Now I know

Now I know

Now I know why I hide my love
From you some days
No I don't mind

Keeping this bottled inside me
You came along
And tore this world out
Around me
Looks like You found me
Now I know why
I felt like shit when
I woke up this morning

(Woke Up This Morning, Silver Side Up, Nickelback)

She had received the business card two days ago, and she still hadn't acted on it. She didn't know if she was ready to face one of her previously perceived enemies. Even though Agent Schwartz had assured that Agent Anderson wouldn't turn on her, she was hesitant about going through with it.

Taking the card out again from her school uniform blazer, she stared at it again, a million thoughts running through her head as she gazed at the name and the address, wondering if she should go ahead and see this agent. She knew who Agent Schwartz, or O'Kelly, or whatever it was he called himself, was; he was the reincarnation of Suboshi. She pondered the possibility of the agent she was being sent to as also being a reincarnation.

"Should I, or shouldn't it?" she muttered out loud.

"Seduce the poor Anderson and drain his chi?" A snide and yet oddly familiar voice remarked.

Looking up, Michiko's eyes landed on Tamahome, or rather Sukanami Taka (who she hadn't yet met this time around). Her eyes narrowed. "I resent that."

Taka smiled friendly. "No, I'm just messing with your mind. Mind if I sit? I'm on break."

Shrugged, Michiko snorted. "Whatever. I don't care."

"If you don't have any plans to crispy fry me or seduce me, I'm sure we could get along fine… Even though you don't seem to like me…" Taka winked playfully.

Cracking a partial smile, Michiko felt herself ease up. He wasn't so bad. He seemed a lot more easy going that the last time she knew him.

Holding out her hand, she decided to be nice and at least introduce herself. "Since it's obvious we know who we were both and it feels weird calling each other by those names, why don't we start all over? I'm Yamato Michiko."

Taka chuckled. She seemed all right. He took her hand and replied, "I'm Sukanami Taka; though four, now one of my friends seemed to enjoy calling me Taka – even when I was lacking my memories."

Nodding, Michiko held out the business card to Taka. "Do you happen to know this guy? I was referred to him by Suboshi's reincarnation – I gave up on learning his name; it was some German polysyllabic piece of crap."

Taka blinked, and stared at her as if she was from another planet. "Uhm…did you just say that Suboshi's reincarnation is German and gave you this business card? Because that makes no sense, as Suboshi's reincarnation is the twin brother of Jonathan Anderson, and, he slit his wrists about a month and a while ago."

He then took the card and arched an eyebrow. "I know this scrawl anywhere, but, it doesn't make sense." He turned over the card. "And who is Agent Kai Schwartz? And you said it was Suboshi?"

Michiko nodded. "He was the only one who could have used the Ryuuseisui to kill Andy Won. Agent Bartecelli had been killed by Kate McMaster before Andy was killed, so, it wasn't an illusion."

Taka's eye twitched. This didn't make any sense. He had been there with Jonathan and Yui when they found the body of Shannon; Marius had arrived before them. Not even Jonathan could detect Shannon's chi. And if the Ryuuseisui was used, it would have meant that someone should have felt Shannon's chi, but none of them did.

"Are you sure that it is? This doesn't' make any sense…I mean, Shannon's chi is non-existent."

"Taka… Agent Schwartz's chi is non-existent. It was weird; it was like standing in a room taking to a dead man, and yet he was alive…" Michiko's eyes darkened over; creep out by the thought that someone was more skilled with chi control than Eugene Manley had been.

Pursing his lips, he gazed at the card. "Michiko-san, do you have a cell on you? I'm curious about something… I'm going to call Jonathan's place and see what he has to say about this. He might be able to help me. He still has his connection, or at least he did, with Suboshi – or rather Agent O'Kelly, or Schwartz, or whatever it is the name is…"

Passing over Motorola flip-phone to Taka, she asked, "Is Agent O'Kelly the twin brother of Anderson?"

"Identical twin." Taka replied, as he dialled the number for Jonathan's apartment. He then brought the earpiece to his ear, listening to the phone ring.

Michiko stared into her drink and then asked, "So, about two inches shy of six feet, very sharp and cold blue eyes, sandy brown hair…fair-skinned; European?"

"Sounds about right…" Taka arched an eyebrow at Michiko. The description seemed about right. He then turned his attention as the phone was answered.

"Hey Jonathan?"

