(A/N: Thankies for the loverly reviews! ^O^
Sarcasmcat: I'm glad you like the story. ^_^
Desi: lol My catch-phrase caught on! And, yes, Kevin does need to worship Jin! worship him, I say! Mwhahaha! Very good thing Kevin didn't see the kiss. He'd probably be scarred for life. Yes. Kai is mad. Mad about Rei. Mwha! ) Here's the update.
Neko Oni: I know what you mean. Let's start a moffia to destroy school! XD And Rei needs like, an exorcist or something. ^^ And if you don't have the time to review, don't bother. It's not really that important. ^_^
NOW! On with the fic!)
"And No Birds Sang"
Chapter 9: Dreams and Dark Alleys
The alley way was dark. No, scratch that, it was more than dark. The sky was black, and the darkness was so inky that Kai couldn't see more than a few metres in front of his face. He stood there, trying to act casual, glancing about nervously. The longer he stood there, the more uneasy he felt.
At long last, there was a sound over the noise of cars, a sound closer by. He wasn't sure whether to tense or relax. As if to answer the unasked question, a voice, clam and smooth, called to him and said, "Relax."
Kai trusted the voice and he did. He felt clamer now. He couldn't see the person who owned the voice, but he knew that said person was standing beside him now. He glanced up. "Where's Rei?"
"He'll be here in a moment," the man said off-handedly.
They waited in silence for a moment more. "What's your name?" Kai asked suddenly.
There was a pause, before, "Jin."
Kai looked at the ground, thinking. He'd heard that name somewhere before. He tried to come up with where and why, but he was drawing a blank. Before he could ask another question, there was the pitter-patter of feet on pavement signalling someone's approach.
Someone skidded to a stop, huffing and wheezing. "Jin!"
The voice was high and feminine. Both Kai and Jin turned instinctively to look, but could see nothing through the darkness. "Jin, there's something wrong with him!"
The voice was frantic. Kai wracked his brain - he'd heard it somewhere before! "you," he hissed suddenly, and both people turned to him.
Kai pointed in the direction of the girl. "You! You're the one who was kissing Rei-chan!" he accused, loudly, anger rising in his voice.
He heard the girl take a step or two backwards. "You...how...who are you?"
Jin was looking between them, confused beyond imagination. "What's going on here?" he demanded, quiet anger in his voice.
The two others ignored him. "Who are you?" the girl asked again, this time with a bit more force.
"Who are you? And why were you kissing Rei?"
Jin turned to the girl. "You were kissing him?! I thought you said he was your brother!"
"He is!"
"Then why were you kissing him?"
"I...wasn't...," came the pathetic excuse.
The girl whirled on him. "Hiwatari Kai," she growled.
There was a metallic click. Jin sighed. "Mari, put the gun down."
Kai's eyes widened a bit in surprise. Just who was he dealing with here?
~*~*~*
Kevin looked over at Rei, who was now sleeping peacefully. Just moments before, he'd been screaming and crying. Kevin sighed in boredom. The clock in the living room struck midnight.
Kevin glanced about. The apartment was dark and dingy. There was nothing to do. He sighed heavily and got up. Rei would be alright for a few moments.
He wandered about. There were picture frames and magazines all over the place. The kitchen looked as though it hadn't been cleaned for ages. There were ash trays and cigarette buts littered about the place.
He came across a closed door. He supposed it was Jin's bedroom. Rei was lying in Mari's currently. Curious, he pushed open the door. Jin had told him to stay out, but that made him wonder. What was in here?
He glanced about the room. It was even more of a mess than the rest of the apartment. Clothes, cigarettes, papers, everything was scattered everywhere. Kevin stepped into the room, the floorboards squeaking under his weight. Casually, he looked about.
There were porno magazines stacked on a shelf. The sheets of the bed were a bloody mess. There were several pill bottles and numerous packages of cigarettes on the night stand. His foot struck something on the floor. "Huh?"
He glanced down and picked the item up. It happened to be a very heavy binder. Hastily, he flipped on the bedside lamp and flipped through the pages. The title page was plain and he ran his hand over the text. "Koneko," he read aloud, finding the word a funny one to be on a title page.
He continued. He paused on one page. It was a map. It was very complex, with many intersecting lines and lines that seemed to run on forever and ever. He glanced at the title. "Train Station - Bombing Plan."
