YE: Sorry guys. I keep making promises than not keeping them. Really I have a lot more written. I really do but I gave the next chunk of the story to this person I know to type it but she hasn't. as sson as I get that from her I'll update like I said I would. I'm posting this chapter because I have it done and you are being very patient with me. That or you forgot about my story.
Kurai: They forgot. I mean it's not that good a story.
YE: -sniff- why are you always so mean?
Tsuara: That's a question you should be asking yourself. You created her.
Kurai: Really, so stop being a baby. And you should at least finish the goddamn story before you make promises like that. It should probably be typed to knowing how you hate typing.
YE: Shut up. -cry-
KareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKareiKarei
"Hey guys! Over here! I found something" Karei called, waving her hand.
"What is it?" Lori asked as the 3 joined the over-active girl.
"It's Tsuara's gun." Karei said hording up said item.
"But Tsuara never goes anywhere without it" Lori commented.
"She must be injured" Rea reasoned.
"Yeah. That stupid fall wouldn't kill her even if it was a few hundred miles" Karei said enthusiastically.
"It is possible for one person to be so optimistic?" Lori asked in awe watching he genki girl bounce away.
"She's your living proof what else do you need?" Rea asked.
"It's her defense. Just like yours is flirting" Nanashi commented.
"Yea I guess" Lori said keeping an eye on the bouncing bundle of energy. Rea crouched down to study the ground and started shifting through the ashes.
"There's no body. So that's a good sign. The fire makes it hard to say anything for certain. Plus it seems to be relatively well traveled. I think she went somewhere in that direction" Rea said motioning to her left. She stood up and dusted off her hands.
"That narrows it down but it could still take a while" Nanashi commented.
"We'll see" Rea said staring at the sky.
Elsewhere
The female on the bed let out a moan and stirred slightly in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, but she didn't move as her vision, still groggy from sleep, cleared. Still laying down she looked around the room.
There was a door across the room from where she lay. Against the wall near the foot of the bed was a night stand a chair sat empty next to the bed. On the opposite wall form the bed to the left of the door was a closet, snuggled into the corner of the wall left of her and behind her was a dresser. A window behind her and above the bed illuminated the room with a brilliant white light.
She sat up rubbing her eyes clear of sleep. She put her hands down on top of the blankets and stared around the room blankly.
Suddenly the door opened and an eight year old boy entered carrying a basin of water with a wash clothe flung over his shoulder. He had light brown hair with brown eyes a couple shades darker.
When he caught sight of her sitting up he dropped the basin in shock. Water sloshed in the basin and splashed the boy and the floor. They stared at each other for a good minute before he ran, stumbling from the room, yelling "Aniki!"
The blond winced from the loud noise. His voice was very piercing and she wished he wouldn't yell so loud.
Looking down she noticed she wore a white cotton shirt much too large for her slender frame. She wondered idly when she but this on and how she got here. She blinked suddenly in realization.
Before she had time to ponder the thought the sound of rushing feet made her look up. The boy had returned hiding behind another boy of about seventeen. He stood there a moment to catch his breath and study her. He had wild brown hair, a shade lighter than the younger boy's hair, and sparkling green eyes. The resemblance between the two was clear with their small straight noses and medium sized lips.
"You're awake." He commented unnecessarily. She just stared at him, making him blush. "I saved you. Sorta. Atomi here saw something falling form the sky and we went to check it out. It was amazing cause you were uninjured and you fell really far. Than the forest caught fire and I had to carry you out. You looked really skinny but you're kinda heavy. Anyway I'm Karashi and this is my kid brother Atomi." He explained introducing them with a smile.
His smile faltered when she didn't respond. He entered the room and sat down. Atomi followed him closely always staying behind the teen and peeking out at the girl.
"Is something wrong?" he inquired. She shrugged still watching them. "Can you speak?" he asked.
"Yes." She responded quietly.
"What's you're name?" Atomi inquired. She frowned than paused a minute.
"Kurai." She responded uncertainly.
"Did you fall from heaven? Aniki say angel's live in heaven in the sky. And that they eat clouds. And I think you are cause you fell from really high, way above the trees and didn't get hurt." Atomi asked shyly, still hiding.
"I… I don't remember." She replied. "Do you remember anything?" Karashi asked, eyes widened. She shook her head.
"Tenshi- san must of hit her head when she fell." Atomi speculated.
"Well you're welcomed to stay here as long as you like." Karashi offered. She nodded gratefully.
TsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuara
Kurai sat on the same bed leaning against the wall just left of the window.
