A/N: As an avid reader I'm pretty sure no one reads these all the way through. However, I would require you to do so for this chapter. In the upcoming chapters you can skim it because I don't make sense half the times in these! If the characters seem to be OOC, please just ride with it. This is fan fiction. I love all of the characters and the way they're portrayed. If it bothers you please leave and do not flame in the review section.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THIS AMAZING SHOW OR ITS CHARACTERS. *sobs*

Red-she always loved the fiery color. It was the color of the blood that ran through her veins; it was a color shared by the sunrise and sunset. The sun was one of her favorite things in the entire world, it lit up the earth she lived on. Her dull brown eyes always came alive when the sun would hit them, exploding with golds and shades of browns she never knew could exist inside of her. Her paintings always had red in them even if she had to redo it completely to make sure it did, she just needed it to be in there.

Red was a color that held promises of passion and adventure she knew would only slip through her fingers if she dare to grasp at them. With all the promises of passion she found a peace in the color because her red lulled her into a security.

She never bothered trying to explain her passion for the color, people only saw colors in 2D. To her colors were like the oxygen she breathed and red was her main source of living. The thoughts often scared her but she lumped them with the fact that she was an artist- sorta-and artists saw things others couldn't.

So it was fitting, you see…to love red so much.

Chapter One: Gut Feelings

December 7th, 7:30 am

"Liz, come on, it's time to wake up!" Alaura shouted gleefully, walking around the small round table and holding an empty bowl. Covering her mouth to stifle a yawn she dropped the bowl into the sink. She ruffled her mane of dark brown waves and stretched lazily.

It was already 7:30, and if Liz didn't wake up soon Alaura would resort to drastic measures. She had already been up since 6:30 to watch the sunrise at 6:45 and was a ball of energy. Usually she hated waking up on school days but something was in the air, she could feel it. Tugging up the thin strap to her loose white tank top she adjusted her boy short underwear, grimacing at having a wedgie.

"The sun isn't up I just saw the moon!" A screech pierced her ears and she herself screamed, falling backwards and flipping over the couch with a pained moan.

"Alaura why is your underwear up your ass?!"

Grumbling to herself about over dramatic best friends, Alaura crawled up over the couch and glared at the girl before her.

Crystal blue eyes were narrowed into a sleepy glare that held absolutely no malice. Pin straight black as night hair was pulled into a chaotic bun on the top of her head. She had on an oversized t-shirt with a dancing cat holding a sign that read 'I love anime fight me' in bold letters and boys boxers with little reindeer's on them.

Her best friend, Lizenne Mizure-who preferred Liz, age 18 and one feisty person when provoked. She could cut into you with her words and win easily with her retorts, but wasn't the strongest fighter in hand to hand combat. Her face was sharply defined but her nose and cheeks were soft. On her cheeks and nose was a splash of freckles, along with an ever present pink blush.

Her eyes were deep set and her lashes were long, though she often rubbed her eyes because of her contacts. Alaura didn't know how her eyelashes held on. She stood at 5'8 but often complained because her large breasts made her back ache.

Giggling and crossing her arms under her chest Alaura cocked her head to the side and grinned. "They're called boy shorts, darling. They rid up a bit.''

"They're called burning my eyes, we need to get you tailor made underwear or something. And don't call me darling, I watched an anime last night and it freaked me out.'' Liz grumbled, walking into the kitchen and pressing in 30 seconds on the microwave.

Alaura always made her a cup of coffee and put it into the microwave for her.

"What, why?" Confused Alaura stood up from the couch and walked into her room to change into her school's uniform.

The two lived in the dorms at Ashinaka High School since Shizume City wasn't their hometown. It was different than the others; set up to have two closed off rooms, one kitchen area, a small living area, and two separate bathrooms.

She twisted and turned to look at herself in the mirror next to her closet.

