Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne Sequel

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It was just barely dawn at the moment Maron woke with a start. She hadn't been dreaming anything in particular that night, much to her benefit. But as the night lingered on in the early hours of that morning, Maron had found herself trapped in a somewhat dreamlike state. The exception was that she knew she was not awake and yet something, much like the dark night itself kept clinging to her consciousness, refusing to take leave. And so, it was no wonder to Maron when she woke with a twitch of her entire body, her breathing heavy with relief as she turned over onto her back and stared above. The neon green digits of the alarm clock to her left told her that it was almost six in the morning. She shook her blankets off and got out of the bed, hoping that one of her friends might be awake.

Maron felt her way to the door after a moment's self-debate of whether or not she should go back to sleep. Too disturbed by the manner in which she had woken up in, Maron decided to knock at the nearest room. The hall was much cooler than her room had been. The cold carpet made Maron silently wish she had warmer slippers; not that she would have worn them, anyway. The yellow minky fleece ones she wore at the moment had been bought back on a little shopping spree with Fin, back when the annoying little guardian had still been living with her. It had been rare for Fin to give Maron a "day off" from demon sealing in those days, but now that Maron looked back on it, she could understand why. It had been a while since Maron thought of her nightly thefts, which were actually secret battles against the demons that preyed on human hearts.

There had been no answer. She lightly knocked once again at the door she assumed to be Miyako's. While she began to wait again, she thought once more about the demons she used to seal. Surely, she hadn't taken care of them all. She had only been in Japan all this time. Weren't there demons elsewhere? In France? Was her night life as Jeanne really over? These were q uestions she had asked herself before, yes, but she didn't k now where to find the answers. Last time she had seen Fin, and even her counterpart Axis, they had been well on their way to get Fin promoted to a full fledged angel.

"Fin…" Maron's whisper filled the silent hall; she was suddenly overcome with a kind of homesickness; not from being in another country, but from not knowing how things had worked out for her dear friend.

"Maron?" Chiaki looked surprised to see her standing there. She hadn't heard him pull the door open.

"Oh… wrong one… I'm sorry for waking you," she began to turn but stopped when Chiaki laid his hand on her shoulder.

"You look upset. What is it?"

Maron let Chiaki turn her towards him and then hold her by her shoulders. She completely forgot about the cold in the hall and was instead surprised by how calm she felt just by standing with Chiaki.

"Come in, we'll talk," he started to say. Maron twisted a calculating look at him at first, puzzled by the invitation.

"I won't do anything, I swear," Chiaki assured her, amused by her suspicions.

Once he closed the door, Chiaki led Maron to the tea table near the balcony window and sat beside her after lighting the room. In the light, Maron looked exhausted. Faint shadows hung under her big brown eyes, which, at the moment, were content with staring at the floor. She rested her head in her arms on the table and, had she not lifted her face towards him when he next spoke to her, Chiaki would have thought she had fallen asleep then and there.

"Nightmare keeping you up?"

"Not really…" she replied a little too soon. Chiaki raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, then what?"

For a long time, she didn't answer. Maron just gazed across the table, thinking about the reunion with her parents the night before. Was that what was bothering her? No. But something…

"I've been feeling that something bad is going to happen," she finally answered, not minding in the least that it was a vague reply.

"That seems only natural. You haven't been with your parents in a long time, right? Of course it's going to feel weird to you---"

"That's not what I mean," Maron interrupted. Chiaki stood in front of her, squatting down and looking up at her.

"Demons?"

She returned his fixed gaze as she answered, "I don't know… I haven't seen anyone acting strangely… and I don't have Petite Claire here..."

After a moment of quiet, he said to her, "You should try to rest. We're going out with everyone tomorrow…" Chiaki stood and brought the other chair in the room next to Maron's.

"I don't want to sleep… I'm afraid I'll wake up back in Japan and find my parents are back to wanting a divorce."

Chiaki smiled, holding out his hand as his other brushed over Maron's hair. "Would you feel better if I stay with you?" he asked.

