Disclaimer: I'm back! And no, I still don't own ManKin or any of its characters. I do own Rione, Rune, Millie and the rest of the new X-Laws. Oh, and if you have a plush toy of Jeanne, I'll buy it. Name your price.
The Romancers
Set One: Shaman King
By: Sheo Darren
Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight
Chapter Six
Asuka Strikes! (Hunter Rione Asuka, That Is)
They were chatting amongst themselves when it struck.
Millie was doing most of the talking, cheerfully soldiering on despite the darkly silent pall upon a midsummer morning that was Marco hovering within threat range. Rune was seemingly absorbed in her own thoughts, but that only meant she was paying close attention to what Millie was saying while simultaneously keeping an eye on Marco. It pays to be paranoid at times, and the former Shinigami was from the atavistic school of thought that enemies are better than friends because they were in front of you; your friends were inconveniently found behind you, ready for a treacherous strike. Never mind that this was the new X-Laws and Lyserg Diethyl the leader. Marco was still Marco, Rune was still Rune, and a merry-go-round of backstabbing and homicide just might come true.
It was Millie who saw it first–heard it, actually. She was gaily carrying a one-sided conversation with Rune when she heard that little voice. Out of the corner of her eyes came that flicker of movement that cut her tale short and brought her to look to her side.
"Haro?"
They came to a halt; Millie first, then Rune. Marco was so busy mentally cursing his ill luck and what seemed to be an inevitable pairing of Lyserg Diethyl and Iron Maiden Jeanne that he didn't quite notice his companions had stopped and that he was still walking, oblivious to the world.
"Eh?"
"What is it, Millie?" asked Rune. Already the black-clad X-Laws was scanning the shadowed corridor her young friend was peering into, looking for the thing that had caught the latter's attention– and the long staff that was her weapon in her hand already. Just in case.
Millie had scurried forward and then dropped to her knees, peering at the thing before her. "Kawaii!"
Her girlish exclamation brought Marco out of his personal torment. "What is it now, girl?" he demanded, turning around in annoyance.
The object of the ash blonde girl's interest was spherical, roughly larger than a softball, was colored a bright red and had small black spots for eyes and was chirping, "Moshi, moshi!" while rocking back and forth and flapping its side panels up and down as if they were arms.
Though not too curious, Rune was interested enough to merit an eyebrow raise. "Hmm?"
"It's so cute and tiny!" Nothing was stopping Millie from gushing in adoration; a girl at heart, she had a girl's avid interest in anything cute. She held her palms out at it to take it into her arms, and the thing seemed to sniff at her, as a dog might a stranger. "Come here, I won't hurt you."
With a call of "Haro!" punctuating its movement, the thing bounced into the offered hands. It wasn't heavy, but if not anything else it sure was talkative.
"Hello? Haro, Haro! Lux! Athrun! Kira! Haro!"
"Wow, you're pretty long-winded. I wonder, what's your name?"
"Haro? Haro, Haro!"
"Did you say 'Haro'?" She was cheerfully echoed by the toy. "Oh, okay, so you're called Haro. Well, Haro, I'm Millie and I'm pleased to meet you."
"Millie?"
"Yes, 'Millie'. My name is Millie."
"Haro! Millie! Millie!"
"Very good, Haro!"
"Noisy," Rune murmured as way of comment.
The look on the younger girl's face was pure rapture. "Can I keep him?" Millie asked.
"Pardon me?" For the first time ever in her life the Grim Reaper of Hao looked like she had been caught off guard, not an easy thing to do.
"Can I keep him, Miss Rune? He's so small and happy and cute! I've never had anything like it, so can I keep him? Can I?"
A sweat drop began its perceptibly slow slide down Rune's forehead. "Uh– I guess so."
"Really? Hooray!" Millie began an impromptu dance jig, annoying the hell out of Marco but coming close to making Rune smile.
"For God's sake, stop prancing around, girl!"
The chastisement got Millie to stop but still keep on grinning sheepishly. Marco was not pleased; even less so with Haro cheerfully harping away at him with insulting words.
"Marco no baka, Marco no baka! Baka, baka!"
"Why, that–" He made a move towards the chirruping toy, his murderous intentions all too evident.
Concerned for her new pet's safety, Millie hugged Haro closer to her and took a step back towards what she hoped was safety. "Haro, don't say bad words," she half-heartedly scolded.
