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 Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 3:08 pm
“Mafia House Scene of Gun Fire”
The headlines across the front of the page showed little interest in most other events as Sirene sat at the kitchen table thumbing through the pages. What did she care that some idiotic man jumped through a window and was now on the run from the mafia? Frankly, all she wanted to know about was the latest news on the weekend sports games. Never to be admitted was the woman’s small love of pro-football.
Setting the pages down on the table, Sirene went to go to the next section when a figure out of the corner of her eye caught her attention just as a little voice asked “What’s a mafa?”
“AH! Yuki! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” The woman screamed out covering her chest with her hand. Looking up at the ceiling as she wished she could put bells on the girl every now and then, Sirene heard the paper shift around on the table.
Yuki had pulled over the front page and was looking at the image of the large house that stood back from the gate. It was easy to see that the camera man dared not to go onto the man’s property but how they got the story, no one could guess. “So what’s a mafa? Is it that house?” Yuki asked again, this time, pointing to the beautiful home pictured before them.
“Why on earth…It’s Mafia, not mafa. The ‘i’ isn’t silent.” Sirene finally corrected as she slid her chair over beside the herald who know was doing her best to try and read the article. “And the mafia is a rich and powerful group that you never want to get involved with. If they approach you, get away.” With that comment, Sirene quickly scooped up the paper and pulled it out from Yuki’s line of sight.
Standing up, Sirene could feel the glare coming from the table as she moved to place the paper on the cabinet for later. Her scores would have to wait, Yuki was annoyed and she would once again have to divert her attention, some how.
The woman was running out of things. The mall was not a place her herald enjoyed. Too many people and playing hide in the racks of clothes was not a game Sirene wanted to play again. A theme park could be fun, but so early? Not to mention that all of them were horror parks thanks to the time of year. Those were out. There was no way she was taking Yuki to a horror park if she had already put her foot down about watching The Nightmare before Christmas. That left only a few things: read a book or take her to the park.
“Yuki, go get your bokken.” With a sigh, the woman leaned up against the counter and leaned her head forward. Shaking it once, she didn’t know what to do. Yuki and her were different in so many ways that trying to make her happy typically meant she had a harder time. Oh well. When she adopted the girl, her only mission in life became that child.
The light foot prints of Yuki’s bare feet snapped on the marble floor only matched by the sound of her sharp wings moving. A beautiful yet deadly noise, just like the girl they went with.
The car ride was long only because neither female would say anything to the other. Sirene was still feeling bad about upsetting the girl only because she didn’t want to play twenty questions on a rare day off from her job in the family company. Ever since moving out, she had to support herself and well, Daddy wouldn't take no for an answer. So now, she not only dealt with him as a father but also a boss. The combination normally left her needing days to just regain some ability to be human.
On the other hand, Yuki was giving Sirene a cold shoulder only because she knew that this meant Sirene didn't have anything to say. Well, at least there was one good thing: Sirene would practice with Yuki today as the sword in the back seat was proof of that. Yet, the herald had to wonder if it was truly a good thing or not. The only other time, besides their weekend get-a-way that Sirene had taken her sword out had been the night after what she called a 'family meeting'.
The bushes had never been the same...
Pulling up to the small parking lot just to the side of the park, Sirene cut the engine just as as woman in pink went running by. One could see that she was running to the pace of her music but the shirt she was wearing caught Sirene's attention. Pink with a ribbon. The same shirt a friend of hers owned and had worn eariler that month.
"Yuki, I don't know how alone we will find the park today." Sirene chuckled to herself as two more women run past them, one pushing a baby stroller. It was the annual breast cancer run and the park was part of the course. Still, Sirene and Yuki both knew a small place set off near the lake that very few people went to.
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:36 am
Tatsuo found himself slumped against the door of his new found son's room, covered in odd bandages and an arm sling. Yuusuke had locked himself in the small room of their newly moved in apartment. Being on the run from the Mafia, the Shimizu's had had numerous car chases, shoot outs, drive bys all within 3 days. The man was amazed really. Yuusuke was probably exhausted but the red headed body guard couldn't tell.
"Yuusuke! Please man, I'm begging you. Open this door already... You been like this since last night! At least eat something... anything. I'll make you anything. If you don't like what I make, we can order take out. Pizza is fine too."
Nothing, not a peep. For all the man knew, his new family could have escaped out the window, or worse, is dead inside.
Sighing, Tatsuo knocked the back of his head against the wooden door. This really wasn't the best way to start a new life; he knew that. The rented apartment was temporary but finding a permanent home was out of the question. In fact, he needed to relocate himself and the boy soon. Suspicious men were seen in the neighborhood and the Red Dragon wasn't going to chance it.
