Chapter Eight
Midnight rolled around and Raven strolled into the Tenshi Manor. Her eyes were tired and filled with sorrow. She walked into the kitchen, unknowingly passing by a figure sitting in the darkness. She walked to the sink and turned on the water. She sighed as she began washing her hands. Jumping as the light flashed on.
She turned to see Heero and Trowa sitting at the island. She forced a smile on her lips but it dropped as they glanced at the sink. She followed their eyes to the blood, splattered sink. She ignored them and washed her hands.
The two guys noticed she had changed into a pair of black, baggy, cargo pants and a black tank top. She pulled off the gloves and threw them into the sink. Red liquid flowed from the gloves and down the drain. Cuts, old and new, laced her skin. To their discomfort, she pulled off her tank top, revealing a black, bra which clipped in the front. She threw the item of clothing into the sink and leaned over.
That's when they saw it. A pure black tattoo like symbol. A pure, black heart sat on the small of her back. The entire thing was painted black, except for a Z, which was placed in the middle of the heart, and matched the color of her skin.
On the small of her back was a black, tattoo like painting. It was a black heart, with a Z in the middle of it, the same color as her skin. His hand traced over it, to feel warmth from it.
{Flash}
"Where did you get that?" he asked, noticing the skin around it was a little red.
"Just two minutes ago. He branded me. He burned it into my skin. 'A mark of failure' he said it was." a voice replied
{Flash}
Heero snapped out of it to hear words come from the girl's mouth.
"Too much blood....too much...blood." she trailed off.
"I shouldn't have left....his blood...I shouldn't have." she mumbled, gazing at the pure, red liquid that ran down the drain.
"Suffer....shouldn't have...suffer...blood suffer..." her voice died out as the liquid slowly turned clear as it ran down the drain.
Her hands clenched into fists as she stood up, pulling out her shirt and throwing it on. She pulled her gloves on her hands and turned to face them.
"What are you doing up?" she demanded.
"We could as you the same." Trowa replied.
"I can do as I please. I'm not a child. I haven't been for many years." she growled.
She went to walk out of the kitchen, but Heero stood there, blocking her way.
"What?" she demanded.
"Who did you kill this time?" he asked.
She looked at him straight in the eyes, pain flashing through hers. It disappeared as fast as it came. Her eyes flashed gold and darkened to a dark, blue-violet.
"I didn't kill anyone." she said, her voice steel cold.
"You said we could trust you." Trowa said softly.
Her eyes stayed the same cold, dark blue, as did her stance.
"Trust means nothing to me anymore. Trust you must earn with me, and none of you Preventers have earned it. You all disgust me. You all are one-sided. You act the same way in real life, as you do in battle. It's pathetic." she growled.
"So you want us to be like you? Kill someone and come home to just act happy-go-lucky? Sorry, but unlike you we have a conscience." Heero questioned.
Raven flinched slightly and looked down.
"You know what? To say that I hate you isn't enough. To say I loathe you, still, isn't enough. I don't know what I feel for you, but I can tell you this. You are nothing more than the scum on the bottom of my shoe. Heero means nothing to me and you know what? 01, is starting to fade from memory. I can't remember him, and, now, I don't think I want to remember." she said, her voice a soft, deadly calm tone.
She shoved pass Heero and slowly strolled up the stairs, limping slightly. Trowa and Heero looked at each other before going to their rooms and falling asleep.
Morning came and everyone but Raven was in the dining room eating breakfast. It was quiet and calm. That was until a familiar voice yelled.
"SHIT! I'M LATE!"
A black blur ran in and stopped to reveal Raven, wearing the same clothes as last night, except no cuts or rips. She kissed Quatre's cheek and kissed the top of Andrea's head.
"Morning Andrea. How was your day at school yesterday?" she asked hurriedly.
She was in the kitchen, whispering to the cook, who nodded and chuckled.
"It was great Mama. My teacher says my math skills are very high." the little girl said after swallowing her pancakes.
"That's good. Well sorry squirt but I'm going to be late and the guys are going to kill me." she said, ruffling Andrea's hair before running out the front door.
The sound of a motor and squealing tires filled their ears. The girls and Quatre shook their heads.
"Uncle Q. Can I go watch Mama after school?" Andrea asked.
"Of course. I was going to see if I can get her off lightly." he replied.
Andrea cheered before the sound of a vehicle's horn honking. She jumped up, and grabbed her pink backpack and ran out the front door yelling her byes.
"Well, as much as we'd like to stay, we have to get to work." Missy said, standing up.
The girls followed and they walked out, to the garage.
