Title: X-Men: Minority Within a Minority
Author: Felidae Silvestris
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or the idea of the X-Men. Sue me and it might get you a little bit of money, but not a lot. Five bucks at most.
Author's Note: The character of Hogosha Shiyama is used with the permission of H-chan, again. Himeko Sorano is mine, as are Angelique and Sly. This is a bit crazy, since Himeko doesn't normally have this attitude, but oh well! Also, this story will encompass characters from all over the X-Men universe, with spontaneous appearances by characters. Another thing to note: Himeko blames almost everything that goes on at the school on Professor Xavier, even though it has nothing to do with him.
Chapter: First Emotion
Himeko Sorano, a young mutant with blue streaks in her brown hair, slowly climbed down from her attic bedroom, answering a summons from Sean Cassidy, alias Banshee. Her demeanor was cold and uncaring, stemming from her abusive childhood. She passed by her mutant classmates without so much as a backward glance. Most of them either ignored her or skirted out of her path, knowing that she would use their mutations against them is they made her mad. She reached the door to Sean Cassidy's study steeled herself for the rush of his power before she entered.
"Ah, Miss Sorano," Sean greeted from behind his desk. "I'm sorry for having disturbed you."
"No problem, Mr. Cassidy," Himeko replied, her eyes flickering to the other people in the room. "Hello, Ms Frost, Mr. Corsi."
"Afternoon, Himeko," Emma Frost said, nodding in Himeko's direction. Tom Corsi remained silent, nodding at the girl.
"Himeko, I would like you to meet your new roommate, Hogosha Shiyama," Sean said, motioning to a girl with short dark-green hair. "Hogosha, this is Himeko Sorano, known by most of the other students as Maneru, meaning 'mimic'."
"Hajimemashite doozo yoroshiku, Sorano-san. Nice to meet you, Himeko," Hogosha said, reaching a hand out to Himeko.
"Mr. Cassidy, my nightmares," Himeko protested, ignoring Hogosha.
"I'm confident that Hogosha's mutation won't be a problem for you," Sean said. "Hogosha, why don't you show her."
"Yes, sir." Hogosha stood still for a moment as her hair suddenly popped out and up, twisting into drill-like appendages. "My old friends used to call me Drills."
"You see, Himeko, I would not put anyone whose mutation would be a problem in the same room as you."
Himeko sighed, thinking He's got orders from Xavier to get me a roommate, damn that old crackpot psychic! "Whatever you say, Mr. Cassidy."
"Good. Now, Hogosha will have the same schedule that you do, so you will be showing her the ropes. I'd like you to take her up to your room and then give her a tour of the school. Her bed will be brought up later."
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you for being cooperative, Himeko."
Himeko nodded, still yelling at Professor Charles Xavier in her mind. "Come on, Shiyama." Himeko turned on her heel and walked out of the room, not really caring if the girl was following her.
Hogosha hurried after Himeko, trying to match the other mutant's stride. "Um ... if you don't mind me asking, what's with your attitude?"
"That's none of your business," Himeko snapped.
"But it is if I'm - hey!"
Himeko spun around in time to see Hogosha's leather jacket floating away. "Sly, get back here with that!"
The jacket stopped and spun around in the air. "Or what?" came a male voice from that direction.
Himeko glanced around and spotted a blond girl named Angelique. Himeko's hand reached out as she concentrated on Angelique's mutation. "Hogosha, grab you jacket."
Hogosha's hair popped out again, two of the drills growing longer that the rest. The drills plucked the jacket out of the air. Himeko formed the moisture in the air into brown, sticky, stinky goo. The goo then covered the formerly invisible boy.
Himeko smirked. "Let's go, Hogosha." She started off again, storming down the hall.
Hogosha hurried after her. "Who was that?"
"Maverick Carlson, a.k.a. Sly. His mutation lets him turn himself and his clothes invisible."
"Kinda like the Invisible Man?"
"Kinda like, but Sly isn't invisible all the time."
"Oh. And your mutation?"
"I thought my nickname would be enough."
"But that thing you just did -"
Damn girl, asking too many questions. "Wasn't my mutation. Okay, it was, but it was actually Angelique's mutation. I can use any mutant's power within a three yard radius of the mutant."
"Oh." Hogosha fell silent as Himeko began climbing stairs.
"Did you paint all of these?" Hogosha asked, staring at the paintings that covered the north wall.
"Yeah," Himeko replied, leaning against the wall. "This was my room, Mr. Cassidy let me do whatever I wanted to it."
Hogosha slid her hand down the wall of a castle that had been painted on the wooden wall. "They're kinda dark and morbid, don't you think?"
"That was the point. The focal point isn't over there anyway."
"Focal point?"
Himeko rolled her eyes. "The point your eye is drawn to." Himeko threw back her hand, hitting a white patch of wall. Behind her rose a magnificent-looking white horse. Except, it wasn't a horse exactly. Out of it's forehead spiraled a silver horn, turning the animal into a unicorn. "Took me two months to get her done."
