Author's notes – Hey everybody! I finally got the third chapter up! Where has it been all this time? Well, after the second installment went up, finals hit at the college and I wasn't able to write anything. After finals came the holidays, which as we all know is an extremely busy time. So now that New Years is over and I have some free time, I have time to write again! Wai! Well, I hope you enjoy the third chapter. Tag team to Schally, you've got to do the fourth chapter now!

Rated – PG – 13

Third Chapter by - Merc

Chartreuse Seed

Chapter 3

            Kazuo and Midori dashed through the backyard to the backporch of the Kusanagi house. Trying the door only to find it locked, the twins both pounded on the door repeatedly, screaming Akina's name. Suddenly a shrill scream erupted from inside the house and all of the windows blew out. Kazuo and Midori were blown to the ground as well.

            "OW!!!" Kazuo yelled as he felt glass shards slicing him at every angle. Midori screamed in pain as she hit the ground, her body landing on large jagged shards.

            "Daddy! DADDY!!!" Akina's shrill voice screamed, followed by a loud roar and various thumping sounds. Worried sick about his best friend, Kazuo quickly helped Midori to her feet and ran into the house.

            "AKINA?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shouted as he wiped some blood from his brow. Midori hollered as she saw her young friend tear down the hall and fly down the stairs, her pale green nightgown in tatters and trailing behind her. Tears streaming down her face, Akina ran up to Kazuo and grabbed onto his waist.

            "Oh God! Oh God! Mom and dad…OH GOD!!!" Akina screamed in a panic as she pointed upwards towards the stairs. Practically hyperventilating by this point, Midori ran up next to Akina and smoothed her hair.

            "Shhhhhhhh, don't worry, we're here." She said in a rush as she motioned with her head at Kazuo that they needed to get out of the house. Following her lead, Kazuo quickly instructed Akina to come with them and dragged her out of the house and through the backyard. Akina sobbed hysterically as the twins ran with everything they had, turning out of the woods and into the quiet road that the Kusanagi family lived on. Suddenly, the ground began to quake underneath the escaping trio, and they stopped and turned around to see where their foe was.

            "Where…?" Midori started as she looked down at the empty street, her statement being cut off when a forceful crash smashed into the area behind her. Screaming, the trio were knocked off their feet, Akina hitting her head on the pavement hard and knocking her out. Kazuo and Midori turned around in horror to see a giant Aragami.

            "What is it?" Midori asked in horror as she looked at it with wide eyes. Kazuo, who all the while had been trying to revive Akina (with no success) looked up and gaped in terror.

            "Aw crap! I have no idea!" He said as he picked Akina up in his arms and backed up until he was next to his sister. The monster stood twenty feet high, with twelve legs that reminded Kazuo of a scorpion. Its midsection looked like it was made of steel, its redness giving off an eerie glow as it reflected the moonlight. At the back end he noticed an almost iridescent, silveresque fish tail The top part of the Aragami consisted of a long neck and what appeared to Kazuo to be the head of a grasshopper. All in all it appeared to the red-head as a sort of surreal cross between a spider, scorpion, crawfish, grasshopper, and guppy.

            Snorting with disgust, Midori's manner suddenly changed from horror to that of annoyance.

            "This stupid thing is creeping me out." She said as she got down on her knees and took her backpack off of her back, opening it up on the ground and pulling out a rifle.

            The Aragami gave a tremendous roar and glared at Kazuo. Suddenly a loud rumbling noise filled the air as large stones smashed simultaneously around the trio.

            "What? Does this thing seriously think it can trap us this way? There are gaping holes everywhere where we can escape!" Midori screamed through the settling dust at her brother, making note of all possible exits, an action repeatedly stressed to both her and her brother since they were very little by their mother. Taking aim, Midori fired five rounds at the monster, every bullet hitting a supposed vital area of the monster. Grunting in frustration when all of the bullets bounced off, the brunette began racking her memory for how her mother and father were able to kill the Aragami. Looking the monster over, she saw a strange shaped bead over by its tail. "That's it!" She thought to herself as she remembered the many stories of Aragami bashing that her mom used to tell her growing up, and how every time there was always the mention of a blue bead called a mitama.

            "Man, mom really taught you how to shoot well." Kazuo said as he gave his twin sister a appreciative nod. Smiling triumphantly, Midori began to take aim at the mitama when she suddenly heard a stifled shout close by. Turning to see who it was, the Aragami whipped out its tongue and knocked her off her feet.

            "MIDORI!!!" Makoto shouted as he dropped his bicicle and raced over to the girl's side.

            "Makoto?! What the HELL are you doing here?" Kazuo asked as got to his knees, and balancing the still-uncontious Akina against his body, began unzipping his backpack. Not bothering to answer his question, Makoto raced as fast as he could towards the dazed girl that he loved so much.

            "Makoto, watch out!" Kazuo screamed as he watched the Aragami rear its front legs up and slam them down next to the blue-haired boy, knocking him to the ground. Struggling to get up, Makoto lifted his head to see the left front leg of the Aragami come flying at his midsection, kicking him into a nearby rock and knocking him out instantly.

