Authors Notes: Well here's number 11 children, hope you enjoy it–oh and much love to Hybrid Thing and Als. PS AL, honey, STOP BITCHIN ABOUT THE SHINA JENNY THING! GRR RIGHT BACK AT YOU! Lol, you know I luv ya! And to ShinCougar and Hybrid Thing THANK YOU! PPS Shin, dear, don't bite off AL's head, play nice kids. Oh, and I'm also sorry for the shortness of this chapter, I'm just trying to split things up for content purposes.
Shina kept her back to Nagi's as they stood to return fire quickly before crouching down between the counters once more. Between shots and ducks Shina got a chance to eye their attackers. They were definitely a Merc team, there was no doubt, they had armored hummers similar to the ones she and Gado commanded, and their formation was pretty tight. Of course, whatever team they belonged to they weren't very effective marksmen. The same, however could not be said for Shina and Nagi. The leopardess and her compatriot's aim was very keen, each of them managing to hit an opening each time they stood. Of course this wasn't making much difference, as the bullets just kept coming.
"So," Shina said as they dropped and reloaded. "Was this–"
"Yeah, partly," the Spurious told her. "Though I had no idea it would happen this fast. I thought I'd at least have time to talk to you then meet back up with Reiji."
"Big Bird's here?" Shina asked above the fire as they finished loading and jumped up once more.
"Yeah!" Nagi replied, taking pride in a nice clean shot to an assailant's jugular. "I couldn't come back out of hiding without going to see him, you know that!"
"Well where is he?" Shina asked, dropping back to the floor with her friend. "Cause it would really figure he'd pick a time like this for sight seeing!"
"Sorry to disappoint the cynic in you, honey, but he went to see Yugo," Nagi replied, unable to keep herself from grinning. "And seeing that these cretins are here already, I have no doubt that Reiji and the mutt have their hands full."
At those words Shina's insides clenched hard. Yugo... she thought, the fear and guilt already riddling her intensifying like flames over kerosine so that it became outright painful. It became even more bitter (how she could not fathom) when the faces of Alice and Kenji entered her mind. The anguish, however transformed into something that anyone facing her should fear, she herself was transforming without relying on her zoanthrope power. Rising in her throat came the rage that willed her to defend her friends, to get to Yugo and apologize before it was too late. She now almost felt sorry for the ants that were in her way.
"Nagi?" Shina said, reaching into the cabinet again, her voice frighteningly calm.
"Yeah, Shina?" she asked, not yet seeing the strange look on her friends face or interpreting her tone.
"We need to get out of here," Shina told her. "Now."
"Thanks Captain Obvious–"
"Shut up and stay down," the blonde snapped, pulling out two semi-automatics that were of a design Nagi had yet to see anywhere else. "I'm fucking sick of pissing around with these chumps."
"Be careful," Nagi said for good measure, though by the look on Shina's face (which she had finally seen) the friendly gesture wasn't necessary.
"Always," Shina said dryly as she leapt up onto the counter. In the first sixth of a second she took stance, in the second sixth she raised her arms, in the third she aimed to the right, in the fourth to the left, in the fifth she laid her finger over the trigger, and in the sixth she fired. Two on each side went down before Shina, in a cartwheeling sort of motion propelled herself off the countertop and through the window, shooting adversaries midair.
"Fucking amateurs!" she snarled lifting her guns to blow several more heads off before rolling across the ground to dodge return fire. Coming to halt near the hummer, the leopard zoanthrope rose on her haunches, and started shooting her second round. Several more assailants dropped and she rolled again, this time to crouch on the other side of the vehicle where there were three gunmen gathered.
She went from lying on her back to her feet in less than a second, coming up very close to the muzzle of what appeared to be a Thompson. Not close enough, however, and she'd pressed the tip one of her weapons into an exposed portion of his throat. Blood splattered onto Shina's tank top and jacket, but she was completely unfazed. A fact proven as at the same time the redness hit her, a second opponent who'd barely raised his gun, went down. The third, who was dangerously close had first his ribs broken by a very powerful upward kick, and then his spinal column snapped when Shina dropped his comrade and drove the heel of her boot into the middle of his back. Spinning about the young mercenaria had her guns up once again, intending to roll over the hood of the hummer and bust some more heads. Her intentions however were cut as she found someone else had already beat her to that, and was preparing to fire a bullet straight into her forehead.