Hogosha just stared at the unicorn, transfixed. Himeko walked over to a very sinister-looking vampire that had been painted opposite the unicorn. "This guy took me a week. Funny how you'd think that the more detailed vampire took me forever to paint. The fucking bastard!" Himeko drew back her arm and slammed her fist into the vampire's face. "Damn you to hell!"
"Himeko ..." Hogosha reached out as Himeko stumbled backward.
"Leave me alone," Himeko snapped, her calm exterior back in place. "Just don't touch me."
"I'm not going to."
"Good. Come on, let's take you on that tour."
Dinner at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters seemed to be a rather large affair. The mutant students were loud and divided into large cliques. It seemed to be just like any other high school cafeteria, until you noticed all the different hair colors and powers that were being thrown around.
Hogosha followed Himeko though the line and down in-between the tables of the aptly named Mess Hall. Most of the younger mutants were either eating or showing off their powers.
"Hey, new girl!" one of the girls shouted, waving Hogosha over.
Hogosha glanced toward Himeko, who was completely ignoring her, and then towards the blond girl. "I have a name you know."
"Yeah, I know that. I'm Theresa Rourke, also known as Siryn, Mr. Cassidy's my dad," the girl explained.
"Hogosha Shiyama. And if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be." Hogosha turned to leave, but stopped when Theresa spoke again.
"How'd you end up with Maneru?"
"None of your business." Hogosha walked away, heading for where Himeko was sitting. "Some reason you tend to ignore me?"
"I ignore everyone, in case you hadn't noticed," Himeko said, not looking up from her food. "No one cares what I do and don't do."
"Maybe because you never give anyone a chance."
"In my opinion, no one deserves a chance."
Hogosha opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Himeko. The other girl's clothes seemed to fit her personality exactly. Black shirt, black trench coat, and dark-blue jeans. Himeko's personality seemed exactly that way, just black. She was cold, cynical, and did not seem to have any friends.
Himeko finished eating and stood. "You know the way back to the room, right?"
Hogosha nodded. Himeko took her trash to the can and dumped it. She then quickly made her way up to her room. Himeko threw her coat onto her bed and grabbed her practice sword from where it leaned against the wall. She began angrily slashing, lunging, and basically killing an imaginary enemy a thousand times over. Only when she rammed the point of the sword into the vampire's chest did she stop. Why had she been picked to share a room with the new girl? Didn't Xavier know that her nightmares were becoming more frequent? Didn't he know that she hated to rely on others for comfort? Didn't he know?
Of course he knew. Professor Xavier always knew what was on her mind. With his strong telepathic powers, how could he not know? He seemed to know exactly what was going on anywhere in either mansion. That's why she had to stop thinking about committing suicide, not that she ever really did stop. The last time she'd tried, she had been at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Jean Grey had appeared in her room and sent the knife flying through the window.
"Damn him, "Himeko whispered to herself, unaware that she had a visitor.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Himeko," came the voice of the infamous Wolverine.
Himeko whirled around, her practice sword held in front of her in a defensive position. Seeing that it was Logan, the ex-samurai, she lowered the practice weapon. "What do you want, Logan?"
"To deliver this bed." Logan motioned to the bed parts behind him on the landing. "And your balance is a little off."
Himeko's scowl deepened. "Over there." Himeko pointed to a spot near the castle Hogosha had seemed to like. Not that she cared about what Hogosha liked.
Logan hefted the parts and brought them into the room. "Where's that new roommate of yours? I'd like to meet this girl."
Himeko shrugged, putting her practice sword back against the wall and picking up her paints. "She said she knew that way back here, so I left her in the Mess Hall."
"And I did find the way back," Hogosha said, appearing in the doorway. "It wasn't all that hard."
Logan had to smother a laugh. "Well, Himeko, I think she's got you matched in attitude."
"Thanks, Logan," Himeko retorted sarcastically, sitting down on the floor to paint.
"Logan? Is that you?" Hogosha asked.
"That's right," Logan replied, snapping the bed parts together.
"I'm Hogosha Shiyama, a.k.a. Drills."
"Drills?" Logan asked, not looking up from his work. "How'd you get stuck with a nickname like that?"
Hogosha grinned as Himeko groaned. Hogosha's hair twisted together, turning into a kind of living metal. The drills stood out from her head, making her look like she had an Afro. Two of the drills grew longer, reaching out and plucking a piece of the bed off the floor and handing it to Logan.
"Well, that explains it," Logan said, snapping the piece into place. He dropped the assembled bed frame and then dropped a box spring and mattress on top of it. "Okay, Himeko, you have extra sheets, right?"
"Yes," Himeko replied, gently brushing black paint onto the wall.
"Good. Then my work here is done. Work on your balance and take care of yourself, kid." Logan walked out, leaving Himeko and Hogosha alone.
Himeko felt Hogosha's crimson eyes on her and sighed. "What are you staring at?"
