Chapter 2
"This school is possessed! There is no other word for it!!" Duo yelled out. It was now the next day and the GW boys were still a little irritated about yesterday. Quatra was the most traumatized of all.
"I want to transfer . . ." Wufei muttered. Trowa snorted.
"I don't want to go to school, AT ALL!" He yelled, in the most un-Trowa- like fashion possible. Heero ignored the odd behavior.
"I have gym first period. Boring." He commented. Duo sighed.
"Yay. I'm stuck in math class, dammit all." Wufei shuddered.
"I'm not going to be able to get that girl out of my head. She really creeped me out."
"Who? Me?" A slick voice asked, arms wrapped around Wufei's shoulders and a body hugged itself against him. Wufei jerked upright as Veronica laughed and let go. She drew a finger down his back.
"Relax. It's not like I'm going to bite you." She said calmly, suddenly, the girl who had been staring at Wufei walked by, her silvery hair flowing behind her in a ponytail, at least, they THOUGHT it was a girl. Yesterday she had seemed feminine enough, but today . . . . . . . she looked like a guy. The girl passed them with a small glimpse, then walked on ignoring them completely. As soon as Veronica had left, Wufei turned to his comrades and hissed at them
"I swear that the guy with silver hair who just walked by was a girl yesterday!!" Duo gaped.
"Are you crazy?! Man, you're hallucinating! Don't you check what gender they are?!" Wufei flushed.
"I don't usually LOOK at the chest Maxwell, unlike you!" Duo rolled his eyes.
"Right, right."
~~~
Quatra walked along the hallways, he was on his own for the moment. Not too mention a little jumpy, yesterday's incident had slightly rattled him, he'd been up all night thinking about it, why had that guy called him a human? Was he some sort of immortal? And what about that eye thing? How had that youth been able to freeze Quatra up like that? Questions reeled through the Arab's head, he was thinking so hard that he didn't hear the soft footsteps that came up behind him. A hand placed itself on his shoulder, Quatra jumped.
"I told you not to walk alone." A voice hissed. Quatra breathed relief, turning around, he saw Jaki.
"Sorry. Thank you for the advice." Jaki nodded, then removed her hand.
"I'll walk with you, since we have the same class anyway." Quatra stared.
"How did you know I had health?" She grinned.
"Special secret. C'mon, we're going to be late!" She declared and began pushing him down the hall.
~~~
"Hey HEERO! This is basketball! It's called a sport, a sport is usually something where you move!" A boy called. Heero sighed and rolled his eyes. Another day, another boring and unchallenging game. Suddenly, Heero found the ball flying at him. He caught it easily and stared at the ball dully, two guys rushed forward, bent on stealing the ball from him. Heero looked at them sighing.
"Heero! Pass it!" Ben called, as Heero was on defense, he was on the other side of the court, Heero, raised the ball with his hands, took aim, and tossed the ball right at the net. It sailed through the air . . . . . . . . and went straight through. Nothing but net. Ben gaped.
"H-holy crap!! You just shot a-!"
"I just gave an average shot. Nothing more." Heero said calmly, while turning around and walking away.
"Sure, an average shot for the NBA! What are you?! Michael Jordan's son?!" He demanded. Heero shot a scathing glare at Ben.
"Drop it." He ordered, then walked off to the bench.
~~~
'Okay, maybe I'm the not the good student I thought I could be.' Duo thought while twirling his pencil. 'Class is so BORING! How do these kids stand it?! Going through this for the whole frickin year!' He began to doodle on his piece of paper. Science class was not very interesting, when were they going to learn about Potassium and Sodium? The explosives? That was the good stuff. Suddenly getting very thirsty he got up and walked up to the teacher's desk.
"May I get a drink of water please?" He asked innocently while giving his most charming smile. The teacher looked up, and smiled back.
"Of course Mr. Maxwell." She bent her head down again. Duo nodded, then left the classroom, as soon as the door was shut, he was racing down the hallway.
'Man this feels good!' He thought with a grin, about 2 minutes later, he stopped doing laps inside the school halls and got a drink, deciding that he was good for another half an hour he began a slow trot back to the class. Suddenly, a gun shot rang out. Duo looked up, that didn't look good.
Back at class, Duo was working on some notes when there was a sudden knock on the door. Duo looked up.
"Can I see Duo Maxwell please?" A man asked, Duo saw a flash of the police uniform. Good god. Duo looked around quickly. Spotting a window he nodded. There was his ticket to freedom. He got out of his desk quickly and stooped as low as he could to the floor. On his way there, he passed a desk where a girl with black hair watched him, green eyes showing approval for his behavior. Duo shrugged it off and continued on. He was at the window . . . . . . he had one leg over the sill and-
"Duo Maxwell, get away from that window and come here!"
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Sighing, Duo pulled his leg in and was about to close the window, when the girl took action. Pulling something off the shelves, she took a block of potassium out of a bottle with a pair of tongs, quickly sliced up a chunk and dropped it into a tub of water.
BANG!
