Disclaimer: I make no claim to the series, ideas, or characters of Full Metal Panic. But, I do make claim to the characters Sister Meredith Rily, Kevin Jacobs, and Aceria(Ace).
Author's Notes: As always, I want to thank all of you who have reviewed my story. I am getting a lot of good reviews, so that must mean that this is a halfway decent story. Some of you may notice that my chapters may look a little different. This is because the browser is finally starting to accept my documents for the most part. I am very pleased with this because now the formatting is better than before. It is still not as good as I would like it, and it is still not accepting my formatting completely, but I am still pleased with what it is accepting, or at least what I can edit. The quick edit is trying its best to work around my format in order to at least mess it up a little bit. But, the way I look at it is that if it can work around my format, my format can work around it. I would like to apologize for the last chapter not being all that great. I hope that this chapter will make up for it a little bit. The plot is moving along a bit more in this chapter, and there is quite a bit more action. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. As always, I appreciate people reading my story, and I appreciate it even more when people review my story so that way I know what they think. Writing is my enjoyment, and I like knowing that my enjoyment is pleasurable to others. I hope you enjoy my enjoyment. Thank you.
The Deathbringer
Chapter 5: The Calm of the Storm
By Adam Lakewood Copyright 2004
Kaname had almost forgotten exactly how different the American motels were from the Japanese. Everything about the motel was different, and she wouldn't have known what to do if she hadn't already lived in America before.
She had just got finished with her shower. She was standing in front of the mirror brushing her hair when there was a knock at the door. She quickly threw a towel around herself and made her way toward the door.
"Just one second." she called back at the door while she walked towards it.
She looked through the peep-hole of the door. It was Daniel Monday, her guard. She opened up the door and was almost knocked off balance by a strong gust of wind followed by a good amount of rain that was blowing in. He was soaked head to two, and the rain was bouncing off of him like he were standing underneath a sprinkler. She could barely hear him over the howling of the wind. The storm was getting relentless. The man pretty much had to yell in order to be heard. He held out a cell phone toward her.
"Here you are, ma'am. I was told to give you this in case you need to make any phone calls. It defeats taps, and is a secure line. You may use if freely."
"Thank you very much. I was just now wanting to..."
Kaname stopped when she saw his eyes slowly make their way down to look at the top of the towel. Kaname smirked. Normally this would have displeased her to no end, but it made her feel relieved a little to know that the soldiers of Mithril were still human.
"Adjust you eyes, soldier!"
He quickly shook his head and looked above her head, daring not to make eye contact. He blushed to the point to where he looked as if his head were ready to explode.
"Ma'am! Yes, ma'am! Please forgive me; I do not know why I did that! I meant nothing by it. Please, excuse me."
Kaname was forced to stifle a slight chuckle before speaking to the man's hastily retreating figure.
"Don't worry about it. I didn't know the storm had become this bad. You can come in if you want to. It's much warmer and... dryer in here."
The guard turned back around to look at her. Something like a smile crept into the corner of his mouth: a welcome change to his solid, stoic face.
"Your kindness is much appreciated, miss. But, I can complete my duty to better effect if I were to remain out here. Besides, someone has to be on the lookout for the person coming from the church. You may wish to get some rest since the person may be here in a few hours."
"Well, if you insist. I just figured I would make the offer."
"Yes, ma'am."
Kaname closed the door behind her and placed the phone on the table in her room.
She was feeling somewhat tired since she had not received much sleep in the past few nights. She finished combing out her hair before changing into her sleepwear and retreating to the welcoming bed. Thoughts of Sousuke were still on her mind, but despite this fact, sleep still came quickly to her. She was very exhausted. The time was only a little after 7:00 pm, but with her lack of sleep and the twelve hour time difference, it felt a lot later than that to her. Despite the storms attempts to keep her awake, she still fell into a deep slumber.
Kaname was awakened by a knock at her door. She groggily looked up from her pillow at the clock. The time was 3:19 am. She had slept for about eight hours, but the aftereffects of the deep slumber were still with her. She stumbled over to the door and looked through the peephole. It was too dark for her to see, but she was still able to make out a figure. Actually, it looked like two figures. She opened the door, assuming that at least one of them was Daniel. Her assumptions were correct.
