Chapter 09

Hey,

Did you know, that we are the same?

I am you, you are me.

Why…

Did you know, back then, you loved her?

Did you know, back then, that she loved you?

What…?

Did you know, that you two were forbidden to be in love?

Huh?

Did you know, that the name Ice, is not just the element?

Ice, it is formed by water, and it creates a balance to fire.

Formation and Balance.

Fire, it synchronizes with Ice to create Water, which in turn creates ice.

Creation and Synchronizing.

Think about it, please.

What…the hell?

You know, he is correct. But he is lying to them, because he knows so much more information.

Who?

The one, who has Shizuru.

--

Shizuru…

Natsuki's eyes opened, unaware of what had happened. The grey sky of a storm thinned away as the sun started to rise, giving warmth to Natsuki's skin. She looked around, and found that she was in an empty room, with a window letting sunlight peer through and graze upon her.

Natsuki looked around the dusty room, and sat up. Her head hurt like a motherfucker; had she been drinking? What if..

What if something happened? She couldn't remember!

Anxious, Natsuki checked herself. No damage on her clothes, her weapons were there, and she didn't feel sore. She felt…great, aside from a cold feeling in her chest.

Walking, the world seemed a bit dizzy, so Natsuki closed her eyes. When she opened them, her vision corrected itself. "Bleh…this headache is major…I'm an underage drinker…heh…funny…"

Natsuki swung the door open to find a hallway with a few more doors, and a staircase with laughter and loud noise. Going down, she entered a bar. On one of the steps, she made a creak, and everyone turned to look at her.

"Umm…Hi…?"

The bartender went around the table, with a scared face. "Okay look, we're sorry, please don't harm us! We'll do anything okay, so-"

"What the fuck are you talking about???"

Natsuki's head REALLY hurt by the time, and she didn't want any bullshit with her.

"Wha…you don't remember? How can you not remember!!!"

The bartender's face flushed. She reallllly didn't want any bullshit at the moment. "You kill a man in my bar yesterday! He's dead!"

It took moments for Natsuki to comprehend the words, and when she did, fear finally struck her.

"What? I don't kill! I'm not a murderer! I…It wasn't me then! I swear!"

Everyone in the bar was quiet, and payed attention to the scene there.

"W..Wait don't tell me your one of them…"

"Them?"

"Rumor has it that back in the old times, labs here and gov. officials made some war shit, and one escaped. They said there were two more, and-"

"Wait..what?"

Natsuki's head began to throb, and she felt nausea. The bartender stepped back, and quickly brought her to a bathroom. "Man, if that's the case then nevermind. But Ya' did drink a whole mighty lot last night!"

Natsuki nodded before spewing up what ever she had the night before into the toilet, and flushing it down. Using the sink to wash herself, the bartender gave her a bottle of water to rinse and to help herself. "It may not cure hangovers, but it hella' makes ya' feel better.."

Natsuki let out a smile and nodded, wondering why he helped her. "Wait…Tell me more…please…"

"About what?"

"The war shit."

The man smiled, and told Natsuki the story. "So basically, 6 years ago she killed anyone who really was a threat, not to her, but to you guys too? Then, why aren't you mad at me though? You…you…you said I killed…"

Natsuki trembled as tears flowed down her cheeks. "It…I…I couldn't have…I swear…I…I…I didn' t know…I…I'm sorry!!!" Natsuki sobbed uncontrollably, as the guilt of taking ones life away.

What if he still had a family? What if someone loved him, cared for him, and She took him away?

"Oh…god…I…I'm so…so…"

The man patted her shoulder. "Look, girl, its alright. He was a drugger. Uhh, I mean, he was on drugs, his family already died, and he's done a bit of killing himself. But he was in pain most of times, and we figured that he did the stuff out because he was insane. You most likely ended all the pain he had, and now he c-"

"BUT STILL!!!... i… I wasn't ever supposed to hurt anyone.."

"Well…I figure something else must have happened though…you did have blood on you before…you came in…"

Natsuki blocked out the rest. Grief, guilt, and fear filled her. She killed someone, and by the looks of it, it could have been more than one person she killed.

