Chapter 1
(Warning: This story is pretty much just a published draft of the story because I wanted to see others opinions on this, so expect updates to be slow as I figure out what I want and also expect changes in some chapters that may be published. There will be yuri (between my OC's), but the canon characters changes will be kept to a minimum.)
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Two stared at one and one stared at two, their eyes staring into each other. The elder First, who wore her red first uniform, slowly got more nervous as the Second stared into her eyes.
Lycoris, that is what they were called, with school girl uniforms as their disguise to blend into the world around them. Uniforms signifying rank with color such as: red (First), navy blue (Second), beige (Third). They worked for the D.A (Direct Attack), grateful to them for saving them from their orphaned lives. The Lycoris's job was to exterminate all evil in the cities before it broke out. To exterminate all evil in Japan.
The elder had flaming hair, and dark red eyes, while the younger had her dark hair tied up in a small ponytail. Her eyes shined a golden like color, hazel.
Chuckles could be heard from behind the two, "Akane and a kid?" They scoffed, "Let's see if she can handle this one."
The red head's brow twitched, her hand curled up into a fist. Her urge to punch them clear on her face.
Without warning, the younger slowly reached out to the red head's other hand causing the elder to jolt in surprise.
The First blinked at the Second who blankly stared at her, tilting her head. She sighed, rubbing the back of her head before squatting before the girl, holding the hand that had grabbed hers.
"My name's Akane. What's your name, kiddo?" She grinned stupidly at the kid.
"Kaede, Hazuki Kaede." The younger fiddled with the hems of her navy blue skirt. Her gaze everywhere, but the redhead's eyes.
A pause briefly entered the air before Akane pounced on the Second, squealing happily, "Oh my god, why are you so cute!?" Kaede tensed into the hug, before slowly wrapping her arms around the First's waist. Her pale cheeks dusted pink.
Akane suddenly pulled out from the embrace, looking at the younger person seriously, "How old are you?"
"S-six?" Kaede looked at her confused.
"Only six and you're a Second!? That's awesome." Akane looked at the younger in awe, "I must have a prodigy for a partner." Settling down, the redhead looked at her with a bright genuine smile, "Good to be working with you partner."
~~~
[Cafe LycoReco]
10 years later
"-zuki"
The hazel eyed girl blinked out of her trance, rustling her locks, "Sorry, Mika." She smiled softly at the elder man, who looked at her blankly. He was dark skinned and fragile looking with his kimono, but underneath was a healthy elderly man. His long dark locks of hair braided away from his face, glasses covering his forest green eyes.
"Mika" stood across from her, on the other side of the bar as he wiped down dishes, "Thinking about her again?"
Kaede hummed, looking at her reflection through the floral cup of tea before her. A soft expression plastered onto her face, "How's Chisato doing?"
"Same old, same old."
The girl chuckled lightly, her voice had become deeper over the years and had the slightest bit of rasp in her voice, "She's an amazing person, that girl."
"I could say the same about you, Hazuki." Mika said, not bothering to look at the girl.
Kaede wasn't in her uniform, not armed at all. Not like she needed any kind of arms to protect herself or deal with any perpetrators. She wore a black coat that had an orange coating on the inside with a white sweater ( two black stripes went over her torso and onto her wrists) over her white dress shirt and a black plaid skirt to finish off the look. A pendulum hung from her neck with the help of a silver chain.
Silence enveloped them as Kaede sipped on her tea, a solemn expression on her face.
"Her anniversary came up recently, didn't it? How long has it been…since…" Mika became quiet as memories emerged from the back of his brain of that certain day.
"Nine years. It's been nine years since Akane's passing." Her expression didn't change, but her voice hardened with each passing word, "Only four years since I've become a First. I wonder if she would be proud of me…"
Mika scoffed, "If Akane knew, she would be sobbing her eyes out. That girl gets emotional easily."
She laughed at the thought of the redhead weeping happily at her "promotion" of sorts, "True, Akane's always been like that. Even when we first met she was a complete mess of emotions. From angry to happy to serious in a flash."
Kaede gulped the rest of her tea down before softly placing it back down onto its platter earning her a small clink. The chair squeaked as she got out of the chair, "I should get going, see you some other time, Mika."
The bell rang as the front door swung open, leaving the cafe empty once again. Mika didn't even get a chance to say anything else as the girl swiftly escaped the warmth of the cafe.
Mizuki, who was in the back of the store while Kaede had visited, peeked out from the back, humming, "Is there someone there, Mika?"
Mika gazed at the now closed door, quietly, "No...just a passing gust of wind."
~~~
Nine years ago…
[Kaede: 7 years old (Before the Radio Tower Incident)]
"Dragon to HQ, we've found the dealers." Akane whispered into her comms, Kaede just behind her as they peeked over a wall separating them from three men seemingly protecting a briefcase. "Shall we engage? …Understood."
The First looked at her partner and smiled at her, before signaling for them to charge. Akane took the lead shooting at the man in the very middle, successfully hitting his hand causing him to scream in agony; his gun fell out of his hand. She barrelled to the right, taking cover behind a small barricade as the other two men shot at her.