Rune smoothly slid between them in a protective pose. She gave her nemesis a cool glance of unconcern. "Aren't we a little touchy today, Marco?"
"Out of the way, Minor. There's a certain little mechanical runt who deserves an overhaul."
"I don't think so."
The two stared at each other, Marco furious, Rune calm. Millie feared that they might just start a fight, so she began to suggest: "Uh, guys–"
"Haro!" squeaked the red Haro in her arms.
"HARO!" answered a chorus of similar piping voices.
And then suddenly there was no time to react, save for Marco turning his head to stare at the source of the new chirrups and an oath cut off–
"What the–"
–Before a hundred Haro poured out of nowhere and crashed into him.
Rune was reminded of a breaking dam. Of course the torrent unleashed in this case was not water but variously colored Haro bouncing and bounding all over Marco, his swear words fortunately cut off by the multitude of tiny voices all clamoring for attention. There was a flash of white amidst the wave of Haro: The X-Laws' arm, trying to find purchase to haul his body up. The Haro didn't let him get that chance, wisely collecting into a noisy pile right on top of him.
"Haro!"
"Hello! Hello, hello?"
"Lux! Lux!"
"Athrun!"
"Kira!"
"Kagari!"
"Don't want to! Don't want to!"
"Marco no baka!"
"Baka, baka!" they all chorused.
A sweat drop popped out upon Millie's cute forehead. "A-Anou…"
In her arms the red Haro chipped in: "Romancers! Rione!" All the Haro chorused their reply: "Romancers! Romancers!"
"Who is that supposed to be?"
"Lyserg Jeanne! Lyserg Jeanne!" Haro chirped innocently.
Beside the young X-Laws, Rune's eyes went blank.
She was given her name for a reason. In ancient druidic lore, runes were special words and markings of great power. They tapped into the vast expanse of natural energy that was life all around them and used them to call forth magic. One of these mystic powers was what Rune called Sight, the capacity to see the Unseen, the mysterious and the invisible. Her own gift of Sight was once quite strong until she took on the mantle of the Grim Reaper. Death and Life could not coexist, and so for this new power Rune sacrificed almost all of her old life. Even so, a sprinkling of Sight was still hers to command: Magic can never be destroyed or lost; it only takes on new form.
She saw clearly through the haziness of the future: Lyserg and Jeanne in their solitude together. Then the girl in black, the girl who smiled quietly yet menacingly upon the image of the lovers, heard the word "Show time, Romancers," and felt the turmoil in time that was about to unfold, a crisis that centered not on Lyserg and Jeanne but –surprisingly– upon her and–
Millie nearly jumped in surprise when Rune roughly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down after her through the corridor's length. Fortunately the swarm of Haro did not move to stop them but instead continued making Marco's life miserable; as if that had been the only purpose they had in mind. It was enough to generate a thought: Does everybody in the world hate Marco that much?
"Miss Rune, what's wrong?"
"We have to hurry! Lyserg and Jeanne are in danger!"
"What?"
"Haro! Danger, danger! Lyserg Jeanne!"
"But how? I mean–"
"There's no time to lose! We have to get to the Iron Maiden's side at once!" Rune was grim as she fairly flew down the corridor and up the stairs, Millie doing her best to catch up. "I only hope the others are safe…"
Vincent Granger peeked around the corner of her hiding spot and was rewarded with a chirrup of "Haro!" before a beam of light smacked a few inches into the concrete wall over her head. Immediately the redhead ducked back without even trying to retaliate, contenting herself with curses while thinking of a way to get out of this mess.
She had been jumped by a dozen Haro only a few minutes earlier. Vincent had not been impressed with the jabbering toys –until one, then all the others, had started shooting laser beams at her. That sent her scooting into cover and returning the occasional shot from her rifle, but she was outnumbered and outgunned and having trouble just keeping them at arm's length.
She just hated the things. One of the damnable Haro had scored a glancing hit upon her shoulder. Vincent was still numb in that place, though luckily the beams seemed to be non-lethal. Set the phasers to stun, Data, the American unhappily thought, remembering the Star Trek movies she used to watch. And the worst part was that the colorful critters were cheerful even as they attacked. It was unnerving to be the target of a volley of lasers while you could hear childish voices squeaking nonsensical rhymes.