'I can't move though when I can't get the boy out!' he thought angrily. With all the chaos and danger that he has put the boy through, breaking down the door to the Herald's sanctuary would be too much. Currently, it was an unspoken taboo to break down door, knock down the wall, or break through the window; the mafia men did that plenty as is.
"I gotta do something about this..." Tatsuo muttered under his breath. Not just about the mafia after him but also his son. Food does nothing, not even when the warm aroma was fanned through the crack underneath the door. Yelling, begging, hell, the prideful man even cried to try and get the boy out. The man was exhausted. Though his body was weary, facing an angry mob armed with only his fists seemed a lot easier than handling a young kid.
"I'll let you watch TV. You can even play video games."
Still no reply.
"Please man! I'll let you do anything you want, have anything you want!"
A slight rustle. This gave Tatsuo hope.
Okay, so it's mission to find out what his son wants.
Amber eyes zoned out as the body guard went through his memory to detail what his son liked. Within moment a slight smile peaked on his handsome features.
"I'll be gone for 15 minutes... I'll leave you a gun outside your door... if anything happens... I want you take it and hide behind the towels in the closet in the hallway. Do you hear me? Hey! This is important!"
An uncomfortable silence permeated the air but was soon broken by an aknowleding thump from inside the room.
'Okay, alpha male semi-established.' Tatsuo thought encouragingly as he grabbed his keys and practically flew down 4 flights of stairs to his car.
Destination? The nearest mall.
----------------------------------------------------------------
"The best place right now to draw Yuusuke is the park. You got lotsa them trees and birds. You'll get the occasional dog and cat."
Tatsuo was holding the pale hand of his silent son, walking towards the park. After careful thinking of desperation, the Red Dragon tried a peace offering of some authentic Japanese rice scrolls and a full set of calligraphy brushes. He toyed with getting ink sticks but the boy's wings secreted an endless flow as is. A simple inkstone was all Yuusuke needed. It took an additional hour before Yuusuke was willing to even crack the door open to see gorgeous peace offering but once he saw the desperation in the amber eyes of Tatsuo, the boy gave in.
Overjoyed that he was making headway, the ex-mafiaso hiree decided to help his son break in the equipment at the best place - a park filled with people. The mafia wasn't stupid enough to open fire in a crowded public place, especially during daylight hours.
"You'll see people that AREN'T packin' machine guns," Tatsuo added jokingly.
The response were blue eyes narrowing in a 'I'm not amused' look.
"Well, we can see lovers walking, kids playing... and boobs run...ing.."
He stared on as women with ribbons on their chest ran past, some young things as well with ample bouncing boobs.
"Boobs?" a quiet voice questioned.
"Huh? Oh um.... things only women have. You'll like them one day. Very soft." Tatsuo explained unblushingly to his son, taken back by the sudden opportunity to have a conversation.
"Softer than a pillow?" Yuusuke asked, ever so silently.
"Yea, in fact if they are big enough, they are the best pillows a man could want."
".... oh."
Tatsuo, although happy that he finally had something akin to a conversation that lasted beyond a nod, was not too thrilled with the topic.
"And Yuusuke, you can't have boobs until you have hair 'down there'," The Red Dragon said sagely as he settled himself and his boy on a lush patch of grass that overlooked the small man-made lake of the park. Spreading out the only clean bedsheet (all the others were stained with Tatsuo's blood or Yuusuke's ink') on the ground, the Shimizu males sat down silently; both looked uneasy.
"So..... where is 'down there'?" Yuusuke asked.
In reality, the boy too was overjoyed. For 3 days, he had wondered if going with this man was the right choice. What with the guns and getting shot at, he was a bitskepticale. But when Tatsuo always protected him despite the danger of loosing his life, Yuusuke warmed up to the man - and began to fear for him.
Any day Yuusuke could loose this man that gave him warmth and sanctuary, as awkward as it were. Every time Tatsuo left him alone to draw away the mafia's attention, the Herald's heart would beat terribly in his small chest. After being told to not cry, Yuusuke would keep a silent stoic face, for fear that if he cried, it would somehow cause his father to die. Everytime Tatsuo came back covered in blood, Yuusuke wanted to run over and cry, but the man would just say 'no, don't come here - you'll get dirty' before locking himself in his room to fix himself.
If accepting this man would mean always being in fear of loosing him, Yuusuke would much rather just stay in his room and die. If he was gone then maybe Tatsuo could return back to his old life.
'But he needs me as much as I need him', the herald realized after seeing his father try so hard.
If if had died in that room, he would also have killed the very person whom he was dying for.
The scrolls and brushes was such a thoughtful gift and being presented it by the heavily bandaged man stuck a chord in the Herald's heart.
'I'm glad I came out...' Yuusuke thought, trying not to seem too emotional but a smile was glimmering gently on his face.
At last both he and his father were doing something together in a peaceful environment that did not entail getting shot at. Damned would the boy be if he didn't try to treasure this time.
