Photon

[Nemo]

"Expand range to 100 yards - We're losing them!" a voice came in the darkness, belonging to a girl with a shock of pink hair, illuminated in the darkness only by a magenta ravestick fasted to a choker around her neck, running through the alleyways at full tilt. Her breath came steady, her thoughts raced, and Atsuko was alive.

A fence divided the alleyway from a construction site she could barely make out in the faint moonlight and neon glow of the tokyo skyline. She didn't so much as complain, just ran at the wall at a slight angle. Her foot met with vertical surface, and sneakers yanked her off the ground as she put her weight onto the wall with momentum on her side. She didn't even slow down, carrying herself up the wall. Fingerless-gloved hands planted on the fence when she was mostly over, and she shifted her weight again with practiced precision, and flipped into the darkness of the space on the other side.

She landed with the hiss of a little breath being let out as her legs flexed, then carried her weight forward again. A familiar feeling let her know... once and for all, that they were near.
"You're out of the woods, girl, they're in the site - I'm reading they stopped about twenty feet ahead. You should be able to see them" an older female's voice came into the communication implant in Atsuko's inner ear.

Heavy techno pounded into her ear. Her blood raced. She couldn't see a damn thing... perfect!

"Kasumi - Read me? My position, about twenty feet ahead. I think there's an ambush."

[kitsuneflare88]

"this is Kazumi i copy." Kazumi's voice rang out over the radio mic. She was running quickly over the roofs of nearby buildings, her coat flitting behind her her eyes alert for tracks and the body signs within the range that Atsuko called out to her. "Why here...Be on alert this could be a trap" she said knowing at this point to listen to her instincts and that is exactly what her instincts told her.

Her face was covered with a thick armored neck piece and cloth guard on her face. The cloth was a dark navy blue almost black color, her hair swayed out behind her as she ran at a rapid but not extreme pace so as to push her body. She was also wearing a black trench coat a simple coat of body armor underneath with some leg guards made of a similar material. She ran as fast as she dared jumping over one gap as if it was nothing then used an arm and fired off a harpoon that hooked into a wall where she swung out over the construction sight onto an upper floor roughly on the fourth or fifth story of the building in the construction sight.


Her eyes were alert as they projected a black and white that made individual shapes very difficult to see but it was possible to see at dark. Her eyes made clicking sounds in her head as they adjusted magnification. "Going to x-ray and thermal." She called looking around at some of the cardboard and half completed walls near the scaffolding. She reached behind her and drew out a gun that seemed to be collapsible. It wired to life as she touched it expanding out into a long barrel and forming a guard around her hand. Its sides glowed blue as she continued to scan. "I got nothing on the upper floor..." She replied her gun trailing about her as she moved keeping alert as her tail flicked about nervously underneath her tail coat.

"Oh....Yob...K Chortoo govniuk*Trans:Ohh...f***...Go to hell sh**head *." The demon had circled around and hidden amongst the scaffolding. It jumped her from behind trying to tear at her. The armor stopped it as she Turned and whacked this ugly lizard dog thing that decided to screw with her. She hitt it on the side of the head with her pistol butt right into the temple.

The lizard dog thing flew off of her from the force of the blow from her cybernetic body. She releases several bullets into the thing firing at it knowing its kind of pointless as it would piss them off. "i found one of our friends." She holsters her gun and trows out her arm a wrist blade clear and about as thick as a longsword comes out of the wrist of her right arm. It begins glowing and crackling with electric light, where she begins circling it with slow measured steps, her hand creeping down to her belt.

[Nemo]

Something was close. She tuned her friend out... she knew she could handle herself. She had her own problems... Atsuko reached into her messenger bag, and grabbed something round, something familiar.

"Atsuko, I can't get a lock on them - I'd say its a safe wager that they're -"

"Damn close." the girl finished. Her heart raced now. She pulled the flare from her pack, and with a practiced spark of blue light from her thumb, she lit it. Good thing too... She couldn't see the ground under her feet with a bright sky and a dark pocket. But the flare pushed out harsh reddish orange light, hitting big, wet eyes set into black, chitinous faces, flashing with hateful intelligence, no more than two arms length from her, their owners hissing and rumbling in low tones. The sound was so familiar.

She didn't relax - it would be folly - as she dropped the flare to the ground, casting the creatures... in just enough light. The magenta ravestick cast her face in sharp angles, her body in stark contrast to the demon-hounds, half-real in the false light of the flaretorch.

She made the first move. Foot impacted the packed plaster of the flare, sending it spinning at a surprised demon, who looked at it as it dodged the flying object aside. By the time he looked back, the girl, previously prey, was now in his face, now planting her knee in his jaw, making him clip off his tongue with scissorlike teeth. The creature howled with rage, and lashed his heavy tail like a viper's strike, harsh, glistening points jabbing like daggers at the darkness - exactly where she used to be.

The demon's backup roared at the top of its lungs, and watched the girl move - she was fast... damned if he could barely keep eyes on the prize - but after moving like she did, he had one chance to get in on this and catch her off guard, hopefully.

The heavy creature pounced at the girl, and again he hit air as she dodged under him, rolling. Hind claws were luckier, they managed to catch her in the side, sending her skipping into a fallen girder some ten feet away with no small wound on her shoulder - decidedly minor despite its size.

Atsuko felt rage bear down on any pain she might have felt. She held her breath and the blow to the iron girder did little when she was prepared for it already.

