Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Kuroi ~ Shiroi ❯ a new mission ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: PikaChan 
Nusutto Eiki, the Velvet Warrior, makes herself known around the city. Meanwhile, Calico is kidnapped...
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 246 | Status: Completed
Nusutto Eiki, the Velvet Warrior, makes herself known around the city. Meanwhile, Calico is kidnapped...
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 246 | Status: Completed
- chapter 2 -
"Geez, that all you young boys do anymore, is play video games?" Ken teased, watching Omi and Akari duke it out on Virtua Fighter 3.
"Oh, shut up, Kenken. You're still a young 'boy' too, ya know," Omi shot back, not taking his eyes away from the screen.
"I'm nineteen, thank you very much."
"That's his point," Akari said, laughing. "... Hey!" Akari frowned, seeing her character being pulverized by Omi's character, on the flashing screen.
"Hah! Never let your guard down!" Omi said triumphantly.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Youji said, coming into the room and flopping down on the sofa beside Akari. "Ain't you boys had enough yet? You'll get bad eyes."
"Youji, you of all people would know, with all of the hentai you look at..." Ken taunted.
"Hey, watch it! There's young children here!"
"Uh, no. I stopped being a child a looong time ago," Omi said.
"Yet you still play those old electronic games?"
"..." Omi stayed silent.
"I thought as much," Ken said. "Hey... where's Aya-kun?"
"He went up to the hospital to see his sister, like he always does," Youji said.
This caught Akari's attention. "... Sister?"
"Yeah. Yanno, Aya's not really his name... it's really Ran. He took on his sister's name after she was placed in the hospital," Omi explained.
"Aya-kun doesn't really like to talk about it," Ken said. "It hurt him so much, that he's dedicated himself to killing the man who put her there..."
"Too bad he found out that Omittchi here's related to the guy," Youji said, sighing. Akari saw Omi wince slightly.
"I really don't mind that much, Yo-tan. You act like I'm devastated by it or something," Omi said, throwing a look at the older man. Realizing what he had done, he quickly turned his head back to the TV screen, just as his character was pummeled by Akari's. "Gah!"
"Hee hee! Never let your guard down," Akari said, grinning.
"Hmph. Where have I heard that before?"
Just then, the door opened, and the scarlet-haired leader of the small group stepped in.
"Welcome back, Aya-kun," Ken said. Aya remained silent. "... I guess it's the same news as usual, huh?"
Aya nodded. "That, and I have a mission for Shiro..." This caused all of the heads in the room to turn and stare at him. "I think he's ready for one on his own," Aya said. "Last night was pretty rough, and he really proved himself out there."
"I'll say he did," Youji said. "He really saved our asses."
Akari blushed slightly. "I dunno, Aya-san..."
"You can do it, Shiro. ...and turn off that game."
*********************************************************** ********
Half an hour later, Calico and Bombay crept around the corner of a building. Abyssinian's words rang clear in Bombay's head.
*Go with him, Omi. You're gonna show him the ropes, and keep an eye on him. As good a fighter as he is, he's still new at this...*
"What is is we're doing again?" the blonde boy asked.
"The bakery got robbed. From what Abyssinian told me, only a loaf of bread was stolen, yet the owner or the bakery went nuts... but the thief left initials or something. He's obviously still in the city, and we've gotta find him," Calico explained.
"Then what?"
"... I dunno."
The duo quietly crept around another corner, pressing their bodies up against the brick wall.
"And just how are we supposed to know what this thief looks like?" Bombay queried.
"Look for a long silverish-purple braid..."
"Silver-purple braid? Gotcha."
Calico was scared. She honestly had no idea what she was getting into, as she looked around the corner to see if anyone was there. Bombay did the same, standing on his toes and leaning on Calico's back for support. There was something comforting about his warm weight on her spine, and she seemed to calm down a bit. "... Let's go," she said.
"Wait," Bombay said quickly. He pulled Calico back around the corner. "Listen..."
Calico held her breath for a second, cupping her ears. "Footsteps..."
The sound of running feet grew louder and louder, until it seemed like they were on top of the two assassins. Bombay, sensing a prescence behind him, quickly leapt to the opposite wall (taking Calico with him), just as a tall figure landed in the spot where they had been standing. It was small in build, and was quite tall (Bombay guessed about five-ten), and sported a long lilac braid- just like the one Calico had described.
"What are you little kiddies doing out this late at night?" the figure asked, turning around to look at them.
Bombay was surprised to see that it was a woman. She didn't appear to be much older than himself. "Speak for yourself. Are you the one who robbed the bakery?"
The woman crossed her arms behind her head. "What's it to ya?" She reached inside her royal-blue trenchcoat.
The two younger assassins barely had any time to think before they were attacked by a storm of blades, varying in size and shape.
Calico grimaced slightly as she was pinned to the wall by the blades. "Not good..."
"Make one wrong move, and you'll be skewered..." the bandit said. "You should know by now not to mess with Nusutto Eiki..."
"Nusutto Eiki... the Velvet Warrior?!" Bombay said, clutching his crossbow.
Eiki grinned smugly. "I take it you know me... I really don't blame ya. Word gets around pretty fast in this town..." She drew a rather large knife from a strap around her waist. "It's past your bedtime, kids... let me put you to sleep!" With that, Eiki lunged at Bombay. He quickly dove out of the way, causing Eiki's knife to embed itself into the brick wall. "Damn it!" she spat.
Calico struggled against the small blades which were pinning her to the wall. She finally managed to pull them out of her letter jacket, and she clenched her fingers tight around the tetsume in her left hand. She jumped at the opposite brick wall, bouncing off of it, and raised her weapon high over her head as she fell at Eiki.
But Eiki was too fast, even for Calico. The lavender-haired bandit yanked hard on the handle of her knife, flinging it out to block the attack. She grabbed Calico by the wrist, throwing her to the ground.
Bombay quickly drew a tranquilizer dart from his jacket, and shot it at Eiki, whose back was turned to him. It nailed her right in the shoulder.
"Agh!" Eiki began shaking as she reached behind her to pull the dart out of her shoulder. She fell against the wall, slumping. "You little..."
Bombay grabbed Calico by the arm and began running.
Eiki reached out with her arm, which was shaking pretty badly by now. "I'll... get... you..." She then fainted, falling on her front side.
"Stop, Omi. I can't run anymore!" Akari said as Omi pulled her behind a corner, once Eiki was out of their sight.
Omi let go of her elbow, leaning against the wall for support. "That was close... too close... she could have hurt us really bad, had I not found that tranquilizer dart..."
"So... now what?" Akari asked. She crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.
"I don't know... let's just go back to the Koneko before she shakes off the tranquilizer... it was a very weak one, only meant for slowing people down. Come on." Omi began walking back, motioning for Akari to follow.
Akari stood still. "... Why did you do that?"
