Disclaimer: I wonder what would happen if I...er....nevermind.....
Dedication: To....you, the reader and the reviwer....^.^


~**~Chapter 2~**~

~**~Innocence is such a precious thing~**~

Shana hummed gently to herself as she made her way to the back of her house. She needed to find herself a vase for the flowers she had picked earlier today. She knew she had one somewhere in the back, she just didn't know where....

The front door suddenly opened and then closed loudly. She jumped slightly, blinked, and then frowned deeply, ' It's probably just Zidu looking for another place to spend the night.... ', she thought to herself, trying to push back the immediate panic that had risen goosebumps to her flesh, and sent shivers down her spine.

She reached out and her hand brushed against something smooth and a smile crept onto her lips. She then grabbed the crystal vase and dropped the flowers inside. She carried the vase as she turned and made her way back to the front where the kitchen was, to put some water into the vase for the flowers.

She looked up as she walked through the doorway leading to the kitchen and gasped loudly. The vase slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces at her sock covered feet. She blinked and a warmness crept into her cheeks, " D-dart! ", she exclaimed. " I...you scared me. What are you doing here? At this time of night too? "

Dart stared back at her. The oil lamp that was lit sat on the table and the flame casted eerie shadows across his expressionless face. Shana squinted as she looked at him. She then shook her head and bent down to pick up the large pieces of glass.

Dart smirked, walked up to her and bent down to help. She smiled lightly, " Thank you, Dart. ", she murmured softly as his fingers brushed up against her trembling ones.

He remained silent. His hand came down onto hers and grasped it tightly. The piece of glass she was holding dug deep into her palm and she cried out in pain. The glass then fell from her palm to the ground as she wrenched her hand from his, jumped up and ran to the sink to pour cold water over it.

Dart followed slowly, keeping his dark eyes on her the whole time. Shana cursed lightly as she turned the tap on full and stuck her hand underneath it. Blood mingled with water as it flowed from her wound and dripped into the sink. Dart came up from behind her, reached out to turn the tap off and then gently grabbed her injured hand in his.

Blood fell from her cut and trickled down his hand as he reached out, grabbed a T-towel and wrapped it around her wound. Shana swallowed and watched him, " D-dart...", she whispered shakily. " You've gotten blood....all over your hand now..."

He remained silent. He only shrugged lightly and looked down into her wide eyes. His arm snaked around her waist and he pressed her to his armor clad body. Shana blinked, not knowing what to do or say, ' What the.... '

Dart reached over, placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her face higher up. He then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her deeply. His soft lips suddenly parted and his warm tongue flicked out to softly graze her lower lip, seeking entry, which was given immediately. Shana felt him rub his tongue against hers in a manner she didn't even know that he pocessed or knew of.

His hand slid from her chin to slid down her front and cup her left breast. Shana began to pull away, but Dart's arm tightened around her waist and he squeezed her breast hard, causing her to whimper. She felt a large bulge in his pants as her bare thigh rubbed up against it. She thought about kneeing him one, but she thought again.

Silent alarms went off in her head and she now began to struggle against him, ' This isn't right....what's going on? Why's he going so....fast? '

Dart's hand slid from her breast to unbutton the small buttons on the front of her short mini-top that went just above her navel with one hand. He was making fast progress and that worried Shana. When he undid the last one, he shoved aside the shirt to reach in and grasp her breast again.

Shana stopped struggling and just let him have his way as his mouth moved from her now bruised lips and as his arm slipped from her waist. She took a step back and he reached out to slide the shirt from her shoulders. It fell to the ground and he stood there staring at her lace and silk covered breasts.

A smirk came onto his lips as he stepped toward her and gathered her in his arms. He reached up behind her and undid the metal clasp to her bra. Shana bit her lip and closed her eyes, ' Oh god, no...', she thought as he caught her hurting lips in his, sliding the bra from her body.

The cold armor brushed against her erect, peaked nipples as he pressed her to him again. He then bent down, scooped her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. When they made their way into the bedroom, Dart carried her to the bed only to dump her uncerimoniless on it's welcoming softnes.

Shana frowned deeply as she sat up and watched him cross the room and close the door, making it sure it was locked. Shana blinked at him as he made his way to her, stripping himself of the red armor. It fell to the ground loudly. Shana suddenly grabbed the blanket and tried to cover herself, but it was no use. Dart reached out and ripped it from her body.

Her arms immediately went to cover her aching breasts that cried out for attention, but he reached out, grabbed them, and pinned them over her head as he straddled her. He licked his lips and then lowered his mouth to capture one of her aching breasts into it's warmth and moistness.

Shana sucked in a sharp breath and let it out as a moan as Dart's tongue teased the hard nipple, outlining the auroele and then suckling her entire breast greedily. Shana heard herself cry out as she bucked her hips against him. He let out a low chuckle against her breast and bucked his hips down against hers and brought another moan from her lips, only this one was stiffled.

She wanted to have him inside of her now, but there was something about him that didn't seem right to her. It was like his personality had been replaced with something else. She gave herself a mental shake and then suddenly moaned again as Dart bent over and began to nip and tease her neck. This was going to be the most happiest night of her life if Dart kept up doing what he was doing to her.

***

Dart hummed quietly to himself as he trudged down the path towards his house in the now quiet little village. All the lights had been extinguished a long time ago. It was getting really late and he found himself yawning loudly while he walked. He suddenly smiled to himself, thinking that he should just ignore his grandfather's request in joining him tomorrow morning for the early practice by sleeping in really late.

He reached up and scratched the back of his neck as he walked past the little houses in the village. He frowned deeply and his hand fell from his neck to lay, hanging at his side. His eyes strayed on Shana's little house, in the far corner, a couple of houses down from his own. In the front window, he could see the dim light of her oil lamp and this worried him, for Shana was a early sleeper.

He cocked his head to the side, as if taken aback by the light. He stopped suddenly and watched the window for a shadow or something. He saw no one. He bit his lip, thousands of thoughts flowing through his mind, ' Why's her light still on? She's never up this late. What's the deal with this? '

He slowly made his way towards the house, with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword for mere comfort. He walked up the steps quietly, moving with the slick grace of a cat. He reached out and his hand grasped the doorknob firmly. He breathed in deeply before twisting the knob to the side and then pushing the door open.....

***

Rose blinked and watched in silence. Ever since the night she heard him talking to...well, no one in his bedroom, she had kept a close eye on him. She didn't want anything bad to happen to him, if he was chosen to become the next victim. It was just too much that she could bear.

She watched as he walked up the steps with uncertainty. She could feel the uncertainty and confusion radiating off of him and she was now soaking it all up. She wondered what was really going on in Shana's house. She also knew that Shana didn't stay up this late.

' But why is her oil lamp still on? Does she have a late-night visitor? ', Rose shook her head as these thoughts poured into her mind all at once.

She blinked again and leaned in closer to watch Dart as he opened the door and disappeared into the house. She then sat back on her hunches and waited in the darkness of the bushes for what was going to happen. She could feel something coming from that house. But what was it? She couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but she figured it was just Shana again.

' But how can it be her again. She was already victim to it.....'

She shook her head again and scratched her chin as she waited with patience. She had learned to live with waiting for over the past ten thousand years. She heard Dart call out Shana's name and that brought a smirk to Rose's lips as she leaned back against the tree, with her eyes closed.

She felt something shake against her leg and she sighed lightly. She reached down and opened her pouch to reveal the bright glowing light of her Dragoon Spirit. She shook her head and then looked over at the house. She bit her lip hard and then sighed heavily. Maybe she had a way of stopping whatever was suppose to happen to him. Maybe she could...sacrifice herself for him.

' Maybe he's the one who I've been waiting for. Maybe he's the one who can relieve me of my pain. My internal suffering....', she thought with some hope.

***

At the sound of the voice,Shana's eyes flew open and she knitted her brows together, " D-dart? Did you just call my name? ", she asked him as he began to quickly slip her short shorts from her long legs.

He looked up at her and nodded, suddenly speaking for the first time that night, he whispered gently as he trailed kisses down her trembling thighs, " I...yes. It was me. Was I...too loud? ", he wondered as he quickly discarded the shorts on the ground.

She giggled lightly and shook her head, " No. It's alright. I'd rather have it where you're screaming out my name instead of some other girl's....", she admitted shyly.

He nodded and then looked down at her black, lacy panties. They kinda resembled bikini bottoms. He reached out to tug at them, to get them off, but the voice called out again, causing him to freeze in midair. Shane looked down at him and then sat up quickly. She looked at Dart, frowning deeply now, " That wasn't you...was it? "

He swallowed lightly and then cursed loudly. Shana gasped lightly and began to pull away from him, but he reached out, placing a harsh hand over her mouth. He looked into her wide, frightened eyes, and placed a finger to his lips. He shook his head, " Don't, say, a word! I will kill you if you do, Shana. I will, I swear you to it. ", he whispered harshly, causing a bit of spit to land on her cheek by her ear.

She flinched, swallowed thickly and nodded. Tears brimmed her eyes and she reached out to grasp a blanket and shield her naked body, but Dart shook his head and ripped it from her hands with his free hand. Shana was truely frightened. She had never seen Dart this....crude in her entire life that she had known him, so threatening...it scared her. The silent alarms went off in her mind again and this time she lashed her foot out at him, catching him square in the gut.

He was slightly stunned, but it wasn't enough to push him away from her. His hand slipped from her mouth and she drew in a deep breath and then let it out as a trembling scream, " HELPP!! "

Wack!! His hand connected with the side of her delicate face and she cried out. Her hand went to the side of her face as she began to cry. Dart looked at her, his face slightly flushed as he reached out, gripped her arms and then threw her to the ground. The blanket tangled around her legs and went down with her. Her head hit the ground and then bounced off.

Coloured spots danced before her eyes and she groaned loudly. Her eyes closed for a minute or two and she was left in total darkness.

***

' Shana! ', he screamed out in his mind. ' What the hell is going on? '

He quickly made his way towards the back of the house, and then turned left to find himself standing in front of a closed door. His pulse raced as he began to inhale deeply, trying to calm it down. She was in trouble. She needed him to protect her.

He reached out to turn the knob, but it wouldn't turn. It was locked. He suddenly growled under his breath and then brought his leg up and kicked at the door, " Shana! ", he cried out.

It flew up and off it's hinges, landing on the ground beside the little square, oak table standing between the closet and door. His eyes scanned the room and he spotted a shadowed figure about his height and with his muscle build making it's way towards the open window in the far end of the room.

He narrowed his eyes and then ran into the room, " You! ", he cried to the figure that froze as he heard the voice.

" Stop right there! What did you do to Shana? "

The figure turned slowly to face him and the moonlight streaming into the room fell onto his face and revealed his features. Dart blinked, and cocked his head to the side, now completely taken aback by what he was seeing. He lifted a hand and pointed a finger at the figure then at himself, " Y-you're...me? But how? "

The figure then snickered evilly, shrugged, and began to slowly back up, towards the open window. Dart took a step towards him and shook his head, " You're not going anywhere. You're going to come with me. You have a lot of explaining to do...", he told the figure.

The figure continued to snicker. Shana groaned loudly, opened an eye, sat up slowly, and looked at the retreating figure at the window to Dart making his way towards it. She blinked a couple of times to get rid of the coloured spots and then looked at Dart. Her mouth fell open and she backed up against the bed as much as she could.

The figure then lifted his hand and waved goodbye to Dart as he leaned back against the window seat and fell out of the room through the window, backwards. Dart cursed and ran to the window, only to find no one laying on the ground, or running away from the house. He slammed his fists down onto the windowseat and then sighed as he raked a hand through his hair.

He turned around and found Shana peering over at him from over the top of the messed up bed. He looked at her and noticed in the moonlight that she was bleeding from her nose and from her bottom lip. He took in the sight of her; the messed up hair, the frightened look of a little child, her lower lip as it trembled, the tears that now began to form in her eyes.

He quickly crossed the room and rushed over to her. He didn't know she was comepletely naked except for a pair of panties as he knelt down in front of her trembling form. He reached out and gingerly touched her bruised cheek, looking into her eyes, he asked gently, " D-did he hurt you? Besides for the lip and cheek, I mean..."