After endless minutes of her sobbing, she finally wiped her tears away.

"Umm…uh…"

The elderly man smiled, and he opened a fridge below his bar table. "Tom. Call me Tom."

"Tom…thanks, I-"

"GRAMPS! Nami and…hey…Nami! Why are you so red??? And gramps, who's that? Hey your to old for young people! She barely looks a year older than us! That's molestation! Nami! STOP! FUCKING! BLUSHING!!!"

Natsuki stared at the shouting girl. For a minute, she swore that the alcohol she previously downed the other night fucked up her vision, cause she was seeing two of the girl. Both had dark hair, fair skin, and brown eyes, but one had a angry face, and the other was completely red…with…her…eyes…on…

It took a minute for Natsuki to figure it out, so she even double checked behind her.

…Me???

"Nami! Ey' Nami!!!" The angry twin shook her hand in front of Nami's face. The other girl, blushing, jumped back and stuttered words. Glancing back at Natsuki, she looked down.

The twin sister looked at her, then at Natsuki, then grinned. "So its HER?"

Natsuki's eye twitched, reallllly hoping that she wasn't THAT drunk last night…

"Umm…excuse me, but I didn't do anything weird to you did I?"

The blushing girl looked up, shook her head, and opened her mouth to say something. Laughing awkwardly, Natsuki decided to change the topic, but suddenly the girl moved and..

Natsuki's eyes widened.

The blushing girl pressed her lips onto Natsuki's. Natsuki froze, not knowing what the hell to do, since the last time she kissed was with Shizuru, and…

…Shizuru!!!

Natsuki regained her senses and while trembling, and blushing, pushed the girl away.

"Umm…I guess that's how you say hi here then…umm…"

The girl blushed, and opened her mouth, again.

"Thank you…for…saving me…"

Okayyyyyy….

Her twin sister whistled and hooted at them, while some of the guys in the bar took interest on watching two girls kiss. Tom merely grinned, and smiled. "So you're the one my granddaughter was talking about, and I'm guessing…you took care of that guy…too…"

Tom froze, as if his mind put it together. "So…you save my granddaughter, come to my bar, kill a man, pass out, I move you to a room, I come back for breakfast at my house, my granddaughter tells me this, I take sleep for an hour, I come back here, your up, and this."

Natsuki wanted to laugh at his sarcasm, but then couldn't as he said the word kill, and the implying of killing two people.

"Oh.."

Even though Natsuki felt somewhat shocked, her conscience split into two. One that told her it was okay, they were bad, just get over it, and the other telling her that she…enjoyed it…

…Wait…enjoyed it?

"Well, so you're my sisters- OW! Nami why'd you hit me!"

"Cause' your bein' fagbag!"

"What the fuck is a fagbag!"

"You, idiot!"

"Fuckface"

"Bitch ass!"

"Umm…I'm going…to go now…"

Natsuki walked towards the door, trying to erase the past events. Opening it, she felt some one grab her hands. Soft hands, that had desires of its own, mostly wanting her to stay.

Natsuki turned to see the blushing twin.

"umm…excuse me..uh…name…"

"Nami…but…you saved my life, so…is it alright … if … I accompany you for your time in this city?"

Natsuki looked into her eyes, they were pleading, and as the person as she was, she finally nodded. "Hey, I wanna' too! I'm bored!!! Anyways I'm Nami's twin, Tomiko!"

Natsuki laughed at Nami's twin. "Soo…okay intro's…umm…so I'm Natsuki, and I did shit last night, and-"

Tomorrow is my birthday…

Natsuki's eyes widened, as she suddenly remembered. "Shizuru…!"

Nami looked a bit sad, and turned her head away. "Oh…so-"

"Where's the nearest market, shopping, ANYTHING!!!"

Nami looked up, confused. "Wha?"

Tomiko grinned. "NEXT CORNER, GO GO! We'll meet you there and pay in turn for saving ma' sister's Ass, kay?"

Natsuki smiled at the kindness. "Thank-"

"GO!!!"

