I had this kicking around in my brain for a while. I just didn't know who to use for the bad girl here. Tomoe fans you will hate me but I don't care. I'm pro-Kaoru! Loved the Live Action! I only had one thing, but that was easily over looked. I can't wait til the sequel comes out. It is said to be green lighted. HURRAY! So on with this story.
The sun was nearing its peak, as a figure sprinted down one of the city's many alleyways. The figure was moving at inhuman speed, dressed in black pants and long sleeved shirt, topped off with a Kevlar vest, and combat boots. The figure's head was covered by a cloth mask, hiding not only their face but also all of their head from sight. Trash and debris littered the side ally that the figure now ran down. Cutting left, they slipped through a narrow path between two abandoned buildings, to yet another filth ridden ally. It was clear to see, what the figure was running from, as they were hot on its heels.
Four more figures, dressed in full body amour and full face helmet, with the Emblem of Salomen on their shoulders were traveling at the same rapid pace. They followed the masked figure without fail as they wove through the maze of back streets and allies of the Lower City Slums.
This was the Elite Guard; they were a branch of the Vampiric Police. Top of the Vampiric Police, these solders had no other equal within the Enforcement. They each had a special skill set that made them each vital to the Guard. To the Humans they were mostly called the Death Squad. When Regulars proved useless, the Elite Guard would answer and their response was always death.
On this particular day, they were after the Human rebel known, as Phantom. Phantom was a thief, murder, and just an all-out menace to the Vampiric Society. There was only one crime that above all others the Phantom was sought for, who was aiding the Human resistance. The masked figure, the one currently being pursued by the Elite Guard, and the most wanted criminal in the city, was indeed the Phantom.
Needless to say, The Upper City Council had become impatient with the criminal and the inability to catch him, so they called in the Elite Guard. They believed in the Guard so soundly, that many of the Council members were taking wagers on how long the Phantom would last. Already about an hour into the chase, the Phantom was winning the 1000 to 1 odds.
Phantom did not slow as the Guard showed no signs of giving up or losing him. Sprinting to the end of the long alley way, to make a 12 foot jump, to what remained of a fire escape. Pull himself up, he dove through the broken window of the old apartment building. Phantom was now running down its halls, hurtling over obstacles and holes in the decaying floor. One guard made the jump in one fluid motion, undeterred by the height. The others had broken off, dividing into different directions, hoping to cut Phantom off.
Coming to a dead end hall, except for an old laundry chute, Phantom did not hesitate as he leaped feet first down it. He slid down a couple of stories, til he landed cleanly on his feet. Phantom literally hit the ground running. The musty, pitch black basement did not seem to hinder Phantom. He ran straight for an exit door, he kicked it open to the outside, only to come face to face with one of the Elite Guards.
Phantom skidded to a halt, but quickly righted himself. Standing straight back, both figures looked like status, as they waited for the other to make their move. The pause did not last long as Phantom was the first to move. Jumping into the air, he delivered a hard kick to the guard's head. The guard, who had underestimated his opponent, was knocked to the side by the powerful kick. It was short lived as the guard corrected in an instant and caught Phantom's arm, pulling him back within range. The two were locked in a hand to hand fight. They matched blows, neither noticing, the Captain of the Elite Guard watched their fight from the basement door that the Phantom had just exited.
As the fight went on the guard's strikes became angry and savage. It was as if he was frustrated that Phantom kept up with him, if not besting him at times. The last two guards, now on the scene went to intercede but were stopped suddenly and looked to their Captain. As if given a silent order, they stood down and watched as their comrade fought the Phantom.
Having finally having enough, the guard drew his hidden blade. He countered a blow from the Phantom and thrust his blade forward to seek the target. Phantom saw the blade as a flash of silver, before twisting away. When he evaded, Phantom grabbed the guard's sleeve, tearing it off his forearm. This caused the guard to scream out in pain as sunlight hit his exposed arm. The Guard's arm sizzled and blistered into an ugly wound, as he stumbled to the shadows of the alley.
Phantom broke away once again running from the Guards. Two of the Guards lit out after him, in place of their comrade. The ally that they now chased the Phantom led straight into the vast morning Demon market. The Market had a bustling crowd of every kinda and race of demon, so it was easy enough for Phantom to slip away. The Guards stopped as they had lost sight of the Phantom. Attempting to follow, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in the crowd, the Guards soon had to stop. They had no idea of which direction he had went. The Phantom had lived up to his name well.
Never before had anyone or thing escaped the Death Squad with their life. This would be a great blow to them. Defeated the two Guards returned to their Captain to report.
"We lost him." The tallest of the four said over their headsets, as they came into view.
