Mood: Sleepy, yo.
Music: Emu ~for my dear~ --- Gackt

Rae: Okay. So, I had originally planned to post this the other day. But a funny thing happened.... I decided to just... Edit it a little... And a little more... And add a scene... Then another scene... And now here I am, one hundred and eighteen pages later. O_O;;;;;;;;;

118....pages.....

x_x;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Wow.

Obviously, I’m not going to post the rest of it in one part, as it would be too long. I’m breaking it up again. After this part, there will be one more. Which is already written, and I’ll post it sometime either this evening or tomorrow. You know, unless my computer randomly self destructs in a fiery explosion of dooooooom or something...

So, let’s see... Hm....

Eh. I don’t really have much to say I don’t think. I’m kinda tired, yo. So let’s just get back to the story, neh?

Kay.

Enjoy the bipolar insanity...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rae took in a deep breath, letting the night air clear her senses. Despite the smog, it still felt nice to be out of that dark hallway.

This day had been quite the little roller-coaster now hadn’t it? Somehow she had a feeling the ride wasn’t quite over yet either, judging by the expression on Kitsune’s face.

The pink haired girl glanced around the back alley, its dark isolated atmosphere... Was slightly creepy actually. Not that she had a whole lot to be worried about. After all, she had a demon and two elementals with her, so yeah.

She cast her gaze to each of her companions, taking in their expressions and body language.

Druuvbin still had that ‘innocent’ look on his face, eyes of course holding that amused sparkle. He stood near Rae, with a hand on his lean hip, other hand still holding his empty liquor glass. Even just standing there, he... Looked so graceful. The way he held himself, his very presence held an eloquent air. He’s so... Pretty. The short black top and low cut jeans... Even causal apparel looked elegant on his lean frame. Of course he’s also a devious jerk... Somehow that whole ‘mugging’ thing was really starting to seem kind of... Suspicious to the girl. I’m so asking him about that later...

Kitsune stood off to the side a bit, her sleeveless arms crossed, a tense expression in her icy eyes. Her face held no trace of make-up; however the woman was quite beautiful, regardless. Messy, haphazard hair and calloused hands... Such a warrior, completely. A black sleeveless top and dark, ripped jeans, and as always, those bandages. Bandages wrapped from her wrists to her elbows. Why the heck does she wear those anyway? Fashion accessory, hiding scars? What? the girl thought not for the first time...

Her gaze then moved to Malba, who stood leaning against the alley-wall, still nursing on that bloody hand. From what she could tell, every last knuckle was busted and bleeding... Swollen and... How many times did he punch the damn wall, anyway?! Geez Malba...
The lithe elemental looked quite uncomfortable in his slinky ripped blue shirt and tight leather pants, and well, uncomfortable period actually. Or irritated. With Malba, it was really kinda hard to tell...

The three... Each and every one of them were... Really quite beautiful, in their own individual ways... Okay, enough with the mushy thinking here Rae, what’s your problem? she mentally scolded herself. For some reason, she was feeling a bit... Sentimental perhaps? She wasn’t really sure as to why... Too much stress for one day?

“You said... You said that you trusted us. And that you want us to trust you, correct?” Kitsune suddenly broke the silence, locking eyes with Rae, an intense expression in her ice colored eyes.

The pink haired girl cocked her head a bit at Kitsune’s question, continuing to look into those intense blue eyes... “Duh. Isn’t that kinda obvious by now?” she answered, smirk appearing on her lips.

“I see...” Kitsune responded, breaking eye contact, turning to glance at Druuvbin. “...Fine,” she sighed, nodding her head slightly.

“So, I take it you have decided than, Kitsune?” the psychic questioned lightly, taking his hand momentarily away from his hip, pushing a lock of blue hair away from his eyes.

“...Yes,” she affirmed, turning her intense gaze back to Rae.

Okay.. Now I’m suddenly nervous...

“Um... Decided what, exactly?” she asked with a small, uneasy laugh.

“...Recently, it has become quite difficult to keep Kouji in hiding. More so than usual,” the psychic responded, turning his lavender eyes to focus on Rae. “...Will you help us?”

Huh? Me?

“Uh, sure. What can a dorky human like me do though?” Rae questioned with an eyebrow raised.

“...Even if it could possibly put you in danger, you would still do it?” the ice demon questioned, once again locking eyes with the human girl.

“Duh.” Rae smirked. How many times do I have to tell these guys that I’m with them, sheesh.

“I see,” the icy woman replied, once again turning to glance at Druuvbin. “...We can only keep him hidden for so long.”

“It’s growing rather difficult, considering our limited powers and inadequate resources. It is indeed... Only a matter of time before they find him.” Druu commented, his silky smooth voice taking on a more serious tone.

“Yeah I even got shot the other day protecting the little dork.” Malba complained, flipping a lock of black hair away from his face.

“You got shot?!” Rae exclaimed, eyes widening.

“Grazed would be the word. Barely even a flesh wound,” the ice demon remarked with a roll of her eyes.

“Wha? Well it could have been a lot worse you know!” the darkness elemental snapped, shooting the demon a death glare.

“Baby.”

“Mutt!”

“Fairy.”

“Stupid bitch!”

“Ahem, children, let’s fight later, yes?” Druuvbin interjected, giving his two bickering companions a small, amused smile.

“Whatever.” Malba snapped, pulling his angry gaze away from Kitsune with an irritated growl.

“Idiot...” the demon muttered, rolling her icy eyes once again.

Rae felt a small smile play on her lips. Those two could be so amusing. Sometimes they so act like they’re six or something...

She then shook her head, refocusing on the serious issue at hand. If Kouji was in so much danger...

“Even you guys aren’t strong enough to keep him hidden? I mean you all are like, uber, right?” she questioned, distractedly picking at a loose black thread hanging from her long sleeved ‘fallen angel’ shirt.

“...Well. Here we seem quite strong, however... As I’ve said before, our world is a bit different, Rae,” the psychic responded calmly.

