After waking from her nap in mid-afternoon, Kay changed into a fresh shirt and slacks and gathered up her dirty clothes from her stay in Paris. She carried it down to the ship's laundry and got it started, then went for a bit of a wander. The mood at headquarters was different with Saya and company aboard. Everywhere she turned Kay found her fellow Red Shield members far more focused and alert than normal. Saya and Diva had awakened at last; the war was on in earnest once more. Knowing that Saya was with them gave the others hope, but it only made Kay anxious.

She walked aimlessly for awhile. First into the library, then out of it when she decided she was too restless to read. Next to the shooting range where she emptied several magazines in an attempt to work out some of her nerves. Eventually her feet took her to medical without her brain realizing it until she stopped at the door. She paused for a beat, then entered.

Dr. Julia Silverstein sat with her legs crossed, one elbow propped up on the desk with a lit cigarette dangling between her fingers while she stared intently at the figure in the bed on the other side of the glass. She glanced at Kay only momentarily as she entered. Kay came to stand next to her. She hadn't been expecting the boy to be hooked to so many machines, their whirring and beeping the only noise to fill the tense silence. He looked so small and fragile among them.

"You shouldn't be in here," Julia commented quietly after a couple minutes passed. Kay swallowed, unable to tear her eyes from Riku.

"I know. I just had to see for myself. He looks…" she hesitated, the words stuck in her throat. "Has he changed?"

Julia took a drag off her cigarette and slowly breathed it out before replying.

"We can't be sure yet. We're not entirely sure what we're looking for."

The door opened and Dr. Collins' voice sounded from behind them.

"Miss Lizzio! The chief doesn't want you anywhere near this! I was told he was going to speak to you about the matter as soon as you arrived."

"He did. I was just on my way out."

Kay shut her eyes to the sad scene before her and turned to leave, shouldering her way rudely past Collins on her way out. She was thinking about heading down to the gym to blow off more steam when four people rounded the corner just ahead. One she knew very well, Lewis, a good-natured and prominent member of their organization. One was a complete stranger, though she had a guess as to his identity. The last two she had never met, but recognized instantly.

Her blood turned to ice in her veins when she laid eyes on Saya. She had a vague notion that Lewis was speaking, but a strange rushing sound had filled her ears. A flood of emotions washed over her in waves. Panic. Anger. Anxiety. Sadness. Fear.

"Hey Kaelin, are you alright?" Lewis's soft Jamaican accent was muffled by the rushing. He was the only one moving in the hallway, coming towards her with a hand outstretched. Kay took a deep trembling breath and sprang into action. She whipped two knives from their hiding place at the small of her back and launched herself forward with a feral yell, fixated on Saya.

Hagi reacted instantly. He pushed Saya aside and put himself between her and Kay, coolly deflecting her strikes with open hands. The knife in her left hand went flying, swiftly followed by the other. She somersaulted past him, coming up smoothly on and turning on her knees. In that same moment she had produced a small handgun from an ankle holster and leveled it at Hagi. There was confused shouting mixed in with the rushing, but she only had eyes for the two chiropterans. So focused was she that she didn't see everyone's eyes shift from her to something just behind her. And then there was a sharp blow right between her shoulder blades that sent her flying forward onto the floor. The gun clattered out of her hand and a oxford clad shoe came into sight to kick it far out of her reach. Kay knew who it was before the rough hand grabbed her by her collar and dragged her to her feet.

"Mr. David?"

Kay couldn't help it, a bitter laugh escaped her lips; she hadn't expected their great savior to sound so small and meek. Her laugh earned her a shake. The smile faded to an annoyed scowl.

"I suppose there's no point in asking you not to tell Joel, is there?" Kay commented, turning to look at David's furious face beside her. "I didn't think so."

"And I don't suppose that you feel like explaining yourself or perhaps even apologizing?" David shot back at her.

"You know, I don't think that I do," she replied. "Shall we?"

He shoved her forward, indicating she lead the way up to Joel's office. As they left, they could hear Lewis calming down those they had left behind. If she slowed, she got another sharp push, right up to the point where she hesitated outside the door to Joel's office. Her entrance was a tumble through the door frame, landing hard on the carpeted floor.

"And what is the meaning of this?" Joel pushed back his chair and stood, eyes wide. Kay got to her feet and straightened her clothes as David shut the door behind them.

"Disobeying a direct order, insubordination," Kay ticked them off on her fingers and she wandered over and sat on the couch. "Aggravated assault?"

