Sign Four--Awake Only in Memory
The Tsubasa Medical Centers Sub-Level Three
"That way," Luna announced, pointing down a corridor to their right. Akiza, Jack, Crow, Leo and Luna were wandering along the metallic blue corridors pat bobbing light white orbs. "I can sense her spirit energy,"
"Anything odd about it?" Crow asked. Despite his non-Signer status, his participation in the Signer's War had educated him in the ways of the paranormal.
"It's like Yusei said," the youngest Signer frowned. "It's odd, warp in one place as if a dark disease is trying to eat the rest."
Leo shuddered. "Freaky. How do we get rid of it?"
"First of all this isn't a Sunday stroll!" Jack snapped, increasing his stride as everyone struggled to keep up. "We have to actually get there first!"
"Come on, Jack!" Crow pleaded. "Slow down will yah?"
"I think we can use this one," everyone froze as they heard voices echo down the corridor.
"In here!" Akiza ordered spotting a door ajar and sensing no one inside. They all slipped in, listening in on the conversation as footsteps echoed down the hall
"Really? How so?"
"Director-sama told us to search for her kind. He's heard rumors of beings with gifts that could rival the Signers. The aura is almost an exact match to Fudo-san's," a woman's voice replied.
"Even so..." a male responded, stopping. "Chiryoosha-sama rules this hospital. It's private so Director-sama has no say here. They won't let walk out of here with this information so easily. And I think the Signers will object to this."
"Who cares? It's not like they--ah!" Jack had darted out of the closet so fast, the two minions of Goodwin had no chance as he knocked out the red-haired woman with a sharp blow. She hadn't even seen him.
"Konichiwa," he said, smiling unpleasantly at the remaining minion as Akiza and Crow flanked him, looking deadly serious.
The shorter man had midnight blue hair and black eyes with pale skin that turned paler as he backed up, bumping into the wall. Leo and Luna blocked his path, flanking either side of him.
"Okay," Jack continued, smiling unpleasantly still. "This can go two ways. One- you spill the beans about Goodwin's plans and keep quiet about this. If you comply with option one and you blab about this, we'll hunt you down and you don't want to know what happens next. Or..." He seized the hapless man by the collar, lifting him bodily into the air.
"Uh...Jack-sama?" Leo piped up. "Is that really..."
"Don't worry about him!" Jack spat, still glaring at the man. "Anyway, option two. We knock you out and probe your mind. We can do that you know. So? Pick!"
"I'll tell, I'll tell you! Just stay out of my head!"
"Good!" Jack dropped him on his bottom without caring. "Start talking and don't lie! We'll know if you do."
"Okay, okay! Goodwin-sama was not pleased with the outcome of the Signer's War,"
"Naze?" Crow asked.
"He had a plan to launched at Rudger's defeat. I don't know the details but it was foiled by the revelation of the still unknown fifth Signer."
At Rudger's defeat, the Earthbound Gods had risen without their hosts and attempted to swallow the whole of Satellite. The appearance of two traditional looking golden-scaled dragons had been a blessing and a miracle. Without the full powers of the Crimson Dragon, their chances of winning were slim.
One, a female, came equipped with two curved back feathery horns, silver claws, a long tail with a long spikes and four bat-wing ribbed angelic wings, accompanied by a cream-cloaked figure armed with a silver and lavender duel disk. Another massive golden armoured dragon with spikes all over its armour and demon red bat wings was accompanied by a blue-cloaked figure armed with a gold and red duel disk and they had enabled the Signers to defeat the Earthbound Gods, burning them away from the Earth for another five thousand years. But before they could thank them or discover their identities, both dragons and duelists had vanished. According to the burning of the Signer's marks, the dragon called Heaven Angel Dragon was the dragon of the cream-cloaked figure who held the last mark, the Crimson Tail.
"How so?" Akiza asked now.
"I don't know! Rudger's defeat was supposed to put his plan into motion! He's ordered us to track down any metapariens!"
