A/N: Sorry about the long flashback, but it's necessary!
"Alright, I got the oats, sugar, and cornstarch out. That should be all I need!" Hocha exclaimed setting out the last of the ingredients on the counter top. "I got the oven preheated. Now all I have to do is wait for Hana to come back!"A light knock at the door surprised Hocha. She knew that Hana would have just burst through the door like she usually did, but this was a bit different. She hadn't been expecting anyone, for the side of the island they lived on was remote from the other islanders.
Hocha quietly took out a kitchen knife from one of the drawers. The knock came again, only louder this time. "Who is it?!" She finally asked. The lack of voices coming from the door only made Hocha more wary. She was sure this couldn't be good, and was hoping Hana would not return any time soon. The knife began to quake in her nervous hands. "Answer me now, or you leave me no choice but to resort to violence!" She hoped her threat would be taken seriously and they would either leave, or speak up. Neither happened, instead a bright outline of her door glowed intensely before it suddenly opened on its own. She could see who was on the other side of the door; it was as if they had opened a portal to the inside of her home.
"Thank you, Blueno!" A shadowed man stepped through the door portal. "Ah, we meet again. How are you, Hocha?" His voice was sinister. The woman stumbled back in surprise. "It's him! The man from that night… no, the monster!"
Over at the raspberry bushes near the creek, Hana was just finishing up picking the last couple of berries to fill up her bowl, "this should do it." She sighed, "I wonder when she's going to ever tell me." Hana knew something was off for a few years now, but her mother would always quickly change the subject. "Well, it's no use tonight. I better just get back. It's starting to get darker out." She looked up at the moonlit sky that had faint bits of pink still brushed on the clouds.
It was about a ten minute walk back to her and her mother's tiny home on the hill and the sky had finally darkened to a deep blue. Once she got some twenty feet from the house though, a smile she had been wearing was suddenly replaced with a look of concern. Something seemed off. The lights were out already. Her mom would never turn out the lights until she knew Hana would make it home back safely. "Something's not right!" She dropped the bowl of berries carelessly as they scattered to the grass below. She ran as hard as she could until she saw six shadowy figures through, what seemed like some kind of hole through their door. She quickly veered off to the side so she could stay hidden. She saw the shadow of her mother and the five others through the corner of the window.
"Mama!" She whispered aloud to herself as she continued to watch what was happening before her. "I won't let you ruin our life!" Hocha yelled out loud, her hands gripping the knife harder. "You aren't supposed to be alive, Hocha. Just give it up already." The shadowed man in front of her took a step toward her. The man had stepped too far over his boundaries and Hocha had no choice but to attack; thrashing the knife at the man. "Shigan!" Hana heard a man yell, but couldn't tell what was happening. It was too dark. She just heard the harsh grunt from her mother. The blonde haired little girl couldn't stay in hiding anymore. Her mother needed help.
"Mama!" She finally yelled as she ran to the front door, only to see her mother collapsing to the floor. Hana thought her soul left her body at that moment, shock and confusion was very apparent on her face. The five figures all turned to the girl at once. "Who's the little pipsqueak?" Hana heard someone say, but all she could make out with her eyes fully was a young man whom was next to her mother; his index finger, dripping with blood. The knife that her mother had been thrashing around was now stuck deep under her sternum. Where she had fallen, her eyes had met her daughter's, "Ha…na. R…un," she managed to murmur before dark red fluid pooled out of the corner of her mouth, and her breathing stopped with a final hiccup.
Hana recognized the boy right away. It was the boy that had rescued her earlier! But why was this happening?! Did he just kill her mother?! She just felt even more confused as she started slowly backing away; subconsciously her breathing grew more erratic. She shook her head in disbelief. The boy's eyes were devoid of emotion as he tried to anticipate the little girl's next move. "Must be Hocha's child!" Another shadowy figure piped in.
Hana felt frozen in place, her eyes bugged open in shock. Something inside her, almost like her mother's voice told her to run. The muscles in her legs finally listened to her brain's pleas, and Hana started to dart away as quickly as she could. The teenage boy watched the little girl run, her golden hair disappearing into the dark trees below.
"Lucci! Why are you just standing there! Catch her! She's another survivor!" The shadowed man finally came out into view to yell at the teen. "Don't worry," Lucci replied cooly. "I'm just playing a little game of cat and mouse. I'm just giving her a bit of a running start." He explained sinisterly with a half smile. Even the blonde man started to back away. He had never seen Lucci act like this before, but then again he had never seen the full extent of this new generation of CP-9's training. There was a certain animalistic thirst in his dark eyes.
Lucci swept some of his raven black hair out of his face before he finally set off in quick and almost inhuman leaps across the grassy bottom of the hill. The game was on. Lucci hadn't felt this excited in a while.