“Feh. I’m still strong, no matter what dimension we happen to be in at the time.” Malba bragged, a dark smirk appearing on his lips. Rae suppressed a smile at that. Look’s like he’s back to his usual self again... Really, she liked his cocky grin much more than that hollow voice from earlier... Definitely.

“Strong? For a fairy maybe.” Kitsune stated pointedly, eyebrow twitching with aggravation.

“Fuck you mutt!”

“Idiot fairy.”

“What?!”

Druu cleared his throat, once again cutting into the two’s argument. “Though we do have some power, it’s safe to say that we are nowhere near what was it you said? Uber?”

“Yeah... You said that before, back when we were in your world. It’s just I have a hard time believing it. It’s like, I dunno to me you all seem invincible or something.” Rae commented thoughtfully, twisting a lock of pink hair around a finger.

“Invincible? I only wish,” the water elemental replied, amusement in his lavender eyes. “That would be quite nice.”

“I’ve been getting word from some contacts that is... Definitely not good. I’m pretty sure that Kaine is on to us again. We really need to get Kouji somewhere safe,” Malba stated, his attention once again on his broken hand. “Er, well. Safer, anyway.”

At least it looks like the bleeding is slowing down some. Finally...

“Kaine?” Rae questioned.

“He’s a real dick.... Stupid fuck...” the elemental replied darkly, narrowing his eyes. The sprite’s eyebrow twitched, his hand clenching. Whoa. Serious hate there... Rae figured it best to not ask Malba for further details on this “Kaine” person. Maybe Druu could tell her later... The last thing I need to do is set Malba off again...Yeah, best to just let that one slide for now...

“So... Okay. We’ve established that you’re having a hard time keeping Kouji hidden from the uh, bad guys or this Kaine guy or whatever. So... What do you want me to do?” Rae really wasn’t sure where she fit into this. How could she help? Unless...

Kitsune sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. She seemed to be contemplating her response. With another sigh, she opened her eyes, a tense, reluctant expression flittering through her eyes.

“Will... Will you Keep Kouji with you? Here, in your world?” Kitsune questioned haltingly, looking down at the pavement.

Wh...What? Nani? Neh?

“Me?” the girl squeaked, pointing a finger towards herself.

“If you let the boy stay with you for now, he would be in a considerably less amount of danger.” Druu reasoned calmly, giving the girl a small reassuring smile.

“But... Um... What makes you think I can keep him safe? I mean hell, I couldn’t even save him from a couple of stupid human muggers!” she exclaimed, blue-green eyes wide.

“Tonight, you proved that you will risk your life for him. That’s what matters, Rae. Besides, as far as we know, no other being possess the ability to make the jump to this dimension. The likelihood of there being any danger is pretty remote. Kouji would be safer here. We would no longer have to constantly move him, wondering if ‘this will be the day we finally lose him’.” Druuvbin stated, absentmindedly running a finger along his empty liquor glass.

Rae closed her eyes, contemplating the psychic’s words. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to keep the boy. It wasn’t that at all. It’s just... What... What if I mess up? What if... She opened her eyes, tilting her head a bit. Wait. Why is she suddenly...

“This is kind of a change, you know Kitsune? Just the other day you were ready to kick Druu and Malba’s asses for just ‘jumping’ me to your world. Plus you tried to strangle Kopaka for bringing Kouji to Tokyo. Now you suddenly want me to keep your brother? Why?”
She didn’t understand. Kitsune seriously couldn’t actually... Trust her with something that important, right?

Kitsune let out a frustrated sigh, casting her gaze back to the ground. “...I’ve thought about it... Maybe... I might have been wrong,” she muttered slowly.

“What the great Kitsune, wrong? Is that possible, oh mighty Kitsi, queen of the mutts?” Malba questioned sarcastically, shooting the ice demon a cocky grin.

“...Do you want me to kill you right here and now, you fucking fairy?” the demon snapped in response, turning to give Malba her trademark ‘evil death glare of doom and despair’.

Oh, Malba, you really never know when to stop running your mouth... Rae thought with a shake of her head.

“Try it mutt.”

“Fairy.”

“Uh... Guys?” Rae interjected cautiously.

“Bitch.”

“Fairy.”

“Er, guys? Hello?”

“Fuck off, mutt.”

“I really should just kill you.”

“Guys? Hello? Yo? Oi? Hey!”

“What?!” the two snapped in unison, both turning their angry gazes to the girl.

Meep...

Rae quickly took a step closer to Druu, eyes wide. “Um...Nothing. Never mind...” Geez! Bite my head off...

Kitsune let out a small growl, turning angrily away from Malba. “I’m not wasting my time fighting with you, fairy.”

“Whatever. Mutt,” the sprite responded darkly.

Druuvbin meanwhile stood silently, watching the two’s newest argument with a touch of amusement. He then cleared his throat, a smile on his lips. “If you two are quite finished. Let’s try to stay on track, hm?”

Rae bit her lip to keep from smiling. God, he sounds like a parent scolding his kids or something... Heh, or a schoolteacher dealing with kindergarteners...

Kitsune let out another small, frustrated growl, casting an irritated glare at the psychic. “Don’t start, Druuvbin.”

“Start what Kitsune? I’m not the one bickering like school-children,” the water elemental replied airily, obviously thoroughly amused.

Kitsune simply twitched before turning her gaze away from the psychic, instead refocusing her icy eyes to Rae. “...As I was saying... I may have been a bit... Harsh. I just... It’s a lot of responsibility to put on you, a human. I didn’t want to involve you.”

Rae opened her mouth to reply, however was silenced as Kitsune held up a hand, motioning for the girl to remain quiet.

“However. We already have. So much so that it’s pointless to continue to keep you in the dark. At this point I believe it may even be more dangerous to not tell you...” the demon trailed off with a sigh.

“Ah, you just didn’t trust a weird human girl from some foreign dimension,” Rae teased lightly.

“Well yes. There was that as well...” the demon replied, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

“Was... Did you just make a joke?” the girl questioned with surprise.

“...Not really,” the demon deadpanned, however that small smile remained on her lips.

“Kitsune? Make a joke? Please. Didn’t you know the mutt doesn’t have a sense of humor?” Malba smirked darkly, much to Kitsune’s irritation.

