames as he approached Hami. He attempted to kick her cheek with a side kick, a technique he had practiced throughout the week.

But Hami grinned, and her body bent backwards at incredible speed, making Ryuuga miss.

“She avoided it?!”

“Gara!” Hami let out a slight chuckle. Due to the inertia of propelling his body to the left in order to perform the kick, Ryuuga landed a few feet next to her. She turned as he stood straight back up. “Scale Whip.” Her nails glowed and energy surrounded her hands, forming into a long whip, which appeared to possess dry snake scales throughout the rope of the weapon.

She spun and swung around her arm, making the whip extend, long enough to whip Ryuuga with ease.

“Gr-?!” Ryuuga’s body was hurt multiple times in a row, leaving slight bruises. He tried to run, but the whip almost seemed like it was following him. “Damn it! What the hell is up with this thing?! It keeps following me, and is hurting a lot more than it should!” Ryuuga’s eyes opened wide. “Doragon Kurō!” (Dragon Claw) Ryuuga’s right foot became engulfed in purplish-dark flames and he kicked upwards, driving the whip away, but the flames suddenly disappeared upon contact.

“Hmm! You’re stronger than you look.” Hami confessed, as she stretched her whip.

“What’s up with that whip? I’ve been whipped before, and that certainly was stronger than it should be.”

“You’ve been whipped before?”

“Let’s just say that those American movies that have whips certainly don’t portray how they work in real life. That and I shouldn’t let Airyu search through my old stuff.” Ryuuga explained, shaking his head.

“Hmm… Well, since I’m here to kill you, I guess I’ll explain.” She narrowed her eyes at the Dark Crystal User. “The dry scales of this whip will act like rough skin, or asphalt if you will: they burn on contact. Not to mention that while a normal whip breaks the sound barrier, mine hits with much more force. Well, not really an ability in the whip itself, it’s more of the fact that I’m using the whip.”

“Eh?” Ryuuga didn’t understand. “I don’t get it- Who cares…?” Ryuuga gave up and pointed his right hand at Hami. “Super Vulcan’ova!” His hand was replaced by a large Gatling Gun, black and purple colored.

“Deceiving Dance.”

Ryuuga ignored her words and the crystal on her stomach glowing brightly. He fired a round of energy bullets, but her body suddenly shook around, creating multiple after-images of herself, dodging every single pellet.

“What the-?”

“The ability of the Green Crystal is the ‘Deceiving Dance’. Basically, it makes my body move at an incredible speed, which allows me to dodge any attack.”

“Ksh. So it’s basically Aim Dodging without any speed limits.”

“Aim Dodging?” Kurogon asked, curious. Hami had a rather similar expression.

“Aim Dodging is basically an ability. It allows the damn user to dodge projectiles as long as they don’t exceed the user’s speed. But since she can increase her body speed, I guess it means that the speed of the bullet won’t be a problem for her.”

“Gara-gara-gara! You’re smarter than you look.”

“Not really. I just get this stuff. But there are two things I noticed.”

“Eh?”

“Number one: you can’t use that ability for long sprints or something of the sort, because if that was the case, you would’ve put yourself on the other side of the room.” Hami flinched and glared at the boy. “Secondly, Aim Dodging only works with linear attacks.”

“Eh?”

“As long as you understand the direction in which they’re going, you can dodge them. What’s so confusing about that?” Ryuuga looked somewhat annoyed at Hami. “Well, that thing is useless in close-range battle and large attacks anyway.”

“How do you know all that, R-Ryuuga?” Kurogon asked, actually impressed.

“My father belongs to the military. Despite not having seen him that much throughout my life, I’ve picked up a thing or two.” He cleared the inside of his ears and threw away the wax.

“If the two of you have finished talking, I suggest you-”

“Don’t try to boss me around just because you have big tits, bitch.”

“Gara?!” Hami froze, seeing the soul piercing eyes of Ryuuga glaring at her. “B-Bitch?! I’ll show you…! BenomusupurÄ“: Chāji.” (Venom Spray: Charge)

She placed her fingers near her crystal, in the lower part of her abdomen. It began to expand rather slowly, but Ryuuga stood by in what he could only describe as ‘pure curiosity’. After some seconds, her stomach stopped expanding, becoming rather similar to that of a 9 month pregnant woman.

“Ok, if you’re going to give birth, I’m outta here.” Ryuuga declared, feeling somewhat weirded out by her current figure.

“BenomusupurÄ“: ShÅ«to!” The stomach reduced a bit in volume, and her cheeks grew. She then spewed out a small stream of deep-green sludge.

“Waaahhh!” Ryuuga turned and almost slipped trying to get away from the slime-like substance. He slipped and turned, luckily not getting touched by it. He observed the acid melt through the floor, which scared him a bit. “Whoa… I must say, it looks cool.” Ryuuga grinned once more. “Bring it!”

“It seems you’ve reached your limit regarding how much you want to live.” Hami released some more streams from her mouth.

Ryuuga ran through, carefully dodging the streams of acid. He clenched his fists, engulfing them in black flames, along with his feet.

After her stomach had contracted a lot, she released the final dosage all at once.

“No way, snake!” Ryuuga kicked up with his left leg and when the acid and the flames came into contact, the acid stream lit up and exploded, surrounding the area with smoke.

“Oh no!” Hami found herself defenseless. “I can’t see anything… But he can’t see me either.”

“GUESS AGAIN!” She looked up and her eyes widened, as she found the Black Crystal User falling towards her from the clean air above. “I’m the Dark Star for some reason, you know?!” His right hand became enveloped by dark flames again, and he made a claw shape with it. “Doragon Fangu!” (Dragon Fang)

His speed increased and Hami flinched for a second. But that was all that Ryuuga needed. His hand slashed down her body and scratched her crystal for a second, making green sparks surround his hand.

“Garaa!” Hami yelled, holding her stomach in pain.

“Karāringu: GurÄ«n!” (Coloring: Green!) Ryuuga slammed his hand against his crystal and it became green. Energy surrounded him and he quickly transformed: his hair was kept the same length, but became much straighter, turned into a lime tone of color, and Kurogon’s dragon head turned into that of a Snake. His eyes turned lime-green as well, and his scarf was replaced by deep-green fingerless arm warmers and a deep-green thin scarf. He finally gained upper clothe piece, a sleeveless tank top of a whitish-green color, and his shorts became kelp colored. “So… You’re almost naked, but I gain clothes? This makes no sense.”

“Damn it… They’re going to be mad at me.” Hami turned to run away, but Sakuma quickly reacted.

“Kurogon, don’t let her escape!”

“Hai!” The snake head spoke, as it divided itself into eight different little heads, which extended out towards Hami, which tied her limbs up.

“Garaaa?!” Hami spoke in astonishment. “Let me go!!”

“Nah. I want to grope you first.” Ryuuga openly admitted, slowly walking towards her.

“W-What?!”

“We won’t let you do such a thing to our follower!”

“Eh?” Ryuuga looked around, trying to find the origin of the voices which spoke in unison. Suddenly, a blue blur slashed his hair, making him step back and make his hair return to normal. Then, a yellow string of energy connected to Hami’s crystal, which pulled her towards three cloaked figures that stood by the door. The center on had a red cloak, the one of the right had a blue one, and the one on the left had a yellow cloak. “Who the hell are you?”

“M-Masters!” Hami bowed down. “I apologize… I wasn’t able to-”

“Don’t worry.” The female in the red cloak spoke, interrupting Hami. “We chose you for this mission because you were the best suited.”

“But… I wasn’t able to kill him. And he even copied my powers…”

“You’re the one of us able to dodge the most. We didn’t chose you for your strength or speed, but yes because you were the one with the fewer odds of having your powers copied.” The other female in yellow explained.

“In other words, it isn’t your fault. If your powers were copied, any of us would’ve suffered the same.” The male in blue explained.

Hami blushed a bit. “Masters…”

“Dark Star, wasn’t it?” the one in red asked, calling Ryuuga’s attention. “That’s what you called yourself, isn’t it?”

“R-Right…” Ryuuga spoke, somewhat confused.

“Listen here. The three of us and the remaining Crystal Users that follow us, intend to destroy this world.” The yellow one continued.

“Aware of this information, do you intend to join us? Or do you intend to stand in our way of doing so?” the blue one asked.

“Destroying the world? That’s an old boring cliché, you know?” Ryuuga spoke, bored. “I don’t intend to save it. I don’t care what happens to it.”

“Then you chose the first option?” the red one asked in reply.

“You wish!”

“Eh?” the three asked in unison.

“I won’t ally myself with you three. All I want is to beat the crap out of all users. I already have the powers of White and Green. Subtracting those two and my Black powers from the 20 colors, there are only 17 more to go, right? I want to absorb their powers, and become the strongest there is. I don’t care what you want to do, either being destroying the world or crapping in the toilet!”

The four of them sweatdropped, but shook it off quickly. The red one spoke once more. “We consider you a threat. We’ll try to defeat you as soon as possible. Don’t underestimate us.”

“Ksh. Then don’t do the same to me.”

With those last words, the four of them left the room. Ryuuga attempted to chase after them, but found out that they had disappeared.

“Where the hell did they go to…?”

5: Chapter 5 – Blank Past – Sins in White

For a time reference, it has been about four days since Ryuuga graduated.

But let’s change the location in question for a little bit, shall we?

Let’s go to… the Central Hospital of Akita. Ryuuga’s city most famous hospital. But this time, we won’t focus on Ryuuga.

“Akio-Sensei?”

“Hm?” Inside his office, an elderly man, around his 50s, with a gray beard, connecting mustache, and hair. His eyes were of a dark-brown color, and were protected by a pair of thin glasses. He wore, obviously, a white medical cloak. “Please come in.”

“Excuse me.” The door opened, letting in a young man in his 20s. He closed the door behind him. The man possessed black short hair and violet colored eyes. “My name is Hiroshi Daisuke. I was selected as your new assistant.”

“Oh, yes! I almost forgot about that. The memory is the first to go away.”

“I-I understand.” Daisuke chuckled, somewhat nervous.

“And you know what? You actually came at a brilliant time.”

“R-Really?”

Dr. Akio stood up with a smile. “Please, follow me.”

-_-_-_-_-

Dr. Akio and Daisuke walked down a hallway as they spoke.

“You might not know this, Daisuke-kun, but in a few days, I’m going to America for about 3 months.”

“W-Wait a minute… I just became your assistant, and suddenly you’re going on a trip? Why didn’t no one tell me that?”

“There must have been some sort of misfiling. But don’t worry, 3 months isn’t as much time as it sounds.”

“I-I guess…” Daisuke spoke nervously. “But what’s your point, Sensei?”

“I have an important job that I can only trust you with.”

“M-Me?! But you barely know me!”

“Exactly.”

“Eh?”

“I know other people, and I know what might happen if I leave this job to someone else.”

“B-But what kind of job is it to begin with?”

“Not as gruesome as it sounds, believe me.”

“Eh?”

“Oh, and, I know this is technically blackmailing, but I remind you that I can fire you if you don’t accept.”

“That… doesn’t give me much choice, does it?”

Akio laughed like Santa Claus. “Ho-ho-ho! I apologize, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”

They entered a dark room and Dr. Akio moved aside one of the shelves, revealing a hidden door. Daisuke became somewhat curious, but uneasy as well.

He knocked on the door. “Kozume, I’m coming in.”

“Ok.”

Akio opened the door, which opened to the inside. He gestured Daisuke to follow him and he froze.

It was a large room, almost looking like a bedroom-kitchen-living room mix, with another door which could only be a bathroom, since the main room already had everything.

In the center of the room, with her back facing him, was a young girl, no older than 14 years old. Her hair was auburn colored, and she wore a white long sleeved ball-gown-like silk dress, sat in the middle of the floor.

What really scared was that she appeared to be chewing the meat of a… human arm.

“Still eating?”

“Yeah.”

Daisuke couldn’t speak. “Oh, I’m here to present you to someone.”

“WHAT?!” The girl quickly turned, standing up, showing astonishment and fear in her face and amber colored eyes. She dropped the half eaten arm and hid behind the couch. “WHY?!”

“We already discussed about this, Kozume-chan. You can’t stay alone for three months.”

“A-Akio-sensei!? Why was she eating…?! What the hell is happening?!” Daisuke asked, confused and frightened. Akio took a hold of his arm, making him turn to the elder doctor.

“Don’t worry, and calm down, please.”

“SHE WAS EATING AN ARM!”

“You never ate Chicken Wings?” Kozume asked, still hidden behind the couch.

“I have, but what does that have to do with anything?!”

“Then what’s so different between a chicken wing and a human arm?”

“Ethical and Moral reasons!” Daisuke yelled, still restrained by Akio.

“Please, don’t yell anymore.” Akio requested, his eyes fixated on Daisuke’s. His assistant decided to obey.

“Ok… Please explain.”

“She’s a cannibal.”

“I’m out of here.”

“Wait!” Akio requested once more, making Daisuke stop. The assistant sighed, still somewhat confused.

“Continue…”

“She’s under my care. But I can’t leave her alone for three months on her own. I need your help. I have no family, and any of my coworkers would…” Akio looked away. Daisuke understood.

“You’re going to fire me if I don’t accept, right?”

“Right. Don’t take me wrong, I do not want to make you unemployed or anything, but it is a precaution.”

“She bites?”

“She’s as gentle as a little kitten.”

“D-Don’t tell him that!!” Kozume yelled, still hidden.

“Why is she hiding anyway?”

“Excuse her, she doesn’t like strangers.”

“I see… And… Why is she a cannibal?”

Kozume was the one to speak. “You want to know?”

Daisuke stumbled. “I-I mean… If I’m supposed to take care of you, I guess that I should know. Right?”

“Then please, take a seat.” Akio invited, as he closed the door and locked it from the inside. Daisuke felt nervous, but sat down. What really made him want to run away was the arm in the middle of the room, but he tried to ignore it. He thanked god for not having a light stomach.

Kozume sat down as well, still somewhat scared and nervous from Daisuke’s presence.

“Do you want to tell the story?” Akio asked, and Kozume nodded in reply.

Daisuke, still feeling pressure, began to listen carefully…

-_-_-_-_-

Kozume’s POV:

It all began as soon as I was born. I didn’t really understand at the time, since I was only a baby, but my parents were… mentally ill. And not in a usual way. They only gave birth to me so they could have a “ragdoll to play with”. They went as far as to keep the pregnancy a complete secret.

The house was constantly dark, with barely any strong light. I was just able to see thanks to the light that tried to enter through the thin cracks.

I guess that at first they weren’t really rough, but I was kept in some sort of cage ever since I can remember. I never went to school. Hell, I never exited the room to begin with. They would only take me out of the cage when they wanted to torture me.

When I tried to stand when I was just a toddler, they would shove me down. Eventually, they went for tools, and when I was 5, they even electrocuted me.

They would feed me stuff like grass, rubber, and other things people shouldn’t eat. It went a bit too far as soon as they started psychologically torturing me by… never mind.

One day, after I became 13, I don’t know if my insanity finally broke or if I finally became inhuman, but when my father opened the cage, as my mother sharpened a knife, with an adrenaline rush and fury running through my brain, I jumped and bit down his neck as hard as I could. I guess I must have ruptured the spot I needed, because he bled out pretty quickly. He feel over right after I bit him. My mom wasn’t really strong. I managed to stab her with the knife she held right in the heart.

It took a while for them to die, but since I struck vital areas, it didn’t take long. Though what really endangered me was the fact that no one went shopping that day. And I didn’t have the courage to go outside yet.

I guess instinct and many years of watching my parents eating meat is what made me cook them.

They lasted for about three weeks before the meat began to rot. I had saved some of the meat in the freezer, which I at the time called “cold box”.

After I ran out of food, I finally decided to open the door. I was super-confused, but I found a nearby alley. I got myself into a cardboard box and even said ‘My home. No one touch it…’ during the night. The next day… Akio found me.

I was adopted by him. In secrecy. I had never heard about “orphanages” before, so it didn’t even occur to me to go to one.

Akio… Helped me out a lot… After finding me, he gave me this room, cleaned me up, and taught me things like reading and talking properly. Most of my vocabulary was… limited. On the first day, he took me out to an amusement park, showing me how… I could have fun. People scared me—they still do—but he showed me how much fun there could be in life. In a crane game… he asked if I wanted something from inside it. I wanted the tiger plushy, but he got the raggedy lion. He said he could try again, but I kept the lion. I even remember hugging it and being surprised that it wasn’t hard, but soft instead. I didn’t even know what a hug really was. Akio hugged me as soon as I began to cry there on the spot.

After that, I kinda had a bad experience with sushi, and I’ve hated raw food since. And… human meat is kind of addicting. So Akio and I made a deal…

-_-_-_-_-

“Deal?”

“I would bring her a corpse from the morgue, a recent one that would make no difference if it disappeared, and she would let me study her and the effects of cannibalism in a young age.” Akio explained, leaving Daisuke simply and totally confused.

He looked over to the arm once more. “I’m the one who has to give her the corpses, right?”

“And take care of her, like helping her clean her room for example.”

“And… Please tell me I don’t have to eat with her.”

“Of course not!” Kozume yelled. “I know what I do is horrible, but that doesn’t mean others have to do the same!” She stood up, with a light blush spread through her pale skin.

“S-Sorry…” Daisuke apologized, afraid of her menacing expression, which at first was scary, but soon it looked more like that of a nervous teenager.

“Don’t worry.” Akio spoke. “She might look like she’s covered in crimson sins, but I guarantee that she is the purest of whites.”

“Eh?” Daisuke was somewhat stunned at the statement, but ignored.

“Oh, there’s also another thing we should tell you about.”

“More?!” Daisuke asked at his superior. It was too much for his brain to process.

“And this is the worst part.”

“Worse than cannibalism?!”

“Only because it is harder to believe. Kozume, if you would be so kind.”

