Gatemasters - Lost Chapters

[Zuri-chan]

Tategami Highschool, one of the most distinguished institutions in the Tategami Prefecture. Distinguished for the fact it is the place where young minds were trained to prepare them for the future that is to come. With its modern equipment and up to date facilities, surely the students enrolled within were sure to be trained to reach their full potential. And yet, this establishment not only looks out for the welfare of the young generation but it serves another purpose as well.

It serves as one of the base operations of AEGIS, an organization formed to combat against the unknown Invaders. Yet the existence of this organization remained unknown to many, only a handful of people know of it and most of them are members of the said group. From the outside, the school looks as normal as any school would go. It would be highly unexpected that it possessed such a hidden nature. Normally, you would see students walking around its long winding halls or you could hear the bells that would signal the start and end of classes and of course, the sounds of voices would not be missed. All that, on a weekday though for when the weekend comes around; the whole place changes into a form so different from its usual shape. The cheerful voices are gone, the bells are turned off and the whole facility locked down. This seemed to be the case every weekend, especially in an early morning when students would be seen entering the said school. However, this day is different as there seemed to be entities that disturbed Tategami High’s usual weekend solitude. Two girls, more specifically the Gatemaster Twins, Kizuna and Suzuna Yamamoto.

“Yaaawn.”

Suzuna let out a yawn as she wearily followed her twin around Tategami High. It was then she wondered what she was doing in such a place in such an early hour. Staring at the wrapped bokken in her hand, she recalled the events of the night before. Kizuna had taught her all she needed to know about rituals of their family last night and in exchange, she was to help her work on her spear-fighting. She looked up to the other girl walking in front of her and in a quite cheery manner at that. Same emerald green hair and almost the same frame and for now, the same school uniform; they were really twins, aren’t they? Except for that ponytail and that one last thing. Kizuna turned back at her, quite worried with the pace she was going at. Her fingers moved as this was her only way of communication, letting her twin sister know her inquiry. The sleep-eyed girl shook her head and just waved a hand as a reply.

“Hai...hai…I’m fine…just need more sleep.”

Kizuna smiled sweetly and walked closer over to her then waited. Suzuna sweatdropped and quickly fixed herself up not wanting to let her sister wait. She quickened her pace and her twin just followed, watching her closely. Suzuna turned back at her and raised another question.

“I thought the school is closed at weekends…how did you…”

Kizuna moved her fingers and spelled out a name. Reiji. Her twin just blinked.

“You got permission from him?”

She nodded in reply.

“I see…but won’t Tomoe mind?”

Kizuna placed her hands together and placed in by the side of her face, imitating a person in slumber.

“Ah…she’s still asleep, I see…well she needs some rest I guess but knowing her, she would not really want you to be holding something from her again…she was pretty worried all throughout the Kayomi incident.”

Kizuna stared down at the floor, pacing her feet then looked back up, motioning her fingers again.

G—O—M—E—N

“You should really be telling me that, it’s Tomoe you need to apologize to.”

Suzuna smiled and kept walking and stopped in front of the Tategami High Gym. The girl reached for the door and realized it was locked. Kizuna stepped forward and produced a key and unlocked the locked door. The two entered the building; the morning sun being the only source of light inside the gym. The two stopped when they saw a familiar figure waiting for them.

[Nrvnqsr Chaos]

"Take your bride's hand, Kuraki Tomoe." Suzuna said, her voice shaking slightly - the candles that lit the Ceremonial Shrine seemingly threatening to snuff themselves out and sink the whole wedding into darkness, from which the evil spirit Koyami could lash out from with her killing touch. They stood there - the entire AEGIS Far East Gatemaster unit, some of them wounded, others on their feet by will alone. And yet - they stood at attention, perfectly and precisely - knowing full well that if the ceremony was conducted as properly as it should be, they would all be granted a way out of this nightmare that Kizuna herself locked her soul in just so it could not take over the outside world.

And Tomoe - clad in her past self's hitokiri garb, a white obi with a black hakama - stood beside Kizuna, her best friend, her roomate, her comrade.

And soon to be wife.

Slowly, she reached out with one gauntleted hand - and gently took Kizuna's own, their fingers twining together in a tight, almost relishing clasp - as if afraid a grip weaker than death's would make the ceremony fail altogether. Both were tired, wounded, and desperately want to get home - but Tomoe felt herself smiling despite the pain as she beheld Kizuna, dressed in her silky ceremonial robe - although torn in some places, it still held the regal beauty it had when it was still intact.