She had slight chipmunk cheeks, but that was something she would never be able to help. A sharp nose that had survived not being broken from the times her and Liz had disagreements with others. Her lips were a natural pale pink with a beauty mark on her upper lip on the left side, and barely above her lip two more beauty marks rested. Her face was slightly rounded and her eyes were a light plain brown that were framed by thick and long eyelashes.

Her butt and thighs were big yeah, but she loved em! Thunder thighs is what she called them. Her and Liz weren't able to share pants because of Alaura's butt, which she felt unfair because Liz had some really cute shorts. They also couldn't share bras because Alaura was only a 'c' cup, damn clothes.

It was a secret but Alaura struggled with her body. The fading stretch marks on her stomach were just a small insecurity that couldn't be helped. Some days she wanted to walk around in her bikini screaming that she loved her body, and other days she wanted to put a bag over her head.

''Alaura your butt is huge, and those underwear are from a year ago. You've changed duuuuuh.'' Liz called back from the kitchen, still trying to wake up.

Allowing a small smile Alaura stripped, pulling on the skirt required to be worn by every female student. The whole outfit was a little funny feeling to her. A black shirt tucked underneath a dark blue jacket and a red skirt with a white frill underneath it. The jacket was a sorry excuse for a jacket, what with it being so thin. A white stripe trailed the edges of the bottom, cuffs of her sleeves, and along the collar. She wore black stockings and slightly heeled buckled shoes, with the stockings stopping around her upper thigh and a thick strip of lace fabric on them.

Flipping up her collar she pulled a deep red tie around her neck before flipping the collar back and finishing up the tie. Breathing in deeply she stretched her arms out and looked at her handiwork, admitting that Ashinaka High School wasn't all that strict.

She was twenty years old about to be twenty one though and having to attend a high school. Liz was eighteen about to turn nineteen, and both had been irritated at having to attend high school instead of college.

However that had been the agreement if the city were to fund their scholarships and offer them an allowance. After acing the entrance exam to Ashinaka to prove their intelligence and getting ready to take an entrance exam for the local college, they had been told the only way they could attend college was if they took the last year of high school.

Alaura knew that it was because the school board was wary of funding a college scholarship for two girls who had never really been taught in a classroom. Understanding their reasons but annoyed that the top dogs just thought her and her friend were country fools, they accepted.

Now after passing the first semester the two were working on getting honors for the second time around. Alaura and Liz had sworn to knock those cheap guys off their asses and prove they were wrong about the two being flukes and make them regret doubting them.

Sighing Alaura piled her mix of waves and curls on the top of her head. Now came the time for her hair to be tamed.

"Alauraaaa…can you please do that really cool half up half down crown braid on me? Pretty please?''

Looks like a lion's mane would suit for today.

Thirty minutes later and the two were racing through the city away from the station. After doing Liz's hair she had wanted nothing more than a bite to eat where the food didn't come from the fridge.

The two decided to skip their morning classes since they were only physical education and their hobby classes. Now Alaura was cackling in the streets, her heart light in her chest as Liz laughed behind her begging her to slow down.

The brunette couldn't really figure out why she was laughing, she just felt the urge bubbling up inside of her and pouring over. Maybe it was the sun on her face, or the fact the two of them were getting to explore the city without student council breathing down their necks. Or it was that gut feeling from earlier that she-

''Alaura watch out!"

"Ah!''

"Oh no!''

Alaura crashed into a lanky light brown haired young man, and twisted to grab Liz and throw her so she wouldn't come crashing with her. Chocolate colored eyes widened in worry as she steadied herself and stopped the boy from face planting by gripping the back of his shirt. Hauling him up she smiled sheepishly.

''I'm real sorry about that, are you alright?"

The boy smiled kindly at her and pressed his hand to his forehead. "You caught me just in time, thank you.''

She nudged his hand away to lift his bangs away from his face to check his eyes. The boy looked at her curiously while she mumbled beneath her breath.

Pupils are fine…heart rate is fine…breathing-even. Thank goodness, I was worried I snatched him up too fast. Pulling away she clapped her hands together.

