The Phoenix Bird

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 2: Yuri Ivanov

"…But when Eve plucked the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, when she and Adam were driven from Paradise, there fell from the flaming sword of the cherub a spark into the nest of the Bird, which blazed up forthwith. The Bird perished in the flames; but from the red egg in the nest there fluttered aloft a new one the one solitary Phoenix Bird…"

Yuri Ivanov was spontaneous. He liked to be unpredictable, distrusted. He liked having no one around to bother him. But it also meant that he was taunted. At collage- that also meant the scorn was greater.

Tall, with spiked red hair, ice-blue eyes, pale skin and unreadable emotions were what made Yuri unique. He had many 'nick-names', 'kind-hearted-fool' and 'emotionless bastard' the most common ones.

They didn't really bother him, when he was stressed or slightly panicked about a test, then he might retaliate, but usually he just gave everyone a simple 'hello to you too' and sat down at his desk and went to work.

Ivanov was studying to be a vet. Animals had always fascinated him, not really humans, but the creature's strange, free nature. There were many mysteries he hoped to solve about their companions on earth. And then- pry myth and legend from the truth.

Yuri did not really believe in foolish stories of flying lizards that spat fire, horses with a large horn upon their brows, of small people with wings. Nor did he care for the fable of a bird that died and began again in flame.

Yuri was seventeen years old. He had signed his entrance documents to the school as eighteen, so he had been allowed adult pleasantries a year early- not that it really mattered.

The Russian, yes he was originally from Moscow, was now in a big city- where? He hadn't really bothered to notice; not having a very caring family didn't make you worry about sending them any letters or gifts, or receiving any yourself. The Russian liked to take walks early in the morning and late at night to clear his mind and let go of a lot of his stress from the day.

He lived in a fairly large apartment- no one shared with him because it wouldn't do good for their 'reputation'- so he enjoyed himself a lot. There were two rooms; he only used one, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. It sure sounded fancy, but he had had to do a lot of renovating before it was an acceptable living space.

It was a simple life style, papers all over his apartment, living on student loan only, and not a single other to comfort him at all. There were some people he could call 'acquaintances' but they only spoke to him because he was smart and they had no hope in school and needed to copy off of him.

On this particular day, Yuri was busily getting ready for school, and doing in a little bit of review for the test he had been studying for for a few weeks now. He was eating some cereal and reading his text book. The azure eyes scanned the page, absorbing the last of what information he hadn't already memorized.

Looking up quickly, he heard a bell ring.

Darn it! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! He cried in his mind, then leapt to his feet and ran to the door, throwing books into his backpack and his coat over his shoulders as he did so. Yuri struggled into his boots and ran out the door.

Yuri wasn't the most organized child. But fortunately, he had been gifted with brains which helped balance his life out. Yuri raced down the stairs, not really stepping on any of them, and ran out the main doors in the lobby. He rushed to school, hair flying everywhere, and realized he hadn't packed a lunch.

Though it didn't quite seem like it- Yuri was soon going to be involved in a plot that could change the world. It was only a matter of time…

))-((

"Hey, lookit! Why it's tall and pale Frosty!" a boy taunted as Yuri slipped into class.

"Mr. Parker, please stay quiet during the test. And thank you for joining us, Mr. Ivanov," the teacher- an older woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, said sarcastically. She was Miss. Tate- or Judy for those who were Max Tate's friends.

Though Yuri was studying to become a vet, this collage also had many different career training programs, and unfortunately, this was one class where students form different classes were merged for an hour. This was where he got the most teasing.

Yuri sighed and ignored them and sat down quietly as Judy came over and handed him a thick pile of papers that was his test. He had picked up his pencil and begun calculating when…

"I'm Here! I'm Here And I'm not Late!" came the cry as the doors flew open and a boy with long navy blue hair and indigo eyes cried as he ran in. His English was fast and slightly slurred- he was Japanese and English still wasn't his best language- it was the class clown Takao Granger.

The class, despite Judy's warnings, erupted into a series of cheers and whistles. Takao was probably the most popular boy in the school- the 'World Champ' as some people called him- and boy did he know it. Even the teachers seemed to give him special slack; Miss Tate didn't even narrow her eyes at him.

Yuri tiredly finished the test, first as always, and then left. He didn't need to stay. He looted his backpack and found a few coins and bought a bag of chips and a pop from the snack and drink dispensers.

He was sitting at a table, sipping quietly at his soda and staring up at the ceiling when someone shoved him roughly. Yuri coughed on some pop he had inhaled and glared over at the boy across from him. Michael Parker and his group of 'thugs'. Moses, Eddy, Steve, Johnny, Lee, Rick and Michael's girl Emily and Lee's girl Mariah.

