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"How could you do this to me, Kanjiro? How?" she cried, clutching the madogus to her chest. The strong winds blew violently against her face. Her hair blew like wildfire against a backdrop of the dark horizon. The tears streaming down her face glistened as the air currents wiped them away.
"Midoriiii!!!"
The young woman turned about at the bearer of the voice. Seeing him, she took a step back, clutching the psychic devices even tighter to her. The sorrow on her face was replaced by one of anger.
"Stay away from me!" she screamed at him. "Leave me alone! You will not have them!"
A worried look was registered on the young man's handsome features. The girl, Midori was standing at the edge of a cliff, a very high one. The winds blew angrily as storm clouds gathered above, the deafening thunder and blinding lightning signalling the oncoming turbulence. At the bottom of the hundred feet height was a ravaging sea. The waves crashed loudly, angrily at the huge rocks below, as if echoing the anger now brewing in between the two beings then standing by the cliffside.
"Midori, get away from there! You might fall!" he called out to her, echoing his fears. He took a step forward while she took one back.
"What do you care?" she accused, "That I might destroy these precious devices of yours?"
"I care about you!" he yelled. "I don't want those devices anymore! It's you that I want....all my life!!!!"
"Don't lie to me...." she broke down, weeping. "I'm sick of hearing lies from you. No more!"
"Midori I love you!!!!" he cried out in desperation. "Don't do this!"
A smirk appeared on her lips, "Tell that to your master, the Oni." She smiled bitterly, "And say hello to Ayami for me." she took one more step back, coming closer to the cliff's edge.
"Goodbye, Officer Akamatsu." she declared at last, stressing the last two words. And at that moment, a loud thunderclap exploded, followed a streak of lightning, hitting the edge of the cliff and causing the earth beneath Midori's feet to crumble.
"Miiidoooorriiiii!!!!!" Kanjiro ran with all his might to reach the girl. But the once solid ground beneath her feet had given way and she fell, almost dramatically, like a rag doll towards the violent sea. Her long red hair was like a flame on a falling torch. Kanjiro watched helplessly as the woman he loved plunged to her premature death in the rumbling ocean floor. "Noooo....Midori...noooo...."
Joker jolted awake, breathing hard as he did. He felt a certain heaviness in his chest as he hyperventilated. What the hell was that about, he thought as he tried to gain control of his breathing. He noted he was covered in sweat despite the cool breeze coming from the open window. He took a breath and managed to slow down his ragged breath and palpitating heart. What a ridiculous nightmare, he said to himself. Like a scene from one of those crummy, mushy movies Neon and Mikoto frequented. His hair stood on end. Yikes. Staying too long in a weird place like this was beginning to get to him.
He looked around and saw Neon sleeping soundly. He stood up and walked over to her bed. He sat next to her sleeping figure and took note of the face illuminated by the moonbeams coming from outside. Strangely, she had a striking similarity to the woman in his dreams. What was her name? Midori? Only that Midori was younger...and more domesticated-looking, he added, laughing inwardly. Neon-han, even if she had served as a maid in Kurei-sama's household looked anything but domesticated. She was a classy-looking member of the female species. If he didn't know better, she'd be more lady of the manor rather than a handmaid-in-waiting. He brushed a couple of strands of hair that fell on her face. He found himself looking at her, taking note of her beautiful face. The eyes that may now be closed, but when opened revealed an icy blue depth that often stared darts at him whenever he gave one of his smart-aleck remarks. The perky nose, the naturally-reddish lips. The rosy white skin that looked velvety to the touch. His gaze swept her being, and took in the gentle curves of her body. He admitted that Neon-han, his fellow Uruha is quite a woman. Physically gifted and even if she hardly showed it, emotionally warm and caring as well. She had a hard, icy cold surface, but beneath it was a soft-hearted, tender person. The person she was whenever it concerned Kurei-sama. One would have to blind, deaf and dumb not to realize how she had felt about their Master. She doted him like a mother. And yet the bitter head of the Uruha did not see her for that. He was still basking in his hatred for the outside world. As for him, Joker, he'd be greatly appreciative if a lady like that cared for him as Neon would for Kurei. He'd probably fall for her in an instant. He lied to her a while ago saying she wasn't his type. He didn't have a particular type for women if it comes right down to it. But he knew a good one if he saw one. And Neon-han was...
