Fan Fiction ❯ Project M.I.S.T.: Chikyuu ❯ The Assassins Know the Plan! The Mysterious Winged Savior ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Guess what? This story is totally original and it's mine, so please don't take any of my characters or ideas unless you have my permission. If you have any questions, email me at emerald_strife@hotmail.com, or leave a review with the question and your email and I'll write back. If you want to see just what these songs are which I list then all you need to do is check out another story, "Project M.I.S.T. Songbook" where they all happen to be.

Note: Every episode will follow the same format unless specified otherwise. First, there will be an opening thought from one of the eight teenagers, followed by the title and the episode itself. After the episode, there is an ending thought which ends the entire episode. This episode will have no closing thought, as episodes with two parts or more won't be able to have them. Enjoy!

Opening Thoughts
Hinote

Life seems to take people on the most extraordinary journeys. But no journey shall compare to those of seven of my future friends in the city of Tokyo. I used to consider myself a normal human teenager, until the day a strange winged being appeared before me and handed me a strange treasure chest, bearing the colors or fiery red and royal purple. That very object changed my life forever, and revealed that I was not who I seemed to be, that I was to be the leader of seven others like me, and that I was also the heiress to the throne of a world I never heard of before . . .

Upon my transformation back I regained all my memories of my world Senkyou, how the one called Yuuku tried to assassinate me for her organization called Kuroi-Sakaime. They want to destroy all three members of the royal household of my world, and that after completing this their leader Makura would take to the throne and govern all the people. I won't let that happen, because I am a future leader. It is my responsibility to the people, though I have yet to see them, to defend them from what endangers their lives.

(Opening Theme: Energy Surge)

Episode One

The Assassins Know the Plan! The Mysterious Winged Savior

"Miss Kashi!"

A large cloud of smoke seemed to float out slowly from the chemistry lab. Inside, the students were attempting to rid themselves of the smoke as a girl, with navy blue hair tied into a ponytail with a pink ribbon, found that she was coughing from the lack of oxygen. She wore a uniform consisting of a knee high purple skirt, black shoes, white socks, and a long sleeved, light blue shirt with a purple sash and ribbon on the front and on the back of the skirt. Over the uniform, she wore a white lab coat.

"Uh oh . . ." she mumbled, removing the goggles from her face to reveal a set of purple eyes. "Looks like I'm in trouble again . . ."

"Miss Kashi . . ."

Just then, the teacher walked over, crossing his arms over his chest. He was very tall with spiky black hair and dark red eyes behind a pair of thick glasses. Over his navy colored suit, he as well wore a white lab coat. A red and white striped tie could still be seen. Frowning, the girl kept her gaze to the ground as she stood at her workstation. The educator stopped beside her, tapping his index finger on his arm as he watched her panic within her head.

"Yes, Mr. Dobashi?" The girl gulped after speaking, clasping her hands together and lifting them to her face. Her teeth slightly bit into the skin of her thumbs.

"Report to the office this instant. I will page them to let them know you are coming."

"Yes, sir . . ."

The girl frowned, standing up from her seat while listening to her classmates giggle and tease her behind her back. She tossed her goggles and lab coat to the ground and began packing up her belongings because she knew she would be gone long past the ringing of the next bell. Everyone watched as she headed for the door, opening it and then closing it behind her before making her way down the empty hallway. She held the handle of her case in both hands as it remained in front of her.

"I hate this . . ." The girl turned a corner and stopped for a brief moment to take a sip of water from a nearby fountain. "Every time I make some mistake in Chemistry, I get sent to the office. Something tells me Mr. Dobashi doesn't like me much, and now I have to face the principal again!" she thought.

She let out a loud sigh and rose to stand straight once again before continuing to walk what she seemed to consider being her doomed fate. A few moments passed before she stopped in front of the door. Written on the window was Principal Teiko. She gulped nervously as her hand grasping the knob.

"Well, here goes nothing, again!"

