Disclaimer: Any characters from WeiB Kreuz DO NOT belong to me. *sob sob*
However, the rest of the characters DO belong to me so if you borrow them
(as if anyone will) please let me know. Thanks. =)
=-=-=
Xue Shi [Blood Stone]
By: Elemental Gal
Chapter 1: The Start of It All
He stared in absolute fascination at the girl before him. She looked seventeen, and with her midnight hair, startling blue eyes and great figure, she was one hundred percent sexy, especially clad in that black, skintight mini-dress. Already he was naked, and he continued staring at he girl on the other side of the room. She walked over to him, hips swaying, that sweet, intoxicating voice of hers filling his ears, soothing him. He drew her into a tight embrace, kissing her neck fondling her hair, running his hands over her back, eager to rid her body of the black dress. She caressed him with the tips of her fingers, light as a feather. He sighed with pleasure, thinking how good his luck was, to meet such a rare beauty in the bar only a couple of hours before, and how she was to be his bedmate now.
So absorbed he was in his own thoughts of self-congratulation that he did not notice a sharp prick at his neck, did not realize anything until he fell to the ground, body writhing in intense pain as he stared up to the girl, eyes full of shock and bewilderment. In between his gasps of pain he managed to choke out his dying words. "Who. who are you?"
"Judgement. Your judgement," was the cold reply.
Then, as he stared at terror at the form before him, no longer beautiful but terrifying, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as darkness claimed him for eternity.
+~+~+~+
The computer hummed softly, casting an eerie green glow on the blond- haired girl's face. Green eyes studied the computer screen which kept changing its contents, as her fingers flew over the keyboard at a furious rate. Finally her lips curved into a smile as she paused, quickly taking in the screen's latest contents.
"Excellent." Her voice was more than a little smug as she reached to click the 'save' button.
+~+~+~+
"Strange, to think we could enter here so easily, without even once encountering a guard." Ken glanced around, more than a little puzzled. "I would have expected security to be a lot tighter here."
"Whatever. We just ought to be glad that we have met no obstacles so far. Better pray that this mission succeeds. All our past attempts to get this guy have failed, with all his bodyguards and all. And Kritiker is after us to get this job done. It wouldn't look good on our records if we fail this one." Youji glanced around. Despite his bravado, he himself was feeling very nervous, though he would rather die then admit it. He headed towards the door, and almost tripped over the redhead before him who had suddenly stopped. He was about to swear when the sight at the other side of the door caught his eye. His face turned a nasty shade of green. "I think the reason why there were no obstacles is answered now."
Curious, both Ken and Omi walked over to take a look, and their reactions very much mirrored Youji's. For in the next room men dressed in guard uniforms all lay sprawled on the ground, many of them headless, all lying in pools of blood. The coppery smell of blood met their nostrils, making them wrinkle with distaste.
"I guess someone has beaten us to it. But what could have caused this. this mess? What do you think Aya-kun?" Ken turned to his fellow assassin, who was crouched down by a dead body. They still called the redhead Aya, even though they knew that his real name was Ran, and that calling him Aya would cause some confusion since Ran's sister, Aya, stayed with them. (I like to call him Aya too, come to think of it. ^_^)
"The blood is fresh. They were recently killed, all by the same way: something with a sharp blade slashed them with great impact at their throat, decapitating most of them." His answer was short and clipped. "Any evidence of any unauthorized entry before us, Omi?"
"No," Omi, who was typing away furiously at his laptop, glanced up. "Come on, let's continue. His rooms should be at the top most floor."
Silently, the four members of WeiB continued, spotting more guards in the similar state along their way. Finally they reached the top floor.
"I guess that's it," Youji said, pointing at the lone door with two decapitated guards lying at the door."
Aya glanced around as his teammates got into position. He muttered under his breath. "On the count of three. one. two. three."
Together, they burst into the room.
+~+~+~+
Nagi frowned at the constantly changing computer screen before him while ghostly fingers typed over the keyboard. This was supposed to be an easy one, a research mission. Which usually meant he had to do all the work while the other three members of Schwarz lazed around. Brad was in his study reading, Schuldich somewhere outside messing with some poor soul's mind, and Farfarello somewhere in the basement inflicting self torture, or as he called it, hurting God.
