Took me long enough didn't it? Well, here it is, like I promised, at ten reviews. But before we get to the story, I'm gonna answer some reviews.

CHING CHING- Yeah, I agree, it is a little wierd, and when I wrote this story in the first place I hadn't even intended to and anything like that. Haruko may seem a little OOC, but look at it this way: Sixteen years have passed, and she got the shit beat out of her by a man that, at one time, couldn't defend himself against a satellite.

FRESH C- I implore you, if you haven't already, to read the rest of the story. Trust me, it gets better.

ROSETTEOFTHEMAGDALANORDER- Thanks, I've never had someone say they wished they could write like me.

Alright, on with the story.

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One Week Later...

When it got right down to it, Haruko never really was one for the emotion of 'fear'. She was frightened by nothing, for she believed herself to be better than the things which were doing the scaring. This belief had carried her through the years splendidly. Never once did she falter in her convictions.

Of course, she had seen some things in her travels that sent a shiver down her spine just contemplating them. For instance, on a tropical planet in some distant galaxy, she had witnessed the rape and torture of a twelve year old girl by a pack of Hydresc, a bipedal reptile-like alien species. They had each taken turns going at her, all seven of them, pounding her so hard her vagina was dripping with blood. Then, apparently doubting the girl had learned her 'lesson', they had chained her to a wall. Every two minutes or so, a low-powered surgical laser would make an incision near her wrist, breasts, and pelvis. After that, some sort of iodine-like substance was showered on her from above.

It made Haruko sick thinking about it. Even sicker was the thought that she did nothing to stop them. She knew that she could have taken all seven of the Hydresc and saved the girl. She was too horrified by what she was seeing, but to entranced to move away. She had stayed with the girl until her eventual death, whispering things to her from a distance that she did not hear. Massive blood-loss was the cause.

Few things since then had made Haruko fearful. And one of those things happened to be the six-foot tall, pale as the moon bounty hunter sitting in the booth across from her. He watched her now with unblinking eyes, watching her every move, even as she drank from her cup.

She looked at all the plates piled on the table. Haruko had been very hungry, and he had bought her whatever she hungered for. She had ate a total of eight platefuls of food, and he hadn't taken a single bite out of any of it. Something had changed inside Naota, she knew that. But she was lost for a reason that made any logical sense. A bunch of supernatural answers came to mind, but she was far from superstitious. Maybe he had some sort of disease, who knew?

She finished her cup of coffee and sat it on top of the dish pile. Their waitress walked up to the table then, bill in hand. With a suspicious glance at Naota she sat it on the table and started away. Naota grabbed her wrist as she walked by. With a smirk he asked "I need directions to a night club."

The waitress smiled. "Which one?"

"The Feral Rabbit." The girl's smile fell instantly and Haruko snorted with laughter. "What kind of club name is that?"

He put up a hand to silence her. He gazed into the waitresses eyes for a moment. She stared back at him, misty-eyed and expressionless. After a moment he released her wrist and smiled. "Thank you. That is all I needed." The girl seemed to awaken from a trance as he spoke to her. She smiled again and nodded to him before walking off. Haruko watched him, eyebrow raised. "So... What's the 'Feral Bunny'?"

"'The Feral Rabbit' is a local nightclub. I have to speak to the owner before I take you in." Haruko laughed. Frowning he asked "What's so funny?"

"First, what's with the name 'Feral Rabbit'?" she asked, giggling even harder when she said the name. "And secondly, since when do you go into clubs? I'd never figure a grump like you would go in one."

He smiled again. "Do not be fooled by the name. The club is actually a gothic club. Heavy metal on the speakers, men wearing more make-up than the women, any drink you could want."

"Well, you have my interest."

"Quite." He stood and stepped away from the table, laying 100 credits on the bill. Haruko followed suit, and when he turned away she swiped 20 of the credits off the table. She pocketed them quickly before he turned around, and, to her amazement, laid 20 more on the table. "Leave it." he said with a knowing look in his eyes.

If Haruko's jaw weren't attached it would have hit the floor. "How did you..." she stopped and threw her hands up. "Gah, you know what? Nevermind. I don't want to know."

