A/N: Hey, guys! Dark Rains here! I know it's been a while since I last updated. I do apologize about that! And I'm back to apologize some more, I mostly write stories while I'm bored in class. Well… you see, it was the summer, and now that I'm back in school I now have three out of four classes with my friend. That effectively ends a lot of boredom writing. I'll try as best as I can to continue to update this story and other stories! Again, sorry! Please R&R and enjoy!!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, just the story
Light peaked out over the horizon, and with the morning dew still clinging to the trees and the thin blades of grass, the light placed a layer of shimmering stars as far as the eye could see. The stillness of the morning foretold a calm and uneventful day.
Birds twittered lazily, getting ready to make their morning rounds for food. Their chicks screeching endlessly for their mothers to satisfy their unrelenting hunger and the mothers ignoring their attempts.
Nothing, it seemed, could shatter the peace of this serene morning.
Suddenly, a shrill cry pierced through the sloth slow air that had a few seconds before suggested nothing could ruin the day. Several of the lazy birds took flight at the outcry, sensing danger was close.
A loud, sharp bang ripped the stillness of the air, causing anything with a heartbeat to stop dead in their tracks. A body that had been in flight, dropped like a stone from the clouds above. Its lithe body plummeting down only to thud sickeningly as it hit the brown earth of the road below.
Abruptly the air was filled with frantic, little beating and bruising bodies frenzied with utter shock and panic. The mothers had took flight, their still very young offspring left for dead and left forgotten as their shrill little voices pierced the air. Their fright and confusion was very apparent for the loss of their providers.
Several yards away, the same loud bangs fired off at their evading target. Small, round, metal balls whizzed by and ricocheted dangerously close to the prey's feet, threatening its existence. The small target with silky, raven-black hair and eyes like deep oceans, darted erratically, eyes filled with a plethora of emotions. The most noticeable being fear and anger. Shifting from side to side, she tried confusing her purser to throw him off her next course of action and direction. Her heart beating like a hummingbird's, hammering its way furiously within the confines of her ribcage.
Her purser did have to admit, she was quick. As soon as he had started firing at her, she disappeared temporarily from his vision. Only to be found shortly after. She was easy on the eyes too. Dripping ebony silk that came to rest on her slender, limber form had swayed constantly in time with her footfalls. Her kimono had ripped in an effort to lengthen her stride, giving him quite a view of her powerful legs. He watched as the muscles rippled smoothly over her bones as she pushed off the ground, the force propelling her ever forward in an effort to escape his pursuit. Her ass wasn't bad either, or at least what he could make of it. He almost felt regret to be hunting down such a creature as she, but money was money. Unfortunate for the poor young woman, he needed that money desperately.
The young woman however, was far from regret. She furiously pounded into the ground with the balls of her feet. How dare that bastard catch her off guard like that! And with guns no less! Of all the nerve! These thoughts boiled her blood even more, she set her pace to grueling as she attempted to evade her hunter.
I'm a Kamiya! This is utterly insulting and dishonorable to use those blasted hunks of metal! For Kami-sakes at least use a sword and catch me off-guard! Coward! The nineteen year old Karou Kamiya fumed fiercely. She shot various death glares behind her right shoulder.
If she had had enough breath she would have sighed out of admittance. She was really quite impressed with the man behind her. She was praised for all her life as holding the title of the swiftest runner in her region. No one could match her stride easily, or at least follow her at this close of a proximity. Some small sense of pride swept shamelessly over her that made her smirk. They had had to send their fastest to snare her. Well, by the gods, she was not to be thwarted so easily and so flippantly! She was a Kamiya, damn it! She'd go down fighting tooth and nail if she had to! There was no way she would be some small damsel in distress.
If only they hadn't had those damned guns! She cursed silently at whoever sent this man to hunt her down. Though, simultaneously she was slightly thankful, because the gun seemed to slow him down greatly. She had a gut-wrenching feeling that if her predator tossed that metallic machinery he would catch her within a few hundred feet. She therefore, thanked the gods somewhere that had given her that blessing. She glanced back around and did not see the small stone jutting out from the ground. Scraping her foot and tearing her sandal, she feel and hit the ground hard. Grit and dirt flung into her face as her body splayed out. She pushed up weakly, spitting the bitter-tasting soil from her mouth.
Kami! She knew she was dead the moment she tripped. Now she could actually hear her pursuer's heavy breathing and could almost taste his salty sweat in the air. A shot glanced off the ground near her elbow, effectively spraying more grit into her face. She cursed him in between coughs, her lungs trying to expel the horrid invasion. Suddenly she froze. She realized that he wasn't shooting to injure or to kill her. No! He was shooting to herd her! Her heart picked up a new and more furious pace than before. That could mean a bigger and more life-threatening trap awaited her at his unknown destination!
His footsteps continued to increase in volume as she scrambled up, blatantly ignoring the dust that now invaded and watered her swollen red eyes. Blinking rapidly as she picked up the pace to run, the water from her eyes created crusty muddy ring around her view.
She ran in the direction to the side of her, and his response was to shoot directly in front of her in an attempt to alter her course. By gods! He had good aim! However, clearly ignoring the danger of continuing to run the way she was headed, she kept a steady pace in that same direction. He fired another shot. This one nicked her sandal, as she felt a slight breeze and vibration through her foot. She started zigzagging again, his aim barely making its mark.
A hollow, heavy thud of metal resounded off the ground behind her and she picked up the pace. Though her legs felt like lead and her throat and lungs on fire, she pressed on. Adrenaline was now her only source and fuel for her energy. He had ditched his weapon, she was sure! Her assumptions rang true as she heard his footfalls gaining her. Literally jumping out of her chest, her heart beat still-ever faster as panic and hot bitter bile rose in her already burning esophagus. She spat at the ground on her feet, trying to rid herself of the foul-tasting substance in her mouth that burned her in its acidity.
With a weak-hearted cry in a desperate attempt to continue, her predator slammed his full weight into her small frame, effectively ending the chase. They fell to the ground, her body pinned under his muscular form that was slick from sweat. The breath was knocked out of her and he continued to become heavier, acting like a constrictor. As she struggled to breathe, the more he pressed down onto her and the harder it became to draw in even a shaky breath.
He relentlessly continued to press her body into the oblivion of the dry road until black started to swirl and blur her vision. Gasping, she fought to resist the black cloud, but it was far stronger than she. Her body went limp and reluctantly was enveloped into the urging, persistent black veils of unconsciousness.
One question had remained in her mind throughout the whole ordeal:
Why was she being chased?