They were all worried, well, maybe all except Farfarello. But they hid it well. Recently, Brad seemed to be having mysterious visions, all which seemed to point that EstE was back, more powerful and ready for revenge.
However, now was not the time to worry. Just get this done with, and you can take a break, try to find away to get back at the others for making you do all the dirty work, the brown-haired youth chided himself. He had just clicked the 'save' button when something else on the Internet caught his eye. A feeling of wrongness touched him. No one was supposed to be able to access those files! Frowning, he mentally moved the mouse over to investigate.
+~+~+~+
Mira gave a look of disdain at the shriveling corpse before her. The poison had done its job well. One prick of the needle, and he was dead. Suddenly, her head jerked up as a voice sounded in her head.
Mira, four people have just entered the building. This was followed by mental images of the four people in question - one redhead, one blonde, and two brunettes, all male and all armed. They look like business. Better get out of there. I think you have done enough killing already. That guy and hundreds guards is more than enough.
At that moment, Mira could hear footsteps, and voices. "Damn," she muttered silently under her breath, then replied to the mental message. I hear them. Don't worry, Saki, I'm coming. But are you sure killing that son of a bitch and an entire contingent of guards can certainly be considered a overkill? Considering all that they have done, I would consider it an underkill.
She felt a mental sigh. Just shut up and come out.
I'm coming already. She snapped back, before throwing on her black leather coat which concealed her chakram. Then, as agile as a cat and quicker than the eye could follow, she flipped out of the window, landing safely in a crouch ninety floors below, next to a beautiful snow leopard. She opened her mouth to speak. "Come on, let's return back to that apartment."
Together, both girl and snow leopard faded off into the shadows of the night.
+~+~+~+
Chelsea's eyes widened as she noticed something was wrong. She swore under her breath. Someone had just discovered her! Well, she wasn't worried. After all, the file was nearly fully saved, and it would take a lot longer for the person on the other line to trace her. Maybe she should teach that person a lesson.
Three seconds later, she had removed the diskette from the disk drive, and her fingers were flying furiously over the keyboard as she devised her punishment.
+~+~+~+
Aya burst into the room and stopped short. Not even the curtain moved in the still night air. In short, there was no one in this room other than the four WeiB guys. He stifled a groan. Just what he needed. They had been given the slip AGAIN! Or so he thought. He heard Youji mutter a curse somewhere behind him. A hand touched his shoulder, and Omi's voice sounded. "Look."
His gaze was directed to the floor. There, the shriveled corpse of a dead man lay sprawled on the ground eyes wide open and showing the whites, mouth open in an 'o' of horror. Men clothes lay in a heap beside him. Despite his shriveled appearance, the tattoo still rather visible on the dead man's shoulder identified him as their target, and he had definitely died only a few minutes recently, probably a few minutes before.
"Someone was here before us. Someone with the same target." Youji's comment was unnecessary. It was more than obvious.
"But who? Which other assassin group could have done this? Schreient and Schwarz have been disbanded, as far as I know. Schwarz could have regrouped, but this doesn't look like their style of killing. As for Schreient, almost the entire group is dead. Know any other group of assassins other than us?" Ken pondered aloud.
"How do you know it was not only one person? Why a group?" Youji's skeptical reply came.
"No one could kill so many guards and him in such a short time, and all at once."
"Perhaps. But you should have noticed, all the guards were killed in the same way, even though our target was killed differently. But this might just indicate."
"Guys, that's enough!" Seeing a full-blown argument coming their way, Omi quickly cut in. "Since our target's dead, we might as well return to the Koneko. The main idea was to have this guy dead, and he is already dead, so why bother? We can tell Manx about this incident later."
But still, Omi thought quietly to himself, back at the Koneko, how could this somebody, or somebodies, manage to get so close to him and slaughter many of his guards in less than an hour? It was something like a miracle, considering WeiB had tried ways and means to get close to their target, close enough to kill, but have all their plans thwarted so many times?
+~+~+~+
Nagi swore loudly, only to have Brad shout at him from the room next door not to speak such offensive language, it was unfitting for people his age. He could hear the front door downstairs open. Probably Schuldich. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He had set up a trace when the hacker had dropped out of sight, just a second before the trace could go through. And now, he had a hacker on the loose with how-much-he-did-not-know information not meant for others.