“Sure.” She stood up and opened the top two buttons of her dress, showing a white crystal between her collarbones, which released a stream of white energy which shaped into a tiger. “This is Shiroga. Say hi.”

“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Daisuke fell to the side right after it spoke.

-_-_-_-_-_-

“And remember, she often has nightmares, so-”

“Don’t worry, sensei. I can take care of the babysitter work. You should worry about the whole cannibal and transforming thing matter instead.” Daisuke informed.

The three of them were in the middle of the airport. Akio-sensei was about to leave for his trip. He approached Kozume, who held tightly her pale lion-plushy, and bent his knees so he would be at the same height as her.

“Behave while Daisuke is looking after you, ok?”

“Ok…”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“I’ll only be out for three months. It won’t take long, I swear.”

“Ok…”

Akio embraced his adoptive daughter, and received  a strong hug in reply. Kozume’s eyes quickly became wet, but she made her best not to cry. He smiled and they waved goodbye, right after he was called for the flight.

-_-_-_-_-

Daisuke was obligated to stay in the room Dr. Akio spent the nights in the hospital, a small room connected to Kozume’s. As he read a magazine, Kozume knocked and opened the door, holding her lion plushy named ‘Raion’.

“Nee, Daisuke-san, could you go grab me a drink?”

“Sure. What do you want? Coke? Soda?”

“Blood.”

Daisuke fell on his bed face-first. “Say again?”

“Blood.”

“You want me to go get you blood?! How?!”

“The blood supplies have tons of packs. They won’t notice if one is gone. Mainly if you alter the record through Akio’s signature.”

Daisuke sighed. “I can’t believe I actually agreed to this.”

Daisuke left the room during the middle of the night, and snuck around the hospital. Knowing through Akio-sensei’s information that the security didn’t scout that area, he quickly opened the cabinet, took a random pack of blood and ran back to the secret rooms. Upon arriving, he found Kozume, who held Raion tightly in her arms, and Shiroga watching TV.

“I still don’t understand how this box works.” Shiroga admitted.

“Me neither, but who cares? The images are pretty.”

The medical assistant was stunned for a second, but quickly sighed and handed her the pack.

“You can drink without a straw, right?”

“O-Of course!”

“She’s lyin’.” Shiroga blabbered, making himself and Daisuke laugh, while leaving Kozume deeply embarrassed.

“BAKAAAAA!”

6: Chapter 6 - Third - Sonic Metal

The sun rose over Akita, mainly on Ryuuga's house. It took a while, like a couple of hours or so, but Ryuuga woke up at 9 AM with a large yawn.

A great start taking into account that during school time he would wake up at 7 AM. He sat up on his bed and opened the window, to let fresh air come into the room. He gathered some clothes and went to take a quick shower, to help him wake up.

He exited the bathroom wearing a white t-shirt with the picture of a black dragon and black trousers. It was still March, almost April, so it was still fresh enough for him to wear dark clothing.

"Your friend Airyu took the news pretty lightly."

"Yeah. I'm a bit surprised myself. She demanded an explanation, but after that and meeting you, she took things pretty lightly." Ryuuga admitted, as he explored his fridge. “I have nothing to do for today…”

“Why don’t you go out with Airyu?” his floating companion connected to him asked.

“She’s busy with the whole college application thing. She won’t be able to go out for a while.” Ryuuga explained, despite being aware that Kurogon didn’t have a full comprehension on the whole college situation.

“Then what are you going to do today?”

“I don’t know. Maybe go for a walk?”

-_-_-_-_-

“Here, just take it!”

Daisuke handed the ‘meal’ to Kozume in a plastic body-sized bag. She took it into her arms and placed it by the kitchen.

“Thank you, Daisuke-san.” Kozume answered, as she placed the body on the kitchen table. “But first let me finish watch… the magic box!” she gave the TV a new name, since she couldn’t remember its name.

He could only sweatdrop. “Television. It’s a television.”

“Ok.” Kozume walked past him and took the remains of the blood packet she drank last night. She sat down in front of the TV, watching her usual anime, as she drank the remaining blood. She smiled as the pretty images of the opening song amazed her. She quickly took a hold of Raion, her lion plushy, and hugged it.

Daisuke looked at her in amazement. “She… is just like any other girl, right? But… I can’t really overlook the fact that she’s a cannibal, can I?” Daisuke pondered this for a moment until something answered his question: she laughed. A little pure giggle caused by a joke from the anime. Hearing that giggle was clear for him: she was like any other girl in the world. He sat down beside her, first confusing her a bit, but smiling at her made it change. “So? What are you watching?”

-_-_-_-_-

“So, I need milk, soda, and…” Before he entered the supermarket, he took one of his two remaining cigarettes and lit it after placing it in his mouth.

“Why are you smoking?”

“I don’t know if…”

“If…?”

“If I should buy more cigarettes or not.”

Kurogon became silent out of dumbfoundness. “You only have one left, right? Then buy more.”

“True. Not to mention, I’ve been craving them a little bit more than usual recently." Ryuuga admitted, noticing that ever since he fought Kozume. And it had been stronger after fighting Hami.

“Excuse me.”

“Eh?” Ryuuga turned around, finding… nothing. “What the-?!”

“Up here, Mr. Dragon.”

“Wha…?” Ryuuga looked up and opening his mouth made him accidentally drop the cigarette. “Oh… It appears a new target has appeared.” He grinned maniacally.

In the middle for the air, unnoticed by most people, a boy with bronze colored shiny unkempt hair, and brown eyes looked down at Ryuuga, with a cock grin. He had his arms crossed, and appeared to be wearing an orange t-shirt and a metallic brown colored jacket, and his shorts were of a similar color. On his left knee, a copper-colored crystal shined brightly. Oh, and he possessed round goggles on his forehead.

A buzzing noise could be heard from him, probably being the two wings that flapped at an incredible speed.

“SonikkubÅ«mu!” (Sonic Boom) His wings glowed for a second and the boy leaned forward in a thrust, releasing a white shockwave which hit the mall, making everyone in the area flee in panic. Ryuuga’s grin became somewhat scarier.

“Ksh. You just made a bad choice.”

“Really? How so?”

“Now I really want to absorb your powers.”

“You really want power, don’t you kid?” Kurogon asked, fearing that his partner really had become addicted to the absorption process.

“You bet!” Ryuuga spoke, as he jumped up. Kurogon made his job and transformed his partner, allowing him to engulf the feet in fire and propel him towards the new crystal user. “Doragon Kurō!” (Dragon Claw) In an attempt to perform an upper kick, Ryuuga rose up his leg, but the new crystal user dodged by leaning back. “What?”

The enemy grabbed his leg and flipped forward, throwing Ryuuga down and slamming him against the ground. “What’s the matter, Dragon boy?”

“Grrr… You mother-!” Suddenly, his mouth was covered by the boy’s hand, who had moved fast enough to be in front of Ryuuga in less than a second.

“Watch your mouth. Unlike Hami, I’m fast and strong.”

Ryuuga frowned and did what anyone would. “Hauunnn!” he bit down the hand of the enemy.

“Ouch!!!” he jumped back in surprise, giving Ryuuga time to stand up properly again.

“Doragon Fangu!” (Dragon Fang) Ryuuga’s right hand became engulfed in purplish dark flames and he attempted to side slash the enemy, but he dodged just in time.

“Your teeth are sharp, you know?!” the boy asked, as he attempted to perform a side kick which Ryuuga blocked with his arm.

“You know a lot about me, but I know nothing about you!” Ryuuga replied, swinging his arm to the side, obligating the boy to place his foot back on the ground.

“Well, unlike that stupid snake, I won’t tell you my name. But… I guess you can call me Sonic.”

“The Hedgehog?”

“Pff! Lame joke, even for you, Dragon Boy.”

“How DO you know about me anyway?” Ryuuga wondered, jumping back, in an attempt to figure out what was happening.

“The guy who creates Colorless is with us in the team. One of the Colorless stayed behind and observed your battle with the little white kitten.”

“The cannibal albino chick with the nice ass?”

Sonic hesitated, taken aback by Ryuuga’s characterization of the White Crystal user. “I-I guess…”

“Hey, I have dibs on that ass! Go sleep with the snake for all I care!” Ryuuga pointed out, making both Sonic and his partner Kurogon sweatdrop. “Wait, she had a nice pair… Dibs on the snake lady too!”

“Uh, ok… I’m like 8 years younger than her, and that would simply be weird.”

“Wait, 6 years? How old is she?”

“25.”

“So… you’re 19?”

“Right you are, kid.”

“Excuse me!” it was a feminine voice that echoed. Suddenly, a copper colored stream of energy came out from the Sonic’s knee and took the shape of a large dragonfly. “Shouldn’t you two be fighting?!”

“Oh, it’s you!” Kurogon barked, referring to Copper. Ryuuga sweatdropped.

“You really didn’t need names, did you?” Ryuuga asked.

“If you think I’m weird, you’re the one obsessed with mating.”

“Yeah, but I’m human. That’s what humans are supposed to do: mate and name stuff.”

Sonic interjected. “For some reason, that makes sense. Far too much sense though…”

“Either way, Sonic, wasn’t it?” the dragonfly asked.

“Good memory, Buzz.”

“Pfff!” Ryuuga laughed. “Buzz?! Really? For a girl?!”

“Shut up!” Sonic yelled, blushing as Buzz sighed. “Then I’ll rename her to Buzzy, alright?”

“I actually preferred Buzz…” Buzzy spoke honestly. “As I was saying, I think it’s time for you to use them, don’t you think?”

“Already?” Sonic asked, scrubbing hi hair a little bit. “Well, I guess it won’t matter.” He admitted, as he placed a hand inside the pocket of his jacket.

“What is he going to pull out? His weapons?” Ryuuga asked, curious.

“I doubt that. But be prepared whatever the case is.” Kurogon warned.

“Alright."

Sonic took out his hand and opened revealing four dice in his hand: one green, one violet, one copper, and one black.

“What the-?! How do you have them?!”

“What are those things, Kurogon?” Ryuuga asked, noticing how concerned his partner sounded.

“They are…”

“They’re Colored Dice.” Sonic interrupted. “When a crystal connects with a human, it releases energy randomly in three different energy beams that fly around and land somewhere within a radius of… I would say… More than 100 kilometers. Those beams land and turn into Colored Dice, and the images depend on the shape of the beast of the original crystal this might sound confusing, but I’ll give you an example. Let’s use you: your black crystal has the Dragon as the beast; there are three black dice in which one of them will have the powers of the ‘Dragon’ while the other two would have other images. Like maybe…” he took the black dice into his free hand and showed the image to Ryuuga. “…a Wyvern?”

Ryuuga glared at Sonic. “I think that belongs to me…”

“Well, too bad.” Saving the remaining dice in his pocket, he leaned down, getting on one knee, exposing his copper-colored crystal. He placed the dark die on it. The crystal absorbed the small cubic object and a black veil of energy surrounded him and entered through his back. His large see-through dragonfly wings closed as much as they could, and two large black dragon-like wings quickly extended out of his back. “I’m the one who’s going to use them.”

“What?! No way! Burakku Faia!” (Black Fire) Ryuuga performed a punching motion with both arms, releasing a stream of black fire towards Sonic.

His dark wings covered his body, which protected him from the flames. “These wings aren’t as fast as mine, but they certainly are stronger.”

“Damn it…” Ryyuga barked in anger.

“Now, let’s see if you still remember how to defeat a snake.” Sonic quickly inserted the green die inside his crystal and his eyes became of a green color. “BenomusupurÄ“: ShÅ«to!” (Venom Spray: Shoot!) Sonic quickly spit out small pellets of greenish-purple sludge at Ryuuga.

“Karāringu: Howaito!" (Coloring: White!) Ryuuga’s crystal glowed brightly and it became white, transforming him. His hair becoming white and spikier, his eyes of an amber color, his shorts turned into white jeans, his long scarf becoming shorter with long hooks attached to it, and Kurogon’s head turning into the head of a tiger. “Metarudōmu!” (Metal Dome) he knelt down and slammed his hands against the ground, making a circle appear around him, which created a circular dome around his body. The pellets hit the metal, creating small holes due to the melting. Ryuuga jumped back, destroying the metal, and increasing the distance between the two.

“Shadouuingu.” (Shadow Wing) Sonic flapped his dragon wings and they released multiple black fireballs, which flew towards Ryuuga.

“God damn it!” Ryuuga spun and his hooks pierced the fireballs, destroying them. Ryuuga posed for an attack, but then…

*ring, ring… ring, ring…*

“Eh?”

“Oh, sorry, that’s my cell.” Sonic spoke, as he took out a cellphone from his pocket and flipped it open. “Hello?”

“You must be kidding me…” Ryuuga muttered.

‘YOU HAD COLORED DICE AND DIDN’T TELL ANY OF US?!’ The voice was so loud that that Ryuuga could clearly tell that it was Hami the one talking on the other side of the line.

“Suman.”

‘THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!’

“Pretty much.”

‘Well… Our leaders want to have a little talk with you. Stop fighting and come back.’

“Really?”

‘You’re being reckless, and we can’t afford to have Dark Star absorb more of our powers.’

“Well, I’m pretty sure I have the advantage.” Ryuuga frowned at Sonic. “Then again, if he has your powers, that means he has a good chance of getting a hold of my knee. And if he gets my powers, he’ll be able to match up my speed. Okay, I agree. Gimme just a few minutes.” He closed the phone and placed it back in his pocket. He bent down and extracted the two dice from his crystal and saved them once more. But then placed in the violet die and his left hand became a light purple colored large crab claws. “Dragon Boy, excuse me for a moment.”

“Eh?” Sonic walked past him with tranquility, which only confused the Black Crystal User. Approaching the supermarket, with his right hand, he exposed a hidden Colorless and snapped its body in half with his claw, destroying it. Ryuuga was somewhat astonished.

“I’ll be going for now, Dragon Boy. Oh! I almost forgot. You like the nickname Dark Star, don’t you? Then let me tell you mine. I like to be called Berserk Bug. Next time, let’s see which one is more powerful: the fire breathing Black Dragon, or the fast Copper-Colored Dragonfly.”

Sonic suddenly disappeared, which made Ryuuga snap out of his state of trance. “What?! Graaah! I couldn’t absorb his powers… Damn it, I need a smoke…” Ryuuga returned to normal and took out his last cigarette and his lighter. Placing it inside his mouth and lighting it made him feel relieved. “Yo, Kurogon. You better start explaining about the dice.”

-_-_-_-_-

“Sorry, sorry. I won’t keep them a secret anymore.” Sonic spoke, showing his opened palm with the four dice. Hami quickly fetched the green die.

“This belongs to me!”

“Calm down, Hami-chan.”

“Shut up, Kagerou!” she replied, revealing his true name.

“Well, I guess we can’t blame him just because he wanted to spice things up.” The figure in the yellow cloak said as she filled her nails gently.

“Though having him knowing about the dice isn’t exactly a good thing.” The one in the blue cloak stated.

“Well, what has been done can’t be undone.” The one in red continued.

“But hey, I have one question: why are we under surveillance? I suppose you’re not spying just me. Hami must’ve only known this today as well.” Hami looked away. “So? Where’s that bastard?”

“He left before you came. He’s in the middle of his… Umm…” the one in yellow hesitated for some reason.

“Hobby.” The one in red continued. “Well, no matter. Hami, Kagerou, I want you two to go out and search for more dice. If you run into Dark Star, the Black Crystal user, or Wild Hunter, the White Crystal user, don’t hesitate in attacking. But if you run into him again, Kager-”

“I know, I know, I have to be careful with my crystal. Don’t worry, my dear master. Or, since you’re using nicknames, should I use… Eternal Scarlet?”

7: Chapter 7 – Jungle Clash

It had been about a full day since Ryuuga fought the Copper Crystal User, who went by the name of “Sonic”. It was also one days ago that Kozume had gotten her new meal for the next two weeks.

"Hey, Kozume."

"Hmm?"

"What happened to the corpse I gave you? I thought it lasted for two weeks for someone your size." Daisuke noticed the disappearance of the body.

"Oh. I just chopped it up and saved it in the fri-"

Daisuke covered his ears. "Don't tell me the rest, please!"

"Calm down." Kozume requested. "Why are you so-"

"Because it's weird, ok?"

"But why is it weird for you?"

“Because it’s human flesh!”

“How is it any different from cow or chicken meat?”

Daisuke sighed. “It’s one of your own species.”

“Axolotl eat members of its own species in order to mature.”

“Humans are rational animals!”

“Yet, they are the only ones who actually hurt other animals on purpose.”

Daisuke felt cornered. “…What about their faces?”

“I don’t eat the head in anyway, if that’s what you’re asking. It doesn’t have meat enough, and the brain is disgusting. Not to mention…” she looked away for a second. “Their eyes creep me out…”

“The eyes?”

“Yeah… I normally ask Akio to cut off the head, but since I know you’re a little bit too whiny-”

“H-Hey!”

“I had to cut it off myself…” Kozume spoke, and Daisuke could swear she shivered. “I’m only in it for the taste. After you taste meat that good, the rest tastes like… dirty socks.”

Daisuke was silent for a moment, until… “Really? Dirty socks?” he sounded more surprised than mocking.

“It’s true! The taste becomes far too weak and almost becomes bad.” Kzume explained, as she placed a bag strap on her shoulder. “Well, I’m going out. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, ok?”

“S-Sure… But wait, how are you going to exit the room? You can’t be seen in the hospi-”

“Shiroga, let’s go.”

“Hai!” She became enveloped in white energy and transformed. She then jumped onto the air conduct and opened it. Due to her slender body and, she easily crawled through it.

“Oh. Who knew?”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Man, this is boring…”

“Next time, don’t hide stuff you’re not supposed to hide.”

Hami had gone out of her team’s hideout with her fellow member Oniyamma Kagerou. Of course, unlike the previous chapter, he was in his normal form. You may be wondering how he looks like!

