Darling In The Sequel
Chapter One
Alone and Lonesome
The Jian: A legend passed down from our ancestors. A bird that only possesses a single wing that found its mate.
Together, they are capable of flight. Together, they are perfect, complete, creatures.
That was how it was always told, of course. But, for some reason, I felt this was not the whole story.
"Why am I here?" The girl asked as she looked through the hallway window, slumping against the opposing wall. Her uniform was dishevelled, though the red scarf that hung about her neck was spotless and neat. She stretched her arms above her head carelessly, watching other students stare at her as they went by. A silver pin shone from her collar.
"To learn," The old man wheezed. He pressed a button at the side of his neck, his vocal cords burned away many years ago. A lab accident had robbed him of a large portion of his right side. "One way or another." He wore a formal suit, wiry grey hair sticking out at odd angles. The girl sniggered at him. It was not often that the old man wore anything other than his lab clothes. He looked ill at ease standing in the hallway with the occasional person who was not over fifty walking by. She sniggered again.
"Doctor?" A voice called from down the hallway. A female teacher approached, her sensible heels clacking in their practiced stride. "It is an honour to have you here."
The Doctor waved his right hand with an audible whir. "No, no. Enough with that. I heard there were papers to sign? Final preparations?" The Doctors voice clicked.
"Yes, sir. Right this way." The teacher turned on her heel, motioning for the Doctor to follow down an adjacent hall. She waited patiently at the corner, as patiently as one in the presence of a renowned celebrity could.
The Doctor turned back to the girl. "Hiyatsu. Stay here. H-e-r-e." He pointed to the floor where she was standing. Hiyatsu threw him a scathing look in response, saying nothing. The Doctor watched her intently, turned to the teacher, and followed her away. His cane tapped down the hall.
So naturally, as soon as the Doctor was gone from sight, she left.
"Transfer student?" A blonde boy asked. A few students were congregated about his desk at the front of the class. There were only ten desks in the room, an even split of male and female among them. A diary sat at the corner of his desk, emblazoned upon it the schools crest: A pair of birds, a single wing extending from each of them.
"Yeah, apparently she's a real cutie too Iro." A brown-haired boy replied, leaning against Iro's desk. "And she's Yakuza. 'The Oni' Totally your type."
Iro opened his mouth to speak, eyes casually glancing towards a dark-haired girl standing to his right.
"But Zuru, that's just a rumour though, isn't it?" A blonde-haired girl said softly, cutting across him.
"It's gotta be true. I heard the Teach talking about it with Undou." Zuru replied, puffing out his chest. Kaku was the easily prettiest girl in the class. Iro smirked at Zuru's behaviour. Daki stood on Iro's left, munching loudly on some biscuits. Iro lazily flicked a stray crumb off his desk, eyeing Fume.
"That's rare." Iro said, whispering into the dark-haired girls ear. She quickly slid her phone into her skirt pocket. "You alright Fume?"
"Hm? What?" She replied, feigning ignorance.
"Worried about Tix?" Iro said knowingly. Fume was not one to break rules, often admonishing the others for using their phones in class.
Fume nodded. "He hasn't been texting back lately. He's never here either."
"He'll be here. Don't worry. After all, its Tix we're talking about." Iro replied, looking out the window. "Ki is late too."
"I reckon he's finally come to his senses. It's not like any of us want him here anyway." Firu said suddenly. He stood away from the group, his heavily styled hair unmoving as he shook his head. "If it continues like this his grades will drop so far he'll be kicked out." He walked over to stand beside a silent girl, her nose buried deep in a book.
"Tix will leave?" Kaku asked.
"He's such an idiot." Fume said, staring into the middle distance.
"And that should be it, all signed?" The Doctor asked the Teacher. Her name badge simply read 'Chi'.
"All signed." Chi replied, tapping the pile into a neat order on her desk. She stood, filing it away into a nearby draw. "I'll drop these by the principal later. It's more important to introduce Hiyatsu to her new classmates for now. Anything important to tell me before I introduce her?"
"Nope." The Doctors voice clicked, his palms outstretched in a deflecting gesture. "Nothing I can think of currently."
"It's an odd time is all. The day before the final day of term." Chi pressed. She stood and opened the door of her office, waiting for the Doctor.
"It's 8:08 in the morning, there's nothing odd about this time at all." The Doctor said, leaning heavily on his cane. He tapped past her, leading the way back to Hiyatsu. The winding halls of the school were nothing compared to the intricate pathways of his facilities. He rounded a corner and stared at the spot where he had left Hiyatsu. Problem was, Hiyatsu wasn't there.
"Maybe she went to the bathroom?" Chi offered as she stepped up beside him. The Doctor cast a glance out the window. He caught the sight of Hiyatsu slipping into a corridor across the courtyard below. She looked back up, waved at the Doctor, and disappeared. Chi looked to the Doctor. "Can you?"
"She's your problem between when I bring her here, and 4pm." The Doctor laid a metallic hand on Chi's shoulder. "Good luck."
