Title: Terror…

A/N: Err… this chapter is preety long, but I just didn't know where to cut it. I'm really sorry. BTW, it's alright to inform me about all my mistakes. Seriously, I don't mind. And… pls forgive me, but Sakuragi won't make his appearance until the next chapter

sLL: I'm not offended at all!!! And I think I get a little of what you are saying. Well, at least I hope I did!! Probably I'm just jealous that I don't have a bathtub, so I'm writing to freak you guys out *bangs her head* err… did I just say that?

Shirodachi: Oh… I thought you weren't going to review anymore *sob* Thanks!!

Kathleen: Thanks a lott!!!

mental_freak: err… are you serious? My first chapter is short because it's the prologue… but I always thought the other chapters are a bit too long, not to mention this particular chapter!!!

Chapter 7-Some Answers

            'Onee-chan?' Rukawa's eyes widened at the sight of the girl standing at the doorway. Kiyota noted at once that the girl was stunningly pretty, with long cascading black hair and beautiful clear blue eyes. She also had a perfect posture, which was rare in girls.

            In response to Rukawa's one-word question, the girl just smiled.

            Jin was eerily uncomfortable…that smile had a kind of …it left a kind of… 

After a while, Jin gave up trying to discern what he was feeling. Unconsciously, he held his hand out, stopping Rukawa, who was on the verge of running to his sister. Fujima at the other side of Rukawa did the same, also feeling unsettled, and realizing that the other players in the gym were feeling the same way.

            'That's the same girl,' Sendo whispered. He had just witnessed, in his mind, this exact same girl who was lying in the bathtub filled with blood and cockroaches… And now, here she was standing in front of him, fixing a ghostlike smile at Rukawa. All the basketball players, including Uozumi, Sendo noted, were backing away, terrified, for unexplained reasons of the girl at the door. She, on the other hand, paid no attention to them, her gaze focused on Rukawa only… and yet, Sendo could swear that her eyes had flitted to his direction for just one second, when he recognized her.

            For that one second, Sendo felt himself growing cold. He sort of froze, lost in her blue eyes, and would have stayed that way if Mitsui hadn't kicked him in the shin.

            'Wake up!' Mitsui hissed angrily, the fear in his voice so prominent that Sendo snapped out of his trance and looked over to Mitsui. Mitsui stared back at him.

            'Well?' he asked.

            'Oh,' Sendo muttered under his breath, trying to focus his concentration again.

            'Onee-chan?' Rukawa tried to walk to her.

            'No! Rukawa! Don't you see? It's a trick!' Miyagi screamed. Rukawa blinked but didn't answer. Sendo whipped his head over to Miyagi who was muttering 'no' under his breath, then to Uozumi and Akagi. He mentioned for them to take over Jin's and Fujima's position, holding Rukawa back.

            'Onee-chan. What happened?' Rukawa asked in the same dazed voice.

            'We will have to take the risk in this one. Put in all your power. All!' Sendo said. The other two, Fujima and Jin nodded, and started.

            'Heh, heh, heh, he's almost mine. What you do won't stop me,' the girl at the door said.

            That's Onee-chan's voice, but… Rukawa mentally kicked himself. There was a tinge of malice in that voice, in that laughter; onee-chan wouldn't have that… What did she say anyway?

            Rukawa tried to clear his head. He felt light-headed, his mind clouded over.

            Sendo realized that Rukawa had almost come to his own mind. Could they actually attain some answers from that 'girl'? She was not very…careful. She sure didn't realize that Rukawa was nearly out of her hypothetical power. They might stand a chance…maybe.

            'Pretend, Rukawa, pretend,' Sendo told him, in mind waves, or their unique ESP.

            'Huh?' was Rukawa's reply. He was still a little bleary on what was happening right then.

            'Pretend that you still think that she's your sister. Pretend that you believe in what she says. Maybe, just maybe we might be able to gain some answers about this mysterious thing killing us all. Illogical as it may be, they're answers,' Sendo assured him.