She then breathed in deeply to make herself appear tougher, releasing it as she pushed open the door and walked inside. The girl looked around the office to see that there was no one else waiting to see the principal. She was disappointed in that face, for she wanted to delay the meeting as long as possible. She realized that would not be the case, so she walked over to the secretary and cleared her throat. Looking up, the elderly lady smiled. Her grey hair was tied into two buns on the side of her head and she wore a simple blue blouse and long black skirt. Around her neck was a brown and tan colored scarf.

"May I help you?" she asked warmly.

The girl let out another depressed sigh. "I'm here to see Principal Teiko about chemistry, Mrs. Tsukino." She seriously hated doing this every time.

"Of course." Mrs. Tsukino continued to smile at the girl, not realizing how much trouble she was possibly in. The girl "He'll be with you in a few moments. Why not have a seat while you wait?"

"Thanks."

Giving a smile, the girl sat down in a cushioned chair and crossed one leg over the other, placing her clasped hands on then as she waited for the door to the principal's office to open.

Okay, so you're probably wondering who the heck I am right? Well, I'll tell you about myself to clear the confusion. My name is Mizuiro Kashi, but you can call me Mizu if you want. My full name means "Light Blue Riverside", which is great because I like being around rivers. I'm 16 years old, 167 cm tall, 46 kg, my birthday is July 17th, 1985 and I attend Misuti-Tsuuro High School. I'm not too popular, but at the same time I'm not an outcast, although I'm quite the klutz in Chemistry class. My favorite subject is my language immersion class, where I am currently learning Chinese and French. My favorite food is curry, and I hate mushrooms. My best friend is Tsukiakari Moroi, and my boyfriend's name is Arashi Enrai. They're both the same age as I am. I live in a small apartment with Mama, but she really isn't my mother. She adopted me when I was 5 years old, because she saw me at the orphanage all alone, and she would tell me that she had always wanted a daughter. I hope to find my real parents someday, because I have this strange feeling they're still alive and they miss me, and that they want to see me again. Enrai and Moroi both know how I feel because they were adopted too.

"Miss Kashi?"

Suddenly, Mizuiro looked up from her thumb twiddling toward Mrs. Tsukino, who was smiling at her and pointing toward the open door. Her warm yet spaced out smile was still visible, and as it would normally had been slightly amusing for Mizuiro if she hadn't been quite already possibly be in a great deal of trouble.

"The principal will see you know."

"Thank you very much, ma'am."

Getting up, she straightened out her skirt, and then walked into the office. After bowing once more, she walked over and sat down in another cushioned chair. He looked through a few folders, causing Mizuiro to panic suddenly. She swallowed a lump in her throat and looked toward him before she gazed down at her shoes.

"Good day Principal Teiko . . ." She struggled within her mind to think of the right way to explain her situation to "Umm . . .Mr. Dobashi sent me here because I caused another . . .accident . . .in the Chemistry Lab today."

"So he wasn't joking . . .I'm not very pleased of course."

Mizuiro nodded, sliding down in her chair slightly with her hands gripping both her arms tightly. She didn't want to think about what would happen; being sent to the office so often for chemistry accidents that she couldn't keep from happening. Principal Teiko sighed, then stood up from his chair and walked over to the window. It was a beautiful day outside, but that was the last thing on both their minds.

"Miss Mizuiro Kashi, this is the 5th time this week that you've caused an accident in the chemistry lab," he said sternly. He was fully aware of her troubles in Chemistry, but he was not going to turn sympathetic on her. He knew his reputation would be in question, and the students needed a strict principal to keep them all in line. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Umm . . .award me with the Nobel Prize for causing a record breaking number of accidents without causing a single casualty or injury?" she replied with a smile.

Mizuiro suddenly frowned as she heard another frustrated sigh, causing her to quickly sit up straight. She knew she was in big trouble this time just by how he cleared his throat plus it allowed her to realize that her attempted humor was not going to bail her out of the situation she had been thrown into. Before he was allowed to speak again however, the bell began to ring, signaling the end of class. Letting out a mental sigh of relief, she watched as Principal Teiko turned around and proceeded to walk back toward his desk.

