#I more so mean that Aaron would always hold a little healthy spite in his heart for Neil

[mauvemischief]

mmm part of me thinks that Aaron would forever hold onto a little bit of childish bitterness that Andrew picked Neil.

[sadisticsmiles]

Beyond a Thief’s Power Episode 21

In Preparation for the Abrupt

             Just as Claire and Elizabeth had completed their plans for the night, a knock was at the door.

           Elizabeth turned around from her right side a little to look at the door and asked, “Who is it?”

           Standing outside their door, a familiar dark silver-haired woman’s back could be seen. “It’s Kuruha. Is Claire with you?”

           Kuruha listened for her friend’s answer, which was, “Yes, he’s with me. Was there something important you wanted to tell us?”

           “Not really,” the dark silver-haired female replied. “I’m only checking since none of us have seen him for a while.” A faint sigh escaped her lips. “I’m glad he has you with him, Elizabeth. He can be hopeless sometimes.”

           “Hey, I heard that!” Claire’s comment came quickly. “I’m not dillydallying, Kuruha. You should know me better.”

           Kuruha frowned. “I do know you, idiot.” She shifted her left arm and placed her hand on her hip. “What on earth are you doing? We haven’t gotten any word from you about the final concert yet.”

           “Do you honestly think I haven’t been working on the schedule? Geez, you’re so impatient.”

           “Why don’t you wait a bit longer and let him rest until he’s ready?” Elizabeth suggested. “He’s quite drained from working for our sakes.”

           “Oh~!” Claire said. “That’s my darling!”

           Kuruha’s eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance. “Fine, have it your way. You’re so disgusting, anyway.”

           “That’s not very nice!” Claire shouted.

           Kuruha turned around completely. “Life isn’t nice. After all, you remember all the lives we’ve spent together as well as anyone else between the four1 of us.”

           As the dark silver-haired woman walked away from the couple’s hotel door, Claire smiled, still facing the direction of his laptop.

           “Indeed,” he noted. “Life isn’t generous to anyone, even with these memories that are supposed to be erased for each reincarnation cycle the four of you have gone through.” He sat up straight, removing his arms from relaxing and placed his right hand on the laptop. Its smooth surface soothed him. “Oh. I should say, the six of us instead, shouldn’t I? This man’s body has always been mine—or, bodies from being reborn many times.”

           Elizabeth turned back to gaze at her sweetheart with a somber frown on her face. “So has this young lady. She is only a mere vessel for me, as that young man is for you, Circ.”

           “Faye,” Circ addressed his wife in Claire’s body. Then, he turned around in his rolling chair. “We’re finally back even if we’ve had to lay dormant in these bodies for a long time.”

           Faye sighed. “It took many years after being destroyed once more to come back. We’ve weakened tremendously against the magicians. It’s pathetic that we’re now relying on human bodies that can hold us.”

           “All the more reason to take our revenge,” Circ responded. His menacing grin appeared shortly afterward. “Now, how should we play things out for the magicians and their precious humans?”

           Soon, Kuruha entered a room where Kokoro and Kenshi were in, and the door automatically locked.

           “Welcome back, Onee,” the younger sister greeted. “Were you able to find Claire?”

           Kuruha folded her arms in front of her abdomen. “I can’t say that I ‘found’ him, but I stopped by his and Elizabeth’s room.” Her eyes narrowed. “He was inside, but those two didn’t open the door, so the only thing I was able to do was talk with them while standing outside.”

           “Is he sick?” Kokoro asked.

           “Far from it,” the older Mamiya sister replied. “He’s just tired.”

           Kenshi gave a soft laugh. “Haha. You positive he wasn’t busy with the concert prep?”

           “If he were, he’d be finished by now.” Kuruha let her arms go back to the sides of her body. “I know I can be harsh on him, but he’s never been plagued with illness.”

           Kokoro nodded. “Yup. He’s always been healthy, and so have all of us.” She paused for a few seconds. “We just… died early in all of our lives.”

           Kenshi’s smile faltered and converted into a sympathetic frown. He eyes were also triste as he glanced at Kokoro and then at Kuruha. “I suppose that’s the consequence of eternal reincarnation.”

           Kokoro lifted her head up slightly to look at the cedar-haired man. “Without a doubt, yes. Who wouldn’t want to continue living in this world?” She spun around once and looked at Kenshi once more. Her amaranth pink hair and lime-green eyes were shining with the happy look on her face. “It’s beautiful, even though there are the nastier sides to it. Onee and I have had fun memories before and after we met Claire, but it’s thanks to him that we were able to come to Europe and meet Elizabeth. That’s why, I like this world.”

           Kenshi’s eyes widened with curiosity and confusion. “Huh? What do you mean, Kokoro?”

