Chapter 11 Guilt

A clatter of a fork could be heard as Tasuki let it slip from his hand, mouth open.

All eyes widened, including Jesse's.

" 'The…One'?" he asked softly. Why did that sound so familiar?

"Shiori…where have you heard about that?" Vash asked quietly.

"I…my brother…he said he wanted to know about it, and I wondered if you knew something…" she fumbled, playing absently with her fingers. Judging from the table's reaction, she knew that she had hit something…

"Why does he want to know?" Knives snapped and she jumped lightly at the tone of his voice.

"Knives…" Blue said softly, putting her hand to his arm in an attempt to keep him from blowing up.

"What? She doesn't have anything to do with it! She should just keep her nose out of other's business!" he bit out and Shiori hung her head lightly. He was right…

"Knives, calm down and let's hear her out, ok brother? It does no good to go flying off the handle." Vash said firmly and Knives grumbled lightly as he sat back, an irritated look on his face.

"He's right Knives." Meryl agreed, turning her attentions back to Shiori. "Honey, why does your brother want to know?"

"I…really have no idea. He's just curious, I guess."

"If he's so curious, why doesn't he come face to face with us and ask us?" Knives spoke up again and she winced at his tone another time.

She shook her head. "He doesn't like others. That's why."

"Oh, but he sent you in and put you up to this didn't he? Having you do his dirty work, right?" Knives bit out and all eyes widened.

"Knives! How can you be so presumptuous?!" Milly said incredulously.

"Wake up people! Why else would she be here asking us things like this??"

"Knives! That's enough!" Blue said haughtily, having heard enough negativity from him. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

His eyes widened slightly before narrowing again. He clenched his jaw tightly, hands forming into fists as he stood abruptly, glaring daggers at all. "Fine. Suit yourselves and be as ignorant as you want to be!" He turned on heel, storming from the restaurant.

Blue watched him go, her anger melting away as she sighed, sitting back and looking at Meryl.

"Will he be ok?" Meryl asked.

"Yeah…let him be alone for a while. He'll calm down." Blue had been with him long enough to know when to just leave him alone.

All eyes turned again to Shiori, who had her head buried in her arms on the table, shaking lightly. She sniffed, lifting her eyes to the others, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause trouble!" she let out, her voice strained with emotion.

"Shiori, it's ok…don't cry…" Meryl said soothingly, which only made the girl cry harder.

She stood quickly, fumbling with her chair as she scooted it under the table. "I have to go…"

Jesse's eyes widened. "Go where?"

"I…I don't know…" she cried. She gave them one last look before turning and bolting out the door. Jesse stood quickly, running out the door after her.

Meryl looked at the remaining companions, wonder in her eyes. "What was that all about?"

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"Shiori? Where are you?" Jesse called, looking from side to side as he ran. Where did she run off to? After what Knives had said, it didn't surprise him that she would be hurt…

His eyes narrowed. "That bastard! He just gets worse and worse, doesn't he?"

He rounded a corner to find the purple haired girl sitting on a bench, hunched over as she cried softly.

His eyes softened and he slowed to a stop in front of her. "Shiori…"

She looked up at him, the tears still streaming down her face. "Jesse…I'm so confused!"

He stood there looking unsure of what to say. "Shiori, I-" he was cut off and his eyes widened when she stood suddenly, crashing into him. The hug surprised him greatly, but he was over it quickly, wrapping his own arms about her, trying his best to calm her. "It's ok Shiori…it's ok…"

She shook her head. "No! It's not! Nothing is right at the moment!"

Gently, the blond pushed her back so that he could look her in the face. "Shiori, what is going on?"

She stared at him, becoming more aware of the fact that he was holding her close and tried hard to contain the blush that came to her face. Could she tell him? It would be so much better to have someone to tell…her brother didn't listen very well, and Keith…he wasn't about to tell her his true motives yet…

She shook her head. She couldn't. What if what Hikari said had some truth behind it? Shiori knew in that moment that she had to get as far away from the Stryfe-Saverem family as she could.

"I…I guess my feelings were just hurt, that's all. To think that Knives would be so…be so…"

"So cold? Yeah, he's an asshole like that to me too. When he doesn't like you, it shows." He snorted.

Shiori locked eyes with him. He looked like he harbored hatred towards the other plant as well, but she could see the pain in his eyes too. "It hurts you too, doesn't it?" she asked softly and he deflated a little.

"I…have always liked him…looked up to him. Until now…"

Shiori nodded, feeling her pity well up for him and pulled him back to her in another hug. "Thank you Jesse. For coming after me. I need to go find my brother now."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?"

