That Which Is Good
An X-men: Evolution Fan Fiction
By Daemonchan
**This is my first attempt at X-men
fiction. I usually write Gundam Wing. Whoo, what a switch! However, I have
fallen in love with the new Nightcawler and I heard a quote while watching the
reruns of Sliders that I thought fit him perfectly. Please forgive any mistakes
I make with Kurt's past, or present. I don't get to watch the show every
Saturday, and I'm familiar with the original Nightcrawler from the comics. I'm
positive that I'll get the two confused.**
**Kirei is the Japanese word for beautiful
and higashi means east.**
Part
One: The Spell is Cast
~*~*~*~
Monster! Freak! Demon!
The words shrieked themselves over and
over in his head, like howling wolves, driving him to a terrified awakening.
"No!" Kurt screamed as he fell
from his bed, landing painfully in a mass of sheets and blankets. He gasped
painfully, trying to bring his racing heart back under control. The terror was
slowly draining from his body, along with the fuzzy memories of the dreams that
had driven him into such a panic.
Not that he needed to know what they were
about. He could very well guess. The same dreams that each mutant in the school
experienced at least once in their lives. Except for Kurt, they had been more
like memory then just fancies.
He brushed his blue hair from his eyes
with a three-fingered hand. He didn't notice as the door opened and a brown
haired boy stuck his head in, ruby glasses flashing in the morning sun the
streamed through Kurt's window.
"You all right, Kurt? I thought I
heard screaming."
Kurt raised his head just over the edge of
the bed sheepishly, still draped in his bedclothes. He smiled at Scott.
"Ja. Just a nightmare."
Instead of laughing it off, Scott became
very serious. He knew that his German friend had had some horrible experiences
before finding the safety of the Xavier Institute. Kurt's appearance caused
most people to run in terror, but a few were stupid enough to try and hurt the
gentle boy.
Scott himself had been wary when he first
met the strange new mutant from Germany. When he had seen the blue fur, three
fingered hands and the pointed tail…even he had felt a stab of fear. But when
he saw that pain behind the golden orbs, he had felt guilty and promised to do
anything in his power to make Kurt welcome.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Kurt sighed before he could stop himself.
"Nein, Scott. I'll be okay. I'll be down in a minute."
Scott shrugged and left, sure that the
furry elf had been lying through his teeth. But he had enough experience with
new mutants; he knew that Kurt would tell when he was ready and not before.
"Hey, furball! Your foot's in my
cereal!"
Rogue had been the unfortunate landing
space for Kurt then. The dark haired southerner was pushing him off her lap
when Scott walked in, Kurt looking apologetic with his holo-form. Scott almost
started laughing when he caught sight of the milk sodden Rogue but thought it
better for his health if he choke it back.
Kurt wolfed down a plate of pancakes and
grabbed for the extras when they were speared by a grumpy looking Wolverine.
The German boy smiled nervously and quickly busied himself with taking care of
his dishes.
Everyone else had gone already, driving to
school with Scott. Kurt found that he liked to walk…well, run to school. He
enjoyed the freedom.
Suddenly it was later than it should have
been and he found himself grabbing for his bag and making a run for the school.
He had worked out a series of safe locations for transporting, areas where
there was lots of tree cover and very little habitation, but he was still late
as he made the final dash for the front door.
Gott, vhy does this happen to me?
Still, there was no Principal Darkholme
waiting for him, detention slip in hand. Maybe Gott had been listening to his
prayers.
Kurt even slipped into his first class
unnoticed. The teacher was too busy talking to a new kid. Kurt knew that new kid
often equaled new mutant, and since she wasn't at the Institute, she was one of
Mystique's new recruits.
The teacher moved to announce the new
student to the class, allowing Kurt to get a good look at her. His breath
caught in his throat. She was stunning, with lustrous ebony hair that fell to
her waist in neat braids. She was clearly of Asian descent with gently sloping
eyes. Every detail about her was perfect, from her trendy clothes to the subtle
perfume that filled the room.