Omi turned around and looked at her, confused. "Do what...?"
"Why did you help me like that?" Akari's eyes were beginning to water. She turned her head quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Omi to see her cry.
Omi was a bit taken aback by this. He placed a hand on Akari's shoulder. "Because I'm your friend, Shiro. Friends help each other out. They support each other. They're there for each other."
Akari was quiet for a moment, as if she was letting his words sink in. She couldn't help but turn slightly pink at the sudden movement. She almost didn't feel the single tear running down her cheek.
Omi was ... confused. *Why did he just... start crying like that? Surely he's had friends that care about him before... or maybe... geez, why am I asking myself this? I don't really know Shiro that well. He's a good fighter and all, and he likes video games... I guess the poor guy just has a big heart,* he thought. He suddenly remembered something that Akari had said the night before.
*I cannot forgive anyone who brings shame to the Kanzaki name.*
*Maybe it has something to do with that... oh well, we're both tired. I'll ask him about it tomorrow...* "Hey, c'mon now. Let's go back to the Koneko, okay? Fights are tiring. You'll feel better after you get some sleep, 'kay?"
Akari looked up at him. He was smiling. Somehow, seeing him smile at her made everything that had happened seem worthwhile. "... Okay."
*********************************************************** *********
"DAMN IT!!"
Manta's loud shout started the whole of the Schabön group.
"Where the hell is it?!" Manta was frantically searching through every file cabinet, closet, and drawer.
"Manta, are you quite alright?" Hammerhead asked.
"I can't find the goddamn FILE!" Manta yelled, kicking over an empty chair.
"... What file?"
"The Weiß file, you idiot! I left it right here on the [freaking] table, and now it's gone!" Manta's face was bright red, and his voice was full of anger.
"Manta, you ever notice th' window's broken, eh?" Dolphin asked, nodding her head to the fron window, which was shattered. There was a large hole about the size of a crouched human.
"What. The. HELL." Manta lost it. "@%^#&(%^@&^!!!" he swore loudly. "WE'VE BEEN ROBBED, DAMNIT!"
"It's gotta be that guy who looked in the window the other day..." Piranha said.
"... Kanzaki Shiro. Yes. It has to be him. Damn." Manta was breathing heavily, and at a fast pace. He appeared if he was having a heart attack.
(Wasn't that the guy who kicked Dolphin's ass the other night?) Swordfish signed, quirking an eyebrow.
Dolphin shot a one-eyed glare in Swordfish's general direction.
"That little... damn it, that kid reminds me of somebody, BUT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHO!" Manta kicked over another chair.
"If you like, I can bring him here for questioning," a sudden voice said, coming from outside the building. The five members of Schabön all turned their heads, to see that the voice belonged to a skinny and pale girl. She was a bit taller than Hammerhead, sporting dark blue hair and aqua eyes. "Nice to see you all again," she said.
"Mei!" Piranha quickly made his way to the front door and opened it. The girl known as Mei just jumped through the broken window.
"Hello... Hata, Soui, Seishuku, Ryoku, and Arashi..." Mei sneered. "Piranha, Dolphin, Swordfish, Hammerhead, Manta..."
Manta gave an equally powerful sneer. "Starfish. You really can help us get that pitiful Calico?"
"Of course. I handled secret missions all the time in the past, and I can in the present. So... Calico, you say? Give me the time and place, and I'm on it." Mei's eyes narrowed to sea-green slits.
*********************************************************** *********
Akari lay awake that night, staring into the ceiling. She just had too much on her mind to go to sleep. *I don't know how I'm gonna make it through this... the guys are great and all, but... what about when I tell them about... me?* She rolled over onto her stomach. *I know I'm lying to them, but... I want to learn how to handle myself on my own. I don't want them to think I'm weak just because I'm a girl... ah well, they're men. Men have... that instinct to protect the women. Yo-tan does, definetely... God, I'm confused.* She continued her endless thinking, until she finally fell into a deep sleep.
*********************************************************** *********
The next evening, Starfish silently crept along the alleys of the city. Strapped to her waist was a long knife, bearing an obsidian handle. The actual blade had elaborate designs carved into it, and had a jagged edge. So jagged, it could actually be seen as small hooks.
The small, slim figure ran across the nearly-deserted streets, dodging the occasional cars, until she reached the Koneko no Sume Ie. She looked inside the window, spotting the girl with the long black ponytail. She appeared to be the only one inside, and was cleaning up.
Mei casually walked to the door and entered the flower shop.
Akari turned to her. "Sorry, we're closed..." She smiled apologetically.
Mei took no notice of this, and drew her knife.
Akari dropped the broom. "Wha... what are you... if you want to buy something, I can make an exception..."
Mei lunged at Akari, clapping her hand over the startled girl's mouth. The blade of her knife lay inches from the other girl's throat. "Shut up. Come with me, and you won't be hurt. Say a single word, and your neck will meet with my great-grandfather's knife..."
Akari felt her eyes tearing up, yet managed to nod. Mei took a handkerchief from her back pocket, and stuffed it into Akari's mouth. She quickly scribbled out a note on the notepad laying nearby.
*Went to go make a quick delivery. Be back soon. --Shiro*
Akari looked at the note in disbelief. *They'll never believe that! What kind of idiots does this girl think they are?*
Mei looked at Akari with her turquoise eyes. "You're coming with me, pretty-boy."
***************************************************** **************
"Yo! Shiro! We're back!" Omi said cheerfully as the four boys returned from picking up a Chinese dinner.
It was quiet in the Koneko no Sume Ie.
"... Shiro?"
"Geez, where's that boy gotten off to?" Youji asked to no one, scratching his head.
Ken looked around, spotting the note that Mei had left. "Uh?" He picked it up, reading it out loud. "Went to go make a quick delivery. Be back soon... Shiro. Hm."
"I didn't think we had any deliveries today..." Aya said.
"We didn't. And this isn't Shiro's handwriting..."
"... What do you think happened to him?" Omi asked, concerned for his friend.
"I don't know... I've got a really bad feeling about it, though..." Youji said.
************************************************************ *******
The violet eyes of Nusutto Eiki slowly opened, having finally shaken off the tranquilizer dart. "That little..." She slowly pushed herself up, still a bit shaky. "I'm gonna get that jerk..." She leaned against the wall for support.
Eiki managed to push herself up the rest of the way, her vision blurring. A slight disturbance ahead of her showed that she wasn't alone. Her eyes finally focused on a small, petite girl with navy blue hair, dragging along... Calico?
"The hell...?" Eiki stumbled toward the two girls, who were unaware of her prescence. A sharp pain informed her that the dart was still embedded in her shoulder. With... some difficulty (she was still having a little trouble pulling herself together), she managed to pull it out, leaving a small hole in the back of her trenchcoat. "Damnit," she said.