He dropped the book in surprise. He felt his lungs choke up. "Oh...my...God..."
The train station had been bombed just a couple of days back! He held a hand to his mouth. He had evidence! He knew who had done it, he knew!
Jin was part of a terrorist group! Jin had been part of the bombing! He stumbled back out of the room and shut the door. He stood in the hallway, shaking. "Oh..."
He slunk away, trying to forget what his eyes had seen.
~*~*~*~*
Judy flew down the stairs, hat on her head, coat draped over her arm and suitcase in hand. Emily glared at her over her glasses. "And just where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to find my Max!" the blonde woman huffed.
Emily snorted. "Have you any idea where he is? No, then why are you going? The trains are down anyways."
Judy's heart sank. "Oh....you're right...."
She sat down on the stair, her suitcase dropping from her nerveless hand. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?!"
Emily said nothing, but sat down beside her, trying her very best to be comforting. Silence reigned between them for the longest time. At last, Emily stood up. "We'll go together, Miss Judy."
Judy looked up. The red-head put her hands on her hips. "How will we go?"
"We'll go by car, of course! We'll see the country and we'll find you Max!"
Judy was silent for a moment. At last she said, "I can't drive and neither can you."
Emily thought a moment, then tapped the side of her nose. "I know!"
She grabbed Judy by the wrist. "We'll get Grandpa to drive!"
With that, she drug the other woman off to find the aforementioned "chauffer".
~*~*~*~*
Fernando frowned, looking out at the darkening sky. Deigo sat on a chair, reading the evening newspaper. Axel was in the kitchen, trying to scrounge up something edible for their guests.
Max and Tyson were sitting in cold, miserable silence on the floor. Neither looked at the other. Max's eyes were downcast and Fernando was almost sure the blond boy was crying. The clock ticked steadily.
Not being able to stand the stretching silence, Fernando turned to their guests. "Ay, what ails ye?"
Max said nothing, but instead, turned away. Tyson answered slowly, "We can't get home and we've lost our friend."
Diego looked up from the paper. "Lost your friend?" he asked.
Tyson nodded. "Yeah. When we left the Saucy Kitten, he wasn't with us."
"Oh," Fernando said quietly, then, "You should have said something."
"We didn't remember," Max added bitterly.
"Oh," Fernando said again.
Diego snapped his fingers. "I know! Maybe Mari's seen him! I'll call her!"
The blond boy jumped up out of his chair and dashe dinto the kitchen. There was a caltter and then, Axel yelling at Diego for being a clumsy fool. Fernando smirked slightly, then looked at the sombre guests.
~*~*~*~*
Where was he? Who was he? Sluggishly, he opened an eye. What had happened? Everything had changed now. There, somebody, sitting on the edge of his bed, smiling at him. His mother. His beautiful mother. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "Morning, sweetie," she said softly.
Her voice sounded so far off and distant, like a memory. But...wasn't she? Wasn't his mother dead? Her touch seemed real enough, so solid one moment, and the next, it evaporated.
Fire! Blood! Death! Everything around him was burning, blazing! His lungs hurt, he couldn't breath. Ash and smoke filled the air. Everything was so hot, it was burning up! Inferno! Flames danced about like little sprites. The air was drenched with the smell of death, roasting to a crisp. His eyes were wide open now, in shock.
Black! Everything around him was black, except for himself. His arms, his arms were crimson with blood. Blood drooled down his arms, gushing out of him. He stared at it. He could smell it, he could taste it and he could feel it. It was warm and sticky. He felt sick. He sank to his knees, still staring.
Kai! God, where was Kai?! He wanted the bluenette to take him in his arms and hold him and tell him that everything was going to be alright! But Kai was gone, gone gone...
He was falling now, falling through the endless blackness and he screamed, but no one could hear him and - ! He was alone, and falling, for eternity now. Nobody would be able to reach him, no one could hear him scream. But he did scream, and he screamed so loud, he could hear it echo, could hear it reverbarate in his ear drums.
Footsteps clattered faintly across a floor. Who? Where? And then, he hit bottom and woke up, staring up into Kevin's eyes. "Ugh..." was all he found he could say.
The smaller neko-jin forced a smile. "Hey," he said.
He sounded so far off and so quiet...Before Rei knew it, he was asleep again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
(A/N: Taaaa-daaa. Another chapter. Yeah. R&R and the next chapter should be out soon.)
