Whole Burn Chapter 01: A Part Of The Unknown, an air gear fanfic

Title: The Holocaust
Posted:
Rating: T – M

Summary: "Stolen. Reborn. Forgotten. These were the words that created us." They all began to say. "A group of people who shouldn't exist. Created to accomplish what could not have been. We fight in the name of the one and only Sky King." Then they disappeared, flashing one last horrific grin at the once strong leader of Group Volcano.

Disclaimer: I own what I own, nothing more, nothing less.

CHAPTER 01
"A Part Of The Unknown"
CHAPTER START

She sat across the six of them with her ice blonde strands still dripping wet, now dressed in Akito's old orange hoody. Her blue-green eyes were wide, and her arms wrapped around herself with a sense of security and protection. Her skin was pale, almost deathly so, and her whole body trembled and shook with the fear that she carried from wherever it was that she came from. A towel was draped over her shoulders—given to her by a worried Yayoi and Emily—but it did very little to keep her warm. Even the long sleeves of Akito's old hoody didn't provide her enough warmth to stop her shivering. Kazu had tried giving her a warm drink, but she shook her head in refusal.

"What's your name?" Ikki asked, hoping that perhaps this time she would respond. Various members of the team had asked for her identity many times, but she was still yet to utter a single word in response. All she did was sit there, hugging herself and trembling like she had just been sexually abused or harassed.

"You can trust us, you know." The leader added, managing to get no response much like the rest of them. The theory that she had been raped had come up between the two girls, but the lack of wounds on her petite form spoke otherwise. It begged the question, though, what did get her into this state? Why had this girl come here, of all places, in the middle of the night?

"I think she's fucking deaf." Agito commented, turning away from the group that had gathered in front of the blonde. He sat far away from them, on the teacher's desk in front of the room to be specific.

"Try fucking signing or something." He added, closing his eye in hopes of skipping the rest of the conversation. The shark contained very little interest for the stranger who, in his opinion, was probably just some lost attention seeker looking for a couple of suckers to fool into giving her money. His other self frowned at the thought, scolding the current Fang King for his 'mean and unfair' judgment. As always, Agito paid him no mind and continued to try and get some sleep.

To him, her appearance in the building in itself was questionable.

Team Kogarasumaru, with the addition of Yayoi Nakayama, had been having their nightly meeting. Ever since the defeat of the Takeuchi brothers, things have been seemingly quiet. Teams still fought, sure, and they still had regular low level teams challenging them on their territory to prove that they were better (those matches were handled with much ease). It didn't mean, however, that the team had become leisurely. They trained just as hard, if not harder, and maintained their strengths but also improved their weaknesses. And after each practice session, they would meet up back in their school and talk about whatever Ikki deemed important at the time. Agito usually just slept through this, finding absolutely nothing urgent or interesting about what the Crow had to say.

This current night, in the middle of Onigiri talking about a girl that he had spotted earlier on that day, they had all heard a crashing sound coming from the Science Laboratory. Being the curious and wary bunch that they were, the team decided to investigated and see what had caused it. They had been quiet—or as close to quiet as they all could be, and had peeped through the clear window to see what was it that resided within.

It had been dark, causing a harder time to see, but that was when they saw her silhouette. She was sitting, with her back leaning on the wall below the window, heaving and trying to catch her breath. They concluded that she must have entered through the window, seeing as her condition wouldn't have allowed her to go far.

The two runners immediately entered the Laboratory to check on her. It was storming outside, with strong rains and loud thunder, and they were both worried that she would catch her death if they left her on the floor any longer. The blonde had resisted at first, but calmed slightly when she realized that no harm would come to her. The two girls then brought her to the locker rooms to change, with Ikki somehow having Akito's old orange straight jacket and giving it to them for the lost girl to put on. Agito didn't even question how the Crow had gotten a hold of it, didn't even comment on why their leader had kept it to begin with.