The G-Boys looked at Quatre who smiled.
"Today is Monday, it's my day off. Lin is filling in for Rae today." he said.
The guys decided to do their own thing and meet back in the living room around three.
Later that day they met up in the living room to see Andrea sitting on Quatre's shoulders, wearing dark, red pants, a red blazer over a white shirt. It looked like another form of her uniform.
"Come on. I wanna see Mama." she urged impatienly.
"If there's one thing you've inherited from your father, it was his impatience." Quatre sighed.
Andrea shot him a dirty look, causing him to laugh.
"Alright lets go. We can take the Viper." he replied.
They climbed into the familiar vehicle and Quatre drove down the driveway and down the street.
They arrived at a large building with the a sign on the top of the building in neon lights reading; Galaxy Corp. They entered the building and stopped at the front desk.
A woman with short, blood, red hair spiked on end sat there, reading a magazine. Her green, eyes read over the article intensely.
"Hey Aunt Ruby!" Andrea called out, causing the woman to jump from her seat.
She placed a hand to her chest and inhaled deeply.
"Andrea, don't do that. What are you doing here Q? You're off today." she said.
"Andrea wants to see Rae. What were you reading?" he replied.
She turned over the magazine and let the group read it. It read;
Our top story today, Nikolai Rose was recently admitted to local L7 hospital after being attacked in Crystal Children's Clinic by Earth Preventer's Soldiers. Local witnesses say that a woman led the attack. Rose was able to hold off his own until the Preventer Soldiers were called off.
Recent accounts state that Mr. Rose was injured pretty badly. His skull was fractured in two different places, multiple bullet wounds were inflicted on the body. A dagger had been embedded in his stomach and he is suffering from internal bleeding.
It is said that these soldiers were after Andrea Tenshi, who is under the care of none other than Raven Tenshi. The young Tenshi girl was taken recently to a safety zone ran by Lilian Rose.
Dr. Harold, in the local hospital, states, "Mr. Rose may not make it. The wound in his stomach enables him of eating. One of his ribs has pierced his left lung, causing severe breathing problems. He continues coughing up lots of blood. The fractures in his skull has inflicted terrible brain damage."
We will have updates on Mr. Rose's condition soon.
"That's horrible!" Quatre stated.
"Why would they be after a little girl?" Duo questioned aloud.
"Never mind that, I'm worried about Nikolai. What will happen to the Crystal Children's Clinic?" Quatre asked the woman behind the counter.
"Most likely Kyle or Zak will take over. I didn't think it was this severe though." Ruby said.
Ruby shook her head.
"Rae is down stairs. I'd be careful. Tell your friends to keep it down and don't distract them." she stated.
Quatre nodded and they walked down a set of stairs. At the bottom of the staircase was a door. Loud cries and crashes were heard. They entered quietly.
Standing in a pure, white room were Lin, Lia, and Missy. Lin and Lia were sitting at a computer console. The guys watched as the stats on the screen read two different people. Under the bodies read the names; Lex and Rae. Missy sat at another console, gazing out of a one-sided window.
On the other side of the window were two people. Alex and Raven stood there, in fighting stances. Each breathing heavily.
"Lex's heartbeats are speeding up. She needs to calm down before she passes out." Lia's voice exclaimed.
"Rae's left wrist is sprained yet she continues to use it. She's going to bust it, again." Lin's voice replied distractedly.
The guys watched quietly as the two inside the room resumed fighting. It seemed like a dirty fight. They watched as Alex charged and swung a fist at Raven. Raven jumped in the air, causing Alex to stop and turn around, only for her face to be met with a foot. Alex went flying into a wall.
They saw Raven's mouth move and Alex slowly stood up. As soon as the blonde was on her feet Raven charged and punched her straight in the stomach, causing the blonde to double over in pain. Raven reacted quickly and her knee flung up and hit the girl in the face. The girl's head swung up, and she stumbled. Raven took the opening and did a roundhouse kick, dropping to her knees and kicking Alex's legs out from underneath her.
"Damn it!" Lia's voice rang out.
"Well that finished that fight." Lin said standing up.
The door beside Missy opened and Missy walked inside. They watched as Missy and Raven bent down to help Alex out of the room.
Alex was seated in a chair when Duo opened his mouth.
"THAT WAS SO FUCKING AWESOME!" he yelled.
He was hit in the back of the head, causing laughter to spill from the girl's mouths. Well, all but Raven's. Her eyes were dark until she noticed Andrea sitting on Quatre's shoulders. A gold flash was seen and they turned back to their original color.