"Kuraki Tomoe, Yamamoto Kizuna - each from a clan worthy of respect, of untainted honor. You present yourselves today - to this Shrine, and to each other, in the promise of forever staying by each other's side in matrimony, to live a life where only with each other can you be whole, can you be complete." Suzuna read from the scroll she held out in front of her, biting her lips at the last sentence. Nodding at the couple, she continued. "Do you vow?"

"I do." Kizuna whispered, to the extent of her ability inside the cursed realm - in any other plane, she was mute - incapable of speaking even one word. Tomoe gave Kizuna's hand a reassuring squeeze, and looked into her eyes.

"Tomoe?"

"I do." She said, her voice clear.

"You have vowed in front of this Shrine, and to each other. Take care not to break this sacred oath - for disaster shall strike if you do." Suzuna winked at Tomoe, grinning. "You may now claim your bride as your own, bridegroom."

With that, Tomoe turned to Kizuna - closing the distance between them with one step and leaning down to her, as Kizuna herself closed her eyes and readied herself for the kiss of claiming, one that would forever bind her to Tomoe and Tomoe alone.

"Zenbu wa ore no," Tomoe whispered, just as her lips closed over Kizuna's.

Mine...all mine...


===

"Mine.." Tomoe mumbled in her sleep, her long ebony hair untied and spilled all over the bed in smooth, black waves. Clad only in her breast bindings and pants - the girl stirred restlessly, hands seemingly moving at their own accord, searching for something that used to be on the bed. Something - or someone.

"Mine..?" She echoed once more, one glowing crimson eye opening slightly - then both eyes widened as they beheld no Kizuna, who was supposed to be snuggled up to her like a kitten would, warming both their bodies in the close contact. Elbowing herself up into a sitting position slowly - Tomoe yawned, scratching her head as she looked around the room.

"The hell?" She half-yawned, half-mumbled. "Where's Kizuna...?"

Swinging her legs off the bed, Tomoe rubbed both eyes - blinking them once, twice, to get the sleep out of her head as she got onto her feet, albeit a little shakily. One hand reaching out for the curtains, she drew them to the side - squinting at the VERY early morning light.

It's not even time for breakfast yet. Tomoe frowned. I'm willing to bet she's not even in the same building...where could she be?

A small note, prepped up on her dresser told her everything.

Training with Suzuna-neechan. Tategami Gym. <3

Oh, hell...

==

Tomoe broke out into a full-out - albeit a drowsily-paced - sprint, as her fingers fumbled clumsily with her Tategami High Blazer. She'd immediately went into action, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth as fast as she can - haphazardly throwing on her school clothes as she did so. Since it was a weekend, it didn't really matter if she got to school a bit disheveled-looking - but as she was registered in AEGIS as a MALE, she needed to keep up appearances no matter what.

She decided to forgo braiding her hair into that tight, painful pigtail - the memory of such torture each and every day making her shudder. Instead, she decided to let it as it is - flowing behind her back, reaching down to her waist. A few quick runs with a comb straightened out any visible bedhair traces - and she was off.

Quickly accessing Tategami via a secret entrance near the post box - Tomoe took the quickest route to the gym, aiming to burst through the doors and catch Suzuna and Kizuna in the act. Unfortunately, she wasn't as awake as she thought she was, and slammed face-first into the LOCKED side of the gym doors instead of bumping the unlocked side of the doors open.

Rubbing her reddening forehead, cursing fluently - Tomoe lashed out with a kick, denting the offensive door. Reaching out with one hand, she threw the other door open - and blinked as she saw an empty Gymnasium.

Realizing that she'd come first, Tomoe entered - discreetly locking the doors once more behind her, and taking a quick walk to the center of the gym, turning to face the doors as she waited. Quickly enough, she heard the doors unlocked by a key - and grinned, rather nastily, at the two girls who entered.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Suzuna-chan, Kizuna-chan."

[Zuri-chan]

The Yamomoto twins blinked, amazingly almost simultaneously at seeing the Gatemaster of Death before them. Both were taken back by the unexpected presence of Tomoe and only replied with her greeting with silence. Suzuna turned her head to Kizuna who was looking at her back, with a worried expression on her face and was fiddling around with her fingers. Looks like her sister, for once, was at loss at what to do. The green-haired girl sighed; of all the days Tomoe had to wake up early it had to be today. No matter, she thought, the dark-haired girl probably had no idea what they were up to today. Overcoming the nervousness she was feeling due to the smile Tome was directing at them, she cleared her throat to speak.

“O-ohayo to you as well, Tomoe…you’re up pretty early today…”

Kizuna watched as her sister spoke up and looked at Tomoe, waiting for a reaction. Suzuna continued and the girl continued watching, still fiddling with her fingers.