           Kuruha nodded. “Those words are the truth, Kenshi.” Her dark silver eyes cast downward to the floor with a distant, yet serene look in them. ”In the past when we were in our first lives, we lived in Japan. But…”

           Understanding the dark silver-haired young woman’s words, Kenshi slowly smiled. “Oh, right. Your father was originally a travelling merchant, and your mom…” He trailed off, wondering if his own mother was alright. Once again, it couldn’t be helped for him to think about those he left behind to stay with the Hidden Resistance. His mom was also a single parent, but the Mamiya sisters currently had both parents in their lives, unlike their past ones.

           Kokoro smiled. “What, you’re still having sympathy for us? We’ve been able to endure at least this much since then and time again.”

           “You’re certainly a softy in comparison to the rest of us,” Kuruha agreed. “I guess that won’t change in spite of our current situation.”

           Kenshi made a cute, pleading frown. “You two can say that it’s not much to care about now that your mom is with you after all the centuries since then, but…” Tears started to form and travel down his cheeks. “I find it to be a miracle.” He was blinking, but his tears kept coming to blur his vision of the two ladies in the room with him. He was still such an emotional lad himself after all the time he spent with the group. “Who wouldn’t miss having a full family, and…” A sniff came from him right away.

           “Oh my,” Kuruha smiled at seeing the grown cedar-haired man cry for them. “You haven’t changed at all. Honestly. To think about us and the fact we’ve been reunited with our lovers in this… last life of ours.” She closed her eyes. “Thank you. It means a lot to us.”

           “It would be nice if Naomasa and Kiyo-aniki2 were here to hear this,” Kokoro added.

           Kuruha’s eyes opened. “Don’t forget about Sakuya.”

           The amaranth pink-haired loli’s eyes narrowed and she averted her gaze. “…Well, yeah. Him, too.”

           “Don’t be letting your guards down at a time like this,” a familiar male voice said. As soon as the owner of the voice magically made their entrance in the back of the room, it was Aaron. His attire was amazing to behold: a navy blue fingerless glove [that went up past his left elbow a bit]; an onyx cape-like shirt that slanted down from his left hip to his right ankle, and had a medium-sized gold ring on his left side [near his shoulder and above his heart that revealed the area from his neck down a bit from his chest and left shoulder, due to the curve from his right]; matching color for his pants and his suave ankle boots.

           “Aaron,” Kenshi and Kuruha simultaneously called the teal-haired magician’s name.

           Kokoro glanced at Aaron. “What’s with your outfit? You look… cool.”

           “Obviously, the situation has changed,” the Magician of Power declared. “It’s fight or die without trying.” He looked straight at Kuruha. “Claire and Elizabeth are no longer in control of their bodies.”

           A staid look was on Kuruha’s visage as she narrowed her eyes. “You mean… They’ve been taken over?”

           “Exactly,” Aaron replied. “All the magicians that are currently in Neon sensed a sudden change in the Human World, which had some familiarity to it.” He frowned shortly afterward. “Yet, who would’ve thought they were this close to us the past six years we’ve been with you.”

           The Mamiya sisters’ eyes widened.

           “What’s going on?” Kenshi asked; he was perplexed by Aaron’s words.

           “Claire and Elizabeth have been taken over by Rozanne’s parents, Circ Sinclair and Faye Feris,” Manjuki answered as she teleported next to Aaron’s right side. She wore a purple long-sleeved shirt with a collar that covered the area right below her neck, amethyst-colored pants without pockets, and raisin wedge low heels.

           “How are we going to fight them?” Kokoro asked. “They’re on a larger scale than Roxanne herself, and we haven’t taken down the entire 14K yet.”

           “Don’t forget that we’ve been lowering their forces for years,” Aaron reminded the humans. “We know how hard you’ve helped us, even by a little effort.” His stare had a hardened look at the three people who weren’t gifted with powers. “We’ve dragged you in this, but you have us.”

           Kuruha’s dark silver eyes were moved with gratitude. “Aaron…”

           “Da—“ Kokoro was about to finish what she was saying, but Aaron cut her off.

           “Don’t call me that,” the teal-haired magician said. “You already have one, despite the fact that he’s too busy to stay with you two and your mother at the moment.”

           Kokoro gazed a bit more at Aaron before puffing her cheeks out. “Way to ruin my feelings. You know you’ve been like one to me from the start.”

           “I’m not one and I don’t ever want to be one,” Aaron grimaced. “Futaba isn’t your parent, either, and she doesn’t ever want to be one.”

           “You’re mean,” Kokoro deflated her cheeks.

           “And you’re a brat,” Aaron retorted.

           Kenshi smiled dully. “It’s hard to believe you and Riki worked together.”

