Delirious

D picked up the fallen Taki. She moved slightly. Even in her state she managed to let out a gasp of pain. "You may go now, Leon" said the count. Leon was ready to say something, but he had nothing left to say. The next thing he knew, rain began to fall.

"I guess I'm going to have to trust you, D. After all, I really don't want to get involved and I can't take a bleeding suspect to the station" he said. With that he turned and walked away. "Damn" said Leon about five blocks away from where he left Taki and D. "Why did I trust him? After all this he's probably going to leave with her so she can't get arrested. Huh, why am I thinking all this stupid stuff? It's probably because I had her RIGHT WHERE I WANTED HER!" he said pulling out a cigarette. He searched for his lighter for a while. He tried to start a flame furiously. The lighter clicked and only sparks fell from it. Finally, it lit properly. Leon began to think again. He wished he had just taken Taki and not worried about her safety. He didn't like her anyway. "Aw, damn!" said Leon throwing his cigarette to the ground and stomping it out. "Letting her go, what a stupid thing to do!" he yelled.

Meanwhile, back at the pet shop, D was just arriving. Ginger's claws were clicking against the concrete steps. D unlocked the door and pushed it open. Ginger shook herself off outside and walked in. T-chan walked over to Ginger.

"She's going to be fine, right?" he asked.

"Of course she is. Taki could always take care of herself and besides D's' watching over her" Ginger answered adjusting her choker.

D laid Taki down on his couch. He covered her with the blanket that hung over the couch across from where Taki was. He walked over to where he kept his incense. He carefully picked one long thin stick out and lit it. The smell filled the room quickly. It was strong, something not even the animals at the pet shop had ever smelled before. He walked over to the injured Taki. He lifted her up slightly, sat down and let her lay on him. He stroked her hair. "Taki" he whispered. "Taki, tell me everything about this" Taki stirred and her eyes fluttered open but only halfway. She tried to speak but only jumbled noises came out. Finally, the words came out.

"When we were young...we sword fought. After high school...they started New Moon. People from...all over the place...came to fight. There was this one guy...the one you saw...he came too" she said

"Where did he come from? What do you know about him?" D asked.

"I don't...I don't...." was all Taki managed to say.

D covered Taki's eyes. "Try to remember" he whispered.

Taki began to see contorted figures, spirals of color and light. Images of strange women began to form then disappear. Familiar words came into her head, she could hear them faintly but they were so hard to understand. She began to see the faces of her friends. They were young though, still teenagers in fact. The looked like they were laughing but no sound came out. A twist of red came out from the center of the images and bright light followed behind it. As the spiral grew closer it looked like a flame wheel. She could see it slither closer, like a snake. It looked as if it were about to touch her and she panicked a little. However even as it passed by her, her skin did not burn. It looked so real Taki forgot it wasn't. In fact, she didn't even know if she though it was real to begin with. She lost awareness of everything. Even though she was totally limb and felt almost helpless mentally, she knew she had to tell someone something, but what? She still couldn't remember. Then, just as the figures and colors began to get brighter, she remembered.

"He was from...California...northern California. He grew up...to be some genetic scientist...making creatures in a laboratory. He used to scare us...with dreams of making a human...to destroy all other humans. He said...if he won the tournament...he would use our blood. We all vowed...to win...so he wouldn't go so far. James...took a shine to me...but he went too far...he wanted power, money and me...but I wanted a comrade. He couldn't take it...so now...he'll stop at nothing for me...even if it means...my suffering" she said.

"So the monster you fought was one of Zeus's creations, the so-called human-to-kill-all-humans?" D asked softly.

"Yes...but it won't work...on me. I can't...tell you why. That would mean...the defiance of my family" she answered. D nodded, he plenty about family loyalty. Sofu constantly reminded him of that.

"I see" he whispered. The animals began to inch towards them. They hesitated as they thought the two should be left alone. Their curiosity seemed to draw them closer. The scent of the incense was intriguing, too. They knew the scent had to be something along the lines of mystical because they had never been so attracted to an aroma before.