The two that had been left behind still stood at the end of the alley. "Obviously!" snapped the guard who held his injured arm, as the Captain treated it.
"You better calm yourself, Shishio." Spoke the tall one in a cold voice.
"Or what, Sagara?!" Shishio bit again. He was in pain and pissed off that the Phantom bastard had bested him. He was getting sick of this annoyance. Shishio had thought the reports from the Lower City Guards were nothing more than plain incompetence, which was proving not to be the case. "He has made us look like inexperienced fools!" Shishio spat as the Captain finished tying a black cloth over the wound.
"I was thinking inexperienced looking one is just you, actually." Sano said with a smirk in his voice. "Apparently you are all talk after all, at least from what I saw."
Growling, Shishio moved til he was just a short distance from Sano. The only thing that stopped his advance was the Captain, who had placed himself between the two. "Enough! Attacking Sano is not going to bring us Phantom. Shishio, go back to the Coven and see to that arm. Aoshi, I want you to scout from above. Sano and I will make a round through the market."
Aoshi said nothing, only gave a sharp nod to the Captain, before fading away into a shadow of the alley.
Shishio let out another growl, unpleased with his orders. "Try not to let Sagara get you lost, Captain." Shishio snidely drug out the Captain as he stepped away from them, heading back to the Coven
Once they were gone, the Captain turned to Sano. "You really should not provoke him that you should not."
Sano and the Captain began to walk down the alley, as Sano asked. "Why is that? He's too much fun to get riled, besides he is just upset that he got his ass kicked." Sano paused a moment before he said. "You know this Phantom is really something to be admired, don't ya think Kenshin."
Kenshin just shook his head at his friend, before listening to Sano talk of admiring Phantom. They began to walk through the Market, when Kenshin said. "Admired, but not underestimated."
Stalls lined the old cement road ahead of them, each selling some kind of different food or ware. The Demons and Slaves scattered as the two Guards walked amongst them, like scared cockroaches. The Elite Guard wasn't just feared by the Humans, even the Demons quivered in fright of their presence. Their reputation was one to be feared by all. You did not cross their path, and you prayed they never targeted you.
"We are not going to find him today. I think we have, in fact underestimated him." Sano said as he kept his eyes peeled, unaffected by the people scurrying away from them. "Shishio can barely hold his own against him. He is clearly not a Human. No Human could move or run the way he does."
Kenshin shook his head. "I do not believe he is Human either, that I do not. The Lower City Guards named him Phantom, because they believed him the angry spirit of the Humans that were slaughtered in the war."
"I would believe it. It was more like massacre than real war…"Sano was quiet a moment, and then followed with. "I guess I feel for them, because I used to be one." Sano said his voice was almost a little somber. "Then again I don't remember much of my human life." He gave a small chuckle as they came to the end of the market.
Kenshin remembered the Vampiric War; he was there when Salomen first began gathering power. Salomen and his army cut through humans and spared no one, not even the women and children. Kenshin wanted no part in Salomen's raise to power, but there was nothing that Kenshin could have done to stop it either. Kenshin forced himself to Sleep, only to be awoken 60 years later. In this new world under Salomen's rule, he had to adapt to it or die. Kenshin had adapted, but at a very high cost.
"What you say is true, it was truly a massacre." Kenshin's tone became much like Sano's. "I was born a vampire, but that does not mean I cannot pity them, or as you say feel for them." Kenshin came to a stop in the middle of the market and looked to Sano. "Losing your memory is normal for the Turned; it is a side effect of the Vampire that is born inside you."
Sano came to a stop and put his hands on his hips, kicking a piece of asphalt. "I haven't lost it, it is just hard to recall. As for the Vampire inside me…he sometimes loses to the dead human that is his cage." Sano let out a gruff sigh, then said. "The Phantom has to be long gone by now."
"Yes, he is gone. I am sure of it." Kenshin said, realizing that Sano was uncomfortable with where their conversation was going. In the Coven talk like theirs would have you killed or at the very least stripped of your rank and title. It would be a sign of inability to preform one's duty as an Elite Guard.
"How do you know for sure?" Sano asked confused by Kenshin's statement.
"The Phantom has a unique heartbeat and I can no longer hear it." Kenshin looked around once more and tried to focus on listening once more, to no avail.
"And you would be able to hear this heartbeat over this crowd?!" Sano asked with laughter in his voice, not believing his friend. "There's over a hundred different heart beats here."
"Trust me; if you paid attention to it you would be able to pick it out of the hundred different heartbeats." Kenshin said with almost a smile in his voice. "Let's return to the Coven."