"Yeah…I just need to think, and maybe find out why my brother wants to know what 'The One' is."

Again, Jesse felt a shock of recognition go through him at the mention of 'The One'. He shook his head. "I have no clue what it is, but my family seems to know…"

Why hadn't they ever said anything of this matter? Why was it so secret??

"I'll see you later Jesse." Shiori let him go, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and smiling at him.

"When will we see you again?"

"Tomorrow. I'll contact you." She lied, turning and walking away. She knew that she had to find out what Keith was really up to before she could be near them again. She didn't want them getting hurt…

He watched her go, sitting on the park bench, many thoughts weighing on his mind. Why was Knives treating her like this? Why was he so suspicious?

He blinked in surprise when the very man he was thinking about came to stand in front of him, arms folded, a slight scowl on his face. "Knives?"

"Listen to me when I say this. Keep that bitch away from our family. She isn't trustworthy."

Jesse felt his hackles raise defensively as he stood, fists clenched. "Oh really now? And I suppose that you are??"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Knives bit out, his face closer to Jesse's now.

"Just what I mean! What the hell is 'The One' and why are you so quick to keep it secret from me?!"

"It's none of your business!"

"Yes, it is! I am part of this family too!" Jesse said defensively, nearly nose to nose with the other man.

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't be!!"

Jesse's eyes widened as he felt his stomach drop, his anger deflating immediately. He stepped back, a hurt expression on his face and Knives flinched inwardly. He had said that very harshly and saw the pain flash across the younger plants eyes. And for an instant, he felt a small sting of regret for his words.

Jesse tore his gaze from Knives, looking to the rocky ground, his throat burning with emotion. Knives' eyes widened lightly when the other man brought his gaze to his once more. Jesse had tears streaming down his face and Knives' eyes softened against his will.

"Knives…I don't know why you hate me so much…but…I don't regret saving you from the lake." He tried to smile, but found it difficult and turned on heel, sprinting away.

Knives stared after him for a time before sitting heavily on the bench.

"I…have always liked him…looked up to him. Until now…"

Jesse's words passed through his mind and he felt guilt hit him full force. He shook his head furiously. "I still hate him!" he bit out quietly, but his scowl slowly faded as he heard Jesse's forlorn voice in his head once again.

"…I don't regret saving you from the lake."

"Damn it…" he swore softly to himself. He couldn't believe that he was feeling guilt for what he had said. He still hated Jesse…right?

He stood; eyes downcast as he began to walk slowly back to the restaurant. No doubt that they all were angry with him too. Blue probably most of all. He sighed. Why was he such an ass sometimes? He just couldn't get passed things and it was driving him insane.

Why was he so suspicious of Shiori? Did he really need to be so harsh with her? True, she got on his nerves, but she was still just a girl, right? For some reason, she had rubbed him the wrong way from day one and his nature didn't allow him to move passed things like that very easily. They say that first impressions aren't everything, but they sure seemed to stick with him…

He stood outside of the restaurant, his hand to the door as he hesitated.

The door opened to reveal Blue standing there, an unreadable expression on her face. He gave her a sheepish look and she folded her arms, a look of slight irritation crossing her face. "Are you angry with me woman?"

"Should I be? I just don't know how to feel about how you have been acting lately Knives." She said softly and he hung his head slightly.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

"Yes, you did Knives."

He flinched a bit, ready for her onslaught. Blue had quite the temper when angry, and for some reason, he felt like he deserved whatever it was she was about to throw his direction.

"Knives…I love you."

He blinked, looking up to see the sad expression on her face. "I…love you too…"

"I just wish that I could help ease some of your hatred…you are so untrusting of others still, and I wonder, how trusting of me are you really?"

"Blue…you know the answer to that."

"Do I?"

He went quiet as he stared at her. She was being serious…"Blue…I…"

"We can talk about his later, when we are alone tonight, ok? Let's get back to the table. And I expect that you have some apologies to say to your family, right?"

He sighed, nodding as he allowed her to lead him back to the table. "Yeah…"

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'Kitaro? Where are you?' Shiori reached out to her brother, connecting with him.

'I'm at the city library. Where are you?' he responded, though he sounded faraway, like he wasn't paying very much attention to her.

'I'm coming to you. I'll be right there.'

'…kay…'

Shiori sighed, severing the connection as she rounded the corner, seeing the massive building in front of her. For some reason, she knew he would still be there and she climbed the steps to Star City library, opening the door quietly and stepping through. She glanced from side to side, looking for her sibling and her eyes fell upon him, sitting in a corner hunched over a book.

"Brother…"

Kitaro looked up, ready to smile at his sister when he saw the puffiness around her eyes. His silver orbs narrowed in concern. "Shiori, have you been crying?"