Cursing herself, Shina had a brief moment to reflect on her odd life, as she prepared to die. Her reflections, while not meaningless, were proved unnecessary as a snarl broke through the tense moment and a pair of white arms grasped the person about to end her life, and snapped his neck.
Shina blinked rapidly as she met a pair of frightened amethyst eyes.
"Sy?" she murmured somewhat dazed, right before he practically tackled her, hiding their bodies with the hummer as they landed on the ground.
"Are you all right?" he asked, plainly worried on her behalf. His hands traveled to the blood spattered areas of her arm and shirt. "Shina? Did they hurt you? Shina answer me!"
The leopardess shook her head, finally breaking from her shocked state, trying to clear her head. "I–I'm fine," she told him. "It's not my blood." She nodded to the three men lying only a few feet away from them. Her eyes suddenly narrowed, as she came to her senses, and without much effort rolled herself and Sy so that she was on top, pointing her guns down at him.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" she demanded in a low deadly voice.
"You're really beautiful when you're angry and blood splattered, you know?" he murmured almost lovingly, ignoring the two barrels so close to his eyes.
"I'd guessed, but thanks for reaffirmation," she growled. "Now answer my question before you're too hard up to speak."
"What's there to explain, chaton?" he asked. "I was coming back to you and I see men with guns firing at my darling–"
"Okay shut it," Shina ordered, praying that the warmth rising in her cheeks was going unnoticed or was at least contributed to the fact she was fighting. "Here," she thrust a third armament into Sy's hand, that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The young man looked her midriff exposing shirt and jacket over, as if trying to figure out where she'd hidden it. Shina paid him no mind as she jumped onto her feet. "I have a friend in there. Don't fuck this up." And she flung herself over the hummer once more, shooting one man in the head as her body rose into the air. Sy looked at the gun curiously for a second before shrugging, stuffing it into the waist of his jeans, and following Shina.
Meanwhile as Shina worked on her side, Nagi continued to crouch, waiting for the opportune moment to come up. Her chance came when, as she crawled towards the other side of the house, she heard someone yell "They're assaulting on the other side!"
"Go time," Nagi said to herself right before leaping up and out the already shattered window. Three men hit the ground at the same time she did. Two more followed while she took a running leap at an armored vehicle, heading for a gun turret perched on its hood. She dodged as the gunner inside the turret fired, trailing her closely as she sprinted around it, returning shots when she could. Nagi carried on with this circle for a minute or so before she became tired of the affair. Rolling close to the side of the vehicle Nagi remained in tight to the metal plating as she shimmed up to the hood, taking care to watch her back as she did. The Spurious had reached the top, and was half a second from swinging up herself up to blow the turret apart when a pair of elegant red nailed hands reached down and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders.
Nagi almost shriek as a pair of very delicate looking arms jerked her up so that she was level with the burning green eyes they were attached to. For a moment both Nagi and her captor wore masks of rage, ready to tear one another apart, when suddenly they recognized one another.
"Ms. Burtory?" Nagi said in amazement.
"Nagi?" Jenny returned, nearly dropping the brunette in surprise. Her awestruck lasted only a second. "Where is Shina?" the willowy blonde demanded, her grip on Nagi's upper arms once more becoming hard, her eyes slightly crazed. "Tell me! Was she in there with you? Is she all right? Where is my–"
"Oh would you calm the fuck down, Bat–ho?" a familiar voice demanded.
Both Jenny and Nagi looked surprisedly to the left where the leopardess had appeared, a tall dark haired man at her side. Shina and her companion both wore stains of fighting, particularly Shina, who's entire left side was washed with dark slick red.
"Shina!" Jenny exclaimed, releasing Nagi at once and jumping down of the hood. Nagi fell a bit awkwardly, noting as she did that the gun turret had been completely dismantled by the bat. The Spurious recovered quickly, following Jenny who'd without really thinking run up to Shina and embraced her.
"Thank goodness you're all right!" the older blonde exclaimed. "I was so worried! When I left Stun's–My, my, who's this?" Jenny's attention was suddenly on Sy who was watching both women with wide, curious eyes. The bat zoanthrope looked from her daughter to the young man several times, a slyphish little grin on her pouty lips.