Suddenly, the computer gave a sharp beep. Then, before his very eyes, all his hard work and research from the past four hours started to wipe themselves out from the computer's memory.
"NANI?!" He immediately jumped in to save them. However, he was to late. Only a paragraph or so of his hard work remained. All the rest were gone.
"Iie!" The poor fifteen-year-old was so worked up that his control over his powers slipped for a mini-second. But that was more than enough. The purple vase on the cherry wood side table flew into the air and smashed in to the wall, spilling water and roses on the carpeted floor. Then, as the bits of pottery fell to the floor, the door burst open as both Brad and Schuldich ran in. They stopped short, taking in the mess before them.
"My vase! My favourite vase! How could you smash it like that?!" Schuldich screamed at his youngest teammate.
"Well done, Nagi. You did me a great favour by getting rid of that purple horror. Now I can get it replaced with an oriental one." Brad turned to the fifteen-year-old before him, a half smile on his lips. Then, a slight frown replaced his half smile as he gestured towards the mess. "Though I have nothing against you honing your telekinetic powers, I would appreciate it if you did not practise indoors, although it does help in getting rid of unsightly furniture. You would clean this mess up before you go to bed."
Nagi nodded dumbly, watching with faint amusement as his orange- haired teammate crawled on his fours picking up bits of purple pottery. His attention was brought back to his team leader when Brad walked up to the computer. "Well, let's see how much you've done in the past four hours."
Nagi winced as Brad looked at what pitiful amount of his hard work was left. Even Farfarello, who was down in the basement, paused in the middle of his activities of self-torture and looked up as Brad's angry voice sounded throughout the house.
+~+~+~+
"You can't be serious! Us and Schwarz?! We're as different as black is to white! And we're supposed to work together and protect each other's backs?! Tell me you're joking!" Youji was the first one to break the stunned silence.
It was about a week since the incident in which their target was found dead, killed not by them but by some unknown person or persons. And the news which Manx had just broken to them was even more shocking than that incident.
Manx gave an impatient sigh. "I didn't say you HAD to work together and be each other's bodyguards round the clock. All you have to do is try not to rip each others' throats out. Apparently, Kritiker received an anonymous message that you and Schwarz were in great danger, because of something both of you possess. A check with Schwarz showed them that they were aware, through Mr. Crawford's skills, that they were in great danger, though any other details they do not know. They are willing to cooperate with us as long as need be."
Seeing the worried look on Aya's face, she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, your sister is not a target. She can remain safely at the Koneko."
Aya gave her a suspicious glare. "How do you know all that? And what do you mean by 'she can remain'? Are we going anywhere?"
"Well. Kritiker has this anonymous informer who would occasionally contact us with some very important tips on big cases. I think he only gives information when the case can affect him. The only thing we can figure out about him is that his male. Any other attempt to trace him always falls short. This bit of information was also given by him. For safety reasons, we will be moving you to a safer place in a week's time, and there you and Schwarz will stay for as long as need be. Meanwhile, X, that's what we call our mysterious informer - X, says he would be sending in protection for you people until this affair has ended. This envelope has all the details you would need to know. See you soon." With that, the redhead handed Omi a manila envelope and left the Koneko.
+~+~+~+
Mira stopped playing with Saki, her face its usual expressionless mask. She glanced at the corner, and in her usual cool and emotionless voice, announced the arrival of a guest in the luxury apartment. "Really, Caos, you should not sneak up like that. I really ought to put a protective shield around this place."
There was a laugh, and Chelsea glanced up to see a tall, aristocratic looking man who looked about twenty-seven, with dark blond hair and cat- like eyes of ever-changing colour appear in the corner of the living room.
"How did you know I was there? I even held my breath." The man pouted.
"That's because you're so LOUD. I could hear your heartbeat from right hear. And besides, your magical aura is really noticeable, since you didn't even use a cloaking spell," Mira replied coolly, pointing an accusing finger at him. Saki looked up to give him an unnerving stare with his tawny snow leopard eyes.