“As you can see…Kizuna-chan was showing me around town…since it’s just been a week since I’ve been here and…eh?”

She paused as she saw her twin moving her fingers as if drawing a small imaginary rectangle and mouthing what seemed to be words.

N-note?...Tomoe…knows? Eh…?! You left her a note saying what we were going to do?

The girl sighed in defeat, drooping her shoulders for a moment then smiled again. Nervously, she scratched her head and started to speak.

“Hehe…I think you know what we are going to do, ne? Well, I don’t think you should be angry or anything. It’s just I’m borrowing my sister for a while besides you two had been together for the whole week even up to ba---“

Suzuna paused, blushing and turned to her sister who was already covering her face with her hands, hiding her embarrassment. The girl then started laughing nervously and just sighed.

“Maa~ no point making excuses anymore…in any case...Yes. We are going for a training session today...we just didn’t want to disturb your rest since it is a weekend.“

Kizuna nodded and smiled at Tomoe and then at Suzuna who kept on talking as she began to unwrap the bokken from its trappings.

“Feel free to watch...Well then…shall we begin? Kizuna-chan?”

[Nrvnqsr Chaos]

The look on both twins' faces were priceless, amusing Tomoe to no end as she bit the inside of her cheek and tried hard to keep a straight face as she listened to Suzuna's rather lame excuses. "Maa ii," She said finally, in a voice that seemed to have gotten out a bit rougher than she anticipated, startling both girls - and herself. "Suzuna, I'm not against both of you training - but notify me first. We don't know if the seal on Koyami'll hold as long as it should."

Walking up to both girls, Tomoe grinned - ruffling each girl's hair with both hands. "After all, I DO have a responsibility to Kizuna now."

The aforementioned twin smiled, a blush creeping up to her cheeks as she looked up to her..'husband'.

"And as for training, I have a better idea." Tomoe reached out with one hand, towards the bokken rack at the corner. Murmuring a single word, the raven-haired Gatemaster grinned as a bokken tore itself from the rack and flew into her hand, her fingers closing over its handle.

"Let's see if both of you can take me. After all, you've been dying to spar with me ever since we met - and that way, Kizuna'll get trained as well." Tomoe smiled predatorily, teeth bared. "Whaddaya say?"

[Zuri-chan]

“Dame.”

Suzuna replied flatly, waving a finger at Tomoe. The young green-haired girl thenlooked at the Gatemaster of Death with a defiant expression, putting her hands on her hips. Her twin blinked and just stared at the two, grasping the wrapped wooden spear in her hands. She turned to look at Suzuna and bore a worried, no more like distressed expression. Tomoe usually goes ballistic whenever she was involved; she just hopes her sister knows what she was doing.

“I don’t think Kizuna-chan should train with you, well for now anyway. With the way you fight, I’m pretty sure with no offense to her, she wouldn’t really stand much of a chance. Besides, I think she should be taught the arts of the Yamamoto clan first before mixing it with yours.”

The green-haired girl smiled then completely unwrapped the bokken in her hand and made some practice swings. She paused then smiled again, noting the change in Tomoe’s demeanor.

“Unless…you want to fight me first…that way…if you win, you can train Kizuna one on one and as a plus I’ll treat the two of you to dinner for week…but if I win, I train her and she sleeps with me for the rest of next week. How does that sound?”

Kizuna turned to her sister and inquired her reasons using her sign language. Her twin smiled and replied.

“Well, it’s true I’ve wanted to fight with Tomoe for a while now and…it’s a bit lonely sleeping in the guest room alone you know…not to mention be sometimes disturbed by strange noises coming from the room you both share.”

Kizuna blushed again while her sister just giggled.

“Anyway, Tomoe, what do you say? Or are you not willing to take the risks?”

Suzuna smiled and in the back of her mind knew that Tomoe wouldn't back down, knowing her and how they first contested with each other. It might have just been a video game back then, but now things would be different...way different.

[Nrvnqsr Chaos]

Tomoe all but grinned, spinning the bokken one-handedly - the wooden blade making wooshing noises as it sliced through the air in sharp, circular movements. "You just got yourself a deal there, Suzuna-chan - and I haven't paid you back for our first match."

Tossing the bokken high into the air, she turned her back on the girl - catching the wooden sword as it fell with her right hand stretched out behind her - pointing the weapon at Suzuna as she did so.

"I can practically taste the Udon you'll be buying for us next week, Suzuna-chan. And, of course, not to mention training Kizuna-chan myself."

She grinned, baring her teeth - setting her feet firmly on the ground.

"Saa. Koi."