She turned back to the end of the alley to see that the blue-haired girl and Calico were gone. "Aw hell. Where could that girl be taking the little rodent? Maybe I should go and tell his little friends that their Calico kitty is being dragged off by some skinny little..." She quickly shook off the thought. "Why should I go and help them? That pesky little Bombay brat kicked my ass... but still, I kinda feel sorry for 'em. Calico looked like he was freaking out..." Eiki pondered this for a few moments. "Aw, what the hell. I really got nothing to lose, I'm just a bandit trying to stay alive here..." Eiki began making her way to the Koneko no Sume Ie.
"Damnit, Ken, we can't just sit around here, waiting for Shiro to turn up! You said it yourself, something really bad's going on..." Omi said. He was pacing back-and-forth across the room.
"But we don't know where he is either," Ken said. "It's not like we can just go knocking on doors with one of those 'Have you seen me?' signs..."
"Dude, Omittchi. Calm down. I know Shiro's your friend and all, but geez..." Youji said, putting his hands on the younger boy's shoulders, to stop him from pacing.
Aya, who had been fairly silent the whole time, finally spoke up. "I've got a pretty good idea of where he could be, but I may be wrong..."
The three other guys looked at the red-haired leader.
"Don't count on me to be one-hundred percent correct, but I've got a feeling that Schabön has something to do with this..."
"I've got that feeling as well," a sudden voice came from the window.
Omi scowled. "You!"
The silhouetted figure of Nusutto Eiki smirked. "Miss me?" She had climbed up the downspout, and was peering into the window.
Omi reached for his crossbow, but Aya stopped him. "She may have some info for us..." Aya looked Eiki over as she hopped in the window.
"Okay. First off, sorry for that little... 'attack' the other day, Bombay. What can I say? Seeing two young men wandering around in the dark just makes me want to kill something. Buuut, that's not what I'm here for. See, I was waking up from that little ol' tranquilizer dart that took residence in my shoulder, and I saw this... skinny little girl in a blue shirt dragging off your friend Calico. I dunno who the hell she was, or why she had him, but she was heading for the Schabön hideout," Eiki explained.
"And just how do you know where the Schabön hideout is?" Ken asked.
Eiki grinned, reaching into her trenchcoat. "You learn a lot from being a bandit," she replied, taking a folder marked "Top-Secret" on it, and tossing it to Aya.
He caught the small manila folder, and began flipping through it, only to find files containing the four guys' personal information. "Hey, how'd they get these...?"
"Never mind that right now. Let's just go and find your friend before something really bad happens to him..."
Aya, Ken, Youji, and Omi looked at each other and nodded. They could trust the lavender-haired bandit.
********************************************************** **********
"Well, well, well. Could this possibly be the infamous Calico, of Weiß?" Akai Arashi asked sarcastically, pacing back-and-forth in front of Akari, who had been bound to a chair with Soui's nunchucks. The six members of Schabön were in the back alley of the small, dark building.
"What's it to you?" Akari replied, narrowing her eyes.
"You know, Soui here is quite upset about how you hurt her the other night. Don't you know it's RUDE to hit a woman?" Arashi's voice was now leaking with sarcasm. Akari turned away from the scarlet-haired man. "Afraid to talk, are ya? Mei!"
Mei instantly appeared behind Akari, once again brandishing her great-grandfather's knife.
"Anyway... Calico, you've been a very bad little boy lately. If you answer these few little questions I have for you, I won't have to punish you." Arashi drew his face close to Akari's as he said this, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.
"Now... have you ever been violated in such a way that it could cause you to change who you are on the outside...?"
Every word stung Akari like a hornet. "I'll never tell anyone..." Mei's knife began making its way to the frightened girl's throat, scaring her even further. She looked down at the ground, and slowly nodded her head. "...yes."
Arashi's smirk grew wider. "Excellent. Do you have a... scar from this incident?"
Akari's heart skipped a beat, as she thought about the long scar running from her hip to mid-thigh. It was still healing. "... Y-yes..."
"Your name... is not truly Kanzaki Shiro, is it?"
Akari felt her eyes burning, as she struggled to fight back the tears that so badly wanted to escape. "No..."
"Then... please do enlighten me. What IS your real name, anyway?"
She could no longer hold back the tears, and her throat seemed to close up as they fell. She could not speak, much less say her own name. "N... Nagare... Nagareboshi A.... Akari."
"Hn..." Arashi narrowed his eyes. "You sure fooled a lot of innocent people, Nagareboshi-sama... that wasn't a very nice thing to do. You'll have to pay for your sin..." He looked to the five other people around him. "Leave."
Soui, Seishuku, Ryoku, Hata, and Mei all looked at each other before turning around and filing back into the building.
"So... we're alone now, Nagareboshi-sama. There's nobody to save you now... nobody to hear you scream while I rip your innocence apart for the second time..."
Akari's eyes opened wide. "Y-you... you're the one who..." She narrowed her eyes in anger. "YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"
Arashi smirked. "Actually, no. That was my father... Akai Houou. Yes, my father was a famous assassin of his time... it's a shame that he had to be caught and sentenced to an eternity behind bars... however, I will avenge his capture. You do realize that the only reason that you're still alive is because he was so rudely interrupted by the sound of police sirens?"
Akari's eyes began to tear up again. She hadn't known any of this. "Lies... you're telling me LIES!"
Arashi, in one quick movement, slapped Akari across the face. "You will speak only when I tell you to!"
Akari didn't turn to look at Arashi. She squeezed her eyes shut. *No... not again... please not again...*
She suddenly felt a draft, and she opened her eyes to see that her letter jacket was now on the cold ground. Her legs had gone numb long ago, so there was no way she could struggle.
"If I remember correctly... that little scar of yours is... HERE!" He aggressively ran his finger down her left hip, in the exact spot of the scar.
Despite her legs being numb, Akari felt every bit of pain from the touch. Arashi grabbed the brim of the red baseball cap upon her head, and tossed it to the ground.
"You sure like to play the bishounen, don't you?" Next went her jeans.
She couldn't feel anything anymore. The cold ground had made all of her nerves stop working. She saw Arashi reach under her shirt and unravel the cloth strip that bound her chest.
"Well well well, what could this be?" Arashi asked, waving the strip in front of her face.
Akari was depressed. *Please... let me die... kill me and be done with it... just please don't do this to me... not again!...*
She had become unaware of his rough handling. Her entire body had become numb, and she was having a hard time just keeping her eyes open.
Arashi sneered, gripping the collar of her red t-shirt, ready to rip it.
Akari almost didn't hear Arashi's yell of pain as his elbow was pierced by a dart that had seemingly come out of nowhere.
"Aaaagh! What the f-" Arashi snapped his head to the direction that the dart had come from. In the darkness, he could barely make out the face of Bombay, who obviously had run ahead of the group.
"I know now..." Bombay said, glaring at Arashi with an intense hatred. "She disguised herself as a boy to keep away from sick bastards like YOU!" he shouted.
