Okay, here is chapter 2! Hopefully it doesn't suck (wouldn't be surprised if it did, though) It may be a little confusing near the end, but you'll understand what the hell is going on as the story unfolds.

Red Rose

Chapter 2

The blond girl slowly began to walk over to him.

"Liar........." she muttered under her breath.

Shinya jumped forward. "Stay away from us, you freak!"

"Shinya!" Takuya scowled at his brother. "That was rude. Apologize to her right now!"

"No! I'm not gonna apologize to a killer!" The six year-old screamed.

Unbeknownst to Takuya, Zoe released her vectors. As she approached them, Shinya jumped forward and shoved her as hard as he could.

Surprised, Zoe fell backward and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Shinya! You little brat!" Takuya was about to help her up, when Shinya grabbed him and pulled him back.

"She's a killer, stupid! She's-"

Shinya was suddenly sliced in half, both halves of his body crumpling to the floor in a bloody heap. Takuya's jaw dropped and he screamed.

"What's going on?" Mr. Kanbara asked, coming up behind him, followed by his wife.

A second later, they were both decapitated, thick pools of blood forming around their corpses. Takuya jumped away and screamed again.

"What did you just do?!" He yelled at Zoe. "Shinya was right, you did kill all those people!"

Zoe stared at him. "Yes, I did. And when I get off this train I'm going to find that friend of yours. As soon as I find her, I'm going to kill her just like I did everyone else."

She began to walk away, but Takuya tackled her to the ground. He sat on top of her and pinned her arms above her head.

"No! Stop kililng everyone!" Tears were running down his face. "What is the matter with you?"

Zoe's expression didn't falter. "I'm only repaying for what was done to me. And if it means that I must kill everyone, then so be it-"

She was cut off as Takuya took her head in his hands. He slammed her head into the floor repeatedly out of rage. "Stop it! Stop it already! You've done enough!"

Zoe bolted awake, her skin covered with a thin layer of persperation. She was panting and her head felt as though it was on fire.

"Dammit," she muttered, gently herself out of bed. "What's wrong with me?"

Zoe glanced over at Takuya, who was still asleep, undisturbed by her sudden outburst. She sighed in relief, then made her way out of the room. All was silent in the house, and Zoe quietly crept down the hallway to make sure that it didn't change. She walked to the front door, grabbing her jacket on the way out. The girl shrugged it on, hugging herself in the cold night's breeze. She was only wearing a cami and a pair of shorts, so the air quickly chilled her despite the jacket.

It had been almost two weeks since she had returned, and every day she felt herself regretting it more and more.

"I shouldn't be here," she mumbled to herself. "They'll be killed if I stay...."

Wanta, Tommy's puppy, came bouncing over to her. He yipped happily and wagged his tail. With a smile, Zoe took the small dog in her arms and held him to her chest.

"What do you think, Wanta? Do you think I should leave?" She asked.

The dog seemed to have a serious look on his face, but he yipped a moment later and licked her cheek.

Zoe smirked. "Well, thanks for your opinion. But still....I know that I don't belong here."

Wanta jumped out of her arms and Zoe sank down onto the front step, where she sat hugging her knees to her chest. She gingerly reached up and felt the two jagged remains of the horns that had been on her head. Ever since they had been broken off, her vectors had not been working. She was grateful for this, as this was the most normal she had ever felt. However, at the same time, it felt as though that each day the horns were growing longer. They were regenerating, and no matter how much she tried to file them down, they continued to grow.

"Is this my fate, Wanta? Am I destined to be nothing more than a freak? A monster?" She asked, feeling tears run down her face. "I just want to be normal...."

"Zoe?"

The blond whipped around to see Takuya standing in the doorway. The brunette was rubbing his sleepy eyes and he walked over to the girl.

"What are you doing up?" He asked. "Another nightmare?"

Zoe dropped her gaze. "Do you even need to ask? They won't go away, no matter how hard I try not to think about what happened...."

Takuya sank down beside her, wrapping an arm around her. "I know that it's hard..but you need to let it go-"

"How?" She demanded. "How the hell am I supposed to just forget about it everything?"

He cringed at the harshness of her tone, then gave her a sympathetic sigh.

"I'm sorry." Zoe buried her face in her hands. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I just...don't know anymore. They know I'm still alive."

"You can't be sure about that," Takuya offered.

Zoe shook her head. "No, Yu Kakuzawa may have been an idiot, but his father.....I can't fool him. And he knows it too."

After a brief hesitation, Takuya looked at her. "The wreakage from the bridge has been cleared away."

He saw Zoe's face contort with anxiety, but he quickly took her hand.

"Don't worry, Zoe. I won't let them take you away," he assure her. "They'll have to kill me to get to you."

The girl stood up, gently freeing her hand. "But that's the thing, Takuya. I don't want you to die. And if I stay here for much longer-"

Takuya interrupted her, pulling her in his arms. "No. You're not going anywhere. I lost you once...I'm not going through that again."

"But-"

The brunette silenced her by pressing his lips against hers. Zoe responded by kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You're staying here," Takuya said firmly as he pulled back. "Now let's go inside before we freeze."

He ushered her inside, then tightly closed the door behind them. He led her back to their room, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.

"Besides, that Mariko girl is dead, so they can't send her after you. Same with that soldier, What's-his-name..."

"John Bando," Zoe replied softly. "Sure, they may be dead. But it still isn't over yet. They'll send more soldiers after me...and more Dicloniuses."

Takuya closed their bedroom door, giving her a surprised look. "You mean....there are more Dicloniuses out there?"

Zoe nodded solemnly. "Yes and Kakuzawa will capture as many as possible."

"Damn...." Takuya pulled her over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "How many are there?"