"Um, down there is.. where you take a piss boy."
Yuusuke's thoughts were cut through by Tatsuo's awkward, but warm, voice.
"Look, just try to enjoy yourself kid, I'ma take a nap here. Don't you go far! Just sit next to me and paint something you want."
Amber eyes peered at the Herald as if to check if the boy understood what was to go down. Silky white hair flopped around as Yuusuke nodded his head energetically, finally cracking his mask to grin up at the tall red-head.
He was gonna share a private moment with his dad!
Tatsuo, yawning, lied down on the sheet and soon fell asleep. Yuusuke hugged his peace present closely to his chest. It was the second thing this man every gave him - the first being a family.
Looking down on the sleeping man, Yuusuke felt a slight panic. Tatsuo looked so peaceful yet vulnerable when he slept. Fearing that maybe his father would disappear, Yuusuke was about to wake up Tatsuo when a new thought stopped him.
'I'll protect you this time... father'
Nodding his head proudly, the Herald busied himself with squeezing some ink off his feathers and into the inkstone. Soon Yuusuke was energetically painting the the one thing that he had eyes for; his sleeping family.
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:01 pm
Small groups of women ran through the park on what appeared to be a marked path blocked off by small poles holding died pink rope. Every now and then, a small crowd would gather and cheer on the runners before walking off to one of the tables where they could donate money to research and gain some sense of helping. Still, the moment they turned from the people, it was as if the event had never taken place.
Everything that was going on around the edge of the park was only white noise to the female duo that had just arrived. Both women were dressed in loose black pants and white shirts only different by the small yin-yang on the left sleeve of Yuki’s shirt. Had Sirene had wings or Yuki been blonde, one might have mistaken them for sisters, for only a passing glance. Still, the eyes of others were the last thing either girl carried about as both walked across the grass and away from the vast majority of the population.
Sirene led the pair across the dry grass that had been freshly cut no more than a day ago leaving a fresh smell in the warm air. With each step, the clear lake came into view and the world around them disappeared. It had been only about two, or possibly even three weeks since she had found this place, tucked away from the commonly used paths. Just around the left side of the lake, on the other side of an old willow, the lake became shallow and a few large rocks were flat enough for a being to stand on one. Sirene was the only one out of the pair who would practice on those rocks. That was an understood fact.
Yuki walked just a few steps behind her guardian, the wooden sword tucked happily behind her back. She was walking around with it in hand to practice holding it correctly. Sirene had been sure she understood that the sword was not only a weapon but an extension of her entire body. What she did, it did. Anything went wrong and the sword would fail her. So, Yuki had made up her mind that as long as she was holding the blade, it would be correctly, even if it was just an oversized stick.
“Sirene, when will you allow me to practice…”
“When you prove to me that you can be flawless on land.” Sirene spoke calmly as she brushed the leaves of the willow from before her to reveal their hidden spot. While truly, one could see it from anywhere else around the lake, most never decided to go to it.
“You always say that. What more do I have to do?” Yuki started to say as she finally placed the sword down on the ground and took her place next to Sirene to begin warm up motions.
“You have to learn even the basics. Yuki, darling,” Sirene sighed as she knelt down next to the girl. Reaching out, she placed both hands on Yuki’s shoulders and smiled. “Be patient my dear. It takes time to learn them correctly. If you do not, well, I couldn’t bare to see you hurt.”
Yuki just turned her gaze away from the eyes of her guardian and teacher. She was not gazing across the lake towards the crystal clear water and the reflection of something in it. Blinking once, she step forward just enough for the sun light to reflect off the water and blind her for a moment. Wincing back, Yuki looked away at Sirene who had already started without her. The correct thing to do was to quickly join her and correct her mistakes. However, what she thought she saw was something that didn’t make sense.
Taking one more look, she scanned the water line again. “Another one?” She whispered and glanced back to where the sun had blinded her.
“Yuki!”
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:06 pm
It was calming how the ink would first apear as a slim rigid line on the rice scroll, then soon flow out freely to form a more curvasion line. Stroke after stroke the herald added to his creation in hopes it would form his father's peaceful face. Yes, the goal was to use the free flowing ink that came from his wings and have it molded just right to capture the normally serious face-scrunched-up-in-battle father to the now innocently sleeping man.
Little did Yuusuke know that his 'innocently sleeping' father, Tatsuo, was really just half asleep. With his hand in his right hand lying gently on his stomach, inches away from the gun that was tucked away in a holster behind a jacket, the Red Dragon could easily rear his head to defend its young white birdling.
