Darker than BLACK: La Ribellione dei Fiori [PG-16]

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"Does it hurt anywhere?" Xue asked the doll who was propped up on the counter in the kitchen of what was currently the white-haired contractor's place of residence. It was a relatively large apartment, well equipped with all of the latest technology such as a nice LCD HDTV and a large assortment of kitchen appliances. But, what made this hiding place ideal, as opposed to the grungy one Hui and Mei used since they didn't have aliases, was that it was as far away from the scene of the fight as possible, the apartment building bordering the ocean. The doll shook her head in response to the question, and Xue helped her down before wandering into the living room, where Hui was collapsed in the middle of the couch, holding the collar that had been around her neck in her hands.

Thankfully Xue had been smart enough to place a rock between where the needle was and her neck when he cut it, or else it would have pierced her skin for sure, effectively killing her. "You realize since I saved you, we're probably both traitors to the Syndicate, right? I would have been better off not doing it..." Xue made the girl aware, plopping down on the couch as well. Probably in a room somewhere. He really wasn't looking forward to going to meet the Syndicate's informant in the morning.

"Aww, but you know you love me!" She somehow had the energy to bubbly exclaim as she inched over to her comrade, only to have Xue inch away as he got a whiff of her. "Wh-what?"

"...When was the last time you showered?" He sighed, aware of her remuneration but not understanding why she couldn't just do it anyways. The girl's face lit up bright red as she turned away, not particularly impressed with his manners.

"You know the maximum amount of time I can go without obeying my remuneration is five minutes! By myself, that's nowhere near enough time to get clean, so there no point! Besides, since when can a loli-lover judge my cleanliness? You seem to enjoy those kisses Mei gives you, don't you~?"

"Only because they fulfill my remuneration! Stop making it sound like I'm into little kids!"

"Well aren't you? You do travel with a kid and a fourteen year old. Maybe you do like them young? Or maybe the girl you brought with you is more your type?" In that sense, she was really jealous of Yu. She hadn't been told why she was brought with them, and Hui was kind of threatened by her presence. She was pretty, after all, and she looked more mature.

Completely dodging the topic at hand, the only male in their group took out a wallet from the clothes he had been wearing earlier, and handed a small wad of bills over to Yu. "I don't have any supplies for you to clean yourself here. At least... none for girls. There should be a department store open down the street, even at this hour, so if I let you and Hui go get some supplies, could you please make sure Hui gets clean, please, Annalisa?" He wasn't telling her, he was asking her, since quite frankly he wouldn't be able to hang around Hui smelling like her adventure. "Just make sure to be careful. We're all in a sensitive situation right now, so people could be looking for us."


---


"Hah, I can't believe you two let them get away!" Selia laughed at Genocide and Zephyr upon their return, highly amused that the two big shots couldn't handle a bunch of kids. "I knew I should have gone with you. Maybe this wouldn't have happened otherwise! The higher-ups are not going to be impressed with you."

Zephyr didn't say anything, still lighting cigarettes and pushing them into his skin as punishment for using his abilities too much, an expression of anger still clearly plastered on his face for getting duped. Ignoring the topic at hand, he started murmuring to himself. "How the hell did they make me slip up!?"
 
Even Genocide's face was sour as he massaged his ears. "Shut up Selia." He barked irritably, muttering to himself for a moment in his frustration. "Or I'll make it so you can't say a word for the rest of your pitiful life." Plopping down into a chair, the male clamped his hands over his hearing implements more gently, letting out a tortured sigh as he closed his eyes. Not that there was much difference whether they were open or closed. The ringing in his ears was still rattling his brain around, and he had the worst headache in the entire world. Possibly the worst contractor in the entire world that he could've run into just had to place itself in front of him tonight. What was fortunate at the very least, was that Yu had wound up not using her powers. Otherwise there would be no Zephyr or Genocide standing here now. There was a reason why Evening Primrose valued her powers so much. They were simply so… free of restraint. No matter where or when she could just use them as she liked. It really was a miracle that the organization had left her alone for so long.

