Chapter 8 The Blade and the Sheath

Despite the Red Shield heading back to headquarters, they didn't actually reach the docks without running into trouble. In Hanoi, though, things quickly got complicated. It was all Kata could do to contain her laughter and keep following Saya as the Red Shield quickly got lost several times, couldn't find where the Red Shield HQ was docked and then were successfully split up, all in quick succession in under an hour. Kata was still grinning as she followed Saya, Hagi and the ginger brat from a safe distance as they headed down a wide mostly deserted street.

Oh, that's too funny. David, the smart-cool-calculated-always-on-the-ball-and-in-control David, seriously managed to lose Saya, Hagi and Kai! Ha! I am SO definitely making fun of him!

Kata suddenly stiffened, and glanced across the crowd, seemingly seeing straight through it.

Damn. Chiropterans. Kata shot a glance at Hagi to find his eyes suddenly meeting hers. Startled, Kata dropped her gaze, but that moment of contact had been enough; Hagi knew there were chiropterans in the area, and he wasted no time informing Saya; Kata could vaguely hear the ginger brat protesting at being left behind. With a sigh, Kata slipped down a helpfully deserted alley way, and within seconds she was on the roof, another pocky in mouth, following Hagi as he sped towards the chiropterans, Saya in his arms.

Huh. Saya's being treated like a princess again, huh? Hagi, you are such a pushover. Honestly. Hagi finally came to a stop in a wide back alley surrounded by warehouses, and soon enough three chiropterans had lumbered through, drawn to the Saya's scent, and Hagi and Saya engaged in battle. Kata watched disinterested, finishing her pocky.

Only three, huh? How boring. Mmmm. Though I guess now is a good a time as any… With a sigh, and then a devilish grin, Kata unsheathed her swords with a 'shing', and she thought she saw Hagi stiffen at the sound. Though she couldn't be sure, as he was currently fending off a chiropteran with his cello case.

Saya gritted her teeth as she stood back to back with Hagi, preparing to fight the second chiropteran. One already lay dead on the ground, crystallized, so the odds were looking up, but Kata could see that Saya was tiring.

Alrighty then. Lift off…

And slash through the head with one blade, shoulder with the other. Foot down, pivot and swing blade through head then back through abdomen, one last shove and it's in pieces. Kata saw out of the corner of her eye, as she sliced up the chiropteran, Saya's eyes widen in shock, before Kata instinctively flitted out of sight; wary of contact with the Red Queen again. Ugh. Come on, Kata, you can't still be nervous after so much time …

But Saya didn't focus on Kata, or the absence of the mysterious slayer of the chiropteran, for very long; soon she was engaged in battle with the third. Steeling herself, Kata ignored her instinctive wariness and flickered into place; behind Saya, backing her up.

Saya lunged at the chiropteran; clumsily, and it missed, but Hagi threw a dagger, and Kata came into play. With a final shove from Saya and a slash from Kata, the third chiropteran hit the floor, in pieces, spraying blood and, well, dead. Saya stepped back, gasping and out of breath. Hagi retrieved his dagger, while Kata watched, as she was seemingly completely ignored. Kata narrowed her eyes.

"Hagi. You are not going to fool me with that, I know you are very aware that I'm here, so get over yourself and come and say hello." Kata said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Saya started and whipped around, sword raised.

Kata widened her eyes in a protest of innocence and dropped her swords, as Saya glared at her, the red glow of battle shining in her eyes.

"Whoa, Saya! I was just saying! Anyway, I should say hi too, huh?" Kata said, once again displaying that incredible ability to completely go off topic in the most serious of situations. "Then, hi!" Kata said, beaming at Saya like she was a long lost friend. Saya blinked and the tip of her katana dropped in her shock. "Long time no see!" Saya's mouth dropped open, as Hagi repressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"Hagi, do you know her?" Saya said, confusion written across her face. Hagi stepped forwards so he was directly behind Saya's right shoulder.

"Yes. She is Katana. Ibukishi Katana, she's a… friend." He said soberly, ignoring the glare Kata shot him upon the mention of her full name.

"Ignore the stodgy old dog, and please call me Kata. I hate being called 'sword'." Kata grumbled, shooting Hagi yet another glare as she grasped Saya's free hand. Saya dropped her katana in surprise, staring down at her hand, clasped in both of Kata's, in shock.

Perhaps even God doesn't know what Saya would have done next, but at that moment Kai rushed into view, David and Lewis in tow, shouting loudly. Kata gritted her teeth in annoyance, which drew a small smile from Hagi, but didn't let go of Saya's hand.

"Saya! Are you alright!" Kai yelled, cannoning up to them and only coming to a stop when he noticed Kata, a few seconds later. David and Lewis stopped too, and soon all eyes were on Kata, but she eyed them back with surprising zeal for someone who had two guns aimed at her face.

Kata rolled her eyes at David and Lewis, who were both staring at her with that inscrutably suspicions expression that you could only pull off if you were in the army.

"Jeez. Don't shoot the sword." Saya cocked her head; those words and the tone with which Kata said them somehow reminded her of something, a memory that was still veiled. David, however, didn't give into his confusion, and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean by that? Who are you?" He snapped, his voice brittle, while Kai eyed Saya's hand that Kata was holding.

"Katana Ibukishi." Kata opened her mouth to introduce herself, but Hagi beat her to it, and everybody's eyes shifted to the chevalier waiting patiently in the shadows. Saya seemed to wake up a little, and gently removed her hand from Kata's.