"Here's your dinner" Karashi said entering the room with a steaming bowl. He handed it to her and she nodded.
"This farm was abandoned. My brother and I came here a few years back and redid the place. The previous owner left some stuff here. Some of the dresses left behind are in the closet. I got them ready while you slept and I'm washing the clothes I found you in since they were covered in soot and mud. Atomi should be hanging them up to dry" Karashi said.
She nodded lightly to let him know she heard. She handed him back the empty bowl. "Call if you need anything" he said as he left. Kurai leaned back and closed her eyes with a sigh.
ReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaReaRea
"Rea it's been an entire two weeks. Are you sure you couldn't have narrowed the search down? Are you sure you read the tracks right?" Karei complained for the thousandth time that day. Lori let go over the branch she moved so it wouldn't it her. It snapped back hitting Karei in the face.
"Ow! What was that for?" Karei shouted after yelping in pain.
"I'm tired of your constant whining. Rea did the best she could. We're all tired, hungry and dirty. Nobody is in top form. Your grating on my nerves now just shut up" Lori retorted completely annoyed.
"Cut it out you two. We're approaching a house" Nanashi snapped, warning them. They shut up. Karei grumbled a second before falling quiet.
There was no sound as they moved, expertly but instinctively, quiet through the woods. They soon found the edge of the trees where they could see a nicely sized farm house and something resembling a large garden or small field where a farmer would plant their crops.
"You think anybody lives here?" Karei asked.
"Yes. It's well tended to." Nanashi replied.
"Come on." Rea instructed, leading the way out into the cleaning. Once again Lori took over the lead. She knocked on the door and waited. A light brown haired male around seventeen opened the door cautiously.
"Hi. We're wondering if you have seen someone around. She's got blond hair and yea high. Looks in her early/mid twenties. And she's got very nice brown eyes but they look like she wants you to die, burn and disappear into oblivion. She's very sarcastic and rather mean and not very polite. Sharp tongue" Lori said giving an accurate description of the missing person. "Her name is Tsuara but she might have told you Hotoshia" Lori added as an after thought.
"Sorry I can't help you. Not many people come out this way." he responded sympathetically.
"Thanks." Lori returned sincerely but sadly.
"I wish I could help you more." he apologized. Lori was about to reply when Karei rudely pushed her aside.
"Do you have some food?" Karei demanded.
"Sure, hold on a second." he replied and disappeared inside the house. He reappeared moments later with a loaf of bread and some meat.
"Here." he offered kindly, handing the food to Karei.
"Thanks a million!" Karei thanked enthusiastically giving him a wide grin.
"No problem. I hope you find who you're looking for." he encouraged as they turned.
"Thanks again" Lori reaffirmed as they started walking away.
"Aniki!" yelled a kid running from inside the forest, being chased by a dog.
"Atomi-chan" the older one greeted.
"Tenshi-sama is so cool! She taught me a lot of cool things." the younger one said excitedly.
"Where is she?" the 17 year old asked.
"She said she had to do something." the younger one replied. He caught the sight of the 4 leaving.
"Who are they?" Atomi inquired.
"They're looking for their friend." the older replied.
"Do you thin Tenshi-sama could help them?" Atomi questioned. The older chuckled.
"I doubt it. She's not a compass." was the last thing Lori heard as their voiced faded into unintelligible mummers. No body noticed the small, but rare, smile on Rea's face.
TsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuaraTsuara
Kurai walked calmly out of the woods pretending she had not seen the strangers. She did not know why she hid but something about them screamed dangerous, and, somehow, she knew they were not as harmless and innocent as they appeared. (A/N: Bet you thought she was faking it too, didn't yah?)
"Tenshi-sama! Where'd you go?" Atomi asked running up to her. Kurai just smiled at the energetic child. He reminded her of someone…. Someone close to her…. But who? With what was a surprised ease to herself, she kept the small frown from her face as she tried to remember.
"Was he good?" Karashi asked. She nodded.
"Some people came by looking for a person names Tsuara. The description sounded a lot like you, except they said she looked in her twenties and was sarcastic, mean, rude and the look in her eyes was rather unpleasant. Your obviously in your teens and don't share those particular traits" Karashi told her. Kurai shrugged.
"Come on Angel-sama! Let's go pick some food for dinner!" Atomi declared tugging on her arm. She smiled at him than at Karashi and followed the boy. Karashi sighed and went inside the house.
Kurai crept quietly out of the house as to not wake the occupants. Once outside she took a deep breath and relaxed.
