A/N- Sorry for taking so long, guys, home has been crazy. Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who read and/or reviewed my last chapter! Enjoy the story :D

Javier: They'll enjoy it 'cause I'm in it, even though your writing skills aren't good enough to capture my true abilities.

Ash: Ugh, why don't you just bite me?

Javier: Are you sure that you're willing to let me do that?

Ash: D: Why are you such a perv- Get away from me you idiot!-

Anyway, onto the story! *Whispers* Guys, you're going to scare them away!

Chapter One: The Abduction

Ash walked out of the dark apartment silently, prize in hand, as the night began to blossom. Stars were commencing to shine, following one after the other into the dark sky. The moon was in full glow as it stood high in the heavens, a proud guardian of the late hours when the sun decided to retreat. There was no better time to accomplish the things that needed to be done, especially when one was such a creature as the young female who now strode away into the dark expanse of woods across from the complex she had just abandoned.

When you were an outcast, you had to do what was needed to survive. It was the only way. Ash wasn't exactly the most cruel person in the world, though she certainly had her moments, but she had to do these things if she wanted to live. So what if the people she had just stolen from were innocent, maybe they had been keeping this coin in the family for ten generations, but it's not like they needed it for any critical reason. All it ever did was sit in that stupid safe, tucked safely into velvet as if the coin could feel comfort.

Once sold, this precious little treasure would set Ash up for life. She wouldn't have to steal ever again; if you thought about it, stealing this was really helping out a lot of people in the future. Besides-

The obviously guilt-filled girl cut herself off as her feet suddenly froze in their places. Her strangely black hair began to stand at odd angles as a few drops of sweat beat down her face, her entire being seemed to transform into foreboding. As a shadowed face with small round eyes, mouth open in fear, she slowly turned around. Ash could feel someone watching her, and in the conscience-stricken state that she was in, well- lets just say the stalker caught her more off guard than would normally be possible.

"W-who's there?" She asked quietly, her tone sounding haunted, somehow even more creepy than usual in her frightened state. Gloom seemed to surround her, from the black pants and hoodie to her deathly dark hair that covered her eyes. From the shadows, she spotted two eyes staring out at her, about stopping her heart. The eyes were completely expressionless, simply staring at her in the most unsettling way.

She was confused at first, why would someone be staring at her like that, yet obviously not be interested in her the way a stalker would? It was even creepier, if you asked her. In fact, it almost reminded her of- Ash tensed once again, her mouth dropping open wider and then closing as her entire face fell into an expression of disbelief and quiet rage. Her eyes twitched in anger as she suddenly realized who it was that watched her.

"Javier…" Ash said in a voice that could only resemble a zombie, glaring at the floating eyes as the air around her seemed to thicken and change color; a swirling vortex of rage, you could say. The eyes held the same blank expression as they continued to stare, but you could see the person's face a little better now, along with the sweat that said person must have gained in their nervousness.

"Yes?" Came the simple reply, the voice obviously male from the deep tone, though it was void of any emotions. Slowly, the figure stepped out from the shadows and into the light glow of the moon, revealing a young man not much older than Ash herself. His hair was a strange blond color that reached just above his shoulders, two small braids framing his face. On his right ear, the boy wore two earrings, and his eyes were a rather strange color; pale yellow, like an animals, yet somehow piercing. It was not hard to figure out that his body was well tuned, so it would not come too surprising that he was well trained in the arts of combat.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to stalk me like that?" The girl asked in the same, scratchy, dead-sounding tone, only making the boy more nervous. Slowly, he inched towards her with a bowed head, as if sorry for what he had done, though the expression on his face seemed to be one of complete indifference.

Cocking his head slightly, Javier looked down at her hand curiously, his expression one of false innocents as he eyed the tightly clenched fist in which she held the coin. As if she had suddenly forgotten her anger at the boy, Ash tensed and tried to put on an innocent-looking smile, though it came out quite tight and, to be honest, a bit scary looking. Though, that could have been due to the much-sharper-than-is-normal 'canine' teeth that she owned.

"What is that?" He asked in the simple way that he said everything, voice quiet and deep, always serious. Of course, it was plain that Javier knew exactly what was in the girl's hand, but she tried to deny it anyway. Ash gave the same, sheepish yet creepy, grin and shook her head with far too much force, and waved her hands at him as if that would somehow make him believe her story any more.

