Sacrifice or Fighter?

I sighed as I looked out the window to watch the birds fly through the air and wait for the final bell to ring. My best frined Halani shook me whispering, "What are you daydreaming about now Azumi?"
I looked at her and smiled, "Flying."
She shook her head and we both rose to our feet as the bell rang and the teacher annouced that we could leave. I put all my things into my backpack and slung it over my right shoulder. Then I followed Halani out of the classroom and down the hallway. She looked at me saying, "So, I thought you weren't going to be here today, you know after what happened."
I nodded, "I was going to stay home, but I became restless and would have been depressed seeing all their pictures and possessions. I came to school to try to keep it off my mind."
She nodded, "You will have to deal with it eventually."
I nodded, "I know, I am just waiting until my mom is ready to deal with it, then I will be able to."
I looked up as we walked outside of the school, he was standing there with his arms crossed waiting patiently. Halani smiled as she walked over to him dragging me with her. She stopped in front of him, "Wow, how are you gorgeous?"
He looked up and met my eyes immediately, "Ahh, Azumi you are out of school now?"
I nodded trying not to blush, Halani giggled and looked at me, "I can't believe this Azumi, you know such a gorgeous man and you never told me?"
I looked at her and smiled, "I only met him yesterday Halani, his name is Ritsuka."
He nodded at Halani, "Pleasure to meet you Halani."
She found herself blushing and then her boyfriend walked over to us. Upon seeing her blushing and looking at Ritsuka, afraid he would become violent I grabbed Ritsuka's hand and pulled him away from her. He was caught off gaurd and looked to the sixteen year old boy two inches shorter than himself. He nodded and noticed the short, mousy brown hair, the atheletes build, and the standard uniform. He nodded to him as he walked to Halani and put his arm around her waist, "And who the hell are you?"
Ritsuka smiled, "My name is Ritsuka, I am a friend of Azumi's."
I blushed and said, "Yes he is, so don't get your panies in a bunch Jason."
He shrugged, "Whatever," he looked at Halani, "we should get going, you know how your dad is."
She nodded, and looked at me with a wave, "See ya' tomorrow Azumi."
I nodded and after they walked away let go of Ritsuka's hand and backed away, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I figured you wouldn't come to me, so I came to you Azumi."
I sighed, "Alright, fine, what do you want today?"
He smiled, "Why the cold attitude? Is something bothering you Azumi?"
I shook my head, "You, you showed up out of nowhere and got me entangled in this . . . I don't even know what it is. Not to mention those two were talking about Soubi as though he was some legend and I have this feeling that it bothered you. I don't know anything about you and you expect me to trust you so easily, it's aggravating to tell you the truth."
He shook his head, "Well, maybe we should go somewhere to talk so we can learn more about each other then. I am not going to just go away and I do not expect you to trust me easily, I admire that you will not."
I sighed, "Alright, fine, where do you suggest?"
He shrugged and took my hand then led me towards the bus stop, "How about a Cafe or something?"
I followed behind him, mostly because he was pulling me by my hand. I sat down on the bench next to him and we waited in silence for the bus. He kept looking at the park across the street as though he could see something. I looked over to where he was looking, "Do you see something?"
He shook his head and smiled as he looked at me, "No, just remembered something is all."
The bus appeared and he led me onto the bus paying the toll for both of us. He then led me to the middle of the bus and I noticed an old couple looking at us holding hands with a scowl. I looked away and sat down next to Ritsuka and waited until we pulled into the city. He stood up pulling me to my feet and leading me off the bus and onto the streets of the city.
I sighed as he led the way to a small cafe, it made me think that he had been here before. As though he heard me he said, "I have been to this city once before, about three years ago."
I sighed, "But you didn't come and seek me out then?"
He shook his head, "No, twelve years old was a little young. But since I had been labled a fighter and not a sacrifice I was taken to the school of Seven Moons. Soubi-san went there as well, but we were taken there seperately. I was taken prisoner by Sensei Kasame . . . "
I felt a chill run through me that came directly from Ritsuka. I grabbed his hand tightly and said softly, "How about we head to the park a few blocks up, it will be more private."
He smiled and nodded, "Alright, that does sound more peaceful."
I led the way and we walked three blocks up until we came to the entrance of the park. Compared to the packed, busy, bussling street of the city the park was peaceful and quiet. I led him towards the benches that surrounded the large fountain in the deepest parts of the tree filled park. I listened to the peaceful sound of the water pouring from the mouth of the dancer that decorated the fountain.