Now, as Jonathan was out at class right now, Shannon had been the one who had answered and since he had been barely been about for a few minutes, he wasn't coherent. He wasn't even near comprehensible.

He grunted into the phone in Gaelic. "No, I'm not… He's in class."

Taka glared at the phone. "What the hell… Stop speaking in tongues and speak to me in Japanese, Anderson!"

"Me? I already said I wasn't!"

On Shannon's end, there was a female voice.

"Stop grunting! Speak in complete sentences, or give me the phone! GAH! You're useless! Go get your coffee and give me the phone!"

The girl, who was actually Yui, then took over the conversation. "Hello? Yui speaking."

"Yui?" Taka blinked. He then decided that speaking to her might be more productive than trying to deal with who he thought was Jonathan. "I need you to do me a favour…"

"Yeah, what is it, Taka? AND DON'T BRING THAT CRAP NEAR ME!! It stinks! Ugh, take it to your room! And DO NOT GRUNT AT ME!" She screamed, turning her mouth away from the phone, as she lectured Shannon, who had sat on the chesterfield, holding a very awful smelling cup of coffee.

He grunted in Gaelic; something about her being too pushy.

"And stop speaking to me in Gaelic! I'm not your brother!"

Taka stared in shock at the phone. He only knew one person who spoke Gaelic. He waited for Yui to calm down and speak to him.

"Hey, sorry about that, Taka. I just can't deal with Shannon in the morning. He is so difficult. He knows it too and still insists on speaking Gaelic. So, what can I help you with?"

"Actually, you just did…"

Yui pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. "What? How did I? I did nothing!"

"Screaming at Shannon helped."

She snickered. "That's it?"

"That and do you know where Jonathan is?"

"He's at the campus today. He has either class or rehearsal… I forget what though…"

Acknowledging her response, Taka excused himself and turned back to Michiko. He handed her back her cell phone. "Check the music department or the history club. He should be in either location."

Michiko put her cell back in her uniform blazer pocket and thanked Taka. She then winked at him. "I'll see you around. Don't worry; I won't seduce you this time. Though, Miaka does have a good man. And you have a good woman. Hold on to her. You're one of the lucky ones, Tama."

Taka smiled. He still didn't like being called Tama, but at least she was one of the nicer ones still.

"Ugh… What fucking morons…"

Taka looked up, just as Michiko went to say goodbye at the sound of a familiar voice. He nodded. "Let me guess, you don't like any of the people you have to perform with at the upcoming show?"

Jonathan snorted. "That's not even half of it."

Michiko arched an eyebrow. "So, which of the twins are you?"

Responding before Jonathan did, Taka replied, "this is the one you're looking for."

Nodding, Michiko grinned at him devilishly. "Looks like he filled out nicely…"

Jonathan felt himself blush from head to foot.

"Too bad him and his bratty twin got themselves killed in their previous life. They would have turned out nicely…" Michiko remarked, winking at Taka, who just rolled his eyes at her.

Swallowing hesitantly, Jonathan eyed her. "Aren't you one of the guys who killed my allies?"

"I was only "one of them' because of Jakob. But, since that dumb-ass Manley had him killed, I've been looking for a way out. And, besides, my allies wouldn't…" She snorted.

She paused for a moment then smirked. "The Yakuza doesn't give a flying shit about what the hell that fucked up cult is doing. In fact, when that damned maijin approached them, they practically ran him off the face of the earth…"

She then placed an arm around his shoulders. "Got any openings for someone who hates the cult as much as you do, if not more?"

Jonathan's eye twitched. Why was it that almost any time he got one of the Seishi on his side, they were almost always involved in an illicit life style? Marius had been the son of one of the heads of the Sicilian mafia, Josef had family ties to a Russian mafia, Shannon was in the IRA and now, Michiko (who he only knew as Soi) was confessing to be in the Yakuza…

"So, did your twin turn out as nicely as you did?" Michiko smirked. She enjoyed making Jonathan all flustered.

"SOI! What kind of question is that?!" Jonathan exclaimed. He really didn't like her boldness, or rather didn't know how to respond to that.

She smiled softly. "I'm just being friendly. By the way, my name is Yamato Michiko."

Taking her hand, he shook it. "I'm going to assume you already know my name since Shannon referred you to me…"

She nodded and then her expression grew sombre. "I'm a lousy warrior next to your brother, but, I would still like to help you guys. I have the kind of information that you need. And no, I have no need to betray you like Kate did. In fact, I hate what they're doing just as much you do, if not more."