            Fujima realized that the girl was over-confident. Even he could catch fragments of the conversation between Rukawa and Sendo, but that… 'girl', or that thing wasn't aware.

* * * * * * * *

            'What happened, onee-chan? Why'd you leave me?' Rukawa asked, careful to make sure that his eyes were cloudy. And still…still, he wasn't exactly all that sure what was going on. The girl scrutinized him carefully, then gave him a serene smile, not answering his question. At the same time, Sendo was dispatching a message, in ESP form, to It.

            'Who're you? What'd you want? Why are you killing us all?'

            'Who am I? I'm not a who,' she answered Sendo confidently, out loud. She cast another glance at Rukawa. No change, he's still mine. Her lips turned up into an evil grin.

* * * * * * * *

            'Not a who? Is that what she said, Sendo?' Fujima's question reached me.

            'What the heck is she?' Jin asked.

            'Only one way to find out,' Rukawa's answer echoed in my brain. They all seemed to be waiting for me to ask that particular question. I was the one who was supposed to be in charge, now that Rukawa was supposedly to be 'hypnotized' by the girl. I took a deep breath and voiced out… no, minded out my question.

            'Okay… what are you?'

* * * * * * * *

            'Onee-chan, are we going home?' He sounded like a five-year-old. She flashed him another smile, this time not really looking at him closely.

            'In a minute, Hon,'

            Rukawa shuddered, inwardly. It was a miracle how she sounded so much like Saori and yet, so unlike her.

            Rain continued trashing against the gym, yet the silver eye of the moon still stared down at them, mocking them.

            'What am I? I am beyond. Beyond anything, any mysteries that your insignificant brain can ever fathom,' she replied, to Sendo in particular.

* * * * * * * *

            What is going on?

            Ryota looked at Sendo then at Rukawa, and lastly at the girl. She was beautiful, no doubt. He felt an attraction for her, something that never happened ever since he met Ayako… and yet, there was something about that girl that made his blood run cold. He felt like running away, anywhere, as long as he could put miles between himself and her. And, there was the way she was talking to Sendo, as if answering his questions, but he hadn't actually asked any!

            What is wrong with all of them?

            Rukawa didn't really look as if he was alright either… and Ryota started to worry.

* * * * * * * *

            'Ask again.' Fujima told me.

            'We need to know.' This time, it was Jin.

            'Tell her we'd still like to know,' came Rukawa's voice, sounding more like an order then a statement.

Jeez, why must I do this? This is so crappy!

I was scared, very, but I didn't want them to know. Especially, that girl who is posing as…what was her name? Rukawa's sister… Saori.

'We'd still like to know,' I sent the message, trying not to let fear rule me.

'Is that the best you can do? At least change what I'd said a little,' Rukawa's message reached me, sounding a little bossy. Inwardly, I sighed. Even though I was sure that the thing didn't realize that we were communicating without her knowledge, I still felt that Rukawa ought to be a little more discreet.

I shouldn't be the one doing this.

* * * * * * * *

'Onee-chan…'

'Yes, darling.' This time, she didn't even look at him.

'Do you really want to know?'

Sendo just nodded, earning him questioning looks from Ryota and some others.

'Well,' she said, choosing her words carefully, 'I've gotten one of you anyway.' She stole a small glance at Rukawa, and feeling satisfied with what she saw, she nodded a little, still wearing that evil grin.

'I'm... we're insects. Insects from the pre-historic times.'

'Nani?' Sendo asked, clearly shocked. This was the first time he actually threw a question to her out loud. But then, he wasn't the only one astonished, everyone else was too. Even Rukawa nearly blew his cover at her words.

'Yeah, right!' Takano said, clearly disbelieving.

'We are!' she stressed, nodding emphatically.

'We are just insects, the ones you humans seem to kill everyday. You think you're so smart, but then you're lacking one very important thing. You all seemed to forget what humanity and teamwork is. We, insects as we are found how important it was and is! Insects!' She seemed to totally forget that they were her enemy. She was so lost in condemning them that she was telling them all her secrets.

