Mood: Accomplished
Music: Redemption --- Gackt

Rae: Ah, and look who emerges from the land of lurkerdom. AHA. I told you I’d be back. And I am.

So. It’s been awhile, what have I been doing? Well...

Not a whole lot actually. *sweatdrop*

I’ve just been kind of hanging I guess. XD

Uh, I’ve been feeling fairly crappy for awhile, and have went to the hospital and random doctors to try to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. All attempts at finding out said wrongness have proven fruitless. No fruit. All well. XD I’m feeling a little better now though so... Yeah.

Um, what else?

I’ve written some, um, I’ve uh... watched a lot of anime? *falls over* I’m lame. I haven’t really done anything actually.

Ahem.

Anyway.

And yep. I made a new layout. ^^ Tis Gackt-sama of course. Hopefully it looks okay. I kind of fooled around with margins and um, yeah. I basically stumbled my way through making this. Hopefully it shows up okay on everyone’s monitors and stuff. I basically didn’t have a clue as to what the hell I was doing. Because evidently even the simplest html coding seems to confuse my non-existent brain. XD

..I’m not sure if I like it actually. The text is kinda squished to the side, does that look okay like that? I might redo it later. Dunno...
Gackt looks pretty though. XD

Ahem.

Okay, now I want to run over a few things before I get on with the long anticipated (by me that is) next entry with my loveable muses.

Number One: I update on livejournal quite frequently now. (my username: cruxis_wings) That will not be changing. LJ is where my more normal journal lives and I enjoy it. So if you want the everyday ramblings, that is where you need to go. I also occasionally post pictures, writings and links to videos. So...yeah. Don’t expect any normalcy whatsoever from this d-land journal. I may act like a dork on LJ as well, but not to the extent of my insanity on here. So read here for insane!randomness, read on lj for t3H mundane journal.

Number Two: I will no longer be apologizing for the time it takes me to write these entries. This is my muse journal, these are my muses. I honestly don’t expect anyone else to really read this anyway. I’m not writing this for anyone other than myself. (Well...and Jiro... and Mom. Who are as obsessed with my muses as I am...Which is kind of scary actually. XD) So yeah. I’ll write when I feel like writing. Period.

Number Three: I will not worry what others think if they stumble across this journal. This is a place for me to be wacky and immature, creative and dorky. This is for my amusement. You think I’m a freak? Good. I really don’t care. ^^ I know I’m a freak. So yeah.

Number Four: On a completely irrelevant note, it has been confirmed that Gackt is indeed God. Worship him accordingly. Redemption. Is. The. Coolest. Song. Ever. XD AND THE PV!!!! ...AND DIRGE OF CERBERUS SECRET ENDING LOVE! <333333
*cough*...Ahem. Sorry about that.

Number Five: Yes. I’m a weird freak. We’ve established this. Okay? Okay.

Now. Let’s get on with the Tokyo Arc Finale! Finally!! XD

Oh, and I’m not even gonna bother with trying to recap here. You may want to re-read a few entries if you’re rusty on the events that have happened in the Tokyo Arc thing. “Of birthday randomness and the birthday trippy trip trip man.” is the first part of the whole birthday trip thing I believe, if you want to start there in the archive...

Anyway, let the... uh, weirdness begin! (In story format, as promised.)

Also, this is uber long, so I’m going to split it into two parts. I’ll post the second part tomorrow evening. Kay?

(Random Japanese Language Lesson:-gaijin means foreigner; -baka means stupid. Just words you’ll need to know.)

~*~*~*~

The room thumped with heavy electronica, bright strobe lights and green glow sticks lighting the otherwise darkened dance-floor.
The fast techno tempo rocked the large room, vibrating off of the very walls of the building. Dark and hard.

Rae let her body move with the rhythm, her long pink hair swinging loosely around her shoulders. Ignoring the occasional odd glance cast by wary Japanese ravers, --after all she was a gaijin-- the girl instead closed her eyes, allowing her senses to be filled with the very pulse of the building.

Fast and frenzied.

Dark and edgy.

She liked it.

“This is fun, neh, Rae-Rae?” a voice broke into her thoughts, and she opened her eyes to cast a smirk to the younger boy dancing beside her.

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Rae shouted over the beat, winking at Kouji.

The half human, half ice-demon hybrid smiled in return, bouncing in time with the throbbing music.