Ritsuka smiled upon seeing the peaceful expression I knew was on my face. He placed his hand on top of mine and I looked at him. I smiled with a blush crossing over my face, "You were saying something before, please finish telling me."
His smiled left his face and he looked away, "I . . . it's hard to talk about . . . "
I nodded, "Then how about we make a deal . . . "
"A deal?"
I nodded once more, "Yes, you tell me something about you and I will tell you something about me. That way we don't feel like we are baring our souls to each other alone."
He laughed, I felt a warm feeling pass through me at the sound of his laughter. He nodded, "That seems fair. Okay after I was handed over to Sensei Kasame . . . I was personally trained to become the next top fighter, the undefeatable fighter Loveless. I found out after only a few days that Sensei Kasame was the same teacher to Soubi-san. I had seen the scars, known the damage, the torture that he endured. I was his prisoner for two years before Soubi-san came to my aid. But he looked at me as though he was defeated, and he was. The damage was already done, I was different, I had changed and I became the next top fighter as a result, but I lost a lot more. I also had to watch as Sensei Kasame killed Soubi-san, shortly after that I killed him and made my escape. It took me from that time to just days ago to get here to you. I met your brother and sister back in Japan, they helped me escape and had to escape with me because they were caught helping me."
I closed my eyes and nodded, "That sounds like them, they were both selfless people. So was that how, Sensei Kasame, how you shed your ears?"
He nodded, "Yeah . . . that was why Soubi looked at me like that . . . he always said that he wanted to . . . "
I nodded, "Oh, wait you don't have to finish Ritsuka I understand. You and Soubi-san were lovers, I kind of figured that much considering my reaction towards you and the way the other fighters were acting towards each other."
Ritsuka nodded, "Yeah, I guess it was kind of obvious. So does it offend you."
I shook my head, "No why would it offend me? You can't help who you love Ritsuka."
He looked at me and brought my hand to his lips and kissed it making me blush like he always did. When he brought my hand down he looked into my eyes, "So, tell me something about yourself."
I nodded and broke my hand away from him then reached up to my ears. I pulled them both revealing to him that they were fake. He met my eyes at that moment, "Azumi, why would you lie about . . . "
I shrugged, "I'm only fifteen Ritsuka, why wouldn't I lie about it. I was actually amazed you didn't notice considering how closely you look at me, I don't have a tail after all."
He took in a deep sigh, "Are you going to tell me about it?"
I shook my head, "Not today, but feel free to ask about something else."
He smiled and didn't press the matter at all, "Okay, how about you tell me what your life has been like up until your brother and sister died."
I sighed, "Alright, that is fair. Well, when my brother and sister lived with me life was pretty simple. My dad was still with us back then and my mom was still sane. We were a quiet, simple family that lived in a four bedroom house in the city. My dad was a detective, my mother was a doctor, and my brother and sister were twins. Both of them were honor students in school and my brother was a soccer player while my sister was in the martial arts club. My brother disappeared though, when he was about ten years old. My sister and my dad had spent years looking for him when they both disappeared as well. Then my mother started to drink and do drugs and I kind of disappeared to her. She became a scitzofrentic and a violent one at the that. She used to claim that I wasn't Azumi and that I was an imposter. She still does that even now. I don't remember much about my brother, sister, or my father other than the files I found on them."
Ritsuka reached for my hand, "Why is that?"
I took a deep breath, "I was in an accident when I was twelve years old. I was hit by a car crossing the street one day after school, I think that is what they said happened. They told me when I woke up that my name was Azumi and that I had been in a comma for six months. They also said that I was suffering from amnesia. I am now fifteen and I still remember nothing. I can't tell you how I shed my ears because I don't remember. I find it irratating and aggravating that after all this time I still can't remember anything more than a few pieces here and there. I haven't even seen pictures of my father, brother, and sister, or proof that I am Azumi. My mother smashed all the pictures upon my arrival from the hospital claiming that I wasn't her child. She burned them all, every picture, everything linking me to the memories of Azumi."
Ritsuka nodded, "Do you carry a camera with you Azumi?"
I smiled and reached for the camera in my pocket, it was in a small black case and was a digital camera. He smiled upon seeing it and looked at em as he asked, "Would you like to take some pictures? It is a beautiful day after all."
I smiled and allowed him to pull me to my feet by my arm, I smiled, "How did you know I had a camera?"
He smiled, "I did the same thing when I suffered from amnesia. It is very nostalgic listening to your life story. I only say that because your life was a lot like mine was, but I still believe to this day that I would have liked it a lot better if I had never recovered my memories. I hope you do one day, I only wish you could choose which ones to remember."