Joel closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his temples like a migraine had suddenly struck him. "You confronted Saya."

"But I tried really hard not to."

Joel's gaze told her he was not amused. She took a deep breath and straightened.

"I didn't mean for it to happen; I swear I wasn't look for a fight. I just sort of ran into them and when I saw her...I lost it. I'm sorry Joel."

"I need you to apologize," he said, voice low and even. Kay opened her mouth to speak but he raised a hand to cut her off. "To Saya, not to me."

"Is this one of those classic, I'm not mad, just disappointed moments?"

"No, I assure you, Kaelin, I am angry. I just know that nothing productive comes from yelling at you. You may go."


Kai Miyagusku was looking for an escape. Not necessarily a quiet one; there were plenty of empty places on the vast ship where every sound echoed along the metallic walls. He just felt the need to step back from everything that was happening. Just when they had managed to find Saya again, Riku had been hurt, and now they weren't sure if he was going to wake up. Now Saya was shaken up by the spontaneous attack from that girl when they went to visit Riku. Lewis had only told them that she was a member of the Red Shield and that she was prone to 'acting out'. Kai didn't know what to think.

The hallway he walked opened up into the glorious dining room. Luxurious red and gold carpet made up the floor and the room lit by elegant chandeliers mounted high on vaulted ceilings. This was one of the places where it was clear the place had been built to be a cruise ship. The room looked like it was meant to be filled with tourists. Instead, it stood empty. Despite there being no one to serve, delicious smells emanated from the kitchen. Kai followed his nose through the double doors.

"Whatcha cooking in here Lewis? I'm starving," he said as he walked in, hands stuck in pockets and glancing around the room. Kai froze as he laid eyes on the cook, who was not Lewis, but the girl Kaelin from earlier. She was just as frozen as he, standing at the stove in the process of stirring the contents of a large pot. She had shed her white button-up blouse to reveal a red tank top underneath and had a kitchen towel thrown over one shoulder.

"Umm...hello." She set the spoon aside and wiped her hands on the towel before turning to fully face him. Her tone was hesitant. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Kaelin Lizzio. You can call me Kay if you like. And you're Kai, right?"

"Yeah," he said, drawing the word out. There followed an awkward silence between them, filled only with the sounds of bubbling liquid. Kay turned down the heat on one but did not return to cooking. "I'll just get out of your hair then…"

"No, please stay. You said you're hungry. I made plenty of food." Like a spell had broken, Kay bustled around the kitchen once more, retrieving two pasta plates. She filled the first with linguine noodles, ladling a white alfredo sauce generously over top. Into the second went penne and tomato sauce with sausage. She set both on the island and produced a stool, which Kai promptly sat upon, not feeling he had much of a choice. The food turned out to taste as good as it smelled.

"Why'd you make so much?" he asked between bites, watching as she removed a pan of golden brown breadsticks from the oven. She brought three over on a small plate along with a glass of water.

"I cook sometimes when I'm upset," she explained, pulling up her own stool. "It's an Italian thing."

"You're Italian?"

"Born and raised."

Kai sampled one of the breadsticks, making small noises of appreciation while chewing.

"I would've thought you'd have more of an accent."

She laughed.

"An obvious accent does not a good spy make. Getting rid of it was one of the first things I worked on when I came to Red Shield. Not that it doesn't pop out time and again." Kay paused, folding pleats in the towel in her lap and avoiding eye contact while he continued to eat. "Kai, I wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened to your brother. I hope this works out and he wakes up soon. Losing a brother was one of the hardest things I ever went through."

Kai stopped with a forkful of noodles halfway to his mouth. He noticed that her hands trembled even though her face stayed blank. She raised her eyes to meet his as he set the fork down on his place.

"You had a brother?"

Kay nodded.

"His name was Luca. We were very close. Both he and our mother were killed in an accident five years ago."

"And your father?"

"My father was a member of this organization, Red Shield, and he was killed while out on a mission when I was about eight or so. Joel was always a sort of unofficial uncle to us; he made a point to visit once or twice a year after Papa died, always brought gifts and money to help out. Since I have no living relatives, Joel arranged for me to come live with him so that I wouldn't go into the foster system. He never intended for me to join Red Shield, I think the original plan was some posh boarding school in France, but once I learned the truth I knew I had to be part of it."