Akari was not aware of Bombay's prescence. Her vision was blurring even more than it already was, and she was slowly losing consciousness.
Arashi pulled the dart out of his arm, which hung limply from his elbow down. "You wanna fight? And just what could you possibly do to me?"
Bombay was now to the point where he was growling. "Rip you to bits!"
*********************************************************** *********
The remaining three members of Weiß and Eiki ran along several alleys and roads.
"I hope Bombay and Calico are okay!" Siberian said as they ran.
"Who doesn't?" Balinese said.
"Damnit, that place is around here somewhere," Eiki said. "What the hell building was it by?" Her eyes darted around, spotting a familiar broken window that hadn't been repaired. "THERE!"
********************************************************* ***********
(I TOLD Arashi that Calico was a woman. But did he listen to me? NOOOOOOO!) Seishuku signed, as the five other Schabön members sat inside the building.
"Wonder what 'e's doin' to th' lil' bloke," Soui thought out loud. "'E still 'as me nunchucks."
"Maybe he's beating the crap out of her..." Hata said, messing around with his pocketknife.
"Psh," Ryoku scoffed. "He's gotta be gettin' some, if you know what I mean..." He rubbed his chin.
Seishuku snorted, in spite of his muteness. (Hell, any of us probably would, with a bishoujo like that. Lookit Soui. She's not cute.)
"Yer askin' for it, mute-boy." Soui threatened.
The laughing of the males (and Mei) was roughly interupted by the sound of the door being kicked down. "What the hell?!" Ryoku shouted.
Eiki had jumped through the window, while Abyssinian had kicked the door. The four of them were now standing inside the building, hate etched on their faces.
Eiki's eyes darted around the room, coming to rest upon Mei. "That's her! That's the one who dragged Calico off!"
Abyssinian's eyes narrowed into purple slits as he stormed across the room, grabbing Mei by the collar of her shirt. "Where. Is. Calico?"
Mei smirked. "You don't scare me."
"WHERE IS HE?!"
She was now being threatened with Siberian's bugnuks in her face.
"... In the back alley. It's too late, though. Your little friend has probably had HER innocence stolen... again."
Abyssinian's expression turned from anger to confusion as Mei's words hit him. "... Her?" He loosened his grip on her shirt.
Soui stood up and sneered. "Yes. Your pitiful lil' Calico wasn't a he after all... too bad for 'er, really."
"Woah, hold on a minute. Time OUT." Balinese scratched his head. "Are you saying that this whole time, a *woman's* been living with us? AND I WASN'T INFORMED?"
"No time for the funny, Balinese," Eiki said. "You guys wanna rumble?" She drew several knives from her trenchcoat. "Bring it on."
************************************************************* *******
Bombay hit the ground hard, taking yet another punch from Manta. He reached for his crossbow, which lay a few feet away on the ground.
Manta sneered, placing his foot on Bombay's arm. "Try all you like, kid. You won't beat me."
Calico's body was still numb. She opened her eyes, to see the scarlet-haired Manta pressing his foot into Bombay's arm. Her expression of pain changed to one of anger, as she slowly reached for the nunchucks laying on the ground near her.
Manta noticed none of this, and continued his attempt to break Bombay's arm. "Not so tough now, are ya kitty?"
********************************************************** **********
"Four against five, eh?" Balinese said, taking out his wire.
"Don't let your guard down!" Eiki hissed. "They look really pissed."
Abyssinian's eyes narrowed as he drew his katana. He lunged at Swordfish, the sharp steel of his blade crashing into the iron of his opponent's javelin. Swordfish was apparently very skilled with his javelin, as nearly every time Abyssinian struck, he was able to block.
"Stop blocking and FIGHT ME!" Abyssinian yelled, slashing with the sword. He got Swordfish good in the arm, sending a spray of blood into the air.
Eiki smirked, backflipping away from the two women who were attacking her. She threw a fistful of knives at Dolphin, pinning her to the wall.
"Ah 'ell! Me nunchucks are still outside!" Dolphin was down.
Starfish brandished her knife. Eiki sneered. "Heh. One puny little blade, versus my many?" She took a large shuriken from her trenchcoat, flinging it at the younger girl. It grazed her left arm, before embedding itself in the wall.
Starfish frowned, charging at the lilac-headed thief. Eiki countered with her personal favourite knife, one nearly identical to her adversary's. Starfish was clearly no match for Eiki, as the older woman grabbed her by the wrist and threw her into the wall next to Dolphin. Starfish down.
Piranha glared at Siberian with his beady green eyes, as his pocketknife clashed with the soccer player's left bugnuk. Siberian countered by twisting his own wrist, forcing the pocketknife out of Piranha's hand. Piranha clutched his wrist in pain, before doubling over from Siberian's kick.
Piranha groaned in pain as Siberian picked his small body up by the collar of his shirt and delivering a swipe with his right bugnuk. The petite boy began swinging his arms fiercely, attempting to punch his rival in the face. Siberian chortled, as the kid's arms were too short to even reach him. "Hate to do this to ya, kid, but..." He threw Piranha to the ground, and stepped on his back. Piranha was down.
Balinese landed a punch on Hammerhead's jaw. The short, yet muscular man whirled around and delivered an equally strong punch to Balinese's gut.
Balinese smirked, doubling over a little. "Heh heh. You're not too bright, are ya buddy?" He struck with his wire, wrapping it around Hammerhead's wrist. He pulled it tight, causing it to make thin cuts in his opponent's wrist. Hammerhead grinned evilly, pulling his pistol out. He pointed it at Balinese's head.
"Shoot me if you want. I'm not scared of your puny little water pistol." Balinese ducked as Hammerhead pulled the trigger, sweeping his leg under the shorter man's and pinning him to the ground. "See? I'll bet that was your only bullet, eh?"
Hammerhead glowered at Balinese, aiming for his face. He pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
"See? I'm smart." Balinese grabbed the empty pistol and threw it aside. Hammerhead yelled out in anguish. He was down.
Abyssinian struck again with his katana, just barely dodging Swordfish's attack with the javelin. Swordfish acted quickly, hitting the sword out of Abyssinian's hands with the butt of the javelin, implanting it in the wall. Abyssinian narrowed his eyes in anger, now weaponless.
Swordfish sneered, charging forward and raising the spear above his head.
But he didn't quite make it.
Abyssinian stared blankly, seeing the slim figure of Eiki in front of him. She was preventing Swordfish from hitting him, holding the javelin with her bare hands!
"Nice try, mute-boy." Eiki wrenched the javelin from Swordfish's iron grip, and jabbed the blunt end of it into his chest. He backed up against the wall. He had fallen.
The five members of Schabön that were present had fallen. Balinese cracked his knuckles. "That was fun," he said, "but now we have a bigger fish to fry."