"Well Miss Kashi," he said, not allowing his tone of voice to change in front of the blue haired student. "Looks like you were saved by the bell. You are excused."

"Thank you sir!"

Making sure to hide a relieved smile, Mizuiro jumped up from the chair and grabbed her school case. However just as she was about to leave, Principal Teiko cleared his throat and caused her to stop and spin around. A loud gulp escaped her throat at the thought of what he was going to say next.

"By the way, please try to stay out of trouble. I'm going to have to give a detention next time you're sent her. Understand Miss Kashi?"

"Yup! Don't worry Principal Teiko, I'll try my best."

Bowing once more with her case in both hands, Mizuiro smiled as she turned to leave the office. Heading for her locker near the exits, she was unaware of the confusion she seemed to grant to the elderly principal. As he added the new information to her permanent record, a sudden thought entered the mind of Principal Teiko.

"Just HOW does she manage to cause five accidents in one week?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So Mizuiro was sent to the office again?"

Closing his locker door, a young man with brown hair, and green eyes turned around leaned against it. He wore a buttoned up maroon colored shirt, with a blue tie, and a blue shirt underneath, along with maroon colored pants, and black shoes, looked toward a girl with her hair being put into two braids which formed two loops on both sides of her head above her ears, while a waist length ponytail was allowed to hang in the back. Her face and hands seemed to be that of a slightly paler complexion than the norm. Nodding, she opened her eyes to reveal they were maroon colored. She wore the same uniform as all the others girls at the high school.

"I'm afraid so. She's been getting into so much trouble in chemistry lately, it's not funny." she replied, letting out a sigh as she ran her fingers through her bangs.

"She can't help it if she's not good at chemistry, and it was the only science class with room for students." the male added, looking through his school case and replacing a grammar textbook with books in English.

"Well I wouldn't mind trading Oceanology for chemistry. I just can't memorize all the info in that class."

"Enrai! Moroi!"

The two turned, then waved and smiled as Mizuiro walked over to them hastily. A wide and open smile could be seen across her face upon getting closer. She waved back to the boy and girl, and then upon arriving at their location she stood up on tips of her toes and planted a quick kiss on the boy's lips. He seemed to blush lightly, but he also smiled at the quick expression of affection toward him.

"How's it going you two?" she asked, turning so she was facing both the boy and girl. "Anything new?"

"We heard you got in trouble again, Mizu." the girl replied. "Another explosion or something?"

"Yeah," Mizuiro began, her face showing the amount of annoyance she felt at the weeklong situation. "But you've got to understand one thing Moroi, and that's the fact that I think Sensei Dobashi has something against me."

"It's quite possible. I heard Dobashi doesn't have much patience with those who struggle in his class anyway."

Moroi Tsukiakari is one of my closest friends. We've been that way since we met at the orphanage I was at before Mama adopted me. She's 16 years old like me, 171 cm tall, 49 kg, and her birthday is October 4th, 1985. Her name means "Fragile Moonlight", which makes sense like my name's translation. She is quite shy and doesn't speak much to anyone other than Enrai, and myself plus she seems to space out to stare off into nothingness quite often. Moroi's favorite subject is Music class, and her favorite foods are apples and tacos while her least favorite food is anything coconut flavored, plus coconuts themselves. One of her best talent is reflected through her favorite class; she is the best piano and harp player in the entire school. As well, she is a totally awesome artist and can draw or paint almost anything. Moroi was adopted three days before me, and she now lives in a two-story house where she had a younger brother named Okkuu, who is a pest according to her. Like me, she wants to meet her real family someday, if they're still alive. Also, she's in a band with our friend Nissha Seiei.

Mizuiro agreed with Moroi, who decided to lean against the locker once again and seemingly staring off into space. Shrugging it off, the boy smiled and wrapped his arms around Mizuiro's waist and pulled her closer to him. She giggled and allowed him to do, signaling that the two were indeed very close and that neither was afraid to show it to the world.