“Oh will you shut up, Malba.” Rae sighed in exasperation. You’re really pushing it. Kitsune may very well decide to catch your hair on fire here in a sec...Not that I’d really blame her...

“So again... I ask, will you let him stay in this world?” the demon questioned quietly, completely ignoring Malba’s previous snide comment.

“I...”

The girl closed her eyes, biting her lip absentmindedly. But...

“Are you sure you can trust me? I mean... Kitsune, do you really trust me to keep your brother?” she asked, opening her eyes to meet the demon’s deep gaze.

Kitsune was silent for a moment, as if considering exactly how to respond to the girl’s question. With a sigh, the woman shrugged. “...I trust you,” the demon finally stated firmly, ice eyes locked intensely on Rae.

...She...trusts me... Me. Me... Kitsune...

It... Those words spoken so directly... Kitsune trusts me? She couldn’t believe it. The secretive, elusive demon...

“I’ll do it.” Rae nodded, a smile appearing on her lips.

Hell. If Kitsune could actually say that she trusted her... Then... How could she turn her down? These mysterious beings finally... Finally were opening up. And...

“I’m not sure how the hell my family is going to feel about me randomly showing up with a new addition to the house but, yeah. Kouji can stay with me as long as you need for him to,” the girl stated, nodding her head decidedly.

“...Good.” Kitsune replied, a small smile on her icy pale lips.

She looks relieved... Things must really be getting dangerous in their world...

“Hey. Just so you know? I don’t trust you. Because you’re an idiot.” Malba added, smirk still present on his lips.

“...I see.” Rae stated flatly, rolling her eyes at the darkness sprite.

“Well then. I suppose there are... Hm. Some things you need to know about our little Kouji, yes?” Druu questioned, rubbing at his eyes a bit.

“What, that he’s schizoid?” Malba quipped.

“Shut up Malba.” Kitsune bit out, shooting the sprite an angry glare.

“Well. He is,” the elemental shrugged.

“Ignore him Kitsune. So, what do you need me to know about your little brother, neh?” Rae cut in before the two could start fighting again. Now, maybe they’ll tell me why he was acting so... Uh... Odd?

“...First. I suppose... Well. Actually, Kouji isn’t my little brother.” Kitsune stated lowly, looking down at the pavement.

“Oh. Ok--Wait! What? Huh? He’s not your brother? But, why would you say he’s your brother if he’s not?” Rae exclaimed, eyes filled with confusion. What the hell is going on now?!

“I didn't say that he's not my brother. Only that he’s not my little brother,” the demon stated with a touch of impatience.

“What?” Okay, now she was doubly confused. What had she missed?

“Kouji... Kouji is in fact my older brother.”

“WH-A? What?! Older? Huh? Nani?!”

Can this day get ANY freaking weirder?!?!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sanosuke took another swig from the tall glass of blue liquid, shuddering a bit at the potency of the liquor. He wasn’t sure what the hell kind of booze it even was, as Kopaka had ordered it. Why had he trusted the idiot sprite to order for him anyway?

Oh well. Booze is booze I guess... he thought, glancing around at the busy bar. Somehow they had managed to find three empty stool seats, despite the large crowd.

“It’s good, right, right? Heheh.” Kopaka questioned happily, drinking a glass of the same blue substance. “Not as good as the stuff I make though.”

“Hey, why do I have to drink juice?” Kouji whined, glaring at the offending glass of apple juice with disdain.

“Because, you’re a kid.” Sanosuke responded with an eye-roll. Geez, this kid is as bad as Yahiko...

“Oh? Am I?” the boy tilted his head questioningly. “Okay, juice it is then,” he chirped happily, taking a sip from the glass.

Sano stared at Kouji for a moment before shaking his head. ...What is with this kid? The fox hit him on the head too many times or something?

“Uh, anyway. Kouji. I wanted to ask you something,” the spiky haired teen turned on his stool, facing the boy.

“Fire away, Rooster-chan,” the boy responded cheerfully, taking another sip of juice.

“Will you STOP calling me that you little brat?” Sanosuke growled, twitching in annoyance.

“How about Rooster-man?”

“NO.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Whoa. The rooster-man-man. Roooosster-maaan. Heh.” Kopaka randomly sang off-key, twirling his seat back and forth.

Ignoring the odd elemental, Sano cleared his throat. Let’s try this again.

“Kid. You said something earlier. Back in Rae’s room? Something about Yuki. I wanted to know what you meant by it,” he stated, taking another drink of the sour blue liquor.

“Hm... About Yuki? Did I?”

Sanosuke let out a sigh, resisting the urge to pound his own head against the bar. What is with this kid?!

“Yeah, remember? You said something about Yuki not being a normal ghost. Ring any bells?”

Kouji sat in contemplation for a moment, cocking his head a bit to the side. After taking another drink from his glass, the boy cleared his throat. “Nope. Don’t remember. Sorry,” he chirped, giving Sano an apologetic smile.

The spiky haired brunette let out a groan, taking another large swallow of booze, drinking down the entire contents of the glass in one gulp. Afterwards he slammed the glass back to the bar with a clang. “Get me another one,” he called loudly to the busy bartender.

“Why do you want to know about Yuki, dude?” Kopaka questioned curiously, glancing at Sanosuke.

“...It’s... I’m not really sure. It’s just something that mummy-face said...” Sano replied uncomfortably. Should he really even be talking about this? Was it any of his business anyway?

“He’s all grey, every last bit of him. It’s all really grey, but it’s a secret.” Kouji suddenly stated sadly, looking into his juice glass with an odd expression.

Grey?

“What do you mean, kid?”

“What?” Kouji questioned, looking up from his juice, the peculiar expression previously on his face vanishing.

“I asked you what you meant by saying he’s grey.” Sano replied, giving the young teen an incredulous look.

“Grey? When did I say that?” Kouji asked, a confused expression flickering in his icy eyes.

“...Just now!” Sano exclaimed, trying his best not to lose his temper. Is he crazy or something?!

“Did I?”