"Alright! You're all good Mr…'' She paused, flushing when she realized he was a stranger.

Liz chuckled and came up to throw her arm over Alaura's shoulder. "Sorry, we're late for an important date. Take care, sir!"

Liz went to pull her away and Alaura looked over her shoulder, her eyes crinkling in a smile. "Nice meeting you sir! My name is Alaura and this is Liz! Maybe I'll get yours one day!"

The man blinked owlishly at the women, before a small beep made his attention fall to the camera in his hand.

"Oh…you were on the whole time, huh?" He looked up and could barely make out the brunette and raven haired girls. The taller one was teasing the shorter girl, to which earned her a sharp punch. Smiling to himself he pushed the camera's power button off.

"I wonder...''

December 7th, 11:50pm

''I can't stand student council, why the hell did the damn school board force us to join it?" Liz whined, nursing the bottle of coke Alaura had bought for her.

"At least we got to disappear into the city while all that stuff went down right? It's nice here." The girl smiled softly at her friend's complaints. It was true, they had been 'asked' to join student council but luckily it wasn't all bad.

Liz loved to decorate and between the two of them a lot of the events had been beautiful because of their sharp eyes. However when there weren't any events to plan the student council irritated the two of them to no end.

Every kid on there had been told to monitor them by the school board. Even with a warning from Liz who they labeled a 'bad ass' to let them be, the student council still hovered when they came into the city.

Save…

Alaura froze mid laugh as her body crumpled to the ground and her hands clasped over her ears. It felt like a knife was sliding through her starting from the top and adamant to go all the way through.

"Alaura?!" Liz cried, dropping to her friend's side and tossing the bottle aside. When Alaura didn't react to the loitering Liz pulled her friend into her arms. "Alaura?!"

One of his is hurt…

''One of…his…'' Alaura wheezed, her left hand dropping to clutch at her front. A splitting headache was forming in her temples and she whimpered, struggling to stand.

"Woah, Alaura, take it easy.'' Liz advised, panic written all over her face.

Panting slightly Alaura shoved her stunned friend away gently, her arm falling limp to her side. Weakly she lifted her head to look at the building to their left and took a step forward for the entrance. With each step the pain lessened and her sense returned, but she knew it wouldn't leave until she got to the top.

"Alaura!'' Liz gritted out, gripping her upper arm.

"Liz…trust me,'' Brown eyes pleaded. The pounding had erupted the moment she stopped walking and there was a fuzziness around her vision. ''I'll be fine, you're coming with me right?"

''I…'' Alaura knew her friend would never abandon her, it was a pretty stupid question. ''Of course I am, loser, now let's go.''

Smiling softly Alaura turned and the two began to race up the steps. The closer they got to the roof, the stronger Alaura felt herself become. The closer they got, the more sick she became when she noticed the droplets of blood on the upper levels.

Alaura stumbled when they got to the top and stopped cold in her tracks. That boy…that boy from earlier…

In front of her was a puddle of blood surrounding the form of an unconscious boy. He was gripping his stomach and without hesitation she rushed over and pulled off her jacket to roll up her sleeves and reach over, ripping open his shirt when she saw that was the source of the blood. She pressed her fingers to his wrist.

Weak pulse but still enough to where I don't have to hunt it down. She thought pulling her hair back.

"Send help immediately, a man was shot…of course my location is on!...Well I'm sorry your system is shit!...No no I don't need you to talk me through keeping him alive…because I don't!...Right, thanks.'' Alaura heard a click before her friend appeared. The results from what her eyes could gather poured forth.

"One bullet wound to the chest, possible damage to the spine and possible damage to the lungs due to leakage of blood through the mouth. One bullet wound to the abdomen, no damage to any vital organs. It appeared the fucker who did this got clumsy.'' Alaura said, eyes scanning his body as her hands went to work.