The chunk ignited into a ball of purple fire (A/N: I have actually seen this happen, and trust me, it's cool! Though, it is illegal to get this stuff without proper ID. Damn.) Sparks began to fly off the block and land on various things, oh such as, paper, textbooks, and oh yeah, the teacher's hair. She shrieked and began to claw her strands while running around and screaming. Duo laughed, the girl gave him a thumbs up and he retreated out the back window. She grinned. Mischief makers were always fun to help out. Once Duo was on the ground, he stuck his hands into his pocket, with every intention of walking away, when his hand touched a card, he slowly fished it out.
'I know where these gun shots are coming from, bring your friends, especially the blonde one tomorrow at midnight. We have to talk. 4896 Parkers avenue' He stared. Then shrugged. What the heck?
~~~
It was the next day, Duo sat calmly in his class, he noticed that a girl from the class was missing. The one with green eyes. Suddenly the teacher stood and cleared his throat.
"I regret to inform you, that Mina Kanzaki, has passed away."
~~~
"She was murdered yesterday by a robber, and left in the alleyway." The teacher finished calmly. Wufei ignored the whole thing, so what? Death happened all the time. Suddenly, a large clatter drew the gaze of everyone to the back of the classroom. The girl with silver hair rose speedily, so fast that her chair fell to the ground, her eyes were slammed shut with tears on their brims. And her fists clenched so hard, that her knuckles went white. She calmly walked towards the door, stepped outside, and slammed it shut. Wufei stared. The entire class was silent.
~~~
"Hitoru!!" A voice called. The girl stopped and spun around.
"What Jaki?"
"Listen, what happened to Mina can't interfere-!"
"What do you mean 'what happened to Mina'?! She was KILLED!! Do you understand?! My sister was killed by a vampire and I can't do SHIT about it!!" The silver haired teen shrieked back. She was glaring at the floor. A large sigh escaped from Jaki's lips. Quatra was rounding the corner, when he spotted the two, quickly hiding behind a corner he watched the scene in awe.
"Hitoru . . ." Jaki murmured in exasperation. The girl sobbed quietly. Arms suddenly enveloped her.
"Hitoru, I know it hurts, you have to let it go, if you focus on your sister's death, then your mind wanders, you lose focus on the fight and then you'll join her. Hitoru, you can't let this happen. Stay calm, the vamps are on the move, and we need EVERYONE. Including yourself. C'mon Hitoru, stay focused." Hitoru nodded, her face buried into her friend's shoulder. Quatra stared, Jaki, who was stroking her friend's hair like a cat, looked directly at him, her eyes burned into his. She carefully nodded. He stared, then backed away and walked off, thinking.
~~~
"You hear about that Kanzaki girl?"
"No kidding, brutal stuff." Ben replied. Jordan bit down onto his sandwich. Heero ignored them, they just wouldn't stop following him around now, and it bugged him. He did however notice that a small and short boy walked by, his thin limbs supporting a tray. His eyes glared at Heero. As he walked on Heero, stared after him. Duo sighed.
"Even at school, death follows us everywhere." Quatra nodded slowly. Trowa smiled lightly as Wufei sat down.
"Anything interesting with you?"
"Nothing, except that a girl in my class skipped. Nothing else."
"Quatra." The Arab turned to find Jaki standing there.
"Oh, it's you." He said without thinking. Not quite sure what to make of this.
"Quatra, I need to talk to you. ALL of you." She said calmly. Jordan rose, when someone placed a hand on his shoulder, and forced him back down.
"Not you three." Kino murmured. Then followed the retreating backs of his friends. Once inside a separate room, Hitoru slammed the door shut and the conversation began.
"Okay, listen, tonight, at midnight, we're having a meeting, and we require you five." Jaki said calmly. Heero glared.
"And why is that?"
"Simple, you five may be of some use to an organization we have going, I'm not saying more here, in the meantime, tonight, one of us will come to your place and pick you up okay? The meeting begins the moment you get there understood? Also, come prepared . . . . . . for training." Duo raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"All of you are required. That's all." Jaki pronounced calmly, and opened the door.
"I doubt you have anything planned tonight either." Trowa shrugged.
"Not really. We'll be there." As soon as the five were alone, Wufei whirled around to face Trowa.
"And why should we go?" He demanded. Trowa glared.
"Because something tells me that this is important." He replied firmly and walked off.
~~~
Duo was sitting in the living room, his gun holster was wrapped around his shoulders, and hidden by a jacket. Heero was typing on his laptop, no surprise there. A knife was hidden by an arm sheath, and a gun was also tucked firmly into the back pocket of his jeans. Quatra carried a gun in his sleeve, they were baggy enough that no one would notice, Wufei was playing with his sword, opening and closing it with a decisive snap. Trowa had hidden throwing knives in his sleeves and on his boots. All of them were waiting in the living room of their house, when the doorbell rang. Everyone jumped. Heero calmly walked up to the door and opened it to reveal Kino.
"Hurry." He said calmly and began walking down the driveway. Heero obeyed, Quatra hesitating only to shut off the lights, and to close the door. No car or anything, they simply walked along the sidewalk, following the youth who barely spoke a single word. Coming to a deserted and barren area he slowly stopped. His back stiffened. As he slowed down, so did the others.
"What is it?" Duo asked softly. Kino growled.
"I don't understand . . . . . why would they . . ." He paused for a moment to think, then yelled out.
