Nine never imagined she would be jiggling and twirling on a stripper pole in front of a bunch of horny men. Actually, there were two girls, but they were nothing against the dozens of drunk men throwing money at the girls.

Nine pulled herself up, spun around, and flung her head back, making sure to arch her body and stick her pretty-much-nonexistent ass out. Meanwhile, her partner Holly seemed to be in her element, with boobs bouncing and feet kicking.

Their target was closest to them, so close they could smell the alcohol on his breath. He was the greasiest, fattest, most disgusting man Nine had ever seen. He was repulsive.

But Nine wasn't focusing on him. She was far more interested in a squabble occurring behind the man, in which an obviously drunk teenage boy was trying to get to her.

Five.

Their eyes locked. Nine could see his conflicting emotions: fear, relief, anger, confusion. But there was one that filled her stomach with childish butterflies.

Desire.

It was wrong, so wrong, for her to want him. They had been raised as siblings after all. But in a way they weren't. They weren't related. They hadn't ever had any real "family bonding" experiences, the closest they had ever come was the equivalent to friends hanging out.

Anyway, it wasn't like they were the only ones. Allison and Luther had been in love too. It wasn't a secret that romance occurred within the Academy, just a fact.

But right now, Nine was on assignment. And this job would keep Five safe. So no matter what happened, she had to stay focused.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

Two.

Three.

They just kept coming.

There was a stampede as everyone rushed to get out. Nine lost her target, partner, and Five in the crowd. She fell back against a wall, trying to blend in. She watched as bullets whizzed past.

After a minute, she caught sight of the target. Dead. A bullet right through the head.

Well, saved her from doing it.

A familiar voice rose above the screams from the crowd. "Nine. Nine. Nine!"

It was Five.

The drunken dumbass. He was going to get himself killed.

Nine sprinted across the room, following his voice, still trying to avoid others' gazes. When she finally saw him, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door and down an alley.

"Who the fuck is holding me?! Nine! Where is she?" Five was hysterical, sending attacks in every direction, his head swiveling rapidly. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to recognize her.

"Five, it's me," she said.

His head stopped moving. "Nine? Where are you?"

"I'm right here. You know, the one holding your arm. The one who saved your ass."

He blinked hard. "What the fuck? Nine, you just--you just appeared out of nowhere."

"What?" Nine said. "Five, how much have you had to drink?"

"Not enough to have hallucinations."

Nine was skeptical about that, but it was unlikely that he hadn't seen her until now. She decided to worry about that later.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Five's eyes traveled up and down her body, making her feel naked.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't get to judge. I have to go."

He grabbed her arm. "No. I'm not letting you leave again."

"You don't have a choice." Nine tried to yank her arm out of his grasp, but he was too strong. "Five, let me go."

He pulled her against his chest. "I won't let you disappear on me again."

Nine closed her eyes and tried to rid the butterflies from her stomach. Unfortunately, he understood she was weakening and lifted her chin up. "Nine, please."

"Five, I--" But she couldn't say any more because his mouth was on hers. A shock rippled through her, electrifying, and she kissed him back. His tongue ripped her lips apart, pushing its way in to explore her mouth. He pushed her against the brick wall of the building behind her, removing his lips from hers, instead placing them on her neck.

Nine was speechless, unable to utter anything other than moans of pleasure. She could feel something hard against her leg, and immediately knew the turn this would take. She gathered her wits and pushed him back. "We can't."

"Nine--"

"I have to go. I'm sorry."

And then she was gone.


Five and Nine wrestled on her bed, with him trying to wrench the pencil out of her grasp and her trying to keep it away from him.

"Give it!"

"Nuh-uh! It's mine!"

Five pushed her off the bed and she landed with a huff on the ground. "Dickhead!" She stood up, thrusting her hand in the air triumphantly. "Still got it, though."

"Bitch."

"Yup."

"Number Nine!" It was Pogo. "There you are. Your father has been waiting for you in his office for a quarter of an hour."

"I was just in my room, how hard could it be to find me?" Nine grumbled, too quietly for Pogo to hear.

She waved goodbye to Five and followed Pogo down the hall to Sir Reginald's office. For some odd reason, she was nervous. It worried her, since she was usually very confident in her abilities, especially when faced with her father.

"Enter," came the voice Nine hated above all else when she knocked.

She obeyed, against her better judgment, and stood before her father as he studied some papers on his massive desk.

"Number Nine." His voice was cold, hard. There was an unusual edge to it. This would not be good.

"I am afraid that you do not meet the standards of the Academy. You are hereby banned from all training sessions, effective immediately."

Nine was enraged, but knew she must control it if she was to get her way. "Father, I'm afraid I don't understand. Why now? I have been trying as of late." She knew her father loved it when she spoke formally.

"You failed to improve during the last Test, therefore you are now a liability."

"With all due respect, I fail to see how I am a liability when I can defend myself and others. May I be allowed to prove myself to you once more?"

"No, you may not. This decision is final. You are dismissed."

Nine walked out of her father's office in a daze. This was not happening. This could not be happening. Not now. Not ever. She was powerful and she knew it. Right? Her father had always thought she was good enough--until recently. So maybe she had lost her touch. But if she wasn't part of the Academy, who was she? It was a part of her, it was what brought her family together.

Well, now she'd know how Seven felt.

But Seven had never been in the Academy to start. Nine had been in it and failed out. Was she really that weak?

The knife had never been so tempting.

Nine had it in her hand immediately. She knew someone would find out if she wasn't quick, so she had to be efficient. It had to be in a place no one would see. She looked down. This was gonna hurt.

She went into the bathroom and locked the door. Her pants fell around her ankles and she positioned the blade.

Nine slices lined each of her thighs by the end, each oozing a significant amount of blood. Nine felt woozy, but also as if she had gotten what she deserved. If she wasn't good enough for the Academy, then she wasn't good enough to live without suffering.

"Nine, hurry up, you've been in there forever." Three. Shit, this was not good.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec, just got bad cramps today," she lied, hoping her sister would understand.

"Okay, don't take too long, though. Do you want me to grab a heating pad?"

"No, that's alright, they're almost gone." An idea struck her. "Actually could you grab me a pad? It's sooooo heavy."

"Yeah, I'll be right back."

Nine prayed she'd hurry up.

After a few minutes a wrapped pad slid under the door. Nine placed it, hoping it would catch at least some of the blood.

She went back to her room and grabbed a random book from her shelf, flipping to a page in the middle. She skimmed the pages aimlessly, her head feeling light.

"Nine?" A quiet knock came at the door.

"Yes?"

"Dad wants you to come down to dinner."

"Seven, I'm sorry, but I'm not really feeling well enough for dinner. Can you please tell him?" Nausea overwhelmed her, bile rising up in her throat. She swallowed it and tried to stay calm. She was okay. At least, physically, she was.

"Okay. Feel better!"

Nine could hear Seven's footsteps fade away. She felt a wave of relief, but it only lasted for a minute.

"What the hell, Nine?" Oh shit. Why did he have to come?

Unfortunately she couldn't really talk or move due to the dizziness and nausea overwhelming her.

"Nine, I swear to God, what the fuck--" He stopped as he burst in and noticed her expression. "Are you actually sick?"

"Mhm." That was all the answer she could give without puking all over his feet.

He narrowed his eyes. "Well, I'm not letting you stay here."

Before she could answer he had teleported them out of her room.

Neither of them could've guessed what would happen next.