Now she was quickly being drafted into another organization however. That wouldn't be quite as forgivable as living a human lifestyle. Hopefully he wouldn't be assigned to go after her. Genocide really wasn't fond of that white-haired contractor. Clenching his head between his hands to try to still his pounding temples, the man heaved another sigh and sat back, putting his hands down. Peace and quiet probably wouldn't be found here. Not with Selia gloating her butt off. He had to report though. What could he do? Well he'd have to get his ears checked later, that was for sure. The only way he got back without falling into the canals was by stealing the vision of a sleeping homeless man that they'd passed. He'd give it back to him eventually.


Yu watched the exchange between Xue and Hui, blinking as she listened calmly. After a time, she redirected her attention to the apartment at hand. She honestly preferred hers- it was cozier. Smelled more like apples. But that was personal preference, so she simply shut her mouth and sat. "Or maybe the girl you brought with you is more your type?" Yu tilted her head, having missed most of the prior part of the conversation. She pointed at herself, blinking in confusion. She was more what? Staring quizzically at Xue, she was offered no explanation as he completely turned the topic around, holding out a wad of cash. She took it carefully, looking back up to pay attention to his instructions. If Yu was stuck in this world now, then she'd have to figure out her place before getting uppity.

"Please, Annalisa?" She blinked and smiled, laughing a little and replying cheerfully, "Sure thing Mr. Contractor! C'mon," She hooked her arm in Hui's, ignoring any kind of smell he'd mentioned earlier, "We can't walk around smelling like dust and debris! And I have to start rebuilding my apple collection from scratch, so we'd better get started. I need some new clothes too, since my old ones are all buried." Clenching her fist, Yu nodded, determination in her voice as she announced, "I'm an expert penny-pincher; we'll make these bills last to the end!"

She dragged the other girl out of the apartment at once, but paused at the door to look over her shoulder at Xue. "Oh, you can call me Yu if you want. All the contractors I remember called me that." She grinned and gave him a thumbs up before bolting out the door for her favorite sport: Shopping. Being such an expert, she hardly let Hui say a word throughout the entire marathon. Apple scented lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and soap, along with two new outfits. One for herself, and one for Hui. After hearing that Hui's remuneration was anything embarrassing for her, Yu had no longer been worried. After all, any girl would be absolutely mortified to be in the same bathroom as a guy, wearing a bathing suit that a girl perhaps half her age might wear, right? Right. As for herself, She'd picked out a red quarter-sleeved top, a khaki cotton summer vest, and deep blue denim shorts. A pair of flat tan cowboy boots and knee-high black socks completed her outfit. An a red bandanna, of course- for convenience. Things needed to be kept simple.

Busting back into the apartment, Yu clapped her hands together, "Okay!" She dropped the bags and pulled out the frilly pink bathing suit with white sparkly kittens prancing across the waistline. She held it up to Hui, nodding her approval, "Mr. Contractor!" Yu called, an innocent look of happiness on her face as she clasped her hands together, "We're going to need your help~!"

Apple scented toiletries. Check. Witch costume in the wash with plenty of detergent. Check. Pink Frilly one. Check. Hui in the shower. Check. Toilet cover down. Check. Xue sitting on top. Check. Mortified Hui? Most definitely check.

"You can wash yourself, right?" Yu called, leaning on the counter beside Xue, "If you need my help let me know- I'm still in my old clothes, so I can step in anytime. Xue and I will be right out here, okay~?"
 
"..."

"..."

Both Xue and Mei sat in the bathroom, neither saying a word at their current predicament for different reasons. Xue was too thrown off by the notion of being in the bathroom while Hui showered in what looked to be a swimsuit made for a seven year old, while Mei just didn't usually have anything to say, and was too busy watching the apartment's surroundings, the building surrounded by a flower bed with a greenhouse on the roof. Sooner or later Xue would say something about this method, but currently he was still too shocked by the idea.