She quickly ruffled the boy’s short blue locks as an affectionate teasing gesture, before turning to glance about the crowded rave. Further away amongst the massive crowd she spotted a grey haired young man --young in appearance anyway-- jumping maniacally, a goofy smirk on his lips. Rae rolled her eyes, watching as the elemental sprite spun about. Kopaka fits in well here, she thought, amusement shining in her aqua eyes.

She then turned her attention to the spirit Yuki, a captive of Kopaka it seemed. Her timid friend seemed a bit, well, terrified by the large crowd. It didn’t help matters that Kopaka had latched onto his arm, forcing the silver haired spirit to bounce and spin right along with him.

Rae let a grin play on her lips. Yeah, Kopaka had definitely taken Yuki hostage. Ah, it’s good for Yuki, she thought amusedly, After all, he really needs to work on his introvertedness.

The girl then let her gaze wander away from Kopaka and his victim, instead searching for her other friends scattered about the large dance-floor. After a few moments of scanning the crowd, she thought she could vaguely make out the top of Shishio’s bandaged head on the opposite side of the room.

Now I’m sure he’s not getting any weird stares, she thought sarcastically, eying the odd man’s appearance. Granted he was wearing ordinary clothing but still. Hello, bandages much?
She smiled, shaking her head. Such a weirdo. Yet somehow still quite likable. She really didn’t get it, and figured thinking about it too much would only give her a brain implosion. Or something equally messy.

Shishio, dead and loving it apparently. He stood watching his loyal minions dance, a somewhat evil grin on his dark lips. (Though when wasn’t Shishio Makoto wearing one of those trademark evil smirks?)

Rae couldn’t quite make them out, but she was sure that Houji and Yumi were dancing with their master, fawning like fangirls. Or in Houji’s case, fanboy, she amended. ...Nah wait, on second thought, fangirl fits Houji fine, Rae thought a moment later after catching a quick glance of the skirted man dancing frantically, eyeing Shishio with an adoration filled gaze.

Man those three are weird...

Rae turned, trying to pinpoint the only other member of the ‘we lived in Meiji era Japan’ club. Really, it probably hadn’t been a very good idea to lose sight of Sanosuke. The spiky haired teenager still hadn’t grown completely accustomed to the modern day world and probably thought the rave was filled with devil magicks or maybe evil demons or something. Which as far as she knew, wasn’t the case. The only demon she knew of was a.-not evil, and b.-not present at all. With that thought a frown appeared on her lips, the earlier events at Shishio’s restaurant replaying in her mind.

Kitsune had gone after Malba, yet still hadn’t returned. How long had it been since the darkness sprite’s angry departure?

With a small groan she turned with the music, biting her lip. Why had she agreed to karaoke in the first place? And really, couldn’t she have picked a less...angsty song? Baka, baka, baka! she thought angrily, chewing her lip in aggravation.

Druu had told her to forget it, yet somehow Rae couldn’t quite rid the guilt from her conscience. Although she wasn’t entirely sure as to what had set Malba off, she knew it had to have been something in the moody lyrics. Somehow the girl doubted her singing could be that bad. He hadn’t killed Houji after all...

So, that left only the song itself. Lust for Blood... Geh. She really didn’t know. All the girl did know was that somehow, she had really screwed up...

The darkness elemental’s angry red eyes... Yeah. She had really messed up alright.

It wasn’t often that she had witnessed those glowing eyes... The feeling wasn’t pleasant. It was beyond anger wasn’t it? Sure Malba could get bitchy, but this, this was completely different. Somehow... She really wasn’t sure even how to define it. However the guilt of being the cause to those blood red eyes... Was really kind of getting to her actually. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the image of red eyes...

Druu said it wasn’t my fault but...

With another sigh, Rae shoved the thoughts away, realizing that brooding over it really wouldn’t solve anything.

Speaking of Druu, where the heck did he slip off to? At the thought of the water elemental, she opened her eyes, once again taking in the club’s hectic atmosphere. Nowhere to be seen. Hm. Judging by his actions throughout the day and evening, it really wouldn’t surprise her if the lavender eyed man hadn’t wandered back to the bar, off to the side of the dance floor. It was actually a little odd. Since when was Druu such a big drinker anyway?

Before she could contemplate that thought any further, Kouji intervened, tugging at the girl’s long black sleeve. Rae looked down at the shorter boy, cocking her head questioningly. “What is it Kouji-chan?”