"Araya!! I know you're there, c'mon out!" Silence. Nothing happened for a moment, then a form stepped out from the shadows, it smiled at him, teeth gleaming. Her nails were nothing short of wolf claws, her eyes glowed a resonating gold, her thin body was covered by a tank top and accompanied by a mini skirt. Her long hair flowed out in a wave behind her. Her lean body was somewhat of average height, and she was fairly good looking.
"Kino. Lovely evening isn't it?" She asked softly. Her voice rose hairs on the back of Wufei's neck. He slowly noticed that more people dissolved from the shadows, all of them had the same glowing eyes, loose clothing, sharp claws and wild hair. They surrounded them in a circle.
"What are you doing here Araya?" Kino demanded softly. She bit a nail delicately and smiled.
"What? We aren't allowed here anymore?" She said playfully. Kino sighed.
"Save your antics when we're NOT at war, what is the Shadow clan doing here Araya?" Araya sighed.
"The news isn't good. Our former clan leader, Miharu, was killed. The vampires have declared open war on us. I hear their taking you on as well." Kino nodded.
"Too true. News came that Koro is siding with them as well." The GW boys looked on, completely lost in the sea of names.
"God damn those shapeshifters. They all went with him?" Kino shook his head.
"A third went to him, another third remained neutral, and the last joined us. We're working on having the neutrals join us, but they aren't budging." Araya nodded.
"So it would seem." She sighed, then turned her eyes to face Quatra and friends. She walked up to the Arab and smiled.
"New members?" She asked softly, her eyes still locked on the blonde, who gulped. Kino nodded. She smiled.
"So, you're going to join them. How interesting, you'd make nice snacks though." She offered. He glared at her, eyes unwavering. She laughed.
"You do have a brave heart however. It takes a lot to look us in the eye and stand your ground. You'd make a fine werewolf my little kitten. What do you think?" She directed to the bystanders. They all howled their approval. She nodded.
"It has been decided, if you are ever in need of help, you may come to the Shadow clan." She said calmly. "If however, you wanted to become a werewolf right now . . ." She trailed off and bared her teeth grinning savagely. Quatra gulped again.
"No thank you." He said politely. She laughed again.
"Very well." To Kino she added. "We shall see you soon." And just like that, they vanished. Kino shook his head.
"Come, we must quicken our pace. We are already late, though . . . the fact that she was here. Especially now . ." Duo stepped up to walk beside Kino.
"Hey, what's odd?"
"The Shadow clan is usually in the west part of the city this time of year. I wonder what called them over." He sighed. "Well, not far now." He walked a little quicker, the others following him.
~~~
"Almost there." Kino remarked, looking at his watch, he saw it was 11:59. He had a minute, oh well, Jaki would understand once he told her about Araya. Suddenly a blur shot from the side, and before anyone could move, Kino yelled his pain. He clutched his arm, small red lines trickled from it.
"Well, well, how are you Kino? Do you remember me?" A man asked, a dagger dripped with red lines was held firmly in his hand. Kino glared.
"Sadly, no, you vampires all look the same to me." The man scowled.
"You killed my sister, and yet you don't remember me?! You will PAY for that mortal!" Kino hissed through clenched teeth and retorted.
"Get better lines you movie reject." Heero growled, he whipped out his gun and pulled the trigger. The vampire didn't move, he slowly turned to face Heero.
"Pathetic. Useless mortal." He hissed, then dashed forward, his fist slammed into Heero's chest, knocking the wind out of his body. As Heero fell backwards, Duo rushed forward, unseen, he quickly pulled out his gun, and as he slid beneath the vampire's body, fired. The bullet went straight through the body. The vampire scowled and grabbed Duo's throat.
"Useless fool." He continued to strangle the teen. Trowa grabbed a knife, then found himself on the ground, writhing in agony. The female grinned and slowly licked the knife she had stabbed into his back.
"Paul, you should be more careful." She said calmly, the one strangling Duo ignored her. Wufei was being pinned to the ground, by his own sword, the tip was at his throat. Quatra was face first into the dirt, his arms pinned behind him by another one of these horrid things.
"Too easy. The Slayers lose 6 more tonight." The female said calmly. Kino screamed in pain as another vampire drove a knife into his back. He moved for his gun slowly, when someone stomped on his hand.
"Try it, and we will see to it that one them suffers slowly till death." Kino shot a panicked glance at Duo who was struggling to breath, his movements becoming slower. Quatra who was still as the knife pricked his skin, Wufei who was now being cut slowly with his own weapon, and trying not to yell. Heero who was on the ground, struggling to move, while his entire body protested. Trowa didn't move, at all. Kino panicked. Was he dead? A loud cry suddenly brought his attention back to Heero, who was now being used as a pin cushion for one of their knives, the vampire slowly twisted the knife into Heero's skin, making the youth bite his lip so hard, that it bled, odd thing though, none of them could move. Kino's mind froze with terror.
'A mortal stun spell. Curse it all!' He tried to reach for any weapon that could help, yet he could move nothing. Not even his fingers. 'Where did they learn to do this? It's impossible!! This spell hasn't been used in over 6 thousand years!' Quatra panted harshly, he struggled beneath the weight of the vampire. Trowa was not even breathing anymore. Duo became limp, his feet dangling in the air. Suddenly, light flared, Kino found it a lot easier to move.