"Mmmm," Yuusuke frowned at his work. The ink was flowing a little too freely around the eyes. Agonizing over his mistake, the Herald seemed almost distressed, oblivious to the world around him - even forgetting his self-made promise to protect Tatsuo.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:11 am
”Yuki, stop staring. You know it’s…” Sirene had already gone into a very strange position that left her balancing on one foot, one hand extended as it to block and the other, protecting her throat and neck. After years of doing it, she had mastered being able to perform not only smoothly but with her eyes closed. Yet since she had starting teaching Yuki, Sirene had taken to opening one eye every now and then and correcting the child. Had she only opened her eyes sooner, Sirene would have found the child to be no where in sight.
Yuki had started to walk away from what she had seen. The right thing to do would have been allow them to be at piece and for her to remain with Sirene. Since when was the right thing fun? Something inside Yuki had driven her to slide away from her guardian and move to the other side of the lake where she was now positive someone was. Strange thing, what drove her to do this was beyond her understanding. It was almost as if she was drawn to others like herself.
Sneaking away from Sirene had been the easy part. Yuki knew she only had a one chance to do it and made her move right when there had been the most about of back ground noise from a small family behind them. Now, she was completely around the side of the lake and within eye shot of the pair laying there.
Pale eyes open wide as she took in what she saw. Two males, one asleep and the other, very much like herself but only…different. She had to get a better look.
The sword herald got her chance when she noticed that just to the side of them was a very large, old tree with branches low enough that she could climb. Only thing was, some of the upper ones appeared weak, not that it bothered her as she snuck around the side and to the first branch.
Within moments, Yuki was high up in the tree and gazing down at the pair. Shade gave her a small amount of cover to hide her presence while she watched below. The male was very much asleep yet, from what she could see, he didn’t sleep often. The boy, who now she could make out the wings on his back, was busy with a strange looking brush and paper. What is going on? She thought to herself before something else caught her attention.
Crack…crack…SNAP!
The branch she had picked snapped just behind where she was resting sending her tumbling down through the lower branches to land, smack on her stomach, just to the side of the male pair.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:02 am
Convincing himself what no brush stroke could be taken back, Yuusuke re-dipped his calligraphy brush into the inkstone, only to find that the ink he had shaken into it had long since dried out. Blue eyes opened wide in disbelief as the little Herald didn't think he had taken that much time thinking. Sighing and shaking his pale head, the youngest Shimizu flicked his wings a little, in hopes of getting the ink in them flowing. Within moments there was a healthy rivulet of rich black ink dripping into Yuusuke's outstretched inkstone. The boy was gently smiling with pride. In the beginning he had worried that his wings would be a problem but now, he found them quite wonderful.
"Let's see how I can turn that last stroke around if I can't take it back," he murmured softly, turning his attention back to the sleeping redhead. Tatsuo hadn't even moved an inch during the whole thinking process the herald experience moments ago - almost as if the man didn't want to ruin his son's pose.
Loosing himself once again in his art, the little herald boy didn't even notice his little stalker.
Tatsuo however did.
The Red Dragon layed in an attentive slumber, hand muscles ready to spring the gun out at any sign of trouble. Too tired to accurately tell what was in the tree, the man cursed himself mentally for picking this spot. He had thought that it was isolated enough and that no mafia man could climb up that solitary tree close to his spot. The branches were too thin to support the weight of a man.
'Damn bastards siced a woman on me!'
When the loud 'CRAAACK!' was heard, the man leapt into action faster than normal humans. The Red Dragon already had grabbed Yuusuke roughly and shoved him behind him and had his gun cocked out before the intruder even hit the ground
Eyes, still having sleep in them blurred the tense man's vision. The previous losses of blood and sleep also didn't help but still Tatsuo stood strong.
When the blurry white and black fuzzy blur had hit the ground, Tatsuo automatically cocked his ready gun to where he assumed the head was.
"Don't. Even. Move," the Red Dragon growled in a low tone.
He felt his head swoon a bit from the sudden near super human stune he pulled when his body was way below normal human status. Some of his self done stitches had come undone and soaked through the bandaging he had painstakingly done on his own so that Yuusuke didn't have to.
Amber eyes blinked rapidly to try and focus their vision. When the blurryness cleared away, the ready-to-kill expression was soon replaced with a flabbergasted look - a look that rivaled even that of Yuusuke who had no idea what was going on. One minute he was drawing, next he was behind his father and a flash of metal, which could only mean a gun, blinded his vision.
"Huh?" Tatsuo uttered in disbelief.
It was a little girl. <********... just WHAT did you D- huh?"
Yuusuke was about to throw a fit after noticing that during his rough man-handling by his father, his art had smudged into something beyond recognition.
Forget the art!! There was a girl his age right in front of him - a girl JUST LIKE HIM.
"Father.... what is going ******** Mafia now resorts to child assassins? DAMN! I should of have thought of that before I deemed that tree safe!'
"I'm gettin' too old for this s**t..." the Red Dragon muttered, his gun still pointing at the child assassin's head.