“Uh, do you think this place has a bathroom anywhere?” he asked a bit bashfully, a semi-embarrassed grin forming on his pale lips.

“Yeah, I’m sure they do. Let’s find one of the guys and have ‘em go with ya, neh?” Rae responded, once again affectionately ruffling the teen’s icy locks. She couldn’t help herself really, he was such a cutie.

“I’m not two ya know.” Kouji replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah. Just humor me.” Like she was going to let Kitsune’s baby brother out of sight? Right.

With that she took the boy’s hand, as to not lose him in the dancing craze. Pushing through the crowd (and ignoring a few disdainful looks cast to ‘the gaijins’) Rae glanced about, trying to find one of her various friends. She thought she vaguely caught a glimpse of Kopaka throwing Yuki around, however quickly lost them in the crowd.
“Damn.” Rae muttered, pushing her way to the edge of the dance floor. “Maybe Druu is at the bar,” she then stated, pointing to the busy bar section of the club.

“Yeah, he’s been drinking a lot today, ya know?” Kouji replied, shaking his head a bit. Rae had to agree. It was actually starting to concern her a little, really. Yet knowing the sprite, it was kind of hard to tell. Trying to figure Druuvbin out was like... Trying to solve... Algebra. And she had never understood algebra, so... Yeah.

The two made their way over to the bustling bar area, trying to catch a glimpse of the lean blue haired man. After a few moments Rae finally spotted him, sitting on a stool, tossing back a shot of some sort of alcoholic beverage. Neon green? She really didn’t even want to know what the hell it could be. ...Neon green?

“There he is,” she pointed, starting to make her way over to the sprite.

“Wait Rae-Rae.” Kouji suddenly stated, pulling the pink haired girl to a stop.

“What’s wrong Kouji?” she questioned, eyebrow raised.

“Um...I think... I think he wants to be alone Rae-Rae.” The boy replied slowly, his voice almost drowned out by the throbbing music.

“Hm? What do you mean?” she questioned, noticing the strange expression flickering across his pale face.

“It’s...He has a funny color...” Kouji trailed off, watching the psychic, his ice blue eyes growing watery.

Color?

Rae knelt down so she was able to meet eyes with the short boy. “What do you mean Kouji?” she questioned gently, a flash of concern spreading through her. Why did the teen suddenly look as if he were about to cry?

“I...I can’t remember what it means. I’m sorry.” His voice trembled a bit, and Rae felt her heart-beat quicken. The carefree teen had been smiling one moment, and now he looked as if he were about to bust out in tears. The word alarmed would be an understatement at this point. Because uh, not only was she worried for the boy, but if Kitsune found out she had made him cry....

Gee. I’m doing real well today. First I make Malba go crazy with my off-key singing of doom, and now I’m making Kouji cry. Great.

“Kouji what’s wrong hunny? Are you okay?” she questioned softly, pulling the boy into an embrace as his lower-lip trembled, icy eyes shimmering with tears.

“I...I don’t remember...” he mumbled into her shoulder, wrapping his slender arms around the girl’s neck. She could barely make out his words over the noisy rave’s various sounds.

‘Remember?’ Rae felt her eyebrow rise even further, unsure as to what the heck she should say. ‘Colors’ and Druu and... Okay she was confused. Which wasn’t unusual, but yeah.

“Um, Look Kouji, why don’t we um, go find Kopaka and uh, me and him will uh, you know, cheer ya up? Or...Something?” she asked a bit unsurely, trying her best to comfort the icy-cool teen. (Which was odd by the way. She still hadn’t quite grown accustomed to the whole ‘ice demons are cold to the touch’ thing yet.) But Kopaka seemed to have a good relationship with Kouji after all, right? She also toyed with the thought of going to get Druu, but hesitated, thinking back on Kouji’s words. ‘...I think he wants to be alone...’

The boy simply clung to her for a few moments before pulling away. He rubbed a bit at his eyes, wiping away a few tears. “Um... Hey. What were we talking about?”

...Huh?

“Uh.. We-uh you, uh...” she stuttered, voice trailing off. What the hell? Was he serious?

“Heh. Let’s find that bathroom, you know?” Kouji grinned, all trace of his previous melancholy quickly vanishing.

“Uh...”