"A counter spell . ." One of the vampires hissed. A cloaked figure walked up.
"In the name of Exile, I claim these 6 souls. You cannot touch them." She said calmly, one vampire walked up.
"State your name! I claim revenge on that slayer!" He hissed while pointing to Kino, the figure nodded.
"Then as he is my claimed, you will duel me for the right to kill him." Paul smirked, then was about to run forward, when he suddenly felt a searing pain spreading from his heart up. He looked down and found a small hole, buried into his chest. He gasped, then plummeted to the ground, before vanishing in a haze of dust. The others fled. The figure kneeled down next to Kino.
"Are you alright?" She asked quickly, removing her hood.
"Yeah . ." He muttered. "See to the others, they're hurt worse then me." Jaki nodded, running over to Duo, she checked his pulse.
"Shit . . ." She swore. Quatra stared.
"He's not . ."
"No, he's alive, but only just. Quatra, are you hurt?" Quatra shook his head. She nodded.
"Then run up ahead, you should see an old building on the horizon, go there and tell them we have trouble. Don't worry about anything else attacking you, no one can touch you while you're under my claim." Quatra nodded, then ran off. Jaki turned back to Duo. She whispered something while touching his bruised neck, then moved on. Examining Heero, she swore vividly.
"Broken ribs, not to mention severe internal bleeding. Damn." She touched his chest while murmuring something again, then moved to see to Trowa. Suddenly a hand came down on her shoulder, she glared.
"What?"
"I will help." He said softly. She scowled.
"Nice timing, you couldn't have showed up BEFORE this happened?!"
"I am a healer Jaki. You know this."
"Yeah, yeah . . ." She muttered. He slowly drew a finger down the edge of the cut on Trowa's back. It healed instantly. Then the glowing figure began to work on the cuts in the chest. Jaki tended to Wufei.
"You should be okay, we'll heal you back at the building." She took a bandage from her pocket. She murmured a word that Wufei struggled to translate, the bandage wrapped itself around his chest, and firmly closed about the wounds like a second skin.
"That should stop the bleeding for now." She declared to him, then walked over to Trowa once more. The brunette was slowly waking up.
"Where-?" He got out before a girl came running up. Wufei took the time to notice that the glowing figure had vanished.
"God dammit! They ambushed you, and on OUR territory!" She growled out. Jaki sighed.
"Take care of him Hitoru." The girl's movements were rough and precise. Trowa winced as she jerked his arm roughly. Suddenly hands grabbed Hitoru and jerked her to face away from Trowa. Jaki growled at Hitoru.
"Listen to me! Either control your rage, or be exiled! You know the laws, anyone who cannot control their feelings, gets kicked out! You are endangering everyone around you with your attitude! Do not make more people suffer!" Jaki spat and pushed her to the ground angrily, then stomped off. Trowa stared. Juan shook his head.
"Hitoru, I hate to say this, but she is right. You cannot keep acting like the world should suffer for the loss of-"
"SHUT UP JUAN!" Hitoru screamed. "She's still here!!"
"Hitoru Kanzaki! Open your EYES! Mina is dead! You know that she is! You saw her corpse with your own eyes! She is GONE!"
SLAP!
Hitoru backhanded him savagely.
"How can you say that?! How can you-?!" Juan grabbed her arms, then pulled her in to hug her tightly.
"Hitoru please!! Don't make anyone else suffer like we have. I loved Mina, and I love you. I don't want you to die because you're not thinking." Hitoru stiffened. Then her face fell.
"I'm sorry . . . . . . I forgot. She was your fiancee." Wufei stepped up.
"Do not let this weaken you. You must take this hate to make your stronger. Never show your weakness." He said calmly. Hitoru stared at him carefully.
"Your eyes . . . . . . . . they speak of loss. Of a loved one . . . . . . and of a friend." She said softly. Wufei gaped, then nodded slowly. She smiled.
"You are brave, your eyes show that you never lost control of your emotions. I wish I was that strong." Wufei nodded.
"Then, I proclaim that we leave this god forsaken place." Hitoru nodded, then began to walk away. Her eyes flashed with past memories.
~ Flashback ~
"Mina?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you adopt me? I mean, why did you take me on as your sister?"
"Because you were alone, and so was I."
"Is that all?" Mina laughed.
"And because you're so cute!" Hitoru sighed.
"I was an orphan till you came along . ." She murmured. Mina hugged her tightly.
"Hey, don't talk about that. All in the past and we can move on!" Hitoru smiled softly.
"Hey Mina!!" A voice called, Juan walked up and kissed his wife to be happily.
"Juan! Cut that out!" She giggled hysterically. He swiftly kissed her again.
"But I like doing this!"
"Aww! Gross! That's sick Juan!" He laughed. Hitoru stared. She would never be like that. In love with someone. Despite the fact that she was immortal and had powers, she was a shadow compared to the beauty that Mina was. Mina was the one who was special, and Hitoru, Hitoru would forever be in the darkness.
~ End ~
"Can I have an explanation please?" Quatra growled. Jaki sighed.
"Fine, c'mon, we need to see Van."
"Van?" Quatra cried out before the door opened. A girl looked at the two and smiled, waving, she called them over. Quatra stared in awe. It was Jaki.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I own only my characters. Plot and stuff, whatever.