"You got 10 seconds to tell me what the Boss wants missy or you get a new hole to see from," Tatsuo continued as a small stream of blood trailed down his face as the wet bandage on his head fell off, covering one eye.
Tatsuo did nothing in reaction to that.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:30 pm
”And you have 3 seconds to put that gun down and step away from her.” Came the rage of a female voice standing no farther than the length of her sword away from the gun holding male. Sirene stood straight, holding the blade of her sword up to the side of his neck with the force of a mother lion protecting her young flowing through her every cell. Even her voice carried a mix fear and rage with what sounded like a good deal of blood lust as a warning that she had no problem driving the end of her sword straight through him dare he raise a hand to the child.
Dirt covered and bruised, Yuki winced as she started to regain feeling in her entire body. She could already tell that her hands were sliced up as the dirt around the edge of the cuts stung her entire being. The fall itself had knocked the wind right out of her lungs and left her unable to move for far too long. While it had only been seconds, Yuki could feel her heart racing in her mind and in her chest. Why she dead? No, she wouldn’t be able to feel the cuts on her hands. Could she move? That was yet to be seen.
“I thought I said DROP IT.” Sirene’s voice was full of rage as took another step towards the bleeding male, her blue eyes burning with the rage of a thousand suns. There was no compassion in her face and the appearance of it drove deep inside her daughter. The blade was closer now, to the point that Sirene could see full well the blood streaming from re-opened wounds. Still, she didn’t care. This man would get no pity from her.
Managing, some how, to pick her head up, Yuki instantly wished she had not. There, staring straight down at her forehead was the barrel of a gun in the hands of a blood covered lunatic. Her young life was over…
“Mother…” Yuki managed to whisper out as she dared to cast a glance to the side where Sirene stood. No comfort came from the look on the woman’s face but who Yuki turned to next was surprising, even for her.
“Do something!” Yuki called out to the small boy she saw hidden behind both adults. Neither of them seemed to be paying attention to him as they held their guns and swords. She didn’t care what was done, just as long as this stand off stopped.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:45 pm
There have been times in which the herald boy had been witness to horrifying moments when his father had passed out from blood loss or pain. Sometimes even in the middle of driving, Tatsuo's head would suddenly drop down and smack the the horn of the car, only to jerk his head back up using sheer will power. After all this time, the white haired boy had learned how tell when his father would suddenly loose consciousness soon.
This was one of them.
The boy was panicking badly, unsure of what to do in moments like these when it wasn't Shimizu Tatsuo before him but the Red Dragon. To add oil to the fire was another newcoming intruder. Yet another female, except this one seemed less friendly than the last. At least the falling one had wings like him.
Silky locks of white hair swished to and fro as Yuusuke shook his head to clear his thoughts. The girl his age looked alive, if not battered. His father looked alive, but was ready to pass out. The older woman was most definitely alive and looked ready to kebab his mother.
Panic.
`Do something!` he heard a voice cry, the words striking through his thoughts like a lightning bolt.
It was then that his blue eyes blink and REALLY looked at the woman and girl that had intruded upon himself and Tatsuo. They wore training gi's and the hurt girl didn't look like a child assasin, not with all the scrappings and such. Assasins wouldn't have failed so miserably. The woman, though looking mightly like one of the various killers that has chased him and his father, had the same menacing glint in her eyes that Tatsuo did - the glint of a parent protecting it's young.
Still processing his new findings, Yuusuke was almost too late to notice that his father, too worn out from 3 days worth of Mafia men attacking on top of pulling super human stunts, was about to pass out in the most dangerous place ever; he was about to drop right towards the woman, effectively spearing himself on her sword.
"NO!! Father!" Yuusuke shouted and grabbed the older man before lurching backwards to send the Shimizu males in an unceremonious heap 1 more feet away from the crazy sword wielding woman.
"Do not hurt my father," the herald boy trembled on, "Can't you see he's ready to die on his feet already? And who are you? Were you sent after us by the Mafia too?"
His last question was directed at the other winged child like himself. To emphasize that he was in distress and wanted to wake the woman out of her blood lusting stupor, Yuusuke flapped and flailed his wings open, sending flecks of ink all over.
Tatsuo passed out then and there, unnnoticed by the busy herald boy.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 5:59 pm
Both females stopped everything, even breathing, but only for a split second.
The sudden cry out from the small boy, who Sirene had never even noticed until then, scared them both into a waking realization of what was truly going on. Yuki, finally able to move without having a gun pointing at her, picked her head up completely and shifted back to rest on her knees and heels. Her pale blue eyes, much like the boy’s, rested on the male figures before her. She had asked for him to do something, scaring the life out of both of them was not what she meant. Yet it worked.
Clank…
The sword Sirene had been using dropped hard against the ground, bouncing from end to end as the woman stared down at it. “What am I doing?” She whispered to herself before thrusting her hand to her forehead and breathing heavily. Taking a life? Never in a million years would she have envisioned placing her sword to the throat of another life. Was material instinct that strong?