Natsuki jumped, and rat out the door. Or tried to…

The next thing she remembered, a gun pressed on her face, and blood.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natsuki…I really miss you…I turn 17 with the most amazing person ever, and then I'm kidnapped. This is like some kind of movie they played back when I was a kid… Natsuki…Ara…I really must be in love with her for it to hurt this much…

I…it…hurts…

So…much…

Shizuru felt the tears slowly stream down her cheeks, sometimes accompanied by a sniff, sob, or whimper, and occasionally a mix of all three. Not wanting to cause a disturbance, Shizuru bit down on her hand to stop from wailing.

Why was it hurting so much? They promised to return her after they finished, and they promised she wasn't going to get hurt. But what did they do to make her fear, and worry still. Perhaps, Shizuru thought, it was because she was blind and her senses told her not to trust them, or maybe it was because…of…

…

Shizuru stopped crying, and opened her eyes. A click went off inside her mind, and she forgot all she thought about. Rubbing her eyes, she reached for the tissue she received from whoever gave her the food.

Feeling the tainted morning light on her back, Shizuru looked up.

Within seconds she started to scream. Color filled her vision, memories lost came back.

She saw it flash by in her mind. I cold empty white room, metal tables, a doctor inserting a syringe. Then, everything went black as she heard an alarm, and her disorted memory, her real memories, came back.

A new sense of fear came into Shizuru, and she gripped her chest as a pain in her heart increased. Looking over, a spider dropped on to her hand. Feeling a tingling, Shizuru caught a glimpse of it.

It looked straight at her.

And it dropped.

Dead.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akane looked through the creek. "Bleh, it's probably one of those business meetings, let's go visit the newly angst Shizuru!"

Haruka's voice took Akane by surprise. "It's 'aged' Haruka…" She looked at Kazuya, on a whim, and he nodded, as a reassured agreement to stop eavesdropping. Arika had a disappointed look on her face. "Aww man! The blond kid is cute for his age!!"

Akane laughed, while Haruka smacked Arika on the head.

Kazuya got up, and jerked his head towards the hallway to Shizuru's corridors.

--

They slowly went up the stairs, creeping to surprise Shizuru. Reaching the door, Haruka 'sshed' the whispering girls, and Yukino pulled the door open.

"SURPRISE- …"

The three dropped silence at the emptiness in the room. A trail of blood led to the window, and a ruffled bed was shown. Arika and Yukino began to cry, and Haruka gulped. Kazuya stared wide-eyed, his palms sweating, and his feet trembled.

"S..Shi..Shizuru? You guys aren't hi..hiding are you?"

No response. Checking the room, Kazuya ran in panicking, throwing Shizuru's stuff trying to find anything, to where the two disappeared. If it wasn't for the blood, one have thought they just went to do…adult situated things.

Kazuya punched the wall. "That fucking liar!!!"

The moment he did, Akane and Yukino screamed.

The door opened, and Mr. Fujino and the two boys entered. Smiling, Mr. Fujino laughed. "Finally, everything is going to plan."

Arika dropped on to her knees, and shook the now fallen Akane; whereas Haruka caught the fainted Yukino. "Hoever…my 'favorite' and her lover are gone…Nagi…I swear…"

The albino boy laughed. "Who knows, I have my share of secrets as do you. Maybe, if you told them the truth, then I could give her back…"

Takashi Fujino spat on and pushed Nagi. "Christopher, tell me, I have all the money you want, I-'

"Sorry, I don't like telling old people the tricks to our games…" Christopher grinned with Nagi, and Takashi glared.

Nagi looked at Kazuya. "Maybe its time we…explain things? Come, all, we shall talk in this father's….meeting room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Nami stood, wide eyed at the fountain of blood spraying on her, and Natsuki. She stumbled, fell to the side, and threw up. Her gramps ran to her, and held her hair back. Grimacing, he told Tomiko to help her sister. With a feared expression, Tomiko grabbed her sister, shaking, and shut her eyes. The occupants of the bar screamed, more in fear of this, than last night.