His eyes were of a brown color, and his hair was of a brownish-blond color. He wore thick glasses, but didn’t look half bad. As of the remaining clothing, he wore a plain white t-shirt with an orange drawing of a dragonfly, and wore baggy shorts that reached his knees with ease.

Both of them were at the counter of a café. Hami drank a cup of coffee while Kegarou drank a soda can.

“Hey, I just wanted to have things spiced up! You know, not boring.”

“Well, they kept you keep one of the dice, didn’t they?”

“Yeah, the Black one of the Wyvern wings.” Kagerou spoke, placing his hand inside his pocket and grasping the die. “But it’s much more interesting to have a core die that doesn’t belong to you.”

“The core die?” Hami asked, but memory suddenly struck her. “Oh! You mean like the snake die when the snake is a Crystal Beast, in this case, mine?”

“Yeah. You basically are able to use their powers as your own for a short while. It’s pretty fun. But I don’t get it why they gave it to you, since the only thing it does is make you stronger. It’s not fun if it isn’t out of the ordinary.” Kagerou confessed, feeling somewhat bored. He looked at him and found her to be somewhat ignoring. Either that, or with her head someone else. She was staring at a small picture in her hands.

“Hmm…” it was her answer to him. In an act of curiosity, with fast reflexes, he quickly took the picture off her hand. “HEY!”

“What’s this…?” he asked before looking at the picture, in an attempt to hold down her teammate.

“Give that back!” she struggled, actually almost putting up a fight in the middle of a public place.

“Hm? Why are you so-?! Oh…” In a moment of surprise, Hami managed to take the picture from him. She saved it again in her pocket and they stayed in silence for a moment before Kagerou spoke again. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was-”

“Don’t worry about it…” Hami replied, with a gentle smile. Kagerou was actually surprised by it.

“Oh… Thanks, I guess… How… How old is she?”

“Four.” Hami answered, as she took the final sip of her coffee.

“And, umm… If you don’t mind me asking… Where is she now?”

Hami placed down the little cup, showing that her smile had faded. “Where else? With her father.”

“Oh… Why aren’t you…?”

“He said he never loved me, and that he just wanted to sleep with me. But he was stupid and decided not to use a condom. Unlike him, I was totally in love with the guy, but after knowing I was pregnant, he said he just wanted to have sex with me.” Hami explained calmly, leaving Kagerou the more and more curious. “He came from a wealthy family, and I was 21 at the time, and needed to continue my studies. He persuaded everyone involved, in other words, our families, that it would be better for her to stay with him.”

“Whoa… You get to see her, right?”

“Of course. Though her father tries to drive me out of there as soon as possible.” Hami chuckled, though Kagerou could clearly tell that it was a fake one. “At first, I got to see her every Saturday and Sunday. Then only in Saturdays… And the time has been shortened to only some hours now...”

“That… must be hard.”

“Well… There is one thing that always cheers me up.”

“Eh?”

“She always says…

‘I love you, mama.’

…every single time before I leave. And, according to my sources, she never said she loved her father.”

“Wow.” Kagerou let out. “That’s quite good.”

“Yeah, but… I want to be with her…” Hami admitted, pressing her right hand over the left side of her chest. “It can be very painful…”

“So, that’s why you joined the Colored Alliance?” Kagerou deduced. “If the world is destroyed and reconstructed, you can spend as much time with your daughter as you want.”

“You’re pretty smart.” Hami confessed, genuinely surprised.

“Why thank you. Oh, and I can’t believe I didn’t start with this… what’s her name?”

“Despite technically being under her father’s custody, she took my name. She said that it was funnier. Garagara Asuka.”

“Asuka?”

“It means ‘warm child’. I gave her that name because she was… very warm the first time I held her.”

“And that’s the moment the photo was taken, right?”

“Right…” Hami answered, as she stood up. Kagerou followed her actions.

“You know, for a mom, you look pretty good.”

She giggled out of amusement. “Why thank you. You’re not as annoying and stubborn as I thought you were.”

“Hey, I respect people with objectives. I didn’t know yours. Besides, it’s much better than my motivation.”

“Which is…?” Hami was curious as to why Kagerou joined a team to destroy the world.

“I want to spice things up. This world is… kinda boring.” Kagerou informed with a confident grin.

“I see…” Hami replied, closing her eyes. “Hey, Oujako, have you felt anything so far?”

“No…”

“Wait!”

“What is it, Buzz?”

“I can feel an active crystal approaching us.”

“What is she saying?” Hami asked, since she was not able to communicate with her teammate’s cosmic partner.

“Someone’s nearby. Whoever it is, it’s transformed. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have picked it up.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Follow me.” Kagerou indicated, as they ran out of the café in order to search for the person that made Buzz react.

Following her indications as fast as possible, Kagerou and Hami were led towards an alleyway.

“There she is!!” Hami spoke, pointing at a short girl who had just come out from the sewers. Her pure white hair was an instant giveaway.

“Oh look! It’s the albino kitten.”

“I’m not an albino.” Kozume, with her amber colored glaring eyes directed at Kagerou, spoke. “I’m just pale. And who are you, anyway?”

“That, we aren’t really allowed to tell.” Kagerou answered.

“But we can tell you this much: we were ordered to fight you in case we ran into you.”

“Ordered?” Kozume wondered.

“Let’s go, Oujako.”

“Start the party, Buzz!”

Green and Copper energy surrounded both of them, allowing them to transform.

(A/N: As you might see, I won’t put in every description of the transformations every single time they transform. So, I’ll just write down in which chapters you’ll be able to find these. Hami’s transformed form can be found in Chapter 4 and Kagerou’s can be found in the previous chapter, Chapter 6)

“There’s not a lot of space in here.” Hami noticed.

“Maybe for you. That’s what you get for having those two sacks of fat.” Kozume spoke, making a vein on Hami’s forehead pop.

“Well, at least I have something I can be proud of in my body, you flatchest!”

“I’ll let you know, I’m a B cup!”

“You?! HA! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard this month! C’mon, you’re an AA cup, tops!” Hami spoke, in an attempt to infuriate the White Crystal user.

“Grr…!”

“Ladies, ladies!” Kagerou called. “Before you claw or bite each other and start a cat fight, let’s go to the roof.” His transparent dragonfly-like wings spread out, and he flew up to the roof tops of the buildings they stayed in between.

Hami and Kozume glared at one another one last time and followed him. Hami used her whip in order to tie it up at the roof and climb through it. Kozume, with her arms tied up by the stray jacket, jumped up and used her powers in order to turn the metallic lid from the sewers into a pillar that elevated her up towards the roof.

After the three of them reached the rooftop, Kozume transformed the thin pillar into a lid again, and then into a thin and sharp metallic knife, which she held between her teeth.

“Oh! Ferrokinesis? The ability to manipulate and shape metal.” Kagerou noticed, as he continued hovering in the middle of the air, nearby to the ground.

Kozume dashed and attempted to slash Hami, but the Green Crystal user spun over her feet and used her whip, hitting Kozume’s cheek and pushing her away, obligating her to drop the knife down to the ground below.

“W-What the…?!” Kozume stood up and glared at the two enemies. “What the hell is up with that whip? I’ve been whipped several times since I was 6, I think. Whips don’t hurt as much as the one you’re using. And the whips I got hit with were coated in spikes, so they actually hurt more than the usual ones.”

“Oh! You’ve noticed it too? The Dark Star boy had a similar reaction.” Kagerou informed, astonishing Kozume.

“Ryuuga?”

“Indeed. And I’ll tell you why this whip is stronger when I use it.”

“When you use it?” Kozume was confused at those words.

“Yes. You see, these sacks of fat as you call them, since they are so large, when I spin, it increases the power of momentum of my whip, actually increasing the strength of the hit.”

“Oh my god!” Kagerou yelled, astonished, calling the attention of the two females. “She is actually using breasts as a weapon! She turned many men’s dreams a reality!” he placed himself on the floor on one knee. “I will follow you forever, oh dear goddess!”

Hami could only sweatdrop and blush out of embarrassment.

“W-Well… If you really feel that, then go attack her.”

“My pleasure.” Kagerou spoke. He stood up properly and shot a menacing glare at Kozume. He flew at her with amazing speed and punched her stomach, catching her by surprise.

“He’s fast!!” Kozume thought as she was pushed back due to the impact. Kagerou attempted to pull her in, but due to having her arms tied up, he could not grab her arm.

“Shimata!” Kagerou exclaimed. Kozume landed on her feet and unbuckled her stray jacket, making her hands free.

“I still haven’t practiced this attack a lot, but this is as good as any other time.” Kozume spoke, as she pointed her right index and middle fingers at Hami. “I’ll take you two out in a second each! Denji Sandā!” (Electromagnetic Thunder) Her fingers became surrpunded in blue sparks and they suddenly fired a blue-colored energy blast at Hami.

“Gara!” She placed her arms in front of herself in order to take as much cover as she could, in a way. But she felt somewhat weird for not feeling any pain. She slowly opened her eyes, finding Kagerou in front of her, arms wide opened. “W-What have you done?!”

“H-Hey… No fair, little kitten.” Kagerou spoke breathing heavily. A hole had been made on his clothes on the sternum area. “That could have killed her because of the radiation. Since I’m a bit like a dragonfly, I’m somewhat resistant to it.”

“Why are you protecting me?!” Hami asked, still confused and somewhat worried. Kagerou looked as if he was about to faint.

“Hey, you’re a mom. How do you think your daughter would feel if you didn’t visit her next Saturday?”

“Idiot…”

“D-Daughter…?” The two of them looked at Kozume, who had spoken in a frightened tone of voice. Her expression genuinely surprised them: her pupils and irises had amazingly shrunk, her mouth was slightly opened, and her hands shook and trembled. “M-Mom…?”

‘You don’t like the grass I prepared for you, Kozume? Well then, if you don’t eat the whole thing, I’ll go get the electric chair you love so much! Oh… Kozume, you threw up! Well, I guess that means you’ll be electrocuted today as well. Ooh! Maybe we could electrocute you while we cut you with glass shards! What do you think?’

“YYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Her yell was loud and showed pure fright, but despite being a scream showing her fear, it certainly induced some on the two opponents.

“GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Kozume turned and began to run away, slipping at the beginning. She turned, her tear filled eyes looking at Hami. “D-DON’T HURT ME! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! YAAAAHHHH!”

She jumped off the building and simply kept running aimlessly.

“What the hell was that about?” Hami asked, as Kagerou made his best not to faint.

Kozume ran through the streets, her eyes full of fright and tears. She ran as fast as she could, without any destiny in mind, not caring for the people glancing at her.

“Kozume! Kozume! Calm down!”

“I CAN’T!! THEY WANT TO TORTURE ME! I CAN’T STOP RUNNING!”

“Kozume, your parents are dead, remember?!”

She couldn’t hear her partner anymore. Her tears fell as fast as intense waterfalls, as the memories of her first 13 years of life attacked her…

8: Chapter 8 – Shining Wings

Daisuke almost had a heart attack when Kozume ran into the room, hyperventilating, transformed, red eyes, tears overflowing, panicking.

"RAION! RAION!” She threw herself against the lion-shaped cute plushy and buried her face in it.

“Whoa! What the heck?!” Daisuke held onto his chest as he recovered from the scare.

Shiroga broke the transformation. “She’s having a panic attack! Do something!”

“What do I do?!”

“You’re the doctor, aren’t you?!”

“Assistant!” Daisuke informed. “Ok, ok… Damn it, I have to calm her down, or the whole hospital will hear her!”

“RAION! RAION! THEY’RE GOING TO HURT ME! MOM AND DAD ARE GOING TO HURT ME!”

“Oh, Jesus…!” Daisuke moved in and attempted to hold her in a hug. “Kozume! Hey! Calm dow- Ouch! Don’t kick me!”

“Let me go! Let me go!” Kozume yelled. She went to the point where she bit down his forearm with amazing strength.

“Ahhhahhhahh….!” Daisuke managed to keep his yell at a low volume. And then he came up with a solution. “There!” He stopped struggle and let Kozume’s teeth sink into his flesh. “Go ahead! Bite me!”

“Daisuke, what are you-?!”

“She needs to be comforted.” Daisuke replied to Shiroga, who was confused. “If she’s panicking because of something that scared her, she needs to calm down… To calm down, she needs something she likes… Her plushy, and her favorite drink… I don’t care if it hurts like hell, I need to look after her!” He explained, speaking in pain to the white tiger. “You heard me!” he turned to Kozume. “Drink all you want! Free drinks for you today!”

-_-_-_-_-_-

“Man… It’s simply boring here. Nothing on TV, nothing new on the net…” Ryuuga sighed, trying to get the boredom off his chest.

“Then what do you intend to do?” Kurogon was curious regarding his partner.

“Well, I’m going to the movies. I just hope I come across that Sonic guy again. I have a bone to pick with him.” Ryuuga got off the couch and started stretching his body around.

“Shouldn’t you strategize? I mean, your instincts are amazing and your combat skills aren’t bad at all, but you’re awfully unexperienced when comparing you to the other crystal users.”

“Hey, I totally defeated that Albino chick and the big boobed lady.”

“Umm, the White Crystal User ran away because you kissed her, meaning that it is not certain whether or not she could defeat you, and the Green Crystal, although  you had her tied up, it is possible she could escape, mainly since she appears to be able to create poisonous substances, so it’s possible she could have escaped.”

“Hmm… So you’re saying that it’s possible they might have beaten up taking into account what you’ve seen.” Ryuuga’s interested was picked up. “I need a walk anyway. Come back into the crystal, we’ll talk telepathically.”

“Alright then.” Kurogon traveled through the stream of energy connected to the crystal and disappeared out of sight.

Ryuuga quickly placed his keys and wallet inside his pockets and stepped out of his house. He quickly went into a crowded street and started walking around aimlessly, coming up with a circular fashion so he wouldn’t get too far from his house.

"Let's think about this together. If I want power, I have to work with you, whether I like it or not."

"You don't like working with me?" Kurogon sounded somewhat disappointed.

"To be honest, it's pretty awesome." Ryuuga smirked, narrowing his eyes as he walked around. "Let's start with us, when I transform into Dark Star."

"When you transform, your physical attributes are enhanced."

"But doesn't that happen to all the bastards with crystals?"

"Yes, but ones might get more strength and less speed, some might sharpen their instinct but lose stamina in the process."

"And I...?"

"You gain a general boost, I would say."

"Good. Next, what about the flames?"

"They are stronger than normal red or blue flames, much hotter and more intense."

"And how far can I use them?"

"Well, as you've already seen, you can coat your body with them and use the intensity to propel yourself around. You cannot fly properly, but it's pretty good for gliding measures. You can fire fireballs, flamethrowers, blasts, and all sorts of projectiles."

"What about heat?"

"Well, it's hard to control the temperature of the flames, but with some concentration and my help, you can make something out of it. But I guarantee nothing regarding that."

"Alright... What about the weapons? The Star Breaker and Super-Vulcan'ova."

"As I told you before, each Crystal gives access to two weapons. Star Breaker is pretty much a beam of light compressed in the shape of a saber."

"So... A light saber? Like from those famous American movies?"

"I... Didn't really understand what you said, but I'll answer... I guess?"

"Ok, ok, move one. Keep talking while I'm buying an ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

"It's a human thing, I'll explain it later. Keep talking, lizard."

"I-I'm technically a Dragon, but anyway... The gun you gave the complicated name to can fire multiple bullets in less than a second. The bullets are made of the same energy that the Star Breaker is made of. They can damage all sorts of metals."

"Here you go sir."

"Thanks." Ryuuga handed the girl change, enough to pay for the ice cream. "Keep the change." He ran off before she could say something. Placing the caramel flavored icy rectangular inside his mouth, he kept talking to Kurogon. "What about you? I've seen you do stuff. What else can you do?"

"It depends on your current powers. When you're normal, I can shoot fireballs. When using the Green Powers, I can extend and bind your enemies."

"What about when we're colored in White?"

"I don't know... Haven't tried it yet."

"Ksh. Go figures.” Ryuuga bit down the treat he bought. “Can you sense them?”

“Only when they’re transformed. … What the-?! Ryuuga, duck!”

“Eh?” Ryuuga’s eyes widened and he quickly obeyed his partner, jumping back and crouching over, dodging some sort of golden thin beam. Everybody in the street was scared by the event. Ryuuga and the remaining people looked up, finding two people with angelic wings floating in midair.

“What the…?”

It was a boy and a girl.

The boy possessed spiked pulled back hair, in a way that resembled wings about to spread out, if that makes any sense. His eyes were of a brilliant golden and his hair was of the same tone. He appeared to be wearing and light golden armor, with light orange wings attached to his back. His left shoulder was exposed, showing a golden colored crystal attached to its side.

The girl possessed beautiful silver flowing hair, and eyes of a similar color. Her armor was very similar to the boy next to her, but it was of a silver color. Her wings though were of a light blue color. Her right shoulder was exposed, and a silver crystal was attached on its side.

“Ooh! Prey!” Ryuuga grinned maniacally and his crystal began to glow, surrounding him in energy. The transformation of the power hungry teenager scared the remaining people, making the streets get deserted in a moment. “You two are with the big boobed lady and the buggy guy with the dice?”

“Wow. Talk about characterization!” the boy spoke, seemingly impressed. “Those are the best descriptions of those two I’ve ever heard in my life!”

“Don’t be like that, T-”

“Wait!” the boy interrupted before she could conclude the sentence. “If the guy over there has a kickass nickname like “Dark Star”, I want one too.”

She looked at him as her right eyebrow frowned. “Really? Are you a little kid or anything?”

“Hey!” both Ryuuga and her partner barked in unison.

“Look, you don’t get it.” The man continued. “In TV, all fighters, heroes and villains have an epithet! Since this has come true in a way, I think it is only fitting we get one as well!”

The girl sighed in annoyance. “Fine… What do you want to be called?”

