I'm really sorry that I took so long to update my story! I got caught up with schoolwork, then homework, then my other stories...but I'm glad that so many of you guys still reviewed! Thank you! :D
Chapter Four: One Shot
"I'm going!"
Amu shut her house door behind her as she made her way out, her head pounding from the innumerable encores Ami had sung to her father in her high-pitched voice. Running her hand down her face once, she exited her home's yard, creaking the gate closed as the sound of a car engine neared. When she turned, the pink-haired girl stumbled back as she realized the approaching vehicle was parked right in front of her on the curb, it's driver chewing a piece of gum in annoyance.
"This her, Ikuto?" the person asked, his orange hair swaying in the light breeze that picked up. His arm hung out the side of the sports car as the roof folded, exposing every rider to direct sunlight. In the backseat was none other than Ikuto Tskuyomi, his expression the very definition of boredom. Unsurprisingly, a girl hung onto him, giving his chin light kisses. The boy gestured for her to climb in.
"Want a ride?"
With a horribly vivid memory of what had happened last night, Amu ignored him and started to walk, her feet heavy and tired from all the running she had done. In the corner of her eye, she witnessed Ikuto waving for his makeshift chauffer to drive slowly. The vehicle pulled up to her again.
"Get in," the driver ordered and the pink-haired girl began to run. She was abruptly pulled back and dragged into the seat, where the orange headed boy buckled her in and slammed his foot onto the pedal. For a moment, she clung to the door handle, waiting for the car to slow so she could throw herself out. Eventually, she gave up on the idea and leaned back warily, cringing at the speed they were going at. Behind her, she could hear Ikuto and the female kissing, disgusted that her morning had been ruined so drastically.
"Amu," a voice whispered in her ear. She shrieked, her fist coming down on the face of the blue-haired boy behind her. He grabbed her hand quickly, his smirk extremely unbearable.
"Did you miss me?" he asked, his lips curling up mockingly. The pink-haired girl felt the strongest urge to punch him in the center of his face, but she held back, breathing out her nose and inhaling slowly.
"Absolutely not."
The scenery around them changed as the car turned a corner, careening just a little due to the speed they were pulling off. Blanching, she grabbed the side door, and held on, her palms clammy and trembling.
"Slow down, would you Kou?" Ikuto asked the driver. The boy shook his head no, his fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.
"Kukai said we gotta be there pronto, and that's what I'm aiming to do."
"And what I said," the blue-haired boy said, his tone flat, but his stare icy cold, "is to slow down."
Reluctantly, Kou eased off the gas pedal, and immediately, the car lost its speed. The deafening hum of the engine died down a little, permitting the girl to think once again. Ikuto leaned back, the unknown girl in the backseat once again grabbing him and smothering him.
"Stop," he ordered, pushing her off. "Kukai invited me to a date. It wouldn't be good for the girl he called out to see me like this."
"Wait," Amu said in a strained voice, "where exactly are we going?"
Ikuto smiled placidly at her. "Kukai told us to meet at a karaoke place. Who knows how that'll turn out like?"
The pinkette gripped her seat, shutting her eyes tightly. When she finally opened them, she whirled around in her seat, and gazed coldly at the boy situated behind her.
"Stop the car."
"No can do. We're already behind schedule, and Kukai absolutely hates waiting. He's got no sense of patience."
Amu grit her teeth, and grabbed the driver's shirt collar. "Stop the car."
The boy named Kou pulled away, smoothing down his sweater front. "You heard what the 'boss' said."
"Was that sarcasm?" Ikuto asked in a bored tone, but Amu could hear the venom behind it.
"Let me out!" Amu snapped, clutching at the car door's handle. Her knuckles had gone completely white as the color drained from her face. This situation reminded her exactly of that night. That one time when her whole life had been altered so weirdly out of control that…
"Let me out," she said softly, partly to remain defiant and partly to cut off her stream of thoughts.
"I've been wondering," Ikuto said smoothly, resting his head on his hand. The corner of his lips twitched with the traces of a faint smile. He crossed his legs; all of a sudden, the aura around him seemed serious, and almost urged Amu to be quiet.
"That's funny. I didn't know you thought at all, let alone wondered about things," the girl said bitterly, forfeiting her efforts of an escapade.
"Why do you even want to become a police officer?"
"I don't want to be looked down upon other police-"
"That doesn't exactly explain why you went into the business of law enforcement."
"I created the Rose-!"
"That is entirely unrelated."
"My father was a policeman!"
"As I recall, your father is a photographer."
Amu fell silent, her mouth taut in a tight-lipped line. Ikuto raised an eyebrow, smirking evilly. "Well?"