"Maybe Agito's right." It was Emily who spoke now. "What if she is deaf?" Kazu, who sat beside her, looked at their guest once again. Her eyes watched them with worry, and she looked at Emily and jumped when she had suddenly disturbed the silence that had enveloped them. He shook his head at the suggestion, and the brunette needed not an explanation to why he did so. It was either she caught it herself, or she just agreed with the boy she was dating because she, indeed, dating him. Whatever reason was right, only she would know.

Agito frowned, eyes still closed and finding himself unable to sleep, when Akito suddenly spoke. "Why don't you let me talk to her?" The innocent sounding voice asked. "Everyone else has tried." Agito doubted that Akito would be much help. If anything, the hyperactive personality would probably scare the girl even more. Akito was known for being touchy and overly familiar, and the shark doubted that an obviously traumatized girl would appreciate being harassed by his other self. Seeing as Akito currently resided in their shared mind, he heard every thought and every idea that Agito had. This, of course, just made him all the more eager to do it.

"Switch with me, Agito." The older personality would say. "Please, please, please!"

Back at the group of seven—including the still unspeaking blonde—the situation had taken a turn for the worse.

"Maybe she wants a shoulder massage!" Onigiri had suggested. "I can give her one, all the people I've given said that I'm good at it!" He added, with Yayoi and Emily immediately rejecting the idea. Being who he was though, he pushed and tried to get nearer and try anyway. It was Buccha who took hold of him and told him to stop when he noticed that the girl flinched at the mention of the suggestion. The pervert had no clue about any of the signs of discomfort, but resented when even Ikki told him to leave the blonde teenager alone.

"There's gotta be some way to get her to talk to us." Said Kazu, slightly frustrated. "I mean, we can't just toss her back out into the streets can we?" Agito actually thought that it was the best idea they have managed to come up with all night, but, again, Akito scolded him for his insensitivity and lack of compassion. Deciding that he had heard enough (and also wanting to just rest and get some well earned sleep), the shark lifted his hand and switched the eye patch to reveal the wide amber eye of his other self. It shocked the more childish personality slightly, but he did think of a silent thank you for Agito. The reply he got was: "Fuck, just shut up already."

The bluenette laughed at his counterpart's hostility, knowing that Agito would never admit to actually caring or anything of the sort, and sat up from the teacher's table where their shared body had been resting upon. It didn't really garner him much attention, but Akito didn't mind. When his feet landed landed on the floor, he balanced himself on the familiar Air Trecks and slowly began to approach the group. Apparently, Kazu and Ikki were now trying to come up with ideas for getting her to talk. The one they were discussing currently involved alcoholic beverages to loosen her tongue. Akito found this slightly off, seeing as the blonde was sitting right in front of them and could here every single thing that they discussed.

"What if we tried giving her some ramen?" Kazu suggested. "Maybe it would warm her up."

"Do you have any with you?" Replied Ikki. "Cause it's raining too hard outside for us to just get up and by some."

"What about coffee then?" Came the dirty blonde's retort.

"They're noisy, aren't they." Akito said, softly, allowing only the blonde who he now stood beside to hear. She jumped once again, still trembling slightly, and looked up at the bluenette. He smiled down at her when his amber eye met her blue-green orbs. "But they mean well, you don't have to be afraid." The bluenette placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and felt her stiffen in response. When he squeezed her gently though, the girl turned away from him and released a relieved sigh. She relaxed under his hold too, probably finding the innocence in his eyes and in his voice comforting. Akito gave a very proud 'I told you so' to his partner, which was responded to with a grunt.

He watched her bite her bottom lip, and he also spotted her hands tightening their hold on his orange straight jacket. The hooks and seals were undone, allowing them to just fall on her side, and the hoody reached her mid-thigh when she sat and just above her knees when she stood. Akito slightly wondered how big it had been on him when he first began to wear it, but pushed the thought away when he saw her fingers flex and release the orange cloth of the hoodie. She took a deep breath before finally speaking.

"D…Danger," Her one whisper silenced the whole room. Her voice was soft and slightly hoarse, as if she had been screaming, but it was audible enough.