Daniel stood near the doorway with a taller man to his left. The taller man was rather tall and thin. He looked to be an American. He was clothed in what looked like a pair of motorcycle boots, a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt, a heavy, black, leather trench coat, and a pair of fingerless leather gloves. He wore a large silver cross necklace around his neck. He had long brown hair that came down to the bottom of his neck. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and mustache with matching sideburns. He had a perfect tan, perfect skin, and a body that could appeal to any woman. Obviously, the man worked out constantly and made sure to the perfection of his appearance, even at 3:30 in the morning. It was obvious that the man took great pride in his incredible appearance since he looked like a male from an American soap opera. Kaname noticed that the man seemed to take somewhat of a notice to her appearance as well.
Daniel was the one to speak first.
"May we come in?"
"Oh, yes, of course! I'm sorry."
Daniel and the other man walked into the room out of the rain. Kaname walked into the bathroom to fetch a few towels for the two men to dry off with. The man noticed Kaname come back from the bathroom carrying the towels. He looked over at Daniel and nodded.
"You may leave now, Sergeant Monday. Inform the others that they may also leave now that I have finally arrived. I appreciate you staying with this young lady while I was caught up in the rain."
"No problem at all, Father. I needed a break anyway."
The two men slightly laughed. Daniel looked back over at Kaname.
"Thank you, ma'am, but I and the rest of the team must be going. But, first, let me introduce you to Father Kevin Jacobs of the Creedence Catholic Church. He will be your escort to the church. I will let him fill you in on the other details. It was a pleasure meeting you, ma'am."
The man saluted, turned and left out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as the door closed, the voice of Daniel barking orders could be heard from outside the door, in a rather crude and vulgar fashion. Father Kevin smiled slightly and let out a slight chuckle.
"I love to listen to them when they think no one is." he said as he took the towel from Kaname and began drying his hair.
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Father."
"Glad to know, Daughter."
Kaname looked at him strangely. She had never expected that kind of response.
"Yeah, it sounds kind of funny; doesn't it: me calling you Daughter?"
"Yes, Father, it kind of does."
"Well then, if you don't call me your father, I won't refer to you as my daughter. At least I would hope you aren't my daughter; if you are it means that I must have messed up badly somewhere."
Both laughed lightly at the joke he made. Kaname noticed that this man was not exactly what she had imagined a priest to look like.
"Just call me Kevin. Deal?"
He extended his hand out towards Kaname. Kaname looked at his hand oddly for a moment before finally shaking his hand. She smirked at him slightly before speaking.
"Okay, Kevin. Then you can just call me Kaname."
He smiled at her as he pulled his hand away from hers.
"Good. Are you hungry? I am very hungry, and I have a pizza in my car that I would gladly share with you."
"Yes, thank you. That would be great."
"Good. I will fill you in on what exactly is happening while we eat. You already know most of what is happening, so I will inform you on some of the minor details that either you don't know, or that Mithril doesn't want you to know. I'll be back in a moment."
Fifteen minutes and half a pizza later, the two were in good conversation.
"So, you're not really a priest?"
"Well, not exactly the kind that you may know about. I'm not a preacher, if that's what you're asking."
"So, you do work for the church?"
"No, I don't work for the church; I work for God."
Kaname smirked a little bit at the man's response.
"Then, exactly what tangible, earthly group do you work for?"
"I serve God's work through God's military."
"Which military is that exactly?"
"That would be Mithril."
"I should have seen that coming."
"Perhaps. Mithril is the only military organization that focuses on someone other than themselves. Mithril is under hard pressure trying to protect the all of the Whispered, but they are still managing. The higher- ups in Mithril believe that you will be safe at the church. I will take you with me back to the church once the rain lets up a little and the roads clear up; the bridge is currently flooded. Also, it seems as if it were God's doing to have me with Mithril. I am also assigned to protect another one of the Whispered. Her name is Sister Meredith Rily. She is the one that sent me to get you. She has a knack for being able to sense those that share the same gift that she does."
"So, Sister Meredith is also a Whispered?"
"Yep."
"And, you are to protect her?"
"That is right."
"That must be a hassle. I know for a fact that Sousuke had a hard time protecting me."