As for Hui herself, she had received a bad vibe the moment she had been placed in Yu's hands, not being given much of an opinion for the entire shopping trip up until the point where she was forced to wear the ridiculous attire she now wore in the shower with her. As she lowered the right strap of the swimsuit in order to cover her shoulder with soap, the material of the clothing made a loud snapping sound against her skin, making her go bright red at the thought of Xue possibly being aware that she had taken one step closer to being naked. Why the hell did she bring him in the bathroom, anyways!? The swimsuit was more than embarrassing enough! She wasn't really conscious of it, as she was too distracted with being distraught, but her vision was beginning to blur from a combination of the hot shower against her hot, embarrassed skin. It wasn't too long after before she blacked out, the sound of a thud could be heard from inside the shower afterwards.

"...I'm not getting her." Xue muttered as Mei took a timely exit from the room.
 
Yu stifled a giggle at the sound of the snapping strap, glancing over at Xue. Her shoulders shook even harder with mirth and it took some time for her to recover from her bout of amusement. Sniffling a little and pressing the back of her hand to her smile, she took in the lovely apple scent and tried not to take too much enjoyment out of her little prank. Until a thud wiped the smile off her face.

"… I'm not getting her."

Yu looked over at the contractor beside her, gaping a little as she tried to find words. Looking around, as if thinking there were more people in the bathroom other than Xue and Mei, she saw no one and cleared the throat, standing up and walking over to the shower, opening the door tentatively and peering inside. She closed it calmly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "… She…" Yu cleared her throat again, glancing guiltily at Xue, "…She likes you more than I thought she did." Yu explained half-heartedly, biting a nail and furrowing her brow in embarrassment. "I-I'll take it from here." She stepped into the shower, closing the door behind her and adjusting the temperature so that it was cooler.

By the time Yu had finished doing everything she needed to do- washing Hui's hair, drying her and hair off, blow drying it, putting her costume into the dryer, putting Hui herself to bed until she regained conciousness, taking a shower herself, and putting her old outfit into the wash too, it had been two hours. Far longer than Yu had anticipated. Sinking into the couch opposite the slumbering Hui, she sighed and rubbed a towel against her damp black hair, glad that she had already grown accustomed to nocturnal life. Venice was alive for Yu at night- not during the day, when she slept like a rock. Still, tonight's parade had been far from usual, and she was exhausted. Silence wasn't really Yu's cup of tea. Especially not when she was sitting right next to someone who was wide awake. Forget the fact that he was busy reading. She glanced over at him and then at the sleeping Hui before clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle another laugh. As it died away, she grinned at the sleeping girl and said quietly, "She's cute, isn't she?" Pulling the towel off her shoulders and straightening her new shirt, Yu sighed, folding the towel on her lap. "A little too young to be caught up in all this though."

"I guess cute is the word..." Xue replied as he set his book down on his lap, glancing over at Mei as she wandered into Hui's room before turning his focus to the oldest female in their current party. "The sad part is that she doesn't have any real memories of being a regular human. This is the only kind of life she knows..."

Yu blinked, pursing her lips as she mustered a smile, turning to look at the white-haired man, "Mr. Contractor," She tilted her head, "Do you remember being a human? I mean ... is it better than being a contractor?"

The man shut up for a minute, completely having forgotten about Yu's remuneration when he had spoken of Hui. "I suppose it isn't really better at all. Humans don't think before they act, so they tend to make mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes when I was human." It wasn't something he really wanted to remember, his past, but it wasn't exactly horrible to remember either. "But it's more peaceful. You don't have to be a tool of war. You don't see agencies picking up random, normal kids off the street to fight like with Hui and you. Hell, the Syndicate took Hui when she was only six years old."