"You…You're all in d…danger." Her head remained bowed, her ice blonde hair covering her eyes, as she continued to speak. They did hear her though, all of them did, and her statement just brought more questions about her than answers. Who was she? What did she know? Why would she say that? How would she know that? All this while, Akito kept his comforting hand on her shoulder, voicelessly telling her that everything would be okay, that she was safe and no one would get to her.

"They…they're coming for a…all of you." Ikki shared a look with Kazu then, and Akito's right hand suddenly took on a life of its own and switched the eye patches. The hand that had been resting on the girl's shoulder disappeared, and Agito now stood in front of the others with his feline eyes staring intensely at the girl who had just, basically, warned them of an impending doom of some sort. The shark didn't take that all too well, and Ikki crossed over and covered his mouth before he could utter any of his threats and profanities at the girl. He then nodded at Kazu to talk to the girl, trying hard to avoid getting bitten by the boy that was struggling in his arms.

Kazu sat up from his slouching position, skidding his chair across the floor to get nearer to the blonde girl that hid her face. Emily frowned at the loss of attention, but did nothing to prevent Kazu's advances. He saw that the girl bit her lip again, this time with tears falling from her eyes and cascading down her cheeks. Releasing a tired sigh, Kazu spoke with hope that this girl wouldn't revert back to being antisocial. She couldn't just stop talking after telling them that people or, whatever it was, were coming for them, especially now that she was crying. It just made the situation more serious and worrisome. And they thought that everything would end when they defeated Takeuchi Sora.

"Who's coming?" Asked the Flame King.

She lifted her feet then, wrapping her arms around her legs as she leaned her forehead onto her knees. The blonde mumbled something that Kazu didn't understand, and he kindly asked her to repeat herself. She mumbled something once again, but whether it was the clothes or her tears that muffled her words, the Flame King wasn't quite sure. Releasing, yet again, another sigh, he turned his blue eyes in Ikki's direction. It didn't really seem like they had any other choice. "Maybe he can get her to answer." Kazu suggested, with the Crow looking at the girl and then to his best friend, and then, finally, to the struggling bluenette in his arms who was still trying to get himself released.

"That," Ikki answered. "Or scare her enough to become a permanent mute."

"I agree with Ikki." It was Buccha who spoke. "I don't think letting Agito talk to her would be in her best interest." The two girls shared a look before nodding, even Yayoi who was border line in love with the little shark. Kazu took of his beanie then, in frustration, and ran his fingers through his dirty blonde lock before turning to all of them with desperate eyes. The girl's body trembled harder as she wracked with now very audible sobs. Even if it wasn't for the best, Agito's never failed to get them information before. Besides, the slow and kind approached didn't seem to go over well with their current informant.

"Her best interest isn't really the problem right now." The Flame King explained. "We can sit around here and sing Kumbaya later, but she just said that someone was coming for us—probably for Ikki. I think that that information is a bit more important than worrying about whether or not she'll be mentally stable enough after all of this." Added the blonde second-in-command. "Besides, I have a feeling that she's gone through worse than Agito."

"Why don't we let Akito talk to her?" Asked the troubled Ikki. "She seemed to react better to him, and he got her to talk in the first place." Receiving no complaints—or not leaving room for other suggestions and complaints, he moved his free hand towards the eye patch that controlled the body's personality. Before he could successfully move the white cover, Agito managed to free his hand and take hold of that of the Crow's. Shocked, Ikki loosened his guard and allowed the shark to now bite the hand covering his mouth. It wouldn't be exaggerating to say that Ikki jumped so high that his head almost hit the sealing. The bluenette sure did live up to the 'pet name'.

"Fucking Crow." The shark muttered, glaring down at their leader's now sprawled body on the floor.

"Don't get in the way." He added, kicking Ikki lightly in the side. The spiky haired teen groaned, but stood up none the less. He had gone through harder blows and knew that Agito's kick was intended to be a warning, not a threat or hostile action. Turning his brown eyes back at the girl, he actually found himself shocked. She still hadn't looked up and she was still shaking. It was as if she was trapped in her own dimension where no one else but her existed. Her and the person or people who probably did this to her at least.