"I…yeah." She said flatly, not trying to hide the fact.

"Who the hell made you cry??" he asked defensively, ready to stand up and take on her offender.

She smiled as she laughed lightly. Kitaro was an ass a lot of the time, but he was still very protective of his little sister, it seemed. "Taro, it's ok. It's not a big deal." He seemed unconvinced and she looked at the book in his hands, trying to veer away from the subject. "What are you reading?"

Kitaro deflated a little as he turned his attentions back to the pages he was going over. "I think I may have found some information on 'The One'."

Shiori sat next to him, staring pointedly at him. "Kitaro, I need to know the truth. Why does Keith want this information?"

"Sis, I…"

"Don't lie to me Kitaro."

He sagged his shoulders a little. "The truth? The truth Shiori is that I really don't know."

She locked eyes with him, daring him to be lying. Hers widened lightly. He was being honest…

Kitaro was very easy to read, and she could always tell when he was being untruthful and in this case, his eyes held sincerity.

"You really don't know…" she trailed off and he shrugged.

"Does it matter?"

"Well, kind of, yeah! I mean, what if…" she trailed off again. Should she tell him about what Hikari had said? "Brother, I just don't know anymore…I don't like where this is going this time. It's not like times in the passed. This…is more serious, more involved. Someone could really get hurt…"

"Sis, what are you talking about? Serious? Hurt? I just don't get why you are over reacting so much. Keith only wants to know what happened during the Great Awakening, that's all. I mean, don't you want to know?

"Yes, I do, but I think that…there may be more to it than that…"

"Like?" Kitaro questioned.

"I don't know…I just, have this feeling…"

"Shiori, this is stupid. What is wrong with you lately? Ever since you got involved with those people, you have been acting like this."

"Kitaro, I really think that they are involved in the Great Awakening! But, they are good people! And I don't want Keith doing anything to them, that's all…"

They went quiet for a time, both staring at the table. "Shiori, why don't you talk to Keith about it? I'm sure he can clear this whole thing up…"

She shook her head. "I don't trust him anymore Kitaro. I'm…sorry…"

"So, you want to know about 'The One'?" Kitaro spoke up, changing the subject and she locked eyes with him.

"What have you found?"

He indicated to the book in his hands, putting it on the table in front of them and scooting closer to her. "Well, this is the only book I could find that had anything about it…"

Shiori stared at the old tattered book, wonder in her eyes. "Project Seeds." She read the title quietly.

"Look. Here, it says that there was once a prophecy, on a planet called Earth."

"Earth?" she asked quietly, the name unfamiliar to her.

"Yeah. Humans there formed something called Project Seeds, traveling through space and ending up on Gunsmoke. That's how the planet came to have human life."

"I had no idea…"

"It's fascinating. Project Seeds was formed all because of the prophecy about 'The One'."

"Does it have the prophecy in the book?"

"Yeah, it's right…here." Kitaro thumbed ahead a few pages and Shiori's eyes fell upon the words.

"In the light of the moon, she will come,

Eyes like gold, hair like the sun.

To save us all, her mission to be,

To open the gateway to eternity.

But, if in the wrong hands she were to fall,

doom and despair would come to all."

Shiori sat back, letting the words sink in. "The humans on that planet…were scared of this?" she asked softly and Kitaro shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Gateway…to what?" Shiori was very confused now.

"I don't know that either, but look at this. It says here that there is more information. There are other volumes of this book out there. But I can't find them anywhere."

She cocked her head to the side. "I wonder where they are?"

"Could be that they are lost, or were destroyed some how. This book is very old, after all. I'm surprised that it's even still in existence."

"Kitaro, I need to get Meryl's diary back." Shiori said suddenly.

"Uh, sis, I don't see how that will happen. Keith is very possessive, you know that."

"I know…but I can't shake the feeling that I did the wrong thing by taking it."

Kitaro placed a hand to her shoulder. "Shiori, you are probably just feeling bad for stealing it, that's all."

"No Kitaro! I mean, yes, I do feel terrible, but that's not what I mean. I think that it was wrong to hand it over to him. I didn't read it, so I have no clue what was in it, but what if it was valuable information that he uses against them? Gods I am so stupid! I should have thought about this sooner!" She buried her head in her arms, feeling her salty tears begin again and Kitaro rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly.

"Shiori, what has been going on between you and that family? I have never seen you act this way. You have always looked up to Keith like he was our brother…"

"I know…I just…" she trailed off.

"Sister, what can I do?"

She looked up at him, locking eyes with him as a serious look crossed her face. "Help me get that diary back."