"So, smart-ass, can't bother to show up with the rest of us cause you're so s-m-a-r-t?" Michael taunted, emphasizing the 'smart'.

Yuri snorted, picked up his backpack and turned to walk away.

"Hey! I was talking to you, freak!" Michael shouted.

The hot-headed Rick stepped forwards to grab Yuri by the shoulder, but was interrupted.

"Leave him alone!"

Yuri groaned. Not again! Why did someone always have to come to his rescue, once- just once- he wanted Michael to punch him too far so that he could snap and fight back. Just to see the look on Michael's face when he went home with a broken, crooked nose.

Garland, flanked by Mystel, Rei Kon, the Spanish twins Julia and Roul, Claude and Miguel and his girl Mathilda, came running over. Normally, Michael's group would not be questioned- but garland was a lethal kick-boxer. Mystel seemed to jump high enough to defy gravity, Julia and Roul would never let anything happen to the other and would kill to protect their 'other half' and the rest were just plain good street fighters.

Michael growled, "Get outta this. What do you want with the Emotionless Bastard?"

Rei, a boy with long, long coal-black hair and smooth complexion. H had claws, fangs and wild amber, feline eyes in which the pupils would dilate and slit up depending on his mood, growled, "It's not right that we sit by and watch."

"Butt out, Rei!" Lee cried suddenly. Rei, Lee and Mariah had all grown up together- but when lee and Mariah had joined Michael, the three had split up and considered Rei to be beneath them now.

While the argument continued, Yuri continued walking away. He wasn't worried about the rest of the day, and frankly, he didn't care. He left the school and headed down the street, deciding to wander for the day.

He ended up at the mall. Shopping around a bit, buying some groceries and a few sketchbooks, Yuri did like to sketch when he was in the mood. But lately nothing had inspired him. This annoyed him very much because his hand itched to draw something amazing, but nothing but scribbles came out.

Continuing out of the store, Yuri realized he had spent the whole day inside, now it was getting dark out and the clouds overhead foretold rain. Cursing under his breath, Yuri went at a brisk walk and got home quickly. He yawned exhaustedly as he got inside and put all of his new items away, and then went to his room and changed into his PJ's and curled up in his bed.

))-((

A loud thunderclap awoke him. Yuri bolted upright, covered in a cold sweat. He had been in a car accident many years ago- and was fairly traumatized by it still. No one had died, his mother had been paralyzed and his father had lost his left leg, but the screams of agony continued to torture him.

He went to the kitchen and took out the bottle of milk, not bothering to pour it into a cup, he drank from the carton. Satisfied, he placed the milk back into the fridge and slowly turned on the kitchen lights. He winced slightly at the sudden brightness, but managed to adjust to it. He walked over to the window and stared out at the endless rain.

His drawing hand began itching more than ever to draw, but no image to draw came to mind, so Yuri did his best to ignore it.

Maybe a walk in the rain will help bring a drawing to my mind… he thought to himself, though he knew it was an excuse to try and get out so he could clear his mind. Yuri had usually felt trapped behind closed doors and often liked to get outside.

Throwing his coat over his night clothes, Yuri pulled on his boots and walked outside.

He was walking down the street when he heard drunken voices and quickly ducked behind some trash cans- not wanting to be seen by some very drunk forty-year-old men.

"Man… that was some frikin good action…" one laughed, slurred was his voice. The other two laughed drunkly and the three of them swayed across the street and went off without noticing Yuri.

Action… Oh my God… Did they –rape- someone? Yuri's eyes widened at the thought and he looked around a moment before running down the alley the men had come from.

Down a ways and around a corner- he found the boy. Curled up in a ball and sobbing uncontrollable. Without even thinking what he was doing, Yuri removed his coat and slung it around the child. Though the boy was small, as Yuri lifted him he quickly realized the boy was only two or three years younger than he was!

As he moved the boy- he noticed something else… there was something on the boy's back.

Wings.

The boy had wings. Yuri shook his head, believing he was getting sick. But they were still there. Maybe this boy was some genetic experiment that had gotten loose? Then what was he doing taking it?

I'm a kind-hearted fool… Yuri reminded himself mentally.

The boy was already mostly unconscious as Yuri picked him up and remained limp while Yuri rushed home. The Russian took the winged boy to his apartment- not really knowing what else to do- and put him on his bed.

His life had just gotten very weird indeed…

Finally Kai and Yuri meet. What will come out of this? What will happen next! Stay tuned, I have most of this story planned out and hopefully things will run smoothly for my writing and I won't get writer's block. x.x Wish me luck!

Read and review (R&R) please!

Demenior