Six...? That was horribly young. Not even in real education yet. Yu nodded, abandoning the attempt to remember when she'd joined any sort of organization as a contractor. "I guess to them, our age doesn't really matter, huh? We're all kind of the same." She took a deep breath, leaning back, "Just prioritizing ourselves..." Looking out the window, Yu searched for words, sounding cheery on a subject that she might've found depressing if she were anyone else. But she didn't really have anything to remember about the topic at hand, so there wasn't much to be sad for. Whether or not she even had such memories in the first place... even that was iffy. "I don't remember not being a contractor. But I remember that I wasn't always fighting for one side or another. That was nice." She turned the towel over in her hands, pausing with hesitation. "I... I hate to ask, but, why do you work for... your organization? I know that those people on the roof are working for... contractor-liberation or... power to contractors. Something like that." Yu looked up, staring at the eyepatch to avoid Xue's good eye, "You're a contractor, so... doesn't your instinct tell you to go with Evening Primrose?"

"The EPR wants to make humans aware of contractors. But I believe that if our existence is known, we'll never be able to live the normal lives some of us so desperately want to return to. If I could, I'd want to show Hui, Mei, and even you what it means to be human." Xue replied softly, turning his head so he could see the girl with his one eye. "When I joined the Syndicate, I was young, and I had nowhere else to go. I had killed some of my family when I awakened, and they helped me discover my remuneration. At that time, I felt indebted, so I blindly followed them." He rose from his seat, dropping a wallet on the ground before her. "In the morning, I need you to take Hui and Mei and leave Venice. The Syndicate already wants Hui dead, and I prevented that, so I'm probably on their list as well. I'll distract them when I go to meet the informant in the morning..."

Yu stared at the wallet for a moment before gingerly picking it up and turning it over in her hands. It didn't make sense to her. Why in the world would she join EPR if they were... out to destroy the lifestyle she'd coveted for the past year? Not to say that she wasn't starting to bore from it's monotony, but it was better than forgetting all the time. There just didn't seem to be a plausible reason for her to join EPR, and if there had been... well, she certainly didn't remember it anymore. Maybe it was the same for her. Maybe she'd killed someone and there was simply no one else to turn to for protection from the ignorant human race who would surely be baffled by her very existence. She looked up at Xue, smiling and holding out her hand for him to shake. "Then we'll make it a promise- o-or even better a deal!" Yu stated cheerfully, "I'll take them to... Treviso, you'll meet up with us... and then when everything is settled, you'll show Hui and I a human lifestyle to the best of your ability." Grinning as she reached out and shook his hand without waiting for his approval of the deal.
 
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Xue regretted not taking any rest overnight as he sluggishly sat down on the rock designated by the Syndicate as a meeting place. It was in the middle of a park that rarely had visitors, a worn out slide and dangerously rusted jungle gym in the distance, the sound of water from the canals filling the air. He had been up all night sorting out his plans for the day, the potential moves he could make if things went sour, and what he could do for the girls if he died. Mei was the biggest issue, as he had to bring her along or else he'd be rendered useless, but he found her a pretty good hiding spot in the wine cellar of one of the few buildings bordering the park.

He had come to this place in his combat attire, not the investigator attire he had worn throughout the whole ordeal the day before (which was now sitting nicely in a garbage can thanks to more than a few tares), and had received quite a few stares on his way over, especially since he had place his sword in a guitar case temporarily. Of course, that guise was quickly discarded when he reached the point of meeting, throwing the case into the nearby canal before taking up his post, at which he sat idle for about ten minutes with his head hung low, before he suddenly felt another, much smaller back against his.

"The Syndicate isn't particularly happy with your performance..." A feminine voice came, most likely of a girl no older than eighteen. In fact, Xue could have sworn he'd heard it before somewhere. "HL-666 should have been killed yesterday, but you prevented it. Not only that, but you did not hand over the girl you were supposed to track, and this is all piled up on a series of strikes against you. As such, they-" The voice was familiar indeed, so the man cut her off.