” Were you sent after us by the Mafia too?"
The voice snapped both girls once more out of their trances. Both quickly shot a glance towards each other and then once more back at the child just in time to be covered by a black liquid. Yuki was the first to find her voice as Sirene wore the perfect expression to say ‘What on earth are you thinking?’.
“What are you doing?” Yuki spoke out as she leaned her head to the right said, sizing the child up. There was no mistaking it: he was like her. Sure he had different wings, black and liquid like, and he was male, but they were one and the same. It was his expression that made her wonder even more but at the moment, she didn’t care. “If you ruined my favorite shirt, I’ll…” She started to cry out as she moved to rise to her feet.
“Yuki, enough. It can be washed.” Sirene finally got out as she brought up her hand in a failing attempt to brush away the black on her face. When she touched it, she could feel it glide under her hand and some rub off. Pulling her hand back, she looked at it carefully. “Ink?” She finally asked looking towards the child. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to get it out but she wasn’t going to tell that to a child now.
“That’s not the point.” Yuki finally snapped out as she sat back on her heels and watched the boy closely. “Here his ‘father’ points a gun at us and he assumes we are bad people.” She snapped out, looking away. “Assuming we are part of the Mafa. Do I look like I would live in some rich mansion on a hill?” Glancing back over at him, Yuki gave a small sigh. “In case that didn’t clear it up, no. The Mafa did not send us after you. I don’t even know who you are!”
Sirene on the other hand was not to clear on what was going on. Be it the maternal side of her or not, she was not going to leave the boy alone with this man in his present condition. Yet, one thing bothered her. How in the world did he get like that?
“Look, I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t think the tree would break like that but still.” Yuki spoke again finally getting to her feet. Taking a few steps, she stood just passed Sirene and right in front of the male with wings. Her small arms were crossed before her chest as she leaned forward to put their faces close together. “It’s no reason to go pulling a gun on me. I’m not going to hurt you. I just…I just wanted to see if you were, well…” Yuki stopped talking for a moment and the sound of rushing light metal rang clear. “Like me.”
Two long steps around the children placed Sirene just behind the boy with ink wings and at the side of the bleeding man. She hadn’t waited to hear what the two were saying but was concerned with seeing to his health. The boy had called him ‘father’, right? “Some father you are.” She finally sighed out as she took a good look at some of the places that he was bleeding from. Too many of the cuts were fresh and most, poorly bandaged, as if done in a hurry. She was surprised he was still able to move after all of them. Most humans would have given up and gone in for more blood or at least taken out a large life insurance.
Kneeling down just behind the heralds, Sirene reached out to the finally sleeping man. Here, she did not have the supplies she needed to tend to wounds like his but he did need some attention, if he was to be able to protect his son from who ever was after them.
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 11:05 pm
The herald boy had been in a frenzied panic on the inside when the woman held a sword at his father. Sure, it wasn't a gun of any sort, but after the last 3 days, any form of danger was greatly feared. The shrill angry voice of a young girl did cut through his panic like a hot knife through butter.
Long white lashes blinked over vivid blue eyes as the other child like him got huffy in his face. It was the first time any female had spoken at such close range and with such intensity. The few other females he encoutered were his father's exquisite aqquatences that they paid visits to for gun supplies and such. The others - waitresses at various diners. In bettere cercumstances the herald boy would have found her numerous facial expressions quite entertaining to watch. Be as it were, to watch her get angry at him, only to look like she wanted to cry was a bit much for the boy. He has had mountains of shirts ruined in his last 3 days and this girl was bemoaning about 1 shirt getting soiled. A bit of bleach and hot water would do it wonders, he thought. Maybe.
Fighting back the urge to sigh, Yuusuke patiently heard the girl out. One thing he learned was to be patience and have endurance. The boy was doing a great job of it too, listening through the winged girl's small fit. That is, until she mentioned her father. Yuusuke's blank expressionless mask held firm but his hand did tightened a bit before releasing itself. The urge to hiss back at the girl 'Don't talk about my father!' was very strong but the boy at this point hated any form of conflict. It wasn't that he was a stoic emotionless kid, Yuusuke was just gentle and his expressions are more relaxed and light hearted. This girl though was slightly getting on his nerves, if only because the Shimizu boy had never once heard a young girls high pitched voice at a near rampage.
'No conflict. Anymore conflict and Father really will die.' he thought, still unaware that his father had passed out.
Mute once again, Yuusuke said nothing in reply to the huffy girl. Although she did, like him, possess unusual wings, her and her mother were strangers. Sword wielding, spying-from-trees strangers. And the herald was taught quite explicitly to NEVER talk to strangers.
That was until mentioned strangers made him aware of the state of Tatsuo.