"I know you Haruko. What, you didn't think I paid attention when you were with us?"

"Nope." she said as they walked out and got on Naota's bike. "Truly, I thought you were too busy thinking about Ninamori." she teased, batting her eyelashes and making kissing sounds.

"Cut it out." He turned the keys and the bike jumped to life. "And what does Eri have to do with any of this?"

"Ah, you use her first name. How sweeeeeeeeeeet!" The bike sped forward, nearly throwing Haruko off. She laughed, but her happiness faltered when something dawned on her. "Is there something going on between you and Ninamori?"

He glanced over at the moon that was slowly rising on the horizon. "Eri... is a good friend. We'll leave it at that." They swerved into an alley and slowed to a stop in front of a broken down shop. The got off and walked into the building. Naota led them into the back, which was empty save for a hatch door in the middle of the floor. He bent down and opened it. A bright red light shown from the tunnel. Climbing down into it he motioned for her to follow. The climbed down to the bottom, into another room with red lights everywhere. Once again this room was empty. There was a single door, a foot taller than she and made completely out of some sort of metal. She could hear a soft thumping sound coming from the other side.

Naota turned the latch, but before opening the door he turned to her. "The people in this club, they are not what they seem. Keep your thoughts hidden. Avoid conversation if you can, but if someone talks to you be polite and try to get out of the conversation as fast as you can. Understand?"

Haruko nodded, a frown on her face. He nodded and opened the door. What Haruko saw excited her beyond all reason. There were at least fifty people there, most of them dancing. The music was indeed heavy metal, the old stuff that rarely played anymore. Strobe lights, three different bars. This place looked like the perfect club. She looked to Naota, who had a frown on his face. He looked angry at something, eyes scanning the crowd with disgust. He nodded to her, giving her permission to wonder off. She smiled and started off towards on of the bars.

She sat at the bar and looked over the selection. They really do have everything! This place is awesome! She decided to start off small. "Strawberry daiquiri." she told the bartender. The bartender nodded and went off to make her drink. Haruko took a good look at the people around her. They certainly were goth. The men and the women were wearing white powder, making themselves look really pale. Some had black lipstick, some eyeliner.

The bartender sat her drink in front of her. "Don't worry about paying." he said with a kind smile. "Everything is on the house."

Haruko's grin widened and she took a sip of it. Damn, not only do they have everything. but it's good too. She kept drinking for awhile, losing herself in the music. People sat next to her on either side. They were both watching her. She examined both of them out of the corners of her eyes. They were of slender build, didn't really look like they could put up much of a fight. They were wearing the same white powder.

"You come here alone?" the man on her left asked. Haruko remembered Naota's advice. Deciding to follow it she replied "Yes."

"Really..." the man on her right said, inching in closer to her. "You know, it really isn't safe for such a beautiful young girl to be alone amongst a bunch of strangers."

This irritated Haruko a bit. "What, are you gonna protect me?" They both smiled as she walked away from the counter. She went back to the door and turned the latch. She pulled on the door, but to no avail. The door didn't budge. She tried pulling with all her strength. Nothing. She turned back around and the men were standing there, along with another she didn't recognize. The new man smiled. "Now where are you going?"

Haruko smiled and put a hand on her guitar. "No where." She whipped it off her back and pulled the ripcord. The sound was drowned by the music. She swung, catching one of them in the face, sending him flying into the crowd. She kneed the other man in the stomach before round-housing him against the wall. She whipped the guitar around and aimed the necks at the new man, pulling the trigger and releasing two rounds into his chest. He staggered back and she thought he would fall over dead.

Instead, he mearly stepped forward and grabbed the guitar, yanking it free of her grasp and tossed it into the crowd. The other two men walked back up to her, grins on their faces. "This one's a fighter, 'aye master?" one of them said to the taller man.

"Yes... and that will make this all the sweeter..." He stepped closer to her

Haruko eyed all of them. This isn't good...

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Naota had no idea why he brought her here. He knew she would wind up getting into trouble some how. But he had bigger matters to attend to. Pushing back the cloth that hid the doorway to the private room aside he walked in. Two men met him as he walked in. "You need clearance to be back here."