"Don't worry about it. It is well within the limits of my abilities. Don't forget, I have been given a gift from the Lord to be able to do this specific task."
"Have you ever had to protect Sister Meredith from anyone?"
"Yes, on many occasions."
"Is it hard for you to kill people, being a man of God and all?"
"Not really. As long as I remember that I am doing it for the sake of God's Gifted."
"I see. Do you enjoy it?"
Kevin almost choked on his bite of pizza over that last question. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Killing people?!"
Kaname laughed slightly at his misunderstanding.
"No, I meant do you enjoy taking care of the Whispered... or, God's Gifted?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood your question. Yes, I do enjoy it. I find it a great pleasure to be able to be around God's Gifted. You and Sister Meredith must be very special people in order for Him to have given you such a gift."
Kaname blushed at his response.
"Well... uh... thank you very much. You refer to her as Sister Meredith, but you do not wish to be referred to as Father; why is that?"
"Sister Meredith is a nun, and thus, deserves such a title. The reason for me is much different. Before I received God's calling to join with Mithril, I was pretty much ignorant to the Lord's purpose for me and was still trying to figure it out. During that time before the Calling, I was pretty much 'hired muscle' for the Vatican in Rome. The Vatican has been known to use some 'secret force' in order to prove their opinions or deal with opposition to the church. I was one of their main men for those ordeals. They had me fooled into thinking that I was doing the bidding of God. That is until I was saved by a Mithril operative. Now, to answer your question: Sister Meredith has been serving God for almost ten years. What I considered serving the Lord was actually the very essence of sin itself. I have been trying to redeem myself ever since I have left the service of the Vatican. I am given the title of Father by Holy Right. But, I see the title as something that must be earned with service to the Lord, and as of now, I have done more false service to Him than truth. So, I do not deserve the name."
"I think I understand."
Kaname looked solemnly out the window at the rain. The rain reminded her of Sousuke. That was mostly because it had been raining like this when all of those horrible things had happened, and Sousuke had... But, that was one of the last things that she needed to think about right now. She felt all day long as if she had to expend all of her will in order to be able to keep from bursting into tears at any passing second. She could only see faint, neon glows through the rapid moving blur caused by the water coming down the window. She really wished that it would stop raining. It seemed almost as if the rain had followed her. She did not appreciate it at all.
"Normally, I love the rain. But, I hate this rain. It is not of God." said Kevin as he joined Kaname at the window.
This had Kaname's full attention for the moment. It was impossible for anyone to feel the same hatred toward this rain than she had, but could this Kevin person possibly feel what she was feeling from it.
"What exactly do you mean?'
"Well, it's the rain. This rain came out of nowhere, and... I just don't like it, at all. This is not a cause of the good Lord. This is the dark rain of misfortune. This is the unholy storm that only promises pain, suffering, and agony to those caught up in it. It seems as if this rain has stretched over the expansion of states; we will have to be careful."
Kevin's insight on the rain pierced Kaname like a knife. She hadn't quite thought of it that way, but it was no coincidence that she, Sousuke, and a man of God would all have bad feelings about the rain. She wanted to ask questions about his insight, but she did not want to sound worried about it. She failed miserably in that aspect.
"So, exactly what is the cause of this rain?"
She accidentally let her voice crack while asking that question. She now had to fight even harder to keep back her tears. The man looked at her almost sympathetically, almost as if he knew what she was feeling.
"I would have to think it would be caused by whatever brought it in to begin with."
Kaname had a pretty good idea as to what he meant by that, but she had to be sure.
"Who... or, uh, what do you think brought in the rain?"
"Who is right. It is a person, but of what world, I'm not sure. If I had to make an educated guess, I would guess that it was the same person who delivered Sagara his demise."
This was not improving Kaname's mood at all, but it was definitely helping with her "investigation" of who it was who killed Sousuke. To ponder on this topic made Kaname feel as if her heart were being torn to pieces. She may not have a chance like this to gather this kind of insight, so she pressed forward.
"Well, who do you think it could have been that killed..."
Kevin let out a sigh before taking another drink of his water. He knew what he had to say would be unbelievable to anyone except a true believer, but this girl needed direction as to what was going on, and he was not going to be the person to lie to her. The truth may hurt in the present, but the future can be hurt worse with a lie; he was a walking example of this.