"Mama! That was amazing." the small blonde cried out as Raven walked over.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Just never let me catch you fighting that dirty." the black haired beauty replied, giving Quatre a why-is-she-here look.
"Did you read the article?" Quatre asked.
Raven's eyes narrowed. She pointed to the screen where Lex's name use to be. The name Marquis was under it.
"He's angry, and so am I." was her only reply.
She turned and walked back into the room. As soon as she stood in the middle of the room she jumped backwards and did a back-handspring as a person lunged at her. Her feet touched the ground and she lunged towards the familiar black haired guy. Her eyes blank as she attacked with a combination of three punches, followed closely up with a kick. She quickly turned as Marquis dodged her kick, catching him off guard by a foot slamming into his chest, sending him back. He rolled over and pushed himself up as Raven's foot planted on the ground where his head had been. He swept her feet from underneath her, only for her to roll out and come back up in a fighting stance with her back turned towards him. He charged, thinking her guard was down, but she flipped backwards and over his head. She touched the ground and dropped just as he turned around. She immediately swept his feet out form under him, and swung around again, her feet slamming into his ribs. He flew towards the wall only to straighten himself up and push off the wall with his feet.
The fight continued, everyone watching intensely. They couldn't believe how much damage they ignored on the body.
Raven caught Marquis's right arm as she flipped over his head. She landed behind him and turned around quickly. A pop was heard and they watched as Marquis grabbed his shoulder and kneeled down in pain. She let go of his arm and kicked him from behind, sending him onto the floor. He slowly stood up and grasped his shoulder. His shoulder was slung at an odd angle. She jumped up and kicked him in the face with a spinning kick which was followed up with a foot in the chest. Marquis fell to the ground and stayed there.
"DAMN IT!" Lia yelled out.
Missy sighed and walked back in. Again her and Raven helped the injured one to a chair in the computer room.
"You must be very angry. You took him out pretty harshly, yet quick." Missy pointed out.
"I don't have a challenge anymore." Raven brushed off the compliment.
"Why not fight Heero?" Duo offered.
Quatre's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest.
"Sorry. I don't participate in fights that I already know the outcome to." Raven replied calmly as she grasped Marquis's shoulder.
She jerked it and a loud pop was heard and he hissed slightly. Her fingers massaged the sore area.
"Sorry about that. I thought you'd keep a level head. Your anger is getting to you." Raven stated.
Marquis nodded and smiled.
"Nah. You won hands down. You are surpassing everyone." he replied in a painful whisper.
"Are you afraid of a challenge?" Duo called out, interrupting them.
The Lin, Lia, Missy, Alex, Quatre and Marquis tensed up at the challenge as Raven's body went rigid. She slowly turned, her lips were placed in a smirk.
"Are you putting a challenge that is for your friend who has yet to accept it?" she questioned daringly.
"Please. Heero's not afraid of anything, especially some psycho girl." Duo scoffed.
Heero nodded from behind him causing her grin to disappear. Her eye turned over to Quatre and the girls, who shook their heads.
"You're on Heero Yuy." she accepted, turning to walk back into the room.
Quatre, Marquis and the girls sighed with loss.
"Nice going Maxwell. You just sent him into a coma." Missy muttered.
"No. I think he needs a reality slap." Quatre's voice disagreed, causing the guys to look at him with surprise.
"She really has changed you." Trowa whispered, causing Quatre to wince, before turning to look at the two soldiers inside the fighting room.
They stood in fighting stances, Heero lunging first. He threw a punch that she blocked easily and countered with a kick, which was blocked with his knee. Taking the open moment, she swung and punched him square in the cheek. Blood, trickled from the corner of his lips. He growled and wiped it away. He lunged again, kicking at her. She dodged by jumping backwards with a back handspring. Her feet touched an outer wall and she pushed off of it. Heero jumped back as her hands touched the ground. Her legs swung around her hands and kicked his feet from underneath him. She stood up and back flipped out of the way of a punch.
"She seems to know every move he makes, before he makes it." Wufei pointed out.
The same thought ran through Heero's head. He snapped out of his thought to dodge a foot aimed for his left cheek. A feeling of nostalgia as he fought her. She didn't seem to care about her own safety, as long as she was the winner and completed what she started. She reminded him of someone, but he wasn't sure.
A forceful punch in the stomach caused him to kneel over in pain. A mistake he noticed a second too late, as a knee lunged up and hit him in the nose. He felt the cartilage pop and blood oozed down his face. She used his moment of pain to execute a perfect snap kick to the face. She dropped down quickly and kicked his feet from underneath him. His head smacked on the ground and his world went black.