"What the hell are you doing here?" Neon asked drowsily. Joker had not realized she had awakened. He then noticed that he was sitting just a little too close for comfort. He moved away a little when she got up.
"What is it?" Neon asked, sensing that there was something troubling him.
"Nothing, Neon-han." he smiled, showing his fangs, "I just had a silly little nightmare, that's all." he got up and faced the window, looking at the backyard gardens.
"You and your wild imagination." she snapped, getting back to bed. "It's three in the morning, for crying out loud. Go back to sleep." she turned her back to him and returned to the dreamworld.
Joker spent a few more minutes looking out the back gardens, wondering why it looked a little misty out there. He shrugged, blaming his strange nightmare for seeing things. He returned to this mattress and went back to sleep.
Neon opened her eyes. She had not been deep in sleep as Joker had thought. In fact, she had been awake for nearly an hour when he came to her bed. A dream had come to her, rousing her from her slumbery depths and she was unable to fully sleep after that. She had dreamt that she was falling, falling fast from a hundred foot cliff and plunging to her oceanic death. There was a man, and he was running after her, while she was clutching a couple of madougus in her arm. She couldn't recall what they were saying to each other, except that she had been crying. Strange. Very strange indeed. Whats even stranger is that the man looked just like....
She looked over to the Uruha asssassin who slept across the room from her.
Very, very strange.
KA-BLAAAM!!!
Neon jerked upon hearing the loud explosion from outside. She got up and rushed to the window to see what it was. She saw black smoke coming from afar, and she heard loud noises, like clanging metal and the sound of men. Fighting as though it seems. She immediately took a robe and put it around her. She grabbed her flute and ran over to the mattress where Joker had been resting.
He wasn't there.
But the Taishaku Kaiten was.
Anxious on how Joker could leave without taking his elemental weapon with him, Neon grabbed the heavy object and pushed the door open. She ran towards the hallway and nearly bumped into a young woman she didn't recognize.
"Midori-san." the thin young girl clutched her arms. "You must not go out, the village is under attack."
"What?" Neon asked incredulously. She shoved the protesting girl aside and went to the front door. Outside there was a village that was never there before. Neon's eyes almost fell out of their sockets. The house she was in was surrounded by a village with several smaller houses. At the plaza square there were a few dead men sprawled on the ground, with katanas and kodachis buried in their abdomens. There were a handful more duking it out while women and children ran everywhere in the melee. A few houses were on fire and there was confusion and panic all over.
Neon, puzzled at the scene before her stood frozen by the door. A firm hand pulled her back to the house and closed the door.
"What the hell was that for?" she snarled, finding herself face to face with an old man she did not recognize at all. He was decked out in an old brown monk outfit. He did not seem to be pertrubed at all with the war scene before them.
"Midori-san, it is time to use your madugou." he said in a calm but commanding voice. He indicated the flute Neon was holding, "The village will be destroyed. Start the requiem now."
Neon pulled her hand away, "I am not Midori and I am not going to use my madugou. Where in blazes am I anyway? And who are you? Where's Yukiko-sama?"
"Please Midori-san." the young girl pleaded. "You are our only hope against the Oni."
"Oni?" Neon's eyebrows met. This was beginning to become more confusing by the minute. But seeing the pleading look in the yong girl and the old man's eyes, she was convinced. Whoever this oni was, he was destroying the village outside. And they just might attack the house. Neon opened the door at the front of the house and put the flute to her lips. She began playing the notes to her most destructive mode of power.
The soldiers ceased fighting upon hearing the beautiful music played by this equally beautiful creature. They stopped and stared at her, looking bewildered, mesmerized. In less than a minute the earth began to vibrate and in a matter of seconds, everything exploded, sending the enemy troops into oblivion. The clock counted a mere few minutes to end the battle that had begun hours ago.
Neon felt a little dizzy after playing full blast and she fell backward into the old man's hefty arms. He and the girl assisted her into the living room, laying her on the cot. Neon closed her eyes and took a breath. The young girl gave her something to drink while the old man fanned her.