There followed a silence between them. Kay got back up and started assembling two more plates of pasta. She wrapped some breadsticks in a cloth napkin and then put everything on a tray. She even shredded some fresh cheese on top. Kai had finished up the alfredo when she set everything in front of him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's for Saya. I heard she eats a lot. I was ordered to apologize for my...outburst earlier, but I don't know that I'm ready for that. Joel and I have a difference in opinion about the situation."

"That's putting it mildly," Kai murmured, getting to his feet and picking up the tray.

"I don't trust them. I can't. It makes no sense to make a deal with the devil in order to destroy his demons. He'll turn on you in the end."

"You don't know Saya. That's a totally unfair judgement."

She shrugged.

"Probably, but that's how I feel."

She looked as if she had something else to say, but was interrupted by her phone ringing. Kay plucked the handset from her belt and and scowled at the name on the screen briefly before answering. The conversation was short, requiring only a 'Yes, sir' on her part. She returned the phone to its place before grabbing a walkie talkie instead.

"Everyone, this is Kaelin. Just wanted to let you know there is fresh pasta in the kitchen if you want some. Enjoy."

The walkie talkie was also returned to her belt and Kay shrugged back into her white blouse.

"I have to go, Joel wants to see me. I'll see you around Kai."

She was out the door before he could say a word. He took a few more bites of his breadstick before gathering up the tray she had prepared and trotting off to find Saya before the food got cold.


The meeting with Joel was as brief as the phone call. He had decided on a punishment for her behavior towards their beloved savior and she was to start right away. Kay scowled all the way to the furthest storage room in the bowels of the massive ship, clipboard in hand, to start taking inventory of the items stored there. She was to work her way through as many of these rooms as she could until she had another assignment.

So began a new routine. Though routine was perhaps not quite the right word. Kaelin's day for the most part began and ended in quiet dusty rooms somewhere below the waterline. She left only to sleep, eat, or train. However, the task ended up being much less lonely than she had anticipated. Despite her disastrous first impression, Kai frequently found his way to where she was working. He found a place to sit, sometimes constructing one from whatever boxes or crates were available, and they would talk while she counted. She never let him help no matter how many times he offered, worried that the punishment could somehow get worse if she was found to be shirking.

When a day came that Kai didn't join Kay in the storeroom, she knew that Riku must have finally come out of his coma. Her suspicions were confirmed that evening when she made her way to an upper deck to find something to eat and spotted Kai pushing his brother in a wheelchair. She briefly considered ducking her head and finding an alternative route, but Kai spotted her and waved her over before she had a chance. She smiled in a way that she hoped wasn't awkward through the introductions.

"We're all very glad that you seem to be recovering well, Riku," she said at her most polite. "Everyone was quite worried."

Kaelin looked up in time to see a flicker of what looked like amusement cross Kai's face. They hadn't gotten to know each other pretty well during the time they spent together while she was doing inventory. He seemed to find her attempts at being civil funny.

"You're the one that doesn't like Saya, right?" Riku asked, catching her off guard. She blinked rapidly, searching for a response that wouldn't come off the wrong way. Kai was now looking pointedly at the wall.

"It has been brought to my attention that I do foster some prejudices, yes," Kaelin replied with a little half smile. "Now, if you two would excuse me, I was on my way to the gym to do some training."

"That's all right, Julia wanted to see Riku here for some more tests. We'll see you later, Kay."

She watched them for a moment as they proceeded down the hall. From what Kay had already overheard about the results coming from Red Shield's team, it was all but confirmed that Riku had fully transformed into a chevalier. The extent of his abilities as one were at this time unknown, but he was no longer human. Kai was just going along like nothing had changed. Did that mean he was in simply in denial or that he didn't understand had happened? Kaelin didn't know herself. She didn't know her own feelings about the situation. Looking at and speaking to him, Riku seemed like a perfectly normal boy his own age. Was he now a monster? Or was he simply a little different?

She shook her head and continued on. Time would tell.


A/N:

First of all, I would like to apologize for the insane delay on updating this story. I was so excited to post this on here and I thought that having it out there in the world would help motivate me to keep writing. However, the universe had other plans and upon uploading the first chapter, I was struck with what was some of the worst writer's block I have experienced. I have been crafting Kaelin's story for a some time and I did not think that writing these two introductory chapters would be such a hassle. It's my hope that now that they are out of the way, we can dive headfirst into the story proper together!

Please let me know your thoughts! And for those of you that read the first chapter when I posted it last year, thank you so much for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed!