* Ho-hum! WEib and Schwartz aren't ours....*
Silhouette is original

note= Hi! Zamu, you're friendly half mutant vampire at your service, for your convience, pls. check out Silhouettes' stats. A useful piece of information, for guys out there looking for a date *snicker* Rene's gonna have my hide! Ja!




10-Iris

I decided that leaving the flowershop was the best course to take, too. I extracted myself from the standoff between Crawford and Aya and headed for the door.

" Where are you going?" they asked simultaniously.

" For lunch."

" I'll take you," Crawford offered.

" No, I will." Aya cut in.

I just continued walking and ignored their squabbling. I went out the door, absently wondering why Aya had a girl's name. I lightly touched his mind to discover that he'd taken his comatose sister's name so as to remember to revenge her. He'd already done so and his sister had recovered, but he'd kept the name due to force of habit. He really loved his sister. I smiled at the thought.

" What are you smiling about?" Crawford asked at my elbow.

" Nothing," I said slipping my hand into Aya's as he walked next to me. I restrained another smile at Crawford's jealous thought waves and Aya's surprise.

****

I mind controlled the driver, making him stop at a deserted alley. Leila shielded us from gunfire with her telekinetic shield, while Cali leapt on the car roof, opening it with her moleular phasing powers. She snatched Kyoko while I disabled the guards.

Then, we escaped using Lei's shadow portal.

We reappeared in a house we'd rented in the outskirts of town, Kyoko still unconcious. We locked her up in a room empty of anything but a futon, some children's books and her doll.

Cali settled herself in front of her Playstation in the adjoining room while Leila and I shadow slipped back to the hotel, where we found Crawford and Schuldrich waiting. I grabed Leila by the collar and pulled her back before she could beat the red head to a pulp.

" What are you doing here?" I asked Crawford in a frigid voice. Frankly, I was tired of having them pop up when we least expected them.

" Checking to see that you're doing your work right." Schuldrich said self-righteously.

" Whatever Shu-shu!" Leila said mockingly. " At least WE are doing our job. Aren't you guys supposed to be distracting Weib?"

I looked at Crawford and waited for him to speak.

" I just wanted to see how you were."

* Me or the group? * I wondered in amusement.

" WE are fine." I said cooly. " Now, can you leave? We have things to take care of."

He nodded and without a word left, with Schuldrich in tow.

Schuldrich gave Leila the finger and she muttered loudly.

" You wish...."

Schuldrich closed the door with a smirk as I reached for my cellphone.

" Kurayami."

" Who's this?"

" A friend."

The person on the othr end snickered and said.

" I have no friends...."

" Meet me at th bullet trainstation at Murasashii-sho."

I closed the phone and thought about the mentally unstable person who'd be joining us. Realizing who I'd called, Leila asked.

" Are you sure this'll work out?"

" We'll make it work out....if not we can always terminate her."




11-Indigo

" Where are they going?" I asked Ken softly, as we observed both of my teammates, Aya, and the Schwartz leave the flower shop.

He shrugged. " I don't know. Seems as though Omi's quite taken with your friend Cali."

" Yah," I grinned, " And I'm pretty sure she feels the same way. D'you want to go somewhere?"

He shook his head. " Can't. Sorry, Lei. I gotta watch the shop. But can I take a raincheck?"

I was disappointed, but I smiled reassuringly. " Of course. I better get going. Promised to meet Cali and Rene at the suite."

We said goodbye and I walked a few blocks towards the hotel, then ducked into a darkened alley and shadow-slipped back to suite 3-C.

****

I looked around me. My teammates were standing in the suite, dressed for "business" and looking impatient. It was the morning after the flower shop incident. We were about to leave for our mission, and I couldn't find my fleece vest.

" Leila, you don't even need it! It's 70F outside!" Came Rene's strict tone.

" Hello! What am I supposed to do without it? It completes my ensemble, it makes me look cool....Oh! Here it is!" I plucked my beloved fleece vest from behind an armchair and pulled it on. " Now," I said, adjusting my shades, " Let's rock."

Thye kidnapping went off without a hitch. I got to display all of my powers to the utmost, protecting the tem from bullets with a teke shield and doing my duty as the extraction woman.

We were in and out quicker thanyou can say " Harry Potter" and in no time flat, we'd shadow-slipped to a house on the outdskirts of the city.

We left Cali in charge of the girl, who we'd shut up in a comfortable enough room. Then Rene and I teleported to the hotel to take care of some things.

No sooner had we stepped out of a shadow-door than, I spotted Crawford and *yuck!* Schuldrich sitting there waiting for us. A low growl issued in my throat as I started forward. Rene had to pull me back by the collar.