Kenshin was correct Phantom was no longer in the Market, in fact, very far from it. Down deep in the slums, Phantom was making his way to Mistress Megumi's. Mistress Megumi was a witch that the vampires left alone, often sought out for assistance. She was no longer truly human she had transcended it, to the status of immoral. Her magic was held in the highest of regards. It was also whispered that a reason she was left alone was that the Vampires actually feared how powerful her magic was. Mistress Megumi used that to her advantage, because of her well-kept secret. A secret that would be her end, should anyone find that she aided the one called Phantom.
Phantom came to the old building that may have once been a small flower shop. The neighborhood was mostly completely deserted, except for the wondering stray now and then. Phantom kept to the shadows as he snuck through the back window of the shop. The window lead into a small kitchen, that smelled of herbs and incense. Megumi was a tall, slender female, whose long ebony hair hung freely over her shoulder. Her beauty was nothing to laugh at. She was a very stunning creature to look upon, this much was for certain. If you looked into her eyes you would see the age that her face hides all too well. One would think her a young woman barely out of her twenties. They would never guess she was a few hundred years old.
Megumi sat at her small writing desk, scribbling down something on a small piece of paper. She didn't even glance up as the intruder entered her home. "You could try using the door for once."
Phantom stood in front of the window, undoing the mask. Blue-black hair tumbled down and a female's face was revealed. "But the window seems to be the more suitable choice." The girl's voice rang like the sound of a bell, a smile playing a crossed her lips.
The one, almost everyone in the city believed to be the Phantom and a male, was actually a beautiful young woman. Her skin lightly paled, and her eyes were the deepest of blues. Much like Megumi's, if not more so, the young woman's face was flawless. The air around her was just as surreal as the aura around Megumi.
Pulling a chair next to Megumi, the young woman sat down, cheerfully. "The Elite Guard was after me today. The Coven and the other councils seem to be get tired of me slipping through their securities."
"Hmmm, I wonder why." Megumi said dully and without humor as she looked at the young woman. "You had better watch yourself from now on. The Elite Guard is nothing to take lightly, Himura especially." Megumi put down her pen and looked at the girl. "Did you find out what you needed to at least, Kaoru?"
"They are all the same." Kaoru said waving her hand through the air, but at Megumi's question, she nodded sadly. "Yes, they have Misao and the others locked up in a holding cell, near the lower ball room of the Coven." Kaoru leaned on the table and pulled out a small tattered map. It showed the layout of the ground floor of the Coven. Kaoru pointed to a room near the Ball room. "They have them held here. They plan to start harvesting them tonight for their 'Welcome Home' ball for Salomen." Kaoru spit out the vampire's name with much distaste. Just saying his name made her gut twist and churn. There was no one she hated more than him.
Megumi looked to the make-shift map and shook her head slowly. "Stupid girl! She was a fool to attempt to save them on her own." Megumi turned in her chair to face Kaoru, and pointed to Kaoru. "You will follow her if you do not heed my advice on the Elite Guard. I am serious Kaoru. You cannot take them as lightly as the other guards."
Kaoru set back in the chair with a groan and crossed her arms over her chest. "The one called Shishio fought me today and he was just like the other guards. He was blinded by his anger and ended up getting burnt."
"And you are blinded by your over-confidence!" Megumi snapped at the girl. "Shishio is the weakest on the Guard. Above him is Sanosuke, then one called Aoshi, and the top is Captain Himura. If you had fought any of their other three, you would be joining Misao!" The seriousness of Megumi's tone and her scowl finally managed to break through to Kaoru.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Kaoru gave in, and dropped her arms to her sides. "Fine, I will avoid them from now on. If you are that sure of them, then I will be too." Kaoru say Megumi's face softened some. She knew the old witch was looking out for her. She was like her mother and had always taken care of her. So if Megumi was that worried about the Elite Guard, Kaoru would be too.
Megumi nodded as she got Kaoru to submit. Relaxing some more, she asked, "What do you plan to do?"
"I plan to get them back." Kaoru's voice was calm and definite when she also looked to the page on Megumi's desk, but really didn't pay attention to what was written.
"That is all well and good, but that does not tell me how you intend on doing so." Megumi said dryly.
Megumi could see what was coming, as Kaoru looked her in the eyes. "Do you still have that potion?" Kaoru asked knowing full well that Megumi was going to be upset with her.
A grim look came over Megumi's face. "You are going to kill yourself, if you keep using it." Megumi said bitterly, but still got up and went to collect a small black bottle from her cabinet. There were some fights that Megumi knew she could win with Kaoru and others she knew she could not. If she refused her, Kaoru would just steal it. She set it on the table in front of Kaoru. "Now what is your plan of action?"
Kaoru picked up the little back bottle, looking from it up to Megumi with a soft smile. "Well it involves a Ball gown."
So there is the new chapter of the new story! I will have the next one up, if this one does well.