"Was Principal Teiko mean to my beautiful riverside?" he asked.

"No Enrai," Mizuiro could not being able to help but giggle just a little bit. "He wasn't being any meaner than he normally is."

As you can probably guess already, Arashi Enrai is my boyfriend and I've never been happier with anyone else, though he is actually my first boyfriend. Any ways, he's 180 cm tall, 71 kg, and his birthday is May 29th, 1985. Unlike Moroi and myself, his name translation contradicts his personality. His name means "Distant Thunder Storm", and Enrai is a very nice guy, but he gets nervous easily. But that means I get to comfort him till he calms down whenever he's scared. His favorite subject is Math, and his favorite food is egg rolls, and his least favorite food is spicy peppers. Enrai was an adopted child too; only he lived at a different orphanage where the other orphans constantly picked him on. I think that might be the cause of his nervousness, but at least it doesn't show as much now as it used to a couple of years ago. His nickname for me is "Beautiful Riverside" because he thinks just that.

"However . . ." she continued, letting out a frustrated sigh. "If I cause another accident then I'll get a detention. So I got to be more careful . . .even though I still can't figure out why Chemistry is so hard for me."

"Maybe you just don't have a knack for it, Mizu."

"Possibly."

Mizuiro nodded and reluctantly pulled away from Enrai and walked over to her locker, finding it to be blocked by Moroi. She seemed to be completely out of it, as if her mind had left her body to wander the galaxy. The blue haired female giggled while fiddling with her combination.

"Space Cadet, time to wake up and return to Earth." she joked.

Opening her locker rather suddenly, the door hit Moroi's side and sent her moving sideways slightly. Moroi quickly returned to reality when the sudden hit threw her off guard, causing her to stumble sideways and fell toward the floor. Before she hit it face first however, a pair of arms shot out and caught her. Her eyes remained closed very tightly for a few moments before she finally realized she hadn't hit the floor.

"Hey, you alright there?"

Mizuiro growled and narrowed her eyes, clenching her teeth at the male student who caught Moroi. He had blond hair with one side half nearly covering one of his blue eyes. Like Enrai he wore the male's school uniform, only his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows while the first two buttons of the shirt were undone. Quickly scrambling to her feet, Moroi backed up and joined both Mizuiro and Enrai as the three stared at the newcomer.

"Oh great . . .look what decided to crawl out from under his disgusting rock." Mizuiro said, rolling her eyes before returning to glare at the blond male.

"What's wrong Mizu?" he asked, placed one hand on his hip as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Not glad to see me?"

This "Teinousha" here is Tensai Yama. He annoys me so much it's not funny, and I've known him long enough to make such a judgment. He's 178 cm tall, 67 kg, and I think his birthday is March 25th, 1985. If I remember correctly, his name means "Mountain Horizon". He was adopted from the same orphanage Moroi and myself was at after us, only it was a wealthy family who accepted him. Where the money and society haven't affected his personality, his looks seemed to have inflated his ego. He flirts with all the girls at Misuti-Tsuuro High School, but most reject him. He leaves them alone of course, but then again he never talks to girls he actually gets to date ever again. The day he truly falls for a girl . . .oops, sorry. I digress. My friends have told me his favorite food is chocolate and he hates tomatoes. He seems to like Gym and English class, but not Physics. Other than being a failure at flirting, his talent is playing hockey and soccer.

"Yama, I never like the fact you're in the same school as I am, and you're not allowed to call me Mizu. Only my friends are allowed to call me that."

"And besides," said Moroi as she stood up from the ground and walked over to join Mizuiro and Enrai. "Why would she be glad to see you after what happened last year!"

"Can I help it if it was dark?" Yama frowned, crossing his arms in front of him and leaned sideways somewhat so he could still face the three. "That and it's a bad place to be at night anyway. I apologized and she refused to accept, so it really isn't my concern anymore. I'm not one of those people who needs forgiveness to move on."