"Hagi said she was a friend." Saya said, looking at David anxiously; all of a sudden she was certain of the truth behind Hagi's words, and didn't want to see Kata hurt in the slightest, though she didn't know where that inexplicable feeling came from.

"Friend? She looks like your family, Saya!" Lewis rumbled cheerfully; but although his voice was cheerful, it seemed to have the opposite effect on everyone else, who all turned to stare at Kata again in shock.

When you looked, it was impossible to miss; Kata was far from the spitting image of Saya, but she definitely looked like her. If it wasn't for Kata's very different hair, clothes and general attitude, one might mistake her for Saya, or Saya for Kata. David muttered something under his breath that not one person heard. Unfortunately, perhaps, for David, there were several non-humans in the vicinity. Both Hagi and Kata heard, and Saya probably would have too, if Kai had not at that moment butted in and started bombarding her with questions concerning Kata.

As it was, upon hearing David's word, Hagi visibly stiffened, his chiropteran hand unconsciously curling into a claw, while Kata had a very different reaction; she looked as though she was trying not to laugh.

"Um, David," Kata's voice dropped low as she suddenly seemed to appear right behind him. Kata tugged on his arm to get David to bend down to her level; so unexpected was this move that David had no time to resist. "I'm not Diva." she murmured in his ear, and David shifted away at the small breath that tickled the sensitive skin inside his ear and made him shiver. But Kata's uncomfortably close distance from his face was not the only reason for the shiver; though it might have been the primary one. The real reason though, for the shiver, or to be more accurate; shudder was the name; Diva. Just the name sent chills down David's back.

David shot Kata suspicious glare; her visible blue eye stared back, denying completely her claim of identity. Kata grinned.

"You can't trust me on everything, but this you can. I am not Diva. Diva… well. Last time I knew, she was being moved across Vietnam." Kata held back a giggle as she saw David stiffen; he had been there when Diva's container, and a chance at Diva, had slipped through the Red Shield's fingers once again.

David made a small growling noise and fought his way out of Kata's grip, although technically Kata let him go; if she'd really wanted to hold onto him David would have had no chance. Straightening his suit and ignoring Lewis's questioning look and Kata's smirk, he walked a small distance from the group, pulling his phone out as he did so.

Kata watched David for a while, and although she could have listened to the conversation, she didn't bother, instead slipping back into the shadows to wait in comfortable silence with Hagi. Lewis and joined in Saya and Kai's conversation about Lewis's soup; obviously Lewis had to boast, so when David came back to the group, grim faced, it made Kai jump.

"We're taking her to HQ." he said shortly.

"What? So you can test me?" Kata asked archly, her voice suddenly brittle. Walking forwards until she was about a metre away from David, and facing him directly, Kata gave a small dry laugh.

"I know you, Red Shield, and your funny ways. You really think I'm going to be a subject for your experiments? Forget it. I'm coming with you to your Headquarters, but I will NOT be used as a test subject. Clear?" Kata snapped, and the practised authority in her voice meant that David decided that an argument with a strange chiropteran-killing adolescent girl really wasn't what he needed right now and so David just nodded complacently.

"Excellent. Now that that's cleared up, you can explain to me why the Red Shield HQ is a cruise liner, huh?" Kata said cheerfully, shoving Kai out of the way none to gently so she could link arms with Saya. Saya's eyes widened, but somehow the feeling of Kata's arm through hers was somehow nostalgic; like a happy childhood memory you can't quite remember, and Saya didn't protest, much to both David and Kai's irritation. However, neither male complained, and so they continued to the Red Shield HQ, and Saya spent the entire journey futilely trying to explain to Kata why Headquarters was a cruise liner.

Joel Goldschmidt VI sighed, exasperated. Kata had flat out refused to be tested in any way; she had trashed a lot of valuable medical equipment already proving that she was not going to be tested on, and no one felt like using force on a girl who could kill chiropterans apparently more easily than even Saya could. So now, Kata was sitting on a chair, swinging her legs like a two year old, in front of Joel's desk, while he sat behind it, trying to get answers from Kata. This was literally harder than getting blood out of a stone. Seriously. H.A.R.D.

Kata looked up with yet another giggle; it was so much fun to tease Joel.

Yep, it looks like it was good timing to meet up with Saya now, huh? Oh Joel, Joel, Joel. You are so easy to tease. Kata shot a huge, blinding smile in Joel's direction, and he winced.

"Look, Katana-"

"Kata. Don't call me 'sword', it's annoying." Kata said, her light tone barely concealing the underlying threat. Joel sighed again.

"Right. Kata. Please, at least tell me who you are?" Joel had almost given up, and sure enough, Kata just hummed a tune to herself in an experimental way. Kata laughed and stood up; it was by now almost midnight, and she was tired, and if she got any more pissed off she was fairly certain she was going to kill someone.

"Don't worry about it, Joel. The 'sword' has returned to the 'sheath'." Kata said softly, before melting into the shadows to God knows where. Joel massaged his head with one hand; the last few hours had given him an awful headache, and that last comment had been the most progress with Kata made; and it didn't even make sense.

"Sword… sheath. Sword and… sheath." Joel muttered to himself, pouring a glass of whisky as he did so. As he drank, he suddenly choked.

"Of course." He breathed, before chuckling. "Damn that girl, she's clever. The sword and the sheath. Katana and Saya. Heh. Returned, mmm? Well." And Joel downed the rest of the whisky, a small, slightly indulgent smile on his face.


Right... so that's chapter eight - redone! I thought I had finished this, but I enjoyed writing it too much, so I have decided to continue XD

Please review!