"This school is possessed! There is no other word for it!!" Duo yelled out. It was now the next day and the GW boys were still a little irritated about yesterday. Quatra was the most traumatized of all.
"I want to transfer . . ." Wufei muttered. Trowa snorted.
"I don't want to go to school, AT ALL!" He yelled, in the most un-Trowa- like fashion possible. Heero ignored the odd behavior.
"I have gym first period. Boring." He commented. Duo sighed.
"Yay. I'm stuck in math class, dammit all." Wufei shuddered.
"I'm not going to be able to get that girl out of my head. She really creeped me out."
"Who? Me?" A slick voice asked, arms wrapped around Wufei's shoulders and a body hugged itself against him. Wufei jerked upright as Veronica laughed and let go. She drew a finger down his back.
"Relax. It's not like I'm going to bite you." She said calmly, suddenly, the girl who had been staring at Wufei walked by, her silvery hair flowing behind her in a ponytail, at least, they THOUGHT it was a girl. Yesterday she had seemed feminine enough, but today . . . . . . . she looked like a guy. The girl passed them with a small glimpse, then walked on ignoring them completely. As soon as Veronica had left, Wufei turned to his comrades and hissed at them
"I swear that the guy with silver hair who just walked by was a girl yesterday!!" Duo gaped.
"Are you crazy?! Man, you're hallucinating! Don't you check what gender they are?!" Wufei flushed.
"I don't usually LOOK at the chest Maxwell, unlike you!" Duo rolled his eyes.
"Right, right."
~~~
Quatra walked along the hallways, he was on his own for the moment. Not too mention a little jumpy, yesterday's incident had slightly rattled him, he'd been up all night thinking about it, why had that guy called him a human? Was he some sort of immortal? And what about that eye thing? How had that youth been able to freeze Quatra up like that? Questions reeled through the Arab's head, he was thinking so hard that he didn't hear the soft footsteps that came up behind him. A hand placed itself on his shoulder, Quatra jumped.
"I told you not to walk alone." A voice hissed. Quatra breathed relief, turning around, he saw Jaki.
"Sorry. Thank you for the advice." Jaki nodded, then removed her hand.
"I'll walk with you, since we have the same class anyway." Quatra stared.
"How did you know I had health?" She grinned.
"Special secret. C'mon, we're going to be late!" She declared and began pushing him down the hall.
~~~
"Hey HEERO! This is basketball! It's called a sport, a sport is usually something where you move!" A boy called. Heero sighed and rolled his eyes. Another day, another boring and unchallenging game. Suddenly, Heero found the ball flying at him. He caught it easily and stared at the ball dully, two guys rushed forward, bent on stealing the ball from him. Heero looked at them sighing.
"Heero! Pass it!" Ben called, as Heero was on defense, he was on the other side of the court, Heero, raised the ball with his hands, took aim, and tossed the ball right at the net. It sailed through the air . . . . . . . . and went straight through. Nothing but net. Ben gaped.
"H-holy crap!! You just shot a-!"
"I just gave an average shot. Nothing more." Heero said calmly, while turning around and walking away.
"Sure, an average shot for the NBA! What are you?! Michael Jordan's son?!" He demanded. Heero shot a scathing glare at Ben.
"Drop it." He ordered, then walked off to the bench.
~~~
'Okay, maybe I'm the not the good student I thought I could be.' Duo thought while twirling his pencil. 'Class is so BORING! How do these kids stand it?! Going through this for the whole frickin year!' He began to doodle on his piece of paper. Science class was not very interesting, when were they going to learn about Potassium and Sodium? The explosives? That was the good stuff. Suddenly getting very thirsty he got up and walked up to the teacher's desk.
"May I get a drink of water please?" He asked innocently while giving his most charming smile. The teacher looked up, and smiled back.
"Of course Mr. Maxwell." She bent her head down again. Duo nodded, then left the classroom, as soon as the door was shut, he was racing down the hallway.
'Man this feels good!' He thought with a grin, about 2 minutes later, he stopped doing laps inside the school halls and got a drink, deciding that he was good for another half an hour he began a slow trot back to the class. Suddenly, a gun shot rang out. Duo looked up, that didn't look good.
Back at class, Duo was working on some notes when there was a sudden knock on the door. Duo looked up.
"Can I see Duo Maxwell please?" A man asked, Duo saw a flash of the police uniform. Good god. Duo looked around quickly. Spotting a window he nodded. There was his ticket to freedom. He got out of his desk quickly and stooped as low as he could to the floor. On his way there, he passed a desk where a girl with black hair watched him, green eyes showing approval for his behavior. Duo shrugged it off and continued on. He was at the window . . . . . . he had one leg over the sill and-
"Duo Maxwell, get away from that window and come here!"
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Sighing, Duo pulled his leg in and was about to close the window, when the girl took action. Pulling something off the shelves, she took a block of potassium out of a bottle with a pair of tongs, quickly sliced up a chunk and dropped it into a tub of water.
BANG!