A heart wrenching "FATHER!!" ripped through the air as Yuusuke clutched the sleeved arm of the older Shimizu, only to withdraw in shock to find that the sleeve of the black turtle neck was soaked with blood. The crimson fluid clung to his hands as this familiar scene catalyzed memories of all the other times Yuusuke had to cling onto a blood soaked Tatsuo.
Blue eyes watered up as this time was the first that Yuusuke had to witness his strong father faint from blood loss in front of his eyes.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:23 pm
“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you okay?” The entire outlook of the female child changed to moment she watched the boy scream out once more only to throw himself on the man. Never before had she seen a boy in such a panic, let alone, almost, wait…”Are you crying?” She finally asked moving once more a few steps toward him, worry now in her voice.
Yuki felt horrible for suddenly going off on the boy like that. She needed to better keep herself in check, mostly because in a way, she was the cause of everything. If she hadn’t climbed they tree, she never would have fallen and the man never would have jumped like that. Still, he father was alright, wasn’t he?
Pale blue eyes looked up to the woman kneeling over the man. Yuki was looking to her guardian for some comfort that all was going to work out and soon, this would all pass. What she got softened nothing…
“Yuki, would you please be quiet.” Sirene called out as she placed a hand onto the bleeding man’s body. Blood covered from some unseen cuts covered his clothes and pretty much would have ruined anything had he not been wearing black. Panic was written on the woman’s face. Never would she had forced this man into such a state had her own charge not been in danger. Yet more than that was keeping her there. “And make yourself useful.”
For a passing moment, both Yuki and Sirene’s blue eyes met and the smaller one understood everything, without a word. They were the cause of it, Sirene confirmed that fear in the small child’s mind but still, a cold sensation running up her spine made the angel more aware of the danger.
“Go back to the group of people we saw on the way in. They have to have a first aid kit. Get them to give it to you and come straight back.” The woman’s voice was cold and firm as she turned her eyes back to the fallen man. Her hands worked quickly now as she reached up to his head and quickly tore off the now blood cover wrappings. They were of no use to them now. “If anyone follows, get them to call 911.”
Yuki did not say a word as she nodded and stood straight up. Just as she turned to run off, she stopped and reached out her hand to take hold of the winged boy’s shoulder. “Come with me.” The sentence was both a request and a command. He was in shock and it was easy to see as the tears in his eyes started to scare her to the core. But what scared her most was letting him watch his father in such a state. She knew Sirene would ensure his life but the boy…
“Please, come with me. My mother won’t let anything happen to your father. I promise you, he’s in very good hands.” Yuki whispered stepping closer to him again and giving his shoulder a small squeeze. “We won’t let anything happen to him, but sitting here and crying isn’t going to help him.” The small lips of the angel formed a smile that anyone could see was forced from worry but still, what more could she do?
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:18 pm
A clammy cold hand seemed to lunge for the caring older woman the second the word '911' left Sirene's lips. Tatsuo gripped at helping woman, his body reacting solely on habit and instinct. Through blurred amber eyes the former mafia hire tried his best to look menacing. Yes, dispite all the blood loss and a crying little boy on his chest, and being in danger of flying off to valhala, Tatsuo still held onto the shreds of his manly pride. What sort of man would look weak and pathetic like this in front of a woman? Not Tatsuo Shimizu! No, a strong man like him needs to assert his authority. There will be no 911 business. No hospital business. None of that s**t. Something like that would mean sure death for both him and his new son.
Pale and blood cracked lips pried themselves open as watery looking, but tearless, golden eyes stared deep into the ocean-like eyes of Sirene. The lips tried to move but no sound came out, not even a whisper in the wind. No police, he wanted to say. No hospital, he wanted to plea when it was evident that he couldn't say anything.
"Father...? Father! Father father father father!" repeated the boy, but his voice sounded far away to the man.
s**t! the man thought over and over again in his mind. He was the Red Dragon! How could he be reduced to this state? Damn... I really should not have pushed myself this far...This can't be happening.... was the man's last thoughts as he really did slip into the darkness.
Yuusuke froze in deathly fear, his eyes wide open like a deer caught in the light of looming car's headlamp. No no no no, he kept repeating. His voice sounded funny. Was he talking outloud? Is he just thinking outloud?
'What's going on"
'Wake up Father"
'No no no no"
Panic rose up as bile in the young frantic angel's throat. Calm down"'. Did he think that? Did he say that? Does it matter? He is the man in charge now, or so Yuusuke thought Tatsuo would have said in this situation but the boy had no idea what to do. What does he say now to these strangers?
Calm down. Think.
Feathers trembled as the Shimizu boy held off panic at bay. What would his father do. What would Tatsuo say?
"No Police," the boy slowly began. His eyes widened slightly, shocked at how steady his voice sounded. Creasing his eyebrows, the boy found new confidence and continued on. "No hospital. We can't do there because Their power reaches there."