Sarcasmcat: I'm glad you like the story. ^_^
Desi: lol My catch-phrase caught on! And, yes, Kevin does need to worship Jin! worship him, I say! Mwhahaha! Very good thing Kevin didn't see the kiss. He'd probably be scarred for life. Yes. Kai is mad. Mad about Rei. Mwha! ) Here's the update.
Neko Oni: I know what you mean. Let's start a moffia to destroy school! XD And Rei needs like, an exorcist or something. ^^ And if you don't have the time to review, don't bother. It's not really that important. ^_^
NOW! On with the fic!)
"And No Birds Sang"
Chapter 9: Dreams and Dark Alleys
The alley way was dark. No, scratch that, it was more than dark. The sky was black, and the darkness was so inky that Kai couldn't see more than a few metres in front of his face. He stood there, trying to act casual, glancing about nervously. The longer he stood there, the more uneasy he felt.
At long last, there was a sound over the noise of cars, a sound closer by. He wasn't sure whether to tense or relax. As if to answer the unasked question, a voice, clam and smooth, called to him and said, "Relax."
Kai trusted the voice and he did. He felt clamer now. He couldn't see the person who owned the voice, but he knew that said person was standing beside him now. He glanced up. "Where's Rei?"
"He'll be here in a moment," the man said off-handedly.
They waited in silence for a moment more. "What's your name?" Kai asked suddenly.
There was a pause, before, "Jin."
Kai looked at the ground, thinking. He'd heard that name somewhere before. He tried to come up with where and why, but he was drawing a blank. Before he could ask another question, there was the pitter-patter of feet on pavement signalling someone's approach.
Someone skidded to a stop, huffing and wheezing. "Jin!"
The voice was high and feminine. Both Kai and Jin turned instinctively to look, but could see nothing through the darkness. "Jin, there's something wrong with him!"
The voice was frantic. Kai wracked his brain - he'd heard it somewhere before! "you," he hissed suddenly, and both people turned to him.
Kai pointed in the direction of the girl. "You! You're the one who was kissing Rei-chan!" he accused, loudly, anger rising in his voice.
He heard the girl take a step or two backwards. "You...how...who are you?"
Jin was looking between them, confused beyond imagination. "What's going on here?" he demanded, quiet anger in his voice.
The two others ignored him. "Who are you?" the girl asked again, this time with a bit more force.
"Who are you? And why were you kissing Rei?"
Jin turned to the girl. "You were kissing him?! I thought you said he was your brother!"
"He is!"
"Then why were you kissing him?"
"I...wasn't...," came the pathetic excuse.
The girl whirled on him. "Hiwatari Kai," she growled.
There was a metallic click. Jin sighed. "Mari, put the gun down."
Kai's eyes widened a bit in surprise. Just who was he dealing with here?
~*~*~*
Kevin looked over at Rei, who was now sleeping peacefully. Just moments before, he'd been screaming and crying. Kevin sighed in boredom. The clock in the living room struck midnight.
Kevin glanced about. The apartment was dark and dingy. There was nothing to do. He sighed heavily and got up. Rei would be alright for a few moments.
He wandered about. There were picture frames and magazines all over the place. The kitchen looked as though it hadn't been cleaned for ages. There were ash trays and cigarette buts littered about the place.
He came across a closed door. He supposed it was Jin's bedroom. Rei was lying in Mari's currently. Curious, he pushed open the door. Jin had told him to stay out, but that made him wonder. What was in here?
He glanced about the room. It was even more of a mess than the rest of the apartment. Clothes, cigarettes, papers, everything was scattered everywhere. Kevin stepped into the room, the floorboards squeaking under his weight. Casually, he looked about.
There were porno magazines stacked on a shelf. The sheets of the bed were a bloody mess. There were several pill bottles and numerous packages of cigarettes on the night stand. His foot struck something on the floor. "Huh?"
He glanced down and picked the item up. It happened to be a very heavy binder. Hastily, he flipped on the bedside lamp and flipped through the pages. The title page was plain and he ran his hand over the text. "Koneko," he read aloud, finding the word a funny one to be on a title page.
He continued. He paused on one page. It was a map. It was very complex, with many intersecting lines and lines that seemed to run on forever and ever. He glanced at the title. "Train Station - Bombing Plan."
