"Ahhhh Shitake!" Tabitha yelled and she tumbled out of bed. Rushing into the bathroom, she turned on the shower. In her haste, she slipped and fell on the wet tile floor. Cursing to herself, she undressed and jumped in.
Rogue and Wanda looked up at the ceiling. They could hear Tabitha muttering and yelling curses to herself from the shower. Hiei just seemed to ignore it, nibbling at the breakfast Rogue had set out. Lowering the pages of the newspaper she was reading, Rogue got up from her seat to get the pieces of toast that had just popped up from the toaster. The smell of eggs and meat floated around the room. Wanda and Rogue had finally gotten themselves some decent fitting uniforms though they really couldn't say that they liked them.
"Hey Rogue, do we have to have this top button done on the shirts? It's, making it hard to breath," Wanda said tugging at the blue material.
"Since when do we care about the rules sugah?"
"Oh, good point!"
"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" Tabitha yelled rushing into the room. Wanda nearly spat out her orange juice because she was laughing so hard. Even Hiei was smirking a little.
Poor thing looked like she had fallen off a boat and had been marooned on an island for a few years. Her hair was sticking up in every direction, her face was still covered with soapsuds and her lipstick was a little smeared. The buttons on her blouse weren't done correctly and her uniform skirt had definitely seen better days. Days when people knew about and used an iron to get rid of the wrinkles.
Though they would be heading out for school soon, Wanda worked hard to try and translate the runes that the books were written in. Her head already hurt and there were bags under eyes. She had spent most of her evening in the library of their rental mansion; she had been up until two in the morning.
***
There were just too many people at school. It was beginning to get annoying. Rogue never did well in crowds. Flash backs of that concert she had gone to with "Risty" ran through her head and she shivered. Well, that and she worried greatly for the house. Perhaps leaving a demon with a sword in an expensive rental house probably wasn't one of her smarter moves. Sigh, just because she was such a nice person…
The other students stared at her, probably since they couldn't believe that she had left the house without her beloved make-up. Either that or it might have been because she was wearing the boys' uniform. Tabitha had commented that it made her look like a "modern-day-take-charge-don't-sass-me-chick".
***
Hiei lounged on the couch in the living room, the blankets folded up, surprisingly well on the floor next to it. The only sound throughout the entire place was the steady ticking of the large clock that stood on the other side of the room.
He didn't know how long he had been staring at the ceiling for, but to be honest, he didn't care that much. After all, he had a lot to think about.
Though he wasn't at all comfortable with working with the three young women (anyone would be wary when teaming up with a newly discovered species), but he had to admit, a power such as Wanda and Rogue's could prove to be useful. Plus, it was a pain free way to gain information. And in gaining the enemies powers, it helped to even the playing field.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Standing up, he took his time walking to the door.
"Hello Hiei!" Botan said cheerily. "It's a wonderful day out here in the living world now isn't it?"
"…I'm surrounded by idiotic humans who don't realize that an escaped demon could kill them all in seconds. Oh yes, everything is very pleasant here,"
"Uh…yes well, Koenma wanted me to come here to ask you if you had found any information on the prisoner,"
"Her name is Meibatsu, or at least that's what she's going by now,"
"Meibatsu? Strange choice, here in Japan, her name means 'retribution'"
"Then Rogue wasn't lying when she said that Meibatsu has a grudge against one of us."
"But how could she know where to find you? Someone would've had to tell her."
"Someone did."
"Oh! Do tell me, Hiei! We may be able to find information on that person!"
"According to the memories Rogue took from her, his name is Yukio Kuromori."
***
Aside from the sudden explosion in the computer lab (cough – Tabitha! – cough), nothing exciting had happened. Well, almost nothing. Everyone had asked Rogue about her uniform. Though she would never reveal the real reason, she just told them that she had been in an accident, that she had many scars on her body. That was also the reason she gave for why she wore so much dark make-up the other day.
The math problems written on the board were definitely not the top priority on any of the minds of Yusuke or the others.
Unlike Rogue, Tabitha, or Wanda, Yusuke and Kuwabara knew that if strong enough, Meibatsu could split the ground. The sound of crumbling buildings would cover up the sound of her screaming and they would only think of the disaster as an earthquake.
All of them were on edge, as if at any moment Meibatsu would storm into the class room and kill them right there in front of the students. It was like that feeling you get when you're absolutely sure that there's someone following you and yet, when you turn around, there's no one there. You find your self seemingly alone on the busy streets. Standing beneath the street lights while everyone in the city throws glances at you as if to say, "why on earth are you standing beneath the street light like an idiot? The light's green, walk already!"
Gazing out the window, Rogue daydreamed about things. About being back in Bayville, about going through the torture of the American public school system, about Hiei…
Dear Lord in heaven! Where did that last one come from? If she weren't in a classroom right then, she'd get up, walk to the back wall and begin banging her head against it. It would be tedious and painful, but at least it would keep her emotionally scarring thoughts at bay.
A sudden pain came to her. It was much worse then what she felt when she had jealously watched Jean and Scott together. No, this wasn't jealousy. Whatever it was, she didn't know, but in any case, she didn't like it.
'C'mon girl, ya know that ya can't get close to anyone!' she mentally scolded herself. It hit her like a smack across her cheek; she knew what this feel was. Desire.
***
The air was cold, crisp and somewhat clean. The city below bustled with people, and Meibatsu watched, somewhat intrigued by the children playing on the swings below her. She wondered about what it would've been like to grow up like they did. With a real family, a real mother and father, not just a group of thieves who called themselves her family.
Her sensitive ears picked up the sound of a giggling girl and her mother. Looking down at them, the cold sting of jealousy struck, along with the horrid feeling of abandonment.
Her fingernails dug into her palm as her hands became fists.
Standing strait atop the tree branch, on the tip of the hills, she closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath…and screamed.
***
The ground quaked, and the dishes on their shelves shook at the sudden tremor. The windows shook in their panes and Hiei and Botan looked up from their stack of papers, files, and books. Grabbing the oar that leaned against the wall, the two rushed out of the home and took to the sky.
"It's her, I can sense her energy from here…ugh, that noise! Make it stop!" Botan cried.
"Concentrate you fool!" Hiei shouted.
"I'm trying to but…that noise…!"
***
Wanda took in a sharp breath as a chill ran up her spine. The next moment, the entire class ducked beneath their desks to take cover from the shower of glass. The teacher ordered the class to evacuate, and seizing her chance, signaling Rogue who hovered outside the window, and jumped, grabbing onto Rogue's wrist for dear life. Tabitha, clinging to Rogue's other wrist, was pale and looked like she was about to puke. Apparently, she had to jump from the windows too.
"I've heard of leaps of faith but this is crazy!" she shouted looking down below as the buildings and people became smaller. Changing into their uniforms this time was definitely not an option. They just had to pray to God that no one would recognize them.
Author's Note: Hey there, just wanted to say thank you to all of you who reviewed. And for the person who said that they wanted Kitty (a.k.a. Shadowcat) in the story, I'm really sorry. But, even though I haven't even gotten into the climax fight yet, I've already got an idea for a sequel that will involve everyone in the X-men, Touya too! Bye-bye for now!