Hana was weaving in and out of the trees through the dark night. It was hard to see and she was constantly getting scratched by twigs from the bushes. She stopped in a clearing, looking around frantically.
Coo! Coo!
She could hear the boy's bird above her; she knew he must have been close by. "What do I do?!" The little girl eyed a group of large boulders a few feet away and quickly hid behind one. She held her hand over her mouth to silence her heavy breathing. She peeked around the side of the boulder. Then there he was, just as she had thought. The boy had stopped in the clearing. He looked to the left and right of him. Hana remained silent, squeezing her eyes shut, hoping he would not find her.
Hana thought her heart would explode from her chest it was beating so hard, but she had to remain silent. She listened to the sound of the leaves crackling beneath his Oxford shoes as he walked around, and then after a few moments the sound faded away. She peeked out again to see if he was there, but it looked like the coast was clear. She finally let out a heavy sigh, and came out of hiding, but being careful and looking around to make sure he wasn't around. After looking behind a tree, she felt a new sense of calm. "I'm safe," She sighed with relief again. "Hopefully he won't notice…" Hana had just turned around to leave but instead came face to face with the murderous young man she had thought she had outwitted. Hana felt hard lump in her throat, and did the only thing she could do in that moment. Scream, and try to run away.
Lucci had caught her by her shoulder strap as she turned to run but Hana had torn it in her desperate attempt to get away. "Go away!" She managed to escape again, leaving Lucci with her strap in his hand. He momentarily examined the piece of fabric in his palm and squeezed it hard in his grip. His eyes looking toward the direction she had run; another smile crept onto his face. "You can't escape me, little mouse."
Hana kept running for her life, and ran so hard that she didn't see the drop off that led down to the beach below. She tumbled so hard down the hill that the rocks tore at her dress and left small abrasions on her skin. When she stopped at the bottom, she slowly sat upholding a hand against her head. She clumsily stood up, but grabbed at her arm in pain. A couple small lines of blood raced down her arm. "I must have gashed it up when I fell!" When she had finally remembered that she was trying to get away, the young man with the shoulder length black hair jumped down from the drop off above her.
She didn't know what to do. She was now out in the open on the beach without a place to hide. There was the open sea behind her, and Lucci in front. She had run out of options. "You have nowhere to hide now, my little mouse."
Her messy blonde hair blew in the night breeze around her face. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she bit her bottom lip. She grasped her bleeding arm hard, and made one more desperate decision to run past Lucci, but the teen jumped up quickly and with one swipe of his forearm into her abdomen, he had knocked the wind out of the girl and she fell unconscious under his feet.
Lucci studied the girl laying before him for a moment, "I must admit that you're a pretty brave girl not to cower and give up. You tried to get away 'til the very end. You were quick… but not quick enough." Lucci bent down to wrap his hand around her neck, but something seemed to stop him from squeezing the last breath from the girl. He studied her face some more. Her soft pale skin glowed in the moonlight, her eyelashes were so long that even they were blowing a bit in the breeze, and her lips were the perfect accent of pale pink against her porcelain skin. Lucci could feel her quickened pulse beneath his grip. His arched eyebrows furrowed.
Coo! Coo!
Hattori appeared above him cooing loudly. The sound of the birds' coos sent memories flooding into Lucci's head. He had remembered her kindness and bravery when she had saved Hattori from those bastard kids. He shook his head to rid the thoughts from his mind. "That doesn't matter! You are just part of a mission I must finish!" He squeezed her neck; a small grunt escaped from her mouth at the same time that a single tear fell from her closed eye. It slid down her cheek and fell upon Lucci's hand. He gasped at the contact and suddenly let her go. He stood up above her again, "Your body fights even though you're unconscious. Brave indeed." He knelt down again, but this time he gently brushed a few strays of her hair away from her face, "What is this effect you have on me?" He traced his thumb and index finger down the outline of her cheeks.
Lucci lifted the little girl's limp body into his arms, and they leapt through the air together. It was about a half mile down before Lucci finally spotted a small abandoned rowing boat on the shore. He walked up to it and placed Hana inside. "You've won today, my little mouse. It's up to the sea now to decide if you live or die." He said as he untied the small boat and pushed it off into the sea. He stayed and watched as the waves carried the small child away. The wind blew loose strands around Lucci's face. He swept them away again before finally deciding he was sure that the boat wouldn't drift back.
"Time to go back."
He would tell his comrades and commander that she had fled. He knew Commander Spandell would be upset, but he would tell him his new plan for capturing the escapee.
Oh! That was a tense moment! Please R&R if you like, and stay tuned for chapter 4!