"Agito," Yayoi began. "I really don't think that you should—"

"All of you, out." His amber eye remained on the orange and yellow ball that the blonde had curled herself into. As they all feared, the girl's trembling got harder, as if sensing the cat-like eyes that were suddenly upon her, watching her every move and every flinch. "Am I speaking fucking Chinese? Get the fuck out!"

They all didn't need to be told twice, and by the time Agito had finished his exclamation, they had all been out on the hallway, sliding the door of the classroom closed. Yayoi and Emily looked rather worried, while Kazu wondered if this had been the right thing to do. It was too late to second guess now, so they just had to deal with the outcome that would come with Agito's, surely brutal and probably terrifying, interrogation.

Onigiri and Buccha both took a seat on the floor, with their backs propped up against the wall opposite the classroom windows. Emily and Yayoi both stood by the door, trying to listen in on the possible one-sided conversation that was going on within their classroom. Ikki and Kazu stood a bit farther from all of them, near the front door that usually the teacher used to enter. Kazu was looking worriedly at the sliding piece of wood, while Ikki leaned against it with his arms placed behind his head and his legs crossed. He looked up at the sealing, contemplating something that his second-in-command guessed had something to do with the few words that the girl had uttered.

"It was too good to be true," The Crow uttered. "That everything was finally done."

"We don't know that yet." Kazu answered. "For all we know, she could just be talking gibberish or confusing us with some other people she knows. The girl's not exactly in the perfect state of mind." The raven haired teen nodded, but his eyes never lost the intensity, and his face didn't relax either. It seemed the leader thought the opposite of what his best friend had stated, but should he hope that it was true? That the girl being there was just coincidence? That she had absolutely nothing to do with anything involving the defeated Takeuchi brothers?

"What do you think Agito's doing to her in there?" The blonde boy tried to relieve the tension, and it worked slightly when Ikki realized that there were no noises erupting from the thin wall that separated them from the room where they had left Agito with the blonde. "She isn't screaming, so that's a good thing right?" Kazu turned to his friend once more to see his thoughts, but Ikki had a different look on his face. His eyes had a glint that basically shouted mischief and trouble, and before Kazu could stop him from doing anything, the Crow had gotten ahead of him.

"Maybe Agito's finally grown up." Ikki teased, making his voice louder than it should have been. From across the whole, Kazu practically saw Yayoi freeze up. He swore that he even saw the shiver actually run up her spine. "Maybe he wanted to be alone with her for other reasons." The Crow chuckled when Yayoi's hands balled into a fist, and Kazu's sweat dropped when he saw the girl turn to Ikki with with a glare that rivaled that of Rika Noyamano herself. It was obvious that the idea was now stuck in her head, and she was frustrated because she probably knew more than anyone how unpredictable Agito Wanijima was.

"What do you think, Onigiri?" The leader called out loudly, winking at Kazu when the blonde tried to warn him of the possible outcomes of what his best friend was trying to pull. Emily, from beside Yayoi, seemed rather confused and turned to Kazu in hopes of an explanation. The blonde just shook his head an motioned that he would tell the girl he was dating later. "Is she even wearing anything underneath that straight jacket?" Kazu didn't even want to know what popped into Onigiri's mind, even if the fact that their other best friend fell into a puddle of blood that had spurted out of his nose made him curious. No, he had a girlfriend, he would be decent. If only it were that easy.

"I don't think Agito would take advantage of someone like that." Yayoi voiced, sternly.

"And how would you know?" Ikki responded.

"It sounds like him don't you think? A scared girl who is suffering from a weak moment. I can imagine him approaching, with his hand creeping up her thigh and under his own orange hoodie. And then she would look up with him with fear in her eyes, and all Agito would say is that she shouldn't worry. That he could make her feel pleasurable in ways that she couldn't even imagine. The shark does seem like he's into sadism, wouldn't you agree?" Kazu hid his face from Emily, hiding the fact that the scene had made him understandably hot. Ikki was good at making these mental images, a bit too good for his own safety. Ringo would probably knock him across the head if she found out.