If this were an anime, Rae was sure that at this moment, there would be sweatdrops covering her face. Oh, and possibly the whole big ‘oro eye’ thing going on too. Was this boy multiple personality disorder or bipolar or something? He had jumped from happy to crying to happy in a matter of... One minute?

“Come on Rae-Rae.” With that he tugged the puzzled girl along, making his way towards the back of the club.

She followed, confusion filled and well...A little weirded out actually.
What was up with this kid? He was adorable and really sweet, but... Now that she thought back on it... There had been a few little things that had seemed a bit off to her. Such as... Oh! When Sanosuke had asked the teen his age!

‘Um...How old am I Kitsi?’

What normal kid doesn’t know his own age, she thought, biting her lip in perplexed thought. And for thirteen, didn’t he act a bit.... Hm...

“Oh look, that sign shows there are bathrooms through that door. I’ll just go by myself, kay, Rae-Rae?” Kouji chirped cheerfully, breaking into the girl’s baffled contemplating.

Alone? Yeah right. Like she was going to let him go alone and get kidnapped or something. Because really, kidnapping would be of the bad. Very bad, she thought, a picture of Kitsune systematically killing every last person in Tokyo popping momentarily into her thoughts. Yeah. Best to not let Kouji get kidnapped by some whacko.

“No, I don’t want you to go alone.” So maybe the girl was a little paranoid. OCDness and all... She couldn’t help it.

“Come on Rae-Rae, I really have to kind of go, ya know?” he smirked, seemingly amused by Rae’s over-protectiveness.

She cast another glance about the crowded rave, yet could spot none of her friends. Oh well. “Ah, come on I'll take ya. I can wait outside the door. I'm strong and cool, so uh yeah. I'll protect you. ...Okay so maybe not that strong or cool, but still...”

The icy haired teen laughed, rolling his blue eyes. “Rae-Rae. It’s not like we’re in Trinity or something.”

“Yeah well. I’m a crazy worry-wart. Sue me.” Rae smirked, winking at the young teen.

She really didn’t get the boy’s sudden mood swings, and after a few more moments puzzling over his odd behavior, she shrugged. Probably best to not think on it for the moment. She’d talk to Druu later. After all, he had said there were things he would explain about the half demon ‘later’...

So with a shake of her head, Rae followed after Kouji, exiting through the double doors leading to the restrooms.

*~*~*~*~*

Shishio Makoto watched his minions bounce about, a grin on his slightly charred lips. The bandaged man watched as the beautiful young woman--his beloved Yumi-- swung her body seductively in time with the music, while the balding man beside her--Houji, his favorite pet-- spun awkwardly in his short skirt. Another smirk. Yes, quite entertaining.

He really didn’t move with the music himself, just stood, letting his servants dance around him instead. An enjoyable sight indeed.

This had turned into quite the event, now hadn’t it? A birthday trip for that human girl and her interesting friends. Well. And the rooster. There was nothing particularly interesting about him, as far as Shishio was concerned anyway. Ah, but the non-humans, now they were entertaining.

Well. Except for when they were blowing up his precious karaoke machines... He twitched a bit at the memory, recalling the previous event in his restaurant. Didn’t that darkness fairy realize just how much that damn thing had cost? Luckily he did have a few extra ones in storage, but still. Not the point.

Ah, but it had been quite interesting, aside from the karaoke burning part. Another chance to observe the dark haired man and those glowing eyes.

Being of the “unliving” gave Shishio such an advantage. So many energies to read. It had really become quite the hobby for the bandaged ruler of 4/10ths of hell. And in all his years of being dead? He had never seen such interesting auras as the strange energies emanating from these beings...

The one called Malba. Red eyes and a blood red aura. A sense of instability and... Well. He still wasn’t sure actually. Shishio frowned a bit, contemplating the odd red flashes emanating from the fairy. Shishio had never quite sensed anything like it before. Obviously emotions played a part. A sudden uprising of powerful, unstable energy... It was almost like...

Perhaps two different energies altogether? A clashing of two energies... But there was also something else. He just couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Yet. Though if he had his way, he suspected that time would tell. And when didn’t Shishio get his way? Well. Except for that one time with the Battousai. But hey. That really didn’t count.

Quickly pushing the Battousai from his thoughts, he smirked, watching as Houji tripped, crashing to the hard floor. How amusing. His minion should really stop wearing such high heels...