Sano let out a moan, thumping his head down on the bar with a bang. I should have stayed back in the past. I should NEVER have even gone on this stupid trip... he thought in aggravation, sitting back up and rubbing his forehead. Okay, that kind of hurt...

“Yuki is strange, isn’t he?” Kopaka suddenly questioned, looking down into his nearly empty glass. His usually carefree voice now taking on a more serious quality, and his eyes...

Hm?

Sano turned to look at the sprite, noting the solemn look playing on the elemental’s face. That’s weird... The teen wasn’t used to seeing Kopaka look serious. It was pretty weird, actually.

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” Sanosuke replied with a nod of the head, continuing to watch the grey haired sprite.

“Sometimes, when I’m around him... Sometimes I feel like... I don’t know man. Like there’s something that... I’m supposed to know. I keep... I guess it’s just the drugs.” Kopaka admitted slowly, a thin laugh escaping his lips.

“Something you’re supposed to know? Like what?” Sano questioned, unsure what to make of the odd sprite’s words.

“I dunno. That’s the point. Like at the restaurant earlier? That song? Something... I don’t know. It’s kinda driving me crazy actually. Well you know. Crazier, man. Because, dude I’m already crazy, ya know? Heh...” the sprite confessed, a grin appearing on his lips.

That song again... First Shishio, now Kopaka. What the hell was so important about that damn song Yuki had sang? Sanosuke really didn’t get it. At all.

“Here’s your drink, sir,” a voice cut into his thoughts, and he looked up, noticing the bartender holding out another glass of blue liquid.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, grabbing the large glass.

“Hey.. You are over twenty one, right?” the tall dark haired man asked, taking a better look at Sanosuke, his eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“Uh, yeah, of course,” the teen lied, grinning at the lean bartender.

“You got ID?”

“I-what?”

“ID, funny guy,” the man replied, crossing his arms.

“Dude, he’s fine, man,” the grey haired sprite broke in, waving his hand dismissively. “He’s legal.”

“Prove it,” the bartender responded, obviously getting a bit irritated at the two. “Show me some ID.”

What was up with this future anyway? Since when did you have to be a certain age to drink? Hell, he had taken his first drink at the age of four for God’s sake...

--Dude, just show him the card Mummy-man gave you.-- a voice floated through Sanosuke’s mind, and he jumped, eyes widening.

Wh-What? Am I being possessed?!

--Er...Dude.. It’s just me...-- the voice replied, and after a few more panicked moments, the spiky haired teen finally realized that the voice sounded a lot like... Kopaka.

Why are you in my head?!

--Heh. Dude. It’s called telepathy.--

Sanosuke shuddered, not liking the thought of the odd sprite clomping around in his brain. Well, stop it!

The card... Oh yeah...

Sanosuke reached into a jean pocket, pulling out the odd card with his picture on it. “Uh, here?” he handed it to the bartender, casting an annoyed glance to the sprite sitting beside him. Stupid idiot...

--Aww, that’s not cool. You’re mean, dude.--

Will you GET OUT OF MY HEAD?!

--Heheheh...Sorry.--

“I guess this is real,” the man stated, once again eyeing Sanosuke suspiciously. After another moment the bartender shrugged and handed back the ID, moving on to serve other customers.

“That was close. You’re lucky Mummyman man was feeling generous and made you legal, heheh.” Kopaka laughed, finishing off the rest of his blue drink.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Sano snapped, shuddering from the weirdness of having someone’s voice in his mind...

“What, use telepathy-dude?”

“Yes! That’s just, weird! And wrong!”

“You’re kinda superstitious, dude,” the wind/ice elemental snorted, obviously enjoying Sanosuke’s paranoia.

“Shut up!”

“Hey how come Shishio couldn’t give me one saying I’m twenty one?” Kouji questioned, taking Sano’s fake ID and examining it.

“Er, dude. I don’t think you’d pass for twenty one.” Kopaka replied.

“Really?”

“You’re a weird kid, you know that?” Sanosuke remarked, taking a drink from his new glass of bizarre, sour blue booze.

“Am I?”

“...Yeah. You are.”

Sanosuke let out a sigh, leaning his elbows on the bar-counter’s smooth surface.

He still hadn’t learned anything, thanks to Kouji and his weird memory loss issue... “It’s all really grey, but it’s a secret.”

The kid was definitely weird. Grey and secret huh? Supposing Kouji wasn’t just completely insane and babbling about nothing, Sano figured there was probably some kind of meaning behind what the young teen had said... Grey and secret...

Now, I’m more confused than before. This is just really annoying... he let out another sigh, taking a large swig of the strong liquor. Plus that damn song...

He was tired of thinking about it. For now... He really just wanted to get drunk.

“Heeeeh. Spinnny blueee, spinny blue, pink bunny drink, Heheh...”

“Hey, Rooster-chan?”

“...What?”

“How come Shishio put your name on this card as ‘Roostagara Sanosuke?”

“Wh-aat?!”

Yeah, he wanted to get drunk.

Really drunk.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Rae blinked, blinked again, and simply stared. Had she heard that wrong? Older? How is that freaking possible?

“Older? Older?” she stuttered, trying to keep her voice at a normal level. She kinda felt like screeching like a school-girl or something...

“Yes. Older.” Kitsune responded flatly, rolling her eyes at the girl’s dramatics. “Technically, anyway.”

“Calm down Rae, we’ll explain.” Druu stated lightly, amusement once again present in his lavender eyes.

Malba said nothing, opting to give the girl an annoyed look instead.

“Um... Okay...” she replied, confusion written all over her face.

Kitsune let out a sigh, crossing her arms tighter across her chest. “Kouji... Kouji is quite a bit older than me. I’m not sure on the exact date, but perhaps by fifty years or so,” the demon stated calmly, however an odd look passed through her eyes. Rae had a distinct feeling that this was difficult for Kitsune...

Why do I get a feeling I’m not going to like this...

“His mother as I told you previously, was a human. However, her blood had been altered quite a bit. Honestly I’m not even sure what all they did to the woman,” the ice demon paused, letting out another sigh.

“Um... Who? Who altered her?” Rae questioned quietly, lowering her eyes. ....This isn’t going to be a ‘happy’ tale...Obviously...