For some reason she was drawn to the dark and took comfort in it. She wandered around for a while when something caught her eyes. In the grass something was shining.
She walked over and picked up the strange contraption (a/n her gun). A warmth filled her and she changed her grasp on the object. It felt familiar somehow, it felt right. She broke out of the daze she hadn't realized she had fallen into when she felt a touch on her arm.
Her immediate reaction stunned her.
She whirled while jumping a good 3 feet away from the offending hand and fell into an automatic defensive crouch, reaching her an imaginary weapon, upon seeing who it was she froze. Atomi was badly startled and scared. She relaxed and walked over to Atomi with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry" she apologized softly. His reaction was immediate. His arms flew around her waist in a tight hug and he buried his face in her stomach.
"Don't leave Tenshi-Sama! I don't want you to go!" he cried. She was shocked. She pried his arms off of her waist and stepped back.
He closed his eyes, tears still streaming down his face, and titled his head slightly downwards. His entire frame shook. She let go of his arms and they dropped to his side thinking she had left. He opened his eyes in shock when a hand touched his chin, turning his face forward to face the crouched Tsuara at eye level.
"I was having trouble sleeping. I was only going for a walk" she explained softly, giving his a gentle smile.
"So you're not going?" he asked hopefully. She shook her head, briefly closing her eyes.
"Let's go back to the house. Growing boys need their sleep." she countered ruffling his hair. This was the most she had spoken since she had first woken under the care of the two brothers.
He wiped his tears and nodded, giving a toothy grin (a/n I almost put teethy). They walked back to the house with Kurai's hand on Atomi's shoulder. The silence wrapped around the two like a comforting blanket. When they reached the front door Kurai stopped. Atomi also stopped and turned slightly to look at her. She smiled at him and pushed him towards the door.
"I want to stay out a bit longer" she informed him quietly.
He nodded and went inside quietly closing the door behind him. Kurai went to the side of the house and quickly climbed the vines to the roof. Laying down she took the weird object she had found earlier out of the waist band of her pants where she has stuffed it when walking over to comfort Atomi. Her gaze turned to the night sky as she absently twirled the item in her hands.
Suddenly she got a prickling sensation crawling throughout her body and her senses went on high alert. This had only happened once. It was earlier on in the day when she has told Atomi to go ahead because she had to do something. When he had left she followed her instincts and ran, faster than she knew was normal, to the farm but stopped just inside the tree line.
She saw the four strangers approach and knock. She had actually been able to hear most of the things being said. She didn't think that was normal. Kurai sat up and looked around. She saw some distant figures coming toward the house searching the grass for something.
"How could you have dropped it? Tsuara is going to kill us when she finds out we lost her gun." she heard the long haired woman say as they came within her unnaturally long hearing range. Kurai quietly slipped to the other side of the roof and watched over the edge.
"Stop antagonizing me." the one who had asked for food whined. The male of the group stood up and looked around.
"What's wrong?" the third female asked, looking up at the male. He didn't respond for a while.
"Nothing." he whispered. Kurai could not hear this but she could read his lips with amazing accuracy.
"Maybe one of the people found it." the second energetic female suggested.
"I supposed it's possible but they'd be sleeping right now." the first one agreed.
"We can come back tomorrow if we don't find it tonight." the male said. Kurai watched as they thoroughly searched the ground for this "gun" object. Several times, the male stopped and looked around.
"We're being watched." Kurai nearly jumped out of her skin with a loud yelp. Instead she tensed, the words sounded like they were whispered next to her ear.
"Do you know where?" asked another female voice.
"No, but I can feel it." the first voice returned.
"You think Zalia's is back? Maybe she knows Tsuara is missing and wants to find her first so if she is injured she can't fight back?" asked a third voice that grew more and more anxious. At first Kurai had frantically searched for the source but soon stopped to stare at the four in awe, knowing they were some how responsible.
"Rea can you see if you can find anything? Your better at this type of thing." this voice, know that she was thinking straight, resembled that of the long-haired woman.
"I'll see what I can do." Rea replied. The others sat down on a rock and one girl, who Kurai assumed was, Rea continued to search the ground closely.
"Lori this was your area ne?" Rea asked.
"Yea" came the reply.
"An object has been lying over here, since a little before noon I'd say. It was picked up probably a few minutes before we got here. About the same weight and size as Tsuara's gun. There's one track here coming from the house then leading back. Probably the child's" Rea reported.
'The only one?' Kurai wondered.
