LOVE AND SACRIFICE(v3)

Love and Sacrifice(v2): (Un-named Part)

-------
In Arasia
-------

"Stop right there!"

Shadow stopped in his tracks, cursing himself mentally for not having heard the soldier approach him from behind.

"Put your weapon down!" The man commanded, moving closer to Shadow.

The dark hybrid took his weapon out from where it was hidden and crouched down as if he was about to put it down, but halfway to the ground, he suddenly pivoted on his right heel, his braid whacking the man as he turned. He shot the soldier as he completed his turn, then ran.

Behind him, two pokemon, an umbreon and a houndoom[1] were following closely. Shadow had recieved them a few days ago, and they had quickly become a team, working well together.

Shadow, however, realized that he had obviously taken a wrong turn, for they reached a dead end. There was nothing but a window infront of him, and some soldiers somewhere behind him. As the soldiers neared, he recalled his pokemon and took out his gun once again. He fired one bullet at the window, effectively shattering the glass. He then proceeded to kill the five soldiers who were after him.

Leaning over the window ledge, he decided that jumping down would be too risky. It was too high up, and there was nothing but concrete on the ground. But there was a tree about fifteen feet away.

There were some shouts in the corridor ahead, and right as one of the soldiers rounded the corner, he leaped out of the window, and landed in a crouching position on a tree branch. He stood, turned to shoot the soldier, and began to climb out of the tree.

When he returned to the deserted building he had been living in, he immediately checked his leg, the one he had broken some time ago. It was fine, and he hadn't re-broken it during the jump. As a result of his being genetically enhanced, he healed faster than normal humans or pokemon, but not as fast as he would like to. Shadow didn't particularly care about his body, but he knew that staying healthy was necessary if he was to carry out his missions efficiently, so he took care of it anyway. The bone in his leg had healed, but it was still fragile, and could easily break again. Next time, he was going to have to double check his directions so he didn't have to pull a stunt like that again.

His next mission was a whole week away, however, and he was only five miles away from his target, so he had no traveling left to do. All he'd have to do over the next few days was train, and maybe steal some provisions. Shadow had a feeling that many of the hybrids would show up, for this was going to be a big mission. Many of the 'Zentai' leaders would be at the meeting on Friday, and Zentai, not the Kaitan Alliance, was their real target. The other purpose of the mission was to make themselves known, and to give the people in Arasia, and the other continents, hope for peace, and a renewed will to fight back.

========================

Erian walked through the town with a smirk on her face. No one seemed to look at her twice despite the fact that she had gone through great lengths to hide every inch of her body, even wearing a hooded cloak. Then again, the fact that it was raining was a good excuse.

Despite the rain, she was enjoying being out in the open. Arasia had proved to be not all that much different from Farica. Sure they had many different customs and such, but when one really compared them, there were many similarities. She bought a few snacks that she'd be able to carry around when she travelled on her own, and a map, but as she exited the shop, someone bumped into her, and caused her to drop her map into the mud, ruining it.

"Hey!" She yelled at the retreating form. "Why you..." She muttered, running after the person. "Stop!" She commanded, but he didn't listen. /Wait, wrong language.../ "Kora! Kisama!"[2]

That got his attention, and he turned around to glare at her. "What?" He replied in heavily accented, but clear, English.

"You bumped into me back there and made me drop my map! I demand an apology!"

"Look, I don't have any time to talk." He replied impatiently, glancing around with nervous eyes. "I'm in a hurry."

"How long does it take to say 'I'm sorry'?" She asked, her hands on her hips. Although she was probably half a foot or more shorter than him, she didn't feel one bit threatened.

"Fine, I'm sorry. Happy?"

"No. Say it like you mean it."

"I don't have time for this." And he turned and began to walk away.

"You're gonna regret this!" She yelled. "Baka..." She muttered when he didn't reply. "Next time I see him, I'm going to-"

"You're going to what Erian?" Joseph asked. He'd watched the whole episode between her and the boy, and had been highly amused by the way she had angrily demanded a sincere apology despite the fact that she was like an eevee demanding an apology from a Tauros.

"I'm going to make him pay." She said haughtily. "Why didn't you intervene if you were standing there?"

"I admit he was rude, but you were so caught up in yelling at him you didn't notice that fact that he had a silver collar under his shirt."

"He what? And you just let him get away? We need to find him! He's an ally!"

