Author's Note: Man, I'm still not used to school yet. I hate it here! But then again, who doesn't? Ah, well. Anyway, here's the next episode, which is Schiff-centric. Get ready for lots of Lulu and her freaky eyes! Read and review, please!

Disclaimer: I don't own Blood +.

Blood -

Episode 44

Within the Light

It was night-time in New York city. The busy streets had calmed down to a lull, and sky-scrapers gleamed in the moonlight. A lone, cloaked figure could be seen leaping through the darkened sky, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, as if in search of something. The figure paused, light from the moon revealing a small face, purple hair, and wide, baggy eyes-

Hey, I know those bleeped up eyes! It's Lulu!

Lulu stood on the rooftop, getting her bearings of the city to make sure she was headed in the right direction. From a nearby building, a little girl glanced out and caught sight of her.

"Mooom," the girl called, "there's a creepy little kid outside my window!"

"We've been over this!" The girl's mother snapped from the other room. "Do your damn homework before I get out the belt!!"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

"…Man I'm glad I don't have parents," Lulu winced, then turned, jumped, and smashed right into an overhanging Mcdonald's sign. No, no, wrong one, girl. You should be looking for the one that says 'optometrist'. I know you're cute n' all, but you gotta get them eyes fixed.

-At Headquarters, a.k.a. the Crappy Apartment-

Meanwhile, in the crappy 'headquarters' of the Red Shield, Julia was busy telling Kai, Louis, Saya, and Haji important information that could very well help them win the fight against Diva.

"-and then he said he liked my breasts! Eeee!" Julia finished, squealing with excitement and clapping her hands. Saya raised an eyebrow.

"Um," she interrupted nervously, "this is great and everything, but, aren't Diva and her children kinda…more important?"

"Nothing's more important than the ladies!" Julia hissed dangerously. "Nothing!" There was a short pause before she continued. "Fun fact! Did you know one is slightly larger than the other?"

"Oh will you please-" Saya began.

"I was talking about the babies, bitch!"

"…You're gonna have to be more specific."

"I mean Diva and her children, not my fun bags!"

"Oh." Saya blinked. "Then please continue."

"Are you sure they're Riku's babies?" Kai asked firmly. "With that crazy whore it coulda been anyone." He paused. "Like…me."

"Haha. You? Scoring?" Louis snorted. Everyone burst into a fit of laughter which lasted about five full minutes. "Okay, yeah, anyway, back to wondering if they're really Riku's babies-"

"Well we've got the paternity test right here!" Jerry Springer cut in, waving a sheet of paper in his face.

"Get OUT of here, Jerry!" Saya growled, violently shoving the man out of the scene.

"Yes, we're sure they're Riku's," Julia went on, ignoring Jerry's interruption. "We also don't know when they'll be born. Could be soon, could be a few years from now." The sexy scientist glanced over at Saya and caught her eye. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah, I'm an aunt!" Saya cried, jumping to her feet in jubilation. "Oooh, I can't wait to hype them up on sugar and caffeine and set them on Diva! Ahahahahaha!"

"Well, yes," Julia agreed amiably, "but besides that!"

"It sure is lonely here without David's filter-feeding," Louis sighed. "What's taking him, anyway?"

"He'll need another half a month before he can have sex with m- er, I mean, come help you guys." Julia smiled sheepishly and fluttered her eyelashes.

Saya suddenly gasped. Lulu had just appeared in the window, sitting herself comfortably on the sill next to Julia, who stood not inches away. Slowly the well-endowed woman turned her head and saw Lulu.

"…Hi." Lulu said quietly.

"AAAAAAAUUUUUGH!" Julia let out a piercing shriek, grabbed hold of Lulu, flung her back out the window, and slammed it shut for good measure, panting for breath.

"Julia!" Saya exclaimed, "she's good!" Julia scowled at her.

"Well she sure don't look it!"

-Later-

A little while later, Julia cautiously watched the creepy little girl from a safe distance while said girl bugged Saya to near insanity in the living room.

"So, you were born in Okinawa, huh?" Lulu asked. "I was born in Kilbed! It really sucked there! It was so cold and dark all the time!"