Kaede went to follow as the two men went to reload their guns, before getting hit in the back of her neck causing her to yelp out in pain as she tumbled towards the floor. The blow wasn't successful enough to cause her to be knocked out, but for sure it gave her a concussion.
Her gun was knocked out of her hands, the man who had hit her on the back of her neck stepped on her back preventing her from getting up. He picked up her gun before pointing it at the back of her head.
The Second tried to push the guy's foot off her back only for him to push harder, he spat on her cheek before cursing at her, "Die, bitch."
Akane screeched as she ran at Kaede, "Kaede!!!!" Her face clear with terror as the other two men shot waves of bullets at her. A few of the bullets tore through her skin and flesh, but she didn't care in the least.
The young Kaede stared at her in complete utter disbelief as Akane risked her life for her (a partner of only one year); the redhead dove towards Kaede, covering her head with her body.
Bang
Blood poured over the hazel eyed girl's face, but it wasn't her blood. It was Akane's. The bullet had punctured straight through Akane's heart killing her instantly and setting the bullet off its course.
Her breath hastened uncontrollably; she became light headed from the lack of oxygen and concussion. She could barely register what was going on around her as the man above her cursed as the pistol became jammed out of pure luck.
Suddenly the man was kicked in the shoulder causing him to stumble forwards, the sound of bullets echoing throughout the abandoned building. Yet no blood ran down him, he only curled in pain.
A flash of red jumped over Kaede's gaze, the sight of a girl's blonde hair briefly passed her vision. The sound of bullets being fired rang out, yet Kaede was unable to move, paralyzed underneath her First's body. And for a few moments, everything seemed to stop as the sound of steps approached the two, "Alpha 1 to HQ." the girl spoke into her comm, "I have rescued Maple, she is in critical condition; Dragon shows no vital signs. No harm has been done to the goods."
"...yes, understood." The blonde First, who looked no older than Kaede herself, moved Akane's body off of the Second. Her red eyes panged with sympathy for the girl.
The hazel eyed Second struggled to stay awake, her gaze locked onto her First's cold body. Her hand reached out to Akane's cold, bloody hand, yet she had no strength to reach out. A hand reached out to help her hold onto Akane's hand, clasping the two hands together with two warm hands. Kaede's gaze followed the hands back to the blonde First, she looked into her red eyes, "You…what's your name?"
"Chisato." She smiled warmly at Kaede.
"T-thank you…" Kaede choked out dryly as ugly tears started to flow out of her eyes, unwillingly. "Thank you, so much Chisato…"
Darkness soon enveloped her vision, as she slowly sank into the unknown warmth that wrapped around her.
~~~
[Present time]
Kaede walked through the halls of the D.A. having decided to practice shooting. The red First uniform she wore gleamed in the lights. She stepped light like a feather, not even the sound of footsteps could be heard throughout the halls. Her breathing was light yet subtle.
She opened the door to the shooting range, the sound of bullets echoing throughout the room suddenly entering her ears. The hazel eyed First took a deep breath to settle her nerves as she stepped inside before closing the door behind her.
A few other Lycoris were practicing. Kaede took her spot where others were farther away from. Taking the headphones laid out gratefully as she placed them on her ears, muffling out the sounds around her. Grabbing her gun from its hollister underneath her skirt, she checked her rounds before taking aim.
Bang. Hand, Bang. Thigh, Bang. Shoulder.
One by one the bullets tore through the target. Every single bullet hitting a non-lethal spot perfectly. The thigh to stop runners, hands to unarm, and finally shoulders to get them unbalanced. A perfect setup to capture someone.
With the destruction of each target, a new one came forward. Kaede kept shooting until her final round hit the heart of the dummy. Her arms shook from the recoil of each bullet, releasing a shaky breath. Placing the gun on the counter in front of her. She slid her headphones off her ears and onto her shoulders.
The sound of others shooting now invading her eardrums. On the side of the shooting range, the sight of accurate and consistent bullets puncturing each and every single lethal body part of the dummy caused the First to flinch.
There stood a girl, just the tiniest bit shorter than Kaede with jet back hair as long as her waist and piercing violet eyes. She wore a navy blue uniform, a Second. Such accuracy and yet she was still a second.
A First came up to the Second (she looked familiar to Kaede) and tapped her on the shoulder. The first had short brown hair heavily weighing itself on the side of her head.
"Oi, Takina."
The Second slid her headphones off and looked at the First blankly. "Fuki."
Fuki, that was the name of Chisato's old partner. Of course, Kaede had known that. Fuki had taken over Chisato's place as Alpha 1, yet of course, Chisato was still much stronger.
Kaede's eyes met Fuki's , the other seemingly having sensed the hazel eyed girl's gaze. The brown haired girl paused as she stared at Kaede who bowed ever so slightly in respect. Fuki's expression contorted into bewilderment as she too bowed in the same way, before both her and her Second partner walked out the range.