           “I’ve kept away from being rough towards him,” Aaron told the cedar-haired male. “He’s a kind guy for someone with an ego that hides his insecurities.”

           Kenshi’s smile grew wider. “You know, you aren’t bad yourself, Aaron.”

           The teal-haired magician brushed off the compliment. “Eh, I don’t care about being like your leader.” He glanced at Manjuki. “Anyway, we need to get things done.”

           “Circ and Faye will make their move soon,” the purpureus-haired Magician of Intelligence relayed.

           Minagi and Futaba appeared immediately after using their teleportation. The latter was next to Aaron’s other side and the former stood on the picton blue-haired Magician of Power’s right side. Futaba wore a long-sleeve white V-neck jacket with ruffles for the collar, the lining cut a bit over the middle of her chest, and the cuffs, over a curved cantaloupe tank top; her pants were linen white and were rolled up to show a cloud gray color; her socks were stone blue and she wore sage sneakers. Minagi, on the other hand, was wearing a sparkling golden flower resembling a mix between a lily and a castor bean due to its pointy, sharp leave, which was slanting slightly upward on the right side of her head; a shiny, solid black, light fitting turtleneck beneath a kimono that had the same golden color as her flower for the collar and obi; the right side of her collar and right sleeve were loose over her shoulder, and the rest of the kimono was fuchsia. With its simple but elegant outfit, she wore white socks and a pair of plum-colored zori with lilac straps.

Kenshi’s eyes widened in admiration for the attire of the two women who had just made their appearance. “W-Wow… You two look fantastic.”

           “No duh,” the Mamiya sisters commented.

           Hearing that, Kenshi couldn’t help but laugh playfully. “Ahaha.”

           “Having fun at a time like this,” Minagi softly said.

           Futaba faintly smiled. “You three certainly take the tension away.”

           “No laughing matter, though,” Aaron remarked.

           Manuki nodded and gave her attention to the cedar-haired male. “Kenshi, send an email to your friends. They need to know what’s going on before they’re drawn into wherever Circ decides to send everyone he wants to involve.”

           “What will you guys be doing?” Kenshi inquired.

           Without taking her gaze off him, Manjuki reached for her pocket with her right hand to the space near her pants, and gradually pulled out a sword. As it formed, it took on the shape of a marigold hilt and a violet blade shaped like a long, slow-curving wolf fang for the tip. She walked over to Kokoro and held the sword horizontally in front of the amaranth pink-haired girl.

           “Take Islander along with you,” she instructed.

           Kokoro looked into Manjuki’s eyes. “He’s your precious weapon, Manjuki. I shouldn’t take him when you need to defend yourself.”

           “I’m not so weak without him,” Manjuki responded calmly. “You’re the one who won’t be able to keep yourself unharmed. You can’t fight alone unless one of us is with you, so I‘m leaving him in your care. He now has a power boost to stop Faye.”

           “I’ll be fighting the being of Fate?”

           Manjuki nodded. “For Elizabeth, she wants you to see her in order to spend more time with you.”

           “So that’s her wish…” Kokoro trailed off before looking at Islander’s weapon form. “I’ll make sure to fulfill it.” She slowly extended her right arm and enclosed the handle in her hand.

           Next, Minagi put her right arm out in front of her and took out her sword by moving her hand to the right side in a swift motion. A sword with a very small light blue and white round crystal was attached to the hilt before the blade had a curve in the shape of a medium sized coral pink spiral seashell, and then became elongated for the rest of the blade which had a pistachio green color.

           When she had finished stepping toward the elder of the Mamiya sisters, she said in a stoic manner, “Kuruha. Be careful. As they are now, your dearest companions will not be able to hear your voices. Claire wants you to be strong and overcome any obstacles to save the people who need to be protected the most. Therefore, I am also expecting you not to hesitate for his sake, as well as everyone else’s.”

           Kuruha stared at the light green-haired magician’s eyes. “I don’t have Zen’aku with me, and I’m not powerful enough without it to defeat an adversary with a vast amount of power.”

           “I know,” Minagi replied. “We all do.3 Circ has called your sword back to him because it was never meant to be yours; the investigations we did on them were far too late for us, which makes apologizing pointless. At any rate, Manjuki and I will come back to your and Kokoro’s side. Aaron and Futaba will accompany you to the battle with them.”

           A worried look overcame Kuruha’s visage’s expression. “What about Elise and Aikishi?”

           “They’re with the rest of the palace’s staff. After all, they were meant to serve the Royal family years ago after graduating from high school.”

           “They’ve gone back and forth between our two worlds,” Manjuki added. “It’s not as if they can’t handle their jobs as a maid and butler.” She glanced at her cousin. “You did enlist their help after we came here, Minagi.”

