The violinist smiled as she pursed her lips to blow out the tiny flame that was flickering at the end of the match. As the flame extinguished, the smell of sulfur and burning wood reached her delicate nose, and she stepped away from the pleasantly made up table. Two tall candlesticks sat in the center just a little bit apart from one another, the flames light flickering off of the black and white dishes she had set up. Wine glasses and water glasses sat before the elegant dinnerware, and the black silk table cloth brought the entire scene together. It looked to be set up for a romantic meal, one enjoyed by a couple who had either just begun their descent into romance, or perhaps it was being enjoyed by a couple whose descent had begun years before. The woman tossed the spent match into the bin, and turned towards the kitchen. She wore a simple black dress that had a low back and hugged her curves down to her thighs where it suddenly flared out, ending in ruffles. These ruffles were double with tulle, and fell to her ankles. Her feet were adorned with a pair of strappy black heels with silver beads along the open toes. Michiru Kaiou lowered the heat on the large pot of spaghetti she was boiling, and moved to the granite topped island, mixing a salad. She sighed as she looked to the clock, the hands showing half past eight.
"She's late…She's always late. Why did I expect anything less?" She tapped her fingers irritably on the granite, the clicking seeming to echo in the large kitchen. She rested her chin in her left hand, her sapphire eyes staring off into space. She had been with her girlfriend for nearly two years, to which she had had enough. Though the woman in question was gorgeous, wealthy, sweet, funny, and needless to say, amazing in bed, Michiru had found herself bored in the relationship. No, bored wasn't the correct term with how she felt. She felt, lonely. That was a more proper term. The woman she had been seeing often stayed late, working long into the night on some project or another. The violinist sighed once again at the thought of yet another anniversary forgotten, and yet another night crying alone in the large king sized bed she normally shared with her.
She looked up as she heard a movement in the living room, which was followed by the sound of broken glass and a few choice cuss words muttered by a husky sounding voice. Michiru gulped the lump that had formed in her throat and stepped to the door way, seeing an oddly dressed figure walking around the room, gathering something. The violinist's sapphire hued eyes narrowed, and she moved back into the kitchen to grab a large carving knife, clutching it close to her chest as she returned to the doorframe once more. The figure continued to walk stealthily around the room, stuffing something into a dirty looking stack. Michiru snuck around the corner; the figure, oblivious to her presence, continued to move around, their hands darting around to collect, what Michiru finally saw were candles. Her eyes widened some to see the figures fingers pass past a priceless vase to grab an aqua votive that was sitting in a silver holder on the mantle. Michiru grasped the knife tightly once again before raising it, moving to drive it into the intruders back. A hand grabbed her wrist roughly, forcing it sideways, the blade clattering out of the violinist's fingers and onto the hardwood floor. Michiru cried out from the sudden pain in her wrist; the hand still clutching her tightly. Suddenly, the aqua-haired woman found herself pressed against the fireplace, her face against the cool wood of the mantel, her arm twisted behind her back.
"Please! That hurts…Just let me go!" She attempted to move again, the figure grabbing her hair to hold her tighter. The figure spoke, her, for Michiru assumed it was a her, due to the softness that was pressed against her back. The voice was husky, almost a sensual purr behind it, the painters knees growing weak at the warm breath as it passed over her ear.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, miss. Now, sleep for a minute, alright?" she whispered the words just as she pressed the pressure point of Michiru's neck, the woman's world going black.
The blonde woke up in her small apartment, the morning sun slipping through the blinds and creeping across the shag rug, reaching her bed, blinding her. She growled at the annoying orange light that filtered through her window. The woman sat up, her shaggy hair falling into her grey eyes, as she ran her hand over her face. She shifted, her bare feet touching the rug, and she hefted herself up, the bed creaking as it was relieved of her weight. Her arms reached toward the ceiling as she stretched, her vertebrae realigning, cracking as they did so. She shifted her neck then, a loud pop ensuing. Her body was muscled, her arms, abs, and thighs defined from her years of training she had to endure for work. She shook the sleep from her and stepped towards the shower.
She dried her hair as she walked back into her room, jumping some as her phone began to ring. She rolled her eyes and moved to her bedside table to pick up the tiny earpiece, and pressing the button.
"Tenou." Her voice was still laced with sleep, and came out gruff. She moved to her closet as her mom began to blather on and on about something or another, and dug out a pair of underwear and a bandage to bind her breasts. She rolled her eyes as she began to bob her head in a mocking motion, pulling out a pair of jeans with leather sewn onto the knees and slipped them onto her slender legs. She pulled out a leather belt and wrapped it around her slender waist, doing the buckle when her mother barked.