A few seconds later, another girl (a First) walked in with long black hair highlighted blue, one side of her bangs swept back behind her ear. Legs long and slender, her expression blank as she scanned the room; her ocean blue eyes void of emotion.
As soon as Kaede spotted her she looked the other way cursing, hoping that the girl wouldn't see her. But of course the other First saw her and soon the sound of fast approaching steps could be heard.
"...Kaede-senpai…" Her voice was low, a slight rasp in it causing Kaede's cheeks to tint pink. How she loved the rasp in her voice. Even with the girl calling her name she didn't look her way and only turned back to her gun and reloaded it.
Click
"What is it, Kaori?" She said, going to aim at the target only for a hand to come in her view and place itself on her hands. Kaede glanced at the owner's eyes, who looked at her with nothing but affection. She gulped thickly, her grip on the gun loosening.
Kaori took the gun from Kaede's hands gently placing it back down on the counter. She caressed her senpai's face, gently pulling the strands of hair away from her eyes. The scar on her forehead that was once hidden underneath her bangs now revealed to the latter, bringing her thumb up to touch the scar. Kaede frowned, gently smacking the girl's hand away wtih the back of her own.
"Stop it," The golden eyed girl glared at her kouhai, "Go away, I'm trying to practice." turning back to the counter to pick up her gun.
Kaori, in a barely audible voice, asked, "...why?"
Reacting to the sound of her voice, Kaede looked up at the taller girl, puzzled, "Huh?" She winced as she saw Kaori's ocean blue eyes glaring at her, tears welled up.
"Why did you push me away?" She spoke in a whisper, tears dripping slowly from the girl's face.
"...Kaori…" Gulping thickly, Kaede formulated her response robotically, "You're a First now, Kaori. You can handle yourself, you don't need me." her chest throbbed as she lied to herself. She knew that it wasn't Kaori that needed her the most, but her; she needed Kaori, yet she still refused to let the girl by her side.
"That doesn't mean that I can't be your partner, there by your side, Kaede-senpai. First's being partners isn't unheard of." Her fists were clenched at her sides, ocean blue eyes ragging a storm up. Kaede only looked the other way, not wanting to look at her. Afraid of losing herself in the ocean of blue.
Seeing as Kaede wasn't even willing to look her in the eyes, Kaori's eyes panged, hurt, "Forget it." She spat out spitefully, twisting around to the exit without looking back leaving the sweet smell of morning glories lingering in the air around Kaede.
As soon as the sound of the door being slammed behind Kaori echoed throughout the range, Kaede collapsed against the barricade separating her from the rest of the Lycoris, just as if she was alone once again.
"...Kaori…"
~~~
[Ame & Cigs]
Clink
The flame illuminated her face as she burned the end of her cig. Another clink rang out as she closed the lighter, stuffing it back into her pocket. Smoke filled her cheeks, infecting her lungs and calming her nerves. She watched as the smoke rose into the cloudy sky as rain fell silently, puffing as her lungs filled.
"Smoking now are we, Hazuki?"
Turning at the sound of the voice, Kaede looked to the side to find a certain redhead. Lifting the cig packet up at the latter, she said, "Cig props. Peppermint, want one?"
The older woman lifted an eyebrow at Kaede, shaking her head, "A cigarette is still a cigarette, Hazuki."
Kaede shrugged, putting the pack away, "Suit yourself, commander." she hummed to herself, letting out another puff. Her golden eyes went back to gazing at the rain. The smell of peppermint mixing in with the musky smell of rain.
"Hey, Kusunoki…Do you think I did the right thing?"
The redheaded commander glanced at the First, "I don't know, but one day I'm sure it'll bite you in the back. Either your past or actions, Hazuki."
"One day, huh?" Kaede chuckled.
"Oh, and Hazuki," Kusnoki called out, causing the girl to look at her as she puffed out some smoke, "Smoking is prohibited in the DA."
Kaede choked up in surprise, coughing out smoke, "Damn, I got caught?" She grinned at the women, amused rather than scared of being "caught".
"You weren't hiding it too well anyways, now." The commander held her hand out, indicating for the girl to give her the pack.
The golden eyed girl sweat dropped, before sighing, resigning to the woman as she handed her the pack that was almost full. Yet the woman didn't drop her hand, knowing what she was asking for she grumbled as she brought out the lighter and gave it to the latter.
"Thank you, I'll let you have this last smoke, but please," The commander looked at her sternly, "Don't smoke around the DA."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Kaede grumbled, as she sheepishly rubbed her nape. The redhead left the golden girl to smoke with a few final words, "Enjoy the silence, Hazuki. You never know when the world may spiral into chaos once again."
Once again, she looked back at the dull sky, the sound of pitter-patter on the concrete floor of the roof of the DA rang in her ears. Her golden eyes were the only thing in the world that seemingly shined, yet they, too, were void of emotion.
A low chuckle emerged from the depth of her throat, "The silence never lasts long does it, huh, Akane?"