1"Shizuka-nii-chan! Shizuka-nii-chan!" Her little brothers voice called out. "Wake up! Wakey wakey!"
Shizuka's eyes opened little by little. She didn't want to wake up, but then again, she did.
What was that dream? She asked herself as, just like any other dream, it seemed to fade into her mind.
She sat up, the bright light of the sun nearly blinding her.
"Shizuka-nii-chan, you fell asleep!" Akai told her.
She rubbed her eyes as they slowly got used to the setting sun.
"What time is it?" She asked him.
"It's almost eight." He told her. "You fell asleep after dinner."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She stretched. "You should go in and get ready for bed."
"Okasan already told me to, I just wanted to wake you up before I did." He said.
"Okay, well, oyasumi, Akai-kun." She kissed his head and sent him off.
She had fallen asleep at the mouth of the woods, staring into the darkness. She had just been sitting there, and suddenly, she had felt so tired...
Shizuka looked around, yawning again before scratching her head.
"I guess a walk will wake me up for a little while." She said to herself.
She stepped onto the path, leading into the woods behind her house. Surrounded by the dark green atmosphere, she felt much better. It was humid and quiet. She could rest here, and clear her head.
She tried to think about the dream, but all she could pull back into her memory was the shadow of a face, and the simple way that male voice said "Shizuka-sama." It sent chills through her veins and made her want to shiver.
Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye. She blinked before looking in the direction of the white flash of fabric. But there was nothing and no one there...just the green flesh of a fallen tree mossed over.
She only lingered on it moment before walking further into the forest. She didn't see the white flash again until she was well into her prison of woods. She stopped then, sure that it wasn't just her imagination this time.
"Hello?" She called into the broken and hollow trees.
No one answered.
"Hello?" She called again.
There was nothing. She began to take a step back before tripping and almost falling on her butt. There was a rustle in the woods before she caught herself.
She looked over at the leaves she could've sworn someone had just stepped on, but, again, no one was there.
She began to whirl around, her eyes peeled for the stalker she expected. It was probably an axe murderer or a thief. They certainly wouldn't touch her without a fight. She wasn't a black belt for nothing.
"Oi!" She called again. "Who's there?"
Yet again, there was silence.
"I'm warning you, I will rip you apart if you don't show yourself!" She screamed.
She knew that all attempts to escape were futile now. There was no meaning to running, because Shizuka Hanami didn't run.
"Come out!" She demanded. "Come out, now!"
There was silence for a moment, and then two figures floated towards her from both sides. Shizuka's eyes flashed between the both of them.
One of them wore a white dress with thin straps to hold up the partially loose fabric, probably the dress she had seen, and had black hair that fell down to her waist. The other wore a black dress, similar to the others in design, but had blond hair instead of black. Their eyes were hidden behind their hair, but Shizuka could see plain as day the swords strapped around their waists.
She gasped.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Shizuka-sama, you don't..." The black-haired one trailed off.
"Remember us?" The blond finished.
"No, I've never seen the two of you in my life!" She said. "And how do you know my name?"
The two girls curtsied before her, lifting their skirts just a little so that Shizuka could see their bare feet.
"I am Koi." The blond one said.
"And I am Hikari." The other stated.
"And we are you Chevallier." They said in unison.
There was a moment of quiet as Shizuka looked at them like they were crazy.
Were these chicks insane?
"What in the world is that?" She demanded.
"We are two of the three who obey you, Shizuka-sama." Koi said.
"That...obey me?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Like...servants?"
"Servants and body guards." Koi told her. "We live only for you, and to carry out your wishes."
"Ah, I see." Shizuka nodded. "Right. Is this some kind of joke?"
"No, I am afraid not, Shizuka-sama." Hikari stated.
"Uh-huh, but I'm sorry...whatever you are." Shizuka shook her head. "But I'm not interested in your protection and servitude. You can run along to where you came from."
"Shizuka-sama!" Hikari reached for her as she walked away.
"Please don't leave!" Koi begged.
"Sorry, girls." Shizuka looked back at them and shrugged.
"Sora!" Koi called.
Shizuka stopped in her tracks. The name was familiar...
"Sora! Talk some sense into her!" Hikari pleaded.
"What am I supposed to do?"
The voice came from high up in a nearby tree. It was male, defiantly, and it sounded like liquid velvet. It made Shizuka looked up, to see him, perched between two branches as the light glowed green behind him.
He sighed as he looked down at her.
She knew that face, too. That black hair and those beautiful green eyes...
But where did she know him from?
He smiled at her and her heart seemed to stop. Who...was...he?
"Shizuka-sama." He nodded. "Long time, no see."
He jumped from the tree, a hundred feet off the ground and landed lithely in front of her. He wore a long black, light trench coat and a black shirt with black jeans. He seemed like the all-around emo kid to her.
"I'm Sora." He said. "You probably don't remember me, and you don't remember them either, huh?"
Shizuka only shook her head.
"Figures..." He sighed. "Can I ask you, just once, will you listen to what we have to say, before you leave?"
Shizuka looked up at him, her eyes kind of melting at the sight, before she nodded.