"I don't expect you to believe me, but I have never told a lie in my life, and I will not start now. Please try to conceive what I am going to tell you. Sousuke Sagara was not killed by an average person. This person was not someone of this world at all. Sousuke was killed by something that he would have never stood a chance against in the first place. I have heard the reports and I know that Sagara was not a man who could be brought down by man. Also, the way he was slashed up was not in a normal killing fashion, it was a means of punishment. Someone not of this world wanted Sousuke dead. And, I also believe that..."
Kevin looked over to see Kaname looking away from him out the window. Her body was shaking violently, and she started sobbing when she heard him stop talking.
"... this would be a good place to stop."
"S...S...She was only a little girl."
Kaname was silent after informing him on this part of what she had experienced. Maybe she was talking to anyone who would believe her instead of stating a fact.
Kevin walked over to where Kaname was sitting and put his hand on her shoulder as if to suppress her shaking.
"I'm sorry, darling. I shouldn't have said all of that just yet, but it's been bothering me too. I..."
Kaname turned around to him quickly, tears streaming down her face. She took in a quick, jerky, breath before speaking to him. Her words came out more in the form of sadness and anger more than kindness.
"You know nothing of how bothersome it is! It bothers me more than you could ever understand! I was there! I know what happened, and I can't tell anyone because no one will believe me. I was in the closet that Sousuke locked me in! I was there to hear his last words that he shouted to a little girl! I heard the little girl laugh at his futile attempts! I even heard sounds of his death: the cutting, the screaming, the gashing, the giggles, everything! I felt his warm blood cover my feet! I would love nothing more than to be able to tell everyone, but no one would believe me! No one would..."
Kaname threw herself at the tall man before her. She could not hold back her pain anymore. It all came out in one large flood of emotion. She wrapped her arms around his torso tightly and buried her head into his chest. Through her crying and sobbing, Kevin had a rough time keeping a hold on her. He had not flinched or moved from his position. He was not surprised by anything that she said or did. He had to go through this many times before.
This was the worst part of being a man of God: being there to help His wounded children. He knew that this would not have been so hard for her if she weren't one of the Whispered. Because of that, she had been able to hear the supernatural killer of Sousuke Sagara. He cringed at the thought and of what the little girl must have said to her knowing that she would be heard. He knew it was a gift, but he also had to wonder sometimes why the Lord would give such a painful gift. Now was one of those times. He took no great pleasure in this aspect of his job, he knew the emotions all too well, but fortunately, he sometimes knew how to help others deal with them. That is what he would try to do now.
He pulled her trembling form tighter to himself and began stroking her hair. He hated seeing people like this. He just wished that he could take all of her pain upon himself. He was at least ready for the harshness of this world. He bent his head down and gave her a comforting peck on the top of her head. He found himself having to fight back a tear or two, himself. He knew that because the Whispered were quicker to hone in on other peoples' emotions, they were more apt to take them more harshly themselves. He had spent many a restless night trying to comfort Sister Meredith in this same way. Perhaps he knew the emotional trauma that the Whispered had to go through better than anyone. But, all of the experience in the field wouldn't have made doing this a bit easier.
"I know, kid, I know. I know how horrible it is, but I believe you. I know more of what you're saying than anyone will. I wish I could take your pain away, but that is something that you will have to get rid of yourself. I wish I could say that everything will be alright, but how could I say that? You... You really loved him, didn't you, kid?"
He felt her quivering form nod rapidly in acknowledgement while trying to fight off a new wave of tears to no avail.
"I know you'll miss him for a long time. You may even be sad for a long time over him. I knew him personally myself, but I won't be sad over his passing. I'll tell you why I won't. He died protecting one of God's Gifted. He died protecting you. I know where he will be going and what salvation that has gained him. Just by doing that, he has done more for this world than an entire generation of people ever will. I now hold him in the deepest respects. It may have been tragic the way he went from this world, but his sacrifice has done him more benefit than ten lifetimes could have. As long as you never forget him, he will live on in your heart; he will never be truly gone."