She didn't answer, but turned back to the situation at hand. In the distance, a little dot waving to them could be seen.
"That'll be Kukai," Kou sighed, "I wonder if he's ever heard the saying 'Patience is a virtue'."
"You say that in an utterly exhausted tone, but it sounds like you admire him," Amu said through clenched teeth. She was so upset with everything that was happening that it was difficult to even hold a normal conversation – well, as normal as it could get, anyways.
"Of course I do. Every guy out there does. He always gets the hottest chicks to-!"
"All right, I really don't want to hear the end of that sentence!" the pinkette shouted, covering her ears with her hands.
Kou gave her a slight smirk. "I was going to say 'go on dates with'. How did you think that sentence was going to end?"
Amu could feel her face becoming hot with embarrassment, and she ducked her head down, muttering, "Well, Kukai seems like that kind of playboy type so…."
Kou burst out laughing. "The most he's ever done with a girl is make out with her."
"That's still disgusting. He should really settle down with someone."
The driver of the car pulled into a curb, shaking his head. "As far as I can tell, Kukai has never taken an interest in anybody. There's something off about him…"
"About who?"
Amu shrieked as the aforementioned person's face popped out of nowhere on her side of the car. She pushed herself backwards, the small of her back hitting the lever of the car. Kukai looked at her with confused emerald green eyes, and then he grinned at her.
"Glad you could make it, Hinamori," he greeted, then turned to the girl in the backseat of the car. "Hey there, babe."
Amu glanced at Kou from the sides of her eyes; he noticed and mouthed, 'He has never met that chick before in his life.'
Almost rolling her eyes in an unsurprised gesture, the pinkette opened the car door, and began to get out. Ikuto stopped her, his arm pulling back on the car handle.
"Going somewhere?" he whispered in her ear. She wanted to push him away, but she had been frozen to the spot.
"Uh, yeah, school. This place is only like a mile away from it."
"Stay with me," he said, a smug look rising upon his features.
"In your dreams," Amu growled, jerking back her elbow so that it hit him in the chest. He didn't grunt in surprise or pain, but only kept smiling slightly. The girl got out, her fury almost boiling over the top, but she was prevented from leaving by another individual.
"Hiiiiinaaaaamoooorrrrriiii, where ya goin'?" Kukai asked in a singsong voice, stepping in front of her abruptly. She backed away from him, trying to sidestep out of his way. He blocked her path happily, cocking his head to look her in the eye.
"No, no, no. Nooone of that noooow! We're goin' to go in there and have some fuuuun!"
"Would you stop talking like that?" Amu snapped, clutching her school bag firmly, "And just an FYI, I really don't want to know how you guys have 'fun'. That aside, I bet the people in this place won't even let you in!"
"If that were true," the auburn-haired boy said slowly, stalling her, "than how'd we get in last time, and the time before that, and the time before before that? All of which occurred before school on weekdays…and not a holiday either?"
Amu pursed her lips. How was she supposed to know? She tried to pass by him. Amused, he latched onto her arm, and pulled her in for a hug. She almost yelped as he laid his chin on her head, and said, "Come on, just stay with me for a little while?"
Stay with me. Ikuto's earlier words sent a shudder through her, and she pulled away from Kukai. "No."
Stay with us. We'll make your life bett…er, Amu….chan.
The pinkette felt her pupils dilate as the memory passed through her. With a bitter taste like bile in her mouth, she turned to run. But strong arms enveloped her.
Don't run, 007, bad girl.
Amu screamed as she washed back to another time for just an instant: a blinding whiteness, that sharp metallic gray, and the soupy red…
And then her surroundings fell into place, suddenly sharpening and making sense. Her hearing had suddenly become better, her calmness settled back into place, and a new strength over took her. In just a moment, the girl realized what had happened and closed her eyes, concentrating until her fear and fast heartbeats began to come into existence again.
"Aw, jeez, that hurt my ears," Kou grumbled; he was the one who was holding her captive. "Here ya go, Ikuto."
The blue-haired boy gripped her wrist tightly, gazing deeply into her eyes. "Don't run."
Unfortunately, that little statement had been directed towards Amu too many times before, and did nothing to cure her fear and anger.
Inside, blaring music echoed from all walls as the Seiyo Boys' friends gathered around. Amu sat in one of the booths, alone, holding her head as her memories came wafting back. She tried to force them out, but they were clear and sharp in her mind. The lab coats, the fake smiles, that horrible, vile container filled to the brim with-
"Hey, Hinamori, aren't you going up to sing something?"
The sight of Kukai's face just made Amu angrier.
"No! If you can recall, I never even wanted to come here!"