She grabbed Jonathan's hand and pulled him away from the café, despite his loud and very vocal bellyaching about how he was hungry and he needed to eat or he's waste away from starvation.

Michiko rolled her eyes and ignored him. He was so stupid!

Coming to a stop, she pushed him into the tiny confinements of the history club room and closed the door.

"All right, I'll get to the point. I can't fight for shit. I can still control lightening, but, the others dance rings around me. Your brother is one hell of a fighter. Manley is almost as good as him… and the others…well, Richard and Juan Pedro are still underdeveloped and Kate has no fighting skills. But…"

Her eyes darkened. "The ones in the European chapter scare me. They are very powerful. They have developed their skills far along. I know I can't fight them because their individual chi's are overwhelming. I could fight them…but I'd die before I got a hit in. And then…their American counterparts are fairly developed. But, I couldn't get enough power to fight either group. That is why I need you and your brother – especially your brother."

Jonathan eyed her. "There are other chapters?"

"They are well-hidden. The two men who head them aren't warriors, but they are powerful in other ways. One is militaristically powerful and the other is politically powerful. And they have it in for you, your brother and Taka. They haven't been able to touch Taka, as due to his recent lack of chi activity, almost none of us found him. The only ones who were near him were your brother, you, the two girls and those who weren't amongst out ranks.

"Unfortunately, you two were in the line of fire from the two men…"

"The only way we could have been is if…" Jonathan began, interrupting Michiko. "Is…"

"If they were related to you… In the case of Shannon, he wasn't directly there, but when he travelled with his father, the other man took the chance to strike. In your case, you were slightly protected because of your adopted mother."

Jonathan blanched. "You mean one of the two is the colonel?"

"Colonel Thomas Anderson and the other is a parliamentarian, Karl Schwartz." Michiko replied, and added, "And what surprised me is that when I first spoke to Agent O'Kelly, that he willingly used his birth name, directly associating himself with Schwartz. It was a very clever ploy. Especially since, I remember Schwartz saying that the boy, who proved to be exceptionally skilled and strong, should have been on our side. He didn't want to kill him, but, when Tenkou came to them in his early years, he said to them that he had a problem – three people stood in his way of his resurrection; three reincarnations, two of which were demon spawn from a pre-marital relation that Schwartz had been involved in with…"

Jonathan nodded dumbly, not really getting what Michiko was saying.

"But what does this have to do with us exactly?"

"You were seen as 'demon spawn' because Tenkou convince them that you were born of the devil. Both thought of Tenkou as an image of God." Michiko replied.

Her eyes darkened. "They were both bent on getting power, and when Eugene came into the picture, he was able to get them to join him. Miboshi was nothing better than a minor devil. He could twist the hearts of men to do his bidding, as Eugene did. He had been taken in by Tenkou as a child after he had been orphaned as a child at eleven years old.

"He forged the union, the two men following him, and various other warriors joining him. Those who resisted the temptation were Josef Tereshkova, Marius Bartecelli, Sukanami Taka, you and your brother Shannon O'Kelly, were considered to be the spawn of the devil. You were viewed negatively for rejecting 'God'."

Jonathan nodded. But, if that was true, why didn't the colonel start alienating him until after his powers surfaced? He turned to Michiko. "How long ago did they unite?"

"Eugene was fifteen when they did. Tenkou had been with him when he met the two men at a Christian Revival Conference in…"

"Christian Revival…" Jonathan mused. "That's funny because the colonel was very anti-Christ. He kept us from having any kind of faith – you know, making us seem un-American."

"So, you knew he went?"

"I heard him tell mom." Jonathan replied. "So, I followed him as much as I could on bike. They were stupid and held it in LA, so I was able to get a small taste of it."

"So, Manley had Tenkou get him two men who craved power and would stop at nothing."

"How do you know all this?"

"C'mon, when you barely talk, it's amazing how much you learn."

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"Hey, woman, what're you telling Paddy this for? He already knows this. Just because you were naïve to all of this, doesn't mean its news to the rest of us." A redheaded kid at the door snidely remarked. He spoke Japanese fluently, but he had a thick Irish accent on his spoken language.

Jonathan gazed over, and blinked. He had no idea who this kid was, and who the guy was that the kid was talking about.