Joseph shook his head. "Not now. You saw those Kaitan soldiers that passed by? I think they were chasing him. I believe he took the opportunity to argue with you as a cover so they wouldn't realize it was him who had just been running. It's best to wait till things clear before we search for him."

Erian didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway. "Joseph-chan, can we go to that pokemon store? Pleeeaaase? I saw the cutest sandshrew..."

"What would you want a sandshrew for?"

"I just wanna look!"

He sighed. "Fine, but we're only going to look. After this, we need to head straight for the Dojo. They've been waiting for us long enough."

"Have I ever told you how nice you are to me Joseph-chan?"

"Many, many times..."

-----------------

They arrived at the Dojo half an hour later, and were hurriedly escorted to the hidden area underneath it. Glad to be out of the rain, Erian hurriedly threw off her coat and gloves and settled down in a chair with a content sigh.

"Erian, meet Taru. He's the one who arranged for us to stay here while we wait for our next attack."

"The daytime one?"

Joseph nodded. "Yes."

Taru smiled at the young girl, and then spoke. "We are pleased to have you here. The Kaitans have been ruling here for too long. We-"

"Who's here?" Another voice asked as footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.

"Visitors." Taru replied.

"Visitors?" A head poked around the wall that lined the stairs, and Erian's eyes widened in recognition and surprise.

"You!" She exclaimed, promptly folding her arms across her chest. "Well, fate seems to be in favor of justice being served! I still have a bone to pick with you!"

He descended the last stair and stood beside Taru, looking at Erian in slight surprise. "Have we met?"

She lifted her cloak. "Does this refresh your memory?"

Recognizing the coat, her snorted. "I apologized already. Besides, it's not the position of a girl to demand apology from a man."

"Why you little male chauvinist!" She got up from her chair and was about to slap him when Joseph held her back. "Let me go! I'm gonna cut off that little ponytail of his off!"

Taru looked at the teenage boy that stood beside him. "You know her, Kenji?"

"We met in the market." He replied.

"Erian calm down! You're both hybrids!" Joseph scolded her, trying to hold her back. She stopped struggling, but stuck her tongue out at Kenji.

"I am not fighting with her." Kenji said, looking down at Erian. "Women should not be fighting anyway. It is not the place of the weak to fight."

"Weak? I'll show you weak!"

"Erian..." Joseph said in a warning tone she knew all too well, calming her down again.

"I believe people should fight for their beliefs, weak or not. So we're going to that base together, no matter what you say. Besides, I don't want to go with you either, but I have a mission to complete." She looked at Joseph, who let her go somewhat reluctantly. "If you don't mind, I'm going to bed now." Then suddenly she grinned. "See you tomorrow Kenji-chan!"[3]

He narrowed his eyes, but refused to go down to her level. "Good night." He said simply, turning and going back upstairs.

Joseph sighed, then looked apolegtically at Taru. "I'm really sorry about Erian..."

"Never mind. Kenji's ego is too big."

The Farican man loked in the direction Erian had dissapeared to. "I better go check on my sister." [4]

--------------- Blade looked at of the attic window of the house of an ex-rebel soldier who had given him, and the soldiers who had accompanied him, refuge. His eyes were fixed on the stars, marvelling at their very existence. They were so beautiful. The whole world, the whole universe was so beautiful...

"Why must we fight wars?" He asked himself softly, tearing his eyes away from the window and returning to the mattress he was going to sleep on. "Wars don't accomplish anything... But Zentai must be destroyed. This must be a war to end all wars." He put on the sheaths that had been made for his blades so that he didn't cut himself while he slept. "But wars shall never end. Sooner or later another will start, and more will die." He slipped under the covers, and closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep. "But I'm no better than the members of Zentai... I've likely killed more than them..." Sleep overtook him, and he fell into a deep, but uneasy sleep.

---------------

[1]No I didn't describe the houndoom because I'm still not all to clear *how* to describe it...
[2] Kora means 'Hey!' and Kisama is a rude/vulgar way of saying 'you'.
[3] There are various levels of respect. chan, kun, san, and sama are four I know. 'chan' is a kind of childish way to refer to someone, which is why Kenji was offended.
[4] Surprised to find that Erian and Joseph are siblings? Why do you think he puts up with her? As much as I love Erian as a character, she'd be one annoying hybrid to have to travel with...

--------------------------------------------------------------