“My dear father of course.” Kitsune bit out, her voice taking on a venomous like quality at the mention of her ‘dear father’.

Whoa. And I thought my dad and I had a crappy relationship... the girl thought, noting the hate filled look that flashed through the woman’s eyes.

“My father was not a pleasant man, to say the least. At one time, he was in charge of a government run military base, specializing in experimental weaponry and genetic alteration research. Kouji’s mother was a special project apparently. I was being quite literal when I told you he had a human woman. He had her alright. As a guinea-pig.” Kitsune paused again, angry eyes focusing on the pavement.

Rae felt a shiver run through her, and she clenched her fists. This is gonna get worse...

“However, he made a mistake. Whatever they did... It was too much. The woman quickly deteriorated, her human body unable to stand the energies and toxins and who knows what else they had pumped into her... My father came to the conclusion that she was worthless. However, a child with demon blood and her altered blood? That was a different matter altogether.” Kitsune stated flatly, uncrossing her arms, opting to clench her right fist at her side instead, while placing her left hand to rest on her thin hip.

Oh God...

“It’s likely he hypothesized that demon blood mixed with the woman’s blood could neutralize the unstable energy fluctuations.” Druu added, shaking his head a bit.

“Which was fucking stupid as hell.” Malba commented with a small irritated growl.

“So... He...” Rae trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

“Yes. Being the arrogant bastard he was, he wanted to have the experiment carried out with his own blood. So he... Impregnated her. Fairly soon after Kouji was born, he had the woman executed,” the ice demon trailed off, closing her eyes, a slight shame tinted pitch briefly entering her voice.

Don’t sound like that. It’s not your fault...

“He assumed that the demon blood in Kouji would neutralize the instability, however it did exactly the opposite. The boy is far more unstable than even what his mother was, of that I’m sure.” Druu stated, a serious tone in his voice, and as Rae turned to glance at the sprite, she caught a dark flash of emotion in his lavender eyes.

“Too dangerous to let live, too powerful to destroy. That’s what he used to say... After whatever experiments he undertook on Kouji were completed, he cancelled the project. Kouji was isolated and put into an induced coma. Which he remained in for... An extremely long time.” Kitsune stopped again, looking down at the ground, fist tightly clenched.

“Daddy got promoted for his good deeds and left the research field, moving on to head security operations for the whole fucking nation of Xzutai. Leaving his ‘experimental son’ to rot in limbo.” Malba bit out sarcastically, flipping a long strand of hair away from his dark eyes.

“...I.. Don’t even know what to say... That’s... Terrible...” Rae stuttered, taken aback by the terrible circumstances of Kouji’s birth.

“Years later...My father had an arranged marriage to my mother, to boost relations between Xzutai and Kiyall, my mother’s country. She was from a high ranking family and Father, ever the politician, took advantage of the situation... The marriage of course resulted in my birth. Mother died a few years later. Anymore, I can barely even remember her face... She died from some rare illness, or so my father said anyway. Whether that’s really true, I don’t know,” the ice demon shrugged, face carefully blank, however Rae could see her eyebrow twitching, and her fist tightly clenched...

“Um... If.. This is... Kitsune, you don’t have to talk about all of this if you don’t want to... If you...” Rae trailed off, biting a fingernail nervously. This was affecting the demon, this horrible story. She didn’t want to cause the demon any more pain than necessary... Bringing up this...

This is awful...

“No. I... Want to tell you.” Kitsune shook her head, raising her ice colored eyes to meet the girl’s gaze.

“Okay. I just wanted you to know that... You can stop anytime...”

Kitsune nodded her head a bit, clearing her throat before continuing her story. “I was sent to the best military training schools, and was well trained in combat and... Assassination. I was his pet lapdog, following his every order like a mindless fool...” the demon trailed off once again, and Druu shook his head, stepping a bit closer to the woman.

“What else was there? You were raised and controlled by the man. Blame him, not yourself,” the psychic stated smoothly, placing a lean hand on his hip.

“Not your fault the guy was a fuck.” Malba shrugged apathetically.

“Do you know I made my first kill when I was ten? A perfect age to infiltrate a child’s birthday party... The young daughter of a rivaling country’s Prime Minister... I killed her father at her own birthday party. Isn’t that nice?” the demon scoffed, a slight shake to her otherwise cold voice.

Oh...Oh man... Rae felt herself shiver and she crossed her arms across her chest, attempting to warm herself. To no avail. It wasn’t the night air’s cool temperature that had made her blood run cold, after all...

“That’s...Kitsune...I...” What the hell should she even say?

“He still had clearance to access the base Kouji was held in. Not that he ever did. But... I would take his clearance card and go see him... Kouji was so small and... Lifeless. Kept in an isolation chamber with a breathing tube stuffed down his throat, wires and IV’s and needles... I hated it. Hated it so very much. Never moving, never aging... Eternally sleeping...” the demon shook her head, once again another shake entering that cool voice...

“That’s terrible...” Rae whispered, another shiver running up her spine.

“It is,” Druuvbin nodded in agreement, lavender eyes flashing with... Rae wasn’t really sure.

It’s so hard to read his expressions... I can never really tell for sure...

“I grew to despise Father, and... I eventually began to work against him. Not that he knew. I played the part of the ever faithful servant, however... I wanted him to suffer. Being an elite assassin in his little army gave me quite an advantage. I was able to gather information to constantly fuck him over with, without him ever knowing it was me.. I actually would have really enjoyed killing him myself... But someone beat me to it.” Kitsune shrugged, eyebrow twitching rapidly.

“So, um... After he died... What then?”

“The clearance card was cancelled. I could no longer see Kouji. Despite my high rank status, I was declined clearance... I couldn’t accept that,” she responded, clenched hand trembling.

“So we dealt with it,” Malba broke in, dark smirk on his lips.

“So I take it you already knew each other?” Rae questioned, glancing between Malba and Kitsune.

“Oh yes. We had been working together for quite some time by that point.” Druu answered for them. “We understood Kitsune’s decision, and went with it.”

“Decision?”