The chunk ignited into a ball of purple fire (A/N: I have actually seen this happen, and trust me, it's cool! Though, it is illegal to get this stuff without proper ID. Damn.) Sparks began to fly off the block and land on various things, oh such as, paper, textbooks, and oh yeah, the teacher's hair. She shrieked and began to claw her strands while running around and screaming. Duo laughed, the girl gave him a thumbs up and he retreated out the back window. She grinned. Mischief makers were always fun to help out. Once Duo was on the ground, he stuck his hands into his pocket, with every intention of walking away, when his hand touched a card, he slowly fished it out.
'I know where these gun shots are coming from, bring your friends, especially the blonde one tomorrow at midnight. We have to talk. 4896 Parkers avenue' He stared. Then shrugged. What the heck?
~~~
It was the next day, Duo sat calmly in his class, he noticed that a girl from the class was missing. The one with green eyes. Suddenly the teacher stood and cleared his throat.
"I regret to inform you, that Mina Kanzaki, has passed away."
~~~
"She was murdered yesterday by a robber, and left in the alleyway." The teacher finished calmly. Wufei ignored the whole thing, so what? Death happened all the time. Suddenly, a large clatter drew the gaze of everyone to the back of the classroom. The girl with silver hair rose speedily, so fast that her chair fell to the ground, her eyes were slammed shut with tears on their brims. And her fists clenched so hard, that her knuckles went white. She calmly walked towards the door, stepped outside, and slammed it shut. Wufei stared. The entire class was silent.
~~~
"Hitoru!!" A voice called. The girl stopped and spun around.
"What Jaki?"
"Listen, what happened to Mina can't interfere-!"
"What do you mean 'what happened to Mina'?! She was KILLED!! Do you understand?! My sister was killed by a vampire and I can't do SHIT about it!!" The silver haired teen shrieked back. She was glaring at the floor. A large sigh escaped from Jaki's lips. Quatra was rounding the corner, when he spotted the two, quickly hiding behind a corner he watched the scene in awe.
"Hitoru . . ." Jaki murmured in exasperation. The girl sobbed quietly. Arms suddenly enveloped her.
"Hitoru, I know it hurts, you have to let it go, if you focus on your sister's death, then your mind wanders, you lose focus on the fight and then you'll join her. Hitoru, you can't let this happen. Stay calm, the vamps are on the move, and we need EVERYONE. Including yourself. C'mon Hitoru, stay focused." Hitoru nodded, her face buried into her friend's shoulder. Quatra stared, Jaki, who was stroking her friend's hair like a cat, looked directly at him, her eyes burned into his. She carefully nodded. He stared, then backed away and walked off, thinking.
~~~
"You hear about that Kanzaki girl?"
"No kidding, brutal stuff." Ben replied. Jordan bit down onto his sandwich. Heero ignored them, they just wouldn't stop following him around now, and it bugged him. He did however notice that a small and short boy walked by, his thin limbs supporting a tray. His eyes glared at Heero. As he walked on Heero, stared after him. Duo sighed.
"Even at school, death follows us everywhere." Quatra nodded slowly. Trowa smiled lightly as Wufei sat down.
"Anything interesting with you?"
"Nothing, except that a girl in my class skipped. Nothing else."
"Quatra." The Arab turned to find Jaki standing there.
"Oh, it's you." He said without thinking. Not quite sure what to make of this.
"Quatra, I need to talk to you. ALL of you." She said calmly. Jordan rose, when someone placed a hand on his shoulder, and forced him back down.
"Not you three." Kino murmured. Then followed the retreating backs of his friends. Once inside a separate room, Hitoru slammed the door shut and the conversation began.
"Okay, listen, tonight, at midnight, we're having a meeting, and we require you five." Jaki said calmly. Heero glared.
"And why is that?"
"Simple, you five may be of some use to an organization we have going, I'm not saying more here, in the meantime, tonight, one of us will come to your place and pick you up okay? The meeting begins the moment you get there understood? Also, come prepared . . . . . . for training." Duo raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"All of you are required. That's all." Jaki pronounced calmly, and opened the door.
"I doubt you have anything planned tonight either." Trowa shrugged.
"Not really. We'll be there." As soon as the five were alone, Wufei whirled around to face Trowa.
"And why should we go?" He demanded. Trowa glared.
"Because something tells me that this is important." He replied firmly and walked off.
~~~
Duo was sitting in the living room, his gun holster was wrapped around his shoulders, and hidden by a jacket. Heero was typing on his laptop, no surprise there. A knife was hidden by an arm sheath, and a gun was also tucked firmly into the back pocket of his jeans. Quatra carried a gun in his sleeve, they were baggy enough that no one would notice, Wufei was playing with his sword, opening and closing it with a decisive snap. Trowa had hidden throwing knives in his sleeves and on his boots. All of them were waiting in the living room of their house, when the doorbell rang. Everyone jumped. Heero calmly walked up to the door and opened it to reveal Kino.
"Hurry." He said calmly and began walking down the driveway. Heero obeyed, Quatra hesitating only to shut off the lights, and to close the door. No car or anything, they simply walked along the sidewalk, following the youth who barely spoke a single word. Coming to a deserted and barren area he slowly stopped. His back stiffened. As he slowed down, so did the others.
"What is it?" Duo asked softly. Kino growled.
"I don't understand . . . . . why would they . . ." He paused for a moment to think, then yelled out.