He was disgruntled. He didn't like the idea of having to fight someone he knew, but maybe he could convince her otherwise. "They sent you to dispose of me, Alice?" He could feel the girl sit up with a start at his voice, as if she hadn't known who she had been talking to all this time. And surprisingly, she hadn't, as she ran around to face the man to get a better look. The girl was dressed in a pink, babydoll dress that was lined with black lace at the top of the v, showing off more of her breasts than most girls would prefer. The dress fight snugly across her thin frame - thin to the point where she didn't even appear to have much muscle mass. Draped over her dress was what almost looked like black, lacey lingerie, although if it was intended to look like that was beyond the man's understanding. Her hair was long, and chestnut brown, falling almost all the way down to her feet which bore black ballet shoes and absolutely no socks between her feet and the skirt of her dress, which barely came down to her lower thigh. She examined the man with big, fiery red-orange eyes (a feature Xue had always found bizarre, but nobody could understand why they were that colour) which matched the colour of the cross-shaped pendant around her neck. At first glance, it was just a pendant, but Xue knew it was actually a bottle of toxin that she had to take as remuneration. It was never pretty to watch.

The girl's glance turned into a quizzical glare as if she had been misinformed. "Xue! They never told me it was you! Does that mean HL-666 is..."

"Hui." He interrupted her again. This girl, Alice, they had worked with her on a mission before. Hui had grown attached to her and vice versa, and Xue knew for a fact that she had fallen for him at some point. Though she probably made herself like him at that point, seeing as she was knew to being a contractor and had been unstable at that time. Now, she looked a lot more stable, and a lot more like the young woman contractor she was meant to be. If he remembered correctly, didn't she also have a sister in the Syndicate?

The girl let out a sigh, before her body began to glow blue and two red dots lit up in her eyes, before what appeared to be a black spot above her opened up and Mei fell out of it, landing in her arms. "Even if it is you guys, you know I can't just let you go. Maybe if you just come with me they won't kill you?" Xue knew that she knew that it was an impossible circumstance. If they wanted him dead, they'd kill him regardless of how he tried to make it up to them.

"And even if it's you, I can't just allow you to use my doll as a hostage..." The man replied as he drew his sword. The ability to create two portals in which you could send items through. When he first met her, she could barely grasp her powers. But, now, she seemed to be able to grab someone nearby without actually seeing them. Maybe, just maybe it might be problematic. Hopefully Yu and Hui were doing better...


---


"Are we there yet?" Hui mumbled as she tailed behind Yu like she had been for the last little while. She was very irritated. When she had woken up, Xue and Mei were both gone with a note telling her to go with this other girl. Now, they had been walking for God knows how long, to a destination she had not been told, and she had been complaining the entire way. She was getting tired and bored! "...How about now?"
 
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Yu laughed, seemingly carefree at the fact that she knew that things probably weren't going as smoothly on Xue's side. "Hui~" She admonished, a skip in her step as they made their way out of Venice, "We'll get there when we get there! Asking isn't going to get us there any faster! Come! Enjoy the view!" Hypocritical of her to say, as she wasn't really enjoying the view so much as she was on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. A commotion to signal that things hadn't gone according to plan, and that they'd have to make a break for it? A suspicious character watching the extremely obvious Hui in her easily identifiable outfit? Yu smiled over her shoulder at the girl, feeling as though she had to protect the innocent soul. It was hard to remember that she was only two years older than this girl. Age had never really made a big difference for Yu, who sometimes had to be reminded how old she was by other people. Experience was what made the difference to her, and while she didn't remember it all, she could feel it. The fact that she had eons more experience than the girl tagging along behind her.

"Saaafe!" Yu exclaimed as she pushed Hui onto a water taxi and took a large step after her, the ship slowly moving off as the girl clapped her hands together, "Now all we have to do is hang out until Mr. Contractor finds us."