“To kill every last bastard in that hellhole.” Malba responded, a shadowy gleam in his eyes. “Which was fun by the way.”

“Kopaka deactivated the systems keeping Kouji comatose, while Druuvbin, Malba and I... Eliminated the base.” Kitsune stated with a slight nod.

Rae’s eyes widened a bit, however she nodded. “I... I understand that. I’m a sister, too ya know...”

Wait, Kopaka?

“Er...Wait. You let Kopaka deactivate it?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Despite the way he acts, Kopaka is quite a bit more intelligent than what he’d like you to think,” the psychic responded lightly, a small smile on his lips.

“For the first time in who knows how long... Kouji opened his eyes. It... Was odd. He immediately recognized me as his sister. The first words from his mouth were...I’ve been waiting for you, Kitsi...” the demon stated slowly, a slight smile playing on her lips.

She really loves him so much. You can tell... That smile...

“Needless to say, I’m now considered a traitor to the nation of Xzutai, wanted for murder and terrorism charges,” the icy woman commented dryly, obviously not the least bit concerned with her outlaw status.

“Ah, don’t forget kidnapping.” Druu chimed in cheerfully.

“Yes, and kidnapping.” Kitsune concurred.

“Heh, I’m wanted for a hell of a lot more than just that, in a lot of places,” the darkness sprite commented, smirk on his lips. “A few more murder and terrorism charges from Xzutai at this point really don’t make much of a difference...”

“Yes...” Druu responded vaguely with a nod, a small smile on his lips.

“So... Uh... What exactly is Kouji?” Rae questioned, still not clear on exactly what the boy’s ‘experiments’ even meant...

“Honestly? We really aren’t sure ourselves.” Druuvbin remarked, tucking a lock of blue hair behind his pointed ear.

“There wasn’t any data left on the computers, all files had been deleted. All I can go on are Father’s off-hand comments throughout the years. What I do know is... That his energy is extremely unstable. So much so that... In some ways I do understand the decision to keep him sedated... However I couldn’t leave him like that anymore. Regardless of the consequences.” Kitsune admitted with a frown.

Rae thought on that for a moment, mulling over the possibilities of Kouji’s ‘unstable’ energies... Unstable how, exactly?

“When you say unstable, what do you mean?”

“It’s as if his body itself is charged with conflicting energies. We aren’t entirely sure, but... It’s quite possible that he could prove to be rather dangerous, if he were to lose control of this energy,” the psychic responded, a small frown on his lips.

“Lose control?”

“If the energy overwhelmed him. It’s so much energy for a boy to have and essentially, he is still just a boy. Physically his body is about the same as a normal human teenager... However the energy... We’re not sure what the true goal of the experiment was, but I’m guessing it was some type of weapon research,” the water elemental responded, moving a lean hand to rub at his eyes.

“...They were trying to make Kouji into some kind of weapon?” Rae questioned slowly, anger tinting her voice. “How...How could they do that? To a child? That’s...”

How could...

That bastard made a son, just so he could...That...Disgusting bastard...

“How could he do that to... To his own son?”

“That’s a good question. Sadly I cannot answer it.” Druu stated, still rubbing at his eyes.

“I couldn’t leave him there anymore... I don’t care what he is. I don’t care.” Kitsune stated firmly, clenched right fist shaking.

“I understand that,” the girl replied, giving Kitsune a warm smile. “Completely understand.”

“The kid’s pretty screwed up, no real surprise there. Not only is he some kind of weird freak experiment, but evidently his brain really got fried in the whole experiment process or whatever.” Malba remarked, glancing down at his swollen hand.

“What.. What do you mean?”

“We aren’t sure exactly why, but... His memory is very fragmented. His short term memory is quite bad, plus, he’s prone to mood swings, and varying stages of emotional maturity. He ranges from adult like levels of maturity to childlike, you never really know what to expect from him.” Druu explained, pulling his hand away from his eyes, returning it to rest on his hip.

“Like I said. He’s schizoid.” Malba smirked, all the while attempting to straighten out his clenched, broken hand. The darkness sprite wasn’t very successful in his endeavor however, and frowned at the offending hand with annoyance.

“Shut up. Or I’ll break your other hand. Fairy,” the ice/fox hybrid demon snapped, casting a quick death glare at the elemental.

“Whatever.”

“So... When he’s staying with me... He’s not going to like, randomly forget who I am and freak out or something, right?” Rae questioned hesitantly, once again biting a fingernail absentmindedly.

Poor Kouji... God. No wonder he was acting kind of strange...

“No. His memory problems are thankfully not to that degree of severity,” the psychic answered calmly.

Well at least he won’t suddenly forget who I am...

“Um... Okay, so... Anything else I need to know? Like, um...” the girl trailed off in thought. “I dunno, er, well anything?”

Kitsune nodded a bit, once again crossing her arms. “Yes. Don’t ever let him take that necklace off,” the ice demon responded firmly.

The necklace? The girl cocked her head questioningly, thinking of the odd blue jewel that the boy wore around his neck. Hmm...

“Why? What is it?”

“It’s a trinket I, hm, acquired for Kitsune to give to the boy. It suppresses his demonic blood, which in effect helps to minimize the unbalanced energy.” Druuvbin replied smoothly, running a finger along the empty glass in his hand.

“Yeah, it’s hard to tell what the hell would happen if he took it off. It would randomly throw his energy way out of whack, to say the least.” Malba added, frown on his lips.

Whoa, okay that would be bad...

“Okay, so as long as he keeps that on, his energy should remain stable?” Rae questioned, once again twirling a strand of hair absentmindedly around a finger.

“For now? Yes, we think so. The barrier that surrounds him keeps his energy sufficiently suppressed, so you should be in no real danger,” the psychic nodded, casting a quick reassuring smile at the girl.

Rae nodded, distractedly chewing her lip, slipping into thought. Okay, so as long as he keeps the necklace on, he’ll be okay. And okay, so he has some memory issues, that’s okay. I can deal with that. But... What if something happens and I can’t keep him safe?

