notes: the same young taicho from the first series, but i decided to name him ('kawaji') since this is his last appearance. this chapter is the second to last. enjoy.
Half an hour ago in Ginza, the operation for 'underground extermination' had begun. A squad of 25 rushed down into the sewers, going deeper and deeper below the surface. At midpoint, they left behind 10 men to lookout and go for help if needed. The 15 men went on ahead, looking for the absolute nest.
"We're 15 feet away. Are you ready, Men??" asked the squad leader. It was the same officer who had been in charge of Teito's defense before the Tai Kouma Butai basically took over. He looked a bit older since then, but his eyes were fiery as ever.
"Ryokai, Kawaji-taichou!"
The soldiers readied their guns and broke into a run, heading towards a large, ancient entrance. Breaking it down, they saw a circular room full of purples eggs. They gazing around in awe for a moment and then decided to get the mission over with.
"Ready, Aim, Fire!!"
Machine guns showered the scene, shells and eggs bursting, the crackle echoing throughout. "It's loud!" yelled one of the soldiers, "Louder than I imagined!"
"Sonna...!" someone else yelled, "The resonance... it's... it's making the eggs hatch!!"
"HAYAKU!!" called Kawaji, "KILL THEM ALL!!!"
However, there was so many and the room was being battered by the intense decibels. Soon the roof started to cave. "Let's get the hell out of here!!"
"Don't retreat!!" yelled the young leader, "We can't quit this mission!! There's no way I'll quit this mission!!! I won't let - them - have it!!"
In his mind, Kawaji flashbacked to a couple of days before - he had met with Yagami in at the inn he was staying. "What the hell is this about the Tai Kouma Butai returning? I thought you said you'd handle it?! Didn't I pay you enough?!?"
Yagami smiled rather boyishly and leaned against the wall. "Cheh, everyone has complaints; first Nomura then you! It's not my fault that Fujieda survived and Yamazaki came back. Then I hear that woman, Hasokawa, is going to squeal on all of us..."
"I'll take care of her... You do your job!"
"Don't be so forceful. I know your secrets so you better be kind to me. It might just slip out, Kawaji..."
Kawaji didn't think twice as he pulled out a gun and shot Yagami in the head. The body fell to the floor and so did the gun. Kawaji looked down without any feeling.
'It would've been him or me... I've waited too long for this opportunity... To be the hero who protects Teito... I am not going to let anyone get in my way... No one...'
"I've waited too long for this!!" Kawaji yelled, continuing to blast the room with his machine gun as his men retreated, "I'LL NEVER GIVE UP!! AHAHAHAH!!!" But then a giant piece of ceiling fell on him. As he opened his eyes, he saw beady eyes surround. "IYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
Above ground, the General and the second squad were surprised to see the first squad return. "What happened? Where's Kawaji-shoui?"
"Taichou is..." they tried to say. Suddenly, behind them they saw a sight that was too frightening to describe in words. "GWAAAAAAAH!!!"
* * * * * * * *
"I see," Yoneda uttered, "That's what is going on." He, Ayame, and Yamazaki had just heard from their taichou about the full details of the mission. "I can't believe you didn't tell us, Kazuma..."
"I am sorry! I know it was wrong of me to keep this from you, but I was in between duty to you and my commanding officers... I didn't have much of a choice. I know you don't want to hear any excuses, but it's the truth. I regret it completely."
"Taisa..." Ayame didn't like to see him so full of guilt. "You did what you had to do. I cannot find any blame in your actions, only that you tried to protect us..."
"Still..." Kazuma looked over to the silent Yamazaki who continued to stare on at the buildings they were passing. They had been riding in the back of a jeep towards Ginza, but Yamazaki hadn't said a word. "Yamazaki... I..."
"It's fine," he finally replied, "I don't care about it."
Kazuma couldn't shake it off. But, he knew he had to recover fast. By the looks of it, the mission had failed and the bells meant that the demons had come to the surface.
'I thought for sure this would end tonight... But now... the entire nation is in trouble... Sakura, I won't let anything happen to you... no matter what...'
"Those idiots," Yoneda sighed, as they came closer towards the flaming Ginza and passed by the fleeing masses, "Don't they ever learn? Why didn't they just let us do the job??"
"Pride," Yamazaki noted, "They just won't let us freaks take the credit."
"Shousa..." Ayame uttered, staring towards the cold look in his face, "Looks like we're going to have to discuss this later. We're here already!"