The demons were already moving - she was on the ground, and there was a ten second rule. Hands planted on the ground, and she arced over the bar in a graceful movement, putting the shin-height metal shaft between her and them. One foot planted on the ground, the other gathered a strange blue light. Her eyes flashed, and slowly, steadily, wisps of blue-glowing mist rose from her back and shoulders, from her mouth, from her nose, from her eyes, from her wound, and she planted her foot against the heavy metal with all she had.

The metal reacted.

One very surprised demon was very lucky, and skidded to a stop. The other was a little bolder, a little more arrogant. Poor bastard never saw it coming - the metal stopped, and her kept going in the direction it had been flying with the crack of chitin and satisfying crunch of bone as it struck him in the chest, mid-pounce.

pum pum pum pum pum...

The techno raged in Atsuko's ears as she pressed her advantage. If she was fast before, that was nothing. Suddenly, she was ontop of the demon, using his prone, sliding body as a skateboard of sorts, foot on his throat as she reached into her pack, producing another flare.

They called this a mission? The predator's stare met the other doomhound, and the creature at last wised up. He was the prey. This wasn't a meal he wanted anymore. She lit the flare, casting her in dramatic light, and grabbed the stunned, injured demon under her, jamming the object down his throat. The results were dramatic.

The other didn't want to stay for the details. Didn't want to stay in that place with that monster anymore - he ran, ran for all he was worth, into a more open alleyway - maybe there he'd have a chance, maybe there he would be able to run away before It finished with his friend.

[kitsuneflare88]

Kazumi kept moving in a circle the doom hound growling at her amazed that this strange girl had somehow survived an attack from behind. She keeps circling the doom hound as she reaches down an begins pulling something out.

"Come here Comrade.( a**hole)." She smiles to herself as she keeps circling before her hand comes to a small clip like object. There is a brief clicking sound as she takes something from the belt. She suddenly moves. "If you won't move then i will." She throws the small objects which turn out to be throwing stars, however there is something not right they are flashing with a red light.

The doom hound confident that it could handle such pathetic weapons holds its ground. It didn't realize it had made a fatal mistake by doing so, The small stars suddenly and violently exploded. There was a flash of bright billowing light smoke shrapnel, dust. The doom hounds was thrown into the scaffolding severely stunned with several pieces of shrapnel in its body and severe burns.

The metal tubes bent from the force of having a 300 pound thing crash into them. It slumped down getting up heavily looking around in the dark for the thing that had thrown the bombs. "Is that all you've got." A voice said from nowhere as kazumi was running directly at the thing. It tried to slash its claws at her but she jumped at the last second evading the strike easily. She flipped into the air and landed on the things back, driving her arm into its back muscles.

It let out a roar, of pain which could be taken as a scream. The thing began bucking like a horse trying to get this woman with a painful sword off of its back. Its body motion becoming erratic from the electricity flowing from the blade. With what time she had kazumi attached something onto its side then withdrew the blade and jumped off as the creature fell down twitching with pain.

There was another sudden explosion as the object she had attached exploded with another Boom. This time instead of minor damage part of its body was blown off an arm and much of the chest. It panted heavily and lay on the ground twitching and groaning very pathetically.

Kazumi sheathed the wrist blade as she walked up to the creature as it breathed heavily and very much in pain. She lifted her left arm and drew out something it seemed to be a small tube. There was a clicking sound as it formed a clear sword. It very much resembled the wrist blade she had used just now. She pressed a button on the hilt and the blade hummed to life with crackling energy.

"Con questo lasciare la tua sofferenza finale, per cui si potrebbe riposare in pace (with this let your suffering end, so you might rest in peace.)" She muttered in Italian as she walked over to the creature her foot stopping at the shoulder. She Brought the blade down over the creatures head and sliced. She then Rested her hands together briefly bowing to the slain creature.

"This is kazumi, I'm clear." She called over the radio. She suddenly turned and walked towards the scaffolding and shot one of the bolts from her spools. It landed with a thunk in metal and she swung off into the air landing on a nearby rooftop.

[Raron]