"Bloody hell," Vincent muttered as she prepared to summon her angel Israfel and start some real fighting. "I just wish the others are doing better than I am…"
When the first of the Haro rolled its way into the middle of the reception area, Drake Malloy had not paid it much attention. So did the rest of the people in the spacious room, thinking it was some sort of ploy on the part of the hotel or a child's toy that had somehow gotten lost.
The gentle hiss that stood out despite the noise and ruckus told Drake that something was wrong. By now ten Haro had appeared, and a fine mist was spreading from them and all across the room. Drake had once been a soldier –a member of Her Majesty's Royal Marines– and when people began to waver drunkenly before falling to the floor as if sandbags, he instinctively knew something was wrong. As it was, he managed to escape before the potent sleeping gas could do much more than slow him down. The same could not be said about the rest of the people in the room, now in a fitful slumber.
As Drake pounded his way towards the room of the Iron Maiden –who else but she could be the target?– he fervently hoped that it wasn't this bad for all of his other companions…
The first warning that Maestro received was when nearly a hundred minds dropped out of their active thoughts and into deep slumber: The people in the reception room taking a quick if unplanned nap. The psychic was genuinely surprised, and even more so when he detected Vincent and Drake's tension-filled minds.
It was an attack, no doubt of it. Why he had not detected it even before it had started was of concern to Maestro, but he could deal with that later. He had to react. There was only one real possible target, as Drake had already decided: Iron Maiden Jeanne.
Fine. If Hao or his minions had decided to take another crack at her, fine. The X-Laws –and Maestro– would teach them the error of their action.
"Haro?"
Maestro inclined his helmeted head to look at the tiny figure lolling at his feet. It was colored yellow and was exceedingly chirpy. It also exactly resembled the absurd-looking attackers that Vincent and Drake had encountered.
"Haro, Haro. Maestro?"
He had not detected it. That meant only one thing: The attacks were mechanical, immune to being detected by a psychic due to the simple fact that they didn't have any mind to speak of. Clever, Maestro allowed, as he charged up his psychic power to destroy it before it could think to shoot him with its laser.
Then there was another Haro, and four more, all surrounding him. All but one flew into the air and took positions around and above Maestro. The one Haro that had not moved glowed brightly and began emanating energy that reached towards its flying brethren, forming a translucent diamond-shaped cell that enveloped the psychic's armored form.
Maestro blasted the barrier –what else could it be?– and was not surprised when his psychic force was handily stopped by the pinkish force field. All the while the Haro were singing in their silly way. Formidable, but silly.
In the back of his mind, he was wondering who came up with the idea to color an energy shield a shade of pink…
"Wow. I owe Lux big time for lending me all her Haro. That girl's got some affinity for pink: Her hair is pink, her favorite Haro is pink, even her own battleship is pink. No wonder the beam shield is pink as well. Think I'll have a word with October after this."
So saying, the girl in black slipped through the door and to the business at hand.
They had not even noticed the faint footfalls of the intruder. They had only each other in their minds and hearts and arms. It was a wonderfully pleasant feeling to have someone to hold on to in the darkest of days; it was wonderful to have an anchor of safety, the better to keep one from being helplessly adrift in the storms that inundate the sea that is life. They loved each other so much that they could hardly care what happened to the rest of the world, only that they would be safe and sound and with each other.
The first inkling that something was wrong was when Lyserg felt a familiar touch across his cheek: Morphine. The fairy knew well never to interrupt her master when in one of these touching moments, except if it was very important. Nevertheless the dowser stiffened at that unwelcome gesture, wondering what the hell was it that Morphine would bother him while he was with Jeanne in this loving moment.
In his arms the fair-haired girl he treasured so much was brought out of her sad reverie when she felt him go rigid at the interruption. One eye came open and a crimson pupil regarded with puzzlement the antics of the winged pixie that hovered before them, even as her beloved's own pair of green globes flashed.
"Morphine!" Lyserg's temper showed in the way he regarded the 'wayward' spirit. "What on earth is it?"
Jeanne watched Morphine carefully as the latter conveyed her message. The fairy could not talk like a normal person; only dowsers like Lyserg could understand the fey folk's mysteriously silent language. The Iron Maiden, however, was very good at reading people's emotions and feelings, and could plainly see that Morphine was perturbed about something. Not to her surprise, she found Lyserg suddenly looking grim.
"What? What do you mean: Intruders? Here? Are you sure?"
The redhead fairy nodded emphatically and added something else. As she spoke, Jeanne felt Lyserg's arms around her take on a protective touch.
