Disclamer: I own nothing. Just Icharus McKenzie.

Author's note

Hmm, turned out longer than I thought. About 4 hours of work in here hehe. Enjoy.

Greyhound Master: Hey thanks for the first review. Woah, I never knew that song. SadlySakura Warsstuff is kinda hard to find. Just got hooked recently. What a coincidence. I'm a huge Reni fan hahaha.

The redhead looked worriedly at the still figure on the bed, observing his chest rise up and down with steady breaths. Although the man looked and sounded perfectly healthy, she couldn't bring herself to leave his bedside. After all, just a day ago, she had indulged in her rage and had proceeded to pummel the Wakijis into the ground instead of making sure that the civilian got to safety, albeit a strange civilian this one turned out to be.

The muscular young woman couldn't help herself inspecting the young man on the bed as she fluffed and smoothed imaginary imperfectness of his pillow or blanket whilst he slept. The young man's facial features, she noted with some disapproval at herself, was attractive and unique in its own way. She observed with interest that although he looked Caucasian, he had some features identifying he had Oriental or Middle-Eastern roots. She could not specifically point out which feature belonged to which ancestry but it seemed that someone had plucked the best features of every ethnic group and the end result was him. His hair was a mess of spikes, resembling Ohgami's but with a chaos factor of 200. Even though it looked that way, it seemed to be organized in its own way, making it tidy at the same time. The paradox of it made her frown at her own observations.

Just as she puzzled over this, there was a knock on the door and a young man and woman walked in.

"Kanna…" The man began but he was cut off as the young woman in a purple kimono that slid past the tip of her shoulders cut in front of him and stood in front of the seated redhead with a haughty pose.

"How long are you going to blame yourself?" she hissed at the redhead, "considering that an ape could even feel guilty at all!" She added with some poison in her tone.

Kirishima Kanna's head snapped up with fire in her eyes but they were doused as soon as she saw the expression Sumire had on her face. The normally high and mighty air the young aristocrat had was now non-existent, only a concerned friend stood in her place.

She sighed. "I know but I just can't help it. I just felt"

Ohgami Ichiro who had been silent in a while stood forward, placing a hand on Kanna's shoulder. "Look Kanna, you've been looking after this guy for a whole day now. You've missed all your meals and this isn't like you at all."

"Showei is right! You're the one who are supposed to be the one with the unlimited optimism!" Sumire chimed in.

"But…"

"No buts! Don't you know…" Ohgami silenced Sumire with a wave of his hand, sensing the frustrated aristocrat was about to lose her temper. Sumire acknowledged her mistake and clamped up, trying to calm down.

"Look Kanna," Ohgami began with his tone warm and smooth, "do you think stressing yourself out to the point of collapse would make the man feel better?"

"No…" she admitted reluctantly.

"Come on, let's grab something to eat."

"Yes! Listen to showei! I'll take care of our charge while you go." Sumire piped in eagerly.

Kanna nodded and allowed her to be pulled up from the chair by her young captain. "You're right… I am a bit hungry." She said with a weak smile, causing Ohgami to chuckle.

"Just don't kill the man while I'm gone snake-woman. That poisonous tongue of yours can be deadly." Kanna said before the door shut behind her and Ohgami causing Sumire to grow red and curse under her breathe. However, she was happy that her friend at least got her ape side back.

In the hall, Kanna and Ohgami saw Maria Tachibana, vice-captain of the Teigoku Kakegidan Hanagumi, standing with her back to the wall, apparently waiting for Ohgami as she was fixing her emerald eyes on him. Kanna excused herself automatically and headed for the kitchen as she knew that both of them probably had some important issues to discuss. She was rather sure it was about the unconscious man she had carried back in her guilt.

"Taicho," Maria greeted him.

"What is it Maria?"

"Do you think it is a good idea to harbor this man?"

"Why not? He did save some civilians if the information I got was accurate."

"I know but his equipment…his gear and his weapons are…"

Ohgami sighed, knowing full well what she meant. The odd person that Kanna had brought back to the theater for treatment was carrying weapons that are not allowed in the city limits but in addition to that, the stuff he carried were all alien to him. Even Kohran had a fit of disbelief and joy when she got hold of them. Right now she was stuck in her room trying to figure out how they were made.

"I know what you are trying to say Maria. He could be an enemy and we have led him right into our base and that could be a threat but Manager Yoneda had approved of this already. We just have to trust the manager."

Maria looked unconvinced and the two debated quietly in the hallway until the impending chaos that would ensue in a few moments.

Iris floated for a while above the Teigeki. She giggled as she weaved in and out the fluffy white clouds and saw the birds flew around her. It had been some time since she last did this. However, it was not really her that was floating but her conscious mind. It wasn't long before she got bored and decided to return to her body when the idea struck her. She whispered an apology to Maria for breaking her promise again and swooped down from the sky like a bird of prey into the mind of the now immobile Icharus McKenzie.