Hm. This rave seems to be pulling in quite a bit of business, he noted, watching the crowd. Of course it had been his idea to bring the group to the busy club. After all, this little establishment was one of the few things left in Tokyo that he did not own. So scoping out the rave had seemed a good idea...

Judging by the crowd, Shishio decided that really, he should buy the place out.

After all, the more money you make, the more power you take.
His idea of world domination certainly hadn’t faded; the bandaged man had just changed his strategy a little. In this modern world, money had proven a much more effective weapon, even more so than his katana...

But yes, barring the ‘karaoke incident’, this had turned into a fairly successful little trip. Plus, he had killed two birds with one stone, so to speak. Not only had he showed the girl a good time, but had discovered yet another business venture. Perfect. He smirked, glancing about the large room. Where was the girl, anyway?

Shishio scanned the area, trying to place Rae or the non-humans. (He didn’t care where the rooster was...)

After a few moments he spotted Rae and that hybrid boy leaving through a back exit, towards a restroom area. Hm... That boy, now he was interesting too.

Kouji was it? Yes. The fox demon’s half brother. This had been his first chance to see the boy, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of his energy either.

Unlike Malba’s red, unstable energies, this boy had a calm aura, slow moving and soft. True he could sense demon in his blood, yet, there was another energy that didn’t quite fit. Not human, but not demon. Odd.

Very odd. As was the barrier surrounding the boy.

It didn’t seem as if anyone else could see it, but surrounding the boy... Shishio had noticed an odd blue light, which seemed to originate from that necklace hanging around his neck. Forming some sort of barrier? A barrier for what exactly?

Shishio wasn’t positive, but had a distinct feeling that it was not the boy’s magick. It was something caused by that stone. Interesting. Very interesting.

Of course then there was Druuvbin, the psychic. Shishio wasn’t sure, but... The last few times he had been able to see the mysterious man’s aura at all, (which was a fairly rare occurrence in itself) it had seemed... From the brief flickers... Something was very off. As if... He shook his head. That couldn’t be it. However, whatever Druuvbin kept hidden within that aura... Shishio was sure that it wasn’t something to be taken lightly. An intense, peculiar energy... The bandaged man shrugged, deciding to contemplate the psychic’s odd energy later.

Shishio let yet another evil smirk appear on his charred lips.

Yuki had finally pulled away from that rabid wind sprite, moving his way to the edge of the dance floor.

Perfect. Now was his chance to talk to the “spirit” boy alone.

And did he have a few questions for him.

After planting a quick kiss on Yumi’s soft lips, he turned, making his way towards the lone “spirit”.

This is going to be so amusing.

~*~*~*~*~

Rae leaned against the hallway wall, arms crossed casually. She glanced at the men’s restroom door, noting with amusement that the ‘men’ sign on the door had been painted with florescent blue paint which glowed brightly in the dim, black-light lit hallway. Pretty neat.

Kinda dark in here though, she reflected, glancing about the quiet corridor. Oddly, considering how many people were in the packed club, the hallway was abandoned. I guess everyone’s too busy getting high and partying to take the time to go to the bathroom... Rae thought, a small smirk on her lips.

Away from the main room of the club was a little less noisy, Rae noted. She could actually hear herself think. Not that thinking was really her strong point, but still.

The music was muffled; however the girl could still feel the heavy bass vibrating throughout the building. --Thump-- --Thump-- Thump--
Kind of enough to give someone a headache. Not that she really minded.

As she waited for Kouji, her thoughts slipped back onto the boy’s previous behavior. Teary eyes and a mumbled “I can’t remember”... Though she had decided not to worry about it for the moment, well... Her brain wasn’t exactly cooperating. Rae sighed, blowing a strand of pink hair away from her eyes.

...And damn it, had Kitsune ever found Malba?!

Well, there goes the whole, -let’s not worry- thing...

Another sigh escaped her lips and she thumped her head back against the wall. Meh. Malba went schizoid and Kouji is MPD. And Druu is apparently a drunk? Can this day get any weirder? A few moments later the girl groaned. She really shouldn’t have thought that. Now it was guaranteed that the day would indeed get weirder. It was some sort of unwritten law or something, Rae was sure.

What next? Kitsune going to show up with her hair dyed pink and green? And Shishio’ll decide to give up his evil ways and join the circus instead? Oh, and Kopaka? Maybe he’ll randomly sprout bunny ears. Wait... Kopaka growing bunny ears wouldn’t be that unusual...