Yayoi Nakayama was not usually one to look frightening or murderous, but at that moment, she looked like she was about to kill Ikki in a very slow and painful way. She was beat red, a mixture of her anger and a blush at the embarrassing yet arousing image, and ready to pounce. Still, Ikki did not stop his verbal attack. The Crow's smile was wide, and he winked, hinting that he knew exactly what he was doing and, yet, at the same time, that look in his eyes made him look that he really did know something that was going on behind closed doors.

"Then, just as she's about to say no—" The leader continued. "—he leans in and tells her that no was never an option. That she is going to submit to him. Then, he leans in, nearing her neck, and he bears his fangs and bites down so hard that he draws her blood. Right after that, she releases a pleasurable and painful scream."

Before anyone could react—meaning before Yayoi could run across the hall and punch Ikki in the face, a loud shout did echo and reverberate through the room. Everyone froze, all first thoughts going immediately to what the Crow had said. Kazu had even gone red, but the wide eyed look that Ikki had when the blonde was about to ask him about his knowledge in Agito's sex life made him realize that something was not terribly right. As if sinking in at the same time, Kogarasumaru slid open the doors and rushed into the room. It wasn't her who had groaned and shouted. It was Agito who had released the rather loud noise.

Six pairs of eyes widened at the sight that had greeted them. Agito was on the floor near the blackboard, his body hitting the board so hard that a dent, it looked like a crater actually, had appeared. The bluenette had a hand on the back of his head, glaring at the girls that were in front of him. Yes, girls.

The blonde girl that was trembling and fearing for her life was now standing, with two other girls, that looked exactly like her, to her right and left. They all knew that she had come in with her Air Treks, but they all did not realize that she had put them back on after changing into the hoodie. To all of them, the ATs she wore were very different. They had three wheels each. Two back wheels, and one front wheel that reminded them of Om's Water Sub-Regalia.

The Air Trek itself was a lavender color, with two white Velcro straps on each Air Trek to seal them in front. It looked like a high top sneaker from afar, reaching just a few inches above her ankle. Her face had on an expression of pure shock, and before they knew it, the other two girls on either side of her disappeared and retracted back to the original body. Aside from the bluenette, everyone seemed to be frozen in a mix of confusion and surprise.

"Who the fuck are you?" It was Agito who spoke, his voice dangerous and malicious. There was a hidden threat in the words that he had uttered just then. "And how the fuck did you do that?!"

The only one who seemed oblivious of the heavy atmosphere was the toddler that sat on Rika's lap. Everyone—Ringo, Rika, Mikan, and Ume included—was silent, unclear whether or not they should acknowledge the elephant that was currently sleeping on a futon in their living room. They all sat around the dining table, with Ikki and Akito, waiting for the explanation that both boys had promised. Being an innocent bystander, the toddler didn't know why the usually so noisy household was silent. Getting bored rather easily, he began playing with his mother's red hair, seeing as his own messy black tresses were too short to be tugged and pulled.

Akito watched the newest free loader of the house, finding the chubby hands and wide smile of the toddler just adorable. He was very tempted to reach over and take the child from Rika's lap, but he knew that the mother wouldn't be allowing the bluenette to play around while the mysterious blonde issue that resided in their living room was left unexplained. Turning to Ikki, Akito waited for him to begin talking. Ikki, in turn, turned to Akito and expected the shorter boy to begin the explanation. Obviously, this was the reason Agito decided to switch his other self. It was unfair, but Akito had seen it coming a mile away.

"Ume," It was the oldest woman herself who broke the silence. The child looked up, eyes locked on his mother's face, when Rika suddenly spoke. "Can you take Aoi to the playroom? You can leave him there and come back." The pale skinned girl nodded in response, lifting the toddler from Rika's lap and exiting the room. Akito waved when they passed by him, and Aoi smiled and waved back after realizing that this was the 'good' version of the bluenette.