"If the child picked it up it could be dangerous." Pointed out the energetic one in a worried tone.
"I don't think we have to worry about that. Tsuara ran it out of all the bullets. She put the gun to my temple and pulled the trigger. I think she knew it was empty." the long haired girl replied. Rea bent closer to the ground.
"Hold on a minute. There's a second trail here! I can't really say anything about it except it's barely noticeable. Who ever it is is really skilled. I don't think we could do much better ourselves" Rea corrected.
"So the weapon is here?" the male asked.
"Nothing is for sure, one of out first lessons. But the gun is probably here. I'm pretty sure" Rea replied.
"So what do we do? Wait here until morning?" Karei asked.
"No we need sleep and a real meal or as real as its going to get. Sleep, hunt, eat, return" Lori said. They four got up and went into the forest.
Kurai, not wanting to chance them seeing her, slipped down on her side of the roof and balanced precariously on the barely there ledge of a window sill. She opened the window with one hand while the other held tightly to the roof incase she fell. When the window opened she slipped in. Looking around she saw it was Karashi's room. She closed the window and quietly went to her room.
Next Morning
Kurai came downstairs in a light blue sundress with lavender flowers decorating it.
"Good Morning" Karashi chirped, setting down the last plate with eggs on it.
"Morning" she murmured, sitting down. Atomi came down stairs holding a worn teddy bear.
"Good morning Atomi-chan" Karashi greeted.
"M'rning Aniki, Tenshi-sama." he replied his voice still full of sleep. He sat down to Kurai's right and Karashi to his left.
"Karashi-san. I believe the people that came here yesterday might have dropped this. If they come by looking for it we should return it." Kurai remarked softly handing the gun to Karashi.
"What is it?" he asked in awe.
"I believe it is called a gun. Be careful with it, it could be dangerous." Kurai warned.
"Hai." he agreed and put it on the table.
"Don't touch it Atomi-chan." Karashi advised. Atomi nodded solemnly.
"I'll be up stairs reading." Kurai informed them, getting up from the table.
"Okay. Oh, and Kurai I'm going to have to go to the market tomorrow. You can come or you can stay here with Atomi-chan" Karashi proposed. She nodded and headed back upstairs. "Come on Atomi-chan. Let's clean up breakfast" Karashi urged, standing up. Atomi agreed quickly and jumped up.
Later that morning
Karashi and Atomi sat in the living room playing a game. A soft but loud knock informed them they had visitors. Karashi got up and answered the door. It was the four from yesterday as Kurai said.
"May I help you?" he asked.
"Sorry for bothering you again, but we seem to have lost an important item. It's made out of metal kinda small. It has an opening on one end shaped like this." Lori said drawing it with her fingers in the air.
"You mean this?" Atomi asked present the gun proudly. Karei and Lori gasped while the other two looked mildly surprised.
"Yes!" Lori breathed taking the object as if it were holy.
"Tenshi-sama found it last night" Atomi beamed.
"I'd like to thank Tenshi-sama" Rea requested. The other three former assassins regarded her with mild surprise.
"Atomi-chan why don't you go up stairs and get Kurai-san." Karashi ordered and the child ran off with a nod.
"Kurai is Tenshi-sama's name?" Lori inquired.
"Yea, she is very kind even if she doesn't talk much. She makes good company and Atomi is smitten with her." Karashi explained with a smile. A small frown flitted across Lori's face. Nanashi and Rea looked to be deep in thought. Karei was clueless as normal. Atomi came back then.
"She fell asleep while reading" Atomi notified them.
"That's too bad" Lori said.
"Would you like to stay for a little while? Her naps are never very long" Karashi invited.
"Sorry, no can do we are still looking for our friend." Lori apologized.
"Well maybe when you find your friend you can come back for a visit." Karashi offered.
"We'll see" Lori responded with a wave and they left.
"Guys is it me or is there something strange about that house?" Nanashi asked.
"You thought so too? I thought my mind was creating false hopes." Lori admitted. Kurai and Rea nodded in agreement.
"The shadows there last night were acting strange. My original thought was because we had been there earlier but now I'm not so sure." Rea contributed.
"When we were being watched last night I think the person might have also, at least, been aware of the shadow conversation." Nanashi said. Next to Tsuara he was the best one to be able to read the shadow's activity. Lori was the best to manipulate them, besides Tsuara of course.
"When we were at the house just then I think I saw someone looking through the upstairs window. Tenshi-sama may have been watching. Which means she doesn't want to meet us." Karei added in one of her rare bouts of intelligence and observation.