"Metapareins?" they all echoed, looks of confusion adorning their faces.
"Hai!" he nodded vigorously. 'Metapareins are like you; they have marks that give them gifts but the marks depict other mystical creatures or ancient artifacts. They' re called Tracers, Binders, or Gazers, depending on how they're marks were received and for what purpose they're meant for."
"We knew all that!" Akiza snapped. "We're just wondering how you know!"
"I-I-I..." He stammered under the cold gazes of the ex-King, the ex-Black Rose Witch and the Blackbird Thief.
"Does Goodwin know all this?" Luna piped up.
"NO!" He panicked despite Luna's soft voice. They all gave him funny looks. "I haven't told him yet."
"Keep it that way," said Crow, bending down to his level. "Tell me, what's cher name?"
"Tenshi Ken,"
"Ken-san, do you like Goodwin? His motives?"
"No,"
"Why do you work for him?"
"It pays well and get the bills paid,"
"Good! Stay here," Crow dragged him to the closet that had served as thier hiding place and locked him in.
"Hey!"
"STAY!" Crow barked, turning to the others. Luna and Leo looked surprised.
"What about her?" Akiza asked, pointing to the still unconscious woman.
"Leave her," Jack ordered. "She saw nothing. They'll just assume she fainted,"
"By the way…" luna began. "You do know none of us can read minds, right?"
Jack shrugged dismissively unconcerned. " He doesn't know that,"
"Speaking of that one, we'll come back for our new friend." said Crow, jerking a thumb at the closet. "Mean time, we should get to Suzume-san,"
Leo was rummaging in the fallen woman's pockets. "Leo!" Luna snapped.
"She could have a clue or something!" her twin argued, shoving his find into the bag that had been at her shoulder. "I saw it on TV once!"
"But won't she--" Luna began to argue.
Akiza leaned down and touched the redhead's forehead, soft white flowing from her fingertips. "She'll think she lost it. Let's go,"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Critical Exam Lab
"I don't want those busybodies hanging around!" Chiryoosha, said sternly to the Critical Lab's guards. "She's in critical condition and we don't need Goodwin's spies nosing around! Only let the Signers and anyone accompanying in thier prescene pass these doors!"
"Hai, of course Chiryoosha-dono!"
"Now...let's see...."
"Chiroyoosha--sama!"
"Hm?" she looked up, seeing the Signers turn the corner accompanied by Leo and Crow.
"Oh, Konichiwa, how may I help you?"
"We'd like to see Suz-- the onna no ka," said Jack.
"Ah, hai, of course." said Chiryoosha, bowing as the two guards tried to be invisible. "Right this way," she gestured for them to follow her up a ramp.
"But isn't the entrance right--" Leo began to protest.
"You can see her from the viewing glass above the Labs," the doctor explained, waving to them.
Jack snorted but followed the others up the ramp to the viewing ledge above the Lab. It was dome like room very similar to a sci-fi science lab--it was a dark metallic blue lit by bright white lines in the ceiling, floor and walls, strange cylinders in the walls with curving glass doors. Suzume's pink hair apparently had been dyed because it now a dusky red and they'd replaced her clothes with a long white sleeveless kimono. She was floating in a pulsar tube, a special set up consisting of only two circular plates called pulse disks projecting light rings around Suzume within a long conduit tracer field, laid out on the ground. The conduit tracer field allowed equipped items to hover in midair.
"We've already completed several x-rays and brains cans,"
"Brain scans?" Crow questioned. "What for?"
"To check for brain damage. She could've done some damage to her brain in the crash or earlier, judging by the blood sealing her eye shut,"
Crow wasn't the only one who was surprised. "Leo, don't you know the meaning of a full report?" Jack demanded, glowering at the 12 year old boy.
He chuckled sheepishly.
"As I was saying," Chiryoosha continued. "Beni-san--"
"Beni-san?" Luna inquired.