He dropped the book in surprise. He felt his lungs choke up. "Oh...my...God..."
The train station had been bombed just a couple of days back! He held a hand to his mouth. He had evidence! He knew who had done it, he knew!
Jin was part of a terrorist group! Jin had been part of the bombing! He stumbled back out of the room and shut the door. He stood in the hallway, shaking. "Oh..."
He slunk away, trying to forget what his eyes had seen.
~*~*~*~*
Judy flew down the stairs, hat on her head, coat draped over her arm and suitcase in hand. Emily glared at her over her glasses. "And just where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to find my Max!" the blonde woman huffed.
Emily snorted. "Have you any idea where he is? No, then why are you going? The trains are down anyways."
Judy's heart sank. "Oh....you're right...."
She sat down on the stair, her suitcase dropping from her nerveless hand. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?!"
Emily said nothing, but sat down beside her, trying her very best to be comforting. Silence reigned between them for the longest time. At last, Emily stood up. "We'll go together, Miss Judy."
Judy looked up. The red-head put her hands on her hips. "How will we go?"
"We'll go by car, of course! We'll see the country and we'll find you Max!"
Judy was silent for a moment. At last she said, "I can't drive and neither can you."
Emily thought a moment, then tapped the side of her nose. "I know!"
She grabbed Judy by the wrist. "We'll get Grandpa to drive!"
With that, she drug the other woman off to find the aforementioned "chauffer".
~*~*~*~*
Fernando frowned, looking out at the darkening sky. Deigo sat on a chair, reading the evening newspaper. Axel was in the kitchen, trying to scrounge up something edible for their guests.
Max and Tyson were sitting in cold, miserable silence on the floor. Neither looked at the other. Max's eyes were downcast and Fernando was almost sure the blond boy was crying. The clock ticked steadily.
Not being able to stand the stretching silence, Fernando turned to their guests. "Ay, what ails ye?"
Max said nothing, but instead, turned away. Tyson answered slowly, "We can't get home and we've lost our friend."
Diego looked up from the paper. "Lost your friend?" he asked.
Tyson nodded. "Yeah. When we left the Saucy Kitten, he wasn't with us."
"Oh," Fernando said quietly, then, "You should have said something."
"We didn't remember," Max added bitterly.
"Oh," Fernando said again.
Diego snapped his fingers. "I know! Maybe Mari's seen him! I'll call her!"
The blond boy jumped up out of his chair and dashe dinto the kitchen. There was a caltter and then, Axel yelling at Diego for being a clumsy fool. Fernando smirked slightly, then looked at the sombre guests.
~*~*~*~*
Where was he? Who was he? Sluggishly, he opened an eye. What had happened? Everything had changed now. There, somebody, sitting on the edge of his bed, smiling at him. His mother. His beautiful mother. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "Morning, sweetie," she said softly.
Her voice sounded so far off and distant, like a memory. But...wasn't she? Wasn't his mother dead? Her touch seemed real enough, so solid one moment, and the next, it evaporated.
Fire! Blood! Death! Everything around him was burning, blazing! His lungs hurt, he couldn't breath. Ash and smoke filled the air. Everything was so hot, it was burning up! Inferno! Flames danced about like little sprites. The air was drenched with the smell of death, roasting to a crisp. His eyes were wide open now, in shock.
Black! Everything around him was black, except for himself. His arms, his arms were crimson with blood. Blood drooled down his arms, gushing out of him. He stared at it. He could smell it, he could taste it and he could feel it. It was warm and sticky. He felt sick. He sank to his knees, still staring.
Kai! God, where was Kai?! He wanted the bluenette to take him in his arms and hold him and tell him that everything was going to be alright! But Kai was gone, gone gone...
He was falling now, falling through the endless blackness and he screamed, but no one could hear him and - ! He was alone, and falling, for eternity now. Nobody would be able to reach him, no one could hear him scream. But he did scream, and he screamed so loud, he could hear it echo, could hear it reverbarate in his ear drums.
Footsteps clattered faintly across a floor. Who? Where? And then, he hit bottom and woke up, staring up into Kevin's eyes. "Ugh..." was all he found he could say.
The smaller neko-jin forced a smile. "Hey," he said.
He sounded so far off and so quiet...Before Rei knew it, he was asleep again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
(A/N: Taaaa-daaa. Another chapter. Yeah. R&R and the next chapter should be out soon.)