"Excellent, Midori-san." the old monk congratulated her. "The oni will now think twice before raiding our village."
Neon could not voice out her innumerable questions. Why the heck was he calling her Midori? And who was he anyway? And the girl? Where was Yukiko-sama? And Hiroshi? What was that attack all about? And where in blazes did Joker go, leaving his madugou behind?
A fanged smile appeared on the lips of Officer Akamatsu. "You can trust me, sir. The madugous will be yours in no time." An eyebrow raised behind the bangs that covered his eyes. "However, I wonder what's in it for me if I do get your precious madugou?"
The higher-ranking official laughed, shaking his head. "You are a sly one, Akamatsu. I like that." he spoke in a more serious note, "A promotion is very likely, my boy. Does becoming second-in-command to me, appeal to you?" The young officer nodded. "And of course, I may allow you and my precious Ayami to finally take your wedding vows." he eyed the youg man skeptically, "If that is alright."
"It would be more than alright, Oni-sama." Officer Akamatsu looked pleased. "I will do as I promise. The madugous will be yours as soon as possible." With that, the young man bowed and left his commanding officer.
Kanjiro Akamatsu packed his belongings and set sail to one of the uncharted islands of Japan to search for the Hokage's lost psychic devices. The island was small and he was sure to find a monk and his ward easily. He formed a plan while on the boat that was taking him to the island. It was at that moment when a storm cloud had appeared from the horizon and closed in. The waves violently rocked their wooden vessel. The wind blew angrily and the rain came in large shards, almost painfully on his skin. His boatman panicked and jumped ship. Kanjiro held on to the boat and rode the wave that brought him crashing upon the white sandy beaches of the desolate island. It was all he remembered before his consciousness lapsed.
Joker opened his eyes, seeing the ceiling of the house he stayed in. For some reason, his body hurt and his head throbbed. He could barely move. He was lying in the center of the bedroom he had shared with Neon, but the latter was nowhere to be found. He looked around. He was still dressed in the black kimono he had been given by Hiroshi but there was something different here. Something he just can't put his finger on. What was wrong?
"You're awake."
Neon stood at the doorway, dressed in a lovely blue kimono different from what she earlier wore. She was carrying a tray of tea and some noodles in a steaming bowl. She smiled shyly at him, bowed her head and entered, putting the tray down beside him.
Joker was open-mouthed, not knowing quite what to say. "Eeerrr....very thoughtful of you Neon-han. What's gotten into you today?"
She shot him a puzzled look, "Gomen? I do not know what you speak of, sir." she bowed her head again. "My name is Sakimoto Midori. And welcome to my humble abode."
It was his turn to cast a confused look at her. He couldn't get any words out of his mouth, couldn't shoot the questions he wanted to ask. He all of a sudden seemed tongue-tied.
"You must be tired from your ordeal." the girl who introduced herself as Midori spoke. "Have some warm tea...and some soup. It'll help you regain from your strength." she handed him the tea cup which he gratefully emptied. While Joker remembered he had eaten half a feast last night, he all of a sudden felt very hungry. He took the bowl she had offered him and emptied it in a number of minutes.
Neon laughed. "Do you want some more?" When he nodded, she stood up and turned about to get more food.
This was becoming very confusing.
"Is the spell working Grandmother?" Hiroshi asked, looking at the cauldron her grandmother was stirring. She could see through the water in the cauldron everything that was happening to Neon and Joker.
"So far, so good." Yukiko added a few more herbs to the mixture in the cauldron. "Joker-san is seeing Midori while Neon is seeing Kanjiro. Their personalities slightly overlap at present. But it will be over soon, once the spell is complete." she whispered a few incantations over the cauldron. She lit a number of incense and candles and put them around the cauldron.
Joker, still dazed from the sudden change of events, went to the backyard to contemplate what has been happening. He wondered why the place had suddenly turned all foggy and why Neon had a sudden change of personality. Yukiko and Hiroshi were nowhere to be found either. He was pondering on the possibilities when he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly turned around, assuming a fighting stance against the shadow that appeared behind him. When his features came into a clear view, Joker's jaw dropped.