Every person's mind differs from each other, these differences are subtle in some while others may have oceans of differences but this mind was something that Iris had never encountered before. Usually, while diving into a person's mind, she would encounter their surface thoughts first and then what she called the biography layer where an individual's subconscious definitions of self is laid out neatly for a psychic observer to read through. It was the perfect venue to find out about the unconscious man's name, personality, likes, dislikes, hobbies and the rest.

The little blonde remembered the first time she took a look at her onichan's, Ohgami Ichiro, head. After she got passed the initial layers of him thinking about how cute Sakura was, she arrived at a mental parade ground with rows upon rows of Ohgamis standing at attention. It was a fitting image as Ohgami was military and had a highly organized mind. She remembered finding it fun that the Ohgami copies each answered different questions about him.

Iris had half expected that the man a few rooms down the hall would have a mind similar to Ohgami's given that he looked slightly military to her. Instead, after floating pass absolutely little to no surface thoughts, she arrived at a desolate and arid waste land. The place disappointed and bugged her simultaneously. It looked as if the person had no personality, name or anything to identify him at all.

Refusing to give up, she decided to explore a bit but first things first. She conjured up some clothing for her naked spectral form, just in case. A pair of brownish shorts, a shirt with multiple pockets and a helmet magically appeared on her and, satisfied with her look, she set off in her little adventure.

It didn't take long for her to spot several dark figures spread across the horizon, a huge distance separating from each other. Iris was beginning to think that this mysterious person had purposefully spread out his mind. Deciding that the previous thought was ridiculous, she started towards the figure that seemed closest.

Again it wasn't long until she got to him and she saw the man leaning on his sword in a relaxed manner, eyes looking distant. Iris tried to look for anything to identify this figure's purpose. In Ohgami's case, he had badges sewn on his mental copies' shirts that identified the information the copy had. In the stranger's case, there was nothing.

Frustrated, Iris decided to try her luck.

"Who are you?" She asked timidly, a bit intimidated by the wicked looking sword.

"Icharus McKenzie." He answered, and then the man called Icharus looked thoughtful before continuing, "Traitor."

Iris was both delighted and confused at the same time. Delighted that she was lucky enough to find the copy that identifies him and confused that he had said his occupation was a traitor. It didn't make any sense.

"When were you born?" She ventured further.

"Imperial or Tau?"

"Huh? Umm… Imperial?" Iris assumed that Icharus was referring to the Imperial Japanese calendar.

"December 25th, 40,669."

"40,669? Is that in hours or seconds?" Iris mused to herself.

"Year," the stranger answered and added with a menacing tone, "and that is all you will ever need to know psyker(4)."

The last response startled Iris as the copies never responded like that before and she saw with horror as Icharus pulled the sword out from the ground and swung it at her.

With a shriek Iris fell backwards, narrowly avoiding the slash and tried to crawl away. Unfortunately, to her dismay, there were millions of Icharus McKenzies behind her, all marching slowly towards her, sneering and laughing at her, their swords ringing as they dragged them on the ground.

The first one caught her hair and turned her back to face him and Iris stared into his dark red eyes which she had mistaken to be brown a while ago.

"Get out." He whispered and his tone was deadly.

"Huh?" She whimpered in shock, not knowing what to answer.

"GET OUT NOW!" The millions of Icharus screamed in rage like in some deranged opera with unbearable loudness. Iris screamed along and her spirit was unceremoniously ejected from his mind.

Maria and Ohgami were interrupted when an earsplitting shriek came from Iris' room.

"Iris!" they both yelled and rushed to the girl's room.

The moment they slammed the door open, ready to defend the girl when they found Iris in tears and shivering with fear alone. Jean-Paul, her favorite bear, was crushed tightly in her terrified arms.

"Iris! What's wro…" Before Maria could finish her question, another scream rang across the hall. It sounded like Sumire.

"Take care of Iris!" Maria ordered Ohgami and pulled out her gun as she rushed towards the stranger's temporary quarters and kicked the door open.

Icharus tried to choke the life out of his would-be-interrogator as soon as he had woken up after chasing out the psyker from his head. He had expected the psyker to be the one next to his bed but instead he found an older brunette. He didn't think too much, psykers could alter their spiritual appearances probably anyway. His first priority now was to escape whatever facility that held him.

Just as he felt the life starting to slip away from the girl whose neck he held in a death grip. The door burst open and he knew he had to abort, immediately springing from his bed and behind the brunette, his arm over her tortured neck. The girl gasped for air and tried to struggle but she was helpless against his iron grip.

A blonde woman with sharp eyes pointed what looked like a gun at his head from the doorway but he darted behind the girl, using her as a shield. He was surprised that it wasn't a Space Marine(1), an Imperial Guard(2) or even the city Prefects(3) that had come in through the door but he was cautious nevertheless.