''Liz,'' Alaura tossed her jacket to her friend. ''Be ready to cover his wound with that as soon as I pull away, alright? Wrap it over and around gently. I need to see if the bullet went through or is stuck inside.''

Liz nodded, not fazed at all by the girl's demands and trusting her friend completely.

The man looked like he was about to knock on death's door.

Alaura breathed deeply and pulled her bag towards her, pulling out a small bottle filled with a clear liquid. Unscrewing it she doused her hands and forearms in it.

"Vodka,'' she answered the silent question.

Swiftly and carefully Alaura reached underneath him to feel for an opening. When her finger brushed over a neat shot and felt two bullets beneath him she almost wept. She had no way of extracting bullets here. As soon as her hand pulled away Liz wrapped the jacket around him and tied a neat knot before placing her hands over and under the wound to cause a blood clot.

A chest wound is dangerous, and he's asleep. I need him to wake up to see if he can move his hands and feet. If he does that I can keep going without worrying of aggravating spinal injury.

"Hey, hun, can you open your eyes for me? I need to talk to you.'' Alaura soothed, rubbing her thumb against his cheek. He was still warm, that was a good sign. Weakly his eyelids began to flutter so she kept talking.

"Hey there…that's right, keep your eyes open for me. It's us, the two girls who almost gave you a concussion this morning.'' He cracked a smile but began to doze off again.

"Hey hey, hun, you've got to open your eyes. Can you wiggle your toes for me? Flex your fingers for me?'' Pale pink lips turned upward when he was able to do both.

I can't tell much more from his injuries on the surface. It's beginning to look as though his lungs were damaged…

He looked like he was in so much pain…she couldn't just sit here and do nothing! Crying out in her frustration she snatched her purse back, pulling out her plastic bag full of other bottles identical to the one she used to sterilize herself with.

Alaura wasn't into alcohol but the student council had a bit of a wild side.

She tore the bag in two and pulled the tape from her bag, tearing a total of six pieces. This was all she could think of to do at the moment and it would just have to suffice until he got to a hospital.

''What are you doing?" Liz whispered, watching how Alaura placed the plastic over the wound, taping the edges on all sides aside from the bottom.

"He has blood coming from his mouth, a sign that his lung may be in danger of collapsing. I can't be a 100% sure but I can act accordingly. What he has is known as a 'sucking chest wound.' The air is being sucked in but not coming out and I need the oxygen to escape the bullet wound.'' She paused in setting to pat his cheek, finding he was already awake and watching her. Light brown eyes were filled with pain and relief and she could only thank the psycho voice in her head.

Already fully in doctor/patient mode she smiled. "I need you to completely exhale on my count okay?"

"Am I-…going to…''

"Shh…'' Brushing his bangs aside she pressed her fingertip against his forehead. Liz's hand snaked down to grip his right hand, to which he squeezed back faintly.

"No, we're not letting you die. You still have to tell us your name remember?" She teased.

Liz laughed. "That's right, you know ours but we don't know yours!"

Pleased to see the boy had begun to relax from their teasing Alaura pulled the attention back to their problem. "Now on the count of one exhale deeply.''

The boy nodded in understanding.

"Okay…3…2…1!"

With a shaky shudder he completely exhaled and she sealed the three pieces of tape. Without flipping him over in fear to irritate his spine she repeated the process, noting how his heartbeat wasn't as weak as earlier.

We caught you just in time.

Allowing herself to relax she shifted from her spot and rested his head in her lap. He opened his eyes to look up at her and looked down at the watery smile of Liz.

"You…two…have…great timing.'' He rasped, earning himself a throaty chuckle from Liz.

''You're too much.'' The raven haired girl laughed, keeping her hands on the other wound.

Alaura brushed away the hair from his face before slapping her hand to her face. Gripping her shirt and pulling it over her head she tossed it over him, tucking it under him and placing Liz's hands back over.

"We can't let your body temp drop,'' She laughed at how he averted his eyes and Liz looked up and away.