"Please stop talking to me," Saya said in a depressing monotone. Lulu didn't seem to hear her.

"Where were you born, Haji?" She asked, turning to Saya's man-slave. He opened his mouth to answer. "No, wait! Lemme guess! …A castle?"

"Wrong," Haji sniffled, tears springing in his eyes. "I was born in a chicken coop with my whore mother! Gaaah!" He spun on his heel and ran sobbing away.

"He's…a little sensitive about that," Saya said quietly. Lulu shrugged.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's see what's on the tube!" Snatching up the remote, she flipped the television on and began watching I Love New York, screwing her face up at the perverted antics on screen. "So…wait…she's supposed to be pretty?"

"Oh, the memories," Saya thought to herself, remembering Riku. "Brings a tear to my eye…"

"Honey, I'm home!" Kai called as he strode in the front door, a largish cooler strapped over his shoulder. He stopped dead upon seeing Lulu, then gave a girly shriek, picked her up, chucked her out the window, and slammed it shut.

"KAI!!"

"Er…sorry."

After Lulu had been retrieved from the pavement, ("Why does this keep happening to me?!") she went back to watching television as Kai placed the cooler on the table by Louis and Julia.

"Where'd you get that?" Julia asked curiously, raising her brow upon seeing the cooler was filled with multiple bags of blood.

"Don't ask, don't tell! Shh!" Kai answered mysteriously, winking and holding a finger up to his mouth. Julia rolled her eyes and went back to studying Lulu, her gaze misting over as she began musing to herself aloud.

"The Schiff were originally products of the process of artificially creating chevalier," she said softly. "They have strong vitality and toughness like them, minus the perverted gene. But they have a limited lifespan. In a way…they're failed products." She stopped and blinked, noticing Kai and Louis staring at her in horrified fascination. "What, am I scaring you boys?"

"Um, no, we can see one of your titties."

"Gosh-DANG it!" Julia hurriedly fixed her shirt before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying, there's only one difference between the Schiff and the Corpse Corps."

"Their undeniably sick moves and catchy rhythms?!" Kai gasped aloud.

"No, the Thorn, dumbass!" Julia barked. "Don't you have some blood to go deliver?!"

-Later, With Kai-

A short while later, Kai was roaming the emptied streets of New York City, the cooler full of blood over one shoulder. A lone cloaked figure stood at the end of the street, waiting for him. Kai suddenly ducked down like a secret agent, scooted behind a dumpster, then somersaulted all the way down the street to the stranger. Staggering up to his feet and trying not to puke, he woozily issued a salute to the figure.

"Signing in, Cap'n!" He reported, struggling to hold down his gorge. "No-one's spotted me so far!"

"Um…that's because there's no-one around," Moses said awkwardly, glancing about at the empty streets.

"Ya can't be too sure!" Kai stated, slowly regaining his balance. "Here." He handed the cooler full of blood to Moses, who smiled. "Now, you might wanna check it for things like AIDS and sickle cell," Kai warned him. The smile quickly became extinct.

"Where did you get this blood?" Moses asked.

"Hookers, mostly," Kai shrugged. "Wanna know how I did it?"

"Is Lulu with you today?" Moses tactfully changed the subject.

"If by 'with' you mean eating all our pizza and bugging the shit outta us, then yes, she's 'with' us." Kai replied shortly.

"She's just trying to live life to the fullest," Moses said, strapping the cooler over his shoulder. He faced Kai and met his eyes firmly. "Kai Miyagusuku, I thank you. It's thanks to you we can live like this."

Kai was staring at Moses with an intense, confused look on his face.

"Wasn't…you hair…covering…the other eye?" Kai asked slowly after a long moment.

"Were you even listening?!" Moses exploded. "Look, I'm saying if you hadn't sought to try and get lucky with Irene, we would not exist today."

"Hmm…Irene…" Kai's eyes glazed over as he remembered the pretty young Schiff, her sweet smile and beautiful blonde hair. "Yeah, she was pretty hot. I totally woulda banged her."

After an awkward pause, Moses kneed him in the crotch.