The doomhound ran, it's claws digging into the pavement, it's breath spewing forth from it's nostrils in jagged gouts, searcing for breath, searching for escape. Muscles bunched and extended, bunched and extended as it put everything it had into putting distance between itself and the two hunters. It's black chitin almost invisible in the dark night somewhere deep inside it's voice within cried out in glory. It was not dead yet so chanced are it was safe, despite this it did not slow down at first, no point taking stupid chances, no point being stupid. It dodged a street light, the glow barely highlighting it's hide as it ran... when it came to an abrupt and sudden stop. It's hackles rose revealing rows and rows of teeth. It's tail dipped slowly as it began to realize what was in the alley with it, it began to realize the scale of it's problems as it's eyes locked into a shadow in an alley and rose up, and up and up... and then stopped as the patch of shadow they were locked onto ignited to life. Two lights side by side about ten feet off the ground glared down at the hound, the left one was angular shaped, almost like a bright red almond made of hard angles, the right one through was a round white orb with a black circle in the center. The eyes were no doubt looking down upon the hound and they found what they gazed upon... most lacking. The hound lowered it's head, it's mouth opened in a threatening growl but the twin lights advanced, unimpressed by the display. As it started forward it caught the edges of the light, here and there a piece of chrome reflected the light, and around the glowing right eye matte white almost glowed. A voice boomed from the oppressive figure. A tone that almost held pity came forth.
"Rejoice... your freedom is at hand."
At what it thought was the last moment the hound turned to display the better part of valor but sadly for it the last moment had already pasted. It tried to lunge for the lamppost, even the pain of the light seemed a safer bet but a massive chrome hand shot forth and grasped the hound's tail firmly, it squeezed tight filling the quiet night air with the sounds of crunching bones as a squeal of pain flowed out the monsters throat.
"Where the F&#* do you think you are going... we are not done."
The voice once more cracked the night as the hand pulled back, the demon's claws sunk into the pavement but merely cracked and shatter in response to the force pulling it away from safety, away from escape... it pulled it into the darkness of the alley as it turned to strike the being holding it. A roar that would have shamed a wildcat came forth and ending in a gurgling wet noise, sounds of metal impacted flesh and bones breaking came forth, bricks broke under shocks again and again... finally a brief moment of silence came and then a noise similar to the whine of a chainsaw came forth... but this was no whine, rather then ask it screamed it's intention to take what it pleased and the then the sound was muted a bit as thick wetness sprayed into the light, as tearing flesh came forth in a fountain... finally a large shape rolled into the street lights beam and began to sizzle where it lay. Metal whirled and the sound of scrapping steel signaled a change then silence reigned for a moment before the sound of footsteps clacked in the quiet. One in front of the other, occasionally quieted with a wet moosh as it tracked into some ichor. The boots that made the footsteps came to be just within the same street light. The boots were black leather with steel toes to them and chains in place of laces, dark red stained the soles dripping upon where they stood. They did not move as leather creaked and a few clicks later a blue flame lit up a small piece of darkness. What was illuminated by a small lighter was not what most would expect. A large green mohawk was the first thing that sprang to a watcher's eyes. It was flanked on both sides by black hair buzzed right down to the scalp. The face was surprising as well. Metal glittered from the harsh features of the teen in multiple places. His ears were trimmed with multiple rings with a large thick pair of curved blades through each earlobe, the lobe blades connected to chains that swept forth to rings within the lower lip, and right below the lip in the shallow beneath a metal downward sweeping hook pointed over the black soulpatch it overshadowed. The figure's features were obviously Caucasian it held no similarity to the people of the isles of Japan. His harsh firm features were set in a determined gaze, the bright green eyes that looked from beneath his set eyebrows seemed to possess the focus of a laser beam. Here was a man who had a goal and would do whatever it took to achieve it. His mouth was a straight line, neither smiling nor frowning. He lifted the flame of the lighter to a cigarette in his mouth and as the red cherry of the tip began to glow he flicked the metal lighter shut. As he stood there he mumbled quietly, the night swallowing his comments as he responded to a voice, a female voice that came from no where.
"Rejoice your freedom is at hand?... really?"
"Eh shut up. Who asked ya what ya thought."
"Nonononono. I am not saying it was a bad line.. I just think you need tighter pants, even spikier hair, and look alot more effeminate before you start spewing forth lines like that."
"So I will pick up some ho pants tomorrow."
The figure was almost smiling as he stepped into the light, leaving ichor footprint behind as he advanced toward the light. Stained, torn, and grease soaked blue jeans covered his legs while a much studded black leather jacket held back the night chill. The shirt beneath declared to the world that "Metal is the cure!".
The teen walked over to the head as it's mouth still slowly closed and opened as the brain died within the skull. Reaching into his coat he pulled forth a syringe with a needle as long as his forearm and thick as his smallest finger. Without hesitation he jammed it through the left eye and up into the creatures brain. He pulled back the syringe and then looked at the fluid within before nodding and detaching the needle before stuffing the syringe in a plastic light proof holder.
"So what now oh master of metal."
"We go home... I guess I should get some sleep... tomorrow is gonna be... all kinds of interesting."

[kitsuneflare88]

Kazumi cloaked and muttered more to atsuko rather than the handler over the radio. "Chao see you at home." She then pressed her arm and disappeared from sight walking along the rooftops. She sighed to herself relieved she didn't have to push her self as hard as she had feared.

This had been on e of her first demon hunts, but the things were mindless animals, with measures of cunning and intellect. She knew they were formerly human which is why she felt she had to be respectful to them. As she walked she wondered where the fhird one had gone.

As she walked she could swear she heard something off in the distance. She shrugged and figured she had some time to invest into looking for the last runaway. She began another light jog leaping over buildings and stuff. She Found the source of the noise, but couldn't see to well. She adjusted her eyesight and caught a glimpse of something metallic but couldn't make out anything as her vision didn't extend several hundred feet.

She stood there and waited before touching her forehead. "I found our last friend marking location." She muttered dropping a small object down to the street. "i'm done for the night." She said lazily before jumping the gap and heading to her new safe house as she remained under her optical cloak.

[Nemo]

[Actually, Shoal, Atsuko was waiting for Kasumi outside the temple. ^^;]

Atsuko took a kind of grim satisfaction in her handiwork. It wasn't that she enjoyed hurting things - the thought never even crossed her mind. The gristle, the blood, the death rattles, the sound of a flare, the burn of a wound, the feeling of her own blood on her skin, of wind in her hair, of violence and the hunt... it was nostalgic, it was... something akin to euphoria. She was free, she was doing what she knew to be right, and that was enough.

Atsuko was always the good for nothing before the eclipsing of her world. By the time she left that world, she'd found what she was good at, at long, long last - who would have known it would have been demon killing?