Though not fully understanding the situation, Aoi could at least tell that Akito had certain 'moods'—as he called them. When the little shark was bouncy and smiling, that was considered a good mood. When he was scowling and glaring, on the other hand, that was called the bad mood. Ikki often teased Agito about this, and Akito did too sometimes.

Turning back to the other three 'sisters' that were left behind, Akito gulped and the cheery feeling that had appeared in his stomach after Aoi smiled vanished. Rika's glare was pretty intense, and Ringo was seething, probably thinking and jumping to conclusions that this girl was a new rival for Ikki's love. Mikan, out of the three, seemed to be the calmest for once. She was leaning back on her arms, with her legs outstretched under the table. The rosette seemed to be the only one not thinking ill of the girl, but she was probably just waiting for a trigger to begin beating Ikki up again. Rika's anger was probably the thing keeping her calm, for no one would know better how angry the red head got than Mikan. To a degree, this made Ikki sort of thankful for the eldest's presence.

After a few minutes, Ume returned without Aoi.

"He doesn't like being left out of the fun." She said, taking her seat on the mats beside Ringo. "Took me a while to promise that we were gonna talk about big people stuff." Akito covered Ikki's mouth before he could come up with something he considered witty—probably something that would be along the lines of 'Then why would you be here?'. It was best not to anger any of them. These 'sisters' were like ticking time bombs. You wouldn't know what hit you when they begin attacking, and Akito was trying to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Also, he didn't want to wake up their guest and scare her away—an idea that Agito had put into their mind. The blonde was yet to explain anything.

"Aoi is a very curious kid, huh?" Akito instead said, hitting Ikki lightly in the arm to send him the message. "He's really smart for his age too! He really does take after you." He had aimed the words at Rika, but the glare did not disappear at the complement. When he had released Ikki, sure that he wouldn't be saying anything that would risk their lives, he silenced himself too. How were they supposed to explain something like this? They couldn't just very well say—'We found this girl in the Science Lab and she said something serious and did something cool. That's why we have to keep her here until she stops being a mute'—that was outright asking for a beating.

"What happened?" Rika finally asked.

"We were having a Kogarasumaru meeting—"

"Onigiri was telling us some story about a—"

"One at a time!"

Both teen boys clamped their mouths shut and pointed at each other, in hopes that the other would take the responsibility of explaining. When Rika turned to Ikki, blatantly telling him to get to the point, Akito cheered on the inside and apologized to Ikki when he felt a bit of shame for being a bit too happy. Agito congratulated him on discovering that he had an evil side, teasingly, while Ikki released a groan. As always, his luck when it came to the Noyamanos was rotten. Mikan hid a chuckle in her hands at this, earning her a small glare from the Crow.

Ikki explained everything as best and accurately as he could, which was shockingly rather good and detailed. He told them of the encounter in the lab, and of the experience afterwards. Ringo seemed to calm down with each word spoken, thankfully, and Rika's face continued to not betray her emotions and thoughts. Akito's sweat dropped when he got to the part where he teased Yayoi (seeing as that part wasn't necessary), and Ikki's tale concluded with them entering the room and watching the clones disappear. After Agito's shouts and questions, the girl had passed out. Kazu had, thankfully, caught her before she hit the ground—much to Emily's dismay.

The bluenette took notice of the surprise that Rika's eyes reflected at the mention of clones (or 'triplets' as Ikki had put it), but it vanished as soon as it came. When Ikki finished talking, she then turned to Akito. He guessed that she wanted to know what had happened in the room, but before he could begin talking, his right arm took on a life of its own and switched the eye patch. It seemed Agito had a different idea in mind, for he ignored the surprise that Akito reflected, and he also ignored the complaints that Akito were sending. He didn't want the body to ache when he took over, especially if it was Rika delivering the beating.

"You've been doing this a lot lately." Akito released. "Twice in the same night, to be specific."