The group leapt out of the jeep and saw that the soldiers were also retreating the area. "There's too many!! We can't control the situation!!"
"IDIOT!!" Yamazaki exclaimed as he drew his sword and sliced through one demon, "There are still people in the area! Do your damn job and help out!!" The cowardly soldiers just kept on running. "YOU REALLY PISS ME OFF!!" he yelled after them as Yoneda tried to hold him still.
"At this rate..." Ayame faced the masses of miniature demons coming up the gash in the street, "The demons cannot be stopped by our individual attacks. We need more power!"
Kazuma cleared the path twice with his Haja Kensei, but before he could do it the third time, he stumbled forward and dropped his sword. "Uuug..."
"Stop it!" Yoneda cried, going over to him, "Kazuma, don't push yourself too much. You need to recover your strength before doing another attack..."
"There's no time..." Kazuma clawed at the ground. "I have to keep going... I can't let them...!!" When he tried to get up again, his legs gave way. The high-powered attacks had left him weakened. "Dammit...!!"
Ayame and Yamazaki were still handling the onslaught of more incoming enemy. "Don't worry! Shousa and I can hold them off until Taisa recovers his strength..."
"There's no need..." said a voice. They all turned to see the general coming forth with his personal troop, "We can put an end to this right away before anyone else gets hurt."
"Kyougo, what are you talking about?" Yoneda asked. He and the others then looked behind them and saw that the transporters had brought the giant spirit cannon behind the barriers. "Kazuma, did you know about this?"
A somewhat shocked Ayame looked to Kazuma, but he didn't say anything. She turned to Yamazaki. "Please use your strongest attack to push them back."
"Ayame...!" he called as she started to walk towards the general. He did as told - shards of ice surging down the street and killing any demons close in range. He then went over to join them. "What's going on! I thought we were going to fight together..."
"The Great Demon will be here any minute," Ayame replied, "If we want to stand a chance, we have to think of the greater picture. You and Shirei combined with Taisa should be enough... I will use part of my power to get rid of these demons..."
"WAIT!!" He snagged her over by the arm with a very irate look, "You fool!! It isn't going to work!!"
"I have to take the chance! I don't want them to win! I don't want Teito to be destroyed! Especially this place... Ginza, the place we lived together... where I met you, Yamazaki-shousa..."
Yamazaki stared at her resilient face, slowly loosening his hold. "Ayame no baka... Don't do it... I won't let you..."
"I'm sorry, Shousa..." she said, prying his hand off her sleeve. She backed away from him, turning to the troops waiting to bring her to the machine.
"DON'T!!" Yamazaki exclaimed, but some soldiers showed up and restrained him. "Let me go, you bastards!! I won't let you get away with this!!" Meanwhile, she was moving farther away. "AYAME!!! DON'T DO IT!!"
"Shut up!!" snapped one soldier, striking him in the side of the head, "She's going on her own free will. You can't do anything, so stay out of it."
"Na..." Yamazaki lifted his bleeding face, full of rage. "NAN DAI YO!? I'M SICK OF YOU BASTARDS!!" He grabbed that soldier and hurled him to the ground, pointing his sword at him, "What do you mean I CAN'T??!"
"Yamazaki, don't lose control!!" Yoneda cried, about to run and stop him. He saw Kazuma limping over. "Eh?"
"Yamazaki calm down."
"Like hell I'm going to let them use Ayame!!!"
"Calm down..."
"Taisa, make me!"
Yamazaki eyes widened as Kazuma took out a gun and pointed it at him. "Kazuma!" Yoneda gasped, coming up next to him, "What are you doing??!"
Kazuma just tried to keep a steady grip. "Yamazaki, please don't make me do something I'll regret." The gun continued to shake until he saw the general in the background. "Please cooperate, I'm asking you."
"Even if it is you telling me, Taisa, I won't... I will never cooperate with any of you! And if you think I am just going to stand here and watch the woman I love throw away her life for you bastards, think again...!"
Ayame entered the glass pod and hooked up the wires to her limbs. She could see the machines turn on, but also through the glass see her friends in a dispute. 'What's going on?' She saw Yamazaki start to run towards her direction. Behind him, Kazuma stood and aimed. "IYA!! DAME DESU!!"