Probably nobody.

Demonic bodies never did last long after being killed... they were always destroyed by morning the next day, when light hit them in their ruined state. The flare burned and fizzled with a scent that wrinkled the girl's nose. So familiar to her. She didn't have to look at her handiwork to know how it worked out. She'd killed her first demon this way two years ago. Wouldn't be the last time she did it, either.

Hearing the death cry of another demon, the one that escaped her... gave her some pause - only briefly, before her inner ear spoke again. It was her handler's voice.

"Good work, girl. We'll have your payments handled and sorted by morning."

"Roger that. Any further orders?" Atsuko asked by instinct, reflex - it was her nature. She was a soldier, and this was what she *DID* for a living. That wasn't going to stop her from going to college though, either... so making more was without a doubt appealing.

"I swear, you'll work yourself out of targets soon, girl. No, all scans clear in your sector, honey. Go home - you have a test tomorrow, remember? Dismissed."

... Bloody english teacher.

"Roger. See you when I see you."

And with that, Atsuko took off again. First off, altitude. Training, for a person like her, never stopped. Never. Every day, every action was a challenge, each moment a struggle over reality. The girl took off into the construction site. For height, scaffolding she would employ. Ramps flew under her feet, and when that ran dry, the sky became an object - at least for a stretch of oh, maybe twenty feet? Palms planted on steel, and momentum drove body weight over a girder. The world blurred. Reality took a back seat as the rave bounced and padded in her head, driving her into a rhythm. Roof... sky... gutter... lamp posts... it was all downhill terrain to her.

======================

Next thing Atsuko knew, she was sipping some kind of caffinated beverage. What time was it? She looked - Six o'clock. It was tuesday and monday was a blur. She wasn't fully awake yet. A sip of coffee told her more about the way things aught to be, that it was a pretty morning, that she was clothed. Also, that Kasumi should be done with her chores soon-ish.

Leaning against the wall behind her, Atsuko sighed, breath billowing out in steady, steamy puffs. Most people her age looked forward to something in the future, wanted to be something else, wanted to... well, she wasn't one of those people. This was a pleasant dream, a reality she relished.

God damn it was a beautiful morning. She slipped on her headphones, and pressed play on her ipod. The first thing that came up - it didn't matter. The beat wracked her brain almost immediately.

Sip.

[kitsuneflare88]

Kazumi sighed to herself she had only gotten a few hours sleep after getting home. It had been a nice day though, she had left the safe house early in the morning just before dawn. She looked normal some bandages covering her arms like always.

She was feeling really slughish this morning thanks to her nights hunt. She opened an object inside were several vials containing a blue liquid. 'i hate this stuff." She muttered to herself as she grabbed a medical injector gun and inserted one of the vials into it. She then stabbed it into her neck momentarily draining the vial of the medicine.

She felt more awake but also less pained that she should be able to function. She took a look around her room there was a table with some half finished electronics, a cabinet that had a sticker saying fire hazard, and danger explosives. She looked about and grabbed her school outfit and stuffed it in a spare backpack, then grabbed her caretakers outfit and got dressed.

It was a typical priestess outfit, a plain hakama and white linen shirt, though this one was sleeveless. She walked outside the house and headed to the temple to help the old gramps get the place presentable, it was a decent job though it required a lot of her time. She sometimes wondered if the old codger really needed the help, he could sure get things done if he wanted. She worked before and after school unless clubs or work took over priority like last night.

She walked up to the temple yawning she enjoyed the cool pre dawn light and temperature. She made her way sedately up the stairs then when she arrived in the court yard went into the kitchen to get some breakfast made. She boiled some simple rice, and made some eggs with soup. She then set it down in front of his room, opened the sliding door and left it inside. She didn't like waking him at least at this hour.

She spent the next 2 hours sweeping the court yard, and running along the wood floors pushing rags around the main shrine. Then when things were done she walked into his room to wake him up. As she was pushing on him he suddenly grabbed her around the waist and squeezed her but. "SWEETIE..." he said as if he was a sleep.

It took a moment for kazumi to realize what he was doing the she screamed loud enough that probably atsuko could hear. "PERVERT..Govnick (sh**head),.....Murdak (a**hole)....*indistinguishable Russian insults*" There was the loud sound of whacking as kazumi picked up a stick and began smacking the old man on the head repeatedly until the stick broke with a loud snap, then there was random beating sounds, crashing paper board and finally a splash from the pond in back of the temple a second later. Kazumi stormed out of the room not saying anything as she headed to a nearby room to change fuming still cursing in Russian under her breath. .


She got dressed in a her changing out of priestess uniform and into her regular school outfit. A Grey, skirt with red and white along the edge, a white shirt, and a Grey coat with a red scarf and pendant. she hatted how short the skirts were in this world, she sighed and left the room.She walked easily down to the street level sighing as she finally was finished. "Ready to go?" She asked as she finally stopped fuming about the old pervert monk. She kept her bag over her shoulder, as she watched the traffic go by the temple.

