Lily229

Soft hushes and gasps fell over the crowd. The woman hovered her fingers above the strings. “Excuse me?”

“You say you live in peace with the Virus’s and all that junk, yeah I get that. But to lug the innocent people of both you and NC into some stupid problem you have with this Tom guy is wrong. How do you know those facts are true anyway? Can’t things get mixed up over time?”

The man chuckled. “Don’t listen to her, Sakatsu. She’s obviously trying to say she’s on Tom’s side.”

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you the one who’s been filling these peoples head with lies and stories?”

“I’ve been filling them with the knowledge that I bring them. Can’t an old man tell his tale if he’s been here since day one?”

“Day one….” The thought of it all hit Lily like a ton of bricks. “Are you…are you T…”
Before Lily could finish her sentence, the man flicked the piece of grass that was in his mouth at her. It floated gently across the air and landed directly on her chest. The man smirked as he stuck another piece of grass into his mouth and began to chew.

Lily looked down at the piece of grass. “What the…..AH!” The grass exploded, pressing her body hard against the tree trunk. She felt the trunk give way and her back landed hard on pieces of bark and dirt. She sat up and gripped the front of her shirt to keep what was left of the cloth on. Her back was completely exposed and people around her began to gasp.

“Sakatsu!” cried a little boy behind Lily. “You’ve got to come see this! She has the Mark!”

Lily turned and looked at them confused. “What Mark?”

Sakatsu came up behind her and tossed Lily over her knee. She moved Lily’s hair back to expose the flesh. “Oh my God…”

Lily gripped hard onto the shirt to keep from exposing herself anymore. “Let me go damn it.” Her left wrist began to burn, the black rose charms pulsating.

Sakatsu pushed her off her knee and stared at her, her eyes wide in surprise. “How is it that you have the Hacker’s Mark?”

Lily stood up and dusted herself off. “What the hell is the Hacker’s Mark?”

Sakatsu stood as well, continuing to stare at her. “The Hacker’s Mark is a mark on the back between the two shoulder blades that depicts a Hacker.”

“What’s it do?” asked Lily which had a few people around her snickering.

“Do you know how a Virus is created Lily?” asked Sakatsu. “A Virus is created by a Hacker, depending upon how strong the Hacker is, is what determines how strong a Virus is.”

“So are you saying that, that Virus I tangled with yesterday was created by me?”

“It’s quite possible, which is why I had NightMare bring you here.”

“NightMare?” Lily looked over at the mysterious man. He had a corny smile upon his face as he waved at her.

Sakatsu carried on. “You’re an outsider, like me, so you must have a pretty strong Hacker’s Item to do that kind of damage.” She tapped her guitar lightly. “I’ve never seen anyone make a Class 5 before, especially not on their first try. My highest has been a Class 4, tops.”
A soft rumbling was heard around them. Everyone stopped and looked around. “Giddy up!” cried a high-pitched voice from above. A giant white blob appeared from the tops of the trees, it eclipsed the moon before landing with a hard thud against the ground.

“What the hell?!” cried the mysterious man.

Two long white floppy ears popped out from it’s head, followed by whiskers and a pink little nose. It looked so cute…so a second. Then, it bore its ugly yellow teeth at them, giving out a loud hiss, tossing green spit everywhere. It’s eyes were blood shot and dark yellow. A small pink dot poked it’s head from atop its back.

“Wha….Sakura?!” cried Lily.

Sakura didn’t seem to notice her. “I’m here to save you Lily!” she cried as she stroked the giant rabbit. “Ok, Roots! Lets find Lily.”

Roots jerked back and screamed loud into the night. The mysterious man stepped forward, glaring at her. “What the hell are you doing here?! You’re suppose to be dead!”

Sakura looked down at him, confused. “Hey, who are you? Where’s Lily?”

Lily’s heart beat fast as she watched the man pull another piece of grass from his basket. “That rabbit you’re riding was suppose to kill you,” he mumbled, sticking the piece into his mouth next to the other one.

Lily’s left wrist was burning with the hot intensity of the sun. “I have to save her, but I can’t let her see me like this.” She gripped onto a black charm bracelet as the man pulled the grass from his mouth. “Sakura!” Lily cried as she ripped off one of the black rose charms.

Pedals of deep blue light and energy swirled around her, engulfing Lily in unbearable heat. She felt her feet leave the ground, her loose hair hitting her face. She felt nauseous and closed her eyes as the swirls of colors licked at her body. When she felt the ground against the soles of her shoes she opened her right eye slightly.
The crowd, including Sakatsu, starred at her, stunned. "What the hell?"
Lily starred down at herself, she once again wore the dark skirt and vest. Her skin and nails gleamed beautifully in the moonlight. Lily was now in her Rose form, she didn't know what that meant but something told her everything was going to be ok.
The grass fell from the man's opened mouth. It's more beautiful then I could have ever imagined. Black Rose, I've never seen a fuller more perfect version of her. That girl did it, she actually perfected Black Rose!

Lily, now in Rose form, ran from behind the tree and took the opportunity to punch him while he was in his stunned state. "Come here you bastard!" She screamed as her fist collided with his face and he flew backwards, his grip slipped from the pieces of grass. She jumped back as the grass hit the ground and exploded. "Sakura!" Lily cried, shielding her own self from the blast. When the smoke had cleared she looked over to see the bunny had jumped Sakura to safety.

Sakura gasped at the girl standing a few feet from her. "Lily?" she whispered to herself.

Sakatsu stuck her hand in the air. "We leave now." The others behind her followed and moved back into the shadows of the cherry blossom trees. Before Sakatsu left she turned to Lily. "If you ever wish to know more, know that you are always welcomed in our village."

Before Lily could say anything, Sakatsu, too, disappeared into the shadows of the cherry blossom trees.

Sakura came up behind her, her hands on her hips, still riding the giant rabbit. "You look like Lily, but you're not her. Who are you? Where's Lily?"

Lily looked up at her, she had to suppress a laugh. It amused her to see little Sakura on top of a deranged rabbit. "I'm Rose, her twin sister." Lily chewed on her lower lip to think of a plan. "Lily never made it here."

"Then we have to find her!" cried Sakura.

Lily shook her head. "Nonono, I've already saved her. I told her to leave while she still can, yada yada you know the drill right?" Sakura looked toward the forest, uncertain. "Trust me, Lily's fine."

Sakura nodded and patted behind her. "There's room up here if you want a ride back to NL."

Lily was about to take up that offer when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man getting up and running away. "Hey stop!"

Lily chased after him into the thick trees. She could just barely see the outline of him as she chased him. She reached out her hand and brushed his basket. He spun around fast, so fast Lily didn't have time to react and ran directly into his open arms.

He held her close, taking in her scent. "Wh...What are you doing!?" cried Lily trying to push him away.

"Rose, my Black Rose." he whispered.

What? thought Lily. She looked down at herself, she had forgotten what body she was in. She pushed back and slapped him hard across the face. "Are you him? Are you Tom's older brother?" she demanded.

The man remained silent, his head still turned to the side from the slap. "And what if I am?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"I don't understand, why would you want to start a war with these people and Tom? Why would you give me the bracelet?! Tell me damnit!" She grabbed his arm. "I'm not letting you go until I get some fucking answers."

It was too dark to see, Lily couldn't see the man reaching for another piece of grass until it was to late. A wave of water hit Lily hard in the chest and sent her flying back into a tree trunk. She felt a soft lump come up in her throat and felt her shirt starting to fall off once more. When she touched it, she realized she was back in her old body, her torn shirt and everything. She sat up, her body aching. She reached forward to steady herself.

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