"Why I ought to . . ."

Before Mizuiro could step forward with her clenched fists, Enrai quickly wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her immobile. She struggled for a moment, then calmed down and leaned back against her tall boyfriend. Yama simply watched the three, puzzled to why she felt she had to hate him so much. When she was finally and completely relaxed, Mizuiro closed her eyes and released a sigh of frustration.

"You're lucky my friends are here to stop me from beating you up."

"Whatever. See you around Mizuiro."

Smiling again Yama winked at her, which caused her to growl from frustration. He then turned on the heel of his shoes and waved as he walked away. Enrai shook his head, then looked down at his girlfriend and ran his fingers through her navy blue hair.

"Just ignore him. He's just a bad flirt and everyone knows it."

"I know, but he just ticks me off, especially because of what happened last summer."

Frowning, Mizuiro pulled away from Enrai and picked up her case, then turned him both him and Moroi and smiled. The two recognized the expression on her face, which allowed both to feel relieved. It basically meant that Mizuiro had completely calmed down after her usual tantrums she seemed to have around Yama. Looking down at the watch on her right wrist, she nodded to herself before looking up at her friend's faces.

"Well, I've got to get going. Mama's had a flu lately and I should get home to make some soup for her." she said.

"That's good. Seiei and the rest of us are going to practice tonight. Talk to both of you on Monday okay?" Moroi asked.

"Of course!" Mizuiro replied. "See both of you tomorrow, and let's also see what rest of today has in store for all of us!"

"Okay!"

"See you later Riverside!" Enrai said, smiling warmly at her.

Mizuiro couldn't help but blush, copying the exact actions of her boyfriend. After waving again to both him and Moroi, the blue haired female turned on her heel and proceeded to hurry toward the doors that would lead out of the building. Upon walking outside, she stopped for a moment and looked up toward the sky, holding her hand to her eyes to block out the sun.

"There's no way this day could get worse with the detention assigned to me for tomorrow, but yet it couldn't be better."

There was a cold wind that blew into the dark chamber, which seemed to have no type of windows or illumination whatsoever. Suddenly, the doors swung open and four shadowed figures entered, walking toward the center of the chamber where a circular fountain was located. They gathered around the finely crafted structure, then placed their hands upon the water which caused it to illuminate, however their faces remained hidden as each wore a different dark colored cloak and hoods of red, blue, green, and tan. The one in blue removed the hand from the water, then looked within the small pool to see the city of Tokyo.

"There it is; Tokyo, Japan. Just as Queen Mugendai had planned 11 years ago." came a female voice from within the blue cloak, "They must be there."

"How can you be sure?" asked the being in the tan cloak, bearing a deep male's voice. "It was 11 years ago and from what we've all studied, these people tend to change their homes often."

Hearing the snicker of a higher pitched female voice, the three beings turned toward the one draped in a dark red cloak. She held a hand to her shadowed face as she continued her outburst of mysterious amusement, then calmed down as she lifted her sleeve and withdrew a dagger from within it. Her fingers twirled it slowly within her index and middle fingers for no particular reason.

"You three are lucky I'm skilled at infiltration, otherwise we would have not discovered Mugendai's plan to protect the eight children." she bragged, showing a sly smile through the darkness of her cloak's hood.

"Enough, you think you're so skilled, why do you not travel to Earth and track down the children?" said the being in the green cloak, possessing a female voice of a slightly lower pitch. She flashed a grin to the infiltrator, and then she waved her hand over the pool of water to reveal images of eight young children. "It will be a great challenge for you, seeing as all eight of them are now within their teenage years. They should be . . .14-18 years of age by now. Not much to go by. Still think you can do it Yuuku?"

"Ah, but you forget that I am always up for a good challenge, Ranmyaku. I shall accept it upon Master Makura's approval."

"I think it sounds like an interesting challenge for an assassin . . ." said Makura, looking up to face the being in the blue cloak. She crossed her arms and placed a finger to her chin, lowering her gaze to the water. "Especially for the great Yuuku. You will however, need a way to this place. Kainashi, care to do the honors?"