"We owe you a lot for all the help you've given us," he continued as Kai gurgled on the pavement. "If I am reborn, I'd like to be born at your side."

"Um, okay," Kai coughed, climbing back to his feet, "I really don't think that's a cool thing for one dude to say to another dude, alright? Unless…you're…like that."

"Like what?" Moses frowned.

"…You know." Kai paused, then began skipping in place. "La la la! You know, like that!"

Moses stared at him for several moments, then kneed him in the crotch a second time before turning to leave.

"Later!" He halted a few steps away and looked back at Kai. "You know, I still don't think it's fair that only the two of us know about this."

"Shh!" Kai was suddenly on his feet and pressing a finger to Moses' lips. "No more talk, lover! We can't let them find out about our relationship!"

"Okay, NOW look who's talking!" Moses barked before hurrying the eff away.

-Elsewhere-

Elsewhere in the city, Lulu snuck under the dim light of dawn, scuttling back to the Schiff's hideout, which was an abandoned apartment building. Sneaking in through the back entrance, she slipped into a dark room and thought she was all set when-

"And where have you been, missy?" Karman's stern voice asked. Lulu winced, then conjured up a smile and turned to see the pissed-off Schiff glaring at her from his seat against a nearby wall. "Well?"

"I was, um, smoking pot and shooting up heroine with my ganstah homies!" Lulu lied. Karman snorted.

"Nice try," he spat. "You were with that Kai bastard again! I can smell his stupid on you! Don't go near him again, it's bad for both you and your brain!" He whipped his spear at the small girl, but she skillfully dodged it.

"Why not?! Why can't I go see them?!" Lulu insisted.

"They're different from us!" Karman growled.

"Oh, what, you mean NOT assholes?!"

"Why you-!!"

"Break it up!" Moses cried, appearing in the front door, cooler over his shoulder. He stretched and rubbed his neck, suppressing a shudder. "Gawd I need a shower. I feel so dirty after what he said."

"What, you've been with Kai, too?!" Karman cried it outrage. "You freakin' whores!"

"Come on, he's not a bad guy! He helps us out!" Moses protested, pulling out a bag o' blood from the cooler and handing it to Lulu. "Here's breakfast." Lulu took one sip and smiled.

"Mmm! Diabetes!"

"Well…maybe he doesn't really help, but he tries! Gimme that." Moses snatched the blood back and flung it into the cooler. "Damn Kai and his hookers…"

"Aww, but diabetes is my favorite!" Lulu whined, tugging at his sleeve.

"Humans are just food! Why can't you see that?!" Karman burst out, huddling away in his corner. Moses frowned at him.

"Geez, what got you so emo today?" He sniffed. "You listen to Linkin Park, or you just hit puberty and are starting to grow man-hair in strange places?"

"That's it!" Karman cried, leaping to his feet. "No-one understands me! I'm running away!" As he turned to go, his hood fell back, revealing a red, angry-looking and vaguely familiar crack on the side of his neck.

"Whoooo! Looks like somebody got some action!" Moses whistled. "I knew I was right about the puberty thing!"

"This isn't a hickey!" Karman whirled around, clapping a hand over the crack. "It's the Thorn! I'm dieing!"

"Oh." Moses blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "Ohhhh."

"I'm outta here!" Karman stormed off in a huff, leaping from the windowsill to the outside world below.

"Wait, you forgot your Fallout Boy and razor blades!" Moses called after him. Lulu stomped on his toe, eliciting a high, girly shriek of pain.

"We have to go after him!" She insisted. Moses rolled his eyes, but complied. The two zoomed from the building, following their companion's trail.

Outside the abandoned building that served as their hideout, a familiar black man in a dark business suit stepped out from behind a tree. Raising a hand, he straightened his tie, then a large jewel-encrusted bling. It's…it's…

"Aw, yeah. That's right." James grinned at the camera. "Lil' J's back, nig-"

YOU CAN'T SAY THAT IN MY FIC!!

"Wha? But…" James scowled. "That is racist, bitch!"

-Elsewhere in the City-

Lulu once again sprang from rooftop to rooftop, this time not looking for people to annoy, but her precious pissy companion, Karman. She paused and surveyed the city, but he was nowhere to be seen. As she stopped, the same little girl once again caught sight of her.