It took a few minutes for Kaname recompose herself. She had finally stopped crying and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. Noticing that she was making a motion of trying to sit up, Kevin removed his arms from around her and helped her sit up. She was now feeling slightly embarrassed of herself for crying on a stranger's shoulder and had to make sure to that she was completely recomposed before she could look at him again. She made sure to rub her eyes of the tears until they were sore. She really liked this man; if she didn't like him then she really appreciated him. His few words had helped her more than the entire days' thinking had done for her. Kevin reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, you alright, kid?"
Kaname rubbed her eyes before turning around to look at him. It was quite evident that she was embarrassed.
"Yeah. I'm fine, now. Thank you. I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that; you haven't done anything to deserve my sudden mood swings."
Kevin wafted his hand through the air dismissively.
"Ah, don't worry about it! I'm glad I could help you get that out of your system."
"Thank you for your kindness. You really are a nice person; not many people can be as comforting as you, or helpful. But, I still feel bad for making you go through that; I know that there's no guy out there that would ever want to do what you just did: comforting a woman during a time of distress, that is."
"Well, thank you. But if you truly feel that what I did was one of the kindest things in the world, you have it all wrong. I would call that common courtesy. But, if you feel truly that much in dept to me, I just may have to have you work it off."
Kaname smiled slightly at the man's reply. He seemed to be a man of many talents: protector, holy man, psychiatrist, and jester. She was slightly surprised when she saw the man reach into his pocket. He pulled out two coins and flipped them to her. It took her by surprise, so she was barely able to catch them.
"I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything, so now you can do me a favor. I'm comfortable, I'm thirsty, and I don't feel like getting up off of my lazy butt in order to go to the vending machine; it's too far of a walk. Go get me one would you?"
Kaname smiled again at him. He certainly had a way of making people feel good. Out of the oddest of ways, he was making her feel good by having her get him a beverage. So far, this man had been the single ray of sunshine in her cloudy day.
"Yeah, sure thing. I'd be happy to. But, don't expect this often."
Kaname waved her finger playfully at him. Kevin let out a rather good laugh. He was glad to see that she wasn't as sad as she was before. He sneered at her mockingly.
"Well, fine. Be that way! I would like some apple juice; if they don't have any then you pick for me."
"Got it." she said as she opened the door.
The gust of wind almost blew her down. The rain blowing in already had her somewhat wet, and the sidewalk was not covered by anything to shield from the rain in any way. Kevin almost died laughing when he saw the look on her face.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that I don't want to get wet again."
He found this absolutely hilarious and expressed this through laughter. Kaname gave him the evil-eye.
"Oh, I see how it is! You just want me to go get it so that way you don't have to go out in rain; am I right?"
"Yep, you got it!"
Kevin was right. It was a decent walk to the vending machine, and a decent walk back. Kaname was soaked from head to toe and felt as if she were swimming through a pool of water rather than walking through the rain. All of this for a can of generic apple juice. She would let Kevin have it when she got back to the room.
On her way back to the room, she saw a woman standing a few meters from her door holding what looked like a broom from that distance. Upon closer examination, the woman was much stranger than Kaname would have expected from someone standing out in a storm. She was strange enough for being out in this weather going after apple juice. The woman held her broom behind her back as if to conceal. The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had black hair and blue eyes. The oddest thing was that she was dressed in black leather. This definitely struck Kaname as odd, especially with what had been going on in the past few months. If Kaname were there, he would have already marked the woman as a terrorist and held her for interrogation.
"Are you Kaname Chidori?"
Kaname definitely found this to be odd. She had learned a lot from Sousuke, among other things, a person that you have never seen should not know you by complete name. Sousuke's suspicious nature had obviously rubbed off on Kaname. Normally she would have responded with a confused 'yes.' But, Sousuke had taught her better.
"Who wants to know?" she asked almost challengingly.
"Your response is confirmation enough. I'm sorry, but I must kill you."
The woman pulled her weapon from behind her back. It wasn't at all a broom, but instead a combat ready spear. Not really an exact, but what she noticed to be a naginata: an ancient Chinese polearm used during the battles of the dynasties. Sousuke had informed her as to the difference when she called it a spear, looking at the picture in the textbook. And, just like Sousuke: with every correction came a brief history lesson. The naginata that the woman had in her possession looked particularly vicious. The blade was long and curved with a riveted edge to it. It looked brand new and as if it was specially made for this purpose. The sight and words of the woman send a sharp chill up Kaname's spine.