Maron gently held his hand and found comfort in its warmth. She nodded. They exchanged little conversation afterward, for both were still half-asleep. Eventually, despite her wishes, Maron's head leaned on Chiaki's shoulder as she nodded off. Chiaki, remembering Maron's words, did not want to wake up in Japan either. So he quietly waited for the morning; the only sound left in the room was Maron's soft, steady breathing.

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It was the middle of the morning when the Kusakabe parents and the guests assembled in the parlor for a quick breakfast before the outing ahead. Miyako was eager to scan up and down the long tea table for a pastry cake to select. From crepes to crumpets to muffins and croissants, some dishes garnished with berries or edible flower petals. Minazuki had to distract her to keep her from eating too much. Chiaki watched them with quiet amusement, although for the most part, he was troubled by Maron's absence. When she'd last been with him earlier that morning, she had returned to her own room after a couple hours of sleep. She'd said she wanted to wash up and get ready for the day. Chiaki now wondered if she had just been uncomfortable being alone with him; alone and in a bedroom.

"Chiakiiii! You MUST try this!" Miyako managed to break free from Minazuki, waving a pretzel shaped treat in front of Chiaki to bring him back to earth with the rest of them. Chiaki took it as if under obligation and bit out of whatever it was to humor Miyako. He had no wish of drawing attention to himself.

"Monsieur?" Marguerite was there as well. At that moment, her hand was rested on Minazuki's shoulder. She held a teacup to him and smiled. Miyako immediately snapped out of her morning cheer and turned to the corner of the room, sulking and grumbling to herself.

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Meanwhile Maron was still in her room, struggling to lace her boots to make it in time for breakfast. The boots were suede, newly purchased for her by her mother as a welcoming present. Those were not what delayed her, however, but the soothing bubble bath she had lost herself in for the last near hour. The vanilla scent of the soap had relaxed her to the point of losing track of time. It had almost been like the bathing springs back at home, but different in its own way. It was something she could definitely get used to.

Finally! Her other boot was tied and she jumped up and hurried to the door. She had to turn back once more to grab her purse, but then she was off and out of the room. Once in the hall, she ran for the stairs. Just as she was about to turn right to walk down them, she stumbled.

"ACK!" Maron had tripped and fallen sideways without much time to see what or who she had knocked into. When she looked up, she saw a young man standing above her, his hand held down---to assist her up, she assumed. She took his hand and gratefully allowed him to pull her back up.

"Are you usually this energetic in the morning, Maron?" the stranger smiled. Maron's heart fluttered for a second; a shock to her, as the only other person who's smile had a similar effect on her was Chiaki.

"Who… how… um…" she searched for words to use.

"I'm Kurosawa Shin. Your parents told you about me… didn't they?" he asked her. "They're waiting for us right now with your friends. Shall we?" Again, he held his hand out to her.

Maron thought their first meeting was a bit brief, but her own awareness that she had been running late that morning kept her from furthering the introduction. He knew who she was; in fact, her senses even told her that he knew more than her parents did. There was something strange about his dark eyes. He was Japanese, but he had an otherwordly look to him. Pitch black hair, just a bit longer than Chiaki's…argh, why do I keep comparing them!? She snapped at her own mind. She didn't notice that Shin was smiling as they reached the parlor.

Chiaki noticed their entrance before anyone else in the room. And of course, he immediately raised an eyebrow at the sight of Maron holding another guy's hand. Maron had let go though, upon her parents greeting her. They began to discuss their plans for the day. Miyako was back to bullying Minazuki as Shin slowly turned his head. He and Chiaki locked eyes for a moment, studying one another; Shin with amusement, Chiaki with suspicion. The only other person to notice the tension between the two was Maron. She sighed, unnoticed by her parents to her relief, and wondered what the day held in store for the seven of them.

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To be continued.

Thanks for reading the sixth chapter! I appreciate any feedback, and I'll try to update soon. Finals are almost over, luckily. Ciao!