“But... Um... What if something happens and I can’t... Protect him? I mean, I know you say that no one else can get to this world but... Uh. Yeah. What if something happens when none of you are in this dimension? What the hell should I do then?” she couldn’t help but ask, a worried tone entering her voice. I know it’s safer here... But...

“We’ve already thought of that.” Druu commented, turning his gaze to Kitsune. “And we think we may have a solution.”

“You really sure you wanna give the last one to a human?” Malba questioned flatly, eyes still cast to his injured hand.

Huh? Give me what? ...Neh?

“...Yes.” Kitsune remarked calmly. “Do it.”

The water elemental nodded his head, then turned to face Rae.

“....If the remote case would arise, and a true emergency were to indeed take place... You will use this,” the psychic instructed slowly, pulling a small black object from a jean pocket, holding it up for the girl to see.

“Uh... What is it?” she questioned, staring at the small black circular object with confusion.

What the heck? It looks like... Some kind of weird black coin or something... she thought, stepping a bit closer to observe the flat, circular black object.

“This... This is the Jump.”

“Wait...The what?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuki splashed another handful of cold water onto his pale face, looking up to see his reflection in the restroom mirror.

Not that the cool water really did much, as he could barely feel it.

“...That was a really nice song you sang earlier...”

The silver haired man tore his gaze away from the mirror, focusing his eyes down to the running water instead.

“...Everyone has secrets, now don’t they?...”

He shook his head, reaching down to splash another handful of water against his face. Stop thinking about it...

“...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....”

“Damn.” Yuki muttered aloud, turning the water off, once again meeting his reflection’s grey eyes. “Dammit.”

How long had he been hiding in the restroom? After his conversation with Shishio... He had practically fled. Too many emotions.... Damn that man. Why did he have to be so nosy, so pushy? Couldn’t he just leave well enough alone?

Yuki continued to stare at his reflection, his grey eyes... Though to him... Everything looked grey.

Am I finally going to fade?

How much longer could he keep pretending?

He glanced about the dim bathroom, noting the shades of grey the room held. His sense of color had slowly been diminishing for some time now... Slowly but surely, the world seemed to be fading... Losing all color...

I don’t want to go...

The silver haired man closed his eyes, clutching his wet hands tightly against the porcelain sink. “No.” He wouldn’t. Not yet. Just let me stay... Please... Even if I am a lie...

“...It's going to be interesting finding out exactly what secrets you hold. Very entertaining, most definitely...”

It had been quite stupid, hadn’t it? To give Shishio even more fuel for his curiosity... Of all songs... Why had he chosen that one?

“Fool,” he mumbled, eyes firmly closed, taking in a deep breath. “Stupid, stupid fool...”

He took in another deep shaky breath, barely feeling the air in his numb chest. “I have to... Just calm down...”

All I want is to be with them... That’s all I want...

Yuki closed his eyes tighter, fighting to keep the images from the past away from his thoughts...

Voices from the past...

“Yuki? Yuki!! No! You can’t! You can’t you bastard! You lied!”

No...

“You lied to me! Please! Please stop? Yuki? Yuki! NO!!”

No.....

“Don’t you dare Yuki! YUKI! YU--”

No...

Yuki let out an angry growl, eyes flying open. His reflection... His ugly grey reflection... He hated it. With that thought, the silver haired man violently raised a fist, smashing the glass with one blow.

He watched the pieces of mirror scatter, raining down upon the sink and bathroom floor. Broken pieces...

He apathetically glanced down at his hand, noting the large shard embedded deeply in his flesh. No blood of course. After all, he had no blood left to bleed... Not anymore...

Yuki pulled the large shard of glass out of his hand, dropping the piece on the floor. It didn’t hurt of course. He looked at the wound, bloodless. Hardly noticeable really...

Shards of grey. All of it... So very grey...

With a shaky sigh he turned, walking away from the mirror, exiting the large restroom. I’m a lie...

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sanosuke watched with little interest as Kopaka and Kouji danced about, choosing to just stand instead. The lights... Were kind of neat, now that he thought about it...

The blue drink Kopaka had been so fond of... Really was pretty strong, apparently. Because hell, he felt waaay better now. The world seemed kinda... Spinny. And the lights...

Whoa... Those magick sticks are... Shiny... Sanosuke blinked, mildly concerned by that odd thought. He felt... Kind of weird actually. It wasn’t like the teen had never been inebriated before. So... What was this feeling? What the hell was in that blue stuff, anyway? Blue. Blue... That’s a weird word...

The brunette blinked again. Those lights... Were really cool... Even if they were evil magick...

“Dude, how ya feelin’?” the dancing wind sprite shouted over the music, a mischievous smirk appearing on his lips.

“Uh... Weird...” the teen responded distractedly, watching the bright flashing lights flickering erratically throughout the large room.

“Heh... I put a little something extra in your drink. You like?” Kopaka questioned loudly, a downright devious grin on his lips.

“Huh?” Extra? What did the weird sprite mean by that? Extra... That’s a weird word too...

“Ah man, Kopaka. You spiked his drink, didn’t you?” Kouji shouted over the music, shaking his head at the wind sprite. “That’s not nice.”

“Heheheheh....”

Sano tried to make sense of what the young icy teen had just said, however the lights were distracting him... Besides, so far he hadn’t been able to really understand, well, anything the kid had said so far, so why bother try to now?

“Rae-Rae’s gonna be pissed...” Kouji chirped happily, hopping in time with the fast-paced music. “You’re gonna be in trouuuuble, Ko.”

“Heheheheh,” was the sprite’s only reply, continuing with his crazed dancing.

Somehow, Sanosuke figured he should be pissed at Kopaka. Because obviously, the sprite had done something to him... But he really couldn’t concentrate long enough to figure out why he should be mad...

Instead he just focused on the lights...

The loud music and the green glowing magick sticks....

“Umm... Sano-kun? Hello? Um... Is he okay?” a voice broke into the spiky haired teen’s thoughts, and he turned, noting Yuki staring at him with concern. When did he get here? He wasn’t there a minute ago... Right?

“Whoa... Yuki. Where have you been?” Sano questioned, attempting to not slur his words. He was glad to see the ghost. He had been a little worried about him... Why had he been worried again? Oh yeah. Shishio... And stuff... Shishio. What a dumb name...