He was looking at his own face.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded in a cold voice. He straightened up, eyes squinting, as if making sure that the person before him is not merely an illusion.
The other man who bore Joker's face bowed, "Konnichi-wa, Joker-san. I am Akamatsu Kanjiro, high officer of the Japanese Imperial Army."
A smile lifted the corner of Joker's lips, "I knew that face would be nothing less than aristocratic. You work for a government official?" he inquired, relaxing a little but keeping his guard up.
The other man nodded. When he spoke no further, Joker asked. "What are you doing here anyway?"
It was Kanjiro's time to smirk, "I have come to take possession of your body, Joker-san."
"What the....." And before Joker could do or say anything further, the image before him disappeared, absorbing himself into the latter's body. Joker felt as though his heart was being crushed, he couldn't breathe! He fell on his knees, gasping for air. Everything was becoming dark then, and he tried fighting a force he could not see nor understand. He fell, unconscious, with the soft earth cushioning his fall.
Joker opened his eyes, only to find himself in a dark place. A very dark place. He felt as though he was floating on air, and was not that surprised to find his feet off the ground. He could barely move a muscle, as though he was tangled in some kind of web. And as he struggled to free himself, he saw the same figure approaching him. Joker was enraged, but something was holding him back, and he couldn't fight back.
Kanjiro took a bow before speaking, "Gomen nasai, Joker-san. It is not my intention to harm you in any way."
Joker seethed, "We'll see who gets bodily harmed."
"Please, forgive me." Kanjiro apologized sincerely, "I need your help. Very badly."
"What for?"
A distant look was cast in Kanjiro's eyes. "Help me, Joker-san, to get the curse lifted off my soul." He looked straight at Joker's eyes, even if they had been hidden behind his bangs. Joker felt goosebumps staring into the other man's face. His eyes were clear and serious. There was somethng awfully unearthly about him.
"If you recall, the dream you had." Kanjiro began explaining, "The dream you had the first night you were here. The girl, the cliff." Joker nodded but said nothing. "She is Sakimoto Midori, owner of this house and the niece of the monk Issei. She is a well respected member of this community." he took a deep breath. "She's intelligent, charming, sweet, beautiful....and I love her very much. Too much."
"If you love her, why did you let her die?" Joker asked sarcastically.
A flash of anger appeared on Kanjiro's face, "Do you think I had wanted that?" the expression then changed to one of sorrow, "If I could turn back the hands of time, I would have stopped then and there. But that had been impossible....until now." his gaze shifted to Joker, "And so I ask for your help."
"As I've told you earlier, I am an officer of the Japanese Imperial Forces." he related, "At the age of 22 I had risen to the ranks faster than any other officer there was. I work hard and am very ambitious. Right now I hold the third highest position in the army of my Commander, known as the Oni. I am engaged to be married to a lovely young woman, my commander's daughter, Ayami. Then he sent me on this mission." Kanjiro sighed, recalling the events. "I was sent here to gather three madogus, psychic devices if you will, owned by the now extinct Hokage Clan. There are three of them in Midori and her uncle's keeping. I am tasked to retrieve them for my Master in exchange for the second position and Ayami's hand in marriage. I set out to carry this task without delay nor dilemma...that was until I met Midori."
Midori was not the plain, insipid girl Kanjiro had concived her to be. She was smart, beautiful and a wonderful companion to be with. A striking contrast to the woman he was to marry, Ayami, who was spoiled, proud and dull. He had been engaged to her only because he had had his way with her one night he had too much sake flooding his better judgment. Not that his commander had known, otherwise he would have had his head served on a platter. He had fallen for the enchanting Midori, and she had returned his love in full. But there had been a job he was to complete, and falling for the red-haired beauty was a big obstacle to overcome. By then he had to choose between his love for Issei's niece and his loyalty to his commanding officer.
He had chosen the former.
Joker thought it was rather silly for a smart, goal-oriented, levelheaded person such as Kanjiro Akamatsu to have his heart rule his head. If he had been in the young officer's shoes, he'd be sure to choose his military rank in favor of a pretty girl who came by the dozen.