"What's going on, Lyserg? What's the problem"
"Jeanne-chan, we have to get you out of here. Someone's attacking the hotel, and it's not safe for you here right now."
"What?"
Suddenly all that had been the past year she lived came back to sweep Jeanne up in its horror. She remembered vividly how her X-Laws had fought and killed and died for her. Every single one of them: Porf, Venstar, Larch, Cebin, Denbat and Meene.
And though she did not show it –she was the Iron Maiden; she was not privy to such human fears– Jeanne still had nightmares about that final battle, nightmares about all the other nights, nightmares that were the mind-numbing pain that was the Iron Maiden's cross to bear.
Oh, Lyserg…
And then he was pulling her up now, coaxing her onto her feet and asking her to follow him. All the while Jeanne was silently praying that none of what she feared would happen.
Fate had caught up with her yet again…
To Lyserg and Jeanne's utter surprise, a flock of pigeons suddenly flew into the room courtesy an open window, a cloud of gray and blue that whirled once around them before hightailing it outside again.
"That was weird," the perplexed Lyserg said in what was obviously a gross understatement.
Snappy footsteps resounded with the room, bringing them to face the intruder without. Lyserg had protectively positioned himself in front of Jeanne, the better to shield her from whatever horror approached.
What came was nothing like they ever expected in their entire lives.
"Mr. Diethyl. Surprised to see me?"
The speaker was dressed in elegantly black clothes and wore dark Police sunglasses. Her black hair matched her favored apparel. About the only thing that was not black about her was her skin of healthy golden brown hue, the rosy lips that were strangely without the usual lipstick women adorn themselves with, and the slight line of even white teeth in her smile.
She was also a girl. A pretty cute one, at that.
Though Lyserg had expected something far worse –a hostile renegade Shaman or an entire army of them– there was something about this girl that gave him pause. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And what are you doing here?"
To his surprise the girl grinned. "That's the same question all of them ask all the time."
And then for no real reason at all save that she wanted to know and had suspicions, Jeanne suddenly asked:
"Are you the one who sent the pigeons?"
The girl frowned at that. "Damn," she growled under her breath, arms akimbo in annoyance at herself. "Just when you think your entrance is perfect, something comes up."
Lyserg, Jeanne and Morphine stared.
The girl caught them looking at her as if she had sprouted a second head in mid-rant, blinked, and then –to their surprise– broke into embarrassed laughter.
"Ah, well, I guess I did. Actually, I was aiming for crows, but the R&D department ran out of stocks recently. They haven't gotten replacements yet, as far as I know, so I had to improvise. Sort of like Mission Impossible 2."
This prattle earned her even more bewildered stares, making her blush and begin fiddling with her fingers nervously while chuckling like silly.
"Aren't you supposed to attack us or something?" Lyserg sarcastically asked.
"Uh, well, yeah," she confessed. "But you got me all messed up and confused, so just give me a moment to contemplate, okay?" So saying, the girl began tapping her forehead with a finger while screwing up a most concentrated look.
Both Iron Maiden and dowser came close to sweat-dropping like in those anime on television.
Suddenly her fingers snapped, and the girl exclaimed: "Now I remember!" Grinning she pointed at Jeanne. "If you don't mind, can I borrow Miss Jeanne for a while?"
The looks on their faces –Jeanne's and Lyserg's– were of complete disconcertment –and confusion.
"WHAT?"
"Uh, okay, let me rephrase that: Can I please borrow Miss Jeanne for a while?"
"NO!" That was Lyserg, understandably vociferous regarding that matter. Behind him, Jeanne was uncharacteristically blushing like mad, something she learned from her object of affection.
Sighing, the girl shrugged. "Oh, well. If you won't lend her voluntarily," and then her admittedly cute face sported a resigned look, "I'm going to have to take her through force."
Lyserg got into his battle pose. "Let's see you try it," he said in warning tones. "Morphine!"
At once the fairy flew to her master's beckon. The dowsing crystal that was his weapon glowed bright and lifted from his gloved hand, wavering in mid-air like a snake ready to strike. Almost faster than the eye could follow, the young X-Laws lashed out, the pendant spearing towards his opponent, the latter making no effort to dodge and instead raising an open palm to face the projectile speeding her way, a futile gesture–
–Until the pendant came to a stop a bare inch before her hand.
