"Perfect. Just fuckin' perfect," Haru mumbled.
He sighed.
"This wasn't how things were suppose to turn out."
"Haru," Misha began.
"Well what did you expect?" Ana inquired. "If you only wanted us to protect your sister, you should have said so. Now we have to focus on getting the hell outta here."
She let out a low groan as she came to, lifting her head off the dirt covered floor. Her nose bled and her shirt sleeve was torn at the elbow. Ariha pushed her hair out of her face and looked up, shocked when she discovered a pair of red eyes staring cooly down at her. Ariha's eye widened.
"No fucking way," she whispered.
The owner of the eyes smiled.
"Is that any way to greet your mother?" was the question.
Ariha, in only a matter of seconds, propelled herself back a few feet, staring at what she could see of the woman. Slowly, she lifted a trembling hand, summoning the fire from the bracelet. The woman was the spitting image of her except for the eye color.
"No way," Ariha whispered with some restraint.
The woman smiled dryly.
"Yes, way."
Beneath her feet, the chainlink fence rumbled. Taykoe took in a sharp breath of air before readying her whip again. Arisa came leaping at her, spear ready. Taykoe leapt aside, landing on the swing set in the prechool's fenced in yard. Arisa's spear literally tore through the fence.
'I'm disappointed," Arisa's muttered.
She looked at Taykoe, her eye slightly red.
"I can't predict any of you attacks but it's so obvious when you're going to dodge. And for some reason, even with all that, I can't hit you."
Taykoe gritted her teeth and lashed out, her whip wrapping around the spear. With as much strength as she could manage to spare, she jerked the spear towards her, catching it with her free hand and then pointing it at Arisa.
"The trick is to be unpredictable," Taykoe said.
'Even to yourself,' she added mentally.
Arisa grinned.
"Pathetic."
She snapped her fingers and immediantly untransformed. Her spear vanished as well. She revealed a silver bracelet on her wrist.
"I will admit, when it comes to being a mew, you far excel me. After all, it's easier to learn when you have experience. As for me, my talents come in things like magnetic disturbances resulting in a case of elemental control."
Taykoe looked at her blankly.
"Look, I may be a straight A student but could you put that in Japanese please?"
Arisa smirked.
"Let's just say, you thought Keiko was bad. Well meet lightning."
She pressed a button on the bracelet and the entire bracelet expanded, tearing through the sleeve on her left arm. Arisa thrust her arm forward, lightning shooting from her fingertips and flying at Taykoe. Taykoe stood her ground, swinging her arm. Her whip cut through the lightning effortlessly.
"I won't lose to the likes of you," she snarled.
Arisa grinned.
"That's what I like to hear."
Her name was Satania, as it turned out. Ariha stared at the woman's head. This woman, claiming to be her mother.
"You know, I've long forgotten his first name."
Ariha looked up to see Satania looking back at her.
"Your father, I mean."
"Where are you taking me?"
"Out," was the answer.
They walked in silence for a few minutes.
"He always wanted a son."
"I know," Ariha replied.
Satania smirked.
"When I failed to produce anything but two twin girls, he basically banished me to this hell."
"I don't believe that. He was a man who manipulated the law true but-"
"If he couldn't have me, no one could."
Ariha stopped.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
Satania kept walking.
"Did you know he married my cousin? And she gave him a son."
"A son? You're wrong. She had a girl."
Now Satania stopped, turning to face Ariha. She looked almost inhuman in the light from the fire.
"Do you really believe that?"
Ariha bit her lip. It wasn't possible.
"But dad disowned him for what he did to Arisa."
Satania barked a laugh.
"A father always forgives and dotes on his first son, even when that son disguises himself as a girl."
Ariha's blood froze.
"And I doubt Arisa has any idea."
She looked at Satania.
"I need to get out of here."