I smiled and asked him to stand in front of the fountain. He did and I stood back and took a picture of him, he looked peaceful as he smiled at me through the camera. Next he sat down and looked to the sky making me laugh; "You look like a model posing like that."
He laughed and got to his feet coming towards me, I managed to take a picture of him laughing wanting to capture that moment in particular. He grabbed my hand and took hold of the camera, "Okay, now to take some pictures of you, to remind you that you were here."
I blushed as I felt his fingers brush across mine as he took the camera from my hand. I let go and walked towards the fountain and he turned and readied to take a picture of me. I stood in front of the fountain and looked not at the camera but at him wanting to always remember that he was actually there. He took a picture of me looking at him then he took a picture of me as I leaned over and reached my hand into the water of the fountain.
He smiled and took a picture of me standing and then as I turned to face him once more. He stopped a young man walking past and asked him to take a picture of the two of together. As the young man stood with the camera ready Ritsuka put his arms around my shoulders and stood behind me. The young man took the picture and said, "The two of you look as though you belong together. How about one more?"
Ritsuka smiled and stood beside me as we posed for one more, he turned me and made it so that we looked at each other instead of the camera. The the young man took the picture and then Ritsuka thanked him and took the camera back. The young man smiled, "Have a good day you two."
I smiled to him, "Thank you, you as well."
Ritsuka took my hand in his and led me to a small table and sat down. I took a seat across from him and he handed me my camera. He stood and looked to the trees, to the sky as though he saw something once more that I could not, a memory perhaps. I looked at my camera and scrolled through the pictures. There was a picture of me and Halani, of me Halani and Jason. I smiled as I vaguely remembered the moments of the pictures. Then I came to the recent pictures of Ritsuka, of myself, and of me and Ritsuka.
He looked at me as I stared at the picture with a smile and a blush. He smiled upon seeing my expression and sat down at the table across from me. He sat knelt down on his knees and reached for my hand. I looked up at him meeting his eyes and felt my entire face blush as he reached for my hand massaging the palm of my hand with only two fingers.
He slowly pulled my hand to his and caressingly brought my hand into his flexing my fingers across his own. I watched his eyes and saw the passion, the devotion, the sheer love he held for me in his eyes. Then as he held my hand caressingly he slowly leaned forward and moved my hand to his lips whispering against my hand, "I truly love you Azumi, as a person even though we have only met."
I blushed and looked away and then as I thought that my face could not get any redder he kissed my hand. The softness, the wetness of his lips brushing across my hand lit me on fire with a passion and love I had never felt before in my entire life. I closed my eyes and tried to pull my hand back embarassed by my own emotions.
He smiled and pulled me closer to him then let go of my hand and reached instead for my cheek. I felt the softness of his hand brush my flushed cheek. He smiled and I felt the warmth of his breath brush my skin and then as I looked into his eyes I felt such a warmth pass throughout me entirely. Then he startled me by kissing me. My eyes opened wide then closed as the kiss deepened, I felt nothing but love, nothing but heat and a soothing warmth. But then a sense of fear that I could not control took me and I broke the kiss and backed away turning to run from him.
I felt his hand enclose on my arm just above my elbow and hold me in place. I looked at him and once again he appeared to have read my mind, "There is nothing to fear from me Azumi, I will never harm you and I will stop anything that would harm you or cause you discomfort at a word."
I turned and as soon as his hand fell from my arm my hands flew to my ears. It was the same piercing, painful ring of the night before. He turned and took my hand saying just as my hands left my ears, "They have returned to fight."
He looked at me as I moved to his side, "Are you ready for this?"
I looked into his eyes and nodded slightly unsure of my ability but not of his. He smiled and tightened his grip on my hand, "That is all that you need, to be sure of me, to be sure that I will protect you no matter what Azumi."
I nooded and took a deep breath to calm my nerves and settle my own uneasiness. Then I felt as though a wind had brushed across my face, but it was not warm, only cold and painful. Ritsuka pulled me to his side and I dug my face into his chest and he held me close. I closed my eyes and he spoke softly to me, "You can keep your eyes, I will protect you."
I reached my arm up to grab the sleeve of his jacket and held on tightly as another cold, piercing wind brushed across me. But as I held him I felt his warmth, his strength. Then I heard their voices, the ones from the night before.
The girl spoke, "A child to be the sacrifice of Loveless, ironic that this time it is her when before you were the sacrifice. But your fighter was that of Beloved, even though your brother had more than one fighter to choose from and betrayed them both. I declare a spell battle."