She sniffled lightly and looked at the ground. Dart frowned deeply and then let his fingers slide down her cheek to rest under her chin as he lifted her face up so he could look at her, " Hey...come on now. I'm here now, aren't I? "

Her bottom lip trembled even more as she shook her head, choked out a sob and threw herself into his arms. She buried her face into his neck and shoulder and sobbed loudly and uncontrolably. Dart's arms went around her waist as he pulled to him. As his fingers slid across her smooth and bare flesh, it was then he realised that she was naked. He swallowed thickly and shook his head.

He soothed her and stroked her hair gently, " Hush now...it's alright. I'm here now, I'm not going to leave you again....", he whispered into her hair.

Her sobs died down and she just sat there in his arms hiccuping quietly. He found it rather cute. The last time he heard her hiccup after she cried her heart out was when he scared her by being stupid. He had jumped out of a tree in the shallow end of the lake and resurfaced after five minutes of being underwater.

He closed his eyes and realized that she was slowly falling asleep. He sighed lightly and began to rock back and forth gently and smoothly, as he reached out and grasped the blanket, bringing it around her body. She let out a little breath and it tickled his neck as he wrapped the blanket around her slender figure.

' In the morning. ', he thought. ' I'll ask her what happened, even though I'm starting to get a clear picture....'

She was leaning against him now, all her weight of only 110lbs pressed against him. He shook his head lightly and smiled to himself as he brought her onto his lap and then scooped her into his arms. He laid her down on the bed with the blanket wrapped around her body and he stood there gazing at her.

' She was....raped....that's what I'm thinking....', he thought to himself as he self-consciously reached down and caressed her smooth cheek.

There was a light breeze in the room and it drifted across his own cheek, " What do you think you're doing? "

Dart snatched his hand back and whirled around to see who was there. Realizing who IT really was, he snorted and then shook his head, " I'm watching over her...like I told her I would do....", he replied quietly.

There was a low chuckle this time, " Really? You sure it's watching OVER her and not AT her? ", it asked.

Dart rolled his eyes, " She's like a little sister to me, alright? Don't you understand? I can't love her..."

" Why not? "

Dart remained silent as he turned from the bed and made his way to the door. He frowned deeply as he just remembered he had busted her door. He quickly made a mental note of coming back tomorrow and fixing it. He made his way down the hall and entered the kitchen. He felt something soft smush underneath his boot and he looked down to find Shana's bra and shirt laying on the ground.

He frowned and then bent down to pick them up and place them on the kitchen table. He yawned lightly and then made his way from the house as he stepped through the door and walked down the small set of stairs. The voice followed him, " You know you can't run from it. You know what will happen when she falls..."

Dart's eyes began to feel heavy and he frowned, " When who falls? "

" Your angel...", it stated simply.

" Oh, not that again! ", he nearly cried out in disbelief. " I have no angel. Why do you always pester me? Don't you have some breeze you have to go fly away on? "

There was a chuckled and Dart shook his head as he slowly made his way up his own small set of stairs, " I don't think this is funny. With you buggin me and all, telling me that I all of a sudden that I have an angel...", he waved his hand in the air.

" I didn't say it was funny. I'm just saying that if you don't start taking this serious, then the one you truely love will fall or even perish from your life foreve, Dart. I'm just warning you ahead of time. I've seen it happen. I just don't want to have to watch you go through it again..."

What was last said made Dart stop dead in his tracks, " A-again? ", he whispered hoarsely.

" Yeah. This is what I've been trying to get through to you....it happened once, and it's going to happen again..."

" With who though...I don't understand...", Dart replied quietly as he reached out and opened his door.

" Well...I'm not really from your time, Dart. I'm from the near future that'll be coming up anytime soon...and it's happened already from where I came from. It's going to happen here and I wanted to warn you...ahead of time so you don't fall...v-victim..."

" Who are you? "

" I...I'm just someone who's watching out for you, that's all you need to know, Dart...", it replied softly.

Dart just nodded and remained silent as he slipped the red armor over his head and dropped it to the ground as he entered his bedroom. He stripped off the thin T-shirt that clung to his body like a second skin and then he kicked off his boots. He sighed heavily as he turned his back to the bed and fell back onto it.

" What do I do now? ", he wondered out loud.

Silence was the only thing that answered him, and that satisfied him...somewhat.