Warnings: Mild swearing, OOCness, Usagi-centered, self-edited x_x.
Hehe, okay, chapter two! So, first thanks to the lovely Leah and Silver Twilight Blood who reviewed. You guys are darlings! I still don't know where the heck this story is going, so I'm sorry if I don't update very fast or maybe even drop it all together. _ I feel like such a hypocrite now. T_T Okay, on with the story. It's short 'cause I wanna see if other people are interested in it. ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Please don't sue.
Fear Me (still for lack of a better title)
I rushed out of detention like a madwoman and ignored the shouting teachers. Slow down? No way! I was free! I giggled and practically danced out into the hallway. The best feeling in the world would always be finally getting out of detention. It was time to hit the arcade, meet up with some friends, and finally beat that Sailor V game!
I ran out the gates only to be stopped by Hikaru Utada's First Love playing jauntily from my cell phone. Fumbling with my bag, I snatched up the phone and peered at it. In pretty blinking lights, it said: Uncle Kenshin. I pressed a button and held the phone up to my ear.
"Hiyas Uncle Kenshin, I'm going to meet with some friends right now so I'll be late coming home," I said before he could get a word in edgewise. Best thing about Uncle Kenshin was that if I asked him for something before he asked me for something, he would always end up letting me do what I wanted instead of doing what he wanted. It was a neat trick I picked up from my aunt.
But it didn't sound like he had heard me because he said, "Usagi-chan, we're moving you to another uncle."
I pouted at the phone. Just when I was getting cozy, too. It's only been a month, which was odd since I usually stayed with one relative for at least three months. Something must've been up. "Okay, Uncle Kenshin. What's his name?"
My uncle answered in the same sweet voice he always did. "Reiji Takatori."
The name sounded only vaguely familiar, but then again, I didn't know a quarter of my relatives. They just kept popping up all over the place.
Everything sounded fine to me, but I asked because I always did. "Are you sure?"
There was a very long pause and some voices in the background.
Uh oh. Usually pauses and struggling meant bad things. Very possibly, someone had taken my aunt and uncle hostage and were now forcing them to transfer me to a new 'relative.' Whoever this new villain was, was definitely stronger than both my aunt and uncle to be able to catch them and hold them down for so long.
Uncle Kenshin grew up to become a marvelous swordsman with a kind heart. With all the discipline he had learned from the art, he also became a perceptive businessman—nothing could really get past him. His sense of honor and duty had always set him apart from many of the men who now run this world. His wife, my Aunt Kaoru, was somewhat of a spitfire of a wife—a feisty woman but also very honorable. She reminded me of an older sister. She runs a famous dojo that had been founded by her father.
I had a moment to think before my uncle's voice came back on.
"Yes. He'll have someone pick you up."
Yes. He had said yes. Usually, that was a good thing, but taking into account the long pause and struggling, I would have to say that that's a bad thing. Our secret code for informing me that some very bad people were after me was 'of course,' because of course some big bad people were coming after me, which was my cue to run.
Unfortunately, that would probably mean whoever (let's call them BP for Bad People) was holding them would kill them. I couldn't let that happen again.
Giving a big, fat sigh, I said into the phone, "Uncle Kenshin, could you give him the phone, please?" There was a little bit of jostling, some whispering and some hissing before a rich, slightly accented voice spoke.
"You wanted to speak to me, fraulein?"
So the big bad wolf was German. I'll show him that this little rabbit has teeth. Sharp ones. "May I have your name?" Nothing wrong with being polite before I chewed him out.
There was a soft chuckle. It was kind of sexy and annoying at the same time. "You may call me Schuldich."
"Great, Schuldich, listen here. If you hurt even a hair on my aunt's or uncle's head, I will send you to Hell before I kill you. Trust me, it hurts a lot more when you're still flesh and bone."
There was a quiet musing over the line. I was very relieved that he had not laughed, because it meant he took me seriously. Not many people take me seriously. Besides, if he had, I would have blown my top. It often ends up very messy and I was not in the mood to clean it up.
"Deal. Where would you like me to pick you up?"
"You can pick me up in front of Kitty in the House. It's a flowershop three blocks away from the school. It's overrun with girls. You can't miss it," I informed him.
Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. On one hand, I was trying to save my aunt and uncle. On the other hand, I think I just wanted to stop running. I was sick of getting bumped from relative to relative—not that they weren't nice and caring or anything—just that they all had lives of their own and it was probably more of a duty to take care of me than anything else. I wanted my parents and since they were dead, I just wanted to be left alone.
"Yes, I'm familiar with that little establishment. I'll pick you up at five o'clock."
"Seven. Argue with me and I'll say eight."
He was irritated. And maybe a little mad. I'm an empath, too, but that's not necessary to feel the simmering and slightly outraged heat in the tense silence. How could I, a junior high schoolgirl, order him around like this? Easy. Because I can blow him away with a simple look (even if I'm not allowed to, but he doesn't need to know that).
"Fine," he conceded and hung up rather rudely.
I smiled, not to be discouraged, jammed my phone back into my bag and continued merrily down the street. First stop: arcade; second stop: home. I had to make sure this Schuldich character had kept his word and then explain to my uncle and aunt that I knew what I was doing, even if I didn't. I also hoped to God Aunt Kaoru wouldn't blow a gasket.