Turning to the man hidden away by the tan cloak, Makura nodded to him as he reached within to find something. He smiled as he removed a glowing sphere of energy from within his garments. It seemed to be a quartz substance, surrounded by a dark crimson energy that pulse inward before moving back out to repeat the quick cycle.

"This a T-Sphere." Kainashi explained. "It can teleport you to Tokyo, and it can return you to this place should you need to."

Smiling, Yuuku removed the orb from the hand and placed it within her own. A smile appeared to form from her lips as she looked into the orb's glowing form, seeing the foreign structure known as Tokyo Tower.

"Thank you, Kainashi."

"Don't get too sentimental on me Yuuku." Kainashi frowned, and then crossed his arms as he looked toward her and Makura. "This isn't the proper time you know."

"Just go to Tokyo and find those warriors," commented Makura. "We will join you there as soon as we see what Mugendai plans to do. You did say she tried to stop you from escaping after all."

"Indeed."

"You're such a screw-up."

Yuuku frowned, shooting an invisible glare toward the being behind the green hood. Gripping the orb tightly, a large burst of crimson emitted and swirled all around her. She then began engulfed in that same energy before disappearing totally. The three remaining beings remained silent, then turned back to the fountain as they watched everything unfold.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Mama! I'm home!"

Mizuiro closed the door behind her, and then pulled off her shoes so she could put her fox slippers. She then walked into the living room where she found a woman with black hair and blue eyes sitting at the couch, looking over a small assortment of rocks and gemstones. Mizuiro frowned, and then crossed her arms around her as she cleared her throat.

"Mama . . .you're supposed to be in bed," she said sternly.

"I know Sweetie, but I have to look over these new samples that I received in the mail so I'll know something about them when I do go back to work." she replied, flashing a faint smile.

As you may have guessed already, that's Mama. She's 34 years old, 169 cm tall, and 51 kg. Her birthday is December 7th, 1967. She's a geologist, and she knows a great deal about the geology of Japan and Korea. Her real name is Kashi Akiraka, and she's lived in Tokyo her entire life. Her favorite foods are hamburgers and Caesar salads, but she hates vanilla ice cream. Mama never married, and her job keeps her busy so she never had time for dating. However, she had always wanted a daughter so she adopted me. We've been very close and I love her like a real mother, and she loves me like a real daughter. When she's not working or taking care of me, she loves to play role-playing video games, or listen to her classical music.

Mizuiro simply shook her head, then placed her case on the couch and walked over to give her a hug. "I'll go make supper," she said.

The woman smiled, and then went back to the rocks and gems as Mizuiro went into the kitchen, pulling out a pot and spoon from the cupboard. Placing the pot on the stove after filling it with hot water, Mizuiro turned the heat on and walked over to the fridge. She then skinned diced them, then tossed them into the pot as the water reaching it's boiling peak. As the meal cooked on the stove, she walked over to another cupboard and pulled out plates and glasses, placing them on the table in the next room. She then laid out the utensils and went back into her room at the end of the hallway, emerging some time later wearing a red shirt and black overalls. As Mizuiro headed back into the kitchen, Akiraka looked up from her rocks and over to the kitchen. She then smiled as she stood up and walked over to sit down at her place as Mizuiro then walked out with two plates of food. After placing a plate in front of Akiraka, she then sat down with her own plate and the two began eating.

"So Mizu how was school today?" Akiraka asked, lifting some of the cooked vegetables with her fork.

"I was called to the office again because I caused another accident in the Chemistry lab." Mizuiro replied, "I swear Mama, what gives Dobashi the right to send me to the office every time I cause accidents? Can I help it if I'm not good at chemistry and that the other science classes were full?"

"Calm down Mizu, don't get all worked up about it. Just try to get through the class and then you can move on. You're a smart girl so you'll do just fine." said Akiraka, giving a smile as she swallowed a mouthful of food. "This is wonderful dear!"