[Raron]

Flesh impacting metal, a sound that he was familiar with. A sound he heard in his dreams, a sound that echoed in his life, in his head. It impacted again, and again within his groggy sound. He wondered if he was dreaming. He closed his eyes to return to sleep, to return to the road that zipped beneath his feet, to return to the wind as it roared through his hair... when the speakers around his place blared their daily alarm. Screams of pain and rage, blaring guitars, pounding drums that seemed to blur into one solid roar of defiance, one compact spear thrust to freedom no matter the consequences. His eyes popped open as he sat up from the sound, his spine wired into a straight line as he sprang out of his make shift bed. The pile of pillows and blankets almost exploded with his movement as his head began to nod forward and backwards to the beat. The motion accelerated as he began to walk to a coffee maker. He plucked a full pot off the machine and began to sip right out of the side of the pot as he continued his morning routine. His green hair hung limp and his naked flesh glimmered with sweat as he got more and more into the song, his body almost convulsing with pleasure as despite the pot in his hand he screamed with rage, with frustration, with joy, with glory, with despair. The scream was long, harsh and brutal... in time the sound of his own voice quieted and with a raising of his right hand with a strange ring on it the music cut off mid stream to a low roar. He listened for a moment and heard the pounding of flesh on metal still continuing. He sighed, the rush from the morning routine ended.
"Looks like your babysitters are here... Watch man one will have a morning paper for you while woman two will hand you breakfast like a good nanny."
The green haired teen grunted in response as he sipped his coffee and began to walk towards the door. He raised his ring at a tv set beside the solid steel door and the tv flicked on displaying one face he knew and one that was new. The camera he had installed outside was displaying a Asian woman he was not familiar with. And indeed the man in the frame wearing a black suit had a newspaper tucked under his arm and the woman had a Styrofoam food container. He grunted again and walked back to the make shift bed on the workshop floor. Reaching down amongst the blankets with one hand he pulled out a pair of grease stained, burned, ripped, and bechained bluejeans and slipped them over his naked form. He then walked over to a table and opened a jar upon it and began to pull out one earring, one ring, one barbell after another and place them with his face and one was returned to his belly button. He filled all the holes that had been emptied before sleeping last night but in a nod towards what the day would hold he went for less extreme piercings. Mostly rings and barbells and a couple of metal tubes for the two gaping earlobes. Grunting in satisfaction for the nod to modesty he had made he walked to the door and pulled up the metal bar blocking the door shut and pulled the door open in one movement. The man and the woman blinked in surprise for a moment before the man nodded.
"Jax Gardener. Good morning. I trust you slept well?"
Jax grunted as he scratched his still naked chest. The woman's eyes were open wide as she took in what was there. The teen's body was well defined, well muscled without being obscenely muscled, his body was tattooed repeatedly. Snakes and jungle scenes, and green Celtic runes covered his body and very noticeable was flames upon his neck with the word DEFIANCE printed in black over the flames on the back of his neck. His palm of his hand as he waved at the two briskly was callused through and through while the backs of his arms and hands were covered in minor scars of cuts and burns and scrapes. She meeped softly in surprise. The pics she had seen of him had not done him justice. Jax turned and walked away his bare feet upon the cool cement floor as he continued to sip from the coffee pot.
"Welcome you two, make yourself at home. You will have to excuse my partner he hasn't finished his daily dose of rhino poison... I mean coffee."
The man walked in to the converted warehouse that Jax had requested for living arrangement. In a few short days the building had been cleaned and readied for him per his instructions. TV screens were upon the walls high up displaying various things. One was playing the scene from fight club in which self improvement was described as masturbation. A few others displayed heavy metal music video while two displayed metal being smelted and a last the boys from orange county choppers were making a tribute bike for the monster killer corps of the U.S. Military. The man in black looked around at the tools on the walls and floor, the pieces of metal scattered around the bare beginnings of a bike frame, the cardboard boxes holding the cloths of the teen, and the primal nest made of pillows and blankets in a corner. He took this all in as the music lightly pounded out of massive speakers. The woman next to him looked fairly intimidated and out of her element, a half naked man who looked like he was some insane thug, his home was like the cave of a madman, and she knew the power he commanded. She jumped when his low voice rang out.
"So who is the skirt?"
The man looked towards Jax while he held the pot of coffee with it's slight green tinge.
"New hire, you are not to scar her. Orders from on top."
"Physically or mentally?"
The man in black looked upwards in contemplation while the woman seemed to be edging towards blind panic.
"Both I imagine."
"F$^@"
Jax turned to a rusty looking school desk in the middle of the warehouse floor and pulled out a carton of cigarettes, pulling out a pack he pulled out one cigarette as he watched the woman. It was a game him and the man played with new hires. To see how well they would do. The man played it to see if they would work out. Jax did it because it amused him.
"Now where is the fun of that?"
The woman nearly jumped into the air as the TV screens no displayed the face of a woman who was looking most intently at her. The woman on the screen had long hair that hung out of the shot, it started red at the scalp but as it swept back it slowly changed colors from orange to yellow to the green that was all you could see from the cropped waist up shot of her. Her features were classically beautiful. Her hair was a constant as her face tended to be but her body shape and skin color tended to be different every time Jax saw her. Today she was a Mediterranean brown and her shape was a tall and thin woman in her early thirties. She was currently wearing one of Jax's shirts that proclaimed that she could please one person today and the reader was not it today. Well... she seemed to be wearing it. As she was not real it was just a cleaver reproduction.
The woman looked up to the screens in surprise as the man in black made introductions.
"Agent Yoriko meet Skula, Jax's partner in... the things he does, also the only reason we keep this little lunatic around."
"Agent Smith... ya say the nicest f@*$ing things... seriously. I may cry."
Agent Smith shrugged uncaring which was one of the reasons Jax liked him. He never pretended to like Jax. There was a security in that. Besides it was right. His partner Skula was the reason they kept him around. Also the reason they had not dissected him for what was in his spine. He knew this and was fine with it.
"Pleased... to meet you?"
The woman looked nervously at the screens. Skula peered down from the screens critically and then suddenly a manic grin appeared on her face.
"I LIKE HER! She can come back with you."
Agent Smith nodded in satisfaction and turned back to Jax.
"Mr. Gardener, it is not long before..."
"Yeah yeah yeah. Just give me the food and let me enjoy my coffee and a few cigarettes so I can get dressed will ya? I know what today is."
Agent Yoriko gingerly handed over the container as Jax sat heavily on the floor. He popped open the container with his right hand and then lit up his cigarette as he began to eat, drink, and smoke at the same time. Yoriko looked at all this in mild horror. During this Jax pointed his ring at the ceiling, the silver circuitry patterns on bronze glowed, a silver setting contained what at first glance contained a ruby but further study showed what looked like a moving eye gazing from within the stone. As he pointed the music volume increase greatly causing the female agent to wince to the beats while Skula on the screens danced and head banged to the beat. While Skula danced and Yoriko winced Jax ate and Smith just stood there taking it all in. In time Jax smoked three cigarettes, down a pot of questionable coffee and scarf down the meal in front of him. With that he stood and a forth cigarette in his mouth he looked at the two agents inside his house. For a moment they all looked at each other.
"Well?... get the hell out of my house! I gotta get changed and you don't pay me nearly enough for a peep show."
The woman turned crimson while the man nodded and up above Skula's ringing laughter overwhelmed the music. They stood outside the home of Jax as various strains of loud music practically burned their way out the door. In time the door creaked open and Jax stood their in all his glory. Agent Smith looked at him and loudly sighed as he beheld what Jax was wearing.
"Yeah screw ya too ta d%@$ licorice stick."
Ignoring the two agents he stalked out to the car waiting to take him to his destination.