"I hope your friends are alright," Eiki said. "They sure seemed strong when they were fighting with me... but Manta is a lot stronger than I am, I can tell... they're too young, just now beginning their lives. We'd better hurry."
The three guys looked at each other and nodded.
"Geez, that all you young boys do anymore, is play video games?" Ken teased, watching Omi and Akari duke it out on Virtua Fighter 3.
"Oh, shut up, Kenken. You're still a young 'boy' too, ya know," Omi shot back, not taking his eyes away from the screen.
"I'm nineteen, thank you very much."
"That's his point," Akari said, laughing. "... Hey!" Akari frowned, seeing her character being pulverized by Omi's character, on the flashing screen.
"Hah! Never let your guard down!" Omi said triumphantly.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Youji said, coming into the room and flopping down on the sofa beside Akari. "Ain't you boys had enough yet? You'll get bad eyes."
"Youji, you of all people would know, with all of the hentai you look at..." Ken taunted.
"Hey, watch it! There's young children here!"
"Uh, no. I stopped being a child a looong time ago," Omi said.
"Yet you still play those old electronic games?"
"..." Omi stayed silent.
"I thought as much," Ken said. "Hey... where's Aya-kun?"
"He went up to the hospital to see his sister, like he always does," Youji said.
This caught Akari's attention. "... Sister?"
"Yeah. Yanno, Aya's not really his name... it's really Ran. He took on his sister's name after she was placed in the hospital," Omi explained.
"Aya-kun doesn't really like to talk about it," Ken said. "It hurt him so much, that he's dedicated himself to killing the man who put her there..."
"Too bad he found out that Omittchi here's related to the guy," Youji said, sighing. Akari saw Omi wince slightly.
"I really don't mind that much, Yo-tan. You act like I'm devastated by it or something," Omi said, throwing a look at the older man. Realizing what he had done, he quickly turned his head back to the TV screen, just as his character was pummeled by Akari's. "Gah!"
"Hee hee! Never let your guard down," Akari said, grinning.
"Hmph. Where have I heard that before?"
Just then, the door opened, and the scarlet-haired leader of the small group stepped in.
"Welcome back, Aya-kun," Ken said. Aya remained silent. "... I guess it's the same news as usual, huh?"
Aya nodded. "That, and I have a mission for Shiro..." This caused all of the heads in the room to turn and stare at him. "I think he's ready for one on his own," Aya said. "Last night was pretty rough, and he really proved himself out there."
"I'll say he did," Youji said. "He really saved our asses."
Akari blushed slightly. "I dunno, Aya-san..."
"You can do it, Shiro. ...and turn off that game."
*********************************************************** ********
Half an hour later, Calico and Bombay crept around the corner of a building. Abyssinian's words rang clear in Bombay's head.
*Go with him, Omi. You're gonna show him the ropes, and keep an eye on him. As good a fighter as he is, he's still new at this...*
"What is is we're doing again?" the blonde boy asked.
"The bakery got robbed. From what Abyssinian told me, only a loaf of bread was stolen, yet the owner or the bakery went nuts... but the thief left initials or something. He's obviously still in the city, and we've gotta find him," Calico explained.
"Then what?"
"... I dunno."
The duo quietly crept around another corner, pressing their bodies up against the brick wall.
"And just how are we supposed to know what this thief looks like?" Bombay queried.
"Look for a long silverish-purple braid..."
"Silver-purple braid? Gotcha."
Calico was scared. She honestly had no idea what she was getting into, as she looked around the corner to see if anyone was there. Bombay did the same, standing on his toes and leaning on Calico's back for support. There was something comforting about his warm weight on her spine, and she seemed to calm down a bit. "... Let's go," she said.
"Wait," Bombay said quickly. He pulled Calico back around the corner. "Listen..."
Calico held her breath for a second, cupping her ears. "Footsteps..."
The sound of running feet grew louder and louder, until it seemed like they were on top of the two assassins. Bombay, sensing a prescence behind him, quickly leapt to the opposite wall (taking Calico with him), just as a tall figure landed in the spot where they had been standing. It was small in build, and was quite tall (Bombay guessed about five-ten), and sported a long lilac braid- just like the one Calico had described.
"What are you little kiddies doing out this late at night?" the figure asked, turning around to look at them.
Bombay was surprised to see that it was a woman. She didn't appear to be much older than himself. "Speak for yourself. Are you the one who robbed the bakery?"
The woman crossed her arms behind her head. "What's it to ya?" She reached inside her royal-blue trenchcoat.
The two younger assassins barely had any time to think before they were attacked by a storm of blades, varying in size and shape.
Calico grimaced slightly as she was pinned to the wall by the blades. "Not good..."
"Make one wrong move, and you'll be skewered..." the bandit said. "You should know by now not to mess with Nusutto Eiki..."
"Nusutto Eiki... the Velvet Warrior?!" Bombay said, clutching his crossbow.
Eiki grinned smugly. "I take it you know me... I really don't blame ya. Word gets around pretty fast in this town..." She drew a rather large knife from a strap around her waist. "It's past your bedtime, kids... let me put you to sleep!" With that, Eiki lunged at Bombay. He quickly dove out of the way, causing Eiki's knife to embed itself into the brick wall. "Damn it!" she spat.
Calico struggled against the small blades which were pinning her to the wall. She finally managed to pull them out of her letter jacket, and she clenched her fingers tight around the tetsume in her left hand. She jumped at the opposite brick wall, bouncing off of it, and raised her weapon high over her head as she fell at Eiki.
But Eiki was too fast, even for Calico. The lavender-haired bandit yanked hard on the handle of her knife, flinging it out to block the attack. She grabbed Calico by the wrist, throwing her to the ground.
Bombay quickly drew a tranquilizer dart from his jacket, and shot it at Eiki, whose back was turned to him. It nailed her right in the shoulder.
"Agh!" Eiki began shaking as she reached behind her to pull the dart out of her shoulder. She fell against the wall, slumping. "You little..."
Bombay grabbed Calico by the arm and began running.
Eiki reached out with her arm, which was shaking pretty badly by now. "I'll... get... you..." She then fainted, falling on her front side.
"Stop, Omi. I can't run anymore!" Akari said as Omi pulled her behind a corner, once Eiki was out of their sight.
Omi let go of her elbow, leaning against the wall for support. "That was close... too close... she could have hurt us really bad, had I not found that tranquilizer dart..."
"So... now what?" Akari asked. She crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.
"I don't know... let's just go back to the Koneko before she shakes off the tranquilizer... it was a very weak one, only meant for slowing people down. Come on." Omi began walking back, motioning for Akari to follow.
Akari stood still. "... Why did you do that?"
Omi turned around and looked at her, confused. "Do what...?"
"Why did you help me like that?" Akari's eyes were beginning to water. She turned her head quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Omi to see her cry.