"Oh well, at least it's nice to know my training has not been in vain. Your skills are still sharp even after so many years." His face lit up with a boyish grin. "Hello once again, girls."
"Lord Caos!" Chelsea jumped up and tried to do a curtsey, quite forgetting that it was quite impossible to do so when dressed in slacks, while Mira and Saki watched on with amusement. They couldn't be bothered to do so as Caos was Mira's mentor, the latter who had spent the later part of her adolescence under his training.
Chelsea suddenly felt very self-conscious in her black slacks and green jumper. She was always filled with awe for Caos and his sister Cria, despite them telling her many times to treat them as normal people, no milord and milady and such. She threw a slight scowl at Mira, who remained sprawled on the couch, fingering the blue-white-silver gem she always wore at her neck, hanging from a silver chain, and looking fabulous in a black sweater worn over faded black jeans, emphasizing her unearthly beauty, from the raven hair to the impossibly blue eyes.
Mira never had problems with addressing the two higher beings. To them she was like their daughter, like their close friend. Chelsea was probably regarded just as a friend on the same standing, even though she and Mira were sworn sisters, while Jamie and Marie, who were Cria's handmaidens, were regarded by Cria and Caos as students, nothing more.
It was Mira who brought Chelsea's mind to the present. As usual quick to the point, she asked, "What do you have for us to do now, Caos?"
Her mentor smiled. "The killing and getting of information last week was well done. So tell me, how do you find it, living in this world, in Japan? And why such a small home? Mira's mansion is a thousand times bigger and more comfortable."
Mira merely shrugged. Chelsea, however, replied, "Fun. Mira and I split the cost of this apartment. Things here in Japan are rather expensive and this is already considered a luxury apartment. The language sucks, but I can manage. As for Mira, I think she can manage everything well."
Mira cleared her throat and tried again. "Your purpose for coming?"
Caos nodded. "Yes, I wish for you to play bodyguard to the following two groups of assassins. Each of them possess something of great value, from a slight skirmish. Anyway, I'm in contact with the police force here, a secret group called Kritiker. The two groups are called Schwarz and WeiB. Tell you what, each of these two files contain all the background information you would need to know, including the details of your eight charges and the situation. Read." He passed them each a file and watched them open and read the material.
"Kritiker would move them to a safe house in a week's time. You would join them there. However, you are to start your duty at once. Don't delay. Understand?" when he saw them nod, he disappeared.
Chelsea glanced at her sworn sister, eyes wide with amazement. "To think they each contain a piece of the Xue Shi in them."
Mira nodded. "Yes. I can see why we have to act fast. Let's see. Do you want to do the research or trail them?"
"Research." Chelsea patted her laptop fondly. Then she laughed.
"What so funny?"
"The thought of you dressed in a school uniform, chasing eight guys round Japan. Though you have to admit they look cute in the photos. Thank goodness we look eternally seventeen, we could then be able to mingle around them much more easily. And it is lucky that we are infertile, thanks to our being immortals and our powers, or accidents might happen." Chelsea ducked a cushion thrown at her direction by Mira, but was still unable to avoid it. She had forgotten that Mira had a really good throwing arm.
Despite the pain from the cushion's attack, Chelsea fell onto the floor, roaring with laughter at the thought of Mira trying to be sweet and school-girlish, watching out for eight ultra good-looking guys and at the same time trying to put up with any of them should they be too smitten by her. And all the while throughout her laughing fit, Mira and Saki stared at her, wondering if she had gone mad.
"Enough is enough." Mira made a fist at her giggling friend, its meaning clear though her face was still devoid of emotion. "We start tonight. See where the two groups can be found. Tomorrow's Sunday, I just might pay them a visit. Without them knowing who I actually am, of course."
"Sure. But on one condition."
Mira glanced up at her friend, curious. "What condition?"
"I get to go with you to visit those guys from WeiB. And maybe those guys from Schwarz too. They look too cute to be true."
=-=-=
This story picks up some time after the sequel to Shadow Storm (I've yet to think of a title) takes place. However, the story's pretty much understandable by itself, so don't worry if you think you're missing out on anything.
I'm really really sorry if the characters are out of character, but I wrote this at 3 a.m. *makes a face which reads PITY ME!!!* so that's my excuse.