[Nemo]

Atsuko flipped her headphones down around her neck with a brief, practiced flick of her head when Kasumi at last returned from her tasks in the temple, the scent of incense and ancient tradition hanging lightly around her even now that she'd changed clothing. To Atsuko, this was unmistakable.

"Yeah" she began, pulling her bookbag more tightly over her shoulder. The younger girl smiled a tired, cheerful smile at Kasumi, and matched her pace going down the sidewalk. All the while, her headphones blared their mix outward for anyone standing near her to hear.

pum pum pum pum pum pum..., the sound of a wailing voice locked in melody overlapping and weaving in with the beat, modulating just barely in the throes of tone. Atsuko's chin dipped to the beat just slightly, and a keen eye might pick up on goosebumps.

Sip.

As if completing a thought, Atsuko thrust a fistful of something at Kasumi without looking at her - an envelope, pretty packed at that. A fistful of wage was the prize of the day and a good morning.

"Your part, hm?" she murmured, just softly. She still felt irked about the night before - What, exactly, happened to that other doomhound? Her mind raced as she formulated her question.

"What happened last night. Seriously. Did you get a glance at what took down that Doggie?" Atsuko spoke plainly, with a hint of professionalism, her intense stare locked on Kasumi.

"It certainly wasn't me, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't you... so what was it?"

[kitsuneflare88]

Kazumi sighed and muttered something in Russian that amounted to perverted, *sh**head.* and other not nice things. She sighed before she looked at Atsuko sighing to herself a little as she closed her eyes a moment and touched one the tribal tattoos on the side of her temples. A pair of sunglasses formed over her eyes as she put her hands in her coat.

"No idea what happened to the coward." Kazumi said aloud as she walked along with atsuko. "All i know is i heard something, in english shouting. Then there was a loud bashing sound, then it was a chain-saw or something. I didn't see by the time i was above it there was nothing there. Just a dead doggie." She said as she brushed her hair to the side of her face.

" i really don't care as long as what ever IT was, doesn't come after us." She sighed her hands behind her head as he walked along the street with her coat billowing a bit behind her. "Have you ever known me to use something like a chainsaw, It definitely wasn't me that killed that one. Anyways we should go.....Govno(Sh**)...." She suddenly started cursing as last night hit her.

The question of the additional slayer had driven the memory out of her mind, they had that stupid English writing exam from thier teacher. She started randomly saying Russian insults mostly to her self for forgetting. "Damn it, so much for being caught up..." She hated school sometimes....ok she hated school alot.

She walked at a slightly faster pace obviously in an a really mad mood from not sleeping much durring the night, and now having a test, plus another mystery on her hand. "Thanks for the pay.." She added pocketing the brown paper package in her long trench coat.