"I don't know," she replied. "There could only be a few....or for all we know there could be hundreds. Maybe even thousands."

Takuya winced. "Fuck....that's not good."

"No, it's not. And ever since Kurama and Shirakawa died, I'm sure he's recruited new scientists. Soldiers as well," Zoe said. "You'll probably see soldiers everywhere you go, that's how much they'll be hunting for me."

"Well, when they show up, I'll be ready," he told her.

The blond chuckled and shook her head. "Hmmm, maybe. Let's go back to bed."

"Sounds good to me," the brunette said.

He laid down, dragging her down with him. Zoe rested her head in the crook of his arm, one of her hands on his well-defined chest. She sighed, then closed her eyes.

Takuya leaned down and gave her soft kiss on the forehead. "Night."

"Goodnight," she replied in a tired voice.

Within minutes, they had both fallen asleep. Takuya, however, wasn't having a peaceful slumber.

He was standing on a train, and he could vaguely look out the windows to see the dimly lit walls of the tunnel. Turning his head, he could see that he was alone in the train car. However, the door in front of him slowly opened.

"Hello?" Takuya called out. "Is anyone there?"

The door opened about halfway, and then a slumped, blood-covered figure poked its head through.

"Fuck!" The brunette jumped back in horror, his eyes wide.

The figure collapsed to the floor, only to drag its way through the rest of the door. Upon further speculation, it appeared to be a girl. Her matted red hair was sticking to her scalp, and her bikini-clad body was filled with crude holes.

"C-Courtney?" Takuya stuttered, recognizing the dead girl.

For the first time, Courtney looked up with her vacant eyes. She smirked, then proceeded to crawl closer to him. Takuya jumped back onto a seat, not believing what he was seeing. He fused his eyes shut, trying to ignore the gruesome image before him.

"Sh-she's not r-r-real. She's n-not f-f-fucking real," he tried to tell himself.

"Takuya....look at me...." Courtney's voice said gently.

"No! Leave me alone!" He screamed. "You're not real! Now get away from me!"

Courtney chuckled. "Yes, Takuya...I am very real. And so is he."

"What?" Takuya opened his eyes to see Shinya standing in the doorway.

The boy's shirt had a thick, blood-soaked line across the waist, but other than that, his body seemed intact.

"Sh-Shinya?" Takuya asked, shaking.

His little brother glared at him. "I told you she was a freak! And a monster! But no! You wouldn't believe stupid little Shinya!"

"Shinya...I-I didn't-"

"You didn't know, right?" Shinya scoffed. "Yeah, well now look at me! Because of you, I'll never get to do any of things I wanted to. I'll never get to grow up and live my life! All because you wouldn't believe me!"

Courtney slowly rose to her feet, giving Takuya a cold scowl. "Do you honestly think that fallng tower was an accident?"

Takuya flinched, then dropped his gaze. "Well...I did at first-"

"You idiot! If you had just taken the time to open your fucking eyes, you would've seen her as the monster that she is!" She hissed. "Despite knowing that she killed Shinya, your parents, me, and hundreds of other people and you still lay down with her at night, don't you?"

This time, Takuya gave her an angered look. "She may have no excuse for Shinya and my parents' deaths, but if she hadn't killed you, then you would've drowned her!"

Courtney snorted. "No, if she hadn't killed your family, your entire life would've been different. You wouldn't have had to be admitted to a psyche ward for a year for one thing."

"Shut up!" Takuya yelled at her, covering his ears. "Just leave me the hell alone."

"Oh, we'll leave you alone," Shinya replied. "Just keep your eyes open on...that girl or whatever she is. If you think that the killings will stop, then you're an even bigger moron than I thought. You let me, our parents, and Courtney die at the hands of that girl. So make sure she doesn't finish off your friends while you're sleeping. I'm sure you wouldn't want to wake up one morning to find her gone and the corpses of your friends littered in the floor."

"Just shut up and go away!" Takuya repeated.

Courtney smirked. "If you ever need to talk, we'll be in your dreams...well, nightmares I should say."

With that, she and made her way back to the door, all the while blood gushed from her puncture wounds.

"And Takuya?" Shinya chimed in.

His older brother looked at him with a look of dread. "....Y-yes, Shinya?"

"Hope you like mopping up blood!" Shinya screamed, before his upper torso split from his lower half.

Takuya cried out in horror, feeling warm blood spray his face. As Shinya lay on the ground in a sickening mess, intestines splayed out and all, he gave Takuya one last snicker.

"See ya later, big brother...maybe you'll be smart and do the right thing."

Takuya sat up in bed, his eyes wide with terror. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he glanced over to the sleeping form of Zoe. The blond shifted slightly, then settled back in a comfortable position.

"A nightmare," Takuya whispered to himself. "It was just a nightmare.... It wasn't real..."

He looked down at Zoe, then gently stroked her long, soft hair. The silkiness of it felt good in his fingers and he lowered his lips to her forehead to give her a kiss. Propping himself on one elbow, he stared down at her face. It looked so angelic and innocent, not the face of a cold-blooded killer.

Takuya continued to stroke her hair, then felt his fingers bump into something. He already knew that it was the remains of one of her horns, yet it seemed to be growing longer. Although Zoe's vectors had been disabled ever since she returned from the bridge incident, her horns were growing back at a leisurely pace.

'Wonder how long before they grow back,' he thought to himself. 'Not that it should matter. Horns or not, I still care about her....'

Takuya sighed, then laid back down to hopefully get back to sleep. He pulled the sleeping girl into his arms, resting his head above hers. His tired eyes closed and snuggled up to Zoe even tighter, hoping that he wouldn't see Courtney or Shinya again....

That wraps up chapter 2. Chapter 3 comes out sometime in the near future, so keep a lookout for it, okay? See ya later and please review!