Yupz, the remainder of the story will have the WeiB characters having more screen time =). In the meanwhile, R+R please!
=-=-=
Xue Shi [Blood Stone]
By: Elemental Gal
Chapter 1: The Start of It All
He stared in absolute fascination at the girl before him. She looked seventeen, and with her midnight hair, startling blue eyes and great figure, she was one hundred percent sexy, especially clad in that black, skintight mini-dress. Already he was naked, and he continued staring at he girl on the other side of the room. She walked over to him, hips swaying, that sweet, intoxicating voice of hers filling his ears, soothing him. He drew her into a tight embrace, kissing her neck fondling her hair, running his hands over her back, eager to rid her body of the black dress. She caressed him with the tips of her fingers, light as a feather. He sighed with pleasure, thinking how good his luck was, to meet such a rare beauty in the bar only a couple of hours before, and how she was to be his bedmate now.
So absorbed he was in his own thoughts of self-congratulation that he did not notice a sharp prick at his neck, did not realize anything until he fell to the ground, body writhing in intense pain as he stared up to the girl, eyes full of shock and bewilderment. In between his gasps of pain he managed to choke out his dying words. "Who. who are you?"
"Judgement. Your judgement," was the cold reply.
Then, as he stared at terror at the form before him, no longer beautiful but terrifying, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as darkness claimed him for eternity.
+~+~+~+
The computer hummed softly, casting an eerie green glow on the blond- haired girl's face. Green eyes studied the computer screen which kept changing its contents, as her fingers flew over the keyboard at a furious rate. Finally her lips curved into a smile as she paused, quickly taking in the screen's latest contents.
"Excellent." Her voice was more than a little smug as she reached to click the 'save' button.
+~+~+~+
"Strange, to think we could enter here so easily, without even once encountering a guard." Ken glanced around, more than a little puzzled. "I would have expected security to be a lot tighter here."
"Whatever. We just ought to be glad that we have met no obstacles so far. Better pray that this mission succeeds. All our past attempts to get this guy have failed, with all his bodyguards and all. And Kritiker is after us to get this job done. It wouldn't look good on our records if we fail this one." Youji glanced around. Despite his bravado, he himself was feeling very nervous, though he would rather die then admit it. He headed towards the door, and almost tripped over the redhead before him who had suddenly stopped. He was about to swear when the sight at the other side of the door caught his eye. His face turned a nasty shade of green. "I think the reason why there were no obstacles is answered now."
Curious, both Ken and Omi walked over to take a look, and their reactions very much mirrored Youji's. For in the next room men dressed in guard uniforms all lay sprawled on the ground, many of them headless, all lying in pools of blood. The coppery smell of blood met their nostrils, making them wrinkle with distaste.
"I guess someone has beaten us to it. But what could have caused this. this mess? What do you think Aya-kun?" Ken turned to his fellow assassin, who was crouched down by a dead body. They still called the redhead Aya, even though they knew that his real name was Ran, and that calling him Aya would cause some confusion since Ran's sister, Aya, stayed with them. (I like to call him Aya too, come to think of it. ^_^)
"The blood is fresh. They were recently killed, all by the same way: something with a sharp blade slashed them with great impact at their throat, decapitating most of them." His answer was short and clipped. "Any evidence of any unauthorized entry before us, Omi?"
"No," Omi, who was typing away furiously at his laptop, glanced up. "Come on, let's continue. His rooms should be at the top most floor."
Silently, the four members of WeiB continued, spotting more guards in the similar state along their way. Finally they reached the top floor.
"I guess that's it," Youji said, pointing at the lone door with two decapitated guards lying at the door."
Aya glanced around as his teammates got into position. He muttered under his breath. "On the count of three. one. two. three."
Together, they burst into the room.
+~+~+~+
Nagi frowned at the constantly changing computer screen before him while ghostly fingers typed over the keyboard. This was supposed to be an easy one, a research mission. Which usually meant he had to do all the work while the other three members of Schwarz lazed around. Brad was in his study reading, Schuldich somewhere outside messing with some poor soul's mind, and Farfarello somewhere in the basement inflicting self torture, or as he called it, hurting God.