“I want to be… Radiant Ray!”

“Nice choice!”

“Thanks, dude!”

Ryuuga and Double R made a thumbs up at each other, making the girl facepalm.

“I can’t believe boys…”

“And you? What’s your epithet?” Ryuuga asked, somewhat demandingly.

“Eh? Me? Who cares! I’ll let him decide if you want it that much!”

“Alright! How about… Moonlight Shadow?”

“Moonlight Shadow? Hmm…” the girl placed a hand around her chin. “I don’t hate it.”

“Then it’s decided! The Radiant Ray and the Moonlight Shadow will beat the Dark Star!”

He looked far too excited. Ryuuga and Shadow both frowned at this.

“Well, who cares?” Placing his hands in front of him with opened palms, he glared at the couple with a cocky grin. Black flames and energy formed in front of them, turning into a dark-colored sphere of fire-energy. "Kurayami no Chōshinsei!" (Darkness Supernova) Ryuuga stepped back and performed a side-kick, sending the orb against the two of them at high speed.

“Silver Magnum!” Shadow spoke, as she opened her right hand and a silver colored laser gun. “FurÄ«zubÄ«to.” (Freeze Beat) She pressed the trigger multiple times, and the gun fired multiple laser beams, which apparently froze the flames of the orb.

“What the-?! How do you freeze fire?” Ryuuga asked, surprised.

“You freeze the air around it and extinguish it. The ice ball is empty inside.” Kurogon explained, clearing any physics contradiction.

“Golden Magnum!” Ray opened his left hand and a golden colored gun, one very similar to the one Moonlight Shadow held in hers. “HÄ«tokurasshu!” (Heat Crush) He pressed the trigger just as many times Shadow did, and fired multiple iron-made hot bullets, which shattered the frozen orb into pieces. Some bullets passed through it and flew towards Ryuuga.

“Time for my new tactic! Doragon Mein!” (Dragon Mane) Ryuuga quickly jumped and landed on his hands. He spun around, somewhat similar to a break dancer, and his feet began to release purple flames, which circled around him and acted as a shield, melting the bullets rather easily. Ryuuga then stopped and the flames disappeared, showing him standing on his feet as normal. He looked up and grinned, glaring at the crystals. “Since I couldn’t get the buggy guy’s powers, I’ll get yours instead!” his desire took over and he pulled back his leg, similar to as if he was about to kick a soccer ball. “Doragon Rongu Kurō!” (Dragon Long Claw) He kicked forward with a flame engulfed foot, shooting up the flame in a curved claw shape which flew towards Shadow and Ray.

“Wing of Justice!” Shadow placed herself in front of Ray and a metallic thick silver wing-shaped armor piece appeared. She placed her arm in front of her body and the flames hit the wing, easily blocking the attack.

“Mine, mine, mine, MINE!”

“Eh?” Moonlight Shadow took a peek over her shield and was scared to see Ryuuga right in front of her, ready to perform a heel-drop kick against her right shoulder.

“Doragon Kurō!” (Dragon Claw)

“No!”

Before Shadow could react, her partner placed himself in front of her, arms opened wide, intercepting the attack.

Ryuuga fell down back to the ground, as Ray held his right shoulder in pain.

“Why the hell did you do that?!”

“He was about to steal your powers!”

“But…” she looked away, hiding a slight blush. “You don’t need to get hurt because of me…” she bit her bottom lip. “Let’s get out of here.”

“What? Already?”

“Wait! Really?!” Ryuuga asked, somewhat annoyed.

“Yes.”

“Alright.” Ray spoke, placing his hands behind his head. “You’re the one calling the shots, after all.”

“Hey! No fair! Up until now it has only been short battles! I demand one that lasts!”

“Too bad, Dark Star.” Radiant Ray spoke, as he and Moonlight Shadow disappeared.

“God damn it, I can’t believe this!” Ryuuga kicked a nearby wall, nearly breaking it.

“C-Clam down, Ryuuga!”

-_-_-_-_-

"Yo! We're back!"

"Oh! Taiyou, Getsuki, how was your little battle?" Kagerou asked, as the two of them turned back to normal.

The boy, named Taiyou, still had the golden amber eyes, but his hair was pitch black. He wore dark jeans, a golden colored t-shirt with the words "Bright like the Sun, and much Hotter!" Written in white, and a white shirt, opened up and with the sleeves rolled up.

The girl, named Getsuki, kept her silver colored eyes, but her hair lost its glow and became lighter, turning into a white color. She wore a white silk blouse over a grey t-shirt. She wore thigh-length silver shorts and white socks that almost reached her knees.

"You weren't watching?" Getsuki wondered, aware about the Colorless spying on them lately.

"The Prism Bastard hasn't made any more, and he has been gone for a while now." Kagerou informed, crossing his arms in mid-sentence.

"Still with a grudge about the dice?" Hami asked, somewhat curious regarding the nickname Kagerou had gotten for their colleague.

"A little bit."

"Well, life is made of up and downs." Taiyou spoke, as he approached his teammate. He placed a hand on Kagerou's shoulder a and smiled, showing his teeth, closing one eye and making a thumbs-up with the other. "I'm pretty sure you'll find more die sooner or later!"

Kagerou was somewhat confused and surprised at first, but then smiled back. "Thanks, dude."

"No worries." Taiyou replied, as he walked back to Getsuki. And that's when Hami noticed...

"Wait, why are you bleeding?"

"Hm?"

"Your right shoulder." She indicated, pointing at it. Taiyou, unaware of the wound, turned his head to the right and found blood stains on his shirt.

"Oh, this? Nothing much. The Dark Star fella managed to hit me pretty hard, nothing to worry."

Getsuki looked surprised, and then blushed, holding her right shoulder with a look of guilt.

"He got hurt because of me..."

-_-_-_-_-_-

Meanwhile, in the Shibuya station...

A lonely girl stood out from the crowd. She wore bulky black headphones and a school uniform, and she appeared to be... Sick.

How do I put this... Sick of life, that is.

She waited for the train to continue a monotonous life. Her dark hair waved, warning her that an air current approached. She turned her head and her pure green eyes noticed that the train approached the station. It would be there in a minute.

"You've given up on life, haven't you?"

A male voice came from behind her. Probably from an adult. She was somewhat surprised, but decided to answer him.

"Yes?"

"No purpose, no hopes, no one special?"

"Nothing..."

"Then... Do I have your consentment?"

The girl was surprised. The man read her like a like a simple 2 page long book. The idea had pondered over her head, but she never had the courage to do it.

"I was never able to do it. Please, help me."

The man smirked. "My pleasure..."

The train was very close. She have a little smile and spoke. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She felt a strong yet soft push pressed against her back, making her fall off the platform...

The train stopped in front of the station right after the disturbing sound of flesh and bone echoing throughout the area. People screamed, panicking regarding the incident, obviously. But what disturbed them the most was the wide smile the deceased girl had on her face…

The man took advantage of this and walked out of the crowd. He entered the bathroom inside the station after checking no one was inside. A grayish flash appeared inside the bathroom, and it soon became deserted...

9: Chapter 9 – Color Mixture

Daisuke replaced a bandage around his arm. It might have taken the whole day and many packs of blood, but he managed to calm down Kozume.

"You're feeling better, Kozume?"

"I-I guess so... I'm sorry for biting you..." Kozume spoke, cuddling around Raion. She felt somewhat guilty, and the fright still hadn't left her body. She still had a shiver of fear every once in a while.

"It's okay. I just hope it won't get infected. It’s possible despite all the disinfection. ...I need to lie down."

"I think you lost too much blood..." Kozume guessed, as Daisuke fell on the couch, quickly falling asleep. Of course, she became worried. Despite her bite being small due to her small jaw, Daisuke bled quite a bit, not to mention the fact that he gained a life-long scar.

“Don’t worry. Male adults can live without one and a half liters of blood in emergency cases. You drank only a bit. But I do need to… lie down…”

-_-_-_-_-_-

Meanwhile, it’s about time I reveal where exactly Hami, Kagerou and the others reunite in.

They get together in a palace-like structure in a secret location and area. It was the evening, the skies dark with the absence of the sun.

It mostly consisted of a very large main room and the bedrooms of the members of the ‘Colored Alliance’, which was under the leadership of three characters whose identities hadn’t been revealed yet.

“Hey, why do you wear those…?” Kagerou asked, as he poked the head of their absolute leader, who wore the red colored cloak.

“Please stop that, Kagerou-kun.”

“But I’m older than you.”

“Hmph.” The girl removed her red cloak and showed her appearance to the audience once and for all.

Her eyes were of a bright red color, almost like the color of blood of a small wound under bright sunlight. Her hair was of a burgundy color, and reached halfway through her back, loosened beautifully, with a couple of bangs over her forehead. Upon removing the cloak completely, she showed her true outfit: a red sleeveless t-shirt with the drawing of a crow over her stomach; a pair of rather short black shorts; as for footwear, she wore long brown boots.

“Happy, Kagerou?”

“Well, you are indeed a cutie.” Kagerou spoke cockily.

“But Hikari put so much effort into these cloaks.” The girl with red eyes stated, feeling somewhat guilty.

“Don’t worry, Akemi-chan.” The figure in the yellow cloak spoke, as she removed it, showing a bright pure smile. “We only have to use these when we don’t want to be seen. In here, you don’t need to use them just for me…” she informed, as she removed the cloak completely.

She possessed yellow bright eyes, and her hair was of a blue color, long and loosened, reaching her waist with ease. She wore a cyan colored dress, with multiple tones of blue throughout the silk. But what called everyone’s attention was the yellow colored crystal on her forehead.

“Well, I guess I’ll join the cloak free club.” The boy in the blue cloak also removed his cloak.

He possessed deep blue sharp eyes and black short hair, which was multiple times attempted to become spiky, but with no luck besides a couple of slightly raised up bangs. He wore a blue trench-coat with the sleeves rolled up and the image of a Chinese Yellow Dragon on the back, along with multiple Japanese characters that constructed the sentence ‘Men must be cool. Boiling water turns into vapor.’, a dark grey t-shirt underneath the jacket, and wore knee-length black shorts.

“That’s more like it, Ryuuji-sama.” Taiyou and Kagerou spoke in unison, making a thumbs up at the boy who had removed the cloak. He sweatdropped, of course.

“Please don’t call me that…” Ryuuji asked, placing a palm over his face.

“Why not?” The girl in the dress who had been called Hikari asked, as she walked towards Ryuuji. “Kinda makes you sound… cool.”

He chuckled. “Thanks, hon’.” He spoke, as he closed in and planted a soft kiss over her lips. After that, a slight blush appeared on both of their faces, and they gazed at each other’s eyes. He placed his hands around her waist, and she placed hers on the back of his neck, touching the embedded blue crystal on the nape.

“Please get a room, you two.” Hami and Getsuki spoke in unison, both with their arms crossed, eyes closed, looking down in an attempt to hide their expressions of jealousy. Not jealousy over Hikari for being Ryuji’s girlfriend, but rather the fact that she had a boyfriend to begin with.

“What’s the matter with a little bit of PDA?” Ryuuji asked to the observers.

“PDA?” Akemi asked, somewhat confused.

“Public Displays of Affection.” Hikari clarified.

“The problem is that it makes us jealous!” Hami and Getsuki yelled, leaving Taiyou astonished.

“Wow. Unison speech twice in a row.”

“Well, if you insist…” Ryuuji bent down and placed a hand behind Hikari’s knees, raising her up in a princess-like fashion. She blushed, surprised at the event, but smiled again with a bright blush appearing once more. He leaned in and kissed her once more, as she placed her hands again behind his neck. Ryuuji then walked out of the main room, as Hikari giggled.

Hami and Getsuki glared at the two of them, jealousy climbing up their spines. Akemi sweatdropped at this and tried to come up with a way to calm them down as quickly as possible. “H-How about some tea? Anyone interested?”

The users of the Green, Copper, Gold and Silver Crystals all raised their hands. This surprised Akemi since it worked so fast, but she didn’t complain.

-_-_-_-_-_-

The five of them sat in front of a short table, one on each side with the exception of Taiyou and Getsuki, who were obligated to sit next to each other. Akemi poured into the teacups oolong tea, and they began to drink it afterwards in silence. Until…

“Hey, where’s the Prism Bastard?”

“Stop calling him that!” Hami slapped the back of Kagerou’s head, sick of insulting one of her teammates.

“What? You’re going to tell him that he isn’t?”

“W-Well… His…” Hami was lost at words.

“Hobby.” Akemi informed, giving something to her subordinate.

“Yes! As I was saying, his hobby might be… unusual, but could be worse.”

“For once, I have to agree with Kagerou.” Getsuki informed. “His ‘hobby’ is sick. He is sick…”

“Wait, isn’t he bringing happiness to people?” Taiyou asked, stirring up the discussion.

“I will not interfere.” Akemi informed, as she placed her teacup on her lips. “If he is like this, then there’s no point in trying to change him. He has to change for himself.”

“But what he is doing is horrible!” Getsuki yelled, somewhat infuriated.

“Oh, calm down you…” Taiyou placed a hand beneath her chin and made her look at him. He fixed a gaze onto her confused eyes, along with a cocky grin. She blushed at first, but then realized what was happening and frowned at him.

“What the heck are you doing?!”

*DOSU*

Taiyou moved to the corner of the table, holding the back of his head in pain, while Getsuki calmly took a sip of her tea.

“But, again, isn’t he bringing happiness, even if in a rather weird way?”

“You’re giving him waaayyy too much credit, Hami-san.” Kagerou replied, as he glued his lips to the teacup. But suddenly…

“I apologize if my work doesn’t please everyone.”

“WAAAAAHHHHH!” Kagerou dropped his cup, spilling the tea abruptly not only into his mouth, but also onto his lap. “HOT! HOT! HOOOOOT!!!”

“Calm down, Kagerou!!” Buzz, his partner, requested, worried for him.

“GYAAAHHHhhhhh…” Kagerou made his best in order to calm down. “WHAT THE HELL, PRISM BASTARD!?”  And threw his calmness out the window, full force.

“I apologize, but that insult is starting to get old, Mister Oniyamma Kagerou. If you just forgot my name, I can remind you of it. I’m Kyoukan Datenshi.”

He was an adult man, around 30 years old. His hair was pure black and short. His eyes were grayish, and he wore simply a white button shirt and black trousers. His eyes appeared somewhat lively, and he decided to sit down next to Akemi.

“Mind if I join in, Miss Enrei Akemi?”

“Certainly, Datenshi-kun.”

“But I’m older…” he spoke, confused by the 17 years old teen, but he ignored it after. “Are Miss Hikari Kiba and Mister Tōjin Ryuuji in their room?”

“They were shooed away by Getsuki and Hami.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Miss Garagara Hami, Miss Getsuki Lunedi, envy is a deadly sin.”

“D-Don’t say my full name!” Getsuki spoke, blushing out of embarrassment. Taiyou and the others were somewhat wide-eyed in surprise.

“Wait, your given name is ‘Lunedi’?!” Taiyou asked, surprised by the revelation.

“How did you find out anyway?!”

“How else? Through the reflection world.”

“You’ve been spying on us?!”

“No… Just amusing myself.” Datenshi spoke with a smirk, as he took a sip.

“Grrr…” Getsuki growled, making her best in order to keep calm and collected.

“Lunedi… quite a cute name.” Taiyou whispered to himself, low enough so he wouldn’t get caught. “Don’t you think, Atataka?”

Telepathically, he communicated with his female bird-shaped partner. Atataka represented the beast that could be best described as the ‘Solar Bird’. “I agree.”

“God, I’m so embarrassed right now…” Getsuki thought to herself, somewhat in panic.

“Do not worry. Everybody will forget about it sooner or later.”

“…You really think so, Ginyoku?”

Getsuki calmed down as she talked to her male bird-shaped partner. Ginyoku was almost like a double of Atataka, but instead of being of a golden color, he was of a silver one. If he had to be named after a beast in humanistic terms, it would be probably named the ‘Lunar Bird’.

“Hey, where’s the hyperactive gal? Haven’t seen here around here lately.” Kagerou confessed, as he tried to clean the tea off his body.

“Oh. She’s in her part-time job.”

“And talking about job, how was your little killing today, Datenshi-san?” Getsuki asked, trying to make the conversation turn back to the previous topic.

“Quite well, actually! There’s no better job as being a serial killer, I might say.”

“Ok, I get the part you only killing people that want to die.” Kagerou interjected. “But why do you do it in such flashy ways?!”

“The more attention they get, the wider, brighter and thankful is their smile. What makes me the happiest is seeing the wide smiles of young thankful girls. Seeing gives of this feeling… Almost, you could say… almost…”

The others closed in in curiosity, in order to listen what Datenshi was about to say.

“…orgasmic.”

“Gaahhh…!” Getsuki and Kagerou grunted in unison, as Datenshi ignored them and placed a tea cup on his lips.

“At least don’t say it so proudly!” Hami demanded.

Taiyou was the less disgusted in the group, not counting the collected Akemi. “Wow. Who knew you were a Necrophiliac?”

“I am not attracted to diseased people, mind you. Sure, it’s not normal, but it certainly isn’t the same as necrophilia.”

“Excuse me, but can we change the subject.” Akemi, in the end, couldn’t be comfortable talking about unconventional sexual orientations. She wasn’t against them, but hey, would you feel comfortable talking about necrophilia out of the blue?

-_-_-_-_-_-

The following day, Ryuuga left his home early in order to drink a milkshake at a nearby café for his breakfast.

While at it, he bought a newspaper, solely because the headlines called his attention.

“SV Serial Killer strikes once more. Yesterday, a school girl was killed in the Shibuya Station in the afternoon. The apparently random M.O. of this serial killer might be somewhat controversial, but the police believes that this is related to him due to the three key factors that never change in his/her killings: 1 – the crime scene was left with virtuously no clues in order to determine the killer’s identity; 2 – it was a crime committed in a public area witnessed by many despite no one seeing the culprit and ‘eye-catcher’; 3 – the victim died with a ‘thankful’ smile.” Ryuuga read, picking Kurogon’s interest.