"What the–"
The girl sidestepped the pendant and came directly for him. Lyserg commanded his weapon to snap backwards in an attempt to nail his target, but then the girl suddenly jumped into the air and actually hovered there for one long indeterminable moment, like some sort of unnatural crane poised before him…
That was when she kicked him.
Lyserg went flying and hit the floor hard.
The worried Jeanne ran to his side, even as he tried to get up. "Lyserg!"
"Damn." Luckily he didn't feel wounded or anything, though his head did throb a bit.
Interestingly the girl was not actively going after him. In fact she seemed apologetic; the look in her eyes obviously a sign of compassion. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard," she admitted.
Much to Jeanne's growing fright, Lyserg got up. "Well, I mean to," he said, preparing to attack again.
"Look, we can be as unpleasant as we can be right now, I know that." She held her hands before her in a gesture of concession. "But honestly, bashing you around won't earn me any extra points. You aren't my targets, anyway. I'd rather do this without all the messy fighting as much as I can."
The green-haired dowser raised his arm again for another strike.
"Tell you what." She seemed quite willing to talk some more, even if it left her open for an attack. "If I promise to take care of Jeanne while she's with me, will you let me take her?"
There was fire in his emerald eyes. "I will never let anyone take Jeanne away." Lyserg focused all of his will and strength. "I won't let you!"
The horror had come back to envelope her in its dark embrace, a shadowy mass attracted to her light. It was happening yet again. The fighting, the bloodshed that was inevitable, all in her name and the name of humanity.
And it was all because of her.
It was her fault.
It was the fault of a lie.
And then the girl came to look at her, huddled behind the boy she loved, and an unspoken message –much like between Morphine and Lyserg– passed.
If you come with me, perhaps you can sleep in peace at last.
"What?"
Do you want to know if you are the truth or the lie?
"I-I don't know what you're talking about…"
If you want to live as Jeanne D'Arc, then come with me.
A door unlocks itself when presented with a key. So did Jeanne's stricken heart, for no reason at all save that there was hope to be had in this promise, however vague and impossible it seemed.
Rione Asuka Hunter waited as the pendant came at her for a final attack.
"Lyserg!"
The shining lethal point froze.
Jeanne was breathing hard now, her entire frail-looking body heaving with every ragged frightened breath she took. She was pale and shaking and totally unlike the image of the Iron Maiden that he had come to know–perhaps because this was not the Iron Maiden who stood between them, but simply Jeanne D'Arc.
The pendant was only a hair's breadth away from her face.
A icy pit was forming itself within Lyserg's heart. "Jeanne-chan…"
"Please, Lyserg, please stop this." She was pleading for all it was worth, even as she was terrified for herself and for him. "Don't fight anymore, don't fight. I'm not worth it."
Please, my love…
Her eyes were in tears. "A lie is not worth it."
"Shigau!" The angry way he spat his denial showed just how much he was affronted by the way she simply accused herself. "You're not a lie, Jeanne-chan! You're as much truth as any one of us!" His use of the affectionate term they had just earlier agreed upon was all the more painful; it underlined just how much she meant to him.
And I love you!
"But I myself don't know," quietly answered Jeanne, bringing him to a halt. "I don't know that yet.
Even though I love you…
"Peace has come to the world, but it still eludes me. I can touch it when I'm with you, but without you I am so desolate. I blame myself for every one of you who died and all those who died for me and because of me. I can never make you understand how important it is or how painful it is–" I can't even admit it to you, of all people, the one I love! "–But I'm asking that you let me know it at last!
"I want to know, Lyserg. I want to know what the truth is. I can't bear living with myself if I don't know." Her pain was all too evident in her very words. "I can't even bring myself to love you as I should!"
That stopped him cold. "Jeanne…"
"Forgive me." She was crying freely now. "Please bring yourself to forgive me. Because," her voice broke, yet she managed to murmur, "Because I can't forgive myself. Not yet."
With all of her strength and will, even though the very thought of it pained her far beyond the physical torment within the casket that was once her mantle, Jeanne forced herself to turn away from Lyserg –the person she loved so much– and towards the girl in black. "Onegai," she murmured, before weariness like no other claimed her. "Salva nos."
Please.
Save us.
Jeanne toppled forward, unconscious.
"JEANNE!"
Rione caught her as she fell. The dark-haired girl smiled sadly as she cradled her new ward. "Finding peace will be a difficult path for you, friend," she whispered, "But you're mistaken if you think you walk alone."