For some reason, seeing a woman in black leather with a spear in the middle of the pouring rain frightened her more than if she were to see a large man in a tuxedo with a very big gun. It was something about the woman's eyes: they looked emotionless, empty, and hollow. Staring into those eyes reminded her of the crow. It was that feeling again. The feeling that she could get lost dwelling into those eyes. The eyes that promised nothing but trouble to those who were brave enough to ponder the meaning. The fear was also from the woman's unsaid confidence in her ability. Even someone as fearsome as Gauron had backup and plenty of weapons when he had captured her. This woman was going to kill her by herself and without the use of a firearm. Could she know that Sousuke wasn't there?
Kaname would have felt much safer if only Sousuke were here with her. She felt completely defenseless and vulnerable without Sousuke. Kaname found support in Sousuke, and now her foundation was gone. All that was left was the fragile, crumbling structure that had depended on it. Sousuke would have been ashamed of her if he were there to witness her weakness. That thought alone was enough to enforce the unstable structure that was Kaname Chidori.
"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you? Why do you want me dead? Who sent you?"
The woman smirked sadistically at Kaname. She looked around a little bit before deepening her smile. Then she spoke. Her voice was oddly melodic; almost what she would have considered being angelic.
"Like I said, you must die tonight. I normally would not have chosen you as a target, and I must say that you were an unexpected target of mine. Trust me; it is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. Normally, you would already be dead, but I feel sorry for you, especially since you haven't done anything to provoke my employer's wrath. Since I do feel sorry for you, I will answer your final questions. My name is Aceria. But, you can know me as Ace; everyone else does. I am a professional assassin for my employer. As far as why you are wanted dead, I'm not sure myself. My employer said that he fears your power as a Whispered. Yours and some other woman named Meredith. He says that you and Meredith's powers are growing tremendously and need to be exterminated immediately before you start to possess a threat to him. I don't understand it; normally he loves the Whispered."
Kaname was now thoroughly confused. She never knew that the powers of the Whispered could spread beyond the knowledge of black technology and the telepathic link to other Whispered. The confusion was only adding to her growing anger.
"What the hell do you mean!? I don't have anymore powers than I did months ago. Besides, I would never think about threatening anyone with my powers. Hell, I don't even like them; I never asked for them! Who is your employer?! Why is he targeting me and Meredith alone?"
"I am not at liberty to reveal the person, but since you are going to be taking the answer with you to the grave, I'll just say that it's someone you know. I'm sorry, but I can't talk with you anymore. I promise to make this quick."
The woman now known as Ace twirled her weapon into an attack position and took one step forward, but would not advance any further.
The door to Kaname's room went flying off the hinges at an incredibly fast speed. It hit Ace with such force that it knocked her a few feet to the ground and bounced back a few feet off of her while vibrating from the force of the impact.
Kevin was surprised that the woman was still alive, let alone conscious and getting back up. He had kicked the door with all of his might in order to render the woman unable. He had heard the entire conversation while standing at the door looking through the peephole. This person was going to kill Kaname and Sister Meredith, but he could not allow this to happen. Seeing that the woman was hardly fazed by his mighty blow, he knew that this was a battle that he couldn't win. It would be best to run away.
Kevin was much quicker on foot than anyone that Kaname had met before. He had come sprinting through the doorway towards her and grabbed her by the hand and was now running around the corner of the building. Obviously, Kaname was not fast enough for his liking, so he had taken it upon himself to sweep her off of her feet and carry her. Oddly enough, this did not slow him down, and he was still moving much faster than she ever could have.
He stopped and set her back down once he thought they had lost the assassin. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath even though he did not sound at all too winded for the exertion that he had been doing. This had not help Kaname feel any less useless than she was before standing in the rain in front that Ace woman. This stacked on top of the rest of the events that had recently taken place made her feel rather upset.
"What is going on here? Why is all of this happening to me? God damn it! I haven't done anything to deserve any of this!"