"Araya!! I know you're there, c'mon out!" Silence. Nothing happened for a moment, then a form stepped out from the shadows, it smiled at him, teeth gleaming. Her nails were nothing short of wolf claws, her eyes glowed a resonating gold, her thin body was covered by a tank top and accompanied by a mini skirt. Her long hair flowed out in a wave behind her. Her lean body was somewhat of average height, and she was fairly good looking.
"Kino. Lovely evening isn't it?" She asked softly. Her voice rose hairs on the back of Wufei's neck. He slowly noticed that more people dissolved from the shadows, all of them had the same glowing eyes, loose clothing, sharp claws and wild hair. They surrounded them in a circle.
"What are you doing here Araya?" Kino demanded softly. She bit a nail delicately and smiled.
"What? We aren't allowed here anymore?" She said playfully. Kino sighed.
"Save your antics when we're NOT at war, what is the Shadow clan doing here Araya?" Araya sighed.
"The news isn't good. Our former clan leader, Miharu, was killed. The vampires have declared open war on us. I hear their taking you on as well." Kino nodded.
"Too true. News came that Koro is siding with them as well." The GW boys looked on, completely lost in the sea of names.
"God damn those shapeshifters. They all went with him?" Kino shook his head.
"A third went to him, another third remained neutral, and the last joined us. We're working on having the neutrals join us, but they aren't budging." Araya nodded.
"So it would seem." She sighed, then turned her eyes to face Quatra and friends. She walked up to the Arab and smiled.
"New members?" She asked softly, her eyes still locked on the blonde, who gulped. Kino nodded. She smiled.
"So, you're going to join them. How interesting, you'd make nice snacks though." She offered. He glared at her, eyes unwavering. She laughed.
"You do have a brave heart however. It takes a lot to look us in the eye and stand your ground. You'd make a fine werewolf my little kitten. What do you think?" She directed to the bystanders. They all howled their approval. She nodded.
"It has been decided, if you are ever in need of help, you may come to the Shadow clan." She said calmly. "If however, you wanted to become a werewolf right now . . ." She trailed off and bared her teeth grinning savagely. Quatra gulped again.
"No thank you." He said politely. She laughed again.
"Very well." To Kino she added. "We shall see you soon." And just like that, they vanished. Kino shook his head.
"Come, we must quicken our pace. We are already late, though . . . the fact that she was here. Especially now . ." Duo stepped up to walk beside Kino.
"Hey, what's odd?"
"The Shadow clan is usually in the west part of the city this time of year. I wonder what called them over." He sighed. "Well, not far now." He walked a little quicker, the others following him.
~~~
"Almost there." Kino remarked, looking at his watch, he saw it was 11:59. He had a minute, oh well, Jaki would understand once he told her about Araya. Suddenly a blur shot from the side, and before anyone could move, Kino yelled his pain. He clutched his arm, small red lines trickled from it.
"Well, well, how are you Kino? Do you remember me?" A man asked, a dagger dripped with red lines was held firmly in his hand. Kino glared.
"Sadly, no, you vampires all look the same to me." The man scowled.
"You killed my sister, and yet you don't remember me?! You will PAY for that mortal!" Kino hissed through clenched teeth and retorted.
"Get better lines you movie reject." Heero growled, he whipped out his gun and pulled the trigger. The vampire didn't move, he slowly turned to face Heero.
"Pathetic. Useless mortal." He hissed, then dashed forward, his fist slammed into Heero's chest, knocking the wind out of his body. As Heero fell backwards, Duo rushed forward, unseen, he quickly pulled out his gun, and as he slid beneath the vampire's body, fired. The bullet went straight through the body. The vampire scowled and grabbed Duo's throat.
"Useless fool." He continued to strangle the teen. Trowa grabbed a knife, then found himself on the ground, writhing in agony. The female grinned and slowly licked the knife she had stabbed into his back.
"Paul, you should be more careful." She said calmly, the one strangling Duo ignored her. Wufei was being pinned to the ground, by his own sword, the tip was at his throat. Quatra was face first into the dirt, his arms pinned behind him by another one of these horrid things.
"Too easy. The Slayers lose 6 more tonight." The female said calmly. Kino screamed in pain as another vampire drove a knife into his back. He moved for his gun slowly, when someone stomped on his hand.
"Try it, and we will see to it that one them suffers slowly till death." Kino shot a panicked glance at Duo who was struggling to breath, his movements becoming slower. Quatra who was still as the knife pricked his skin, Wufei who was now being cut slowly with his own weapon, and trying not to yell. Heero who was on the ground, struggling to move, while his entire body protested. Trowa didn't move, at all. Kino panicked. Was he dead? A loud cry suddenly brought his attention back to Heero, who was now being used as a pin cushion for one of their knives, the vampire slowly twisted the knife into Heero's skin, making the youth bite his lip so hard, that it bled, odd thing though, none of them could move. Kino's mind froze with terror.
'A mortal stun spell. Curse it all!' He tried to reach for any weapon that could help, yet he could move nothing. Not even his fingers. 'Where did they learn to do this? It's impossible!! This spell hasn't been used in over 6 thousand years!' Quatra panted harshly, he struggled beneath the weight of the vampire. Trowa was not even breathing anymore. Duo became limp, his feet dangling in the air. Suddenly, light flared, Kino found it a lot easier to move.