The gunshot rung high and clear; Yamazaki crumbled to the ground, feeling the sharp pain of the bullet that had hit him in his leg. "AAA! Sonna...!" he gasped, clawing at the dirt. He could hear the footsteps behind him. Yamazaki knew it was Kazuma, and closed his eyes momentarily - imagining him holding the gun. "Taisa... "
"I'm sorry..." Kazuma uttered, his hands now shaking. He knelt down and placed the gun on the ground. "I didn't mean to hurt you... I just wanted to..."
"Protect me, I know..." Yamazaki replied, feeling the tears in the corners of his eyes - tears of pain. "But, I've changed from the time we first met... I've learned to rely on my strength... I'm not as weak as that time..."
"You are weak." General Kyougo stepped forward, his hands in his long black cloak. "You Yamazaki are all alike - no matter what you do, you don't do any good for Teito. All you do is make things worse. It's no wonder you ended up such a failure as your father..."
"Don't you dare... talk about my father like that..."
"That's right. One good thing I remember about you Yamazaki is that you're always so persistent... like a beaten animal still trying to crawl on the ground. It's funny to know such pitiful beings still exist in this world, without any real purpose other than getting in other people's way."
"Yamazaki..." Kazuma looked at the lowered head. "Don't..."
Up ahead, the machines had started to suck Ayame's power. She watched through the glass, her eyes very tearful. "Shousa... please don't..."
Yamazaki grabbed his sword and used it to help stand up, despite his bleeding ankle. "The hell with all of you!! I only care about one thing!!" He then pushed himself to walk a couple of steps, glaring towards the glowing cannon. "I won't ... give up...!"
Two gunshots were fired. Yamazaki felt the sharp pain in his back, and when he jerked around, another pain in his side. Kazuma was just looking in shock. Next to him, Kyougo held out the smoking revolver. The scene blurred a little as Yamazaki collapsed.
"IYA!! STOP IT!!!" Ayame cried, trying to break away from the wires. As each snapped, she threw herself out of the machine and landed in the dirt. She felt so weak and could barely stand. As she limped towards the fallen body, the machine was overheating and then malfunctioned, creating a small explosion. Ayame fell to her knees just inches away from Yamazaki.
"It's too late isn't it...?" she heard him utter. Ayame used ever bit of her strength to crawl towards him, cradling his trembling body, "They took it... Your power... I can't feel that warm light anymore... radiating from you..."
Ayame suddenly realized what he was talking about. "No..." she said, staring back at the flaming rubble of the machine, "It couldn't have..."
"But, I'm glad..." He bit off his glove and lifted his hand to her cheek, "You can't fight anymore... No more of this battling to save Teito... We can finally get out of here..."
"Shousa..."
"That's all I wanted... to leave... But you... I couldn't... I wanted to stay by you forever... But all you ever wanted was to be here... in this place I hated so much... Why... Why...?"
"Please don't say anymore... Save your strength... Please..."
"No, I want to talk... I want you to know... I cannot forgive it... This place... This place you love more than me, more than anything... I cannot forgive it... I hope it burns to the ground..."
"You don't mean that, Shousa!" she tearfully exclaimed, "Please stop saying such things!"
"I do mean it... with all my heart..." he replied, "Because... I love you, more than anything... Ayame..." His saddened blue eyes slowly closed and the hand became limp and fell from her face.
"Yamazaki-shousa! Please don't go!" she cried, worried that he had left her. She checked his pulse and realized that he was still alive, that he had just lost consciousness. 'His feelings...'
"HEY!!" Yoneda cried, he and Kazuma rushing over, "What are we going to do?! The troops are now retreating and Kyougo is nowhere to be seen! Plus, the demons are coming back and the flames are getting bigger, and...!"
Up in the sky, they could see the Great Kouma circling Ginza. Kazuma looked up, his eyes narrowing. "This is it..."
Kneeling on the ground and holding onto the unconscious Yamazaki, Ayame could feel her heart pound uncontrollably. "What are we going to do?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Next - The Epilogue: "The Blue Sky"
Ayame-neesan
Today is different from any other day. Today I will be on the same level as you, and I will take the same responsibilities. But the feeling in my heart - I think it will be different from yours. Maybe someday, I can learn to love what you loved with all your heart. Maybe I can protect it as strongly as you did. Maybe we will meet again and you will say how much you wished you were with me. Maybe I will open my heart to those words. Whatever happens though, I know you will always be the same person and I will be the same too. Let's not ever forget that. That's the way Shinnosuke-niisan wanted it.
Neesan, today we begin our new lives.