Michiko glared at the boy. "Get out of here before I…"

"Before you what? Hit me with a dose of bitch lightening?" the kid smirked. He pushed one of the two thick strands of hair that hung at his temples behind his ears. The rest of his fiery red hair was tied in a pony tail at the top of his head.

He had the greenest eyes, and his smirk seemed to make his myriad of freckles dance mirthfully on his face.

"BITCH LIGHTENING?!" Michiko exclaimed indignantly, lightening crackling around her hand.

Jonathan arched an eyebrow. The kid definitely had a unique chi signature. But, who?

The kid, continued to smirk, but then squeaked as a hand landed at the base of his neck. He cringed, and he immediately switched into another language in order to reply to, "so, being a brat, eh, Brennan?"

"Ah… Paddy! Mercy! Have mercy! Oh God have mercy! Don't kill me! Soi with her bitch lightening will!" Brennan cried out.

Snorting, as a cruel smirk twisted across his lips, the guy who had been identified as 'Paddy' pushed Brennan into the room and followed.

He then added, "And punk, what did I tell you about calling me Paddy?"

Brennan rolled his eyes. "That I'm not supposed to unless I have a death wish." He replied in a flat monotone voice, and then snidely added, "But you won't because I'm the brains of the operation."

Growling, 'Paddy' or rather Shannon, hissed scathingly, "Didn't I tell you to keep your fucked sorry ass in Berlin? What the fuck are you doing in Tokyo?"

Brennan shrugged. "I thought I'd make sure you were doing your job!"

Growling, Shannon dropped kicked the kid.

Crying indignantly, Brennan fell to the floor, lying sprawled out, groaning in pain.

Michiko and Jonathan dumbly blinked and gazed from the kid to Shannon and back.

Finally, Jonathan spoke. "Uh…who is that, Shannon?"

"It's my worthless brother, Brennan."

"HA! At least I'm smarter than you!" Brennan called up from the floor.

"But you can't fight for shit. You couldn't fight for shit then and you can't fight for shit now!"

"Then and now?" Michiko asked, walking over to the boy who lay on the ground.

"Yeah, he's the real Chiriko. Kate McMaster is not. She is the demon, Nyosei. Yes, I let her go…"

Brennan sat up. "It was the master plan. I was keeping watch in Berlin, and I told him when he contacted me to let her go. We needed to lull them into a false sense of security."

Jonathan sputtered for a minute then angrily retorted, "but that judgement let Marius get killed!"

"So, you didn't tell them yet?" Brennan coyly commented, as he cast a sidelong glance at Shannon.

"I was saving my secret weapon until the big fight. He requested it. And his decoy was a very good actor…well, to a certain degree."

"Then why don't you? I mean, who here is really dead these days?"

"Tereshkova and Won."

"What about Manley?"

"He's likely not dead. But, that's where you come in." Shannon smirked nastily.

"SACRIFICE?? No way! Not again." Brennan exclaimed angrily, bristling.

Michiko looked to Jonathan, who shrugged. "No, I do NOT know what they are talking about." He replied with a sigh.

Nodding, she said, "you know, it seems your brother and his puny little brother know more about this than I do, and I thought I knew the whole story. It seems that if you want the rest of it, they are the ones to talk to. Though, I can safely tell you that there are other Seishi fighting for this meaningless cause. You will know them when you see them. They are the reincarnations of Byakko and Genbu Seishi. As far as I know, there are only five of them in total."

Pushing past Brennan, she called back over her shoulder. "I'll call you shortly! I have to get to class. I only had the morning off because I needed to see the doctor!"

Jonathan waved and rolled his eyes before he turned to Shannon and Brennan.

He gazed between the two and folded his arms. "So, how much haven't you told me?"

"Everything!" Brennan declared snidely.

Taking control of the situation, Shannon dropped kicked Brennan and then turned to Jonathan. "There is a lot, but, I did it because I needed to protect you. I can't tell you why here. We need somewhere a lot more private."

He stepped over Brennan who lay on the floor, whimpering and protectively clutching his ass. "And don't mind the brat. Let him lie there. He knows his place."

Jonathan nodded and stepped over Brennan's body, following his twin out.

I have summoned you before me for a simple reason. You are both strong and you both hold the key to the safety of your world's future. Together with the other two shall you four fortify a future in which none of the evils that have filtered into your world from this shall ever take root.

Now, I beseech you two – awaken!