"Thanks Mama."

Mizuiro gave a smile, and then ate another piece of food before proceeding to roll the last cooked carrot back and forth on her plate. A frown slowly crept across her face, which Akiraka knew was very uncharacteristic of the young teenager. It began to worry her, but she wondered if she should ask or just let it be. After all, it could have been the situation at school.

"Mama . . ." Mizuiro asked, finally breaking the silence. "Do you think my real family is anything like me?"

Akiraka looked up with her fork in her moth, eyes widened a little at the shock of such a question. The young girl looked up at her foster mother, wondering why it was taking so long for her to answer. How was she supposed to answer though? After a few moments more of silence, Akiraka swallowed her food and cleared her throat.

"Most likely Mizu. Someone as kind, intelligent, and curious as you are must have picked up such traits from her real parents. I know I never am, or was, as curious as you seem to be about everything." she replied, making sure not to let her adopted daughter see the uncertainty in her face.

Mizuiro thought about it for a moment, then nodded as she smiled. "Makes sense," she said.

Giving a smile, Mizuiro stood up from hr place and began clearing up her dishes. Akiraka stood up, then walked over to her purse on the door stand and pulled out a piece of paper, plus a few dollars. She then walked over and into the kitchen where Mizuiro was just starting to fill up the sink for the dishes.

"Mizu, I'll take care of the dishes okay? I need you to go to the store and pick up a few things for me. They're all on this list so there won't be any confusion to what you need to buy."

Akiraka said, smiling warmly as she pulled out the dish detergent from the cupboard. Mizuiro nodded, then removed the items from her mother's hand and headed for the door. She then kicked off her slippers and pulled on a pair of sneakers as she grabbed a jacket and her backpack.

"I'll be back in a little while!"

"Okay sweetie!"

Akiraka smiled, and then began washing the dirty dishes as she heard the door slam shut. Upon stepping out into the outside atmosphere, Mizuiro inhaled a deep breath of the night air before she pulled her jacket on. She descended the small staircases of each balcony on the side of the building until she reached the lowest balcony. At that point, she slammed her foot down on a section of the metal, causing another set of stairs to appear, leading to the ground. After descending those, she pushed them upward and locked them into place before heading off to exit the small alley into the streets.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Oracus, please tell me what is going on with the Kuroi-Sakaime. Have they attacked the children yet?"

A middle-aged woman stood at a window with a sad and worried expression on her face as she stared out the window. She had long emerald hair and sapphire eyes as she dawned a white robe and a beautiful tigers-eye cross. Emerging from her back however seemed to be a pair of large, aqua colored wings. Turning toward a shadow within the room, her eyes became filled with concern as she awaited an answer. The midnight blue sky and hundreds of twinkling stars signaled nightfall, and the only sources of light within the room were a couple dozen lit candles.

My name is Mugendai, and I am the queen that rules this enchanted world called Senkyou. I am 38 years old. My birthday is January 1, Era 4538, 68th year, 70th day and I would be about 177 cm tall and 57 kg. Currently I am married to the king whose name is Ittou, but he has been missing for 3 years. I as well have two daughters. Shoumei, who is the youngest, and Hinote, who will be the next queen after myself. Because of the threat of an evil organization called Kuroi-Sakaime, I had to send my children, plus six others, to a strange place called Tokyo where they would be protected. However, I am confident that the three guardians who accompanied them will keep them safe until it is safe for them to return here. My favorite food is apples, and there is nothing I do not like. However, I do not eat much. I keep in touch with the five families whose children were sent to Earth so long ago, and when I mean five, I mean one of them does not have a family who's alive. The sister was nearly dead when we found him; her last request was that he lives a long life. Now I only have Oracus and my Eskyno magic to see how the children are doing. They must be almost grown up by now . . .oh, how I miss my daughters . . .