“Ryuuga, what’s a serial killer?”

“It’s basically a person that kills people and has murdered at least three other people.”

“What’s an M.O.?”

“Modus Operandi. Basically, serial killers normally have a constant method to kill their victims, but this bastard decided to be all random.”

“I see…”

“This guy has been out for almost half a year now. Like I read, the only things its killings have in common is that he likes to call attention, the people he kills die with a smile, and he doesn’t leave clues behind despite doing everything in plain public view.”

Ryuuga stood up and threw the newspaper into the nearby garbage can. He began to walk through the little narrow hall in order to exit, until he crossed a short girl wearing a white dress, with auburn long hair and amber eyes. At first, nothing crossed their minds, both his and Kozume’s, who was taking a walk in the morning. But suddenly, before they left the narrow hallway, their eyes widened as their brains clicked, and they turned around, but they didn’t recognize each other again… They turned back around and continued walking forward.

Kozume looked down as she wondered. “Where have I seen those eyes before…?”

Ryuuga placed a hand underneath his chin. “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that nice ass before… But where?”

10: Chapter 10 – Blue Story – Yellow Tale

*CLINK*

"Don’t you think this is a bit too fancy, Ryuuji dear?”

“For us? We used to breathe fancy. The only difference is the romance factor.”

“True.”

Ryuuji and Hikari drank from their champagne glasses. It was a dark night, but the lights of the city made it easy to see. Ryuuji and Hikari had gone to Paris, to spend a couple of days in a love hotel.

They were at the restaurant of the hotel, being the youngest couple in the area, both being at 17 years of age. It was somewhat weird, but they didn’t mind. Though, Hikari was stared at a lot due to the crystal on her forehead, but people didn’t ask any questions.

For dinner, Hikari asked for the Seafood Salad, while Ryuuji asked for the veal, which came with rice, roasted potatoes, and some salad on the side.

“Are you sure our parents won’t find out?” Hikari asked, somewhat concerned.

“We paid everything in cash, and we are pretty far from Japan. Not to mention the fake names.” Ryuuji assured, as a he placed a hand over hears, making her turn up her gaze towards his eyes. “We’re going to be ok. Don’t worry.”

“O-Ok…”

Staying in such a location made Hikari remember the previous years of her life. She swirled the champagne inside the delicate cup gently, looking at the translucent liquid as she closed her eyes and had her memories rush through her brain.

-_-_-_-_-

Both Hikari and Ryuuji were from wealthy families. They were from separate ones, of course. They belonged to two of four company families, the four most wealthy and successful in Japan since 2019.

In order to make a union between them, they decided to promise the next owners of the company to each other’s. But Hikari was not promised to Ryuuji. Instead, she was selected to marry a boy named Hiroyuki, and Ryuuji was supposed to marry a girl named Hideko.

The four of them knew since childhood. Since the families wanted them to unite the companies, they thought it would best if they did so. The plan was to unite all the companies by making Ryuuji and Hideko’s supposed offspring to marry Hikari and Hiroyuki’s.

So, you could say Ryuuji and Hikari were supposed to be childhood friends. And they were. But the problem was exactly that: while they were supposed to be bonding with their future spouses, they were bonding between the two of them.

Throughout many years, they’ve been best friends, even if pulled away from each other multiple times either by their spouses or parents. But they continued being friends as they grew up. Eventually, when puberty hit, they began to feel attracted to one another, of course, in secrecy. They continued on as friends, but their supposed spouses would continue to cling onto them.

One night, in order to celebrate the upcoming marriages (when Ryuuji and Hikari were 16 years old), the companies organized a party at the ball-room of a famous hotel that had a partnership with Hideko’s company.

While everybody laughed happily, Ryuuji and Hikari had to fake their smiles. They were somewhat bored, feeling no emotion whatsoever. Ryuuji said that he wanted to catch some fresh air. Upon seeing him leave, Hikari decided to follow him, giving the same excuse as he had.

“Haaa… Finally, I can breathe!”

Hikari giggled, which scared him and made him turn around. “You never change, do you?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, much more relaxed now.

Hikari approached him slowly. “Even when we were little kids, if you were closed in for so long, you would either beg for someone to open a window or go outside.”

“True… How’s Hiroyuki?”

“Boring as always and with an annoying laugh.” Hikari confessed, as she sat down on a nearby bench. Ryuuji decided to sit down next to her, in order to rest. “And what about Hideko?”

“I don’t usually swear, but she’s a horrible bitch. She almost forced me to have sex with her the other day.”

“WHAT?!” Hikari blushed a bit, mostly because of the surprise from the information.

“My parents saved me when they walked in. Nothing had happened yet, but she became shy after that. And thank god.”

“Jesus…” Hikari sighed. “Why they hell did they match us up like this? Why couldn’t those two be together and the two of us…” Hikari blushed and didn’t complete the sentence.

“It has something to do with the similarities of the companies, or some crap like that...” Ryuuji deduced, still somewhat negative regarding the night.

“Nee, Ryuuji…”

“What is it?”

“Do you like me?”

“Of course I like you, what kind of question is-”

“No… I mean really, really like me.” She clarified, taking Ryuuji aback a little bit. “Hideko is obviously prettier than me, and my parents keep saying that I should be more like her. You just said that you hated her, so… I don’t think you would like me.” Hikari informed, with a sad smile across her face. She looked down to her hands in nervousness. “You know perfectly well that I like you more than I should… I’m no master of disguise. But I want to know… if you like me the same way, even if the answer is most certainly-”

“Yes.”

“Eh?” she sprung up in complete surprise, with a blush spread across her face. “You’re lying…”

“No I’m not.” Ryuuji stood up as well and swiftly took her hands into his, placing them together. Hikari looked up and met his serious blue eyes, stunning her. “I like you more than I should as well. I… always have…” he was nervous, just like his trembling lip indicated. “You’ve always been… amazing. You’re nice, much nicer than Hideko. And much more beautiful…”

“R-Really?”

“Yes…”

“Then… prove it.”

“Eh? How do I do that?”

“You really need me to tell you…?” Hikari pouted, and slightly puckered her lips. Ryuuji blushed intensely, never having kissed a girl before (he always managed to dodge Hideko’s bullets), but seeing that Hikari’s body was shivering, made him somewhat more comfortable. At least she was feeling the same. He took his hands and placed them on her cheeks and jawlines gently. He leaned in and used his hands in order to make her approach him as well. Their lips touched, and Hikari suddenly pulled back, but Ryuuji didn’t let her. He knew she was just scared. He leaned in again and locked his lips onto hers. Their blushes calmed down as each second passed, and they separated soon after. They looked at each other, nervous at first, but then smiled. Ryuuji chuckled and Hikari couldn’t help but to giggle.

“How was it?”

“Simply… perfect.” Hikari admitted, as she passed away with a smile. She looked up towards the dark sky, feeling like the luckiest person in the world. But then her smirk vanished… “We won’t be able to stay together, will we?”

“Eh? What do you- oh…”

They knew their parents wouldn’t allow it, and that despite being in pain before, they would be much more in pain every time they saw each other after that moment.

“God damn it… WHY?!” Hikari yelled towards the sky. “I LOVE RYUUJI, SO WHY CAN’T I STAY WITH HIM?! WHY DO I HAVE TO MARRY A HORNY ANNOYING BRAT THAT ONLY MAKES DIRTY JOKES, AND WHY DOES HE HAVE TO STAY WITH A BITCH WITH DIVA SYNDROME?!” she yelled towards the sky, not able to think properly, losing all composure. Ryuuji was surprised by this, but that didn’t stop him from approaching from behind and hug her, placing his hands on her stomach.

“Shhh… Calm down… if you shout any louder, they might hear us…”

“But… I want to be with you…”

Hikari turned her head and they kissed each other’s lips once more. Ryuuji’s feelings were very similar to hers, but with a slight difference.

“Then let’s do it…”

“Eh? Do what?”

“Let’s run away together.”

“EH?!” she jumped in surprise. “What?!”

“Look, it’s either that or never be able to be together. I want to be with you just as bad as you want to be with me without any limitations whatsoever.”

“B-But… where are we going? How are we going to live? What about our parents?”

“Look, I have a plan. It is risky, I won’t lie, but it’s either this or suffering for the rest of our lives.”

“…I’m listening.” She placed her arms around him, embracing his body, showing that she did want to be with him, and was willing to follow his plan.

“This party will last for hours, but we have to be quick. Let’s go home and take as much money as we can, only cash. Two bags: one for the money and another for necessary things. But only the basic. I’ll ride my bike back to your place when I’m ready, so wait for me.”

“Of course…”

“We’ll then go to the bus stop we once had to stay in for a full hour before they picked us up. It has a midnight shift, so we have about 2 hours.”

“Ok…”

“After you prepare your bags, if I’m not there yet, call me. If I’m already there, after you come leave home, we’ll break out phones and burn our cards in out wallet.”

“You really thought this through, didn’t you?”

He chuckled. “I guess. But again, we have to be quick before everyone notices we’re gone. Ignore all phone calls that aren’t mine. Don’t shut it on their faces; let it ring, so they won’t feel suspicious.”

“What about the servants at home? They’ll see me…”

“Say that your father asked you to go back home and get him some stuff, or something like that… They can’t question you, can they?”

“I guess not…”

“If anything goes wrong, just run away to the station and send me a text, all right?”

“Ok…”

“You’re nervous?”

“A lot…”

He chuckled once more. “Me too. Good luck.”

“You too.” She quickly planted a kiss on his lips, and they ran on opposite directions, in order to execute their plan. Though it was a bit hard to Hikari to run with a dress. Luckily, she had not brought high heels.

It didn’t take that long to reach their homes and to mislead the butlers and maids. But inside her room, a doubt occurred to Hikari… She sent a text to Ryuuga.

‘Hey… You think it would be a bad idea if I at least left a goodbye note for my parents?’

‘…I’ll leave one too.’

Hikari smiled and quickly wrote a note apologizing for disappearing without notice. She bag packed as quickly as possible, only putting in her bag hygienic objects, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, and others, and clothing. It looked like a bag she would make if she was about to go on a vacation. She quickly got another backpack and began to collect as much money as she could. She even managed to sneak into the emergency safe of the house and took as much money as she could. She sneaked out without being seen with the bags, with a lot of luck that is.

She met with Ryuuji outside, and after they were sure they were out of sight, they broke their cellphones under their feet and burned their wallets with a couple of matches Ryuuji had brought along. After they put out the fire, Ryuuji and Hikari sat on his bike. He was smart and quickly placed straps on the side of his bike, in order to place the bags in. They managed to reach the bus stop twenty minutes before the midnight shift. Ryuuji hid the bicycle in an alley, next to some garbage cans, just before the bus arrived. The two of them stepped in and paid for the ticket. The bus was almost deserted, which made the two of them feel somewhat relieved. They walked to the back row and sat down, next to each other. Hikari smiled and closed her eyes, the use of adrenaline having finally making her consciousness give up and fall asleep. Her head fell onto his shoulder and he smiled by seeing her lips curved in happiness. He planted a kiss on her lips and closed his eyes as well, but only for a while, since he had to be wary about the road.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Hikari and Ryuuji walked into their bedroom for the night, holding hands. Hikari was amazed by the beautifully decorated luxurious room, but something did take her by surprise.

“O-One bed…?”

“What did you expect? It is a love hotel, and it’s mostly for adults.” Despite his firm speech, Ryuuji was just as nervous, since it would be the first time they slept together in the same bed. Sure, they’ve stayed up until late and accidentally slept side by side, or other similar situations, but they had never done it in that kind of situation. “C’mon, it’s getting late…” Ryuuji spoke, as he moved towards his bag in order to take out some sort of sleep wear. Hikari was going to do the same, sitting on her bed in order to take out her pajamas so she could change in the bathroom, but then…

“Hey, they usually leave chocolates by the pillow in this kind of hotels, right?” she quickly searched for the little treat, making Ryuuji smile from her enthusiasm, but… “Oh god…!”

“What? What happened?” he asked worriedly, quickly turning around. But his reaction was equal to Hikari’s as soon as he saw the object in her hand.

Both of them blushed and began to steam. “This is…”

“…a condom.” Ryuuji finished, as they began to laugh awkwardly in order to disguise the mood the best they could. “Haha… Just put that away and ignore it.” he suggested.

“Sure.” She agreed, laughing as well. But then an idea hit her. “Nee, Ryuuji?”

“Nani…?” he turned and blood rushed up towards his face, making his face turn a deep shade of crimson. “Wh-wh-wh-whaa…?”

Hikari gently held the corner of the condom between her lips, with a cocky smirk, seducing eyes, a light pink blush that showed feelings of love, and posing her arms and body in a seductive manner. She winked at Ryuuji and giggled. “Teehee.”

“What are you doing?”                  

“Tempting ya.” She spoke, making her best to keep the condom from falling. She winked again, which made Ryuuji all the more nervous.

“P-Please don’t tease me.” Ryuuji asked, looking away, scratching his cheek with a single finger.

“Why? What will you do?”

“You really want to know?” Hikari nodded, mostly out of wanting to keep up with the gag.

But before she could blink, Ryuuji threw himself at her and pinned her down against the bed, of course, in a way that wouldn’t hurt her. Halfway through it, she dropped the condom and blushed, somewhat surprised by what her boyfriend had done.

“R-Ryuuji…?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are your hands shaking?” she grinned cockily, making him realize how nervous he was.

“N-No reason!”

“It’s because you can’t follow through with it, isn’t it?”

Ryuuji hesitated, and that was when Hikari put her hands on his shoulders and made them roll to the side, so she would be on top of him. But she froze as well.

Ryuuji noticed this as well. “So it appears you can’t go through it as well!”

“W-Well, at least I can try…”

“Y-You can…? So… you want to…?”

“O-Only if you want to as well!...” they both understood the awkward atmosphere, but then they gazed into each other’s eyes and laughed a bit out of spite. Ryuuji leaned in and kissed the yellow crystal on her forehead. Hikari blushed and then drove her lips into his neck.

“I love you, Hikari…”

“I love you too, Ryuuji.”

They didn’t have any sort of reason to say those words, but, for lack of better words, they just felt like it. They were deeply in love with each other. And sure, they were nervous to do what they intended to, but if they loved each other that much, why wouldn’t they do it?

-_-_-_-_-_-

With their clothes scattered across the floor of the room, Ryuuji and Hikari stared at the ceiling, wearing only their underwear. They had gone through the most amazing experience of their lives so far, and they were genuinely happy, but they still felt somewhat awkward.

“How… How was it…?” Hikari asked, somewhat nervous.

“I… loved it. And you?”

“I… can’t describe it.”

“Maybe painful?” Ryuuji wondered, aware that it was the first time for the two of them.

“Well, at first… Then I think I liked it a bit too much.” She covered her face, making Ryuuji chuckle.

“Awww… Don’t be like that. You just made some faces and said some things I wasn’t really expecting, but I liked them.” He placed a kiss on her shoulder, making her blush even more.

“I can’t believe I acted that way…”

“Don’t be sad, it was… erotic, I guess.” Ryuuji tried to comfort her, but didn’t have the right words.

“E-Erotic?” her blush darkened.

“Hey, hey…” Ryuuji placed his arms around her and pecked her cheek with a kiss. “Don’t be shy. Only I saw them, right?”

“Right…”

“And I won’t tell anyone. After all, I wouldn’t like to share it with others.” Ryuuji chuckled, in a risky attempt to make her feel better.

“You promise?”

“Promise.”

“You really promise?”

He chuckled once more. “I do.”

“Nee… Ryuuji.”

“Yes, Hikari?”

“Kiss me…”

“Hai, hai.”

Ryuuji planted a kiss on her lips as she turned and placed her arms around him. They rolled around a bit in the sheer passion, but they didn’t mind. They didn’t mind at all...

11: Chapter 11 – Orange Doubling

"You're going out on a date? With who? Airyu?" Kurogon asked, rather curious regarding Ryuuga's activities for the night.

"Nah. She's busy with application stuff and getting things ready for college today. I'm going out with... Damn it, I keep forgetting her name. I think it was Rikkutsu or something like that."

"Who is she?"

"She's the student's council busty president of my year. I want to sleep with her." Ryuuga explained, rather bluntly, which left Kurogon rather astonished.

"Umm... When you say "sleep with her" you mean "perform sex with her", right?"

"Straight on." Ryuuga answered, as he placed his phone and wallet inside his pockets and walked into the bathroom.

"Why so?"

"Because she's hot! My kind of hot!" Ryuuga answered from inside the bathroom, while he made the final touches to his hair and others.

"And what exactly qualifies her as "hot" per say?" Kurogon had no idea in what "attractiveness" consisted of.

"Beautiful face, big tits and a round ass." Ryuuga didn't help much with his blunt answers.

"Wait, doesn't Airyu fit in those parameters?"

"Well, she does, but I already explained why I don't like her that way." Ryuuga exited the bathroom and quickly left his house. "Oh! Almost forgot! Kurogon, go into the crystal. I don't feel the need of stupid people asking questions."

"Of course." Kurogon withdrew himself through the closed door into the crystal through the stream of energy connected to his partner's chest as Ryuuga locked the door with his keys. It was around 6:30 PM, and Ryuuga walked calmly towards the place he agreed to meet his date in.

"Oh, Kurogon, if I do manage to sleep with her, I would like if you stayed unconscious inside the crystal. I don't want voices in my mind bothering me and ruining my performance."

"I-I understand." He didn't.

But it was right then that something rather surprising happened. A female voice spoke, coming from behind him.

"Excuse me mister, but you're the one that goes by the name "Dark Star", right?"

Ryuuga's eyes widened in surprised for a moment, but then his expression to the point where he grinned maniacally. Communicating telepathically with Kurogon, he said:

"Let's transform. NOW!"