"I need sheets," Hogosha retorted.
"Doesn't mean you have to stare at me. They're in the closet, second shelf down on the right."
Hogosha couldn't help but think, But I like staring at you.
The next morning, Hogosha woke up to the sound of something whistling through the air. She opened her eyes to see Himeko practicing with her sword. The other girl was dressed in tight, white clothes that were drenched in sweat. Hogosha found herself wondering just how good that sweat-drenched skin would taste. The point of Himeko's practice sword slammed into the vampire's chest, Himeko herself panting.
"Is it just me, or do you like staring at me?" Himeko asked, pulling the sword back.
"You have a problem with it?" Hogosha asked, grinning.
"I prefer not to sleep in the same room as a lesbian. Not because I'm prejudice, but because I don't want to be jumped in the middle of the night."
"So ... what you're saying is that if I'm a lesbian, then you won't sleep in here?"
"I see we understand each other."
"I'm not lesbian."
"Could have fooled me." Himeko stepped into the closet to change clothes. She rolled her eyes as she shed the white workout clothes. Over her bare skin, Himeko pulled a pair of dark-blue jeans, black spaghetti-strap shirt, and her trench coat. Her hair she gathered into a ponytail, securing it with black ponytail holder.
Yes, black was her color. Always had been, always would be. It fit her recluse-artist image so well. The clothes she wore always tended to allude to her background, the sorrow and pain she'd been though. The abuse of her father, the death of her mother, and the prejudice she had suffered when she found out she was a mutant. No one accepted her for who she was except for Professor Xavier and Rogue. But Rogue was never around enough to matter. And Professor Xavier was a dick.
"Do you always wear black?" Hogosha asked as Himeko stepped out.
"Do you always ask stupid questions?" Himeko countered. She grabbed a backpack from where it lay in a corner. "Bring your backpack, you won't be able to make it back up here after breakfast." She left the room, hurrying down to the Mess Hall. Much against her normal routine, Himeko took a seat at the far end of Siryn's table. Hogosha wouldn't think to look for her here.
"Oh, look who decided to join us this morning," cooed Paige Guthrie, also known as Husk. "What'd you do with the new girl? Fuck and run?"
Himeko rolled her eyes. "Somehow, I think that was supposed to be funny. And somehow, I would think that the former members of X-Force and Generation X would knock off the childish antics." Himeko stood, picking up her tray. "I see I'm not welcome here, so I'll go back to my table." She slid through the crowd, back to her table. Hogosha was already there, looking rather confused.
"Where were you?" Hogosha asked.
"What does it matter?"
"It matters to me."
Himeko just rolled her eyes. Stupid girl, doesn't she realize that nothing really matters? Nothing really matters because everything just ends up going away.
"Remember to have your papers done by tomorrow!" shouted Elizabeth Braddock, also known as Psylocke, as the bell rang. "Miss Shiyama, could I see you for a moment?"
Hogosha glanced at Himeko, who shrugged and leaned against the wall. Hogosha made her way up to where Psylocke was standing. "Yes, Ms Braddock?"
"I want you to know that I'm extending the due date on your paper. I would say that you should ask Himeko if you need help, but she's rather antisocial."
"I noticed," Hogosha said, glancing back at Himeko. "I don't know, but, I think if I asked, she might help. Himeko's just lonely, don't you think?"
Psylocke nodded. "Perhaps you're right."
"Of course I am. Thank you for extending my deadline, Ms Braddock." Hogosha turned and walked over to Himeko. "Thanks for waiting."
Himeko pushed off the wall. "Not like I could leave you to wander the mansion all by yourself."
Hogosha's expression faltered for a moment. "No, I guess not."
"Look, don't think that because I'm letting you follow me around today, that you're going to be doing it forever. I don't like people, and I don't like you." Or need you, she thought.
Hogosha was silent for a moment, absorbing this information. "Well, like it or not, you're stuck with me. Deal with it."
"There you are, Himeko!" came a female voice.
Himeko whirled around to face the green-haired Lorna Dane, alias Polaris. "Polaris?"
"No time for chit-chat, Mr. Cassidy wanted me to send you to his office. Rogue is here."
"Rogue's here?"
Polaris nodded. "I'll take Hogosha to her next class. Get moving, girl!"
Himeko's face suddenly broke into a grin. Rogue's back! "Thanks, Polaris!" She took off running in the direction of Cassidy's office.
Hogosha stared after her. "That is the first time I've seen her smile." And she's beautiful...
Polaris sighed. "Yes, she doesn't smile very often. By the way, I'm Lorna Dane, known around here as Polaris."
"Hajimemashite doozo yoroshiku, nice to meet you."
Mutants This Chapter: Sean Cassidy/Banshee, Emma Frost, Tom Corsi, Logan/Wolverine, Lorna Dane/Polaris, Theresa Rourke/Siryn, Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke, Himeko Sorano/Maneru, Hogosha Shiyama/Drills, Maverick Carlson/Sly, Angelique