The voice echoed through the dark empty void, in which two spirits drifted side by side.

They were the teenage spirits of two girls. One glowed a soft green and the other a rich white.

They drifted to where the voice boomed from, demanding their presence.

Silently, they went before the owner of the voice, and knelt, their heads down.

The one who glowed white spoke first. "We have come, milord. How is it we can be of service to you?"

You two shall be sent back to your world in your young forms. From there, you will seek out the other two girls who are much like you, and together fortify a spiritual alliance to open the portal and restore the gates. You will restore order and return the Four Gods to their posts, and vanquish the false god and his followers.

The one who glowed green replied, "But, how can we if the ones we are to summon have been sealed away?"

I will have the power to free them one I have been summoned. I cannot leave my gate. Nor can I use my powers. For, if I was to use my powers, I fear that it would be the demise of this world and yours. I am the only being standing between order and chaos.

You two are the earth and wind to the water and fire. Together, you four shall combine your latent powers and vanquish the devil and his hellcats into the nether regions of hell.

"But we have been dead for years, milord, how will we be able to?" the green spirit asked.

I shall return you both to a proper body. The body will be immortal until after the summoning, at which point, you will have seventy-two hours before I return you to the eternity rest.

Now, if you two have no more questions, you are both to close your eyes and concentrate. I will send you back to your birth world. You will be sent before one o the two other girls, who will guide you and teach you about what must be done once you are there.

The two spirits closed their eyes.

They stood the same way they had when they had each performed the summoning the first time. They clasped their hands and bowed their heads; waiting for the one god that remained to return them to their birth world in order to save it from the future that awaited it should the late gate fall.

Unto you both, I give you life. Now, go forth… You are the only hope.

Two lights shot up into the darkness.

The first light was a stream of white light. The second was the green light.

She stared at the mirror. She watched her reflection as it looked back at her.

'I can tell him how I feel. Why can't he do the same?' she wondered, as her fingers unconsciously touched her lips. She could still taste his sweet kiss. It lingered there.

Sighing, she stood up and walked from the bathroom, as she heard footsteps enter the room. Dashing out, she hoped he was back.

She stopped in her tracks as the two entered.

'Oh god no… Why both?' she thought dejectedly. She loved both and having both of them present in the room was hard enough without feeling like her heart was ripping in two. She loved them both; she knew she did, and it hurt so much knowing that she would have to pick between the two.

Attempting to mask her feelings, she smiled warmly at both. "Hey, how did it go? And I assume you found him, Shannon?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he decided to show up at the university. He insulted Michiko and acted like a general all-round brat. He will likely not be stopping here unless he wants another ass kicking." Shannon replied as he flopped on the chesterfield.

Jonathan folded his arms and walked over. "You said you wanted a more private spot to talk about it. It's not very private if Yui is here, is it?"

Shannon glared at him. "I didn't say I was going to talk right away."

Jonathan rolled his eyes and sat in the chair.

Yui blinked sweetly. "Look, I can leave the room if you really need privacy."

Shannon shook his head. "No, I'll tell him later."

Jonathan glared at him. "You are so difficult some times!"

"Oh, and like you're not?" he smirked, as he poked his twin in the shoulder.

Growling, Jonathan retorted. "Look, you're holding back on something important! You know more about what is going on than I do! It would be nice if for once you spoke instead of leaving me in the dark!"

"There is a reason I have to!"

"Oh yeah, and why is that?"

Yui bit her lip, as she watched them argue. She didn't know what they were arguing over, but, she didn't like it either way.

"I told you, it's to protect you!"

"That means nothing without an explanation!"

The twins both instantly stood up, taking on a defensive stance as they faced each other.

"I can't tell you right now! Just trust me on this, Jonathan! I told you it's to protect you and Yui! It's just better than you don't know right now."

"I have been left in the dark all my life! I am tired of those I love treating me like this!" Jonathan retorted angrily.

Pushing Jonathan back into the chair, Shannon placed his hands on either side of his brother. Putting his face right in his brother's face, whispered, "I told you, I do it before I care. Please, trust me. I'm not doing it to hurt you. I'm doing it because I don't want you to do anything stupid. It's bad enough one of us does stupid crap. And, I'd rather it be me than you."

He then stood up, and added, "I also do it because I don't want Yui to get hurt, because any time anyone I love gets too close me, winds up getting hurt, and I am tired of seeing those I love get hurt."