'Humans think that they are the smartest, strongest, and they go around killing each other, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Does that make you feel immortal? Do you think you've won when you triumph over others? Well, you're wrong, if you can't even live together in peace, then you've LOST! We, this particular species of insects that you've never heard before found that if we worked together, we can not only combine physically, which would make us bigger and stronger, but also mentally. That means we have surpassed your ability, both physically and mentally. Now, our mission is to make you see that you are just as vulnerable as the any other insects on Earth,' she said, her voice rising at her excitement, totally forgetting everything else. The only thing that was on her mind right now was condemning them and making them realize how strong she was… if they could call her a she.

There was a long pause where only thunder filled its silence.

'You are an insect? Then how come you're in such a size?' Sendo asked, his cool composure definitely ceasing to be there at all.

'You believe this crap? Sendo!' Miyamasu asked. Sendo ignored him and others who were also grumbling under their breath and reiterated his question. She answered immediately.

'What happened to your ears huh? I had said that we are insects, not insect. To have survived through the dinosaur era as only an insect was hard, too hard, and we decided to join forces. Physically and men…'

'We've heard that part,' Fujima cut in, getting irritated.

'Continue,' Jin said. The girl huffed, but continued anyway.

'It was then that we realized that we could work miracles. Things we have never even dreamed about. We had ESP. We could also become a whole being and yet, can break into pieces as whole insects.

'Huh?' Sendo asked, not really wanting to know the answer. But it came anyway. The girl transformed before their very eyes into a large, very large human-sized ant, then back again.

Someone screamed.

'Ayako!' Miyagi shouted.

Sendo ignored them all.

Rukawa, for once, shifted his eyes from her to the window, his eyes definitely not at all cloudy, looking at the rain drops falling down one after another, never ceasing.

What the hell?

But he couldn't answer his own question.        

He then shifted his eyes back to her, trying his best to still look like he was in her power, which was a pretty dumb thing to do, he knew. If that thing hadn't realized by now that he was not under its power anymore, most likely, it would never realize it.

'How come you're in human form then?' Sendo asked, not bothering to use telepathy anymore. The girl didn't even look at Rukawa. She seemed to have totally forgotten her mission of coming to the gym.

'We were… are strong. That was just another power we had when we combined. We could change into anything we fed on. Its exact shape and size. We could even mix it up, and mess it up, like changing into a half fly and half cockroach which was in a human size or even bigger,' she said eagerly.

In Rukawa's mind, something clicked.

Change into something they fed on…

He felt his anger rising. Fed on…

'Er…' Sendo said, but his question was answered almost immediately. A stray cockroach came skittering into the room, and before their eyes, it changed into a tiny Saori Rukawa. They all stared at it, astounded. Even Rukawa suspended his anger for a while. Then that miniature of Saori walked towards the mother body and just melted together, making the real Saori looking a little, just a little, lopsided. Then, after a minute, an insect appeared from Saori's outstretched hand. It was a spider.

Saori grinned vilely.

That grin jolted Rukawa to his senses. Images of his sister's death danced before his eyes, and his anger returned to replace the amazement.

'Rukawa, just one more question! Please, don't lose it!' Fujima's voice screamed into his brain, while everybody else, totally oblivious to the conflict in Rukawa's brain was still staring at Saori, very shocked.

'Cool down, Rukawa,' Jin's voice circled in his brain. He snapped his eyes back to his 'sister', cursing under his breath.

Lighting flashed. Thunder followed

His sister… blood… cockroaches… so many… it all came back to… the thing standing in front of him now…

Red flashed in his mind. The colour of blood… slowly turning into red anger.

Sendo sensed his anger, but he had one question left. He had to know the answer. Just one.

'Why didn't you attack us from the beginning? Why did you not come in with a more scary appearance? Why a human?'

* * * * * * * *

I smiled, my elation returning in full blast. I could feel their fear… smell it on them.

I've won.

Humans never learn.

I've won.