The girl was interrupted from her random thoughts by the sound of the men’s room door opening, and she looked up to give Kouji a small smirk. “Hey.”

“Ready to party some more?” the boy responded, a casual grin on his pale lips.

“Yuup. You know me, total party animal.” Rae laughed, winking at the teen teasingly.

“Yeah, I’m so sure.” Kouji grinned, tugging a bit on the black hat he now wore on his head.

“Ah, I see you decided to put the hat back on,” Rae stated, glancing at the soft black cap with cat ears he had purchased earlier. (Well, technically Shishio had purchased it for him...) It was rather cute. She had seen something similar to it at Suncoast one time actually...

“Yeah. At first I was afraid I’d lose it, but I changed my mind. I think I can hold onto it as long as Kopaka doesn’t start throwing me around like Yuki,” the boy smirked, playing with one of the ears on the hat.

Rae laughed at that. “Yeah, poor Yuki...”

“Heh.”

The two began to walk back down the hallway, when Rae stopped, a dorky smile appearing on her lips. “Whoa. Your hair is kind of glowing,” she pointed out with a laugh, noticing the bits of blue sticking out from underneath the cat hat.

Kouji looked up, tugging a stray lock of hair out from underneath the cap. “Hah. You’re right. Black-lights are cool.”

“Man, I wish my hair would glow. No fair. It’s pink after all, so why isn’t it glowing too?” Rae mock pouted, sticking out her lower lip jokingly.

“Heh. Dunno, maybe it’s a demon thing,” the teen quipped, a grin on his lips.

“Yeah, that must be it.” Rae nodded, also smirking.

She was glad to see the boy smiling. A hell of a lot better than getting ready to bawl. Definitely.

“Well, let’s go party some more, yeah?”

Rae opened her mouth to agree but was cut off by a sudden voice coming from behind the two.

“Nah, how about you two stay and play with us for awhile instead?”

Eh?

Rae and Kouji quickly turned, both startled by the sudden voice.

Two men stood a few feet away, both dressed in jeans and dark, indistinct tops. A tall blonde westerner and a shorter Asian man. Both wearing an odd grin plastered on their lips. Not nice grins. Bad grins, she noted, her heart beat quickening. The pink haired girl instinctively pushed the teen a bit behind her.

Where the hell did they come from? They weren’t here a second ago...

“Now now, don’t be shy,” the tall blonde smirked, running a finger along the wall, his voice deep and somewhat sing-songy. From the sound of it, Rae figured he was American. His voice held a bit of a southern twang? Maybe from somewhere down south?

“Yeah. Play with us a little,” his shorter companion chimed in, tucking a lock of shaggy dark hair behind his ear. Pretty good English, Rae noted distractedly.

“Uh, how about hell no?” she snapped, clenching her fists. Adrenalin quickly flooding her system, she glared at the two men.

Hopefully these guys are just being jerks... Otherwise... Her heart raced and a slight shiver ran through her body.

“You know, I don’t like her attitude,” the blonde commented, clearly amused by the girl’s outburst.

“Yeah, she’s not playing nice,” the dark haired man responded, voice also tinted with dark amusement.

“Leave us alone, you jerks!” Kouji shouted, anger in his light voice. The boy tried to step in front of Rae, however she held him back, once again stepping in front of him.

The last thing she needed was to get Kitsune’s brother hurt. And if possible, it’d be cool if she could avoid getting murdered by the thugs as well.

“Aw, the little girl has a mouth too.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a guy. What are you, stupid?” Kouji stated flatly, eyebrow raised.

“Whoa, you’re a boy? Sorry, my bad,” the tall westerner smirked, stepping closer.

Rae glanced over the two. Okay, American dude is bigger and has more muscles. Short Japanese dude I might be able to take, but...

Why the hell wasn’t there anyone else in the damn hallway anyway? The place was packed, yet not a soul to be seen in the abandoned hall.

The music is too loud for anyone to hear us from out here... Rae decided this was definitely not a good situation to be in. Obviously.

“Well. You look like tourist types. So, I’m betting you have lots of money on ya, right? You’ll be handing that over now,” the blonde stated casually --almost pleasantly-- yet a dangerous glint could be seen in his hazel eyes.

“Oh, and the necklace too kid,” the dark haired man added, pointing to the odd blue stone hanging from Kouji’s neck.