"On it!"

Ryuuga transformed in a flash and took no time to enter action.

"Doragon Mein!" (Dragon Mane)

Spiraling dark flames surrounded him and spread around, in an attempt to hit the person right behind him.

"Whoa! Hey, time out! No flames!"

"Eh?" Ryuuga's flames disappeared and he turned around becoming rather surprised at the sight.

It was a girl, possibly around his age. Her round eyes were of an orange color and her hair was of a similar lighter tone. Her clothes consisted of a dark bluish tank top and skorts of the same color (for those who don’t know, basically it’s a combination of shorts and a skirt). Her top was short enough to expose her navel. What stood out the most was the orange colored crystal embedded into her bellybutton. Bandages were wrapped around her thighs and upper arms. Her hands wore fingerless bluish gloves. Her hair was short, styled in a ponytail.

“What the…?”

“Look, if we’re going to have a fair fight, flames are not allowed. So is biting, by the way.” The girl posed in a battle stance, similar to that of a boxer. Ryuuga was just dumbfounded.

“The hell is wrong with you?” he asked, as a purplish dark flame surrounded his right fist. “I do whatever the hell I want! Doragon Fangu!” (Dragon Fang) He dashed forward with his opened palm and stiffed finger leaving behind a trail of flames, ready to scratch her.

“I hate when they don’t follow the rules…” the girl muttered. As Ryuuga came closer to her, she bent her knees, which sent orange colored energy down her legs to her feet and making her jump incredibly high backwards, dodging Ryuuga’s attack with ease. She landed no so far from him and bent her legs again, this time leaning her body towards him, with a cocky grin spread across her face. “Take this!” She jumped forward with amazing speed.

Ryuuga’s eyes widened right before she slammed a closed fist against his face and pushing him back. “AW, GODDAMN IT, YOU HIT ME IN THE FACE!” Ryuuga held his face and slightly rolled around in pain. “YOU FUCKING BITCH!”

“Hey, don’t hate the player. Hate the game.” The girl replied, as he stood up properly, bleeding from his nose.

“Grr… Alright, I’ll play your little game. But by my rules!” Ryuuga grinned maniacally and his hands and feet became coated by flames. “Your power will be mine!”

“Fighter Gloves!” Red bulky metal-made gloves appeared over her hands, and she punched his flame covered fist, stopping Ryuuga. Ryuuga attempted to make a side kick, but she managed to block with the gloves once more.

Ryuuga spoke as they fought, the girl constantly blocking his attacks and Ryuuga dodging the punches she threw. “Damn it… Look, you’re a hot chick and everything, but I want to get laid tonight, and getting on time for the date is a good start.”

“Wait, what?! What time is it?!” she stopped fighting and jumped back, looking for a clock. “Oh no, I’m late! Can we finish this another day?”

“…Eh?” Ryuuga asked, somewhat dumbfounded.

“I’m glad you understand. Thank you! Tag out, Skippy!”

Suddenly, her body transformed into orange energy and it flew away at amazing speed.

“What the-?! What the hell did she just do?!”

“Hmm… Must be her unique ability.” Kurogon deduced.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe her crystal has the ability to teleport or something of the sort.”

“Hmm… Oh yeah! My date!”

“Wait, at least let me make you turn back to normal!”

-_-_-_-_-

“Thanks, Skippy.”

“You’re welcome.” A Kangaroo shaped energy being spoke with the girl who just teleported to miles away from the spot she currently found herself in. Energy surrounded and she came out of the dark alley, revealing her true form: a young 16 year old girl with orange bright eyes, bluish dark hair, wearing an orange colored tracksuit and holding a backpack over her shoulders. She quickly jogged through the streets while communicating with her partner. Her hair, unlike before, was long, but still styled in a ponytail.

“Skippy, you think I’ll be caught?”

“Hey, they haven’t caught you the last gazillion times. What makes you think they will now?”

“True… But I hope the show won’t last longer than usual. I have kickboxing training tomorrow in the morning.”

The girl approached a café through the backdoor. A security man apparently stood by the door.

“Oh! Hi Tooka-chan. Here for work already?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t change at home, so I had to come early in order to change.”

“Alright. Please, come in.” the man opened the door and she entered the café. This café in particular would allow people to perform. Guitar playing, and others of the sort.

Tooka, or to be more specific, Baizou Tooka, also known as the Orange Crystal User, would perform in this café every other night. What was her talent, you might ask? Well…

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a round of applause for Baizou Tooka!”

The café owner stepped out of the stage as the curtains opened up and the spotlight focused on the 16 year old girl who had her eyes closed and wore skin tight jeans and a very, very short orange colored top decorated in gold. Golden jewelry decorated her slender body and beautiful dark hair.

As the foreign music began to echo out of the stereo set, she began to move her body rhythmically. The focus of the dance was on relaxed, natural isolations of the torso muscles, rather than on movements of the limbs through space like many Western dance forms. Her elegance, her poses, her blissful smile, these were all eye catchers for the audience. The Orange Crystal embedded on her bellybutton was a perfect combination for this kind of dance.

Wait a minute…

Why would a belly-dancer have kick box training in the morning of the next day?!

-_-_-_-_-

“Damn it, what a blabbermouth.” Ryuuga threw his jacket onto his couch has he turned on the TV. “The only benefit of tonight was that I got to grope her.”

Apparently, his date didn’t go as well as he wanted it to go. Kurogon emerged out of the crystal.

“You said you would sleep with her tonight, right?”

“She wants to wait for the third date. Stupid American tradition. Plus, I never got to catch the powers of that boxer chick.”

“And apparently smoking a cigarette right at the start didn’t help much either.” Kurogon spoke, having noticed some flaws from Ryuuga’s part. “Oh, and, Ryuuga… Do you remember her name?”

“Eh?” Ryuuga’s eyes widened for a moment. “God damn it, I used a trick to get her to say her name and everything, just to end up forgetting!” Ryuuga placed his hands on his head and passed them through his hair. “Well, maybe I should focus on other girls.”

“Like Airyu?”

“Not happening. Stop trying to make us a couple. And the same goes for the readers! It’s not happening!”

12: Chapter 12 – Illusionary Rose

An illusion is something that deceits us, right? But what if we are not aware of the illusion? If we keep thinking that what is deceiving us is the truth, and we never find out, does the illusion become the truth? So, taking these questions into account, how can we be sure that anything is true at all?

This is the question that hovered over the head of a 24 year old woman every single morning. Her name, you ask?

-RIIIING!-

"Moshi-Moshi, this Nekome Sakushi, how may I help?" The woman with rose colored eyes and brownish-blonde short hair that wore glasses on her forehead, a pink plain shirt and white shorts, asked, after she placed the phone on her ear. “Oh. It’s you dad… I’m ok, yeah, nothing special. Life’s just as normal. …No, I’m still unemployed. I’ve been looking for a job, but nothing really jumps out, you know? …No, I don’t need a loan. If I ever need one, you’ll be the first to know. And how are you and mom? Are you enjoying Okinawa? …..I see. Well, I have to go now. I have some chores to do. Alright, bye. Talk to you another time.”

She hung up the phone and sighed, placing her head over the newspaper she was reading before on the kitchen table of her cramped and rather small apartment. Suddenly, through her clothing, a pink light began to glow from a point between her kidneys. A string of pink energy emerged from it, and it began to shape itself like a cat.

“Are you ok, Sakuashi?”

“I’m ok, Momo, just a bit frustrated… I don’t feel like working in jobs I don’t like…”

“I could sense that. But what exactly do you like to do?”

“You’ll laugh…”

“I won’t. Now, what exactly is your passion?”

“…I like making people fall in love with each other. You know, like cupid.”

“Cupid? Who is he?”

“Well, it’s a fictional angel that shoots arrows at people and makes them fall in love with the first person they see.”

“Wait, if he shoots arrows at them, how do they survive long enough to fall in love with someone?”

“It’s a metaphor, you silly kitten.” Sakushi giggled, as she miserably failed at patting her friend’s head. Since she was made of energy, Sakuashi’s hand passed right through Momo’s body. “Well, let’s get to the interesting work.”

“Agreed.”

Sakushi stood up and moved towards the living room, sitting in front of a desk. She took out a drawer and took out the notebook and mechanical pencil that were placed inside before. Then, she took out the contents of yet another drawer, which was full of colored dice. Placing her glasses over her eyes, she opened the notebook and started writing down and registering everything she could understand through the dice she had collected.

“Alright, so, again, you can tell which ones are Main Dice and which ones are Secondary Dice, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Ok, so… we have 21 dice in total. Through them, we can figure out what the other Users’ Beasts and Combos they have.”

“Correct again.”

“Well, I’ve been postponing it, but it’s finally time I start this little project.”

Sakushi and Momo worked throughout the hour, writing down all she could have figured out through the dice. The result was this:

20 Colors – 1 Main Beast + 2 Secondary Beasts (Dice)

- Red - ??? + Salamandra + ???

- Yellow - ??? + ??? + ???

- Blue - ??? + ??? + ???

- Green – Snake (only known; no die; Sonic has it) + Chameleon + ???

- Orange - Kangaroo + Panda + ???

- Purple - ??? + Hammerhead-Shark + ???

- Brown - ??? + Golem + ??? (Sonic has it)

- Black - Dragon + Hydra + Wyvern (Sonic has it)

- White - Tiger + Panther + ???

- Gray - ??? + Crow + Bat

- Violet - ??? + Electric Eel + Crab (Sonic has it)

- Gold – Solar Bird (only known; no die) + Falcon + ???

- Silver – Lunar Bird (only known; no die) + Owl + ???

- Copper - Dragonfly + Kabuto + ???

- Indigo - ??? + Toad + ???

- Pink - Cat + ??? + ???

- Prism - ??? + Spider + Scorpion

- Ruby - ??? + ??? + ???

- Sapphire - ??? + ??? + ???

- Emerald - ??? + ??? + ???

“We’ve made excellent progress.” Sakushi said to herself, as she stretched her body so she would feel much more comfortable, after being a long time in the same leaning position. “I guess we should scout a bit too.”

“Hmm…”

“What’s the matter, Momo?” she asked as she opened the window of her apartment and sat down on the edge, facing the outside world.

“You’re somewhat of a bystander, aren’t you?”

“I guess you could say that, yes.” She admitted. “Now… let’s go.”

“On it.” Momo disappeared and suddenly Sakushi became surrounded in pink energy. She jumped onto the stairs connected to the ceiling as her transformed figure began to take shape.

While her eyes remained the same, her hair became pure pink, and increased in length, though only by a bit, reaching her shoulders. She gained cat ears, and two lines painted on her cheeks, kind of like an arrow. She wore a tight sweater-like clothing, but with very large and loosened sleeves, enough to disguise her hands inside them with ease. It didn’t really have a back side except for a couple of stripes of cloth that connected the side of the sweater. Her pink crystal placed on her lower back could be seen, but right beneath it appeared a long pink cat tail. She also wore tight trouser-like clothing as well.

“M.K. Claws.” She spoke, as a three clawed metallic object emerged from her sleeves, one for each. Using her metallic claws, she quickly climbed up the stairs from the outside, quickly reaching the roof. She then ran through the ceiling and jumped onto the following building.

-_-_-_-_-

“Ahh… I wish there were more Colorless…” Ryuuga confessed to himself, as his partner connected to his hair collected the Colored Essence of the minions that they happened to encounter.

“You…”

“Eh?” Ryuuga turned, finding a familiar entity. “Oh! The albino chick with the nice ass!”

“Grrr… Stop calling me that!!!” Kozume barked, already transformed. “I’m here to rip you apart for stealing me my first kiss, you bastard!”

“…Not interested.”

“E-Eh?!” she sweatdropped. “WHY?!”

“I already took your powers for myself. Why the hell would I waste my time on you?”

“…So you only fight if there is something in it for you?”

“You got it.” Ryuuga crossed his arms. Kozume thought for a moment, and suddenly came up with an idea that plays with his weakness.

“If you beat me, I’ll let you tap it.”

“YOU’RE ON!”

Sakushi witnessed everything from the top of the building, letting out a couple of giggles. “They’re so cute together!! Don’t you think, Momo?”

“I-I guess…”

“That’s it! Today, I’m going to intervene.”

“Alright… but watch out. Those two are strong.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Sakushi jumped off the tall building towards the White and Black Crystal Users. She spun during the fall and gently landed on her feet, right between Ryuuga and Kozume.

“Who the…?”

“Beginning measurements…” Ryuuga’s words made Kozume and Sakushi sweatdrop. “What?”

“I forgot who he was for a moment.” Sakushi confessed, picking Ryuuga’s attention.

“How do you know who I am?”

“Oh. I’ve been scouting you around.”

“What? Shouldn’t Kurogon have picked up your presence?” Ryuuga wondered, somewhat confused.

“If you have to know, my Crystal gives me a rather useful ability, named “Stealth Fur”.”

“Stealth Fur?” Kozume intervened.

“It makes her undetectable even when transformed.” Kurogon explained, as he somewhat glared at the new challenger. “Why have you been spying on us?”

“Well, in a set up like this, your little Dark Star buddy is the best one to observe.”

“How so?” Kozume wondered, somewhat confused.

“20 colors to choose from, and he is against all others for the sheer purpose of having power. As a bystander, I must say that he is very… interesting to follow.”

“Then why did you reveal yourself?” Kurogon asked, somewhat curious. Ryuuga didn’t really care, since he was mainly thinking about copying the powers of the person in front of him.

“I could not resist in doing something for the two of you.”

“Me and the pervert?”

“Exactly. Just thank me later.” The woman’s grin went from ear to ear. She took out a pink die with the image of a cat, and she placed her arms behind her back. “So… let’s get this started.” She disappeared in less than a second, simply vanishing into thin air, confusing Ryuuga and Kozume.

Suddenly, darkness surrounded the two of them. As the pitch black colors surrounded Ryuuga, his grin grew maniacal. “So… let’s see what my next challenge IS!”

-_-_-_-_-_-

“…Yawn…”

“Hakucho!” a small cute sneeze came from behind Ryuuga. “…You need to cut your hair. It tickles my nose.”

“Sorry hon.”

A moment of silence surrounded them, until a sudden realization hit them like a speeding truck. “EEHHHHHH?!?!”

The two of them jumped off the bed they found themselves lay down on, wearing different clothes, but still transformed mind you. Kozume wore a gray nightgown and Ryuuga simply wore a plain white t-shirt and boxers.

“What the hell?!” Ryuuga explained, looking at Kozume, who was just as confused as he was. That’s when he noticed… “What the… What are those scars?” Ryuuga noticed that almost every corner of Kozume’s body (excluding the head, hands and feet) had a scar of some sorts. If it followed a pattern, he didn’t notice it. Most of them seemed… rather random.

Kozume threw a pillow at his face, making him fall off the bed. He sat up, trying to glance at her body once more, but she had hid under the covers, only placing the tips of her fingers and her head outside of the covers. “Don’t look at them…”

“…That’ll be a problem when I’ll manage to sleep with you, but I guess we can do it with the lights turned off.”

“Perverted baka!” Kozume yelled out, throwing another pillow, but not doing as much damage this time. “So… What do you think about this?”

“Well… It is a nice room. A bit girlish, but I can overlook that.”

“I wasn’t talking about the room, you moron! I was talking about… how we felt it was natural to sleep side by side. At least I assume you thought it as well since you called me ‘hon’.”

“I guess. For a moment there I thought we were dating or something, it’s weird.”

“…This is all because of the Pink Crystal’s power, right?”

“I guess. Hm?”

“What is it?”

“I only noticed it now: Kurogon is gone.” Ryuuga messed around with his long hair, but couldn’t find his partner.

“I can’t communicate with Shiroga either.” Kozume informed, noticing that her partner was missing as well.

“…Why Shiroga?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“Why did you call the Tiger ‘Shiroga’?”

She looked dumbfounded. “Really? You know, that isn’t exactly the most important question in this situation.”

“I need small talk if I want my brain to work. I can’t work without noise. That’s why I flunked some of my tests.”

“Ok… I named him Shiroga because of the words “Shiro” (Japanese for White) and “Taiga” (the word Tiger written in Katakana).”

“Wow. What a rip-off.” Ryuuga was referring to his method of naming, since Kurogon had a similar etymology. But he ignored it for a moment. “Well, I have no idea about all this. For all we know, this might not even be real.”

“What do you mean?”

“This could all be an illusion for all we know.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Why not?”

“Then how do we feel the objects around us? Illusions aren’t real.”

“Not if our brains are aware that it is an illusion. Otherwise, our brains will think that this is all real, and, as a result, make us feel like this is all real.” Ryuuga explained, as he sat down on the bed as well. “You know the placebo effect?”

“That thing where you say something like ‘sugar is medicine’ and since you believe it, sugar will act as a medicine?”

“Yeah. Basically the same thing, but in a bigger scale.”

“Wait… Doesn’t that only apply in our dreams?”

“What do you mean?”

“If this really was an illusion, I couldn’t be lying down. I could feel the warmth of the covers because my brain would be convinced of that, but the walls and bed wouldn’t be possible unless we were in a room like that.”

“So… we’re dreaming.”

“Maybe… How should I-?!”

-_-_-_-_-_-

“What the-?!” Ryuuga and Kozume were transported into a different scenery. This time, Ryuuga, with his hair shorter, and Kozume appeared to be by the shore, both barefoot, but wearing summer clothing. The strange thing about it was that they were holding hands.

“I can’t believe I’m in a place like this with a pervert like him…”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the one who found funny and charming.”

“You’re the one who fell in love with me at first sight!”

After a minute of silence, they realized that what they were saying didn’t make the lick of sense.

“What the… Can she manipulate memories?” Kozume wondered.

“Great. I’m stuck in a romance with an albino cannibal.”

“You won’t talk for long as soon as I rip off your tongue and cook it.”