She glanced at where Lyserg stood, frustrated, frozen by her very devotion to the Iron Maiden that he could not come to her aid because she had wished it so. The young leader of the X-Laws could not –would not– move.
No. He loved Jeanne too much.
"No," mysteriously finished Rione. "You don't walk alone."
The door burst open, Rune flying into the room like Lady Death given wings and come from the abyss to battle, her still-asleep weapon at the ready to reap whatever soul need be. Behind her was the young X-Laws who stood in the shadow of her late sister, ash-blonde Millie already drawing her Colt even as her free hand cradled the red Haro that had come unto her possession just a while ago. Their target was the girl in black who held the Iron Maiden within her arms.
"No."
The two, Grim Reaper and X-Laws, came to a halt. Such was the command inspired by their leader; such was their belief in him that they went against their ingrained philosophies and mindsets in order to comply with his command.
Lyserg stared at this dark-clad waif who had so easily taken away his beloved. There was no anger in his eyes and neither hate; only resignation and a deep anguish that struck at his counterpart like no other blow could. For all that she stood for railed against the sorrow of this boy: Her ideals were all that she had, really, and right now…
"Leave. Now. While you can."
The girl nodded respectfully. "Take care of them, Haro," she told the crimson toy in Millie's arm, strangely quiet for once. "I'll bring her back, safe and sound." Strangely she gave Rune a meaningful glance, one that the Grim Reaper returned coldly and was answered with a slight smile.
Then she seemed to crouch to the ground in one fluid motion, and the floor beneath her rippled as if water.
And then she was flying, out of the window, doing what she called in happier times 'her Superman thing', the unconscious Jeanne D'Arc held tightly in her arms.
"You don't have to worry, Lyserg. I'll keep her safe. And this is not just for her; it's for your friend's sake, and for the one she's meant for."
In her arms, Jeanne slept, for once free of the nightmares that plagued her every night. A voice whispered once with her heart, a voice beckoning and soft and homely, much like Lyserg's:
Les mains noires protëgent la paix des nouveaux-nès.
Tired beyond any physical brink, Lyserg sagged to his knees, his pendant falling down to rest upon the floor. Millie made a move towards him, but Rune held her back.
"He needs this time alone. Let him be."
And despite the depth of her love for him –or perhaps because of it– Millie forced herself to stay put.
Love can kill a person; can break him or her into not even a shadow of his or her former self.
There was a glint of light upon his cheeks, reflected off the salty water that now streamed down from his eyes like he had never let them before. Not even his parents' death, not his comrades' demise –not even Meene's death bore compare to his loss tonight.
He had lost the girl he loved, the one person who made it all right.
Lyserg Diethyl wept.
Sheo's Notes: From a comedy perspective to a somber one, all in just one chapter. I kidnap Jeanne and made Lyserg cry, too. The only redeeming factor I put in was when Marco got clobbered. Man, the other ManKin writers and readers –especially the LysJea couplers and the fan girls– are so going to kill me…
Sorry for my long absence! I hope this latest chapter will suffice as appeasement. For those who might be wondering about some of the odd additions in my story, I'll make a short round-up right now.
First off: Haro is from the original Gundam SEED. It's a small ball-like robot that chatters like a toddler and serves as a pet. The names mentioned in passing (Lux Clyne, Kira Yamato, Ashran Zara and Kagari Yura Asuha) belong to characters also in Gundam SEED.
Next: The quote Salva Nos and Les mains noires protëgent la paix des nouveaux-nès are bot lifted from the anime Noir. The first is Latin for 'Save us' while the second is French and has various translations approximating to "The black hands that cover the green fields protect the peace of the newborns."
There is also a single Star Trek reference. Self-explanatory, really, so much that I wonder why I bothered noting it here. Also, I'll elaborate on Jeanne's nightmares much more fully in later chapters.
Finally: Rione Asuka Hunter is an original character, but as you've noticed her moves and some of her remarks are very familiar. Yes, she has the powers of 'The One'. This was originally a concept to parody the Matrix. May the Wachowsky brothers forgive me.
Finally, Chapter Seven will come out sometime in the first month of next year. I express my apologies for the delay. Please read and review.
Oh, and to Fluffychans and JSF and Joal Asakura, and to all my fellow ManKin writers: "Maligayang Pasko at manigong Bagong Taon! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!"
Sheo Darren