"You could have just used my jacket.'' The girl griped. "Now you're practically a hentai lover's wet dream.''

"Did you seriously just-'' Alaura floundered before pointing accusingly. "I am not a wet dream! We are saving this guy-''

"Wet dream, hands down.''

"You know what? That's it. No coffee or tea for a week.''

Liz gasped and glared. "You wouldn't.''

Feeling confident with herself Alaura crossed her arms and smirked. "You want to bet?"

''I was so…right. Those two…' The boy chimed in suddenly.

Pausing in mid retort her eyebrows pulled down. "Who?"

"TATARA!'' Two voices shouted in union and she snapped her eyes over to the stair way where the pounding of footsteps came up from. Sharing a panicked look with Liz Alaura hauled herself to her feet.

"You're not…going to-to stay?" He questioned.

Alaura shook her head as Liz gathered up their bags. "No, like Liz said I'm half naked here. You seeing me like this is fine because you were dying but anyone else? No thank you.''

It was the truth. By the sound of those footsteps two men were hauling ass and she was already trying to cover her exposed breasts.

"Take care, Tatara.'' Liz winked before taking off down the fire escape. That's right, they had gotten his name now.

Turning to follow but stopping Alaura grinned kindly. "Good bye, Tatara. See you around.''

December 8th, 12:15

Tatara Totsuka watched as the two girls left with smiles on their faces, disappearing over the fire ledge. He didn't feel amazing but he felt better than he had minutes ago. Alaura and Liz had appeared out of nowhere, saving his life without asking questions. For all they knew he could have tried to hurt someone else and been shot in return.

They didn't ask any questions just got to work.

''Tatara!''

"Oh…Yata.'' He grinned as the face of a crying hazel eyed boy appeared and he was lifted into his arms.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I'm all patched up.'' He chuckled.

"Tatara you're- you're patched up? What the hell, what kind of sick fuck shoots you then tries to fix you?!'' Yata exclaimed, examining the shirt thrown over his wounded friend and the jacket wrapped around him. It was a school girl's?

"Well, seemed we were worried for nothing; you'll be able to tell Anna happy birthday." Another voice entered the fray and light brown eyes flickered to see the relieved face of a certain blond bartender.

"Ah, Izumo!" The sounds of sirens, car doors slamming, and men speaking in a rush filled the night air and he leaned back. Looking up at the vast sky he thought of teasing blue eyes and warm brown ones. Those two…they had helped him even though his Homra tattoo stuck out proudly on his shoulder. They didn't sneer at him or call him a thug for being in a gang.

Do they even know who we are? Did they see my tattoo?

"That's right, they called an ambulance.'' He mumbled absently.

"What? Who, Tatara?" Yata asked, looking around the top of the building.

Izumo slinked off to make a phone call while Tatara began to day dream about the next steps. He would be taken to a hospital, his camera would be brought back to him and then…his camera!

"I don't like that look, Tatara.'' Yata said warily, watching the plan form on his face.

Tatara's smirk only widened when he looked up at the face of his teenage friend. "You two are going to fall in love with them. Mikoto and Alaura and…you and that Liz. Watch.''

"Eh?!"

A/N: Well, that's chapter one for you! What happens next? What's up with that funky voice in Alaura's head? Do the girls know about the gang? Yay to Tatara for being a matchmaker!

If you do not like this story find yourself to the nearest exit and continue living happily ever after.

(Also the medical facts were hunted down on the internet. If shot, please go to the hospital ASAP. )

Review-no flames those are just mean-and have a great day/night!

-ScarlettWriter

PREVIEW OF CHAPTER TWO: ODD MEETINGS

"So, you're the girl?""

Her head snapped up at that voice. She knew that voice, the smooth tone of it. Alaura stared wide eyed at the man towering before her. An unlit cigarette rested between his lips and her heart thrummed inside of her chest.

"That depends,'' she braved. "Who's asking?"