Okay, part 6.  I warn you now that it's coming to an end and this part
isn't as dark as the last, plus the added thing of a little romance.  No
need for the Lime or Lemon tags though, I'm not like that.  Just a little
kiss here and there.  Well, still waiting for the C&C, heck I'll even
take flames.  Just read this, PLEASE!  And now, the sixth installment...

			Running Blind [Part 6]
		             Danger! Love, Lies, Truth!


	Moriko sat on her bed and looked at the poster on the far wall.  "Help
Save Our World!" it proclaimed in bright red and yellow letters. She
scoffed at it and pulled out her Lorcan.
	"Save this world, yeah, right.." she aimed and aligned the sights,
making sure the setting was kill.  Slowly she pulled the trigger and
listened to the faint click as the energy crystal shot nothing out.  Just
a hoax like everything else.   "Dammit!"
	She threw the gun across the room and let it shatter, nothing but a
fiberglass shell with an energy orb.  Lies, all of it, everything she
knew, all lies�all of it.  She went and opened the window, unable to
stand breathing the stale apartment air.  Artificial air rushed in and
pushed papers off the desk.  Artificial trees bent over gently in the
fake wind.  They tried so hard for realism to replace what she had taken
away.  She could hear Ryuhi yelling for her faintly through the door, but
she couldn�t face him.  Not after what she did to the world she so loved.
	Ryu leaned against the door, resisting Sora�s pulling and pleading,
"Leave me alone, Sora�I have to talk to her.  You were right you know�"
	Sora stopped and looked at him, "What about?"
	"I love her more than the world I fight for, the ideals and people I
protect.  I�d give it all up if I could only save her�" Ryu ran his
fingers against the smooth steel of the door.  "I�d give up life itself
for her�.but she�ll never know it.  I can�t tell her because�"
	Ryu�s friend sat down on the floor next to the door, "Why not, she-"
	"She only thinks of me as her partner and her friend, she loves Yurei,
not me," Ryu interrupted him and knocked on the door again.  "So I�ll
stand by her until the day I die and never tell her to let her be happy."
	"Go away, both of you go away," Moriko was lying on her bed watching the
door.  "I don�t want to talk, I can�t face either of you�"
	"Please, Moriko, let him in," Sora got up and tapped the wall panel.  It
slid open revealing a small control pad.  He typed in some numbers and
motioned for Ryu to be quiet.  "She�s going to hate me."
	"Go away, Sora," Moriko changed into her nightclothes, a shirt and
shorts,  and slipped into bed.  "I just want to sleep and forget
everything again�just go."
	"It�s a good thing she never changed apartments," Sora whispered.
	"You�re going to break in?" Ryu looked at him.
	"Hey, partners always remember," he replied and hit the enter button. 
"Go in whenever."  Then Sora walked off down the hall to his own room.
	"Moriko, can I come in?" Ryu knocked lightly.
	"Think about that for a second then answer yourself," she replied
coldly.
	"Okay," he took a deep breath and opened the door, ran in, and clamped a
hand down over her mouth.  "I have to talk to you, no matter what you
say."
	A muffled and very angry objection came from her and she sat up drawing
the blankets around her.  The door slid closed silently and Ryu relaxed
his hand a bit.
	"You know that my door is older and I can hear really well through it
right?" Moriko looked at him, unhappy at his stunt.
	Ryu turned a bright red that thankfully the night and lack of light
helped hide, "I�m sorry."
	Moriko looked at him through the darkness, "How can you feel anything at
all for me?  I killed this world�"
	"It doesn�t matter to me," Ryu once again took her chin in his hand, but
this time it wasn�t to look at her.  Very gently he guided her to him and
kissed her softly.  "I�m sorry, but I do love you."
	"I�m sorry I took your world from you�" Moriko reached over and hugged
him as tears filled her eyes.  "Ryuhi, you only have one thing wrong�"
	He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes as the teardrops, like
mini pearls rolled off her cheek.  She shook her head slowly and leaned
into him allowing him to hold her close.  He closed his eyes and kissed
the top of her head.  She rested her head in the crook of his arm and
closed her eyes.
	"I don�t love Yurei�" she said simply and fell asleep.
	The next morning when Moriko awoke Ryu was sleeping in the desk chair. 
She got up and wrapped the blankets around him.  So many things seemed to
be happening so fast.  She went into the bathroom and changed into her
usual work attire.  She came out and put on the metal headband and looked
for her wrist and ear guards.  She couldn�t find them and shrugged it
off.  Then left the quarters and went down the hall to Sora�s room.  She
knocked lightly on the door like she did everyday before entering.
	"Good morning, Sora!" she came in trying to act normally after what
happened yesterday.  She was just gong to let it slide and try to forget.
 She left the hallway and went into the bedroom.  She stopped short when
she saw who was and wasn�t there.  Hikaru sat on the bed, smiling at her.