Kurt glanced about, seeing the same look
of stunned wonder on everyone else's face. Only their looks were somehow empty,
as if they weren't really there…
His thoughts were interrupted by the girl
as she spoke. "Hajimemashite. Namae wa Higashi Kirei. Douzo
yoroshiku."
Even though he hadn't understood a word
she said, Kurt was still entranced. Even her voice was beautiful. She smiled as
she translated the Japanese words.
"Hello. My name is Kirei Higashi. It
is nice to meet you."
Her English was flawless. The teacher was
still in awe, her face fixed with an absent smile as she watched Kirei sit down
next to Kurt.
Then suddenly it was if the spell had been
lifted. The teacher went back to the serious business of teaching American
History and the class was filled with the slow breathing of bored teenagers.
Kurt didn't dare look at the girl beside
him. He kept his eyes trained on his desk. Inwardly, his heart was trying to
jump out his chest. He almost died from shock as Kirei put a hand on his arm,
leaning into speak to him.
She didn't even seem to notice the warm,
silky fur beneath her fingers instead of human flesh. "I'm like you. A
child of the atom."
So his first assumption had been right.
She was a new mutant. But why would she be talking with him if she were one of
Mystique's crew?
Kirei merely smiled and sat back, leaving
the young mutant alone with his thoughts. It seemed an eternity later that the
bell rang, signally release from the constricting classroom.
Kurt ran for the door before he recovered
his manners and turned to see Kirei being assisted by three other students with
her school things. He felt an unfamiliar surge of jealousy and fled.
~*~*~*~
It had been a long day by the time lunch
rolled around. Kurt had caught sight of the beautiful Kirei all day long,
surrounded by a throng of admirers. He wondered if it was part of her mutant
powers. He sat at the lunch table with a sigh, lost in his thoughts.
"Hey, you thinkin' again?"
Evan's joke brought Kurt out of his funk.
"Nein. Too hard on the gray matter."
Evan put a conspirational arm around Kurt's
shoulder. "Hey, have you met the new girl?"
Kurt began shoveling his lunch into his
mouth, nodding. "Ja. She vas in my first period class. She sits next to
me."
He didn't have a chance to tell Evan what
Kirei had told him before the rest of the X-men joined them at the table. Scott
gave Kurt a playful shove and sat in the middle of the bench, leaving the end
open.
"Be a gentleman, will ya? Save a seat
for the lady?"
Kurt stopped eating for a moment to give
Cyclops an inquiring eyebrow. "Vhat lady?"
"This lady."
Kurt looked up in surprise as he realized
that it was Kirei whom had taken the seat next to Scott. She winked at Kurt
before taking a seat. Kurt found his throat suddenly dry. It was strange to
have a girl pay any attention to him, especially knowing what he was.
Kurt stayed out of the conversation,
mostly concentrating on his food. He could see Kirei leaning forward to stare
at him around Scott, making his holographic form blush furiously. None of the
others seemed to notice her strange behavior.
Kurt looked up for a second. In fact, they
seemed mindlessly enthralled by the girl. Even Kitty and Jean were quite taken
with her, hanging on her every word. He tuned into what Kirei was saying.
"I was born outside of Tokyo. I
discovered that I was a mutant when I was thirteen. My parents moved here the
States when they heard of the Xavier School. I was hoping to speak with
Professor Xavier in the near future."
Still no mention of what her power was.
Kurt felt like an outsider in his own group, the only one who had not fallen
under Kirei's spell.
The bell rang and the X-men dispersed,
waving goodbye to Kirei. She was suddenly attached to Kurt's side, her arm
linked in his. Kurt was suddenly glad for the holo-form covering most of his
nervousness. His tail twitched uncontrollably and the hair on his neck rose
with her touch.
"Kurt? I was wondering…would you like
to go out this afternoon?"
Kurt's humor returned. "Vait, let me
think about that. Yes."
Kirei smiled, putting her head on his
shoulder. "Then I'll meet you after school."
"Ja. Sounds like a plan."
~*~*~*~
Next Time: Kirei is more than she seems
and Kurt is her innocent victim. Will he be able to save the other X-men from
her mysterious hold?