"I'm Sy," the sole male told Jenny, a slight blush creeping into his face for the way she was eyeing the two younger people.
"A friend of yours, dear?" Jenny asked, a teasing gleam to her emerald eyes as they settled on Shina for a final time.
"Can it, Bat–ho, there's no time," Shina growled, praying that the warmth she felt rising in her face was not a blush (her chances of an allergic reaction were admittedly slim, but one could never call Shina Gado a complete pessimist). Her features suddenly became as stern and hard as her father's could be. "First and foremost, what about Stun? What's he got to do with this?"
"These–these same people, they attacked his school," Jenny told her breathlessly. They eyes of Shina and Nagi widened. "He got the children out but one of them–one was hit. She'll be fine, it was just a graze, but a doctor was needed of course, so I sent them to my jet and ordered a surgeon out there. I've already ordered the engines warmed. If we go now we can be out of this city before–"
"Okay, hold on a second!" Shina exclaimed holding up her hands. "If you hadn't guessed by what's happened here and at Stun's–I'm not gonna ask right now how you knew to come here–but there's some major shit going on, Burtory. And I am not leaving without Yugo, Long, Alice, or the kids. No way no how."
"Shina..." Jenny murmured, unable to disguise the worry in her voice.
"You heard me," Shina growled. "So if you want this to move along smoothly I suggest you cooperate." Blue eyes met green in staunch resolve, a hardness to the former's irises that the latter had seen before in another. Jenny started to comment on this but Shina had other plans.
"Nagi?" the tallest of the three women said, sky colored eyes flicking to her friend.
"Yeah, Shin?" she said, stepping a little closer, trying not to show too much interest on the silent battle going on between the two other women.
"You know where Long's Dojo is right?" she asked. "You've been told where it is and can find it?"
"Yeah..."
"Well get going," Shina ordered. "You and you–" her head swung back in Jenny's direction. "I'm not too worried about Tiger handling these morons, after all his line of work wasn't too different from mine at one point in time but right now he's got Uriko with him. Martial arts prodigy or not that girl won't know what in the hell to do about a gun pointed at her, and I don't even want to think about him keeping tabs on her while dealing with these sons a' bitches."
"Shina I'm not leaving–" Jenny started, hackles raised.
"Woman, if you even want me to consider leaving this city with your ass, after all the anger and resentment I've got for you, you need to shut up now!" Shina snarled, unwilling to be patient any longer. "My friends are out there! You know, the people who haven't lied to me!" Shina ignored the pain that flared in the eyes of the model, and the curious apprehension the Nagi and Sy stared at them with. She took a deep breath, doing her best not to force an apology out. "Now, would you please just go with Nagi, pick up Long and Uriko? I'll take Sy and we'll go grab Yugo, Alice, and Kenji, then will meet back at your jet. Where are you keeping it?"
"It's in the private airfields on the eastern side," Jenny told her, swallowing back her pride and perhaps a little more than she would let on. "Gate 673, I'll call to let them know you'll be along if I don't get there first."
"Okay," Shina said, relaxing just a hair. "Okay. Let's get going. I'm surprised the police haven't already gotten here. Nag?"
"Yeah?"
"Think you can drive that?" She pointed to the armored car. "There's a smaller one on the other side of the house, you could probably get farther with it than with the gun turret."
"That don't bother me, Shin," Nagi replied, nodding at the vehicle. "I can handle it. That is if you don't mind, Ms. Burtory?"
"I have complete confidence in your skills, yong lady," Jenny replied.
"Okay then, Sy, let's get moving," Shina said squaring up her shoulders and motioning to her dark haired companion.
"Whatever you say, Chaton," he replied practically trotting at her side.
Jenny turned to follow Nagi, but was stopped as Shina called to her once more.
"Hey, Burtory!" the younger woman's voice carried without ant particular bitterness across the distance and the bat zoanthrope twisted at the waist just a bit to look at her.
"Yes?"
"This doesn't change anything between us but...thanks." Shina's eyes were solemn, her plush lips set in a resigned line.