	"It�s so good to see that you can still be cheerful after finding out
that you destroyed this world, Moriko," he laughed and stood.  "Although,
I�m afraid you arrived a little bit too late.  I�ll go now."
	He waved his hand and stepped into the void that opened up, "And one
more thing�here�s a little present for you."
	He laughed and threw a bag back at her.  She caught it and as soon as he
left she dropped it, she knew what was in it.  Her hands were covered in
blood and it was beginning to soak into the carpet.  She stood there
looking at the dark blue bag, now becoming a darker purple color. 
Someone�s head was in there�just to torture her.  
	"Why are you after me so much?" she whispered to no one.  Unfortunately,
no one answered her.
	"He wants your power, Mori," a gentle voice replied.
	Moriko turned and was caught up in Yurei�s arms.  He held her close and
cried black tears.  Moriko was too amazed to move or call out.  Yurei was
there and he wasn�t trying to kill her.
	"He�ll kill everyone except you because you�re a Child of Destiny.  He
wants to harvest your power and turn it into black energy, the same thing
that has consumed me�" Yurei kissed the top of her head and smiled. 
"I�ve missed you, little sister."
	Moriko hugged her bigger brother and smiled, "I�ve missed you too, big
brother."
	"You!  Get out of here!" someone yelled and pulled the two siblings
apart.  "How dare you come in here!"
	Ryuhi stared up at Yurei, fury racing through his eyes, "Riko, you
okay?"
	"I�m here to help you, I never meant to hurt either of you," Yurei
looked away.  He used to be such a gentle person, who had been pulled
into war because of his abilities.  He hated fighting as much as a fish
hated getting eaten.  
	"Ryu, don�t hurt him!" Moriko grabbed his arm and pleaded with him. 
"Yurei really is my older brother that�s why I said I didn�t love him the
way you thought."
	"What?" Ryu looked at her and then noticed an angry look in Yurei�s
eyes.
	"You lay one finger on her, I swear� I might not like violence, but like
hell if I�m going to let you-"
	"Yurei!" Moriko separated the two and stepped between them.  "I�m
twenty-five, I can make my own decisions."
	After a few minutes, Ryuhi finally noticed the bag on the floor, "What
is that?"
	Moriko turned to it, suddenly remembering that it was there, "That�"
	Ryu realized that Sora was gone and knew also what was in the bag,
"But�how?  Why?"
	"Moriko, let�s go�" Yurei grabbed her hand and led both of them out of
the room.  "Go to work as usual�don�t let this affect you.  If you let
him know, you�ll be his.  Be careful, my sister."
	Yurei turned and walked down the hall, disappearing in a slowly rising
mist of gray smoke.  Once he was gone, Moriko and Ryu looked at each
other.  There was nothing else they could do, except wait and see what
happened.  
	Days and weeks passed, now incessant blows were being dealt to Jukaih. 
First, everyday new attacks were coming. The Demon Lord, Hikaru, was
letting his best troops go out.  Monsters attacked the city, but left the
Post alone.  The townspeople were calling out for the Post to do
something.  The entire city sat with the Jukaih Military Defense Post on
top of a crest overlooking the rest of the area.  Down below in a valley
was the actual city of Jukaih.  A bustling city of farmers, traders,
craftsmen, all interdependent only on each other.  That was the only way
the individual cities could survive.  Moriko and Ryu were running along
the buildings� flat rooftops and trying to catch up with the one monster
that had managed to break through the force field.  The other teams were
busy fighting the others outside.  
	"This one�s a bit harder, isn�t it?" Moriko yelled across the alleys as
she ran and jumped over a rooftop garden.
	"What?  Too hard for you?" Ryu teased her and pulled ahead.
	"No way!" Moriko thought for a second and stopped on the library�s roof.
 She held out a small orb and threw it up into the air.  A bright flash
of light ensued and the monster stopped.  It hovered staring at the
illusion of Hikaru and let out a deep guttural growl.  It�s eyes narrowed
and it flew back with total vengeance upon the phantom.  As the beast
attacked her illusion, Ryuhi hit him with an attack and it was one
monster gone.  Ryu came back and motioned towards the Post.  She nodded
and followed him in.
	"What do you mean piece of cake?!" Tsurumi bellowed.  "We lost three
more warriors out there!!"
	Moriko sat in Tsurumi�s office.  After she and Ryu had come back he had
called her in.  Now he was yelling at her for neglecting her duties of
training.  Unfortunately she had shot back that her recent mission was a
piece of cake.  
	"Do you realize what consequences can come of us not doing our jobs?!"
he slammed his fist down on the table.  The vein on his head was popping
out again. "Do you, Officer Yoruhana?!"
