Chapter Four - Before the Storm "Don't let me let you go... Here's to the nights we felt alive Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry Here's to goodbye Tomorrow's going to come too soon." -Eve 6, "Here's to the Night" Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm really me or if I'm somebody else. I know things I'm not supposed to know. I remember things that didn't happen to me. I feel different ways about things and I don't know why. Am I real? Or am I just a dream that somebody else is having? ----- Shin hated walking through the bad neighborhood at night. It wasn't that the roads were impossible to drive on, due to years of neglect, that he hated, since he didn't own a car. It wasn't the gangs, who were everywhere and dangerous, that he hated, since he had known most of them since they were children and they held a certain reverence for him. It was that it was so damn hot at night. Too much power was used on light, and not enough on air around here, he always said. The street lights were always turned up as bright as they could go in an attempt to keep the streets a little safer. It didn't work. The gangs didn't care who saw them, because anyone-civilian or law enforcement-dumb enough to go after them would never be seen again. That was why Shin thought it was strange he'd heard police sirens a few blocks away, over at the Kayusa Projects, a while back. Only a few days later he'd gotten another surprise, though he hadn't been surprised at the time. ----- Officer Kenzan had his feet up on the dashboard, a rare treat for him. He usually did the driving, since Sanjo was too damn lazy to take the wheel half the time. But today, his partner was driving. "You're the smarmiest-looking son of a bitch I've ever seen," Sanjo muttered as they turned a corner. "Just get us there, and spare me the ethics lessons," Kenzan said. He looked over his shoulder at the little girl in the back seat. "You OK there, honey?" She didn't give any answer, only turned her green-haired head and looked out the window. Kenzan rolled his eyes. He hadn't gotten more than a half-dozen words out of her the whole trip. But at least this time she was conscious. "I don't think she likes you," Sanjo said. "Then she's got something in common with my ex." Neither of them could really understand why they were given the job of taking her to the orphanage. Only a few days ago they had pulled her out of the projects, now they were bringing her right back. The police and the hospital had both been unable to get much out of her, so they just decided she should be returned. She'd told them her name, her parents' names, and where she lived, but when they got there, the place was still being renovated from the water damage. Even so, it still looked like it hadn't been inhabited, or fit for habitation, for years. And there were sure as hell no parents there either. They'd given HQ a call, and gotten new orders to take her to this orphanage, some place called Mamotte Ageru, which was about a kilometer away. The girl hadn't been surprised to see her parents weren't there. In fact, she hadn't shown any emotion at all. The policemen were surprised; they'd seen more of their share of kids in her situation, and they usually cried their eyes out. "We're here," Sanjo said. "Huh?" Kenzan asked, snapping out of a stupor. "Oh, right. Sheesh, what a dump." Mamotte Ageru Orphanage was nothing to be impressed at. Five stories tall, it was one of the largest buildings in the area. Most of the windows were broken and/or boarded up. The walls were red brick, and in some places blackened by smoke or covered with graffiti. The grass in front of the building was dead and littered with rusted toys. A screen door hung at an angle in its doorway, and the real door had a huge hole in it. As Kenzan got out and opened the rear door for the little girl, he screwed up his face when he noticed the whole place smelled like piss. She got out and landed right in the middle of a chalk body outline. "Home sweet home," Sanjo called. "Nothing but a breeding ground for whores and criminals." "Let's just do this and get out of here," Kenzan said. "Keep an eye on the car, too." He took the hand of the little girl, who offered no resistance. As they walked to the front door, the sounds of children at play became audible. Poor kids...they couldn't have had any idea what this place was really like, or what living here would really mean for their futures... Sanjo knocked on the door. For a few seconds there was no reply. Then they heard an irregular, shuffling walk from the other side. An elderly woman with graying red hair opened the door. "Hello?" she said. "Can I help you, officers?" "Morning, ma'am," Sanjo said. "My name is Sanjo Kensuke, and that's my partner, Kenzan Ryoga. We're with Tokyo P.D. We're looking for the owner here..." he checked his notepad, "...Hyuga Shin." She blinked and looked at them as if she hadn't understood. Then it hit here, and she nodded warmly. "Oh! Yes, he's my husband. I'm Hyuga Nanako, perhaps I can help?" "Maybe so. Headquarters should have given you a call about a child we were bringing over?" Nanako paused again before speaking. "Oh, that's right...we did get a call from a policeman. He