"What did Takeuchi Sora tell you about the other Regalias that he stole from the original Gravity Children?" The room's temperature fell, and everyone froze. Ikki included. Takeuchi Sora, it was a name that was considered taboo within the residence. No one mentioned him, no one talked about him, and no one ever said his name. Agito ignored the warning that Akito gave him, about heading into uncharted waters, and just watched Rika's expression turn from shock to stoic. Mikan, this time, did not take it lightly.

"You brat—!"

"Akito saw that look." The shark continued. "He thought it was surprise, I think otherwise." Akito perked up within Agito subconscious at the mention of his name, and he felt another presence awakening at the current topic of conversation. Agito must have felt it too, because Akito knew that his other self did not clench his hands into fists for no reason. These uncharted waters seemed to house more than one monster. "You recognize it don't you, that attack. Now, what did Takeuchi tell you?" There it was again, that low menacing voice that sounded so much like a threat. It was Rika's hand that stopped Mikan from pouncing then and there.

"It isn't only your teeth that are sharp, apparently." Rika answered, with Agito muttering his favourite profanity under his breath before continuing to glare the red head. "I guess there's a reason why you're the best rider in Kogarasumaru." Ikki was about to protest, but it was Ringo who had covered his mouth this time. Obviously, this conversation was not to be interrupted. The current Thorn Queen was also curious about what Rika had to say. Never were the other Regalias brought up (except for when Om and the others were willing to share stories), and yet now Agito was suddenly asking about them. Even the Crazy Apple was curious about the blonde's identity now.

"There were supposed to be twenty-eight of them." The bluenette added. "Eight of them we know of, and Sleeping Forest has sub-regalias for their First Generation Gravity Children. Takeuchi stole twenty of them, he didn't mention at least some of their skills to you?" There was an accusation hidden behind Agito's words, but Rika only smirked and shook her head before facing the shark and looking into his amber eyes. Ringo, Mikan, and Ume all gulped. They had not seen Rika look like that—so confident and terrifying in a long time. The closest was probably when she had tried to stop Ikki from becoming a Storm Rider.

Mikan sat back down as Rika began to speak.

"He did mention a few." She began. "Twenty Regalias that ran twenty different roads, all modified from the eight original ones." Ikki wasn't sure why he was so entranced with the story, but he wasn't the only one. Even Agito, and Akito and the monster currently within him, were paying attention. Rika, on the other hand, looked serious. She was not reminiscing a memory from long ago, and Agito took this a sign that whatever it was the blonde had brought with her was not something to be taken lightly. Danger, she had said earlier.

"Some modified to do nothing but freeze time, others created to be used for destruction." The red head bit her lip, shaking her head lightly before continuing. "He did mention one though, that involved something close to cloning. He didn't get into specifics about what it could do, all he did was emphasize how lonely the rider must have been." They all looked at her with confusion. Loneliness? What did that have to do with anything? Agito—no, it was Akito who thought that the Fang Regalia of Bloody Road would be the loneliest thing. What's worse than a bird being stripped of its wings? Unable to feel the wind, just looking up at the sky and watching his fellow birds fly.

"What was it called?" Was Agito's answer to the rather short story. "How does it work?"

It was all that mattered.

Rika looked up suddenly, her eyes narrowing slightly. Everyone else turned when they noticed it, and they found the blonde girl who was supposed to be asleep standing in the doorway. She still had on the orange hoodie, but her feet were bare. She had the lavender Air Trecks in her hands, and the blonde hugged them close to her chest as if to protect them. Her blue-green eyes looked unsure, and when her orbs met Agito's angered topaz ones, she shivered and bowed her head in apology. Agito did nothing to acknowledge the act.

"Are you feeling better?" It was Ringo who asked, frowning slightly at the big bruise on the girl's shin. The blonde nodded though, hiding the shin when she felt Agito's glare intensify. "Are you sure?" She nodded again, pointing at the seat beside Mikan. The rosette nodded, and the mysterious girl took a seat beside her. She flinched when she realized she sat beside Agito, scooting closer to Mikan just to get away. Everyone noticed her rub her shin, and came to the conclusion that something needed to have triggered her attack Agito. She didn't seem capable to just go berserk on people who try to help her, people who hurt her are a different story.