“Sano-kun, you look kind of... Strange,” the spirit commented, eyeing the teen with a worried look.

“I’m fine... I think...So, uh, are you okay Yuki?” Sano questioned, trying to get his eyes to focus on the silver haired spirit. Which was rather difficult, because. The lights? So distracting...

Concentrate stupid....What is wrong with me?!

“Hm? Why wouldn’t I be okay, Sano-kun?” the sprit chirped cheerfully, smiling at the spiky haired teen.

Okay even through the weird dizzy spinning feeling, that smile seemed kind of suspicious to Sanosuke. Because... Well. He wasn’t sure...

Wait...What was I thinking about again?

“Heheheh. Dance with me Yuki-dude!” Kopaka shouted over the music, not waiting for a response from the spirit. Instead he grabbed Yuki’s hand, dragging him closer.

“Wait-No-Kopaka-saaaaan! Not again!” the spirit protested, grey eyes widening.

“Heheheh.”

“Kopaka-saaaan!”

“Hah. Lighten up Yuki, its fun!” Kouji chirped, watching Kopaka and Yuki with an amused grin. “Have fun!”

Sanosuke watched the sprite force the spirit to dance for a few moments, his eyes then slowly wandering back to the flashing lights.

Something is really wrong with me...Whoa. Lights...

Green and blue and red and....

“Kopaka-saaan---”

“Hehehheheh....”

“KOPAKA-SAN!”

Sanosuke vaguely made out Kopaka twirling the ghost about, but had a hard time really focusing. The room was spinning too much.
What’s up with this room? Why is it moving?

“Hm, Mazuhiko was right, you are a cutie,” a loud voice broke into the brunette’s thoughts and he turned, trying to focus on the owner of said voice.

“Huh?” he questioned, trying to focus his blurry eyes. After blinking a few times, a spiky haired bleach-blonde man came into Sanosuke’s view. “What?”

“I’m Kousuke. What’s your name, sexy?” the blonde questioned silkily, lowering his sleek glasses a bit to meet Sano’s eyes.

The man was tall and lean, wearing a bright pink and purple top with jeans and corresponding pink shoes... And were his lips kind of sparkly? “Uh...What?” Wait, did he just call me sexy?! What the hell?!

“I said, what’s your name, sexy?” the blonde repeated, stepping closer to the brunette.

“What?!” Sanosuke shouted, eyes widening. Is this guy...Hitting on me?

“Somehow I doubt your name is what.” Kousuke joked lightly, moving to slide a lean finger across Sanosuke’s cheek. “You have a pretty face, though.”

The teen jerked back, glaring at the blonde. “Hey! What are you doing?!” Who the hell did this guy think he was, anyway?

Kousuke grinned, once again stepping closer. “I’m having my way with you, why?”

“WHAT?”

“Oh come on, you know you want me.” Kousuke winked, his brown eyes twinkling happy.

“WHAT? I think you have the wrong idea here, buddy. Get lost!” Sanosuke snapped, attempting to stumble away from the weird blonde.

“Awww, don’t get mad. Come on, dance with me cutie,” the bleach-blonde chirped, grabbing the spiky haired teen’s hands, pulling him closer.

“HEY!”

“Tell me your name.” Kousuke questioned again, pulling Sanosuke closer, wrapping a toned arm around the teen’s shoulder.

“If I tell you my name will you LEAVE ME ALONE?!” he shouted, doing his best to give the blonde an angry glare. Which was kinda difficult, as the guy seemed to have two heads, and he couldn’t figure out which one to glare at. No wait, three heads... And why did the damn room keep moving?!

“His name is Sanosuke.” Kouji interjected cheerfully, obviously amused by the scene. “He thinks you’re pretty too,” the icy haired teen commented with a mischievous grin.

“WHAT?” Sano shouted, turning to glare at the boy. Boys? Whoa. Why are there two of him?

“Well then, Sanosuke. Let me show you a good time,” the blonde smirked, pulling the spiky haired teen further into the crowd of ravers, away from the laughing Kouji.

“Wait!! No! Damn it!!”

“Wanna techno?”

“What?”

The blonde smirked, pulling out two glowing green sticks from his jean pockets. “Poor guy, you’ve never been techno-ed? Well then...” With that said Kousuke began to twirl the lights around Sano’s body, moving seductively in time with the music.

Whoa...glowey...No! Wait a minute!!

“H-Hey! S-Stop that!”

“Aww, come on, you know you like it...” the blonde smirked, pulling closer, all the while waving the lights...

Sanosuke really couldn’t help but to watch those green lights. Because... They were really glowing. Definitely...

Green. Whoa...

“See, this is fun. Now...” the blonde smirked, an impish expression overtaking his facial features.

“Huh?!”

Before Sanosuke could react, the blonde had latched onto him, dipping him down and....

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!?!?”

“Biting you.” Kousuke replied casually. He then once again latched onto Sanosuke’s neck...

“OWWW!! STOP IT!”

“You taste good.”

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!”

“What’s that, you want me to bite you again? Okay.”

“No you idio--OWW!”

Why the hell did he always get into these situations?

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

Rae: XD .....Ahem.

SO. Kitsune finally opened up some, neh? Well... You finally learned some stuff about Kits and Kouji... Was it worth the wait? Or am I just really unimaginative and lame? Lame you say? I see. T__T;;;;;;;;

Ahem...

Hahahah... Poor Sanosuke, I love torturing him so very much...

Oh and Kousuke? Heh. I’ll let you in on a secret. Kousuke is one of my urbz. From The Urbz video-game. Kousuke is like a totally insane slut. And Mazuhiko? She’s a crazy raver that runs around in Neon East (aka Japan, yo) and is also a slut. XD

Kousuke was added into the story on Mom and Jiro’s request. XD

I’ll post a picture of Kousuke and Mazuhiko (and another urb that’s gonna make an appearance...) at the end of the next entry, neh?

Er, well. Anyway. I’m gonna go crash. I’m really, really tired....

Laters.
~Rae