	"Yes, I do, Commander Tsurumi!!  But do you know what consequences come
from hiding a Child of Destiny?!" Moriko yelled out unable to control
herself.  "I�m tired of listening to you yell at me just because you have
nothing better to do!  If you�re such a good warrior, why aren�t you out
there fighting and dying along with the rest of us!?  We fight and watch
our best friends die each day!  Do you think it�s easy for us to go out
there everyday knowing that we might not come back?!  It�s not!  Think
it�s easy for me knowing that I�ve lost two people to this damn war?!  I
lost Yurei and Sora!!  They died because of what I did in the first
place, think that�s easy?!  Now ask yourself if you�re ready to except
your own damn consequences!"
	Moriko crashed her fist down onto the desk and stared at her commandeer,
daring him to speak.  Tsurumi stared at her, anger rising in his blood.
	"That�s it!  You�re out of here!  You are no longer a part of this post,
pack your bags and leave, Miss Yoruhana," Tsurumi sat down and ended the
conversation.  "Those are your consequences for insubordination."
	Moriko stared at him, her blood boiling, "You want to see
insubordination?"
	She turned and opened the door, "This is insubordination.  Screw you."
	She slammed the door shut and Tsurumi listened to her leave.  He shook
his head and picked up his pen to write the discharge papers.  He pressed
the pen to the paper and wrote in her name.  Suddenly a column of earth
rose up through his desk and broke it in half, ground itself into the
ceiling, and retreated as suddenly as it came.  He sat there staring at
down the hole, past all thirty levels of the Post.
	Moriko sat in her bunk and waited for the guards to come, but they never
did.  She knew that she wouldn�t be allowed to fight, but did she really
care?  She�d be fighting her brother and she�d have to possibly watch
Ryuhi die.  Is that what she wanted?  Besides, what was it for?  Of
course to protect Ryu, but she�d lost Sora to Hikaru, would she sacrifice
herself and Ryuhi?  Someone knocked on her door and she called to them to
enter.
	Ryu stepped in, sympathy written on his face, "I heard you got fired,
but how can they afford it, right?"
	"I don�t know if I�d come back is the problem, Ryu," she stood and let
him sit.  "I mean, except for you, who am I fighting for?"
	He looked at her, "What do you mean by that?"
	"Who am I fighting for?  Tsurumi?  To win this war, I�d have to kill
Yurei.  Think I can do that?  Besides, we�re losing the war and the
battles.  How long do you think Jukaih can exist on three teams?" Moriko
looked away.  It hurt to say that, but then again, the truth always did. 
	"I know Jukaih is dying, anyone can see it and Hikaru is picking us off
one by one.  He can find our weaknesses so easily," Ryu placed a hand on
her shoulder.
	She kissed it and decided something right then and there, "Ryu, I�m not
hiding anymore.  I won�t keep running from this and I won�t let them take
you from me."
	"Officer Mikazuki, I have an order for you," the voice called from out
in the hall.  "I understand if you don�t want to answer your door, but
are you even in there?"
	Ryu opened Moriko�s door and looked out, "Sasumi!  I�m over here."
	The messenger turned and walked over nervously, "These aren�t your
quarters, Sir."
	"Thanks for your observations," Ryu took the packet of papers and
retreated back inside.  "What could this be?"
	"Who cares?  Probably just Tsurumi saying make sure I�m out," Moriko
lied down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.  "You want to go get
something to eat?"
	"I can�t," Ryu said as he pulled on his jacket.
	"Why not?" Moriko sat up.
	"I�ve been ordered into battle.  From our spies we�ve gathered that
Marai�s forces are weaker than we thought.  In fact, it�s down to two
monsters and Hikaru�.and Yurei.  Marai�s townspeople have abandoned them
and moved to other cities.  Not here, but others.  All that�s left is
scientists and them," Ryu leaned down and kissed her goodbye.  "I�m going
to be lonely without you by my side."
	"I�ll miss being there.  You come back to me, okay?" she stood and
wrapped her arms around him.  "Don�t leave me too."
	He held her for a second, reveling in that moment.  Making a memory of
everything about her.  If only he didn�t have to leave, if only they had
more time.  Sasumi called out that it was time to go and knocked on the
door again.  He kissed her one last time and reluctantly pulled himself
away.
	"I promise to return to you," he said as he left, but whispered to
himself.  "As long as I can escape this place."
	Fifteen minutes later, Ryu and the others were seated on their
individual skimmers.  These fast and agile craft used alien technology,
something from an old dead planet named Earth.  They forced against the
planet�s gravity and used that force to stay just above anything on the
ground.  A rocket in the back pushed them forward or flared to let them
go backwards.  It was efficient to say the least.  As Ryu powered up his
craft he remembered how he and Moriko were going to have a race that day
she passed out.  Maybe if-no- when he got back, they�d have that race. 
Then all the fighters powered up and sped out of the protective force
field, allowing the craft�s personal field to compensate.  They could no
longer breath the air outside or let any of it touch them, it was like
acid.  They sad force of seven raced along the path heading for their
ultimate destination and possible demise, Marai.

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