Tix strolled down the side-alley with a despondence only matched by the dark grey sky overhead. In his hand he fumbled a silver pin. Even though he lived at the school, like all the other silver, it was not his home. That place had burned to the ground long ago.
Somewhere up ahead a man yelled "STOP!". Tix hastened to the end of the alley, building into a run. As he broke through the other end, a girl appeared in front of him.
Time seemed to slow as his brain tried to scrabble together the vision before him.
It was as though I had been put under a spell,
Those piercing, ice-blue eyes, undercut by bright red markings,
Framed by that black hair intermingled with a blood-red scarf,
I was transfixed, unable to take my eyes off her.
They tumbled into each other, heads cracking together, hard. Hiyatsu was on her feet first, dragging Tix behind a nearby dumpster. She held her hand over his mouth, lifting a solitary finger to her own. Dazed, Tix didn't even question.
Footsteps thundered past the alleyway.
Ba-Dump. Ba-Dump. Tix could hear his own heartbeat. "Can't you do something about that?" Hiyatsu whispered sharply.
"I can't halt my heartbeat." Tix whispered back. Hiyatsu clamped her hand over his mouth. He licked her hand accidentally. To his own surprise, she didn't taste bad. Not bad at all.
"Find a way or I will." Hiyatsu replied, slinking to the corner. She stuck her head slightly beyond, looked around, then walked back. "You're going to help me." She stated.
"That uniform… you're a student at my school?" Tix asked, "I haven't seen you around before. I'd remember."
"Good." She said, ignoring him. "You should know then how to get back then." Hiyatsu grabbed him by the wrist, tugging Tix towards the alley entrance. He refused to move.
"I'm not going back. I don't have a place there anymore." Tix stated. She pulled him harder, almost dragging him behind her. "How strong are you?"
"Strong enough." She said, then paused, looking at him. Appraising him like a fine cut of diamond. Or a slab of meat. A shiver touched Tix's spine. "So you're just like me. I'm always alone too. For one reason, or another. If you don't belong here, find a place that you do!" A sly smile creeped across her face. Wolfish. Predatory.
"And if I can't?" Tix asked.
Hiyatsu moved in close. Too close. Her hand snaked past Tix's head, planting firmly against the alley wall behind him. Barely a whisper away from Hiro's skin she whispered, "Then take one." Her tongue striking out. "Your taste makes my heart race, it bites and lingers on the tongue." She took a step back. "The taste of danger."
"What are you?" Tix stepped back harder against the alley wall, a hand raised to his now damp cheek.
"Sorry," Hiyatsu laughed, "Would you have preferred a kiss?" She leant forward, her height now lower than Tix's. She looked up and smiled. Then let it slip. "Too bad. Looks like our time's up." Footsteps pounded down the alley behind them.
"We've been looking for you." A middle-aged man said. "Why do you keep running off on your own?"
"It's not like I've got anything to do anyway." Hiyatsu replied scathingly. The man looked at Tix.
"You go to the same school as her, don't you? Your end of term is tomorrow, right? I'm sorry for any trouble she may have caused you. I remember how busy it can be." The man said. His voice was honest, his face scarred. A tattoo could be faintly seen above the collar of his black suit.
"It's fine." Tix replied. "We were just heading back to school anyway."
The man smiled, although it could also have been a leer. A car rolled up at the open end of the alley, two more men in suits stepped out. The first man pulled out a cigarette. "Well then, that's just where we were headed too." Hiyatsu stared at him with a baleful glare. He met her gaze with a hard glare of his own. "I don't think you want your father hearing this one, do you?"
Hiyatsu bowed her head like an admonished puppy. She looked at Tix, then walked to the car without a word. The man put his hand on Tix's shoulder. "What're you waiting for boy? It's going to rain. Get in."
The car ride was silent. Tix shot flickered glances at Hiyatsu whenever he could, trying to catch her eye, but she remained adamant staring out of the window. The three men in black suits who sat across from them sat with stony expressions offered no comfort either. The car pulled up outside the school. The man with the wing tattoo opened the door from the outside. "You. Out." He commanded to Tix.
Tix obeyed, sliding across the leather seat and stepping onto the sidewalk. He looked back inside the car, finally catching Hiyatsu's eye. The tattooed man began to swing the door shut. "Hold on!" Tix called, "What's your name?".
"My name?" She said. The tattooed man looked at her, arching an eyebrow. She ignored him. "You can call me Hiyatsu – " The tattooed man slammed the door shut. He placed his hand on Tix's shoulder, his grip a vice. Lowering his black glasses, his blue eyes stared into Tix's mint green.
"Stay away from her." The man said, every syllable stressed. He raised his glasses back to his eyes, patted Tix on the shoulder, then sat in the front passenger seat. The black car pulled away from the curb with a low rumble.
"Hiyatsu." Tix said, tasting the word in his mouth. Not bad. Not bad at all. The sky rumbled overhead, finally delivering its promised rain. Tix stepped through the front gate. He walked just beneath the roofline, hand trailing through the rain. The winding corridors had confused Tix when he first arrived, now he walked through them with his eyes closed, idly wondering whether Hiyatsu truly was the demon that the rumours said.