“No way in hell. My sister gave this to me!” the teen shouted angrily, grasping the stone protectively in his hand.

“I don’t care if the Pope gave it to you. Hand it over and we may not kill you,” the dark haired man snapped, his amused tone now replaced with a darker sound altogether.

“...Um. What’s a Pope, Rae-Rae?”

“...I’ll explain later.”

“What, are we going to have to encourage you a little? Fine, that’s cool.” With that said the blonde pulled a large knife from his pocket, the blade locking into place with the touch of a button.

...Is that a switchblade?!

“Uh...”

Now where are my supernatural friends when I need them?

“Uh. Fuck.” Rae laughed nervously, pushing Kouji further behind her.

Oh this is great. Just great. We’re so dead...

~*~*~*~*~

Shishio walked confidently across the dance floor, approaching the silver haired “ghost”, slipping behind Yuki without notice.

“So, Yuki. Can we talk for a minute?” Shishio whispered into his ear, noting amusedly the way the boy jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Ah, uh, I didn’t see you there Shishio-san.” Yuki replied uneasily, unconsciously taking a step away from the bandaged man.

Shishio simply stared at the spirit for a moment, an old tactic of his, to invoke apprehension and discontent... Quite effective really, he noted, watching the pale boy take another involuntary step back.

“Well, can we?” he asked, a smirk appearing on his dark lips.

“Can we w-what?” the spirit asked apprehensively, grey eyes darting about the large room. Looking for a friend to save him perhaps? Shishio thought, thoroughly enjoying the boy’s nervousness.

“Let’s talk.” With that he grabbed the spirit’s perfectly solid and un-spirit like arm, practically dragging him away from the dance floor.

“Uh, Sh-Shishio-san, um... I-Uh...” Yuki trailed off, eyes wide.

He ignored the boy’s stuttering, pulling Yuki away from the crowd, toward a dark corner of the large room. Fairly isolated, considering the busy club’s frantic atmosphere.

“Now then. Let’s have a little chat.”

“About...What?” Yuki questioned, attempting to keep his voice even, though Shishio could still sense his unease. Good. The more uncomfortable the ‘spirit’ was, the easier it would be for him to make a mistake...

“I think you know.” Shishio replied evenly, staring directly into those bright, trepidation filled eyes.

“Look Shishio-san, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but-uh, I think you... Um. What do you want?” the spirit stuttered, fists clenching at his sides.

“That was a really nice song you sang earlier.” Shishio commented, voice deceptively pleasant, yet with an edge of ice in his tone.
The boy’s face grew even paler (if possible) at his words, and Shishio felt a grin appear on his lips. Really this was just too easy.

“I-Uh. Thanks?” he replied, confusion in his grey eyes.

“So. Rae’s not going to find it, now is she?” Shishio questioned, his voice loud as to be heard over the thumping music.

“What? What do you mean?” the spirit squeaked, eyes growing even wider.

Oh, this is just too easy. Shishio couldn’t help but think, watching as the silver haired spirit fought to keep himself steady, obviously growing a bit faint. Not surprising. How many times had he himself witnessed Yuki cower in terror, fainting like one of those simpering schoolgirls from those anime that his minions frequently watched? Shishio smirked at that. Yes, a schoolgirl. (And exactly since when had it become common for a “ghost” to faint, anyway?)

“The song. She's not going to find it on any online search,” he stated, stepping a bit closer to the shaking spirit. Shishio happened to know it for a fact. No online search would find this song, of that he was sure.

The moment the boy had started singing, he had known that it wasn’t anything from this world. After all, his karaoke machine had records of every song known throughout the dimension. Yet Yuki had used the memory port to scan in the song. Which could only mean one thing and one thing alone... A song not from this world...

“Well?” he prompted the silent spirit.

“I... I don’t know.” the silver haired ghost finally replied, looking away from the bandaged man.

“Oh, I think you do.” Shishio stated evenly, once again stepping a bit closer to the spirit. “I think you know perfectly well.”

Yuki continued to look away for a moment, hands clutched at his sides. He then took a shuddering deep breath, looking up to meet Shishio’s eyes. “Not to be rude Shishio-san, but what exactly is it that you want?”

Oh, that took some courage, Shishio thought, slightly surprised by the ghost’s calm tone of voice. He glanced over the boy’s aura, noticing a flash of anger quickly sparking within Yuki’s energies.
Anger huh? How entertaining.