"Moooom, there's a-"

"That's it! I warned you!"

Wha-PISH!

"Ieeeee!"

Elsewhere in the city, more specifically at the headquarters of Red Shield, Kai sat on the couch, staring intently at the TV screen, which showed nothing but static snow.

"This is my favorite channel!" He gushed, turning the volume up and chowing down on some popcorn. Beside him, Saya winced.

"I can hear your brain-cells dieing," she stated, snatching away the remote and switching the channel. Now it was I Love New York. "And now mine are, too." She quickly turned off the TV before she could become brain-dead and silence filled the room. With nothing to distract him, Kai's attention immediately focused on Saya, whom he smirked at.

"Hey, hot stuff. S'up?"

"I've been thinking, Kai," Saya began, then noticed Kai's frown. "…You know, that thing you don't do." Kai nodded for her to continue. "Well, it seems like…we're all the same."

"Uh-huh," Kai agreed. "If we can just try to understand one another, we'll all get along." He paused, then smiled goofily. "Now let's sing and dance!" He began singing the Friendship Song, which is below me to actually write the words.

"What is this episode about, togetherness? Laaame," Saya scoffed, tossing her head. She then noticed the director waving her paycheck near the fireplace. "Err, I mean, friendship, yay!" She joined Kai in the ending lines of the Friendship Song, smiling cheesily all the while. "Kai," she said once it was over, "you're becoming more and more like dad." Kai beamed. "Except for the man-whore part, because you're still a virgin."

"Hey, I'm saving it for my special someone!" Kai snapped, then shrugged. "Or a hooker. Whichever comes first." He crossed his fingers and began to pray. "Please, God! Let it be a hooker!"

BANG!

Saya and Kai jumped in surprise, whirling around to find Lulu on their window sill yet again, panting for breath and eyes wide with panic.

"Help!" She managed to gasp out. "Please, help me!"

"AAAAAAUUUUUUUUGH!" Suddenly Julia ran screaming into the room, shoved Lulu back out the window, and slammed it shut. Saya and Kai gaped at her. "…Oh. 'Good'. Sorry."

-Meanwhile…-

At that moment, Karman, the man…chiropteran boy-thing, whatever, whom everyone was searching for, was standing in the dimly-lit hallway of a hospital, stalking his prey. A young girl was walking down the hall toward him, and upon seeing him, gasped and halted.

"P…pervert!" She shrieked, and tried to flee. Karman easily caught her, and lunged forward to drink her blood. "Help! There's a pervert with a hickey after me!"

"Shut up, you…!" Karman's insult stopped short, as did his fangs, when he glanced over his shoulder and saw a faded vision of his dear Schiff comrades. Dropping the girl, he stumbled toward the vision, confusion swirling in his head. In it, Irene smiled and waved, while Guy flipped him off for calling him 'bowl-cut' in that one episode. The other Schiff also said hello, then, as if it were a dream, they all faded away in the sunlight.

Karman fell to his knees, hugging himself and holding back tears.

"You…you're all…" he whispered softly, "…within me…"

"DIE PERVERT!!" The female patient shrieked, jumping onto his back and attacking him with a bedpan. Needless to say, Karman didn't appreciate it much.

"You're ruining the moment, whore!"

-At the Schiff Hideout-

Meanwhile, at the Schiff hideout, Moses paced back and forth, fraught with worry for his friend. Where could he be? Had anything happened to him? Was the Thorn getting worse? Had he gone too far with the emo comment? His mind filled with anxiety, he couldn't help but remember an encounter with Kai from a few days ago.

"She can heal us?!" Moses had gasped, standing in the same empty street he and Kai met in. Kai nodded.

"Yup," he'd smiled. "There's a possibility we can fix your bleeped up eyes. We're still working on a way to cut your hair so you can actually see-"

"I meant the Thorn!"

"Oh." Kai had blinked. "Then no, we don't have a cure for that. You're all gonna die horribly painful deaths. Deal with it." And so saying, he had spun on his heel and walked away, whistling cheerfully. Moses had dealt with this like a mature adult.