"But you do not know Midori, not as much as I do anyway," Kanjiro spoke, reading Joker's thoughts. "Tell me, Joker-san, have you ever been in love? As in true, unselfish, unconditional love?"
Joker was about to open his mouth to answer when the other man spoke for him.
"It is apparent that you have not." he said, "So I understand that you do not, cannot comprehend the extent of my feelings for my Midori-chan. But someday you will," he smiled, "There will come a day when you meet a woman who will complement you, heart and soul. Someone who you feel you belong with, and whom you will want to spend the rest of your days with, regardless." he cast a meaningful look at the Uruha assassin, "Or do you think perhaps you have found her?"
"Neon-han and I are merely friends." he defensively replied. Kanjiro laughed.
"You're being defensive already, and I haven't even mentioned a word." he then continued with his story.
He had already chosen his path, to leave his army, his shogunate and live a simple life with the fair maiden. The day he had come to terms with this fact had become the day of reckoning. He was going to tell her everything and confess his undying affection. But then fate had taken a cruel twist.
His cover had been blown.
Midori had refused to listen to his explanations. She had been betrayed, and she had been hurt more than she was angry. That was the scene that had played in Joker's dreams, Midori escaping with the madugous and accusing Kanjiro of decieving her. Then Midori falls to her death, bringing with her the psychic devices that had been the subject of all the conflict. The madugous had never been found and they had speculated they had either been swept to sea or had been destroyed during the fall. A storm had followed that tragic scene, and Kanjiro was left weeping in the cold, his spirit crushed beyond repair at the loss of the woman he had truly loved. There had been nothing left for him to live for. He had wanted to die at that very moment too, so that he may join his beloved Midori...but then, she had perished not being able to forgive him. It had been that which kept his soul alive. He had waited for Midori's soul to come back and beg for her forgiveness.
Kanjiro was eventually forgiven by Issei and the rest of the community. He had not returned to his post at the Oni's army and he had been reported as killed in action. He spent the rest of his life serving the people of the island as their leader. He had not married, saying his heart had belonged only to Midori and that it would not be fair to the woman he would marry to be second fiddle. He spent his life longing for the day that Midori would come back whether in spirit form or in a reincarnated human form and plead for her to forgive him. He had died at the old age of a hundred not attaining this goal.
"Yukiko is my descendant." he explained. "Apparently, my tryst with Ayami had produced a child. A child who had never seen his traitorous father. Eventually, the Oni had died in battle, not attaining a single Hokage psychic device. Ayami abandoned our child and he was raised by monks. Later on he went in search of me and my whereabouts. By the time, I had been dying and I confessed my sins at my deathbed. My son, Toshiro, was a virtuous man, and he promised to carry on this mission of bridging the gap between Midori and I. So far, none of the attempts had been successful. Until now...."
"Where do I figure out in all of this?" Joker querried.
"Yukiko had cast a spell on you and your companion." Kanjiro said, "It takes you both back in time, to our time, when Midori and I meet. The death of Midori must be prevented."
"Why don't we prevent everything altogether?" Joker suggested, "Why don't you just refure to go to this island so you dont have to meet Midori and you can stay at the Army, get married to the big shot's duaghter and live happily ever after?"
"The spell may be powerful, but we cannot reverse everything. History cannot be severely altered." the other man replied, "Besides, I would never have wanted to not meet my Midori-chan. I would risk it all over and over again, just to be with her. She is worth all the pain and suffering." he added, starry-eyed. Joker shook his head. No woman could be worth that much.....could it?
"You must help me, Joker-san." requested Kanjiro. Midori and I need human bodies to carry out this event. So we had taken you and your girlfriend's body."
"Neon-han is not my girlfriend." Joker stated flatly, "Although I do suppose she wouldn't deny her feelings for me if you asked her." he smiled showing his fanged teeth. He could almost hear Neon protesting vehemently to his remark.
"Nevertheless," interrupted the spirit, "The only part we can reverse is the event prior to her death. This event will come very soon. You have to help me."
Joker's eyebrow rose, "And if I choose not to cooperate with this charade of yours?"
A dangerous
glint appeared in Kanjiro's eye. "Then you will never have your body back
until you do."