They were all worried, well, maybe all except Farfarello. But they hid it well. Recently, Brad seemed to be having mysterious visions, all which seemed to point that EstE was back, more powerful and ready for revenge.
However, now was not the time to worry. Just get this done with, and you can take a break, try to find away to get back at the others for making you do all the dirty work, the brown-haired youth chided himself. He had just clicked the 'save' button when something else on the Internet caught his eye. A feeling of wrongness touched him. No one was supposed to be able to access those files! Frowning, he mentally moved the mouse over to investigate.
+~+~+~+
Mira gave a look of disdain at the shriveling corpse before her. The poison had done its job well. One prick of the needle, and he was dead. Suddenly, her head jerked up as a voice sounded in her head.
Mira, four people have just entered the building. This was followed by mental images of the four people in question - one redhead, one blonde, and two brunettes, all male and all armed. They look like business. Better get out of there. I think you have done enough killing already. That guy and hundreds guards is more than enough.
At that moment, Mira could hear footsteps, and voices. "Damn," she muttered silently under her breath, then replied to the mental message. I hear them. Don't worry, Saki, I'm coming. But are you sure killing that son of a bitch and an entire contingent of guards can certainly be considered a overkill? Considering all that they have done, I would consider it an underkill.
She felt a mental sigh. Just shut up and come out.
I'm coming already. She snapped back, before throwing on her black leather coat which concealed her chakram. Then, as agile as a cat and quicker than the eye could follow, she flipped out of the window, landing safely in a crouch ninety floors below, next to a beautiful snow leopard. She opened her mouth to speak. "Come on, let's return back to that apartment."
Together, both girl and snow leopard faded off into the shadows of the night.
+~+~+~+
Chelsea's eyes widened as she noticed something was wrong. She swore under her breath. Someone had just discovered her! Well, she wasn't worried. After all, the file was nearly fully saved, and it would take a lot longer for the person on the other line to trace her. Maybe she should teach that person a lesson.
Three seconds later, she had removed the diskette from the disk drive, and her fingers were flying furiously over the keyboard as she devised her punishment.
+~+~+~+
Aya burst into the room and stopped short. Not even the curtain moved in the still night air. In short, there was no one in this room other than the four WeiB guys. He stifled a groan. Just what he needed. They had been given the slip AGAIN! Or so he thought. He heard Youji mutter a curse somewhere behind him. A hand touched his shoulder, and Omi's voice sounded. "Look."
His gaze was directed to the floor. There, the shriveled corpse of a dead man lay sprawled on the ground eyes wide open and showing the whites, mouth open in an 'o' of horror. Men clothes lay in a heap beside him. Despite his shriveled appearance, the tattoo still rather visible on the dead man's shoulder identified him as their target, and he had definitely died only a few minutes recently, probably a few minutes before.
"Someone was here before us. Someone with the same target." Youji's comment was unnecessary. It was more than obvious.
"But who? Which other assassin group could have done this? Schreient and Schwarz have been disbanded, as far as I know. Schwarz could have regrouped, but this doesn't look like their style of killing. As for Schreient, almost the entire group is dead. Know any other group of assassins other than us?" Ken pondered aloud.
"How do you know it was not only one person? Why a group?" Youji's skeptical reply came.
"No one could kill so many guards and him in such a short time, and all at once."
"Perhaps. But you should have noticed, all the guards were killed in the same way, even though our target was killed differently. But this might just indicate."
"Guys, that's enough!" Seeing a full-blown argument coming their way, Omi quickly cut in. "Since our target's dead, we might as well return to the Koneko. The main idea was to have this guy dead, and he is already dead, so why bother? We can tell Manx about this incident later."
But still, Omi thought quietly to himself, back at the Koneko, how could this somebody, or somebodies, manage to get so close to him and slaughter many of his guards in less than an hour? It was something like a miracle, considering WeiB had tried ways and means to get close to their target, close enough to kill, but have all their plans thwarted so many times?
+~+~+~+
Nagi swore loudly, only to have Brad shout at him from the room next door not to speak such offensive language, it was unfitting for people his age. He could hear the front door downstairs open. Probably Schuldich. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He had set up a trace when the hacker had dropped out of sight, just a second before the trace could go through. And now, he had a hacker on the loose with how-much-he-did-not-know information not meant for others.