The angle boy slowly turned his silver haired head to stare deep into ocean blue eyes of the older woman with the sky blue eyes of his.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:35 pm
At the touch of the fallen man, Sirene felt her entire body tense. Something about mentioning getting help had set off the being she thought to be gone from them. Well, that was a good sign. He wasn’t dead. Looked like fate was going to smile down on them for the time being. Yet there was something that didn’t make sense as she finally looked towards the crying boy who, strangely, seemed stronger than she first thought. Meeting his eyes, Sirene understood. Either she would have to help him there or somewhere else but it was the three of them and no one else.
Needless to say they had forgotten the people running around the park that now slowed behind him and pointed to the fallen man. But they weren’t important.
“Alright, no hospitals but would it be alright to take him somewhere else that isn’t the park? Somewhere maybe a little safer?” Sirene sighed as she tried to figure out which would be better: their home or her own. That was if she could even get this grown figure out of the park and into her car. One full sized man, bleeding to death, two small children, and grass normally never mixed well. Then again, with the two children being heralds, something had to go right.
Yuki on the other hand was not so sure as she came up beside her mother, a wing catching on the back of Sirene’s shirt. “Who has power there?” She asked trying to catch his pale eyes with her own. When she moved slight away, both women felt the tug on the fabric. While Yuki stopped moving as to not rip it, Sirene had other plans for it.
Stripping the cotton from her body, she tossed the material back to Yuki. “Put those wings to use and cut it into ribbons. We can use those to rewrap some of the larger wounds.” Thank the lord for sports bras and that she had worn one today and not a normal white thing.
Within moments, Yuki was handing Sirene cut pieces of material and the grown woman quickly moved her form to the man’s head. That slice worried her as she slid off the old wrappings and applied pressure to the new. “Where else is he badly hurt? I want to get the major ones to stop first.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:50 pm
Though feeling strong, Yuusuke felt weak and helpless. His only memories and know-hows of this world only began when he and Tatsuo began... and the duration of that was mostly spent dodging bullets and various sharp shiny things that would kill him. His wings fluttered uselessly, mirroring his own feelings as he saw the other winged herald girl. That girl was doing something to help while he stood there, frozen on the ground next to his father. She had wings that could help.... while his just oozed black ink.
No. Stay strong! Stay strong because you CAN do something! his mind raged at him from the inside.
"Our place is too dangerous..." he began slowly. Yuusuke wasn't hesitant from fear or uncertainty of himself. He was just unsure how much information about him and his father could he reveal to the girls without endangering both them and Tatsuo.
"I, I don't know where he's hurt... he always goes into his room and... and fixes himself up." He finished sadly. When it came to his one and only family, this was as far as his knowledge of him went. How pathetic.
No, he wasn't pathetic! Through all the fights that he witnessed Tatsuo go through, his own father himself told him this: Knowledge is Power.
"Um!" His confidence was solid now. "My father once told me that if anything happens, anything, that I should go to this one place.. I don't know the exact address but I know where the location is if I went there... it's in the bad part of town down a sleazy looking alley but I remember where it is. Please!"
His marble face and tear stained cheeks looked up at the two woman with pleading blue eyes. Going to the bad part of town was a big risk but loosing Tatsuo at this point in time would be devastating to the herald boy.
"Um!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:04 pm
Pulling the last of the ribbon tight around his head, Sirene only glanced up and towards Yuki. Personally, she had no desire to take her daughter into any place in that area of town but at the moment, what choice did they have? Nodding once she looked back at the boy. “Alright. If you can get us there, I will take him but we are using my car. I will not be learning the controls of another one while in a hurry. Last thing I want is to get us all killed. Yuki.” Sirene turned to her young girl and pointed back across the lake. “Go and get your sword and my bag. We aren’t going anywhere without that. Hurry.”
Nodding only once to her mother, Yuki was off in a flash, flapping her wings as she went in hopes to gain a bit more speed, she was there and on her way back again before Sirene had made it to the car.
“Why did you pick now to pass out?” She sighed before standing up and took in the man’s body. Dragging him would be easy but she had a feeling his son wouldn’t be to happy about the head hitting pavement. Next was drive the car onto the park grounds but only a moron would try and break the fence that was around them. That left either picking him up, far to slow, or dragging him by the hands. The latter was the best choice.
Wrapping her hands around his wrists, Sirene began the lovely job of pulling the half dead man out of the park and towards the cars. What she wouldn’t have given for a wagon or skateboard at that moment.
When Yuki returned, and withheld laughing at the woman, they managed to get the car unlocked and quickly get him into the back seat. Glancing back at the boy, she pointed to the passenger side. “I need you telling me where to go. Yuki, in the back and watch those wings!” Slamming on the gas, Sirene had a feeling she was going to run a red light, or ten.
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