Nami looked for her grandfather, but her blurred vision made it worse. She heard muffled noises, as if time slowed down, and saw people's feet running for the back door. Why? Nami was clueless, even though she just experienced it. Her senses disappeared as she realized the person who she loves, is a murderer.

Like the legend of the girl escaped from the laboratory.

--

Natsuki had opened the door, and he was there. Nami screamed, he had similar phenotypes as the man last night. Traumatized, Nami hid behind Natsuki's back.

The man hit Natsuki with a gun, and yelled. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU BITCH! I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU HELL!!!"

And then it all happened. Natsuki pressed her hand at the weapons hung around her waist, took the dagger, and sliced his throat. The cut was slim, but it glowed, and it suddenly began to rip more and more. The man screamed in pain as his skin tore off from his neck, followed by his tissue.

His flesh dropped on his feet in a messy pile, causing puddles of blood to appear. Natsuki turned around, and looked into Nami's eyes. Nami's eyes were frozen in Natsuki eyes.

But Natsuki's eyes, that were bright and beautiful with Shizuru, were dead at the sight of human blood. "…only three…nine more…"

Natsuki looked down at Nami and smiled, a smile that represented an insane killer, and lowered down to her ear. "I won't hurt you, my princess…you do not know yet…but you are as important as she is…"

Turning again, Nami blushed for a moment, forgetting that a man was dying in front of her 'prince'.

Suddenly, the veins in the mans neck exploded, and his muscle hit Natsuki, who smirked and wiped it off with no hesitation. Blood squirted onto the man, and he slowly fell.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opening the cold cabinet, Mai Tokiha banged a few empty pots. "Heyyyyyy!!! Its time to eat!!!"

Her 'mother' Midori jumped down laughing, most likely drunk off the rural beer they found, followed by her 'siblings', Nao Yuuki, Mikoto Minagi, Takumi Tokiha, Akira, and the frail girl they found. Really, Takumi was her only real sibling, but as the girl they had found…

She was by herself when they escaped to here, from La'Cryma, and her legs were torn up. Midori, the eldest, had helped bandage her, from the skills she learned from a best friend back in college, and helped her physically and mentally.

The girl was traumatized, yet she acted so elegantly, and she was mature and wise. Mikoto wanted to play with her, in which she smiled, but disagreed. Nao got irritated from her smart 'ass' talk, and Takumi, who wouldn't admit it, had a crush on her. Of course, He also liked Akira, the girl-who-confused-them-at-first-saying-she-was-a-guy-but-then-was-a-girl.

Eating the curry she made, the cold winter brought shivers down most of their backs, as they ate the warm delicacy that … well, warmed them up. She smiled, especially at the young girl, who laughed and smiled as Midori told jokes to them all.

Yet, something was odd about the girl. She was always intently looking at Mai, and ever since Mai showed her the abilities that caused La'Cryma to…well, ever since then, the girl didn't ask about it, but watched her.

It did creep Mai out. She knew nothing of the situation, other than she can create, and manipulate fire.

Mai finished her plate, and yawned, and when she opened her eye, she was being stared at.

"Ano, Mashiro-chan, is there something wrong?"

Mashiro kindly smiled.

Mashiro, the last survivor in the destroyed land of Fuuka, spoke up. "Mai-san, I think its time you know about the truth."

Silence grew upon them, and the hash winter blew at the walls of the small cabin.

TBC.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

A//N:: Got back from my first of many vacations this summer! I don't know, but I think this is my longest chapter yet OO. I keep forgetting about the original characters, and my mind keeps adding things, so bleh.

Its bound to get more bloodier till the end of the First Arc. And to explain things, Mai and them escaped to Fuuka.

Wonderful? I think so too! Time to work on 'A Battle At Fuuka University' My other fic…that…smex…smut..yeah OO.

So. Reviews are wonderful, although I'm taking my sweet time with the story line! (huh? This story has elapsed in two days, no, like one day and eight hours!!!) OMgoosh.

Whats happening to Natsuki? Well, you will see. That everything is connected, no matter how far away they are .

RnR RnR REIEW PLEASE if yah' love meh!