Roxanne: Yay. I take over for this chapter, 'cause I'm dead for ideas for Karasu Byouki. Kaylith: Why are our readers running away scared? Roxanne: I can't imagine. ~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~

Despite getting lost numerous times, running into strange new people, and living at what Kurt, Shihai and the others call "mutant manor", my first week at the X Mansion was interesting.

Very interesting.

While wandering the grounds a few days after finding myself at this place, I met two more.friends..of Shihai, Kage and Kurt. I was looking for a spot to do my homework, when I heard two people speaking.

"'I am very sorry, Miss, but I can't do anything.'" Said a young male's voice.

"'I was under the impression you could do anything, Andrew.'" Said a quiet female.

"'Miss Katie, I'd fly to the moon for you, if man could fly!'"

"'Well then, why don't you spread those wings that God gave you- those wings of love- and fly to the moon? I thought you had them. Or, are you a heartless, wingless bird?'"

'What is going on over there?' I thought, heading to where I heard the voices.

"'Well..I..I'll do it! I'll jump from this balcony, to test my wings.'"

"'No! Wait!'"

They paused for a moment. "Andrew jumps from the balcony, and flies upward." The male voice read.

Finally reaching an open area of the path, I saw the two people reading out of their scripts. The girl had beautiful, semi-transparent blue hair. It also had a little bit of green in it. Her eyes were a stunning blue, and she wore a blue pleated skirt and a faded blue tank top. She had pointed ears, like an elf.

'Her hair is...It's made of water!' I thought, examining from them, not daring to step farther forward just yet.

The boy looked even stranger. He had the ears, tail and paws of an orange dog. It matched his red-orange hair, and yellow like eyes.

"Okay." He said. "I don't think I did a very good job with that. This is too far out of my normal character.I mean, I'm not good around too many girls."

"It's mine who doesn't match. Why did Shihai write this for us?" The girl asked.

"She likes to play 'matchmaker'."

The girl just nodded in response.

I walked up to them clapping. "That was really good!" I realized and was suddenly thankful that I was wearing a hologram-watch Professor X had given me. "Did you say Shihai wrote that?"

"Ah, so you've met her?" Said the boy.

"And her brother and Kurt." I replied.

"Man, I feel for you." He said. "She's been trying to match her brother up with someone forever. And she already wants Kurt." He laughed. "Oh, by the way, my name's Ian. Code name 'Akai-Inu'. It was Shihai's idea.it means 'Red Dog' in Japanese."

The girl smiled.

"Oh, that's Soreni. Code name 'Mizu'. Again, Shihai's idea. 'Water' in Japanese- go figure. Mizu's power is control over water."

She blushed and looked at the ground.

"My name's Luna." I smiled at Mizu, who looked up and smiled back.

"Mizu doesn't talk much.only when she's rehearsing." Ian said.

"Well, I like your voice, Mizu. It's very pretty."

"T-thank you!" She blushed and looked at the ground again.

We headed back up to the mansion together.

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(Roxanne: Nyahaha!)

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I was sitting around the institute that Friday, under a tree, reading a book.

"Ah. Relaxation." My eyes darted over the page, reading an uneventful passage. "Stupid Frodo."

There was a rustling in the trees above me, and as I tipped my furry face up, a granite gray face fell down, thick locks of pitch black hair pointing to the ground, two different colored eyes staring (upside-down) into mine.

"ACK!" I dropped my book in surprise.

There was Shihai's older brother, Kage, hanging upside-down from the tree branch above me.

"Ah, 'Return of the King'. I liked that one. Frodo is indeed a moron." He said in the same deep monotone. Up close, examining his "birthmarks", there were actually very beautiful. "He's dumber when you have to fill his role in a Drama Club production."

I laughed.

"I was Gandalf in the Hobbit. My sister's doings."

Kage was actually very nice. Extremely quiet, but very nice. He listened to me talk, and only spoke when he had an opinion. He kept a hood over his head the whole time. I actually saw him wince a couple of times, whenever the sun came out from behind a cloud.

"What's the matter?" I asked, concerned.

"It hurts." Was his reply. He kept his eyes shut.

"What does? Should I get a doctor?"

"N-no. It's just the sun- it's brighter than normal today. Good thing is, tonight's a new moon."

"Why?" I felt very naïve asking, but I wanted to help him.

"I control, create and manipulate things in the shadows. The sun causes me pain. I rarely sleep, because the night gives me pleasure, and about twelve hours free of this curse known as mutation."

We stayed silent for a moment.

"I don't know why I say this," I began. "But I don't think that being a mutant is a curse. I think it is a blessing. I mean, we can use our powers for good, right?"

"You sound like Shihai." Kage said. I thought I saw a smile, but it if was there, it was gone pretty quick.

"This is kinda personal, but...why are you so serious?"

"Well..before you ask another extremely specific question, it's the same reason I have two different colored eyes." He muttered. "When Shihai and I were younger, we were captured by the Japanese Government. One woman helped Shihai escape. I claimed I did it, and I lost an eye for punishment."

I cringed. That was a little harsh.

"The woman tried to help me, but she was killed. The American government then took me. I have been a lab rat for eight years. I was rescued by the X- men about four or five months ago."

"I'm sorry." I said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No. Everyone does. But you call mutation a blessing.it's a curse. That's why we were captured."

BAMF.

"Is Kage no baka boring you with some sob story?" Shihai appeared with Kurt, not to far from them.

"Shihai signed you up for te Drama club. Ve hope you don't mind to much."

"And, Oniisan no baka, I signed you up for the drama club and Ken-Jutsu."

"Arigatou gozaimasu." Kage stood, tugged on his hood, and walked off. He then turned and yelled back to Shihai, "Oi! Onee-chan! Doko de Kage no Kantana?"

Shihai threw her hands up in the air as response.

"Feh." He turned and kept walking.

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Roxanne: Now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Kage: *Kills Roxanne* Readers: Yay! Kaylith: You know, she's not gonna be able to work on Karasu Byouki in that condition.