Ritsuka nodded, "I accept, I will be fighting on auto."
The two laughed, "You, on auto." The boy looked at him, "Let us see if you are as strong as you believe."
The girl cried out, "Cold as ice, swift as light strike blades of ice."
Ritsuka held his hand in front of him and said, "Complete defense." I thought the blades of ice would strike, but all I heard was them strike the ground. I looked up opening my eyes and noticed that we were fighting almost in the dark. The girl cried out once more, "Zero degrees strike."
Ritsuka shook his head, "That will not work on me. Zero temperature change." The girl then cried out, "Restrainment."
Then I felt a wind push me away from Ritsuka and then felt chains of ice wrap my wrists and my throat. It was painful, numbing, draining me of power. I looked to see the same restraints on Ritsuka but he seemed uneffected by it. He made a fist and said simply, "Release." Then he looked at me as the chain was released from both of us and said towards them, "One hundred degrees upon the ground."
I felt the heat flow across the ground and then move towards them, then I watched as the ground beneath them caved in and started to melt like quick sand. Ritsuka watched my expression change from startled to horrorfied at the sound of their screams.
I heard the girl say, "We forfeit."
Ritsuka then said, "Release, battle system disable." Then the sunny park came into view once more and I saw the two known as Boundless holding each other close as they sat on the ground. I walked to his side and asked, "What is auto?"
Ritsuka smiled, "It allows me to fight without your commands, considering this was your first fight I believed it the safest thing to do."
I nodded a little shaken, "So, when you are not fighting on auto, then what?"
He smiled once more as he took my hand and led me back towards the city streets, "Then you will have the power to control my actions in a fight. But until you are fully ready I will do whatever necissary to protect you from harm."
I nodded, "The restraints, why do they make me feel as though I was loosing my energy. I felt numb and weakened by them."
He nodded, "That is because they are draining, they restrain you from moving or casting magic. It takes a lot of energy to move and use magic while under restraints, but it is possible to do so. But you should know for further references that physical fighting is against the rules in a spell battle. The only ones known to deal direct physical damages are those that call themselves Zero's, they are prototypes."
I nodded, "Okay I will remember that, now I want to talk about you and Soubi. You seem to care a lot about him, but from what you told me it doesn't seem that it was actual. I am just saying that since Sensei was the way he was with you, don't you think that maybe Soubi survived?"
Ritsuka said, "No, that isn't possible . . . "
I looked at him, "Why not Ritsuka?"
Ritsuka closed his eyes and thought to himself; 'I don't want to have to make a choice between you and him. I feel such a stronger pull to you but I have so many memories of being with him. I don't want to break his heart.' Ritsuka opened his eyes, "I saw him die, I want to leave it at that until I have more information about it."
I sighed and decided to drop the subject, "Okay Ritsuka. But the fighters and sacrifices, is all they are a person who gives orders and a person who follows orders? Does every pair have such strong connections to each other?"
He smiled, "Yes, every pair has the same soul, they share the same heart as well. There have been fighters that have fought with a different sacrifice like Soubi-san and I, but the bound between those with the same name are much stronger than those without. I was very lucky to have such a powerful fighter until I could find the one with my name. But I also later discovered that bounds could still be strong with another fighter who had a different name. When I found out that I was actually a fighter it made sense considering the way I had attacked Soubi-san in a virtual world."
"Virtual world, you mean like a game on the computer? But how did that prove that you had the potential to be a fighter?"
"It was a clue, not proof, the proof I found later when Soubi-san and I were in a tough fight against another Beloved fighter. Soubi-san was hurt and I reacted without thinking and attacked with magic. I didn't know what had happened, but shortly after that the Seven Moons started to send tougher pairs after us. Soubi-san later told me that his Sensei had a particular interest in me because of that fight. Soubi-san fought with everything he had to keep me out of their hands, he knew what it meant when his Sensei had such an interest in me."
I nodded, "Everything that has made you so strong, the shedding of your ears. You have scars don't you, scars that are probably the same as Soubi's, but scars that Soubi tried to save you from because he loved you. It pains you that you have them because he fought so hard and it causes him pain because you love him." I stood in front of him and reached up to stroke his cheek, he allowed me to do so. I smiled as he put his hand over mine and held my hand to his cheek. I said to him, "If Soubi is alive, I want you to make the choice that is in your heart. I don't want you to choose between us, I want you to be happy."
He smiled and then embraced me and held me close, "Thank you Azumi."
I embraced him as well feeling safe for once in my life, feeling warm, happy, and at peace for a short amount of time.