Omi was a bit taken aback by this. He placed a hand on Akari's shoulder. "Because I'm your friend, Shiro. Friends help each other out. They support each other. They're there for each other."
Akari was quiet for a moment, as if she was letting his words sink in. She couldn't help but turn slightly pink at the sudden movement. She almost didn't feel the single tear running down her cheek.
Omi was ... confused. *Why did he just... start crying like that? Surely he's had friends that care about him before... or maybe... geez, why am I asking myself this? I don't really know Shiro that well. He's a good fighter and all, and he likes video games... I guess the poor guy just has a big heart,* he thought. He suddenly remembered something that Akari had said the night before.
*I cannot forgive anyone who brings shame to the Kanzaki name.*
*Maybe it has something to do with that... oh well, we're both tired. I'll ask him about it tomorrow...* "Hey, c'mon now. Let's go back to the Koneko, okay? Fights are tiring. You'll feel better after you get some sleep, 'kay?"
Akari looked up at him. He was smiling. Somehow, seeing him smile at her made everything that had happened seem worthwhile. "... Okay."
*********************************************************** *********
"DAMN IT!!"
Manta's loud shout started the whole of the Schabön group.
"Where the hell is it?!" Manta was frantically searching through every file cabinet, closet, and drawer.
"Manta, are you quite alright?" Hammerhead asked.
"I can't find the goddamn FILE!" Manta yelled, kicking over an empty chair.
"... What file?"
"The Weiß file, you idiot! I left it right here on the [freaking] table, and now it's gone!" Manta's face was bright red, and his voice was full of anger.
"Manta, you ever notice th' window's broken, eh?" Dolphin asked, nodding her head to the fron window, which was shattered. There was a large hole about the size of a crouched human.
"What. The. HELL." Manta lost it. "@%^#&(%^@&^!!!" he swore loudly. "WE'VE BEEN ROBBED, DAMNIT!"
"It's gotta be that guy who looked in the window the other day..." Piranha said.
"... Kanzaki Shiro. Yes. It has to be him. Damn." Manta was breathing heavily, and at a fast pace. He appeared if he was having a heart attack.
(Wasn't that the guy who kicked Dolphin's ass the other night?) Swordfish signed, quirking an eyebrow.
Dolphin shot a one-eyed glare in Swordfish's general direction.
"That little... damn it, that kid reminds me of somebody, BUT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHO!" Manta kicked over another chair.
"If you like, I can bring him here for questioning," a sudden voice said, coming from outside the building. The five members of Schabön all turned their heads, to see that the voice belonged to a skinny and pale girl. She was a bit taller than Hammerhead, sporting dark blue hair and aqua eyes. "Nice to see you all again," she said.
"Mei!" Piranha quickly made his way to the front door and opened it. The girl known as Mei just jumped through the broken window.
"Hello... Hata, Soui, Seishuku, Ryoku, and Arashi..." Mei sneered. "Piranha, Dolphin, Swordfish, Hammerhead, Manta..."
Manta gave an equally powerful sneer. "Starfish. You really can help us get that pitiful Calico?"
"Of course. I handled secret missions all the time in the past, and I can in the present. So... Calico, you say? Give me the time and place, and I'm on it." Mei's eyes narrowed to sea-green slits.
*********************************************************** *********
Akari lay awake that night, staring into the ceiling. She just had too much on her mind to go to sleep. *I don't know how I'm gonna make it through this... the guys are great and all, but... what about when I tell them about... me?* She rolled over onto her stomach. *I know I'm lying to them, but... I want to learn how to handle myself on my own. I don't want them to think I'm weak just because I'm a girl... ah well, they're men. Men have... that instinct to protect the women. Yo-tan does, definetely... God, I'm confused.* She continued her endless thinking, until she finally fell into a deep sleep.
*********************************************************** *********
The next evening, Starfish silently crept along the alleys of the city. Strapped to her waist was a long knife, bearing an obsidian handle. The actual blade had elaborate designs carved into it, and had a jagged edge. So jagged, it could actually be seen as small hooks.
The small, slim figure ran across the nearly-deserted streets, dodging the occasional cars, until she reached the Koneko no Sume Ie. She looked inside the window, spotting the girl with the long black ponytail. She appeared to be the only one inside, and was cleaning up.
Mei casually walked to the door and entered the flower shop.
Akari turned to her. "Sorry, we're closed..." She smiled apologetically.
Mei took no notice of this, and drew her knife.
Akari dropped the broom. "Wha... what are you... if you want to buy something, I can make an exception..."
Mei lunged at Akari, clapping her hand over the startled girl's mouth. The blade of her knife lay inches from the other girl's throat. "Shut up. Come with me, and you won't be hurt. Say a single word, and your neck will meet with my great-grandfather's knife..."
Akari felt her eyes tearing up, yet managed to nod. Mei took a handkerchief from her back pocket, and stuffed it into Akari's mouth. She quickly scribbled out a note on the notepad laying nearby.
*Went to go make a quick delivery. Be back soon. --Shiro*
Akari looked at the note in disbelief. *They'll never believe that! What kind of idiots does this girl think they are?*
Mei looked at Akari with her turquoise eyes. "You're coming with me, pretty-boy."
***************************************************** **************
"Yo! Shiro! We're back!" Omi said cheerfully as the four boys returned from picking up a Chinese dinner.
It was quiet in the Koneko no Sume Ie.
"... Shiro?"
"Geez, where's that boy gotten off to?" Youji asked to no one, scratching his head.
Ken looked around, spotting the note that Mei had left. "Uh?" He picked it up, reading it out loud. "Went to go make a quick delivery. Be back soon... Shiro. Hm."
"I didn't think we had any deliveries today..." Aya said.
"We didn't. And this isn't Shiro's handwriting..."
"... What do you think happened to him?" Omi asked, concerned for his friend.
"I don't know... I've got a really bad feeling about it, though..." Youji said.
************************************************************ *******
The violet eyes of Nusutto Eiki slowly opened, having finally shaken off the tranquilizer dart. "That little..." She slowly pushed herself up, still a bit shaky. "I'm gonna get that jerk..." She leaned against the wall for support.
Eiki managed to push herself up the rest of the way, her vision blurring. A slight disturbance ahead of her showed that she wasn't alone. Her eyes finally focused on a small, petite girl with navy blue hair, dragging along... Calico?
"The hell...?" Eiki stumbled toward the two girls, who were unaware of her prescence. A sharp pain informed her that the dart was still embedded in her shoulder. With... some difficulty (she was still having a little trouble pulling herself together), she managed to pull it out, leaving a small hole in the back of her trenchcoat. "Damnit," she said.