           Minagi let out a relaxed, nonchalant sigh. “We’re teachers, you and I. We shouldn’t make our students wait for us. That would’ve been irresponsible of us to stay as idols if we didn’t return to the school.”

           “As long as it wasn’t the same high school we went to,” Aaron stated. “Good thing it wasn’t.”

           Futaba giggled. “Aha, it was still fun.”

           “Hardly,” Aaron and Manjuki answered at the same time.

           “Well, things happen,” Minagi said.

           Kuruha and Kokoro smiled. The banter between the four magicians erased their tension. It may have been because Aaron, Futaba, and Minagi were childhood friends, along with Manjuki being Minagi’s cousin that the Mamiya sisters instantly remembered being childhood friends with the Nanahoshi brothers. One of those brothers had made a childhood promise to marry Kuruha, and they were still together as an engaged couple. Another memory appeared in their minds and was one of the Fuse Investigations agency’s other grown members with the Nanahoshi brothers: the famous actor Rui Wakaba, a lawyer with glasses, and the chief of the team, smiling at them warmly.

           “Onee,” Kokoro said, “we have to make it back to everyone.”

           Kuruha nodded. “Yeah.”

           Kenshi had been listening to everyone else’s conversations while he had been sitting on an armchair at the table with his laptop opened He had already sent the email right after Manjuki instructed him to and after his last words in the exchanges within the room. He was currently looking over at the emails that were sent between him and Takuto, who had asked who he was, but the sniper of the Black Foxes could not reveal himself.

           “That should do it,” he informed everyone as he turned his head over his right shoulder and shut his laptop.

           Aaron’s eyes narrowed with the will to settle things. “Let’s make our move, then.”

           “Right,” everyone else stated.

           On the other side of the email, Takuto stared at his laptop screen. “What’s with this guy? He wouldn’t even tell me who he was, and he hasn’t answered back. I guess he left.”

           “Yet,” Atsumu said, “it’s thanks to him that we got more information on what’s happened. We need to plan our next move.”

           “A total heads-up from a stranger,” Hiro noted with a serious expression on his face. Then, he frowned in concern. “How are we going to prepare ourselves? We’re missing Sayuri and Rina, and we don’t know if we’ll get Ains back anymore.”

           Taiga glanced at Hiro. “Well, we can’t rely on them to be with us. Rina’s sword will also have to wait to be rescued. There are some things that can’t be helped.”

           “But we can’t just do nothing, either,” Hiro said while directing his gaze with his eyebrows furrowed at the underground doctor.

           “How do you suppose we get the sword back when there’s nothing we can do about it?” the smokey topaz brunet asked. “We’ll need to fight an impossible battle soon.” He paused for a few seconds. “I hate to say this myself, but don’t get worked up over who and/or what’s not here. We don’t have much time left.”

           Hiro’s eyes lowered as he looked down at the floor with a sad and defeated frown. “Yeah…”

           Meanwhile, in Ibuki’s room, she was still sleeping and breathing soundly in her baby blue bed. The blanket and pillow were sky blue and she had a peaceful, relaxed sleep to rejuvenate her body. Soon, she heard a voice in her head.

           Ibuki, it’s time to wake up, a woman’s voice called out to her.

           It sounded familiar to her, but she could not pinpoint the identity of the person who called her in her resting state.

           Who… she wondered in her mind. Who’s calling me?

           There was no one to answer her as she kept her eyes closed the entire time, but then… Her eyes opened suddenly and were filled with a light, which made them as beautiful as a magician’s.

           Downstairs in the basement, the alliance was still gathered. It was quietly tense for them to wait for the worst to happen. However, the door rapidly burst opened, causing everyone to quickly turn their attention towards it. There at the basement entrance was none other than Ibuki herself. She was in her long light blue nightgown which covered her neck down to the top of her bare feet.

           Riki’s eyes widened with the most shock out of all the other members of Black Foxes gathered in the room. “Ibuki?!”

           “Wha!” Hiro could barely say anything.

           Mitsuki felt paralyzed. “This can’t be…!”

           The rest of the alliance members: Hyosuke, Taiga, Nao, and Miyuki weren’t fazed by Ibuki’s appearance; Atsumu showed a brave face and was stern, and Takuto’s eyes narrowed with suspicion while he frowned. His facial expression displayed contempt, despite that he and the boss of the team were already braced for the worst, along with the rest of the alliance members without actually loathing Ibuki.

 XXX

 1)      Kuruha is referring to herself, Claire, Elizabeth, and Kokoro from the seventeenth chapter of the story.

2)      Naomasa Sakura from True Love Sweet Lies is mentioned as Kokoro’s lover, and Kiyoharu Nanahoshi is Kuruha’s.

3)      Minagi gives a reminder from when Aaron told Kenshi, Kuruha, and Kokoro about all the magicians in Neon knowing about the turn of events.