He laughed softly. "Are you two going to stop me?"

They both flashed toothy grins, revealing pointed canines. "You have a funny accent." the shorter bodyguard said. "What is that, French?"

Naota smiled. "I did spend quite a few years there, yes." His smile dropped and he crossed his arms behind his back. "Now move."

They both laughed. "This guy thinks he's getting pass." They both walked forward, and before they could blink they were in the air, held by their throats. Naota laughed and tossed them behind him, grinning when he heard the crack of their bodies colliding. He walked into the room ahead of him.

A man was laying on a bed with three women, each naked. The man was still dressed. He had spiked red hair, and exceedingly pale skin. His facial features were gaunt, less pronounced than Naota's. He was tall, maybe six and a half feet. Naota cleared his throat. "Nice to see you, Axel."

The man, Axel, looked passed the women and at him. "Naota... my god, it's been decades." He moved away from the women and stepped up to Naota. With a smile they embraced. "It's been so long Naota." Axel whispered.

Naota nodded. "Too long. Let me look at you." He pulled away from Axel and looked him over. His skin was a little paler than usual. "You haven't fed enough."

Axel nodded and motioned at the women. "I was just getting ready to. Care to join me?" Naota smiled and sat in the chair next to the desk. Axel walked over to one of the girls and whispered something in her ear. She stood and walked over to Naota. She sat in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed, sending a slight tingle down Naota's spine. His hand slid up her stomach and cupped her breast. She moaned slightly. "Your hands... they are so cold..."

Naota kissed her cheek, then her jaw. His lips grazed her earlobe. "Will you be the one to warm them?" He felt the girls heart racing through her breast. He moved his hand down, past her naval until he reached the moist flesh of her womanhood. His thumb grazed her pierced clit, exciting a loud gasp from her. Axel watched past the women that were kissing him. He lowered his mouth to her throat and bit down, drawing blood from the wound.

Naota continued with his menstrations, tracing the outside of her labia with his index finger. He slid his middle and ring fingers inside of her, causing her again to gasp. He moved them back and forth, curling them slightly, all the while massaging her clit. The girl was panting roughly. With his free hand Naota pulled her head back, exposing the throbbing vein of her jugular. He opened his mouth and bit down, eyes shooting open as the liquid gushed into his mouth. The girl was in a state of confusion. He continued to finger her, rising loud moans from her, all the while draining her dry.

In a loud gasp of pain and pleasure the girl came, spilling her essence all over Naota's fingers. A second later her heart stopped. He pulled his fingers out of her and let her fall to the floor. He looked over at Axel, who was watching him with an amused grin, both the girls dead next to him. "I like playing with the victim, but that takes it to a whole new level."

Naota grabbed a handkerchief of the desk and wiped of his fingers as Axel pulled up a chair in front of him. "So, to what do I owe this visit?" Naota pulled a picture out of his pocket and handed it to Axel. "This."

He examined it. "Pretty girl. Who is she?"

"Haruhara Haruko." Naota replied, his smile replaced by a slight frown. "But she isn't the issue. That guitar in the right-hand corner is." Axel's eyes widened slightly when he saw it.

"His guitar..." he whistled appreciatively. "Beautiful... how did she get it?"

"With my help, she was the one who released him." Axel frowned. "So, my agents in the Medical Mechanica failed to hold him?"

Naota nodded. "You understand my concern then?" Axel nodded and handed the picture back to him. "He'll be wanting that back. And, knowing Atomsk like I do, he won't stop until he gets it. I wonder..." Axel leaned back in the chair. "What is truly your concern? For the guitar, or the girl?"

Naota looked down at the ground. "The girl... it isn't what you think. I will have to tell you my story someday."

Axel laughed. "That you will. Well, if you want information on Atomsk, you'd better ask these two." He clapped twice. Two women walked in from the side room. Naota couldn't help but smile as he looked the taller of the two over.

"Kitsuabami, you look like hell."

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Did that live up to the wait? I hope it did. I'm not gonna update until I get sixteen reviews, so keep reviewing!

PEACE OUT!