Disclaimer: So not saying it again.
Chapter 4
Why are They After Us?
It was a bright night, the moon was full and the sky was filled with stars. The concert hall was situated precariously in the foothills next to the city under the stars, it was an enchanting site. The seats were all black velvet and the only light was a single candle situated on the piano and the light of the moon.
People were just beginning to file in and, back stage, Rutherford was getting ready for the concert, or, more importantly, after the concert. It was right after the concert that he had to explain the Blade Children to Rio, Ryoko, and Kousuke. He wondered if they would be ready for something like that, they were only children after all. He sighed and peeked out through the curtain, there they were; he half wondered if they had met yet.
Out in the audience, Delores led Rio and Ryoko through the crowd with the other children following behind. They found seats in the second row, right beside the boy's orphanage.
Rio ushered Ryoko in, "Hey, why do I have to go first?" Ryoko asked, looking back at Rio. Rio simply smiled and walked through the seats after her. Ryoko went to the last seat before the boys sat down. She looked over at Rio and gave her a sheepish look, Rio shrugged and looked around.
A small red-head sat down next to her, not looking at her he said, "Uh, hi…" He simply looked out at the stage with a distant look in his eyes.
Ryoko nodded, and looked at him. He was small but seemed like he would be tall standing up, his hair was red and stuck up slightly and when she leaned forward, Ryoko could see that his eyes were a beautiful Jade color. She smiled and looked back at the stage, which was still empty.
A few moments later there was still nothing happening and Ryoko started to get bored, she sighed and got up, and, scooting past Rio, she motioned for her to come with. Rio got up and followed.
"Where are we going?" Rio asked quietly.
"Well, I'm going to look around." Ryoko said, striding quickly down the hall avoiding people going the other way.
Rio sighed, "Well, alright." She followed quickly behind.
Ryoko shrugged and kept walking; she got to the end of the isle and turned right behind the last row. She went walking down a dimly lit hallway looking right and left for doors. Rio looked around apprehensively. Ryoko looked behind her, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something. She kept looking back for a few seconds, then, getting a bad feeling, she looked back toward the front and quickened her pace.
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The red-head was still staring blankly at the stage, obviously lost in his own world, when one of the other boys punched him in the arm.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He asked.
The boy looked back at his friend, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that girl! How could you let her get away?" The other boy said, smacking his arm.
"I dunno, I didn't even notice she left." The red-head said, looking over at the empty seat beside him. He shrugged and looked back at his friend, who was giving him this 'what the hell are you doing?' look. The boy rolled his eyes and looked back at the stage. But he couldn't help but think about the girl, he wondered where she had gone.
After a few moments, his curiosity got the best of him and he got up and, muttering something to the boy beside him, walked out of the isle and into the hallway. He jumped quickly up it, dodging people, he ran to the top and looked left and right, deciding she probably went right because of the absence of people, he also turned right and went bouncing down the hall.
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Ryoko stopped at a random door and decided to try the knob; it was locked, of course. She sighed and kept walking, but as she turned around she got a bad feeling; it was cold, like someone had just opened a door to a cold room. Ryoko shivered and Rio shot her a confused look.
"It… It's nothing." Ryoko stuttered as she started to walk down the hall again. Rio held the gaze for a moment, then turned to follow Ryoko.
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The red-head slowed to a walk a small way down the hall, walking close to the wall, he looked around. The place seemed somewhat creepy in his mind, but he kept going.
Not far off, he thought he saw something and strained to see what it was. He couldn't quite make out who it was, but it obviously was not one of the girls. He quickened his pace and shrunk down, looking down the hall, he finally spotted the two girls, totally unaware of the man behind them.
The red-head started to run, keeping close to the wall he started to close in on the man. He had dark hair and very tan skin; his clothes were dark with an equally dark trench coat and hat. He closed in on the two girls and Ryoko turned around just in time to dodge the man's fist. She screamed and started to run, grabbing Rio's hand.
The man cursed under his breath and started to reach into his jacket just as the red-headed boy came up behind him, pulling out a knife out of his pocket. He stepped on something and started to lose his balance, slamming his hand on the wall, he just barely caught it. The man in front of him heard this and whipped around, drawing a gun and aiming. The red-head went down and rolled through his attacker's legs slicing the knife through one of his calves, he got up and started to run. The other man crumpled and clapped his hand over the wound to stop the bleeding and, turning around, shot behind him at the now sprinting boy.
Ryoko spun around, hearing the shots, and clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle a scream. The red-head went running up and grabbed her wrist while running by, pulling her and Rio along behind him as he ran. Ryoko almost lost her balance while turning around but quickly gained it back and started to run with him. The three children went running down various hallways trying to lose the, now limping, man, but he seemed to be able to trace them wherever they turned.
Finally, the footsteps behind them seemed to fade and soon where not heard at all. The three stopped and turned around, not seeing anything, Ryoko smiled slightly.
"Well, it seems like… We lost him…" Ryoko panted. Rio nodded, also breathing hard. The red-head turned to face her and started to say something, but stopped.
Then he sighed and said quietly, "Your welcome." It came out more snobbish then he had intended.
Ryoko looked over at him and rolled her eyes, but then smiled slightly, "Thank you-…" She whipped around and stared back down the hallway.
"What is it?" Rio asked, worriedly.
"I-I'm not sure… I just thought I heard something…" Ryoko said quietly, still peering down the hall. She cocked her head slightly to the side, straining to see something that might be there. A few moments later, the red-head suddenly seemed very alert and flattened himself against the wall, pulling Ryoko with him, Rio followed suit.
A man went running around the corner and skidded to a stop in the middle of the intersection. He reached into his jacket pocket and started to pull out a small revolver. The red-head immediately grabbed Ryoko's hand and started to run, Rio quickly followed. They went running down the hallway and the man started to shoot at them and bullets went flying past them. Rio made it around the corner just in time. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife and, turning around and pushing Ryoko behind him, he threw it at the man. The knife went rolling through the air and hit the man straight in the heart. He started to fall, still shooting and the boy turned around and flattened him and Ryoko on the ground. The man fell to the floor and the shower of bullets stopped.
Ryoko sighed in relief and looked up at the boy. He looked back down at her and blushed slightly and smiled. They held their gaze for a moment and the boy said quietly, "Uh… I-… I'm Kousuke…"
Ryoko smiled back and whispered, "I'm Ryoko… And, um, squished…" She chuckled as Kousuke got up and reached a hand down to help her up just as Rio peered around the corner, giggling.
The three of them stood there for a moment, Kousuke looked over at the man on the floor. Blood was starting to pool around him and the gun was sitting a few feet away from his hand. Kousuke started to walk over to him and the two girls followed. He picked up the gun and looked it over, then placed it back on the floor. He then picked up his knife and wiped it on the floor, trying to get the blood off. He gave up and placed it back in his pocket. Ryoko was standing behind him, peering over his shoulder at the man, wide eyed. Kousuke looked back, caught the glance and, sighing, turned away from the body to look at Ryoko.
"Come on; let's get out of here…" He said and, taking her hand, started to walk back down the corridor.
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The three sat back down at their seats and the boy beside Kousuke shot him a confused look. "What took you, eh?" He whispered.
"Wha-? Oh, nothing…" Kousuke whispered back, still shaking slightly. The boy just shrugged and looked back at the stage where Rutherford had just walked out from behind the curtain.
This chapter is the longest one so far, wow. I was having fun. I kinda feel bad for ignoring Rio, though. Well, tell me what you think!!