"Wait!" A voice called out as the attendant began to close the gate to the moving boat. Hopping on at the very last minute, the man let out a huge sigh of relief, nodding in gratitude at the attendant who was shaking his head. "Thanks…" His cornsilk blonde hair was slicked back, leaving his bangs, which peaked up and over from their widow's peak looking severe and professional. The man himself was dressed somewhat formally- a black dress shirt and a silver vest coupled with perfectly fitted slacks. He looked every bit a business man who had almost missed his last chance to make it on time to an important meeting. Except, he was anything but. It wasn't hard for the man to identify his target. Or, what had turned into his targets. Ahh, if only that darned Xue hadn't messed things up. Then he wouldn't be stuck here, doing clean-up work. He'd be doing better things with his time, like playing the rich entrepreneur that was his surface identity, and the reason why he was confident that Hui didn't recognize him as an agent of the syndicate. It was a mystery for most as to who was actually in the organization. He knew Xue, mostly because they were in the same general age group and had joined around the same time. He knew Alice, of course, because she was his younger sister, despite him keeping their relationship on business-like, cordial terms. Raleigh Granville was all work and no play, and an excellent actor at that.

Relaxing in a first-class hotel room sounded considerably more enjoyable than chasing after two helpless girls, even someone who wasn't Raleigh would think so. Though neither targets were completely helpless, as far as the report had said. Both contractors- both offensive abilities. And if he'd read the investigation correctly, the dark haired girl had a fatal ability. Best to observe for now. Steely gray eyes glossed over both the dark haired ex-Evening Primrose agent and the girl who had crawled back from her inevitable death as though they didn't even see them, and he painted on a polite smile as he nodded in embarrassment to the people he passed. Might as well sit if he was going to accompany these two all the way to dry ground. His ability didn't do him much good on a boat.

"Oh…" An old woman hesitated as Raleigh swooped in on the last available seat. God he hated senior citizens. Smiling sheepishly at the senior, he motioned politely for her to sit.

"Please," He held his hand out towards the seat, "Feel free to take a seat."

The woman expressed her gratitude as the rich man swallowed the bitter pill of having to stand for the rest of the ride. He was too nice. At times.


"See," Yu put her hands on her hips confidently, stepping off of the taxi an hour later to look around at Treviso. Much drier. Much easier to get around. "I told you we'd get here in due time!" She patted Hui's witch hat lightly, careful not to knock it askew. "Let's find a place to stay for now."

It was one thing to be wandering Venice, looking for a place to stay. It was another to be wandering around Treviso. Getting lost in the complex twists and turns of the alleys wasn't hard, and Yu's sense of direction had never been the best in the first place. At least Raleigh's luck was looking up today. Following her straight into a dead end, Raleigh half-smiled at the utter ridiculousness of the whole scenario. Things were going too well for him today! Hopefully they were going just as well on the other side of this joint mission. "Excuse me!" He caught the duo's attention, stepping forward with his innocent façade still in place. It was worthless in a place like this though. Meeting him here? It couldn't be a coincidence, and the fact read on the slightly alarmed expression on the first target's face.

"Sorry to bother you," He continued, making no move forward. No need to alarm them. He stayed at a safe distance for both himself and them. "But I was wondering if you would do me a favor and… uh," He chuckled, rubbing his neck in his pretending to be a clumsy person, "Well you know… would you do me a favor and come with me? Oh and um. Let me finish the job on the girl behind you?"

The job? Yu furrowed her brow. "…. Are you crazy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Bad guy? Asking her to comply? Was he an idiot? Yeah probably.

"Ahh…" Raleigh put his hands in his pockets, nodding understandingly before dropping the act entirely, his serious, blank eyes glaring right through the girls, "I didn't think so." Red pinpricks appeared in his cold eyes and his body began to glow blue. Before she even had the chance to brace herself against whatever this man's ability was, Yu felt herself fly backwards into the brick wall, a cry of surprise escaping her as she first hit the wall and then the floor- both times hard enough to knock the wind out of her. What in the world?! "Let's see..." Raleigh thought aloud, extracting a hand from his pocket and tapping his temple, "Messier Code… HL-666, codename Hui. Ability- gravity related. Hmm, that would be you, correct Little Witchling?"
 