said you had a little girl who was orphaned in an accident, I believe." "That's correct, Hyuga-san," Sanjo said. He looked over to the green- haired girl, who was looking over her shoulder. "That's her." Nanako put on her glasses and looked over at the girl. A warm smile spread across her face. She got down on one knee and gestured for the girl to come over to her. "Aren't you cute! Come on over here so I can take a look at you." The girl looked at her but did not move. Kenzan gave her a soft nudge on her back. She walked forward slowly, her hands clasped in front of her. The elderly woman smiled at her. "What's your name, sweetie?" The girl's eyes looked everywhere but straight ahead, as if she was afraid to look Nanako in the eye. Then she did, but her expression was one of near-terror. When she spoke, it was in a reluctant whisper: "Hoshi Kyoko." "How are you, Kyoko-chan?" The girl didn't answer. "Would you like to go inside?" Nanako asked. "There's some other boys and girls your age that you can play with." Silently, Kyoko walked past the old woman and disappeared into the building. "Regular laugh riot, isn't she?" Kenzan asked, picking his teeth. Nanako brushed off this statement with a polite smile. "We get a lot just like that...all they need is a little love. Most of their parents are dead, or criminals, or alcoholics, and they've just never had anyone to love them." "I suppose," Sanjo muttered. "I bet you have some paperwork for us to sign, or something like that." The old woman shifted back to business mode. "Ah yes, right this way." ----- Shin shook his head. Getting a new child wasn't remarkable in itself, but ever since Hoshi Kyoko had shown up, weird things had been happening all over Mamotte Ageru. In the ten days she had been there, he'd spoken to her several times and she had hardly given him any answer every time. Most of the other children didn't like her because she was so distant and antisocial. In fact, the only person she had taken an attachment to was Kaya, a high school student who volunteered at the orphanage. Everything he knew about the girl, he had learned through her. Her parents were Hoshi Imoru and Asuka. And that was all she knew about them. She could remember their names, but what they looked like, where they worked, what they were like, she knew absolutely nothing. She said she had been living in the Kayusa Projects since she was two years old, but she didn't know how old she was now. And from what the police had told him and his wife, the apartment they had found her in hadn't had records of anyone living in it for five years. On top of that, Kyoko said she had always been going to school, but had no idea which one, where it was, or who her teacher was. It didn't make any sense. Shin wiped the sweat from his forehead. Gods, he hated the bad neighborhood. Strange things happened around the little green-haired girl, too. Six days ago, the sprinkler system had gone off for no reason. At least, he had thought it was for no reason until he had heard the children in dorm room #3 making a lot of racket. When he went in there, he saw that the plumbing had been pulled right out of the wall...directly above Kyoko's bed. She was sitting on it, crying and looking guilty. The other children had told him that she had started crying out of nowhere, and all of a sudden the pipe burst through the plaster! Two days ago, one of the toilets in the girls' bathroom had exploded. He hadn't been there when it happened, but he sure as hell had seen the aftermath. Nanako and Kaya had told him that a crying Kyoko had been found in the room. It didn't make any sense, he thought again. When this girl cried, weird things happened. And she seemed to cry a lot. What had happened to her to make her the way she was? He shrugged. Right now all he cared about was getting back to Mamotte Ageru with his groceries intact. In the ghetto of Southern Chiyoda-ku, where most people counted themselves lucky to be alive at the end of each day, Hyuga Shin was most thankful for the fact that the general store was open 24 hours a day. ----- People she didn't know...things she had never done...things she wasn't supposed to know...they were all there, and they wouldn't go away. No. No! Aaaahhhh! "Aaaahhhh!" A kettle of water that had been gently warming on the stove in a corner of dorm room #3 suddenly shot into the air and rung out with a loud bang as the water inside it was suddenly vaporized. As it rolled along the dusty wooden floor, the loud crying continued. The other children stirred in rusted beds, throwing thin, ragged sheets over themselves. This was the fourth straight night this had happened. They had begged the owners to get rid of the new girl, but there was just nowhere else to put her. So they were forced to put up with it in stride. Hoshi Kyoko continued to scream, hot tears running down her cheeks. ----- As Shin walked in the door, he could hear a clang and a scream from upstairs. That girl was at it again. "Shin? Is that you?" asked Nanako, his wife. "It's me," he said, unpacking his groceries and putting them in the refrigerator. Nanako walked into the room, wearing her blue nightgown and holding a tattered book. She gave him the same smile she gave