He took her shoulders and led her to sit on a fallen log.
He kneeled in front of her, so they could look eye to eye, as Koi and Hikari sat cross-legged on each side of him. She looked at them like they were all insane, and she was incredibly confused.
"I know this is going to be hard to understand, but you have to listen to the whole story, okay?" He told her.
She nodded again.
"As Koi and Hikari said, we're your Chevallier." He began. "We live for you, to protect you, to serve you, and to stay by your side. I know it seems like we haven't been around for the past sixteen years, but we have, you just haven't seen us."
"But..." Shizuka choked. "Why?"
"This is going to be the hard part for you to accept..." He sighed. "But just stay here, and listen. You're a Chiropteran. You don't know what that is, but I'll explain. Our kind lives off of the blood of humans, like...vampires. No one knows why we're here or how we were first created, but people have figured out how to genetically engineer us, only...the ones they make are slightly different. The ones they make are killing machines, built to give into the instinct to survive and feed off innocent humans."
Shizuka bit her lip, trying to take in the seriousness in those pale eyes, knowing that he wasn't joking.
"But, you see, I don't drink blood." She told him, laughing dryly. "I eat normal, human food."
"That's because you haven't awakened yet." He said. "Now, let me finish, please."
She nodded.
"You're one of the oldest Chiropteran." Sora said. "You were the first queen. No one knows how you came to be, you don't even know. But, your blood, and the blood of your daughters is the only thing that can truly kill the Chiropteran."
"My...daughters?" She muttered.
"Diva and Saya." Hikari said. "Diva...is gone. She died. And Saya is in her thirty year sleep."
"Thirty...year sleep?" Shizuka asked.
"Your daughters, unlike you, are active for a short period of time, maybe two or three years, before they fall into a thirty year sleep." Koi told her. "When they wake up, it takes them a little while to remember everything. But when they do remember, they are fully awakened."
Shizuka shook her head. "You must have the wrong girl. I'm a normal human. I was born. And I grew up. I haven't been alive for...however many years."
"No...Shizuka-sama." Sora shook his head. "You were reborn. After you gave birth to Saya and Diva, you were murdered by...a...Soul Reaper."
"A what?" She asked.
"Soul Reaper." He growled.
"Sora-chan doesn't like Soul Reapers." Hikari told her as she picked at a leaf off the ground. "But, they saved his life. And it was only one Soul Reaper, of whom we didn't get the chance to see before he cut you into little pieces..."
"Oh...that's lovely." Shizuka scratched the back of her head.
"The only reason I'm doing this, awakening you before you wake up yourself, is because I was asked to." Sora told her.
"By who?" Shizuka asked.
"The man who saved my life." He sighed. "Gin Ichimaru."
"Hmm." She nodded. "Is he a...a Soul Reaper?"
"Yes." Sora looked up at her again. "He's the Captain of the 3rd Division."
"Oh..." Shizuka sighed.
"Shizuka-sama..." Sora started again. "The reason we're awakening you is because there's a problem in the Soul Society, where the Soul Reapers live. The existence of Chiropteran have pretty much completely disintegrated in the human world, thanks to your daughter Saya. But there was a sudden out-break of Chiroptera a few weeks ago in the Rukongai district of the Soul Society, and they can't seem to be able to contain it themselves, considering they can only temporarily wound and trap the monsters. But...you, Shizuka-sama, could kill them. Only you can bring order back to the Soul Society, Shizuka-sama. And I'm begging you...will you please help us? Help them?"
Shizuka looked at him, awestruck. The look in his eyes seemed to make them sparkle like diamonds. She wasn't sure what to do...
"I...I'm sorry." She looked away, at the ground. "But...I have a life, a family. My mom and dad, my little brother. I can't just leave them behind."
"Shizuka-sama, I have to tell you..." Sora touched her hair. "If the Chiropteran overthrow the Soul Society, they will find their way back to earth. If you don't eliminate them there, then there will be no hope once they infect the entire world. Your mother and father, and your little brother, will only be prey to them."
Shizuka gulped. "I..."
She shook her head. "I won't do it!"
"Please...Shizuka-sama..." Hikari said with tears in her bright blue eyes. "We, as your Chevallier, are begging you."
"We can't force her." Sora told her.
He stood. "Come, Hikari. Koi. Let's leave Shizuka-sama alone."
Hikari stood with tears in her eyes as Koi stood up beside her. They slowly walked away.
"And, Shizuka-sama?" Sora said over his shoulder. "Eventually, you will awaken. And the thirst will overtake you. Just pray your family isn't around when that happened."
Shizuka gasped, her hands grasping the log under her. She couldn't...let her family die...especially by her own hand.
She forced herself to her feet. "Wait!"
Sora turned around, halfway as Hikari and Koi whirled to look eagerly at their master.
"I'll do it." Shizuka nodded. "Do whatever you want to me. Awaken me or whatever. But...I need some things from my house if I'm going on a trip to the Soul Society."
"Of course, Shizuka-sama." Sora smirked before looking over at Hikari. "I told you she'll always end up listening to me in the end."
Hikari wiped her cheeks and glared at Sora. "Meanie."