Chapter I

A young girl, of only four or five, ran down an alleyway, panic in her eyes. They were coming closer. It was nightime, so there was no chance of getting help from a passer-by.

She stopped suddenly. There was a wall in front of her. She looked around. She was surrounded by walls on three sides, and the voices were coming still closer. She was trapped.

Finally, her pursuers came down the alleyway. Seeing her, they stopped. There were three of them, and they were smirking. Now she was really trapped, and they knew it.

They started forwards again, with looks on their faces that promised trouble for the girl. The leader made a motion with his hands. The girl paled even more. That motion…it was the motion men made to prostitutes…

She realised what was coming, as they loomed over her, grinning like things from a nightmare. She couldn't move, she was frozen in place, her back to the hard stone wall.

A soft snarl came from the top of the aforementioned wall. The men looked up, and blanched. The girl wanted to run, but couldn't. She was still frozen. Probably a good thing, she reflected. The thing that had snarled might come after her if she made any movements. After a couple of seconds, she finally risked a glance up. What she saw there shocked her.

Another girl, not even a teenager, was crouched, eyes narrowed, teeth bared, and still snarling. Her eyes were fixed on the men, who were slowly backing away. She leapt down in front of the smaller girl, protecting her. Her wings allowed her to float gently. They were bat wings, and the young child could see, upon a closer inspection of her saviour, that she had clawed hands and feet, and her ears were leaf-shaped. She was one of the hybrids that had been bred in the illegal labs over a decade ago. The younger girl vaguely remembered her temporary guardian saying something about a female bat-human hybrid, but it was a faded memory.

Another figure leapt down beside the girl. It was another female, but it had cat features instead of bat ones, complete with a long, furry tail. A cat-human hybrid; one of the more common crosses.

The men had turned almost translucent by this time, and looked to be on the verge of running. Their eyes were huge in their faces, and were staring, transfixed, at the two creatures.

The dispatching of the men took barely a minute. One second they were there, and the next they weren't.

The two rescuers turned to face the young girl. During the fight, she had huddled in a corner, hiding her face in her knees.

"Hey," the bat-girl said, softly, crouching down. "You alright?" A shiver was her only response.

She gently reached out a hand towards the terrified child. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Just take my hand, and I'll help you." She was still speaking in that slow, soft tone.

The little one looked up tearfully, took a deep, shuddering breath, and reached out a quivering hand to lightly touch the older girl's fingers. The hybrid gave a tentative smile, so as not to scare her, and the child launched her self at her, clutching as though she would never let go.

She was picked up, cradled in the crook of the bat-girl's arm. The hybrid made a small, sharp motion under the child's chin, and she fell unconscious. (The little girl, not the hybrid).

"What are you going to do with her, Shepf?" the cat-girl asked, lashing her tail in worry. "I mean, we've got a no random street kids policy, but…"

The other sighed. "Honestly Suzaku. Do you ever read the mission briefing?"

"Um, well, er…"

"I thought not. Anyway, I need you to visualize something."

"Go on."

"This child," she hefted the child slightly, "older, about fifteen, with long hair of this same colour," she showed her the chestnut locks, "tied back in a braid, down to about mid-thigh; blue-violet eyes-"

"That's the colour of the child's eyes anyway." interrupted Suzaku.

"I am aware of that. Also, with more masculine features, though fine boned, and dressed in a black priest's outfit with a black baseball cap. Tell me, Suzaku- who does that sound like?"

Suzaku's eyes lit up in recognition. "Duo?"

"Indeed."

"But he was meant to be taken in by the Maxwell Church…"

"But first he was taken in by a street gang, remember? Honestly, you really don't read the mission briefing, do you?"

"Um, nope. But he's meant to be male! That's a girl!"

"Ah well, such is life, I suppose. But remember, this is a fanfiction that we've jumped into, rather than an official world. Therefore, the author is taking a little liberty. Well, in the case of gender, a big liberty, I suppose. Not that I'm complaining- worldshifting into fanfiction is always more interesting than the original."

"Oh. So what do we do? Do we take him/her in?"

"Yes, Suzaku. We take him/her in."

/Chapter end/

A/N. Sorry about the lack of updates, but I've got a lot to do at school- they're piling on the work. I am trying, however, and I hope you enjoy this.

Cerberus

(Patterns of Blood)