anyone she was glad to see. Their bedroom and the offices were on the first floor of Mamotte Ageru Orphanage. The second and third floors had two bedrooms of ten children each. The fourth floor had the play area, and the fifth was empty. It was unsafe, since parts of the roof were falling in. They wanted to fix it, but they just couldn't afford to. The government paid to keep the place running, and they barely got by with what they got as it was. "That Kyoko girl is doing it again," Shin said. He had personally gotten to know all of the thirty-something children here, and none of them had ever carried on like this. "There's something really wrong with her." "Something's different about her, anyway," said his wife. "Nanako-chan...we've been running this place for thirty years and I've never heard one do that this much before." "She'll get better, I'm sure she will." "I hope so. But I guess she won't be better tomorrow, since it's Kaya's day off." "Actually, she volunteered to work tomorrow, too." Shin looked surprised and stopped packing. He shook his head in wonder. "That girl is a saint, I'm telling you." At that moment, someone from the next building over, who was definitely *not* a saint, decided to register his displeasure with the continued screaming. "Hey! I'm trying to sleep over here! Shut that fucking kid up!" Shin shuffled over to the window. He stuck his head out, but could not see who was talking. "You shut up!" he yelled. "You shut up, you shut up!" "Ah, screw you, old man." A half-full beer bottle smashed into the wall, inches away from Shin's head. He decided not to press his luck and ducked back into the building. Then he closed the window. Shin sighed. "We have to do something about this." Nanako moved over to her husband and gave him a kiss. "Kaya's becoming better friends with her every day. Maybe she'll get her to tell her why she's always so sad...and maybe she'll be able to do something about it." "A martyr *and* a counselor...that girl's amazing." Shin shook his head and looked down. "You know, it'd be a real crime if she didn't live long enough to have kids of her own some day." Upstairs, Kyoko began a fresh round of screeches. "And I'm starting to think that girl will be the death of us all." "You're wrong, Shin-chan. She's harmless..." "We'll see," Shin whispered. "We'll see." ----- Somewhere within the headquarters of Witches 5, Mimete was doing what she did best: anything but her job. The last few days had been absolutely perfect. Eudial was dead, and she was in charge now. And so far, she hadn't even had to do anything. Yes, life was good, she thought as she put her legs up on her desk.. Her bright orange hair was done up in curlers, and she was twirling her necklace around in one hand. A copy of the latest teen heartthrob magazine was in her lap. However, her peace was about to be disturbed. "Mimete!" "Aaack!" Professor Tomoe's face, shrouded in dark as usual, suddenly appeared on her communicator. She jumped behind her chair. "WHAT have you been doing all week, Mimete?!" Professor Tomoe demanded. "Uh...um...research?" she asked, looking out from behind the chair, then remembering her hair was full of curlers. Tomoe was silent for a moment. He seemed to notice the magazine on the desk. "Research," he sneered. "You call *that* research? I didn't make you head Witch so you could sit around and stare at pop stars all day! Do you realize you have not collected a single heart crystal in the past week?" Mimete tried to respond, but all she could do was stutter. "The Sovereign of Silence is *very* angry," Tomoe said. "And when she is angry, I am angry...with you. If you do not succeed in capturing a *large* number of heart crystals very soon, I will be forced to give your job to Viluy. And you will answer to the Sovereign." Mimete sweatdropped and gave him a weak grin. "Well, ah, don't you worry about that! Heh heh...I'll-uh-I'll get a lot of ‘em!" Tomoe uttered a low, dangerous noise. "I certainly hope so." The screen went blank, and Mimete was left with the thundering silence of her own heartbeat. As she came to her senses, she wrung her hands in rage. ‘No way I'm letting that bitch Viluy take *my* job!' she thought. ‘I'll show her, I'll show all of them!' She prepared to get a daimon ready and leave right away, but then she remembered a certain something. "...After my hair is done." ----- Haruka's brow furrowed. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Her index finger contracted the slightest bit, and the handgun's trigger reached its critical point. A miniature explosion resounded within the gun's metal confine, launching the wickedly-curved projectile through the barrel and into the light of day. With terrible accuracy, the bullet tore through its target, leaving a clean hole, and impacted the wall on the other side. "Usagi," she muttered. Seconds later, she fired again. "Setsuna." And again. "Eudial." And again. "You did this to me." She fired over and over until her ammo was spent. Breathing hard and fast, she lowered the gun. Her hands still ached slightly from the vibration. The targeting sheet she had been firing at moved along a conveyor belt until she could reach up and rip it off. She grinned evilly to herself. The