"I'm telling you, Xue, you'd be wise to just turn yourself in. Even if you beat me, they'll come after you again and again until they kill you. Hui is probably already dead, so the least you can do is spare this doll's life by doing that much." The girl spat utter nonsense at the white-haired contractor, who didn't waver in his stance. As expected, they sent someone after Hui and Yu as well, which meant that they were probably fighting at this exact moment. It was probably also true that they'd spare Mei if he turned himself in. Dolls had no emotional ties with their maintainers, so it was easy to reassign them if their current contractor died.

Xue smirked as he removed himself from a defensive stance, swinging his sword wildly to the side. "I made a promise to some friends, and I have no intention of dying until I fulfill that promise." He suddenly took a step to charge, but suddenly found him face to face with the girl, her nails clawing into his neck.

"I don't think you realize how much I've improved my abilities, Xue..." She whispered into his ear as he noticed Mei had been discarded onto the ground beside her. He didn't have much time to react towards this realization, though, as he suddenly found himself somewhere else again... and he was falling! It wasn't a long drop before he landed on his stomach on the cold, metal lid of a dumpster, his blade landing on his right arm, cutting it slightly. The wind knocked out of him from the landing, he rolled onto his back to see the black portal above him, just in time to see a shower of stones fall from the gap. With very little time remaining, he pushed himself off of the dumpster and landed on the ground beside him, dodging what could have been a crippling attack considering the height they were dropped from. She had definitely gotten better. But, every contractor had limits, and she was no different. If he could anticipate the appearance of the portals, things would be a lot easier.

The man shakily got to his feet, sadly back near the point of the meeting place he had initially stood at. Like most contractors, she also had the ability to hear, so his power would work on her. After giving a nearby rock a glance, he swung his sword at it as his eyes pinpricked red and his body glowed blue, but to his surprise he did not hear a sound. Instead, when he looked down at where he had struck, a portal had form, engulfing the tip of the sword so that it wouldn't hit the rock. His shocked expression quickly calmed itself again as he stared the girl down. "I told you I've gotten better! Plus it certainly helps that I know how your ability works!" That was why they sent her. She had an effective way of countering his sound-making, and it was far too quiet during this time of day to be able to use sounds from nearby.

In an instant, he found himself inches away from her again, and he could feel an open portal right behind him. "I really don't want to, Xue, but if they ordered me too, I need to kill you. Don't worry, though, it'll be painless. I'm going to transport you high into the sky above this point. You'll free fall, and splat on the ground, and that'll be that." Xue felt Mei latch onto his leg, and from there he knew he had set his pieces properly. Like she knew how his power worked, he knew how hers did too.

As Alice went to push him in the portal, Xue muttered "Say goodbye to Raleigh for me." before grabbing the girls arm and pulling her through the portal with him, Mei in tow as well."


---


Ever since they had gotten on the water taxi, Hui had been keeping on eye on that man. Something about him had struck her as familiar, but she couldn't figure out why until it was too late. He was a contractor, he had injured her escort, and now his sights were set on her. As he questioned her identity, Hui slowly inched back to the position Yu was in. If she was to use her powers, and Yu was too far away, she'd get caught in the attack as well. Choosing to ignore the contractor and attempting to pull Yu to her feet again, she managed to whisper "When I give the signal, we need to run" into her ear.

The 'witchling' began to glow blue as her eyes shined the red of blood, loose papers and stones on the ground beginning to swirl around the two until the debris hit the wall behind them. The walls themselves began to shake as Hui put more effort into her power use, and the brick walls eventually crumbled, hollowing out the buildings on either side as brick upon brick spun around the two, creating an effective shield as Hui dragged Yu inside the building right behind her. There was a door they could escape through, and as she dropped her powers, all of the bricks tumbling down between them and their pursuer, the small girl shouted "RUN!"
 