"For her red hair," the doctor explained. "Beni-san had several injuries prior to the crash and to the...uh...thug attack. It looks to me as if her upper arm bone was cracked in two places due to sharp direct impacts at pressure points with some sort of martial art skill. Furthermore, her hypothermia was taken care of with a solar booster pod. The bracelet on her wrist apparently was some sort of...advanced technology but due to overexposure to the cold it's frozen to her skin and cease functions. We managed to get it off but we needed to graph on some new skin..."
"Eew!" Luna and Leo exclaimed at once in disgust. Crow made a face.
"We've splinted her arm for now since the swelling's too great for a cast and we've made all the proper scans. We scanned for all types of energy. Magic, Chi, demonic, draconic ...while her gift is none of those her energy is similar to that of a Signer's..."
"Are you new here?" Jack demanded.
"Not exactly. I've worked here for ten years but was transferred to this wing during the Signer War,"
The paranormal energies produced during the Signer War had been so great, that the backlash had traced gift marks on many of the Satellites and a few city dwellers. Somehow this had yet to be discovered even Goodwin. The East Wing of the Tsubasa Medical Center had long since been a safe haven for the metapareins. These beings protected the world from the minor demons that still roamed.
"None of the other metapareins have energy signatures like that," Akiza observed.
Luna's gaze turned to the glass, her gaze shining gold with her Dragon given gift. She blinked. Yusei had been right! Around the broken arm of the injured girl was a sinister blue and violet, ugly and threatening. It flowed upwards, devouring the soft silver and aquamarine blue of her own natural aura, as a silver mark flared under her sleeve, two birds wings outstretched above a dagger in the center of an eight-pointed crystal-like star. The bright silver of the mark was fading rapidly, flaring in attempts to banish the darkness. "Guys! Something leeching her aura!"
What happened next was all in a matter of seconds. A female doctor in scrubs leaned over Suzume with needle and scanner in hand, startled when bright aquamarine eyes snapped open just as Luna spoke.
The palm of her left hand slammed into the doctor's face, a crunching noise echoing in the Lab as her legs swung upwards in a candle position to perform a backwards flip head over heels. She was instinctively not attempting to use her right arm, which had just been splinted and was tucked tightly into her side. She landed heavily on the footpads of her shoeless feet, twirling and chopping with her left hand again, which connected with the jaw of an unfortunate male doctor who'd gotten too close in attempt to restrain her, inducing an unheard cry of pain.
The doctors scrambled back as the pulse tube circuits sparked and fried, damaged by Suzume's abrupt awaking. The girl's right eye remained squinted shut despite the lack of dried blood there.
Akiza looked stunned. "And you said I was violent," the newly dubbed White Rose Enchantress muttered. She was already moving, dashing down the ramp as Jack and Crow dashed ahead ( In Jack's case since he had longer legs or in Crow's case just performing a kind of skipping run alongside the Enchantress). Jack burst through the doors first as the doctors scattered in panic, trying to avoid Suzume's violent kicks.
"Don't move!" Akiza ordered, skidding in right behind him. "She's reacting to your movement!"
The scene froze instantly as the doctors obeyed. Crow came in behind Akiza and Jack, walking slowly. "Okay...so what do we do now?"
"No rushing," Jack muttered. "She'd probably take us out in two seconds flat."
"Awake yet not awake," Akiza muttered. "Look at her eyes...eye," The one open eye was cloudy and unfocused and she was crouched low in a pose prefect for both offense and defense, her left arm held before her face, right leg forward.
"Sleepwalking," Jack muttered. "Why didn't he just say that? Ane sa, what are you doing?" He hissed at Crow who had begun slowly walking towards the violent sleepwalker.
"Being nice," he hissed back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Leo and Luna watched tense as Crow slowly walked towards Suzume who whirled to face him. "The dark aura is trying to possess her or something! Akiza needs to dispell it! Or maybe Crow could..."