He smashed Kai's head in from behind with the cooler, then stolen his wallet.

"Where's you friend?" A sharp voice snapped Moses out of his reverie, and he jumped to his feet, turning to find James standing not a few feet away, smirking.

"Oh my God take all you want just please don't kill me!!" Moses babbled, holding his arms out in front of him. James scowled as the young Schiff began frantically emptying his pockets. "Here! Here's my wallet and Kai's wallet, my library card, some coupons, and a gift certificate to Staples! Just…just take it and go! Please!"

"I'm NOT mugging you," James ground out. Moses blinked.

"Oh." There was a pause. "You're not…gonna rape me, are you?"

"Please," James sniffed disdainfully, "you're not pretty enough." Moses took this as a personal insult.

"How did you survive?" He growled, backing away warily. "I though Saya killed you!"

"If 50 Cent can survive getting shot nine times," James explained, "then certainly Lil' J can survive being buried alive in a casket." Suddenly he raised his arms and began unbuttoning his dress shirt.

"Oh my God you are gonna rape me!" Moses wailed.

"Shut UP!" James snapped, then whipped open his shirt, displaying his zombie-like new body. His arms and legs obviously came from donors, while only his head and torso were still his. "As you can see, I am now-"

"Half black?" Moses finished, eyes wide with horror.

"NO!" James barked. "Well…yes, in a sense. I now have new limbs, made from Schiff donors. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Hey…is…" Moses shifted uncomfortably, but couldn't contain his curiosity, "is you're…you know…"

"That, thankfully, is still mine," James sighed, buttoning up his shirt once again. "Anyway, to more important matters. We want to make you an offer you can't refuse. We'll give you the cure for the Thorn, IF you come with us."

Moses bit his lip, thinking hard for several long moments before answering.

"Are…are you sure you don't want to have sex with m-"

"NO!!"

-Back At Headquarters-

Lulu looked up, worry in her eyes as the front door opened and Kai and Louis walked in, looking a bit tired and out of breath.

"Any luck?" She asked hopefully.

"Lemme put it this way," Kai drawled, "it's like playing 'Where's Waldo', except it's not fun and everyone's a hobo." He looked over to Saya. "You guys find him?"

"We haven't even left yet!" Haji exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, right."

"Don't worry, Lulu," Saya comforted, patting the little girl's shoulder. "We'll all go out and look some more." A sharp glare cut off Kai's groan. "Let's go!"

"Everyone…thank you," Lulu sniffled, tears coming to her eyes.

"Thank us by gettin' your eyes fixed, bitch."

"KAI!"

"Well it's true!"

-Elsewhere in the City-

Moses landed on a rooftop and breathed a sigh of relief. There was Karman, not ten feet away, gazing at the distant horizon where the sun would soon peek its face over. Straightening his robes, Moses forced his facial expression into one of stern fatherly disapproval, then marched up to Karman to give him a talking to.

"I saw Irene," Karman said once he noticed Moses. The one-eyed Shiff froze.

"S…sure you did," he began uneasily, holding out his hand. "Now let's go back home and color some pretty pictures, okay? Plus we're having macaroni tonight! I'll be sure to lace them with lots of medication-"

"I saw them all," Karman went on, ignoring Moses' doubts. "They're all…within me. Within my thoughts. I guess…I was like Irene. I was afraid of dieing without anyone remembering that I ever lived. But…I realize now that-"

Clang!!

A bedpan flew out of nowhere and cracked Karman on the side of the head.

"Take that, pervert!" The same patient shrieked.

"You are so dead, skank!" Karman hissed, whirling toward her and approaching. "That's the last moment you'll ever ruin!"

"Dear God," Moses sighed, shaking his head. "He hasn't learned a damn thing…"

-Episode 44 End-

Disclaimer: I don't own Blood +.

Author's Note: Gawd, I'm getting closer to the finishing line! Whoop! I hope David hurries it up and recuperates so I can mess with him some more. Sorry if this episode seems a bit short, it just turned out that way when I wrote it. Hope you liked it anyway! Review, please!