“I just find you interesting, Yuki.” Shishio responded, amusement in his otherwise cold voice. Really, this was just so enjoyable.

"There's nothing interesting about me." Yuki stated flatly, his voice calm. Not that Shishio was buying into that calm tone, for the spirit’s aura told an entirely different story. It was taking every ounce of willpower the boy had to keep from running in terror, despite that little flash of anger.

What was that odd expression Houji frequently spewed forth? Oh yes. A ‘wiggins’. The ghost was about to have a wiggins, as his excitable minion would put it. Stupid Houji and his peculiar valley girl mannerisms....

“Oh I don’t know Yuki. I think you’re very interesting. Everyone has secrets, now don’t they?” he questioned, a smirk forming on his dark, burn-scarred lips. Shishio watched the boy’s aura closely, another flash of anger, quickly followed by fear.

“I-uh..I—“ the spirit stuttered, taking a few steps away from Shishio, looking about the crowded rave with anxiety filled eyes.

Shishio stepped closer, pulling Yuki close. “It's going to be interesting finding out exactly what secrets you hold. Very entertaining, most definitely,” he whispered in his ear, noting the shiver that ran through the spirit’s body at his words.

“I think this conversation is over, Shishio-san.” Yuki pulled away, turning to walk away from the bandaged ruler of 4/10ths of hell.

Shaky legs and a tense, angry aura. Hm...

Shishio grabbed the ghost’s arm, pulling him back around to meet his eyes. “You know more than what you let on. You may have the others fooled, but not me. About the assassins? About their world? I don’t think you are nearly as innocent as what you’d like everyone to believe.”

Now, what would his response be? Shishio was quite interested to see how the spirit would react to such a direct statement. Fear, anger? Fainting spell?

Wait...that’s... he thought with a touch of surprise, his hand loosening it’s grip a bit on Yuki’s thin wrist.

He looked into the spirit’s eyes, startled by the tears suddenly present. Okay, so he hadn’t been expecting that. For it wasn’t tears caused by fear, but... An odd sadness flooding the boy’s aura...

“You...You may be right Shishio-san. However it’s really not your concern. Just... Just leave me alone.” Yuki stated, his soft voice trembling a bit. With that said the spirit’s arm suddenly lost solidity, Shishio’s hand slipping through the boy’s wrist. Yuki’s transparent arm then returned to normal solid form and he turned, walking away from a quite surprised Shishio.

Hm... Well. That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. he thought, a bit puzzled by the spirit’s words.

Really it was all so very interesting. More questions left unanswered of course. The mysteries surrounding this odd group? So very intriguing.

Yes, never a dull moment. He let a grin form on his lips. It was just so... Fun. With that thought he walked away, returning to the frenzied mass of humans on the dance floor.

Unbeknownst to him, a spiky haired teen stood a bit away, leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed.

Sagara Sanosuke frowned, watching Shishio walk away.

The mummy had apparently been too busy tormenting Yuki to notice his presence. The teen’s frown deepened, watching the spirit standing off to the side of the dance floor, a blank look in his grey eyes...

Exactly what the hell had that been about?

Despite the ridiculously loud crap that Rae had called “cool techno music” blaring at eardrum rupturing levels, Sanosuke had made out most of the conversation.

What the hell did mummyface mean by that not so innocent thing? he thought, eyes still locked on the spirit standing a fair distance away.

Sano didn’t know exactly what to think, however... He needed to have a little talk with Rae. Something’s definitely up...
Somehow, he got the feeling that maybe --as much as he hated to admit it-- Shishio was onto something...

Stupid mummy-faced bastard... Whatever. He still hated the freak, and it pissed him off that the burnt crisp had been harassing the timid ghost. Yet...

..Is he right though?...

The spiky haired brunette turned his gaze to the dancing crowd, in hopes of catching a glance of Rae. Nowhere. Only weird green magick sticks and pulsating lights seemingly coming from nowhere... Yeah, this future thing... It was all pretty weird to him.

So, where the hell was Rae, anyway?

~*~*~*~*~*~
To Be Continued...
~*~*~*~*~*~

Rae: Oh NOES. I’m being mugged! XD
Well, that’s all for tonight. Be on the lookout for part two, coming tomorrow.

So uh, later, neh?
~Rae