"I don't have anything, what are you talking about?" Her voice was definitely different than what most people would be able to hear, seeing as it was almost opposite from the cold and apathetic way that she normally spoke. Of course, if you were to ask Ash why it was she could sound so sheepish in front of the boy she 'hated the most', she would simply say that he brought out the worst in her because of his extreme peskiness.

She suddenly froze, looking down at the work-calloused hand that had captured her wrist. Javier's grip was firm, which wasn't exactly common for him when he was dealing with the black haired girl. Ash's head was down, shadowed, as her entire body seemed to be frozen in some intense feeling… shame, maybe? Eventually, after the long moment of silence had dragged on seemingly forever, she slowly looked up to meet his accusing gaze.

"They won't miss it much…" She whispered, but the lie was obvious to both of them, "I-I needed to do it. It will keep me from having to steal anything ever again…"

"Having?" The one word made her take in a tiny gasp, looking up at him with wide eyes. The round orbs were wet now, as the girl's strangely dark hair began to fall away from her face, revealing the vibrant blue color of her eyes. She knew what he was saying, had heard him say it multiple times in her past, each experience having made an impact in her life. She didn't have to steal. Life was filled with choices, you just had to try and make the right ones. That was what he was trying to say. But… what other choice did she have? Starve to death? She looked into his eyes, seeing the one thing inside of them that always scared her the most. Disappointment. It wasn't too easy for Javier to get disappointed in her, but when it happened, it always left a fearful chill in her heart.

"I'll put it back." She whispered in defeat, her head hanging, as she somehow managed to slug her way to the door she had just escaped, while at the same time being fatally stealthy. Her dark figure disappeared inside the apartment for only a moment, before reappearing in the same gloomy manner. The girl sighed loudly while passing the taller boy, stomping towards the woods while he followed after her.

"You don't have to act so proud about it." Ash grumbled darkly, though Javier had yet to say another word. It wasn't hard to tell that he was quite happy with himself, however, if you looked at the way he held a slight smirk on his high-held head. Or perhaps if you noticed the slight bounce in his steps, that would clue you into his happy arrogance.

The boy stayed silent, though the air around him just about glittered, until a small surprised sound escaped from his throat, making them both pause. Ash looked back at him in question, retreating into the shadows when she noticed the cautious expression the boy held. He must have heard, or smelt, something. There were times when being stalked by a human-wolf could come in handy. Of course, she was cursed by the bat, so she should have great hearing, but there were times when her highly sensitive ears would only catch onto rather high-frequency sounds.

'What is it?' Ash asked the boy in the silent parlance that the two had both learned together. They had decided to learn sign language at a rather young age, figuring that it was the safest way to go when you were two kids cursed with the animals that not even most members of the Sohma family knew of. A lot of bad things tend to happen when in such a scenario. Of course, being as stubborn as she was, Ash refused to admit that she was learning the language with Javier, or that she was learning it so that they could communicate silently if they ever got in trouble. That would suggest that she trusted him enough to help her whenever she happened to get in trouble.

'A car is coming.' He signed back, though of course this is an entirely different language here so it may not have been worded just like that, but then again, the two have been speaking Japanese this whole time. In any case, his silent words surprised the other teen. Why would an approaching car matter so much? They were in the city. It had to be more… maybe its speed had alerted the security sensitive boy?

She didn't have too much time to think this over, however, for only a moment later she felt her body being pushed to the ground by someone who could only match the description of Javier. It was a good thing she knew him well enough to be sure that it really was him, because she didn't get a chance to double check. A black Hummer Limo squealed up onto the small dirt path they had just been standing on. Its breaks protested loudly as the beast of a vehicle suddenly came to a halt, doors swinging open as a force of decked-up private police filed out.

It was obvious that whoever wanted to capture them knew about their fighting skills, because the squad was certainly large enough to outnumber even their extremely trained skills. This was due to the multiple, and identical, amount of limos that pulled in behind the first. This, of course, did not keep the two teenager from fighting back. They tried their hardest, to be sure, but the unlimited amount of man power on their opponent's side was brutal. Before an hour had gone by, the two were gassed and unconscious, getting tossed into the back seat of the first limo and driven away.

A/N: So, what do you think? Any type of feedback or suggestion would be quite helpful ;) Thanks for reading!