[Raron]

"Mr... Gardener?..."
Jax looked up from the back most seat of the black van, his head bobbing silently his head to Ozzy Osbourne's newest croon. He had his eyes half closed in concentration with a pair of headphones clamped to his ears. These were not your cheapo headphones you got as a toy surprise or with an Ipod. These were massive professional grade ones, black as night and customized with metal studs along the head strap. He opened his eyes wider as he regarded the agent he had been introduced with. His mind blanked for the name and he briefly flailed for it and then decided he didn't really car. She would probably wanna be transfer in a week anyways.
"What?"
His words were short, flying out his mouth like a thrown dagger as his gaze fixed on her. He was adept at reading lips and her posture was not hard to read as she winced a bit as he reaction. She uncoiled and fixed her jaw firm as the van bounced down the street.
"Sir, don't you think a more.... low key appearance would help you complete the mission more satisfactory?"
Agent Smith behind the wheel shook his head at this comment while the other five agents in the van copied him and smirked. They had been working with Jax for a while and knew his views.
"What? Ya mean the hair, the piercings or the clothes?"
His question seemed casual, almost friendly. She seemed braver for his response when she raised and hand and tilted it back and forth rapidly.
"Umm... more like all of the above."
Jax smiled gently nodded understandably and then spoke quietly.
"F&@k ya and your preconceptions."
She blinked as if slapped as Jax turned his gaze out the side window of the van.
"Miss... whatever yar name is.... there is an old saying 'to yar own self be true'... personally I always considered that so much bulls#$t myself. Be true to who ya are? F#&k that. I tried that once. Tried to be who I had been molded, and screamed at, and forced to be."
His relaxed posture seemed to end as his fist slowly clenched.
"I am never going though that hell again. I would rather set myself on fire and roll in salt while grinding lemons in my f#@king eyes."
A agent besides him grimaced unseen by Jax. Jax indicated his current wear.
"I decided instead to be true to the person I wanted to be. To become that person. My life has been much better. Ya can look at me, assume whatever ya like. Can imagine whatever ya like..."
He leaned forward and looked her right in the eye. His bright green globes piercing into her like lasers.
"But I am not changing the person I become for ya, or for Smith, or for this job, or even yar F&@king leader. You all can stick a roll of barbed wire up yar collective @$$es for all I care but I will do what I want, say what I want, be who I will be. If ya don't like it either get used to it or get out of my sight. I am not changing for a mission no matter the context do ya get me? Do we have an undergodd@mnedf$&kingstanding?"
She looked at him in surprise, unable to break his gaze and slowly nodded. He nodded himself and went back into the same position as before as if nothing had happened. She on the other hand seemed a bit shaken. She turned to the agent next to her who patted her on the back and smiled as he handed her a cigarette. She shakingly took it and took a puff as Agent Smith waved a hand to get Jax's attention. He took off his headphones as he thumbed the volume down as he clamped the headphones on his neck. The music still played, he could still hear it, but now he could hear Agent Smith.
"Mr. Gardener if you are quite done berating out newest member..."
Jax shrugged in response.
"Your first day at Tsukato High shall begin soon enough. You will be amongst bright, impressionable minds. I would perfer as many as possible did not need therapy after the first day if you please Mr. Jax."
"He means no fun till day two."
Jax nodded to the voice coming over the headphones. Agent smith frowned knowing the nod was probably meant for Skula.
"As you know there have been many.. disturbances in the area. You are to use your cover as a student to try to figure them out. I will be honest if we had someone else in the entire company your age and having near the level of firepower you and your little friend have... We would not be having this discussion."
"We love you too Agent Smithy poo."
Agent Smith frowned at the speaker on the car radio and pushed the off button on the radio. He continued.
"Your first class will be English with Mrs. Johnson."
Jax's head snapped up.
"What?... Mrs. Johnson?"
"Yes, according to this she is an American like yourself."
"... alright sure why not."
"My I continue? You can go on to pretending to listen."
Jax waved his hand magnanimously and the agent did continue.
"You will be known as Jax Gardener as your usually preference."
"It is my name."
"... quite... as I was saying you will get to the bottom of the problem, find it, and do what you do best."
"Listen to metal? Forge? Weld? Piss people off? Headbang?"
Smith glared into the rear view mirror as Jax shrugged it off. Soon enough they pulled up in front of the building. Jax began to stand when two agents handed him objects. One handed him a plan brown leather students bag, while Komiko handed him what appeared to be a box lunch. Jax raised an eyebrow. Agent Smith supplied the information.
"Yes the bag has your school books and I waited to give it too you now because I figured it would not give you much time for vandalism. As for the boxed lunch I would take it as a personal favor if you accepted it this time. I am not happy with the data I have been getting about your nutritional intake... Jerky is not a food group nor is it three food groups."
Jax looked at the two things and grunting took them. He waved over his should as he opened the door and stepped out onto the curb. He took his first steps towards his new school.

[kitsuneflare88]

kazumi sighed to herself as she walked into the building, she waved vaguely to atsuko before going to a different part of the school."See After school, i got some place to be at lunch." She yawned widely as she walked her bag slung over her shoulder not liking the idea of studying for a stupid English exam over her meal break, but what must be done must be done.

"At least its only math...." She muttered to herself as she walked along the hallways. She occasionally looked out the window to gaze out at the open city.

Tokyo might be busy and big, bustling, but it was nothing compared to New Tokyo, or New Detroit. Both were from her dimension and were huge sprawling metropolis filled with several hundred million people living in crapped apartments, with security mecha, and police under constant watch. The whole place felt oppressed by the corporations that ruled. Where here it was peaceful, no secret police, no revolutionaries, no chaos, just peace and stability.

She glanced out the window one last time before walking into class. Her teacher gave her a reassuring nod, to say they wanted her to be there. Kazumi sighed and took her seat at the back as usual, wishing to rest but no such luck.