It wasn't long before Yu was back on her feet. The bruises and scratches stinging at her hands and back seemed to fade into nothing. Adrenaline? No, perhaps she was used to this kind of thing. She barreled forward, crouching to the ground and sweeping her leg around as her enemy jumped easily to dodge her kick. He moved back and watched with little interest as the toe of her boot brushed a few strands of his hair. It was apparent that the girl hadn't been in action for quite some time. He movements were slow- too calculated and easily predictable. Easily throwing her aside with a good blow to the side of her head, Raleigh adjusted his hair as she stumbled into the wall. "Please," He simpered, "You're insulting me with your naivety."

Yu glared over her shoulder, her body and eyes indicating that she was invoking her ability. Enough to put Raleigh on the alarm- the report had said that her powers had very little limitations- an automatic fatality ability. No risks here. Before she could do anything to the temperatures in his body, Raleigh called upon his own powers, causing all of the miniscule bugs in the air around her to explode. Checking the mobility in his limbs and registering no pain in his body, Raleigh deemed that he'd made it in time. Retreating backwards, he calmed down now that his life wasn't in immediate danger again. Making no move as Hui placed herself and Yu into the one-foot radius that the report had spoke of, he instead opted to watch six of his minions attach themselves to the little witch's clothes, while three crawled under the red top that belonged to the ex-agent.

Placing his hand back into his pocket, Raleigh enjoyed the show, eyes flitting about as he tracked down the rest of his catalysts- some of which were getting caught up in Hui's gravitational field. No consequence. He bolted after the pair as the building began to crumble, not even blinking an eyelash as the bricks tumbled dangerously down upon him. This was a minor matter. A number of bugs lined themselves up in a pattern above Raleigh's head, and he ducked as they ignited, exploded, and blew off the debris over his head. Sliding out with only a small gash on his left hand, plenty of dust on his expensive clothes, and a number of little holes from the sparks, Raleigh brushed himself off, catching sight of the two girls running off. "I've always hated tag." He muttered to himself, hurrying after them. It wouldn't be impossible to find them with his bugs on them. If they got too far away however, that was a different story. Igniting things when you had no general idea of where they were? Kind of difficult, even for someone as experienced as himself. An injured girl and a fourteen-year-old? Versus Raleigh? This race was going to be cake. It wasn't long before they were completely in sight, and Raleigh was just about to ignite the bugs on Hui before a very unceremonious interruption.

He stumbled to a stop as three people tumbled out of nowhere, and the surprise on his face quickly turned to frustration. "Alice! What are you doing?!" Raleigh snarled, distastefully spitting the name out as he spotted his unfortunate relative sprawled on the floor on top of Xue and his doll. He narrowed an eye. "And you." He commented indifferently, glaring down at the man.

Yu looked over her shoulder, stopping in her tracks when she spotted that too-familiar white hair and the doll. "It's Xue!" She exclaimed, grabbing hold of Hui, "Why-" No that wasn't what was important. She glanced down at the costumed girl and steeled herself. One more try. Just… just once more! Squeezing her eyes shut, her eyelids opened to reveal glowing red eyes. … just… a little… There!

Raleigh let out a strangled cry as he began to glow as well. Three explosions later and Yu was crumpled on the ground, her shoulder and arm bare and raw from the force of the miniature bombs exploding right on her skin. The magnitude had been far smaller than Raleigh would've liked, but in that short amount of time, what could he have done? Chunks of his left and right arm were already splattered across the walls. Cursing at the sight and glaring at the unconscious Yu, Raleigh threw a dirty look at Alice who had ruined his mission. "Stay out of my way." He ordered, referring also to the fact that it would be her duty to keep Xue out of the picture. Stepping around the obstruction that had put a dent in his chase, Raleigh moved towards Hui, his limp arms dangling freely as he ignored the pain. The mission was what was important right now, and self-preservation would only be possible if he disposed of the two females outlined in his mission. Worthless- all of them, particularly Alice. Always making things difficult.
 
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