"Haruka! Are you listening to me!?" Her voice was shrill, the same as it had always been. The blonde woman sighed as she pulled her arms through a black tank-top and slid it over her head, which jostled the tiny phone slightly.
"Yes, mom, I'm listening. I'm trying to get dressed for work, you know," she pulled a leather harness towards her that held two holsters on each side; one for a pistol, the other for a knife. She set it on the bed and grabbed a blue button-up shirt with the same leather styling as on her jeans, only this time, being on her elbows. She continued to nod her head as her mother rattled on and on about her father as the blonde buttoned the shirt. After she had buttoned it, leaving only the top two buttons undone, she slid the holster on, and did the straps across her forcibly flattened chest.
"Well, Haruka, I'm going to get off here and go make lunch for your useless father. Have a good day at work, dear," and she hung up without waiting for a reply. The blonde shook her head and moved to her bedside table, where she found the large knife, and her 9mm Glock pistol. She placed them both snugly into the holsters at her side before moving to grab a black leather jacket that hung on a nail beside the door. She slid her arms into it, effectively hiding the weapons at her sides, before grasping a black and yellow helmet from her kitchen table. She looked over when she heard a small meow, a smile breaking its way onto her stern face. The blonde stepped over to her small tortoiseshell cat, scratching behind her ears.
"I'll be home soon, Michiru. I promise," she petted the length of the animals body before grabbing her keys that had their own separate nail by the door, clipping them to her belt loop and leaving the apartment. She yawned as she stepped into the sun, the bright light temporarily blinding her as she made her way towards the alley to find her motorcycle, a blue tarp covering the sleek machine. She took the cover off, sighing in delight at the beautiful day and her happiness of being able to ride the machine once more. The bike was black, with sleek yellow detailing on it. It was vintage, and the blonde took special care of it, it being one of the last motorcycles in the world that was able to be powered by gasoline. She chuckled softly, pressing her thumb to the small pad where a key could also be placed, the bike roaring to life under her. Haruka, of course, had modified it, though had left some of the more interesting features there, such as the use of a key. It now could be powered using batteries only, and the thumb print technology made it so no one but herself could ever hope to take the beast on a ride. The blonde placed her helmet on, doing the buckles under her chin as she shifted it into gear, pulling out of the alleyway and onto the street. She weaved her way through the traffic, the bike being the only vehicle that wasn't hovering a few inches above the pavement, which made life so much easier for her.
Her morning commute lasted about an hour, due to stop lights, and a hover car accident on the main freeway. Haruka parked the machine in the employee lot of "Benkai Brothers, Inc." and made her way inside, going to the locker room before reporting for her shift.
The locker room was small, with several rows of lockers, and a few showers in the rear, next to the toilets and urinals. The blonde stopped at locker 127, placing her thumb on the scan pad, a small click telling her that she was, in fact, herself, and could get into her locker. She slipped the black leather jacket from her slender body, the blue shirt seeming to shimmer in the light, the leather at her elbows and knees appearing a bit stained from the times she had worn them before. She hung the coat up, and slipped her helmet inside as well, pulling out a black baseball cap which she placed on backwards, a faded, dirty black sack, and a pair of brown boots. She sat on the bench behind her, unlacing the black boots she had worn into work, and pulled the brown boots closer, slipping them on, over her holey black socks. She heard someone else enter the locker room, the bench creaking as another person added their weight.
"So, choosing to go as a man today, eh, 'Ruka?" he chuckled, sliding on his brown work boots as well. The blonde looked over at him, and rolled her eyes, continuing to tie her boots tightly. The man was tall, around four inches taller than the blonde. His hair was a deep black, hanging to just below his shoulders, and tied back into a horses-tail. His eyes were the color of molten chocolate, shimmering with his laughter.
"I was bored. Plus, none of my bras were clean, really." She smirked some, standing as she straightened her pants, and picked up the dirty black bag. He chuckled.
"Didn't go home to have mommy do your laundry yet, Romeo?" The blonde tossed an empty toilet paper roll at him, the man dodging it with a laugh.
"Yukio, you're lucky I was done changing my shoes, or that would have been a boot." She tossed the bag over her shoulder as she headed towards the exit. He continued to chuckle, and moved to stand next time her after he had finished dressing. Yukio wore a similar ensemble as the blonde, his jeans having the same leather stitched at the knee to reinforce them, his hunter green shirt having the same reinforcements at the elbows. Instead of carrying his gun and knife with holsters near his ribs, his holster was around his hips; his gun on his right hip, his knife on his left. He wore his hat backwards as well, and had put on a pair of thick, black rimmed glasses.