“Well, what about-!?”

-_-_-_-_-_-

The scenery changed once again to a nearly empty church. The bells rung, Ryuuga was in a neat suit, and Kozume looked marvelous in the white perfect dress.

Sakushi was in between them, on the small stand that held the bible, wearing a nun outfit.

Ryuuga and Kozume looked at one another, blushing a bit each. They approached one another in order to perform the ceremony… until Ryuuga slapped himself and knocked himself out of the fake memories.

“Ok, I’m sick of this stuff. And since when would I propose on the Eifel Tower?”

“Oh. I guess my illusions weren’t strong enough to mislead you.”

“Of course not! Who do you think I am?!”

“Umm… Excuse me?” Kozume called, making the other two look at her. “What is all this?”

“You’re referring to the wedding?” Sakushi asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yeah… what is all this?”

“It’s a ceremony to declare eternal love between two people. And supposedly, it’s after marriage where the couple has a baby!” Sakushi began to blush, finding the concept rather cute. But then was when something surprising happened.

“B-B-Baby…?” Kozume began to shake and step backwards, her eyes showing absolute fear.

“What’s the matter?!” Sakushi asked, breaking the illusion. The three of them returned to their normal transformed states, and Shiroga and Kurogon managed to communicate with their partners once more.

Shiroga manifested from the white crystal. “She’s having a panic attack! Please help her!”

“How?!” Sakushi asked, panicking, while Ryuuga maintained calm. He walked towards her, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up. The Dark Star almost glued down his lips onto hers and slipped his tongue into her mouth, as his hand slid down and tightened up on her posterior.

Her eyes widened and she jumped away. “W-What the hell is your problem, you pervert?!”

“What? You were going insane, so I thought, why not get the best of it before you went more wacko than you already are?”

“Baka! Baka! Baka, baka, baka!”

“Well, it appears everything is ok now. Here.” Sakushi threw a couple of dice at each one of them. Ryuuga and Kozume caught them, somewhat surprised. “Think of it as an apology. I must go now. See ya around! I know I will.”

She disappeared into thin air, which infuriated Ryuuga. “Hey! At least let me absorb your powers! Grrr…”

“With these...”

“Eh?”

“…you’ll have to battle me. But on another time.”

“Hey!”

“I’ll get my revenge, you perverted bastard!” Kozume dashed away, far more agile than him, meaning that he knew it would be useless to chase her.

“God damn it… I’m sick of never catching a break!”

“Calm down…”

Everybody thinks that Pink is the color that represents love, right? Well… what if love doesn’t have a color, and the pink as just an illusion all along?

13: Chapter 13 – Gray Terror

Many people are afraid of the dark. Well, not exactly afraid of the dark itself, but more of what is inside it that they cannot see. During the night, people rely on the moonlight and the street lights to see what hides inside the darkness.

"Please come again soon."

"Of course. The next edition of this magazine is almost out anyway."

Where Ryuuga got the fake ID to say that he was already 18, we might never find out, but he did manage to fool the shopkeeper and take an adult magazine. Along with a large late dinner.

He walked out of the store, satisfied.

"So you give paper bills and metal objects, and in return, they give you food and others?"

"If you really want it simple, I guess you can say that." Ryuuga answered, not wanting to give Kurogon yet another lecture.

"…Ryuuga, watch out!"

"Eh?" Ryuuga turned around and was caught by surprise. A large violent shadow jumped onto him and attempted to pierce his head with sharp claws, but Ryuuga's head fit perfectly the gap between the razor-sharp claws. "What the- …Jesus Christ…"

The shadow became clearer as the moonlight escaped through the clouds. It was a large a bulky man, who sported a gray ponytail. His eyes were blank, but of a gray tone, and he wore ripped clothing. On his wrists were attached an object with three large claws, two of which had Ryuuga's head in between. The beast opened its mouth and let out his large tongue, revealing a gray colored crystal embedded into the muscle. His wolf tail flailed slightly.

"Grrr…"

"…You think you scare me because you look like a werewolf?!" Ryuuga asked, somewhat undignified. He transformed. And the energy burst pushed the Gray Crystal User away. "Alright, it's time for… Wait… How did you know I could fight?"

"Grrr… I smelled a crystal nearby."

"Oh. Alright then. Prepare to have your ass kicked!" Ryuuga yelled out, as he clenched both his fists and pulled the back. "Buraku Faia!" (Black Fire) He thrust his arms forward and released a large stream of black flames towards the beast.

"Grr…" the claws of both wrists were withdrawn and he summoned a weapon. "Skull Shocker." A skull shaped shield appeared in front of him, which protected him from the black flames. The empty sockets suddenly began to glow, and the mouth of the skull opened. The man threw over the shield at Ryuuga, which was incredibly fast, much to the teen's surprise. The skull flew low, close to the ground, and suddenly bit down on Ryuuga's left leg.

"AAARGH! FFFFFffuck…" Ryuuga tried not to scream. "What the hell is your idea?!" he kicked the shield back at the beast, showing the large wound.

"Ryuuga, use the Dice!" Kurogon indicated, confusing the man-beast.

"Good thinking. How exactly do I-"

"Put them inside the crystal."

Ryuuga nodded and took out from his pocket the two dice he had gotten the day before: the Dragon and Hydra Dice. He first placed the Dragon Die inside his crystal, and suddenly, a shock of energy ran through his bodyu.

"Whoa… I feel at least ten times stronger!" Ryuuga yelled out, loving the feeling of becoming stronger in just a couple of seconds. "Let's see what you do!" Ryuuga inserted the Hydra Die inside his crystal, and black flames surrounded him for a moment. The flames disappeared, and he found some sort of black armor over his shoulders, each one with a dragon-like head. "…Kurogon, you know how the hell I use these things?"

"Just think hard."

"Hmm…" Ryuuga focused and suddenly, the armor heads began to move, and extended out through metallic strings.

"ROOOARRR!" the two heads roared loudly, astonishing the Gray Crystal User.

"Whoa! Alright, let's do this! Daburu Haji!" (Double Gripping) The hydra heads bit down on the frozen beast's arms, making him unable to move.

"What?!"

"Take this!" Ryuuga dashed forward, with his right hand clenched into a fist. He punched the stomach of the taller fighter, making him exhale forcefully. Ryuuga, with his left hand, quickly pulled down his tongue and scratched the crystal with his right, heavily damaging the Gray Crystal User.

"Gyaah!" he stepped away as Ryuuga jumped back, extracting the dice out of his crystal with his left hand and then slamming his right gray sparks surrounded hand on it.

"Karāringu: Gurē!" (Coloring: Gray!) Sakuma began to change form, his eyes becoming gray. His hair became of a lighter tone and Kurogon's head became that of a wolf. His cloak was replaced by a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a wolf head. He wore ripped jean shorts, and his nails became sharper. "Time to wreck you down!"

"Grr…!" The beast dashed forward and the two of them began to fight, kicking and punching continuously, fighting in a very similar style. "How is he so strong?! The wound of the left leg hasn't healed yet, but his kicks are getting stronger! I have to escape…" The beast jumped back and howled loudly, releasing sound waves that pushed Ryuuga away.

"Whaaa!" He was pushed into a group of nearby bicycles. "You bastard! …Where did he…?" Ryuuga looked around, but could not find the opponent anywhere. "Hm. Weird. Well, anyway, at least I got more power tonight!"

"You seem happy."

"I wish I could fight more. I need to use this adrenaline somehow…" That's when Ryuuga realized something. "He wasn't with the cloaked people."

"How do you know?"

"He looked confused when I used the dice. Almost as if he didn't know what they were."

"So… He is a bystander, like Miss Sakushi?"

"I guess. Well, bystander or not, I got his powers. Now, time to eat and read a certain magazine."

Ryuuga returned to normal and caught his shopping bag, as he returned home.

14: Chapter 14 – Shining Horse

Currently, it was halfway through the month of May of 2029. It hadn't been long since the incidents with both the Pink and Gray Crystal Users, and Ryuuga actually had acquired a new form, giving him a total of 4 forms including his basic form, not to mention the possession of both the Dragon and Hydra Dice.

That morning, Ryuuga decided to go for a walk, communicating with Kurogon in the meantime.

"How many dice can I use at once?"

"3." Plain and simple.

"And can I use them when using powers of different colors?"

"You can, but in order to transform, you can't have any dice inside you."

"I see... That gives my opponents an opening." Kurogon stayed silent for a moment, which confused Ryuuga. "Hmm? Why did you shut up?"

"I'm just a bit surprised..."

"By what?"

"By how much your personality can change in only some seconds."

"...What do you mean?"

"Normally, you're rude and impolite. But when we talk regarding battling... You sound much more serious."

"...I got addicted."

"Eh? To what?"

"...To power! As soon as I absorbed the powers of that albino cannibal, I knew it... The feeling of getting more power felt so great, I can't afford to stop doing it."

"I'm no specialist on humans, but aren't addictions... bad?"

"They are. But unlike most people, I don't lie. I can't stop whenever I want. And that's why nothing will stop me from absorbing the remaining colors!" Ryuuga had a stern expression. But it suddenly broke when a feminine voice spoke. It surprised him, taking into account that the streets should've been deserted. He looked up and found a girl wearing a yellow cloak.

"You! ...Ksh! More power for me!"

"Will you get over it?"

"Not a chance!" Ryuuga quickly transformed and kicked forward, releasing a fireball towards her. Due to the high speed of the attack, she could not dodge correctly, and her cloak was caught on fire

"Oh no!" She quickly threw it away, revealing her figure to Ryuuga. A princess-like character with blue hair and yellow bright eyes, not to mention the yellow crystal embedded onto her forehead: Hikari. "Awww… I took so long to make that! My boyfriend is going to kill you if I don't do it first."

"Like I care. Who are you anyway?"

"Well, since you burned my cloak, I don't see why I should be rude and not present myself." She recovered her composure and spoke with a firm yet soft voice. "My name is Hikari Kiba, the Yellow Crystal User, sometimes known as Shining Lady."

"Shining Lady? What a stupid tittle."

"This coming from the self-named "Dark Star"." Ryuuga glared at Hikari for a moment, until something struck him as odd and annoying.

"Hey..."

"Hm?"

"I'm the only one who should be named after teeth around here!"

"Eh?" Hikari was confused at first, but she quickly realized what he meant. "Oh, no, my name doesn't mean 'Fang', unlike yours."

(A/N: in Japanese, 'Kiba' means fang, but when used as part of a name or word, it reads 'Ga', as in 'Ryuuga', which means dragon fang)

"Then what does it mean?"

"My name is written with the characters for princess, 'Ki', and horse, 'ba', hence my name, Kiba."

"...PFFFTT!" Ryuuga couldn't contain his laughter. "Really?! Princess Horse?! That's the stupidest name I've ever heard!"

Hikari's vein popped. "That's why I prefer people calling me Hikari. But I warn you: I do not take opponents lightly."

"Don't worry. Neither do I!"

"Starlight!" Hikari called her partner. A string of energy came out from her crystal and took the shape of a unicorn-like creature. The front was just like one would expect after seeing beings such as Kurogon and Shiroga: a unicorn. But at the second end, it would turn into the string that connected into his partner's crystal.

"Yes, milady."

Yellow energy surrounded her and she quickly transformed: her dress had become yellow, the skirt becoming somewhat shorter, and multiple armor pieces appear scattered throughout her body. Her hair turned blonde and turned into a beautiful braid. Also, a helmet with a sharp unicorn-like bladed horn appeared attached to her head.

"I intend to finish the job of my subordinates. Not that I do not trust in them to do it, but I want to be of some use for once. Plus, it feels nice to stretch my legs every once in a while."

"I didn't ask for your life story, so shut the fuck up!"

"My, my, that is no way to talk to a lady." Hikari closed her hand and smirked, pointing it at her enemy. "Striker Spear." A wrist attached light metallic horn-like spear appeared, being somewhat longer than most quarter-close combat weapons that the users have showed so far.

"Star Breaker!" Ryuuga jumped forward as his right hand became enveloped in energy and turned into his signature close-combat weapon.

The two of them began to swordfight, but Ryuuga quickly realized that he was in disadvantage. All of his moves were blocked easily, and Hikari's movements were much faster.

"What the-?!"

"It appears that you try to fight without having a single lesson of fencing."

"Fencing?"

"Your posture is terrible. Plus, you don't aim. You're just swinging your arms around like an angry monkey."

"Discipline is for idiots who can't fight on their own." Ryuuga's weapon disappeared and was replaced by his gatling gun, the Super-Vulca-Nova. Hikari flinched upon seeing the firearm. "Fire!" Ryuuga fired multiple energy bullets out of the spinning barrels, but… passing through his opponent's body like she was nothing. "What the-?!"

"Right here."

Ryuuga turned around and was confused to find Hikari sitting down on a nearby bench behind him.

"What the hell?!" He turned back to the Hikari in front of him, which slowly began to disappear. "How the hell are you doing that?!"

"I can bend the light around me in order to create illusions. It grants me full advantage towards my opponents."

"…Not exactly."

"Eh?"

"First of all, I'm not dumb enough to not hear you right behind me. You suck at projecting your voice." Ryuuga elbowed what appeared to be nothing behind him, but he did hit something. Suddenly, yet another Hikari began to appear, breathing heavily, surprised by the hit. The one on the bench began to disappear. He suddenly spun his arm up, hitting Hikari's nose with the back of his closed fist.

"OUCH! You bastard…!" She held her nose in pain. "Why the hell did you do that?! I have a date later!"

"Because…" Ryuuga turned and punched her stomach, pushing her away. He had a bit of a mad grin spread across of his face. "I want your power. Kurogon!"

"Hai!" His hair bent up and the dragon head began to fire multiple fireballs at the Yellow Crystal User.

"Kieru!" (Vanish) Hikari suddenly turned invisible by bending the light around her. She ran around, dodging the fireballs, but then she noticed something. "Oh no… He's going to find me because of the smoke!" Hikari noticed that her movement was moving the smoke that appeared from Ryuuga's attack. "I have no choice… Charge!" She lowered her head and dashed out of the smoke towards Ryuuga, pointing the blade of her helmet at him. She struck something, but she was sure that it wasn't flesh. "What the-?!"

"Be sure to aim." She had pierced the black crystal on Ryuuga's chest.

"But… why aren't you weak?! The crystals are a universal weakness!"

Ryuuga held the blade, making sure she wouldn't pull away. "«Kurogon answered Hikari's question. "Black absorbs all colors. Therefore, the crystal has an absorbing nature unlike the others. It needs to be hit."

"And now… Thanks for the giveaway."

"Eh?"

Ryuuga placed his hands on her head and kneed her face, hitting her nose again.

"Gah! What the hell do you have against my nose?!"

Ryuuga took a hold of her hair and scratched the crystal on her forehead with his hand. Yellow sparks surrounded it and he slammed the hand against the crystal.

"Karāringu: Ierō!" (Coloring: Yellow) Yellow Energy surrounded Ryuuga and he began to transform. His shorts turned yellow and his hair became much less spiky. Kurogon's dragon head had turned into that of a unicorn. His eyes turned into a tone of pure yellow and a short horn protruded from his forehead. His cloak-like scarf was was replaced by two shoulder armor pieces.

"Oh no… I can't believe… He absorbed my powers!" Hikari's eyes widened. Her brain went into shock for a second.

"Hey, look at this!" Ryuuga grinned, as he touched his new horn with his finger. "I'm horny!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not the adjective…" Hikari spoke, dumbfounded by Ryuuga's remark. But then an idea struck her. "Horny…" She leaned forward and moved her arms forward, accentuating her breasts and cleavage. "Nee…"

"Uh? WOW!" Ryuuga's hormones took over his thoughts.

"Ryuuga, don't-?!"

Kurogon's warning was useless. Before he knew it, Hikari spun around, placing herself behind him, her arms spread apart. "Bye."

"Uh? What do you-?!"

"Raitoburasuto!" (Light Blast!) Her body began to glow and she released a massive light-based energy blast from it. Ryuuga was sent into a nearby wall, his transformation cancelling (he returned to his base Black Crystal Form).

"ARRRGH! FUCKING BITCH!" Ryuuga yelled, deeply wounded. It would be impossible for him to be alive if he wasn't transformed.

"Ryuuga, don't move!"

"Don't… boss me… around!" Ryuuga managed to sit up, breathing heavily. "Where… is… she?"

"She ran away, but Ryuuga, listen to me!" Kurogon begged. Ryuuga didn't like the idea of obeying his partners orders, but he was too hurt to even complain anymore. "That attack boiled your internal organs! If you don't stay put, they're going to burst open!"

"…"

"The Crystal has regenerative Powers. You already know that from the wound the Gray Crystal User disappearing in only a few hours despite how deep it was. Wait twenty minutes. After that your organs won't be in danger. But you still need to be fully healed. It will take a bit longer than usual."

"…Why did she… run off?"

"That attack was harmful to her too. If she didn't retreat, she would faint, or be in a situation similar to yours."

"…One more… down…"

"Eh?"

"One more color… absorbed… 14… to go."

"What are you…? Don't you want to kill her or anything?!" Kurogon was somewhat surprised.

"How can I kill… a girl with a… pair of tits… like hers?" Ryuuga chuckled. With trembling hands and arms, he took out of his pocket a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He took one out of the package with his mouth. "Mind if I…?"

"It won't really make a difference I think, but don't you think you should do that after? You're barely breathing."

"I don't care… I'm just… really craving for one… right now." He lit up his cigarette and released a puff of smoke after some seconds. "God, that feels… great!" Ryuuga grinned widely. "I guess it's not only for decisions now."

-_-_-_-_-_-

"I'm… sorry, everyone." Hikari was sat down on a couch-like formation inside their HQ. She talked Ryuuji, Akemi, and the remaining members, including Tōka, the Orange Crystal. "I wanted to take him out so none of us would have to be bothered by him anymore… You know… Actually be useful for once…"

"Hey, don't worry." Taiyou interrupted, before Hikari could shed any tears.

