Chapter 7

Nagi buried his face in the folds of the white bedspread, recalling repeatedly the events that had occurred that night. He had been mistaken for a child in the past, because of his thin, frail-like frame and his blue eyes that evoked innocence that he didn't feel, yet it somehow felt different to be mistaken as one by…. The girl, just because she resembled the person who had been in his dreams, didn't necessarily mean that she was the same person. More chances than not, he had probably seen her around somewhere before and had taken her image and created a character that couldn't exist in real life.

In his dreams, the girl had reminded him of himself as a child, evoking an innocence in himself he had thought would have faded because of the world he had been exposed to. His memories of the time before the nightmare had begun were hazy, the kind faces blurry, their features no longer clear. Perhaps he had found himself so attracted to her was because he felt, that by being close to her, those memories of a less pained time would come back to him, welcoming his return, enveloping him with feelings that were only kept for the chosen ones. The special people, who loved, and were loved back.

A knock on his door caused him to raise his head. He rested back down, mumbling through the sheets, "Please go away." The knocking halted momentarily, but returned, this time, with more persistence. He felt drained of all energy, but managed to get to his feet and unlock the door. He expected to see Schuldich, fuming about being thrown across the room, but was surprised to see the leader of Schwarz, Brad Crawford, standing outside his door.

"Schuldich's been downstairs complaining for the past hour about his injuries which you've caused him." Crawford said in a voice that revealed none of his emotions, adjusting his wire-frame glasses to lay higher on the bridge of his nose.

Nagi did not reply. What did Crawford believe was the point in telling him this? Did he truly believe he would go down there and apologize for an action he should have done years ago?

"We'll be attending to Mr. Takatori's party tomorrow night, I assume you have a suit?"

Nagi nodded silently. He could almost see the white suit in his closet that he had worn once to another of Mr. Takatori's party when they were acting as bodyguards for the powerful politician. Back then though, before it had been cut and resized to fit his size, the suit had belonged to Crawford, who to say the least, was at least a few sizes bigger in clothing size.

"Congratulations on your little revenge on Schuldich, next time, make sure there isn't an event booked the next day, Schuldich will have to remain here tomorrow. He's in no state to leave." Crawford took out a neatly folded white envelope, handing the note to Nagi.

Nagi looked up at him questioningly, but Crawford had already left. Using an envelope cutter, he cut through the paper, unfolding its contents. A bill. It contained the prices of all the vases Schuldich had broken when Nagi had thrown him across the room, along with where the vases could be purchased.

Chapter 8

He adjusted the collar of his suit, feeling stifling under so many layers of clothes. Mr. Takatori's party had already started along with no problems, it had been half an hour since he had last seen Crawford. He sincerely wished he hadn't gone and injured Schuldich. At least the red-haired German knew how to keep himself and everyone around him entertained. Switching the alcoholic beverage he was holding onto his other hand, he felt a dull pain in the joint of his right arm.

It was no wonder; he had broken his arm just the day before. He had used his telekinetic abilities to force the bones of his arm back together, but it would stay unstable for a while. Surveying the crowd and finding nothing in particular that would cause suspicion; he leaned back against the wall, fingering the collar to try to adjust it to rest higher on his neck. He had never been one to take a liking to big crowds. Perhaps it was the paranoia that he had developed as a child that the individuals of his past would track him down and find him, forcing him back into the lifestyle he had forced himself to forget.

"So you being out there at night wasn't just a coincidence."

His eyes opened, turning to the direction of the voice. The drink in his hand, which was well on its way to the ground, had its force lessened by his powers, so that it rolled away gently without causing too much of a commotion. The blue-haired girl was staring at him in fascination, chewing on the side of her lip lightly as if trying to think up on an explanation as to why he would be present at such a private and adult gathering.

"Oh well." She smiled, tugging at the sleeve of his tux in a gesture for her to follow him. "Neu came with me here but she left with someone else because she said she's going to have an adult conversation and she didn't want me interrupting. I'm just as much of an adult as she is. I'm seventeen, did you know that?" The girl put a finger to her lips, touching foreheads with Nagi and whispering, "Did you know? It's my birthday tomorrow. Shh...don't tell anyone but I know that Neu and the other's are planning a big surprise party for me. Even though I know, I'm going to pretend to be surprised, because it's much more fun that way."

She grabbed his hand, weaving around the crowd of people in the room until she reached the table that was lined up with many small miniature sandwiches and delicate finger snacks. Picking up a small plate, she handed a plate to Nagi as well, before beginning to pile her plate with food. Finally content with the amount she had gathered, she glanced over at Nagi, who was still standing near the edge of the table, an empty plate in his hand, and an uneasy look on his face.

She mistook his uneasiness as indecision with what to pick out from the many varieties laid out. Spotting a vacant table nearby, she motioned for him to sit down, and she did as well. Biting into a small cracker that was lined with tomato and a mix of shrimp, she smiled in glee. Seeing that Nagi had taken a seat next to her, she slid her almost overflowing plate in front of him.

"Neu always told me that 'sharing would get people to think they can take advantage of you' but you wouldn't do that would you?" She held up a cracker with her index finger and thumb, holding it out for Nagi to take.

He uncertainly raised his arm from his side, his fingers almost touching hers when he felt a hand lay on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Crawford. His arm immediately dropped back to his side.

"Nagi, we're leaving."

Crawford irritated was rare, but he could see in his eyes he was not pleased. They were here for the purpose of protecting Takatori, and here he was, not paying attention to his job.

As dark shadows of trees flickered and mirrored on the window of their limousine, he touched the glass, seeing his reflection clearly looking back at him. She had been just like the girl in his dreams. Innocent. The car ride back to the condo was in silence. It always was with Crawford, he didn't believe in people speaking mindless matters. But for once he was grateful, it gave him a uncommon chance of gathering his thoughts together without the fear of Schuldich invading into them.

The vehicle stopped. The door was opened, and he followed after Crawford to get out of the limousine. Crawford stopped him at the main entrance.

"The girl you were with. What reasons you may have had to be in presence with her, I don't care to listen. She is a member of Schreient, a group that is of bother to our goal and our mission."

Schreient…he had vaguely heard of the name before when Crawford had been discussing with another man about a group who were in the process of going through experiments on how to revive those who have died.

Having the advantage of hacking skills allowed him to break into the system Crawford had that kept a list of all who may be of use along with their head profiles. He scanned through several pages of irrelevant info, until he was able to locate the file he had been searching for. Scrolling down a short paragraph about her group, Schreient, a picture of her appeared on the screen.

Next to her picture was her name.

Hibino Nanami. "Tot"

TBC…..