"I wonder why?" Lori mused.
"Shy?" Karei suggested.
"No Tenshi-sama was the one who picked up the gun which means she'd be the one who left the trail which I almost missed last night. Someone was watching us and heard our conversation. This person isn't normal. And something's bugging me about that name. Kurai" Rea contradicted.
"Yes it did seem kinda familiar, like I heard it before." Karei agreed. Nanashi nodded.
"Zalia maybe?" Lori suggested.
"No children have a good intuition. The child would not be so trusting nor bestowed her with the name Tenshi-sama" Rea disagreed.
"You three go on ahead I have something I want to check out." Nanashi directed. The three females shot each other a look before they nodded and left.
"Kurai is the name of that evil businessman on Earth." Nanashi whispered before he disappeared into the shadows.
Kurai came down stairs just as Karashi was going to make lunch.
"How was your nap?" he asked.
"Good" she murmured.
"Those four came by again asking for that thing. You missed them. They send their thanks." Karashi conveyed. She put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll cook you have other things to do." she ordered quickly but firmly.
"But your our guest." he protested.
"I have been here a while and have done nothing to pay you back for your help. I think I can manage to at least cook. Atomi would be more than willing to help and he needs to learn how." she countered.
"If you insist." he said. She gave him a smile then entered the kitchen. "Kurai-san will you be going to the market?" Karashi asked as an after thought.
"Nah, I'll watch the farm." she answered.
"Okay I'll be outside so call me when it's ready." he said and went outside.
"Tenshi-sama I'm bored!" Atomi said. She gave him a look that said 'what do you want me to do about it?'
"Sing me a song" he requested. She looked thoughtful a moment and begun in a very clear voice:
I'll be a dandy and I'll be a rover. You'll know who I am by the song that I sing. I'll feast at your table. I'll sleep in your clover. who knows what tomorrow may bring. Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine, I'll taste your strawberries; I'll drink your sweet wine. A million tomorrows shall all pass away, e'r I forget all the joys that are mine today. I won't be contented by yesterday's glory. I can live a promise from winter to spring. Today is my moment and now is my story. I'll laugh and I'll play and I'll sing. Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine, I'll taste your strawberries; I'll drink your sweet wine. A million tomorrows shall all pass away, e'r I forget all the joys that are mine today.
"That was a very nice song. You have a beautiful voice" Atomi complimented.
"Thank you little one. Let's go make lunch" she said.
"Okay" he agreed. They went into the kitchen and started on lunch. A few minutes after they started there was a knock on the door.
"Why don't you go get it." Kurai suggested. He nodded and flew from the kitchen. Kurai felt the somehow familiar tingle of when one of those four were close by.
"Hello" she heard Atomi greet.
"Hello I would like to speak with your brother." she heard the male's soft voice.
"Aniki went to the market." Atomi professed.
"He left you by yourself?" the other one inquired.
"Nope Tenshi-sama's here. Would you like to talk to her?"
Curse that child! Sure she was fond of him but she really did not want to meet any one of those people.
"Sure" the male agreed.
"Follow me" Atomi instructed. There was the sound of his running feet.
"Tenshi-sama there is someone here who wants to speak to you" Atomi yelled and appeared in the kitchen not two seconds later.
She heard the male enter the kitchen as she finished wiping her hands on the dishrag. She turned to the male for the first time assessing his looked up close. He gasped.
"Tsuara-sama!" he exclaimed.
"No that's Kurai." Atomi corrected. Kurai mussed his hair giving him the message to be quiet.
"Sorry I do not know this Tsuara." Kurai apologized.
"Stop acting." Nanashi demanded. She gave him an irritated glare.
"Look sugar, I don't know who you are or what you want from me. All I know is that every time you or one of your friends are around I get a feeling I'm not sure I like. You try to live out your life with no clue who you are, where you're from, or why you can do things that you know you shouldn't be able to do. And you hurt. And you don't know why, but it hurts." she said grasping the clothe over her heart. He looked shocked then crestfallen.
"That's how you found me." he whispered.
"What?" she asked looking utterly confused.
Endchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapterendchapter
YE: There you go. A Nice Long Chapter for your reading pleasure.
Kurai: Oh yeah a real pleasure.
Tsuara: I don't know. I kinda liked this chapter even thought the amnesia thing is kinda cliché.
Kurai: Hn. So, YE got any plans for Valentines?
YE: -sits in corner doodling on floor with the pointer finger-
Kurai: -evil grin-