She turned back to the end of the alley to see that the blue-haired girl and Calico were gone. "Aw hell. Where could that girl be taking the little rodent? Maybe I should go and tell his little friends that their Calico kitty is being dragged off by some skinny little..." She quickly shook off the thought. "Why should I go and help them? That pesky little Bombay brat kicked my ass... but still, I kinda feel sorry for 'em. Calico looked like he was freaking out..." Eiki pondered this for a few moments. "Aw, what the hell. I really got nothing to lose, I'm just a bandit trying to stay alive here..." Eiki began making her way to the Koneko no Sume Ie.
"Damnit, Ken, we can't just sit around here, waiting for Shiro to turn up! You said it yourself, something really bad's going on..." Omi said. He was pacing back-and-forth across the room.
"But we don't know where he is either," Ken said. "It's not like we can just go knocking on doors with one of those 'Have you seen me?' signs..."
"Dude, Omittchi. Calm down. I know Shiro's your friend and all, but geez..." Youji said, putting his hands on the younger boy's shoulders, to stop him from pacing.
Aya, who had been fairly silent the whole time, finally spoke up. "I've got a pretty good idea of where he could be, but I may be wrong..."
The three other guys looked at the red-haired leader.
"Don't count on me to be one-hundred percent correct, but I've got a feeling that Schabön has something to do with this..."
"I've got that feeling as well," a sudden voice came from the window.
Omi scowled. "You!"
The silhouetted figure of Nusutto Eiki smirked. "Miss me?" She had climbed up the downspout, and was peering into the window.
Omi reached for his crossbow, but Aya stopped him. "She may have some info for us..." Aya looked Eiki over as she hopped in the window.
"Okay. First off, sorry for that little... 'attack' the other day, Bombay. What can I say? Seeing two young men wandering around in the dark just makes me want to kill something. Buuut, that's not what I'm here for. See, I was waking up from that little ol' tranquilizer dart that took residence in my shoulder, and I saw this... skinny little girl in a blue shirt dragging off your friend Calico. I dunno who the hell she was, or why she had him, but she was heading for the Schabön hideout," Eiki explained.
"And just how do you know where the Schabön hideout is?" Ken asked.
Eiki grinned, reaching into her trenchcoat. "You learn a lot from being a bandit," she replied, taking a folder marked "Top-Secret" on it, and tossing it to Aya.
He caught the small manila folder, and began flipping through it, only to find files containing the four guys' personal information. "Hey, how'd they get these...?"
"Never mind that right now. Let's just go and find your friend before something really bad happens to him..."
Aya, Ken, Youji, and Omi looked at each other and nodded. They could trust the lavender-haired bandit.
********************************************************** **********
"Well, well, well. Could this possibly be the infamous Calico, of Weiß?" Akai Arashi asked sarcastically, pacing back-and-forth in front of Akari, who had been bound to a chair with Soui's nunchucks. The six members of Schabön were in the back alley of the small, dark building.
"What's it to you?" Akari replied, narrowing her eyes.
"You know, Soui here is quite upset about how you hurt her the other night. Don't you know it's RUDE to hit a woman?" Arashi's voice was now leaking with sarcasm. Akari turned away from the scarlet-haired man. "Afraid to talk, are ya? Mei!"
Mei instantly appeared behind Akari, once again brandishing her great-grandfather's knife.
"Anyway... Calico, you've been a very bad little boy lately. If you answer these few little questions I have for you, I won't have to punish you." Arashi drew his face close to Akari's as he said this, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.
"Now... have you ever been violated in such a way that it could cause you to change who you are on the outside...?"
Every word stung Akari like a hornet. "I'll never tell anyone..." Mei's knife began making its way to the frightened girl's throat, scaring her even further. She looked down at the ground, and slowly nodded her head. "...yes."
Arashi's smirk grew wider. "Excellent. Do you have a... scar from this incident?"
Akari's heart skipped a beat, as she thought about the long scar running from her hip to mid-thigh. It was still healing. "... Y-yes..."
"Your name... is not truly Kanzaki Shiro, is it?"
Akari felt her eyes burning, as she struggled to fight back the tears that so badly wanted to escape. "No..."
"Then... please do enlighten me. What IS your real name, anyway?"
She could no longer hold back the tears, and her throat seemed to close up as they fell. She could not speak, much less say her own name. "N... Nagare... Nagareboshi A.... Akari."
"Hn..." Arashi narrowed his eyes. "You sure fooled a lot of innocent people, Nagareboshi-sama... that wasn't a very nice thing to do. You'll have to pay for your sin..." He looked to the five other people around him. "Leave."
Soui, Seishuku, Ryoku, Hata, and Mei all looked at each other before turning around and filing back into the building.
"So... we're alone now, Nagareboshi-sama. There's nobody to save you now... nobody to hear you scream while I rip your innocence apart for the second time..."
Akari's eyes opened wide. "Y-you... you're the one who..." She narrowed her eyes in anger. "YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"
Arashi smirked. "Actually, no. That was my father... Akai Houou. Yes, my father was a famous assassin of his time... it's a shame that he had to be caught and sentenced to an eternity behind bars... however, I will avenge his capture. You do realize that the only reason that you're still alive is because he was so rudely interrupted by the sound of police sirens?"
Akari's eyes began to tear up again. She hadn't known any of this. "Lies... you're telling me LIES!"
Arashi, in one quick movement, slapped Akari across the face. "You will speak only when I tell you to!"
Akari didn't turn to look at Arashi. She squeezed her eyes shut. *No... not again... please not again...*
She suddenly felt a draft, and she opened her eyes to see that her letter jacket was now on the cold ground. Her legs had gone numb long ago, so there was no way she could struggle.
"If I remember correctly... that little scar of yours is... HERE!" He aggressively ran his finger down her left hip, in the exact spot of the scar.
Despite her legs being numb, Akari felt every bit of pain from the touch. Arashi grabbed the brim of the red baseball cap upon her head, and tossed it to the ground.
"You sure like to play the bishounen, don't you?" Next went her jeans.
She couldn't feel anything anymore. The cold ground had made all of her nerves stop working. She saw Arashi reach under her shirt and unravel the cloth strip that bound her chest.
"Well well well, what could this be?" Arashi asked, waving the strip in front of her face.
Akari was depressed. *Please... let me die... kill me and be done with it... just please don't do this to me... not again!...*
She had become unaware of his rough handling. Her entire body had become numb, and she was having a hard time just keeping her eyes open.
Arashi sneered, gripping the collar of her red t-shirt, ready to rip it.
Akari almost didn't hear Arashi's yell of pain as his elbow was pierced by a dart that had seemingly come out of nowhere.
"Aaaagh! What the f-" Arashi snapped his head to the direction that the dart had come from. In the darkness, he could barely make out the face of Bombay, who obviously had run ahead of the group.
"I know now..." Bombay said, glaring at Arashi with an intense hatred. "She disguised herself as a boy to keep away from sick bastards like YOU!" he shouted.
Akari was not aware of Bombay's prescence. Her vision was blurring even more than it already was, and she was slowly losing consciousness.