"In the end, you didn't mean any harm, Miss Hikari Kiba." Datenshi continued.

"Not to mention that some of us wouldn't be here without you." Getsuki pointed out, and Tōka nodded smiling.

"Plus, you spiced things up a notch. I like that." Kagerou chuckled, but then got his ear pulled by Hami. "Ow-ow-ow!"

"You guys…" Hikari was on the verge of tears of happiness. Ryuuji held her hand tightly, wearing his charming smile. But suddenly, a turn for the worse happened. She looked shocked for a second and then bent over, coughing out a great amount of blood. Everyone was surprised at this.

"Honey, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, Ryuuji… It's just a side effect from my attack…" She talked weakly, probably because of the pain.

"Tomorrow I'm going to find that bastard and-

"I'll take care of it." Akemi interjected, astonishing everyone.

"Are you sure…?"

"I am, Ryuuji. I want to eliminate him myself. After this, my anger won't calm down that easily." Akemi explained, arms crossed. Before anyone could answer, she continued speaking. "Well, it's getting pretty late. See you all tomorrow." Akemi walked away towards the hallway that led to the rooms of the Crystal users.

Everyone obliged and walked towards their respective rooms. Ryuuji carried her to her room and placed her gently on her bed.

"Please rest…" He planted a kiss on her forehead. "You deserve it." He stood, but before he could walk out of the room, something got a hold of his neck. He turned around and found Hikari using her Unique Ability, the Crystal Hook. She would basically connect a string of energy between her crystal and a crystal in sight. The blue crystal behind Ryuuji's neck was a perfect target. She pulled him making him trip and fall onto her bed. Luckily, he placed his hands and knees so it he wouldn't hurt her. "Hi-Hikari, what are you-?!"

"Ryuuji…" Hikari began to blush, smiling lovely, as she placed a hand over his cheek. Ryuuji's face became red in reply. "Please stay… Please make me feel good…"

"A-Are you sure…?"

"I am… please…"

Ryuuji smiled and placed a hand over hers. "I'll be gentle."

-_-_-_-_-_-

Sakushi walked home during the evening, until she came across something rather astonishing. A man was passed out in front of her building.

"Eh? Sir, are you ok?!" she rushed over to the man with messy black hair, wearing black trousers and white t-shirt. He appeared to be in his late 20s, maybe even 30 years old. He appeared to be rather muscled, not to mention little a bit taller than the average stature measures.

Sakushi shook him, rather worried. He breathed heavily and slowly opened his gray colored eyes. "I… need… food… starving… for days…" Sakushi didn't have the time to chuckle at the rather rare TV-like situation, because her eyes widened upon seeing the gray crystal embedded into his tongue.

15: Chapter 15 – Diary of a Serial Killer + Cat and Dog

Datenshi, the Prism Crystal User, and the creator of Colorless, entered his room after a long day. He looked into the mirror on the side, using peripheral vision, and the reflection of him had behind him a large devil-like creature, with hollow eyes just like the remaining Crystal Beasts.

"Good afternoon, Hidden. How’re you?”

“Can’t say I’m bored. Since the only thing I do is follow you around, there’s never a boring moment.” Hidden, the partner of Datenshi, answered, chuckling.

“Well, I believe it’s a good thing no one is able to see you. It would turn my job much more difficult.”

“I believe so.” Hidden agreed. As Datenshi walked forward and Hidden followed, he unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, not only revealing the transparent crystal embedded a bit below halfway through his back, but also becoming eye candy for the female audience. He sat down and opened a small notebook, in which he began to write.

‘Date: 17th of May of 2029

It has been three days since our last activity with Mr. Tanhai Ryuuga, AKA Dark Star. It was also the second time Mr. Tenji Ryuuji and Miss Hikari Kiba have… well, engaged in an intimate activity for the second time. And I must say bravo for Mr. Tenji Ryuuji. Ever since I obtained access to the Reflection World, observing people has never been as easier and as entertaining.

Today I have helped another person to get rid of their pain. It was a man with a broken heart. From what I could tell, he was madly in love with his girlfriend, who had been cheating on him since day one. And it had lasted 20 years. Just like any of mine… I don’t really like using the word ‘victim’ for this context, but right now it is the best word for the situation. At least from the Police’s point of view.

Talking about them, I’m still not worried about them. After all, they can’t follow a man into a mirror. The others say I exaggerate in my methods, since my killings are always in public and in big scale, but that is essential for me to escape. After all, all humans have a tendency to focus on what calls the most attention. Unlike most killers, I put the focus on the victim. So, in order for me to escape, I have to make this kind of… “shows”. Again, for lack of a better word.

I believe Miss Enrei Akemi is plotting a plan in order to get rid of Mr. Dark Star, avenging Miss Hikari Kiba. Probably two days from now she’ll approach him. Oh, and I would be crazy not to include this.’

Three hours earlier:

Getsuki heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Taiyou opened the door with a silly grin, making her regret her answer. “Hello.”

“God damn it, I should’ve asked first.”

“Oh, don’t act as if you don’t like me.”

“Look, Taiyou, I don’t know what kind of idea you have in your head, but I am not attracted to you in any way whatsoever.”

“Then why are you always coming with you in missions?”

“Gh-?! Baka!” She punched the back of his head in a swift motion, blushing immensely. Taiyou grinned, despite the pain.

“Ahaaa! The tsundere reveals herself.”

“Sh-shut up, birdbrain!” she sat back down on her bed. “What do you want?”

“Nothing in special. Just wanted to see ya.”

“Wow, talk about subtlety.”

“At least I’m honest.”

“I’ll give you that.” Getsuki admitted, as Taiyou looked around her room. It looked like any other common bedroom. But upon looking over her desk, he found a rather interesting photograph he had not seen before. It was a photograph of her and what appeared to be a younger version of her.

“Who is she? Your sister?” he asked, picking up the frame with the photo attacked. Getsuki panicked and slammed his face against the desk. “OUCH! What the hell was that for?!”

“DON’T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT MY SISTER!” Getsuki was so enraged that she looked like a completely different person. Taiyou even became scared of her.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you!”

“GET OUT OF HERE, YOU JERK!”

“Hey, HEY!” Before Taiyou could be pushed out of the room, he slammed the door shut and turned to her with a stern look. “I don’t know what the deal is here, but I have done nothing wrong here and I can see no reason for you to be like this. So unless you actually give me a reason for you to be this mad, I won’t move.” Taiyou sat down, glaring at furious Getsuki.

She breathed heavily, enraged, until both Atataka and Ginyoku, Taioyu and Getsuki’s respective beast partners, emanated from their crystals.

“You two, stop it!” Ginyoku demanded.

“Please, do not fight!” Atataka spread her wings in front of Taiyou, but it would be useless to do so, since she is intangible.

“This has nothing to do with you two!” Getsuki and Taiyou spoke in unison, much to their partners surprise. They looked at each other and decided to obey.

“There. Now, a reason if you please.”

“Don’t go all gentleman now. Who told you to mess around with my things?”

“You didn’t seem to mind until I asked about the picture.”

“Grrr…”

“…What happened to your sister?”

“Eh?” Getsuki was taken aback by his question, not to mention his deeply serious look. But her feelings spoke otherwise. She pushed him down against the floor and sat down on his abdomen. “Don’t!” She fiercely punched his cheek with all her wrath. “Talk! About! Her!” She punched him between words. Taiyou’s patience was thrown out the window and he reversed the submission, pinning her against the floor, holding down her arms. “Let me go!!”

“Just so you can hit me more?!”

She attempted to release herself from his restraints, but having more muscle mass than her assured the result.

“Let me go!”

“What’s the matter?”

“You’re pinning me against the floor!”

“Is that enough to make you cry?”

“Eh?” Getsuki opened her eyes and noticed the blurriness in her sight. Tears began to fall from her eyes, making the emotions of her brain click. Fury was replaced with sadness. “Sorry… Taiyou…”

His grip loosened as the number of tears increased. In a single motion, Getsuki reversed the submission again, but instead on sitting on him, she pressed her head against his chest. They were both sat down at this point. “Getsuki… What’s the matter?”

“…My sister… was killed.”

Taiyou’s eyes widened by just those four simple words. Regret of even touching the photo overflew his thoughts. “I-I’m… sorry fo-”

“Don’t… I’m the one who should… learn how to control her emotions.” Getsuki admitted, attempting to wipe her tears away.

“Can I… ask what happened to her?”

“I won’t tell you… now.”

“Eh?”

“Taiyou… would you like to go out on a date? Tomorrow?”

“S-Sure!” Taiyou immediately agreed to the proposal.

They settled everything for the date, and Taiyou left the room shortly after. But then something struck him as odd.

“Wait… so I talked about her sister, making her furious, she started hitting me, I stopped her, she started crying, and then she asked me out on a date. …Girls are weird!”

16: Chapter 16 – Cat and Wolf + Once in a Lifetime Eclipse

Back to 15th of May:

"I never thought that I would find a starving man by the door of my building. At least on a Tuesday.”

“So if it was Wednesday it was more predictable?” The man Sakushi found wondered, as she placed a cup of noodles into his hands.

“Sorry, I don’t have anything else at the mome-”

Before she knew, the noodles were devoured in such speed that the sir certainly deserved a Guinness World Record. “Excuse me.”

“D-don’t worry… I’m just a little bit surprised, umm… I never got a name out of you.” Sakushi pointed out.

“Oh. I apologize. My name is Okami Garou.” The man informed. Suddenly, a thin string of gray colored energy slipped out from the corner of his mouth, shaping into a small wolf. “And this is Snoopy.”

“Found to meet you.”

“Oh! Momo, a new friend for you!” Sakushi’s partner appeared from her crystal as well. “Hm? Wait, why did you… why would you show me your partner without being aware of mine?”

“I could smell it.”

“Eh?”

“I could smell the crystal. It’s on your back. Between your kidneys, I believe.”

“H-How do you know that?”

“I was born with an unusually strong sense of smell. The doctors were amazed, actually.”

“How good is your nose then?”

“Not as much as a dog, but still amazing.”

“Hmm… Prove it.”

“You’re using a peach-scented shampoo, and you ate a cupcake as a snack not so long ago.”

“…Wow.” Sakushi was amazed. “That’s cool! Hmm… You know, I think I could buy some more food at the convenience store downstairs. I wasn’t feeling hungry, but since you’re starving, I suppose I should buy something.”

“Oh… I have something else to ask.”

“And that is…?” Sakushi asked, as she checked her wallet to make sure she had enough money.

“Can I crash here?”

“Wh-What?!” Sakushi dropped her wallet in surprise.

“I’m kinda homeless.”

“But there’s barely any space here!”

“Don’t worry. I don’t really have any… things. And I don’t want to be a bother. I can sleep on couch and help out in house chores.”

“Well… I would like to have a slave for myself.”

“S-Slave?!”

-_-_-_-_-_-

Back to 19th of May:

Taiyou waited by the entrance of the mall for his date with Getsuki. He wondered why she didn’t want to come along right away, but he decided to ignore it.

“Hey, Taiyou.”

“Wha!!” Taiyou was scared from the sudden appearance of the girl he had a crush on. He fell onto the floor, but stood up after receiving a glare from her.

“Geez… I allow you to come on a date with me and that’s how you react when you see me?”

“Then don’t sneak up on me out of nowhere.” It was then that Taiyou noticed. “Cute outfit.”

She blushed all of a sudden. “I-I didn’t dress up like you if that’s what you’re thinking!”

“Wow. Such a tsundere cliché line.”

“B-Baka!”

-_-_-_-_-_-

They’ve decided to eat dinner in a fast food place, despite Getsuki’s objection. You know, calories. Again, girls are weird.

They waited in line for their turn to be attended.

“Have you decided on what you want to eat?”

“A salad.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I’m paying, so don’t worry about money issues.”

“First, it’s either that or nothing because everything appears to have too much fat. And second, how do you have money?”

“First, one burgers of these every once in a while never hurt anyone. Second, I have a couple of methods.”

“Hmm…” Getsuki gazed at the pictures of burgers with a blush. “Should I really…?”

Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared between the two. The smell bothered them quite a bit. Taiyou turned around and spoke up about it. “Hey, dude, do you mind?”

“Hmph. I would say it’s none of your business, but I have to recognize I’m the one at fault.”

The man standing behind them was probably around the same age as them. He threw the cigarette into the nearby garbage can. He wore sun glasses, oddly enough.

“Why were you smoking in a place like this anyway?”

“I just smoke when I’m not sure what to choose.”

“That’s… oddly specific.” Taiyou noticed. For the ones wondering why I haven’t described the man yet, it’s because I already have. After all, he is the main character.

“And what can’t you decide?” Getsuki asked, somewhat curious.

“I don’t know if I should choose the regular menu or the large one! I mean, I’m starving, but I wasn’t thinking of spending so much money on dinner.”

“Hmm… Here.” Taiyou handed Ryuuga a bill. “Take it.”

“Eh? You sure? You are aware that we won’t really meet each other after today.”

“It’s fine. No problem whatsoever.”

“Hmm… Even though I don’t like to be on debt, I would simply be stupid if I didn’t accept.” He took the bill and grinned.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what with the shades?” Taiyou asked, referring to the sunglasses.

“A friend of mine asked me to test them out, to see if they would suit me. A whole day without taking them off.”

“That’s a bit too extreme.” Getsuki admitted, sweatdroping. “…Weird… his voice sounds… familiar.” She murmured to herself, looking somewhat thoughtful.

-_-_-_-_-

Shortly after, Getsuki and Taiyou ordered their food and the service was actually pretty quick. After that, they got separated from Ryuuga, still unaware of who he was.

“Hey, Getsuki.”

“Hm?”

Taiyou quickly munched down on a couple of fries before asking his question. “I still don’t get why you asked me out on a date.”

“Because I felt like it.”

“That’s a bit of a lame reason. Taking into account that you keep saying that you’re not attracted to me in anyway and that you clearly know I have the hots for you, it kinda makes me feel depressed.”

“…Alright then. I’ll tell you.” Getsuki took a sip from her water as Taiyou leaned in, curious. “…I wanted to be happy again.”

“E-Eh?”

“I thought that maybe if I went out on a date with a boy I would feel happy again. I mean, girls in movies appear to be happy when they go out on dates in the movies.”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“Uh?”

“You need to like the boy first. Dummy.” Taiyou lightly poked her cheek, making her blush.

“Alright, alright…”

“…Hey.”

“Hm?”

“What do you mean ‘happy again’?”

“…You already know-”

“No I don’t. Unless you tell me, I won’t know.”

Getsuki froze for some moments, seeing Taiyou’s seriousness in the matter.

“…Alright then. But if I start crying, I’ll kick you in the nuts.”

“Fine by me, I’ll just dodge.”

Getsuki chuckled for a moment before her smile disappeared entirely. “I loved my little sister… She looked up to me with so much respect that I could never wish for her to disappear. But last year, after a stupid little fight he had… I went to her room to say that I was sorry and…” Getsuki began to shake, worrying Taiyou. “…A man was pointing a knife at her throat… I screamed in panic and my parents rushed in, but it was too late… He slit her neck so quickly that I barely saw it… My mom called an ambulance and the cops while my father ran after the killer… I tried to use the first aid kit, but… I couldn’t do a thing. My hands were shaking so bad…” Taiyou’s eyes widened. “She smiled and said ‘I forgive you, Getsuki-neesan…’ and she… Well… you can already guess…”

“Yeah…”

“…I hate people, you know?”

“Eh?”

“People don’t value what is precious in this world. What little there is. If they did… that man would have murdered me instead of my sister.”

Despite Taiyou’s wish to yell that she was wrong in every meaning of the word, he stayed silent, only looking down. “Getsuki… Follow me!”

“Eh?” Before she could answer, Taiyou took a hold of her hand and dashed off, dragging her along. “Hey!!”

As the dashed through the small partition of the mall, they passed by a pillar, where Ryuuga smoked, still wearing his sunglasses.

“Hmm… Should I follow them or not? They certainly look interesting. They appear to like what’s important.” Ryuuga grinned, finally making up his mind.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Getsuki had no idea where Taiyou had led her to. Mostly because he covered her eyes midway through it.

“Taiyou, where the hell are you taking me?”

“One more moment…”

After some more moments of darkness, her eyes were exposed to light once more. Well, that’s rather relative. It was night, after all. “Taiyou, what are you-?”

“Look… I have no objectives for my life nor any talent in special. But… I know what I want to do now!”

Getsuki was simply confused. “What are you trying to say?”

“I want to make you happy again!” Taiyou explained, rather eagerly. Getsuki was stunned for a second, until she blinked, back to reality. “I know this is not a lot, but… it is what I consider important in the world.” Taiyou led Getsuki to the edge of the roof and showed her the view. The shining bright colors of the light reflected on her stunned eyes.

The lights of the city mixed together perfectly with the shining moonlight.

“Wow…”

“So? You like it? If you don’t, I’m always open for double suicide.”

Getsuki glared at his silly grin. “Wow. Way to go, ruining the moment.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Getsuki approached the edge and sat down. “Hm?”

“What are you waiting for? Come sit down.” She spoke, patting the area next to her.

Though at first confused, Taiyou obliged and sat down next to her, still wearing his silly grin.

Ryuuga, who had followed them and stayed behind, listening to the whole conversation, grinning. “Those two are cool.”

“Why did you follow them?” Kurogon asked, rather curious.

“I have my reasons. I don’t need to share everything with you.”

-_-_-_-_-

“Aww! Those two are so cute as a couple!”

“Sakushi-san, I don’t think I feel comfortable spying other people.” Garou confessed, having been dragged out by his roommate, and obligated to transform.

“Don’t worry. They might be Crystal Users as well, but thanks to my Stealth Fur Ability, they won’t be able to sense us. You’re lucky I am able to share it.”

“Hmm…”