"C—Cloud Regalia." She said, earning their attention. The blonde then turned towards Agito, slowly, before continuing. "That's what it's called." Agito saw Rika nod at the words, and when he turned towards the lavender Air Trecks that she was holding, she hugged them closer and again scooted closer to Mikan. The older girl felt like her personal space was being violated, but she allowed it after seeing the fear in the blonde's eyes. Whatever it was that Agito had done to her in that classroom caused some side effects on her part. She didn't seem all too keen to approach him without caution or protection.

"How did you get those?!" Ringo asked, hand hitting the table with a thud.

The girl flinched once again

"The Takeuchi brothers are supposed to have stolen them!" The Thorn Queen continued. "You can't expect us to believe that you just suddenly found them or something!" The blonde shook her head harder with every word that Ringo uttered. She was hugging the ATs so close that Ikki thought that it would penetrate her skin soon enough if she continued to do it. The girl didn't seem to care though, just holding them as close as she can. Agito took notice of this too, and wondered once again what this girl had gone through.

"I'm not the only one who has them!" It was the loudest she's spoken since they met her, Ikki took note. "There were twenty of us! They killed all of our care takers and took over the orphanage and had us compete and had us..had us…had us—" As if realizing what it was that she was saying, she covered her mouth to prevent herself from talking. A few tears escaped her eyes, and she used the sleeve of her free arm to wipe them away. Ringo calmed herself at the sight, guessing that maybe she had been a bit too harsh.

"Who's 'they'?" Came Ikki's urgent question.

"Agito, you don't think she means…" Agito nodded in affirmation to Akito's question. The monster trembled and sent a strong pulse inside their mind, giving Agito a bit of a headache. It seemed he was happy with the news, perhaps a chance to get revenge for the mother they never knew, and never even met. Even Agito was getting just a bit excited at the evident challenge. Akito, on the other hand was scared to be alone within the mind that carried such a terrifying personality. They were all one, but that didn't mean that they all had to get along.

"Lind's getting excited, Agito." Said a worrying Akito. "I'm scared."

"Hey, hey, are you okay?!" Mikan's call took Agito's attention away from the happenings within his mind. Beside her, the girl was trembling uncontrollably again. "Girl, hey, get a hold of yourself!"

On the other side of the table, Ume stood from her spot beside Ringo and crossed the table to check and see if anything was wrong. By the time she touched the blonde's shoulder, the girl had pushed her away. Everyone was shocked when Ume fell back on the table, and blonde suddenly stood and ran from the room after muttering a barely audible apology to the fallen pale skinned girl.

Ikki and Agito stood to chase her, the girls staying to check and see if Ume was okay.

The two boys turned the corner to reach the front door and saw it ajar. Quickening their pace, the Crow and the Shark made it out of the house to spot her standing there, just about to take off. Her back was to them, her ice blonde hair being blown by the wind as she took a starting position. It was a weird one, Agito took note. Nothing like Kazu's starting stance, but a weird form none the less. Her legs were slightly apart (one in front while the other behind), and her arms looked like she was about to begin a boxing match.

"Wait—!" Ikki shouted, his eyes widening when the girl in front of him suddenly vanished. Another one of her clones.

"Fuck!" Agito released himself, his head suddenly releasing a pounding pain that signified Lind was far from happy with this outcome. Agito wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up. Wanted to let the oldest and original personality know that he wanted to know more too, that he hadn't wanted for her to get away either. "Who the fuck was she anyway?!" He added in frustration, realizing that no one had gotten her name. Not even Rika.

Suddenly, Akito whispered something that interrupted Agito's long string of curses.

"Lind's here."

CHAPTER END
"As soon as there is life, there is danger"
—Ralph Waldo Emerson—