"Then, didn't you want to see me?" a deep voice asked from behind her, the person's breath warm on the back of her neck. She yelped indignantly, bringing her hands up to cover that part, and glared into Ikuto's eyes.
"Knock it off! Would you two just stop popping up randomly?"
"I agree," said Kukai tightly to Amu's surprise. "Ikuto, could we talk for a moment?"
The blue-haired boy obliged, and the two went out the door. Their absence killed the mood of the gathering, but Amu stayed focused on the shut door for a long time. Finally, gathering up all her courage, she got up from her table, and slipped out the door as well, deciding which way to go to find the pair. It wasn't hard…mostly because their angry, whispering voices came clearly from the far side of the hallway.
The pinkette followed the argument, until she was close enough – just around the corner from them – to make out their words.
"I thought you said that you weren't going to get close to anyone after that," Kukai said ferociously. "But you're clearly getting way too close to that chick in there."
Clearly, by 'that chick in there', he probably meant Amu.
"Me getting close to her? You're the one going around hugging the sucker," Ikuto scoffed.
'Sucker' was probably another insulting codename for her.
"And you're in the same position as I am, Kukai."
"I know I am! I've known it for seven years already! Ever since we were nine-!"
Ever since I was eight…
"…we've been entirely different from everyone else."
…I've been entirely different from everyone else.
Amu's breath caught in her throat. Could they really be Victims as well?
"Did you hear that?" Kukai asked, straightening and falling silent. Before she could have any time to react, Ikuto's face popped around the corner. His features went white, then pale, and then finally regained its natural color.
"Amu," he said, his voice cracking.
"Aren't I just the 'sucker'?" she blurted out. She knew she had just made a mistake. Saying a part of their earlier conversation would give away that she had been present for the rest. But now that she had this uneasy, unsettling, fluttering feeling in her stomach from the two boys' conversation, she had suddenly become bold.
"It's very impolite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations," Kukai said coolly, his face rigid and cold. Ikuto smirked, shoving his hands into his pants pockets leisurely.
"You…are you-?"
Before the pinkette could even finish her sentence, a piercing scream ricocheted in the air – from the place where all three had just come from. Amu's face went white as paper as she thought about all the people gathered in the room. "What has happened?"
Kukai sprang into action, and Ikuto began to sprint as well, both of their facial expressions suddenly deadly serious and frightened. It took a moment before Amu could move again, then she began to trail behind them, her heart beating fast, so fast. To be a human meant to feel fear, to be a human meant to have a heart that beat wildly in your chest, to be a human…meant that life meant something. But she could not deny that the inevitable would have to happen.
She signaled the Change within her, mentally grabbing it into a bunch and releasing it through her body. The transformation was slowly powering up, flowing through her veins and arteries trickle by trickle. Any moment now…but they were already at the door.
"Hinamori! Stay back!" Kukai said softly, but she didn't listen. Standing on tiptoe, she could already feel that cold, sick dread creeping through her.
Horrible beings, parts of their skin overgrown with fur, and their mouths deformed by large teeth, peered at them. One of them had a girl in its arms, so close to ripping her apart, but too slow for the catch.
So the Scientists were at it again, huh?
"Poor guy," Ikuto lamented, before breaking into a smile.
"Even real werewolves wouldn't be as ugly as them," Kukai snorted.
Amu involuntarily screamed as a creature lunged at them, aiming for Ikuto's jugular. The boy ducked, shoved his hands up, and grabbed the beast by its neck. With not the slightest sign that he was putting his greatest effort into heaving the wolf being up, he flung it into a wall, where it crashed and slid into unconsciousness.
Kukai smiled, giving his friend the thumbs up. "Nice one."
"Watch your neck."
The auburn-haired boy vaguely thwacked away a beast leaping for his throat, looking slightly bored. "The Scientists have really lost their touch…not that there was any skill in the first place."
Ikuto rolled his eyes, and then dug the heel of his boot into another animal's face. Throughout all of the fighting, Amu stayed behind them, reaching for something in her bag. Something that she had never left behind for years.
As the last yelp of a werewolf died out, the pinkette slipped it out…her Rose-X077.
"I knew it," she whispered, and Ikuto turned to look at her.
"What the-?" Kukai began to say, but Amu had already pulled the trigger.
The single shot was loud, but she didn't wince, not even when the bullet ran right through Ikuto's head. Even as blood began to trickle down the blue-haired boy's forehead.
And why?
Because the boy was still standing. Ikuto was still standing, and he was very much still alive.
Things have suddenly taken a turn for a fantasy fiction/ science fiction! Next Chapter: Exclusion From Mankind
Where the Scientists and the mentioned "Victims" will be explained!