" What are you doing here?" Rene demanded.

" Checking to see that you're doing your work right." That was Schuldrich, the little ass. I think Rene's head was hurting by all the evil thoughts I was radiating just then.

" Whatever Shu-shu," I said, mocking the big dumb red-headed fool. " At least we're doing our job. Aren't you guys supposed to be distracting Weib?"

I didn't hear much of the conversation after that. All I noticed was when the stupid one went openly hostile and gave me the finger.

" You WISH...." I growled dangerously. One day, ONE DAY, he was going to go too far, and then NO ONE would be able to stop me from flinging a knife between his eyes. I was basically goo-natured, but when I got pissed-off I was like the bull that represented my Zodiac sign.

The Schwartz boys finally left, and Rene made an all-important call to a girl known only as Kurayami, whom we were thinking about recruiting to our little mercenary group.

Personally, I had no problem with a new recruit. The more, the merrier. 'Sides, I was getting bored with forever-serious Rene and spaced-out Cali. I mean, I loved the girls but Silhouette needed someone to spice it up. I was having a time doing it by myself.




12-Raven

They had gone too far....

" I can'rt believe you guys made such an important decision without me! What am I?! Leftovers?!" I slammed my fist on the table, making it shatter into pieces. I started taking deep breaths as I struggled to regain my temper. Rene and Leila sat on the couches set in the main room in the suite. Rene's eyebrows were raised, while Lei merely looked put aback. Of course they were calm....they hadn't met her yet.

Lei paused from in between mouthfuls of cheese pizza. " Why are you all riled up? I think a new member will liven things up!"

I crossed my arms, " Liven is not the words I'd use."

Rene patted the empty couch in front of them and I flopped down on it. " Cali, I don't know why you're all riled up. You've never even met her before...."

I made a pained face, " Yes, I have....It was back when I still was going solo. We were paired in some annilhate and leave no traces mission. An offensive kinda thing. Destroy-Break-Destroy. Being on offense, we worked pretty well together." I paled. " She eats liver."

" So?" Mel and Rene put in simultaneously.

I wiggled my eyebrows, " Raw liver."

Lei made a face. " Ewwww."

I haven't even gone to her corpse dance thing. Rene sighed and ran a hand through her hair. " Look. She's the best point-man around and that's what we need at the moment." She then made a dissmisive gesture. " You can kill her after if you want."

I blinked. Rene spoke about killing people so nonchalantly. But, she'd been in this job for ages now. I wondered how long till I became like that, killing merely an offhand gesture.

" Well, she'll be arriving in a while." Lei didn't seem so exulted anymore. Rene stood and turned to both of us, " Let's go. The sooner the damn mission is over, the sooner I'll get home."

" What?" I tried to look innocent. " And leave Braddy all alone?"

Damn....if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under....with Kurayami doing her corpse dance on my grave.

****

Please do not recognize me....

" Cali." Damn it all...." You haven't changed at all."

I forced a smile and peered down into bluish-grey eyes, empty with no irises. I noted she had grown her hair, jet-black strands with purple highlights evident in the sun. She looked so normal, looking merely like a serious young woman. We were the same age but, she looked older by the way she carried herself.

" Kurayami." I lifted a hand in greeting. I looked to her side, noting her tiny daggers and scowled. " Do you have to carry those around in public?"

" Uptight as always!" she scoffed. She then turned to Rene and they started speaking. Lei inched forward. " She looks normal enough."

" Don't be mislead."

Lei shrugged and smiled. " I still think things'll liven up!"

I sighed. Kurayami 'could' liven things up. But, then we'd end up dead.

****

Kurayami wanted to eat out and Rene, being the nice bossman, bosswoman actually, agreed and took her to some sushi place. I being sane of mind, stayed home. Lei had dissapeared. With her Ken-ken probably. Heh. All alone with nothing to do.

....Wait was that the door?

" Lei?" I moved to stand. Three men blasted into the room atacking with mental daggers, the other knocking me down physically. I lay immobile as they stood over me, pinned by a crushing mental weight. " Where is she?"

I laughed, coughing up blood, " Fuck you...."

The man shook his head, then drew a gun." Let's just kill her."

A flash of red. A blur of white. The night wind in my hair and strong arms around me. I struggled to find my voice. " Shuld-rich." I looked up into the night sky.

" Shhhhh, liebe. I'll fix things. Brad's already gone to Rene once we detected intruders in your suit."

As I slipped into darkness, I had a vague thought,* Pervy....been monitoring us....*

* Shut up dear.* his laughter was the last thing I heard.