paper was the same kind police used in training exercises, with a target shaped like a human body. The smallest square was right over the silhouette's heart, and she had put ten of the twelve shots right smack in the middle. As she walked out of the booth and past the rest of the people at the firing range, it struck her that before recently, she never would have thought she'd ever be in a place like this. But things were different now...so different... And anyway, she had thrown away her henshin stick, so it had become necessary to get a new weapon. Maybe bullets couldn't compare to the sheer power of World Shaking, but Haruka seriously doubted that Senshi fuku were bullet-proof. She signed out at the front counter, but before she left, she made sure to buy more bullets. The next time she used them, it might not be here. ----- Not much later, and not very far away, she was taking her anger out on something else: a punching bag. She had been to this fitness club lots of times in the past, but it was only since Michiru's death that she had only *really* begun to train. Track and field, martial arts, boxing...they had all seemed like second nature to her. She had to be as strong as possible in every way there was if she was to be able to punish her enemies, most of whom would be vitalized with magic. There had been a lot of progress these past two weeks. She was shooting more accurately, pressing more weight, and running faster than she thought she would be by this time. Maybe she wouldn't even be out of place on that anime with all the martial artists, she thought to herself confidently. As she continued to pound the punching bag for all she was worth, she was unaware of three pairs of eyes watching her. "Hey, check out that one," Ryu said to his friends. "Which one?" asked Yotaro. "That one over there, in the white top with the blue shorts, beating the crap outta that bag," Ryu answered. "With the butch haircut?" Kinnosuke asked. "Don't tell me you're going after her. Check out her hair, check out her bod...she's probably gay." Ryu blew them off with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, sure, that's what she thinks." His friends tried to stop him from being an ass. "Don't do it, man, if you piss her off she could tear you a new one. Look what she's doing to the punching bag!" Kinnosuke said. Yotaro put his hand on Ryu's shoulder. "Yeah, c'mon, there's tons of chicks around here. Did you see that blue-haired one over by the Stair Masters?" Ryu shook them off. "Forget it, I came here for a challenge, and I'm going to get a challenge." The other two boys rolled their eyes as their friend walked over to the sandy-haired woman. Between punches, Haruka became aware of a presence next to her. She looked over her shoulder and saw a boy about her age, with dark, spiky hair, wearing a basketball jersey. He was grinning at her like she was an expensive car. "Hey," he said. "Name's Ryu. How're you doing?" She answered him only with an impatient grunt and resumed punching. "OK then," Ryu said, not phased at all. "My friends and I are going to a party tonight...you want to go with me?" "Not interested," she said flatly, without looking at him. "Told you," one of his friends said. "Let's go." Ryu gave him a dirty look that said he wasn't going anywhere just yet. When Haruka paused between punches, he put himself between her and the bag. "Look, lady, I'm not moving until you say you'll go out with me." It wasn't until he saw Haruka seethe with rage that he realized how big a mistake he had made. The look of pure hatred in her eyes far exceeded any dirty look he'd ever gotten from a girl before. Throwing her fist out like he wasn't even there and she was still aiming for the bag, Haruka slammed her gloved hand into Ryu's stomach. He doubled over in pain, but didn't have any time to recuperate as she grabbed his arm, turned, and tossed him over her shoulder. He hit the ground hard, and the next thing he knew, she was pressing her foot against his throat. Her evil glare rained down on him from above. "I told you I wasn't interested!" she yelled. "Why did you have to push me like that?!" Ryu's friends looked on in horror, paralyzed by what they saw. She gave them the same look, and they took several steps back. She looked back down at the worm under her foot, snorted, and released him. "Get out of here," she hissed. They grabbed their prone friend and dashed madly for the exit. Exhaling deeply, Haruka decided she'd had enough exercise for one day. She picked up her towel, slung it over her shoulder, and walked out of the gym to the lockers. End chapter four. ----- Author's notes: "Mamotte ageru" means "I'll protect you." And speaking of meanings...is Kyoko Michiru? The answer to that is complicated, and forthcoming. But anyway, she was named after the repulsive-looking, psychokinetic little girl named Kyoko from the movie Akira. I feel sorry for any guy who tries to pick up Haruka. ^_^ I felt like "Eye of the Tiger" should have been playing during that whole scene. And I know this doesn't mean anything, but I always thought Mimete was the cutest villain in the whole series. Yes, even more so than Iron Mouse.
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