"Soft your fields so green...can whisper tales of gore...of how we calmed...the tides of war...we are your...overlords" Taki said.

"What does that mean, Taki?" D asked.

"It was...a song. A song by...by..." she couldn't think again.

"Please remember for me, Taki" said D

"By Led Zeppelin, we used to that line...all the time. It was like...our war song. Rose...Kaori...Mina and I...used to say that...before a fight. We used to fight...in fields...beautiful fields. The grass would be painted red every year...but we fought despite the fact...that it was our previous battle ground...where the blood still caresses...the roots of the grass. We hoped one year...we would defeat Zeus...and put an end to New Moon. We just wanted to stop the killing...and that line...seemed to promote our cause" she explained. D placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head higher. He lightly touched her face.

"As you grew older, it became harder and harder as he grew more into his obsession" he said. Taki only managed to nod before she collapsed into his lap. "My poor Taki, you're so underestimated. The world can't see how kind you are" he thought. With that, the smell of the incense died down and everything seemed normal.

"D?" Ginger asked.

"When she awakes she'll be fine. You don't need to worry, Ginger" said D.

Leon sat in his office shuffling through papers, still cursing under his breath. Work was over in a few minutes but he was still too angry to notice. Finally, a voice grabbed his attention.

"Are you okay, Leon?" asked his partner, Jill.

"No...why?" Leon snapped

"I figured, because work is almost out and you aren't even getting ready to leave yet" she answered.

"Really? Oh God, finally!" said Leon scrambling to get his things back in order. By the time he finished work was over. "See you everyone. I have something to do" he said running out the door. In a matter of minutes, he was at the doors of the pet shop.

"D!" he yelled. The door was pushed open and D welcomed the detective as usual.

"Where's Taki?" Leon asked demandingly.

"I told you, I took her to the hospital" D answered.

"Oh really? Well let me take a look around" Leon said. He searched the pet shop up and down. When he was done he looked at D angrily. "Well, she's not here" said Leon pushing open the doors of the pet shop. "I'll be back for Chris later" Leon called.

"Good-bye, detective" said D. Ginger and T-chan walked out of the halls that led to the back rooms.

"Good thing you only let a select few back here" Ginger said to D

"What the idiot doesn't know won't hurt him" T-chan answered.

D smiled at the two pets. "Well, our hearts are in the right place, even if it does mean deceiving out good friend the detective" D answered.

To my reviewers:

ERH: I'm glad I could excite your interests. I'm also glad the spacing worked. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, too!

Erik's Rose: Yes, Mexico is a good inspiration for me. I always manage to write something really good while I'm in Mexico. Note to self: Go to Mexico more often.

Nobody-Special: I'm glad you like it. If you think these are good, you should see my Mexico-inspired chapter. Well, I have fulfilled you wish and I hope you are satisfied with the result.

Magical Girl: Try to guess where this is going. Lol, I joke. Anyway, thank you for the kind words. I hope this satisfied your need for more suspense.

Ruleroftheanimeuniverse: It's okay; I understand how hard it is to get to a computer these days. I mean with busy schedules and other such things. Glad you like my story.

WITCHCHICK 3.0: Glad you liked it. I don't think you're nitpicky. You seem cool to me. My vacations to Mexico always help. Be glad for Mexico, love the Mexico. Viva Mexico. Anyway, the impact of my vacation will really shine through in chapters to come.

Fan1: Your wish to read the Mexico chapter will soon be fulfilled. I did have loads of fun on my vacation and it really had an effect here. Yes, my flow needs a rest too sometimes and Mexico does wonders for me. Hope you enjoyed!

Note to everyone: Here is the countdown until the Mexico chapter: two more chapters to go. Oh, and for those of you who reviewed on August 20th picked a good day to review. That day was Robert Plant's birthday. He's the singer for Led Zeppelin, my favorite band. Hopefully some of my reviewers have heard of them, or at least Robert Plant. That was random, I know but I felt the need to inform everyone about the best day in the world, Robert Plant's birthday. 