"Who are you working with today, Ruka?" The blonde was standing in front of a piece of paper, listing the names of the various teams of the night. Haruka drug her finger down the long list, groaning when she saw she was partnered with a Hanabusa Nori. The blonde groaned.
"Dammit!" she murmured softly as Yukio began to laugh, noticing the name beside the blondes. Haruka turned, her knife out in an instant, the honed edge pressed to his throat. His laughter was cut off immediately, and his adams apple bobbed beneath the blade. His eyes were wide with fear as the blonde spoke. "Friend or no…Don't ever laugh about me being partnered with her again, got it?" She slipped the knife back into the holster that hugged her ribs, and walked from the wall. Yukio gulped again, feeling a small trickle of blood slide down his neck from the blonde's blade. He knew that Haruka and Nori had once had something. The blonde, not being a fan of commitment, had unequivocally ruined any chance of a normal friendship with Nori when she had told her she wasn't looking for a long term relationship. Of course, Haruka being her usual self, had told the poor woman this after sleeping with her for nearly six months, with the promise of a steady relationship. Ever since then, the two of them had managed to avoid the other at work, or, more so the blonde had avoided Nori. Yukio shook his head as the blonde approached her station, Nori waiting for her.
Hanabusa Nori stood just over five foot tall, with bright pink hair that was long enough she could tuck into her belt if she wanted. Her eyes were the color of coal, and they narrowed slightly as she watched Haruka walk towards her.
"Look who it is, Miss Tenou, back from the land of lies and 'misunderstandings'," she rolled her eyes when Haruka flipped her the bird, moving to stand in the small space on the floor. Nori stepped forward to the small computer that rested a few feet away. She tossed a pair of goggles with dark lenses to the blonde, who caught them easily and set them on her face.
"We just do the job and get out of here, alright? Just fill up the barrel with wax and we're done. Three hours to-," she found herself cut off as Nori had pushed the button, the small beam of light hitting her, and transporting her to another dimension.
The blonde had been right, three hours later they had almost filled the large canister that sat at Nori's side with the candles the blonde harvested, the canister heating them, leaving just the wax behind.
"One more should do it, Tenou. Just don't get cocky, and get the job done, alright?" Nori smirked as she typed in the final codes, knowing what she was doing was breaking company policy, but she didn't care. Revenge would be sweet, even if she lost her job and her pension over it.
"Just beam me in, alright? I have a date at six," she smirked at Nori who fumed, slamming her fist down on the button, the blonde vanishing as she shot across dimensions. Haruka enjoyed the feeling she got when she was "boomeranged" as they called it. The waves of the passing dimensions passed over her body like water, causing her to feel weightless. The goggles had dark lenses to protect her eyes from the brightness that the tunnel she was being boomeranged across created. Finally, it stopped, the blonde feeling her feet hit the floor, finding herself inside a coat closet. She shook her head at Nori's ability to send her into the most irritable places, and turned the knob. Haruka could hear someone in an adjacent room, and she began to work quickly, scooping up the candles she saw in plain sight. She was silent; the goggles still on as her fingers scooped up the various sized candles. The blonde stopped suddenly when she heard the tiniest of creaks come from behind her. Haruka had a hold of the woman's wrist and her pinned against the wall quickly, making certain that the woman wouldn't see her face.
"Please! That hurts…Just let me go!" The woman spoke in a terrified whisper, the sound of her pain slicing through her usually melodic voice. Haruka felt her heart pound in her chest. Usually, in this situation, she was to run. She paused, moving closer to whisper into the owner of the home's ear, her bound chest pressing to the woman's back.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, miss. Now, sleep for a minute, alright?" she whispered the words just as she pressed the pressure point of the strange woman's neck, causing her to fall limp in her arms. Haruka cursed and set her on the white leather sofa that was adjacent to the mantel, and began to move through the house, collecting the various candles once more. Soon, her tiny sack was filled, and she made to walk towards the closet she had come from when she stopped. In their scuffle, they had managed to knock over a lit candle that the blonde had missed. The flame had caught a curtain, the entire living room clouded in smoke. Haruka cursed and ran to the couch, it being surrounded by the flames. She picked the woman up from the sofa, and ran to the portal. Without thinking, she pressed a small button on the side of her goggles, the light boomeranging them up as the entire apartment burst into flames.
A/N: I'm sorry! I started ANOTHER story, and yet have to finish one of the ones I've been slaving over for months! Just kill me. This one has been lying in my brain for so long, and it really has been wanting to be shared with you all, so here it is, in all its impeccable strangeness. It'll all be explained in later chapters.