"Crow-nii-sama's awesome but he isn't a Signer or me," Leo pointed out. "And he didn't get a mark like a lot of others,"
"Not a visible one, Leo. Haven't you ever noticed that Crow isn't affected by a lot of things since the Draconic Backlash?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"It's okay," Crow assured the sleepwalker, ignoring everyone else around him. He raised his hands in the air as a sign of peace. "No one's going to hurt you...we just want to help. Trust me,"
Suzume's stance did not waver. ~She's not using her sight to see! Of course! That's why she reacts to movement! She must be sensitive to vibrations!~ He took another step to her, her body tensing. His eyes shifted, spotting a doctor creep up behind her as the others frantically gestured, clearly indicating their dismay with his plan. As the doctor raised a syringe as if prepared to strike the killing blow, Crow's eyes flashed in annoyance and frustration at his stupidity.
"Didn't we say...DON'T MOVE!" He darted forward, breaking Akiza's orders but Suzume was faster and closer. The doctor lunged; Suzume twirled into the air, whipping around as her undamaged left hand snapped out as she darted to the right of the opponent. She caught his syringe bearing hand and twisted the entire arm violently backwards, bending his wrist far back. He screeched in pain as a nasty crack echoed.
Gasps of shock rippled through the room as she pulled the man unmercifully by the broken arm and tossed him into his fellow doctors. Jack and Akiza remained still watching carefully. Crow took advantage of her distraction, darting forward as only a Satellite native could and seizing her left wrist in a firm but gentle grip in a hold that he learned after gaining too many bruises.
Despite her attempts to throw him off, an immediate reaction took place. The comforting, light green, blue and yellow of Crow's aura flecked with traces of crimson streamed from his soul blessing mark in his mind's eye to cover the black aura surrounding her arm. The black aura flared angrily, trying to consume Crow's aura but with a noise like a shriek it dispersed as both Suzume's and Crow's aura overwhelmed it. Suzume didn't seem to notice, sweeping her leg under Crow's forcing him to let go as he crashed on the floor.
"Kuso!" Akiza darted forward to help him, expertly deflecting Suzume's attacks with her sixth sense in play.
"Chitta, yameru Aki-chan," Crow hopped back to his feet, waving Jack away. Suzume watched them curiously for a moment, relaxing her stance for the first time as her eyes slowly cleared of the fog and her other opened. She looked puzzled.
"Are you going to stop attacking us now?" Crow asked, smiling as he slowly walked towards her so he stood directly before her. His tone made it sound like a joke.
She blinked, swaying on her feet unsteadily. "Kar---Karasu-nii-kun?" And then with a soft moan, she fell forward in a dead faint.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Comments: Is it just me or are the Japanese using English words more and more? I started typing this right after I posted the last Sign but, picture searching, video games, my younger brother, disagreements with Mom, being dragged to Ikea to be a packhorse and more disagreements over the hated washing dishes chore and the capture of the family laptop served as successful distractions until today July 1st when I made it to the library who has one computer without a time-limit! WORD COUNT 2,674 how short.
Translations Notes: Karasu means Crow in Japanese according to Naruto.
Kuso--Damn
Chitta, yameru, Aki-chan.--No, stop Aki-chan
Aki-chan--Akiza's nickname. Aki means bright or something like that.
Ojii-Grandfather
Danni Lea informs me I had a translation mix-up. Imoutoto is little sister. Outoto is little brother. Thanks for the warning! And for reviewing!
Story Comments:
Crow--Uh…could you tell me how the hell does she know my name? ( confused)
Me-- How should I know?
Crow--You're the author, aren't you?!
Me--That's true. Anyway, you were mean to lock Ken in the closet. Are you going to forget about him?
Crow--NO!
Me--Sure you won't…. and don't worry! All will be revealed and explained! Bit by torturous bit… He, he, he…
Crow--You're even weirder than Drake. Where'd he come from anyway?
Me--You tell me! And I hope all my beloved readers liked the shocking quick update! (Mothers are another one of the writer's worst enemies…Please review! I like all the favs and story alerts but review wouild be nice to! What do you think of the story!? PLEASE REVIEW!