Suddenly, the computer gave a sharp beep. Then, before his very eyes, all his hard work and research from the past four hours started to wipe themselves out from the computer's memory.
"NANI?!" He immediately jumped in to save them. However, he was to late. Only a paragraph or so of his hard work remained. All the rest were gone.
"Iie!" The poor fifteen-year-old was so worked up that his control over his powers slipped for a mini-second. But that was more than enough. The purple vase on the cherry wood side table flew into the air and smashed in to the wall, spilling water and roses on the carpeted floor. Then, as the bits of pottery fell to the floor, the door burst open as both Brad and Schuldich ran in. They stopped short, taking in the mess before them.
"My vase! My favourite vase! How could you smash it like that?!" Schuldich screamed at his youngest teammate.
"Well done, Nagi. You did me a great favour by getting rid of that purple horror. Now I can get it replaced with an oriental one." Brad turned to the fifteen-year-old before him, a half smile on his lips. Then, a slight frown replaced his half smile as he gestured towards the mess. "Though I have nothing against you honing your telekinetic powers, I would appreciate it if you did not practise indoors, although it does help in getting rid of unsightly furniture. You would clean this mess up before you go to bed."
Nagi nodded dumbly, watching with faint amusement as his orange- haired teammate crawled on his fours picking up bits of purple pottery. His attention was brought back to his team leader when Brad walked up to the computer. "Well, let's see how much you've done in the past four hours."
Nagi winced as Brad looked at what pitiful amount of his hard work was left. Even Farfarello, who was down in the basement, paused in the middle of his activities of self-torture and looked up as Brad's angry voice sounded throughout the house.
+~+~+~+
"You can't be serious! Us and Schwarz?! We're as different as black is to white! And we're supposed to work together and protect each other's backs?! Tell me you're joking!" Youji was the first one to break the stunned silence.
It was about a week since the incident in which their target was found dead, killed not by them but by some unknown person or persons. And the news which Manx had just broken to them was even more shocking than that incident.
Manx gave an impatient sigh. "I didn't say you HAD to work together and be each other's bodyguards round the clock. All you have to do is try not to rip each others' throats out. Apparently, Kritiker received an anonymous message that you and Schwarz were in great danger, because of something both of you possess. A check with Schwarz showed them that they were aware, through Mr. Crawford's skills, that they were in great danger, though any other details they do not know. They are willing to cooperate with us as long as need be."
Seeing the worried look on Aya's face, she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, your sister is not a target. She can remain safely at the Koneko."
Aya gave her a suspicious glare. "How do you know all that? And what do you mean by 'she can remain'? Are we going anywhere?"
"Well. Kritiker has this anonymous informer who would occasionally contact us with some very important tips on big cases. I think he only gives information when the case can affect him. The only thing we can figure out about him is that his male. Any other attempt to trace him always falls short. This bit of information was also given by him. For safety reasons, we will be moving you to a safer place in a week's time, and there you and Schwarz will stay for as long as need be. Meanwhile, X, that's what we call our mysterious informer - X, says he would be sending in protection for you people until this affair has ended. This envelope has all the details you would need to know. See you soon." With that, the redhead handed Omi a manila envelope and left the Koneko.
+~+~+~+
Mira stopped playing with Saki, her face its usual expressionless mask. She glanced at the corner, and in her usual cool and emotionless voice, announced the arrival of a guest in the luxury apartment. "Really, Caos, you should not sneak up like that. I really ought to put a protective shield around this place."
There was a laugh, and Chelsea glanced up to see a tall, aristocratic looking man who looked about twenty-seven, with dark blond hair and cat- like eyes of ever-changing colour appear in the corner of the living room.
"How did you know I was there? I even held my breath." The man pouted.
"That's because you're so LOUD. I could hear your heartbeat from right hear. And besides, your magical aura is really noticeable, since you didn't even use a cloaking spell," Mira replied coolly, pointing an accusing finger at him. Saki looked up to give him an unnerving stare with his tawny snow leopard eyes.
"Oh well, at least it's nice to know my training has not been in vain. Your skills are still sharp even after so many years." His face lit up with a boyish grin. "Hello once again, girls."