Jenny felt a great weight lift off her shoulders, so much that her body almost sagged. "You're welcome, Shina," she called back trying not to smile too broadly. They looked at one another for a few more seconds, both of them trying to say something with their eyes that they could not or would not admit to aloud. The moment was broken as Nagi managed to blow the door open on their ride and called for Jenny to hurry. Shina ran at the sound of her voice, disappearing behind the wall of her house, and Jenny watched her go, biting down on her lower lip as she did.
I don't think I've ever been much of a praying woman, Jenny said to herself as she joined Nagi. But I suppose it's something you never really begin or end...so...here it goes... Keep her safe, that's all I want. Keep her safe, all that I've failed to do. I don't care about me or anything else, I just want to see her well when we meet again...My daughter is all that matters...
Interlude
Kish'hana Leila stood nude in the middle of her tent, looking over a black chest that was sitting before her. Her skin and hair were wet from the purification bath she had just taken, yet the feeling of being unclean covered her all the more. The sense intensified as she knelt before the chest, on a red silk matt, and placed her hands on either side of the chest. Long slender fingers pressed against the sides, searching for release buttons. They were found and very slowly pushed in so that Leila could open it.
She looked at the contents, finely crafted features blank with resignation, smooth shoulders square but not rigid. Black and steel glittered in her crystal blue eyes as she reached in to grab the mantle of the Shai'daikour. First it was a par of loose black leggings followed by a pair of soft soled black boots. Next she bound her chest with a long black ribbon, wrapping it over and around her breasts until her entire chest plate was covered. With that done she pulled on a long sleeved black wrap shirt, securing it tightly with an equally dark sash. She was almost done with her clothes now. Picking up one of four rather long and wide ribbons still laying within the chest she began to wind it between the fingers of her right hand and up her arm, clear to her elbow. Once it was in place she strapped on an elbow pad, ensuring that it would no come loose. She repeated this routine with her left arm and her legs, strapping her kneepads on with equal scrutiny.
Once she was fully dressed Leila turned to chest remaining contents that gleamed in the dim light of the single brazier in her tent. A few more moments and all that was left was a dagger in a beautifully polished red lacquered scabbard. This last item was tucked in her sash, almost proudly. She was almost finished.
Turning to her right Leila ambled gracefully over to a standing mirror and picked up a brush that lay upon a nearby cushion. Pulling back her damp black mane she wound it tight and coiled it atop her head before using another of her limitless supply of black ribbons to fasten it. Finally she returned to the chest, to the very last thing it contained, a black hood, and pulled it over her head, masking all but her penetrating eyes from the world.
She snapped the chest closed and pushed the flap of her tent back, stepping out into the open night air. Looking up at the stars Leila put one hand against her heart, giving up a silent apology and prayer, before running swiftly as her legs would allow away from the village of tents she had once faced, and towards the jungle behind her. She did not run very far, just a few hundred yards until the trees stopped to give way to a concrete pad where a black jet plane and two figures awaited, one of which was dressed exactly as she was. The second figure, a man who looked like Leila to a startling extent, was dressed in an arabic style dish'hada, his white arms crossed as he looked at her with almost sad crystal blue eyes.
"Before you scold me, Kish'hana, the Elder asked me to see you off," the man in white assured her. He smiled just a little. "Besides, did you really wish to go without saying goodbye to me?"
"I dream about it often, Kish'hanou," was her soft reply, muffled by the folds of her mask. He saw the smile in her eyes and moved to embrace her warmly.
"Come back to me," he whispered in her ear as he held her close. "Come home. You know I'm lost without you here, my sister."
"Don't worry," she whispered back, a dull ache starting to rise in her chest as it always did when she was forced to part ways from the man in her arms. "I will uphold the Sithan'kri and return home to you, Jedda. I'm the best of the Shai'daikour for a reason, you know."
"I do," he agreed and kissed the top of her head before letting her go.
"Goodbye, Kish'hanou," Leila said with a final wave before turning and beckoning to the second figure to board the plane. He nodded and Leila followed him, she was just closing the door of the jet when Jedda called out to her once more.
"Leila?"
"Yes?"
The look on Jedda's face became impish. "Tell Shina I said hi and I can't wait too se her soon."
Leila laughed outright at her brother. "I think you should tell her yourself," she replied. "After all, she can't very well punch me in the face for the look in your eyes, brother dear."
Jedda shared in his sister's smile, knowing very well that she was right.