"A counter spell . ." One of the vampires hissed. A cloaked figure walked up.
"In the name of Exile, I claim these 6 souls. You cannot touch them." She said calmly, one vampire walked up.
"State your name! I claim revenge on that slayer!" He hissed while pointing to Kino, the figure nodded.
"Then as he is my claimed, you will duel me for the right to kill him." Paul smirked, then was about to run forward, when he suddenly felt a searing pain spreading from his heart up. He looked down and found a small hole, buried into his chest. He gasped, then plummeted to the ground, before vanishing in a haze of dust. The others fled. The figure kneeled down next to Kino.
"Are you alright?" She asked quickly, removing her hood.
"Yeah . ." He muttered. "See to the others, they're hurt worse then me." Jaki nodded, running over to Duo, she checked his pulse.
"Shit . . ." She swore. Quatra stared.
"He's not . ."
"No, he's alive, but only just. Quatra, are you hurt?" Quatra shook his head. She nodded.
"Then run up ahead, you should see an old building on the horizon, go there and tell them we have trouble. Don't worry about anything else attacking you, no one can touch you while you're under my claim." Quatra nodded, then ran off. Jaki turned back to Duo. She whispered something while touching his bruised neck, then moved on. Examining Heero, she swore vividly.
"Broken ribs, not to mention severe internal bleeding. Damn." She touched his chest while murmuring something again, then moved to see to Trowa. Suddenly a hand came down on her shoulder, she glared.
"What?"
"I will help." He said softly. She scowled.
"Nice timing, you couldn't have showed up BEFORE this happened?!"
"I am a healer Jaki. You know this."
"Yeah, yeah . . ." She muttered. He slowly drew a finger down the edge of the cut on Trowa's back. It healed instantly. Then the glowing figure began to work on the cuts in the chest. Jaki tended to Wufei.
"You should be okay, we'll heal you back at the building." She took a bandage from her pocket. She murmured a word that Wufei struggled to translate, the bandage wrapped itself around his chest, and firmly closed about the wounds like a second skin.
"That should stop the bleeding for now." She declared to him, then walked over to Trowa once more. The brunette was slowly waking up.
"Where-?" He got out before a girl came running up. Wufei took the time to notice that the glowing figure had vanished.
"God dammit! They ambushed you, and on OUR territory!" She growled out. Jaki sighed.
"Take care of him Hitoru." The girl's movements were rough and precise. Trowa winced as she jerked his arm roughly. Suddenly hands grabbed Hitoru and jerked her to face away from Trowa. Jaki growled at Hitoru.
"Listen to me! Either control your rage, or be exiled! You know the laws, anyone who cannot control their feelings, gets kicked out! You are endangering everyone around you with your attitude! Do not make more people suffer!" Jaki spat and pushed her to the ground angrily, then stomped off. Trowa stared. Juan shook his head.
"Hitoru, I hate to say this, but she is right. You cannot keep acting like the world should suffer for the loss of-"
"SHUT UP JUAN!" Hitoru screamed. "She's still here!!"
"Hitoru Kanzaki! Open your EYES! Mina is dead! You know that she is! You saw her corpse with your own eyes! She is GONE!"
SLAP!
Hitoru backhanded him savagely.
"How can you say that?! How can you-?!" Juan grabbed her arms, then pulled her in to hug her tightly.
"Hitoru please!! Don't make anyone else suffer like we have. I loved Mina, and I love you. I don't want you to die because you're not thinking." Hitoru stiffened. Then her face fell.
"I'm sorry . . . . . . I forgot. She was your fiancee." Wufei stepped up.
"Do not let this weaken you. You must take this hate to make your stronger. Never show your weakness." He said calmly. Hitoru stared at him carefully.
"Your eyes . . . . . . . . they speak of loss. Of a loved one . . . . . . and of a friend." She said softly. Wufei gaped, then nodded slowly. She smiled.
"You are brave, your eyes show that you never lost control of your emotions. I wish I was that strong." Wufei nodded.
"Then, I proclaim that we leave this god forsaken place." Hitoru nodded, then began to walk away. Her eyes flashed with past memories.
~ Flashback ~
"Mina?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you adopt me? I mean, why did you take me on as your sister?"
"Because you were alone, and so was I."
"Is that all?" Mina laughed.
"And because you're so cute!" Hitoru sighed.
"I was an orphan till you came along . ." She murmured. Mina hugged her tightly.
"Hey, don't talk about that. All in the past and we can move on!" Hitoru smiled softly.
"Hey Mina!!" A voice called, Juan walked up and kissed his wife to be happily.
"Juan! Cut that out!" She giggled hysterically. He swiftly kissed her again.
"But I like doing this!"
"Aww! Gross! That's sick Juan!" He laughed. Hitoru stared. She would never be like that. In love with someone. Despite the fact that she was immortal and had powers, she was a shadow compared to the beauty that Mina was. Mina was the one who was special, and Hitoru, Hitoru would forever be in the darkness.
~ End ~
"Can I have an explanation please?" Quatra growled. Jaki sighed.
"Fine, c'mon, we need to see Van."
"Van?" Quatra cried out before the door opened. A girl looked at the two and smiled, waving, she called them over. Quatra stared in awe. It was Jaki.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I own only my characters. Plot and stuff, whatever.