            "MAKOTO!!!" Midori yelled as she staggered to her feet and looked sadly at the crumpled body of the boy at the bottom of the rock. Suddenly six loud bangs pierced the air as Kazuo fired his mother's automatic weapon at the Aragami. The bullets bounced off the tough outer shell of the partial coruscation without leaving a dent.

            "Shit." Kazuo muttered, his breathing quickening in panic as the Aragami reared up to attack him.

            "Kushinada…ceramic field…Kushinada…no more..." The Aragami hissed, the sound of its voice sending chills down the twins' spines.

            "Ceramic field?" Kazuo questioned out loud as she tried stand and lift Akina up at the same time.

            "KAZUO WATCH IT!!!" Midori shouted as the Aragami's legs started to come down towards the boy. Midori ran in front of her brother and her friend, attempting to take the hit for the two when a sudden loud explosion filled the air.

            "GOT IT!!!" A familiar female voice called out. The Aragami's high-pitched screams filled the air as it reared its head towards the crescent moon. Gaping in wonderment, the twins watched as its body suddenly sprout strange wart-type growths and then eject its crimson mitama, its body disappearing into five small objects that fell from where the main Aragami used to be.

            "I wonder what it was trying to trap." The voice of Matsudaira asked as the twins heard the sound of many footsteps headed towards their direction.

            "Almost looks like those old ceramic fields that they used to always throw around Momiji." Koume said quietly,

            "This doesn't settle well when you put it like that." The voice of Yoshiki Yaegashi said, steadily becoming louder at he approached. Suddenly Matsudaira appeared at the large openings between the rocks.

            "Midori? Kazuo?" The elder yelled in shock, "What on Earth are you…is that AKINA?!" Shee suddenly exclaimed as his vision focused on the unconscious girl in Kazuo's bloody arms.

            "MIDORI AND KAZUO?!? Koume and Yoshiki screamed as their footsteps, and that of many others, suddenly were heard approaching the area. The twins both put down their guns, but stayed on their knees. Their parents burst through an opening in one of the rocks and let out loud gasps.

            "OH MY GOD!!!" Koume screamed in a panicked rush as she ran over to the two. Midori, knowing that she was safe and that her mother was there, broke down into terrified sobs, her body shaking from the after-effects of realizing that she nearly died. Koume got down on her knees and hugged her daughter tightly, smoothing her hair and telling her that everything was going to be alright. Yaegashi meanwhile made his way to their son, kneeling down to see the boy's shaken and bloody form and to comfort him.

            "A-A-Akina…" Kazuo said, his voice quivering as he was on the verge of tears.

            "Shhhhhhhh, there's an ambulance on the way." Yaegashi said as he copied his wife by embracing his son and letting him cry into his chest.

            "Makoto…" Midori sobbed, causing Koume to become confused.

            "What about Makoto?" She asked,

            "That rock…" Midori chocked out through her sobs as she pointed a shaky finger at his crumpled figure.

            "Oh my God! MATSUDAIRA!!!" Koume cried, getting the professor's attention. Pointing at the fallen form of Makoto, Matsudaira turned white as a sheet and ran over to the boy. She then screamed for some of the members of the defense force to get an emergency helicopter over to where they were.

            "He doesn't have much time!" She called as she laid him down and with the help of a few other aides nearby, began to check his vital signs and lay his body flat, propping his head on her lap and covering him up with her coat.

            "He's in shock." She said to a nearby soldier, who simply nodded and radioed in to his superior. Within a few minutes a helicopter landed nearby and, loading him onto a stretcher, Makoto was taken away. Seeing the helicopter off, Matsudaira trotted over to the Yaegashi family.

            "Let me see Akina." She demanded as Yaegashi let go of his son and Kazuo handed the girls still form over to her.

            "Looks like a concussion." Matsudaira noted under her breath as she went through the same procedure as she had with Makoto, lying her flat on her back and checking her vital signs.

            "I-I-I…" Kazuo stammered as she looked apologetically at Matsudaira and his father. Matsudaira's eyebrows raised as she looked at the boy,

            "My goodness, what happened to you? You're bleeding everywhere." She said as she gazed at the red-head, his clothes tattered and blood coming out everywhere. Kazuo looked at his father, and saw that his work clothes had been soaked in his blood as well. Not knowing what to do or say, Kazuo burst into hysterical sobs and grabbed onto his father again.

            A few minutes later the faint wail of ambulances sirens filled the air and Koume and Yaegashi had their children lay on the ground. After being loaded into stretchers, both children and Akina were loaded into two ambulances, and were rushed to the hospital. Koume and Yaegashi went with their children, and Matsudaira agreed to stay behind with the self defense force and observe and clean up the mess left behind.

            "I will notify Mr. and Mrs. Kunikida about their son." She added when the parents had climbed into the ambulances with their shaken and bloodied children.

            "Where are Momiji and Kusanagi?" Koume asked suddenly. They both looked at each other a long moment and paled.

            "Oh no…" Matsudaira said right before the ambulance doors closed.

The End of Chapter 3

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the third chapter! Sorry again for the delay. Please review, or you can e-mail me or Schally, both of our e-mails are on our profiles (Schally's author name is just Schally). Until next time!