* * * * * * * *

She answered his question without hesitation, ignoring Rukawa, whose fury almost broke through his façade.

'I thought I would give you all another chance. I send messages to all the four teams, and the most sensitive ones picked it up. If you were together, and worked together, you would be able to keep me out with all your determination. Which you managed to do for a while, and yet at the same time, I still managed to find some weaknesses. I got Shiozaki, even though you were all aware of the danger you were facing. Saori was mainly to show you all that humans also succumbed to us… and of course to catch Rukawa off-guard.' She finally realized that she had been ignoring her real mission… Rukawa.

'But you have all failed again. Your determination didn't last long enough. Now, I'll just leave with…' she stopped in the mid-sentence.

Rukawa, she saw, was beside himself with fury. His hands were clenched, tight, his eyes, blazing.

The spider, the roaming spider skittered over to his so-called sister in panic, and just like before, melted into her.

In a bitterly sweet voice which was rising at every syllabus, rising out of pure anger, he said,

'You killed my sister. You KILLED SAORI!! YOU ATE HER UP AND KILLED HER!' He was practically screaming when he finished.

Sendo knew that this was the end of their little interview. They had to get her out of the gym, and fast.

'Join forces! Kick her out. Remember, teamwork and determination. GO!'

* * * * * * * *

Fear took me, again. I hated this feeling.

They won again. Again!

Who are they?

Why am I losing?

Confusion and fear, the two feelings that I've learnt to feel. I have never felt fear, not even when I had to feed on the dinosaurs.

Retreat. That was all I could do now.

Retreat out of the gym.

I could feel all their hate… their determination.

It hurts… it hurts.

* * * * * * * *

The thing retreated out of the gym, and stood at the doorway, looking at them, changing form. Now, out there, the sounds of thunder was more often and prominent compared to the rain.

Probably it's confused.

Fujima looked at her, watching her change, and felt something else… a lot of other things heading for the gym.

Oh my GOODNESS!  

Suddenly, a whole lot of insects appeared at the door, obviously trying, and failing to enter. Half of it combined with the mother body, which was still changing shape. Then, Fujima gave a small glance towards the mother body, which was now twice as large as it had been, still swiftly changing shape.

What the hell?

Now, there was a… no, half of a praying mantis… the top half, and the bottom of a worm, standing at the door. Not to mention all the cockroaches running around there, outside the gym. Fujima closed his eyes for a while, revolted at what he saw. It was so… illogically terrifying.

* * * * * * * *

There was another scream, a girl's scream, followed by shouts of terror.

Thud! Apparently Ayako had fainted. More shouts.

'Ayako!' In the end, only the eight of them were still concentrating, forcing them away.

'You may know what I am. You may know how to prevent me from entering, but you still don't know how to stop me from killing you. Remember, I'm immortal,' it said in Mutoh's voice. A voice of pure hate.

Jin faltered a little, but manage to gain his confidence and self-control back.

'You don't know how big I can actually become either.' The cackles that followed suddenly faded away.

* * * * * * * *

I lost, but you didn't win.

I was wrong in saying that you won… because you DIDN'T.

I was scared, just a little, but I knew that they weren't as strong as they pretended to be.

You're scared of me too.

I'll rejoice in your fear.

I turned and left them.

Remember, hell's burning, waiting.

* * * * * * * *

Mitsui looked at his watch - 9.00 pm.

            Everywhere in the gym, sounds of heavy breathing could be heard.

He looked around. They all looked so tired, and fearful. He stepped towards the door, and closed it, trying hard to not tremble. As he was doing so, he wondered what was going on in his house… was his mother worried?

'Yeah right! Whose mother would worry? It's only 9!' he muttered angrily.

* * * * * * * *

Rain trashed down unmercifully, and outside the school, away from all the terror happening in the school gym, someone… something slithered away, softly.

A/N: Thank you all for bearing with this long chapter!!! And of course, thank you all reviewers. *hugs them all* err… I think I'm not sane at the moment, so you must forgive me!!!!