Kevin grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her up against the wall. Kaname squeezed her eyes shut and gasped in surprise. When she opened her eyes again, Kevin was staring her directly in the eyes. He had a very hardened expression on his face, and it was like his gaze could have turned her to stone.
"Watch it, Kaname! God damns nothing; he only blesses. You're just going to have to deal with all of this. I consider us to be rather blessed since we are still alive. That woman has the ability to kill the both of us. I don't think I can stop her. So, I need you to stop feeling sorry for yourself and help me keep us alive. If you can't think through this with a cool head, then we both will die. So, get a grip on yourself! Can you do that for me?"
Kevin reached into his trench coat and pulled out a kama.{1} Kaname stared at it curiously, trying to make sense of Kevin's choice of weapons to carry around. She was slightly startled when he slammed the sharp end into the electric box on the side of the wall. The box sparked, the lights around the place flickered, and then they all went out. The place was now completely dark except for the illumination provided by the moonlight and the occasional streak of lightning. Kevin pulled the kama back out of the box and handed it to Kaname.
"Okay, if there are any snipers around that should limit their vision to where they cannot see us. It will also serve to cloak us from any people on the ground. The storm will prove useful by covering up any noise that we may make. With luck, they will not be able to find us."
A large, dark shadow covered the two just as soon as Kevin finished speaking. Both turned around and looked up, way up.
"It's too late. I've already found you. You're very clever getting away from Ace, but don't worry; she'll be here shortly. Until then, I may be able to keep you entertained."
Behind them was a huge, hulking, mountain of muscle. The man looked as if he may have been seven feet tall and weighed at least four-hundred pounds, all muscle. Kaname's eyes widened at the sight of the large, muscular, intimidating man towering over them. Kevin's face pulled into a sneer of disgust as he balled up his fist.
"I have no time to be bothered by you."
Without warning, Kevin's fist flew upward, connecting solidly with the man's jaw. The most astounding thing was that the blow was hard enough to stun a bull, but the man looked unfazed in every way. It seemed like just to intimidate Kaname even more; he smirked at the punch thrown by the smaller man and turned his smirk to her. Kevin looked as if he were about to erupt in anger, or perhaps fear, or maybe even embarrassment. The large man smiled and let out a slight laugh of taunt.
"Nice punch. But, you could do that all night and I wouldn't even feel it. I won't kill you; I'll wait for Ace to do that honor. But, go ahead, amuse yourself all you want. Care to try that punch again? See if you can impress the little before you are both torn limb from limb?"
Kevin's reply was quick and confident.
"Sure."
Kevin reared back and made his right hand into a fist. Kaname could have sworn she could hear the popping and cracking of tightening muscles in his arm. His arm thrust out in one quick, solid motion. The punch went deep into the large man's chiseled stomach. The large man's eyes widened as he let out all of his air as a result from the force of the blow. He gasped for air, but couldn't seem to find it. The man fell to his knees holding his stomach. Kevin bent over slightly so that he was eye level with the man. Now, he had a sadistic, yet satisfied smirk on his face.
"I'm sorry about that. But, from all of your boasting I wouldn't have thought you would have folded under such a weak blow. I'm glad I didn't punch you as hard as I planned to or else you wouldn't have a stomach right now; would you? I would let you catch your breath, but we can't have you over here making all of this noise, now can we?"
The next punch on the side of the man's face sent him unconscious, face first into the mud. The indention of the knuckles on the side of the man's face was still visible when Kaname looked down at him. She was absolutely astonished. She didn't know that a man could be that strong. His appearance sure was deceiving. She looked at him with an astonished expression on her face. Kevin only smirked slightly.
"Didn't know that I could do that, huh? We can talk about it later, but right now we need to get out of here."
Kevin looked around and spotted a kick-start motorcycle down toward the end that they came from, but on the opposite side of the building. He looked back over to his left to see a large tractor trailer facing away from the motel towards the road. He thought that the Lord must have been smiling on him because he was provided with a perfect opportunity. He pointed his finger toward the motorcycle.
"I want you to start making your way to that motorcycle. I will get there at about the time you do. If you run into one of the goons, use that weapon I gave you and yell for me. I'll be with you in a moment. Go!"
With that Kaname took of toward the motorcycle.