"Let Sumire go!" The blonde ordered.

Icharus remained silent, his mind raced to find an escape point. He backed away with Sumire in front of him and glanced at the window behind him. He was about two or three stories above the ground below. Jumping out would have been an option if he still had his old powers but it would be suicide for him now. Cursing under his breath, he edged forward again, knowing that his escape relied on getting past the blonde and he needed a distraction.

Maria watched as the stranger moved back and forth and she guessed what he was thinking and she wasn't going to allow him to get pass her. She checked on Sumire. She was pale with shock and was gasping, sucking at whatever little air that her assailant's hold allowed through her throat.

Maria heard hurrying footsteps behind her and shifted her view for a split second. It was Shinguji Sakura and she had Arataka with her. Good, she needed her help. But what she didn't expect was that Sakura slipped just on the verge of reaching her and crashed into the blonde.

"Eeeeyaaaaa!" Sakura shrieked as they both went down in a tumble at the doorway. Maria growled in frustration as she tried to sit up and push Sakura off her when the stranger made his move.

Icharus roared with delight as he pushed the light Sumire onto the heap of bodies at the doorway. The young women cried out in pain when the extra weight came down and Icharus took his chance to bolt away down the hall, only to encounter a tall, muscular redhead.

"Stop him Kanna!" Icharus heard the blonde yell behind him.

Kanna dropped the steamed buns she was holding and assumed a fighting stance he was unfamiliar with as he barreled down towards her.

He felt the kick aiming for his head coming before he saw it and he let himself fall backwards during his run as soon as the redhead's foot left the ground. Momentum carried him forward as he slid under the astonished woman and he tripped her with his left arm. The young woman went down with a crash and he got to his feet quickly, racing down the hallway again.

Just as he thought things were going good, a door opened at the end of the hall and a girl in purple hair and huge spectacles stepped out of the room. In her arms, she cradled "Death Singer".

"What's going on out…? Eeek!" The girl with twin pigtails screamed as Icharus grabbed her right arm and twisted it behind her back, forcing her to drop "Death Singer". He pushed her effortlessly away and scooped the sword up. Spotting a nearby stairwell, he bounded towards it, eager to make his escape.

At the base he encountered another young woman, another redhead with her hair tied in a bun and wearing a military uniform of unknown origins. Behind her stood an old man with two tiny round spectacles sitting on his nose and he carried a sword on his left hip.

Fearing reinforcements, Icharus did what he could only think off. He grabbed the woman, spun her around and had his sword by her throat in a mere instant. He heard footsteps coming from the stairs and he backed away from the surprised old man and from the stairwell entrance, not wanting to be surrounded and attacked from the back.

"Wait!" The old man said, looking as if he desperately needed to say something. He wasn't allowed to finish when the group of young women upstairs had all assembled in front of the old man, facing him with murderous intent. The blonde girl, to Icharus' surprise, was there too.

"Come any closer and the hostage loses her head!" He threatened the small crowd. He saw the flicker of uncertainty in their faces.

Good. They care about their comrades.

"Let Ayame-san go!" The blonde with the gun demanded again as she turned off the safety of her gun.

"And let you shoot me with whatever you are holding? Think not!" He barked defiantly. "Put down your weapons and let me out of here or this Ayame has to learn how to walk without a head!" To emphasize his point he pressed the blade of his sword on his hostage's neck, leaving a line of crimson.

"I'll kill you for this!" The one called Kanna screamed, barely able to restrain herself.

Icharus answered by pressing the blade deeper, causing Ayame to groan.

"Everyone! Stop it! You're not helping Ayame here!" A voice yelled from behind the crowd. It was the old man.

"But manager!" The girls cried out.

"I'll handle this myself! No one interfere!" He ordered, his tone left no room for objectios.

He pushed himself forward and looked Icharus in the eye.

"There's no reason to fight. Put down your weapon Icharus!"

Icharus blinked in surprise. Had the girl told her master?

He glanced at the young psyker. She looked as surprised as he was so he dismissed the possibility. His gaze went back to the old man, trying to think why he looked so familiar.

The old man sighed, "39 years is quite a long time. I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me anymore." The old man grunted and pulled up his right sleeve to reveal a shark tattoo on his wrinkled skin located on his upper arm, close to where his arm joined his shoulders.

Icharus dropped his sword, to the surprise of everyone else, and stared at the old man who grinned and made his age fade a bit.

Yoshimo?

(1) Space Marines: Superhuman soldiers of the Imprium of Man

(2)Imperial Guard: Normal soldiers of the Imperium of Man

(3)Prefects: Men and women who keep the peace in a city, a.k.a police who would shoot first and ask questions later. No such thing as protect the innocent.

(4)Psyker: Psychics in Warhammer 40k

Hmm, think I made everyone look bad. Oh well, they were caught by surprise anyway.

Feel free to drop questions in the review box. Thank you.