"Lord Caos!" Chelsea jumped up and tried to do a curtsey, quite forgetting that it was quite impossible to do so when dressed in slacks, while Mira and Saki watched on with amusement. They couldn't be bothered to do so as Caos was Mira's mentor, the latter who had spent the later part of her adolescence under his training.
Chelsea suddenly felt very self-conscious in her black slacks and green jumper. She was always filled with awe for Caos and his sister Cria, despite them telling her many times to treat them as normal people, no milord and milady and such. She threw a slight scowl at Mira, who remained sprawled on the couch, fingering the blue-white-silver gem she always wore at her neck, hanging from a silver chain, and looking fabulous in a black sweater worn over faded black jeans, emphasizing her unearthly beauty, from the raven hair to the impossibly blue eyes.
Mira never had problems with addressing the two higher beings. To them she was like their daughter, like their close friend. Chelsea was probably regarded just as a friend on the same standing, even though she and Mira were sworn sisters, while Jamie and Marie, who were Cria's handmaidens, were regarded by Cria and Caos as students, nothing more.
It was Mira who brought Chelsea's mind to the present. As usual quick to the point, she asked, "What do you have for us to do now, Caos?"
Her mentor smiled. "The killing and getting of information last week was well done. So tell me, how do you find it, living in this world, in Japan? And why such a small home? Mira's mansion is a thousand times bigger and more comfortable."
Mira merely shrugged. Chelsea, however, replied, "Fun. Mira and I split the cost of this apartment. Things here in Japan are rather expensive and this is already considered a luxury apartment. The language sucks, but I can manage. As for Mira, I think she can manage everything well."
Mira cleared her throat and tried again. "Your purpose for coming?"
Caos nodded. "Yes, I wish for you to play bodyguard to the following two groups of assassins. Each of them possess something of great value, from a slight skirmish. Anyway, I'm in contact with the police force here, a secret group called Kritiker. The two groups are called Schwarz and WeiB. Tell you what, each of these two files contain all the background information you would need to know, including the details of your eight charges and the situation. Read." He passed them each a file and watched them open and read the material.
"Kritiker would move them to a safe house in a week's time. You would join them there. However, you are to start your duty at once. Don't delay. Understand?" when he saw them nod, he disappeared.
Chelsea glanced at her sworn sister, eyes wide with amazement. "To think they each contain a piece of the Xue Shi in them."
Mira nodded. "Yes. I can see why we have to act fast. Let's see. Do you want to do the research or trail them?"
"Research." Chelsea patted her laptop fondly. Then she laughed.
"What so funny?"
"The thought of you dressed in a school uniform, chasing eight guys round Japan. Though you have to admit they look cute in the photos. Thank goodness we look eternally seventeen, we could then be able to mingle around them much more easily. And it is lucky that we are infertile, thanks to our being immortals and our powers, or accidents might happen." Chelsea ducked a cushion thrown at her direction by Mira, but was still unable to avoid it. She had forgotten that Mira had a really good throwing arm.
Despite the pain from the cushion's attack, Chelsea fell onto the floor, roaring with laughter at the thought of Mira trying to be sweet and school-girlish, watching out for eight ultra good-looking guys and at the same time trying to put up with any of them should they be too smitten by her. And all the while throughout her laughing fit, Mira and Saki stared at her, wondering if she had gone mad.
"Enough is enough." Mira made a fist at her giggling friend, its meaning clear though her face was still devoid of emotion. "We start tonight. See where the two groups can be found. Tomorrow's Sunday, I just might pay them a visit. Without them knowing who I actually am, of course."
"Sure. But on one condition."
Mira glanced up at her friend, curious. "What condition?"
"I get to go with you to visit those guys from WeiB. And maybe those guys from Schwarz too. They look too cute to be true."
=-=-=
This story picks up some time after the sequel to Shadow Storm (I've yet to think of a title) takes place. However, the story's pretty much understandable by itself, so don't worry if you think you're missing out on anything.
I'm really really sorry if the characters are out of character, but I wrote this at 3 a.m. *makes a face which reads PITY ME!!!* so that's my excuse.
Yupz, the remainder of the story will have the WeiB characters having more screen time =). In the meanwhile, R+R please!