This was annoying. Not only could she not see them in this darkness, but she had also been humiliated. It wasn't everyday that someone as perfect as herself was caught off guard and hit by a door of all things. She hardly felt it, but that door hit rather hard. She had been informed that Chidori's protector was dead. Obviously not, and this person was a professional; far beyond the abilities of any professional that she had ever seen or heard of. He still wasn't a threat to someone as perfect as herself. She should have killed the girl on the spot and saved a lot of trouble, but that looked as if that mistake was about to be rectified.
She heard the sound and saw the lights of a big-rig truck come on at the other side of the motel. They were fools making themselves such an easy target. But, any person would feel safe in such a large vehicle. She would show them their mistake. She could get them no matter how fast that truck was going. She noticed that they must have put the petal to the metal in order to get the thing going that fast.
She hunkered down far to the ground and tightened up all of her leg muscles. With one quick exertion of all of her muscles, she leapt incredibly high into the air; at least three times as high as the five story motel complex. She soared gracefully through the air and started to come down onto the truck. Once again she stiffened her leg muscles to make a great impact for when she landed on the truck.
The momentum of her falling body and the tremendous force of her falling stomp was easily enough to fold the truck in half and bring it to a stop on its side. She leapt before the truck flipped and gracefully landed on the road. No one could have survived that. She was quite proud of herself for her efficiency and perfect execution. That was easily enough to set her ego back higher than it was before she was hit with the well placed door. She stood for a minute caught up in her own beautiful, perfect work. The old man would praise her greatly for this one.
Her blissful state was interrupted when she noticed that the engine of the truck was still going at full power and the tires were still spinning. Someone had not let off of the gas pedal. That was unlikely, and she could think of a more likely possibility since she could now hear the sound of a speeding motorcycle far in the distance. The motorcycle was too far away to catch or locate it.
She walked over to the crumbled mess of what once was the cabin of the truck and violently ripped the door off of it. The dead and horribly mangled corpse of Greg, the huge mountain of a man that was commanded to accompany her, was in the truck. His eyes were open with a frozen, frightened expression on his face. He had a large bruise forming on his face. He was on the passenger side. The gas petal was pierced and stuck to the floor by the sharp end of what she identified to be a kama.
Kaname was astonished by what she had just seen. She and Kevin were rather far off when she saw it, but she was still able to see and hear it clearly.
It had started when Kevin told her to go to the motorcycle. She didn't even make it to the motorcycle before Kevin was beat her to it, after he did whatever he did. He had got onto the front and kick started the motorcycle. He helped her onto the motorcycle and then they drove out of there like a bat out of hell. She looked behind her to see the large semi- truck from earlier pull out quickly onto the road. Next, she caught a glimpse of Ace leaping through the air. What was even more astonishing was when she landed on the truck. The truck from her perspective folded in half and then flipped over. What this Ace woman had done defied all logic of human capabilities. This display of the woman's power frightened her even more. No longer was she under the attack of only terrorists, but also unstoppable killing machines. She now wished that Sousuke was with her more than ever. If he were here he would know what to do; he always did.
Kevin's mind and body was caught up in the adrenaline rush. Everything was moving in slow motion for him. He could not feel the sharp, almost piercing drops of rain against his face. He had to get himself and the girl out of here alive and back to the church. They would be safe there. He was slowly brought back to reality when he finally felt Kaname's arms tighten around him. Either he was driving really fast and recklessly, or she was trying to find comfort. Maybe, it was a little bit of both. He glanced into the side mirror to see nothing behind him. They had been traveling for at least twenty minutes now, going as fast as their current transportation could take them. He decided right now would be a good time to pull over.
It had just now occurred to him what was said during the conversation between Kaname and Ace. This woman also wanted Sister Meredith dead, and he wasn't there to protect her.
Sister Meredith and the church could very well be the next target. He needed to get there as quickly as he could. Time was against them.
The rain was against them.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Notes: {1} A kama is a traditional melee weapon originating from ancient Japan. It was more commonly used by the peasantry or those in monastic training of monks. It looks similar to a small sickle without as much as a curved blade. It was used as a very useful cropping tool, but when used in the fashion of the training of the monks; it was a deadly weapon that was used in many different creative fashions. Thank you for reading my story.