Arashi pulled the dart out of his arm, which hung limply from his elbow down. "You wanna fight? And just what could you possibly do to me?"
Bombay was now to the point where he was growling. "Rip you to bits!"
*********************************************************** *********
The remaining three members of Weiß and Eiki ran along several alleys and roads.
"I hope Bombay and Calico are okay!" Siberian said as they ran.
"Who doesn't?" Balinese said.
"Damnit, that place is around here somewhere," Eiki said. "What the hell building was it by?" Her eyes darted around, spotting a familiar broken window that hadn't been repaired. "THERE!"
********************************************************* ***********
(I TOLD Arashi that Calico was a woman. But did he listen to me? NOOOOOOO!) Seishuku signed, as the five other Schabön members sat inside the building.
"Wonder what 'e's doin' to th' lil' bloke," Soui thought out loud. "'E still 'as me nunchucks."
"Maybe he's beating the crap out of her..." Hata said, messing around with his pocketknife.
"Psh," Ryoku scoffed. "He's gotta be gettin' some, if you know what I mean..." He rubbed his chin.
Seishuku snorted, in spite of his muteness. (Hell, any of us probably would, with a bishoujo like that. Lookit Soui. She's not cute.)
"Yer askin' for it, mute-boy." Soui threatened.
The laughing of the males (and Mei) was roughly interupted by the sound of the door being kicked down. "What the hell?!" Ryoku shouted.
Eiki had jumped through the window, while Abyssinian had kicked the door. The four of them were now standing inside the building, hate etched on their faces.
Eiki's eyes darted around the room, coming to rest upon Mei. "That's her! That's the one who dragged Calico off!"
Abyssinian's eyes narrowed into purple slits as he stormed across the room, grabbing Mei by the collar of her shirt. "Where. Is. Calico?"
Mei smirked. "You don't scare me."
"WHERE IS HE?!"
She was now being threatened with Siberian's bugnuks in her face.
"... In the back alley. It's too late, though. Your little friend has probably had HER innocence stolen... again."
Abyssinian's expression turned from anger to confusion as Mei's words hit him. "... Her?" He loosened his grip on her shirt.
Soui stood up and sneered. "Yes. Your pitiful lil' Calico wasn't a he after all... too bad for 'er, really."
"Woah, hold on a minute. Time OUT." Balinese scratched his head. "Are you saying that this whole time, a *woman's* been living with us? AND I WASN'T INFORMED?"
"No time for the funny, Balinese," Eiki said. "You guys wanna rumble?" She drew several knives from her trenchcoat. "Bring it on."
************************************************************* *******
Bombay hit the ground hard, taking yet another punch from Manta. He reached for his crossbow, which lay a few feet away on the ground.
Manta sneered, placing his foot on Bombay's arm. "Try all you like, kid. You won't beat me."
Calico's body was still numb. She opened her eyes, to see the scarlet-haired Manta pressing his foot into Bombay's arm. Her expression of pain changed to one of anger, as she slowly reached for the nunchucks laying on the ground near her.
Manta noticed none of this, and continued his attempt to break Bombay's arm. "Not so tough now, are ya kitty?"
********************************************************** **********
"Four against five, eh?" Balinese said, taking out his wire.
"Don't let your guard down!" Eiki hissed. "They look really pissed."
Abyssinian's eyes narrowed as he drew his katana. He lunged at Swordfish, the sharp steel of his blade crashing into the iron of his opponent's javelin. Swordfish was apparently very skilled with his javelin, as nearly every time Abyssinian struck, he was able to block.
"Stop blocking and FIGHT ME!" Abyssinian yelled, slashing with the sword. He got Swordfish good in the arm, sending a spray of blood into the air.
Eiki smirked, backflipping away from the two women who were attacking her. She threw a fistful of knives at Dolphin, pinning her to the wall.
"Ah 'ell! Me nunchucks are still outside!" Dolphin was down.
Starfish brandished her knife. Eiki sneered. "Heh. One puny little blade, versus my many?" She took a large shuriken from her trenchcoat, flinging it at the younger girl. It grazed her left arm, before embedding itself in the wall.
Starfish frowned, charging at the lilac-headed thief. Eiki countered with her personal favourite knife, one nearly identical to her adversary's. Starfish was clearly no match for Eiki, as the older woman grabbed her by the wrist and threw her into the wall next to Dolphin. Starfish down.
Piranha glared at Siberian with his beady green eyes, as his pocketknife clashed with the soccer player's left bugnuk. Siberian countered by twisting his own wrist, forcing the pocketknife out of Piranha's hand. Piranha clutched his wrist in pain, before doubling over from Siberian's kick.
Piranha groaned in pain as Siberian picked his small body up by the collar of his shirt and delivering a swipe with his right bugnuk. The petite boy began swinging his arms fiercely, attempting to punch his rival in the face. Siberian chortled, as the kid's arms were too short to even reach him. "Hate to do this to ya, kid, but..." He threw Piranha to the ground, and stepped on his back. Piranha was down.
Balinese landed a punch on Hammerhead's jaw. The short, yet muscular man whirled around and delivered an equally strong punch to Balinese's gut.
Balinese smirked, doubling over a little. "Heh heh. You're not too bright, are ya buddy?" He struck with his wire, wrapping it around Hammerhead's wrist. He pulled it tight, causing it to make thin cuts in his opponent's wrist. Hammerhead grinned evilly, pulling his pistol out. He pointed it at Balinese's head.
"Shoot me if you want. I'm not scared of your puny little water pistol." Balinese ducked as Hammerhead pulled the trigger, sweeping his leg under the shorter man's and pinning him to the ground. "See? I'll bet that was your only bullet, eh?"
Hammerhead glowered at Balinese, aiming for his face. He pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
"See? I'm smart." Balinese grabbed the empty pistol and threw it aside. Hammerhead yelled out in anguish. He was down.
Abyssinian struck again with his katana, just barely dodging Swordfish's attack with the javelin. Swordfish acted quickly, hitting the sword out of Abyssinian's hands with the butt of the javelin, implanting it in the wall. Abyssinian narrowed his eyes in anger, now weaponless.
Swordfish sneered, charging forward and raising the spear above his head.
But he didn't quite make it.
Abyssinian stared blankly, seeing the slim figure of Eiki in front of him. She was preventing Swordfish from hitting him, holding the javelin with her bare hands!
"Nice try, mute-boy." Eiki wrenched the javelin from Swordfish's iron grip, and jabbed the blunt end of it into his chest. He backed up against the wall. He had fallen.
The five members of Schabön that were present had fallen. Balinese cracked his knuckles. "That was fun," he said, "but now we have a bigger fish to fry."
"I hope your friends are alright," Eiki said. "They sure seemed strong when they were fighting with me... but Manta is a lot stronger than I am, I can tell... they're too young, just now beginning their lives. We'd better hurry."
The three guys looked at each other and nodded.