At 8:00 the bell rang she laid her head down and fell asleep to the teacher droned on about basic mathematics. To her it was basic and really pointless, she lays her head down and sleeps finally, she was glad to just be here over all even though the whole thing wasn't too good. She coughed slightly and rubbed her mouth, some blood coming out of her throat.

She hatted this because she didn't like being weak, but what could you do really. She slept restfully for the most part though the teacher tried annoyingly to wake her up to no avail after about 2 minutes he gave up and let her sleep.

Mr. Larson wasn't about to rudely interrupt his top student, she might sleep but she knew his material he just wished she would participate. The other students laughed at his attempts to wake her up. Others gave her very disapproving looks and hateful stares as she slept. They didn't understand how such a lazy girl was top in the math class when she slept through it almost every time. Mostly though thier feelings were jealously as they glared at her before they turned thier attention back to Mr. Larson.

Back at her safe house among the debris of broken electronics, her cell phone began ringing in its annoying fashion.

[Nemo]

Atsuko waved to Kasumi, and just like that, business became school. War became a normal life. She went from commando to the sporty music nerd schoolgirl in the back of english class with a wave of her hand and a beat blasting in her ears.

Among her peers, her real peers, the men and women she called her comrades, she was established as one of them. Here, even after six months, she was still an outsider. She was still the new girl, still the quiet girl who sat in the back of the class with supposed PTSD from being kidnapped some years ago.

The beat raged. Goosebumps picked her skin and her tiny hairs stood on end as she listened, the music washing over her soul like waves on the beach, taking it all away. She didn't smile - she rarely did, at least when she was at school. But she did pick up a bit of bounce in her step.

The moment she walked into the door of her classroom, first hour English, the bell Rang. In another world, Lt. Anabelle Johnson was her comrade. They shared a barracks, they were friends. Here, she was a tardy student, and Mrs. Johnson was NOT a teacher to trifle with.

She pointed her chalk at her like a dagger, and Atsuko cringed instinctively. the headphones came off, and the music stopped. She should have been in her seat already.

Her inner ear vibrated softly as her implant assaulted her. She ignored it for now. It was NOT the time to be answering a call for work. Mrs. Johnson didn't even indicate she knew what it was she was ignoring... though this was just a clever ploy.

[Raron]

Jax put one foot in front of the other. His heavy steps cracking the air as he moved forward, he did not bother to run. He already knew he would be late. It was a forgone conclusion. He realized that in every school he had ever been to he had never once made it on time for the first class of the school.

He looked at the clean walls, the flawless tile floors... like so many other schools he had been in... but here and there the differences became very clear. His "uniformed" legs carrying him to the door of his class room he glanced briefly at this hand, reminding Skula to be quiet. The ruby on his hand blinked in an unspoken acknowledgment that she would not speak via the ring during school hours... but he knew from experience that the loud speakers were still fair game for her... nothing could keep her from her little jokes.

He took a moment to take the headphones off his head, unplug them and slide them into his bag. He grimaced at the site of it. So plain, so copy and paste... so not him. He would have to do something immediately about it. He wondered if his desk neighbors would be willing to loan him some sharpies. Shaking his head he walked into the room. He didn't slow down he just walked over, reached into his pocket and pulled out the form he was supposed to present to the teacher. As he did this he was more then aware of the stares, the looks of shock, and even a couple of people taking out cell phones no doubt to call the police if necessary.

He ignored this, his only response was the left corner of his mouth lifted in a mocking smirk briefly. He felt sorry for people so trapped within themselves. He turned and face the class before the teacher could speak to him. He looked at the class in the remains of what was once a uniform... but by no definition could what he was wearing be called "uniform" any longer once he had gotten his hands on it not to mention the person wearing it. In a gracious acknowledgement of differences of culture he had not used his more unusual earrings and pierces, rather most of piercings were filled with simple silver barbells. The hoops in his ears were an exception. He had left at home the facial chains and the chin spike to show willing to the land he was in.

For the uniform itself it had started simple, the tie was right out. He would rather peel off his skin and roll in salt then wear a tie. He simply draped it on his shoulders around his neck. Not so much as looped around his neck. The gray jacket with it's white liner was a bigger victim to his sense of style. The sleeves had been forcefully ripped off and replaced. Where more gray fabric once was a sheet of black leather had been cut up and inexpertly turned into a pair of sleeves, rather then sewn it had been riveted in place and the seams fashioned along the inside of the arms with more metal rivets. The gold buttons had been replaced with silver metal laughing skulls, their grins almost obscene as if they contemplated things beyond perversion. The collar of the jacket was tattered and worn beyond it's years.

The white shirt underneath had not escaped his wrath. Doodles, drawings, even paintings with latex paint had been visited upon it's once pristine surface. Skulls, flames, blue prints, whatever had drifted across his conscious had been permanently imbued on it. Not even the pants and belt had escaped. The belt had been repeatedly studded with metal spikes while the pants had been worn and tattered with careful application of a belt sander till they looked worn to the point at the knees they gaped with holes.

As for his shoes the tips were plated with carefully shaped pieces of metal making them the most armored pair of dress shoes the class room had likely seen. All this seemed at odds with the brown bag slung over his shoulder as he held it and the plastic bag obviously containing his boxed lunch in his hand. He looked over the class clicking his lip piercings with his tongue a moment before he spoke.
"Name's Jax Gardener. Ya can all call me Jax. I am not a formal person. I suggest you get used to it. I like my music metal and loud, my food quick to eat, my cars fast and people out of my face. Any questions?"