Stepping out of the shadows, a seemingly elderly man with dark, crimson red hair that appeared to have faded away over the years, and silver eyes. Within both of his wrinkled hands, he held a mysterious looking mirror, which seemed to show different reflections every few seconds. He frowned at what he saw, turning toward the royal woman across the room from where he stood.

"My queen, the children are fine for now . . ."

I am Oracus, the advisor and oracle to the royal family of Senkyou. I am 71 years old, 183 cm tall, 66 kg, and my birthday is Era 4538, 32nd year, 48th day. The Queen and myself are distant cousins we discovered, and to see her worried or depressed is very sad for me. I keep her informed of what goes on within this mysterious city called Tokyo. The technology there is amazing. It is like looking into our past. My favorite food strawberries and I hate tomatoes. I hope that Mugendai's children, along with the other six, return to their homeland soon. Otherwise, I do not know what will happen to Mugendai's health. If she is depressed for too long then she will become sick. I cannot let it happen, but I must do my job as an oracle and tell her the truth, and the entire truth.

"However . . ."

"However?"

Mugendai frowned, walking over to Oracus who continued to gaze into his mysterious mirror. As she looked into it, she saw Yuuku appearing atop one of the buildings in Tokyo as she maintained her dark red cloak. Tokyo Tower loomed in the distance, and upon the horizon was the fabled Mt. Fuji. Mugendai's eyes widened at the sight of the assassin's presence on Earth.

"It seems they're immediately beginning the assassination attempt," he explained. "It also appears Makura has dispatched Yuuku to go to Tokyo."

"No . . ."

"This cannot be," The queen gasped, closing her eyes tightly as tears slowly streamed down her face. She buried her face in her hands as she began to sob more. "Yuuku is going to kill them and I cannot do a thing to help them!"

Oracus suddenly became depressed, for he hated to see her that way. He knew her health wasn't the greatest in the world, especially when she became depressed and worried. It always seemed to drain her energy to the point of passing out. Placing his mirror on the floor, he walked over to the royal woman and placed a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently.

"Everything will be okay your majesty. It was foreseen that this would happen someday. It cannot be kept in darkness forever," he said calmly.

Mugendai nodded in response to the elder being's suggested course of action. She realized that it was indeed true; when they had sent the children to Earth they knew there would be a time when they would need to contact them and start their training, so they could return home as true members of their race. Wiping her eyes dry of the previous tears, she turned to Oracus and nodded in agreement.

"What do you propose we do Oracus?"

"Why do we not send the force the children will need should the need arise?" Oracus suggested.

"You mean their individual equipment chests?"

"Yes. At this point, there may not be anymore choice in waiting much longer."

The two then turned to a tapestry hanging on a wall on the right side of the door, containing the image of a shield with a pair of wings and a sword pointing downwards. Walking over, Mugendai pulled away the tapestry, then pulled out a large bronze colored chest. She then removed a key from up her sleeve, and placed it in the quartz lock. Turning the key, she removed the lock and opened the chest, revealing eight smaller chests inside. They were the colors of red, blue, green, yellow, white, black, silver, and gold with bronze outlines with the exception of the red chest, which was outlined in royal purple. Mugendai kneeled down until she was on the floor, then removed the red and purple chest and looked onto the five-pointed amethyst on the lid.

"The chests with equipment they will need in the upcoming fight," she said. "Toki-Sori and Kon-Denkou will be able to locate the children with the power amplifiers on the lids."

"But Mugendai, do you currently have the energy to send eight power amplifiers, armor, and weapons to Tokyo? It will take a great deal of strength," said Oracus.

"I can do it, I'll just need to call upon the Entity of Life and request of her to aid me with her strength."

"Very well. I'll get the mirror."

As Oracus walked over to where he laid down the mirror, Mugendai sighed to herself and gripped her cross pendant which hung around her neck. As she closed her eyes, it slowly began to become engulfed in an aqua blue light, which slowly emerged from the stone and traveled away from her. It engulfed the large chest, and then transformed each of the smaller chests into energy spheres, which rose into the air. Oracus walked over, mirror in hand, and then held it in front of him as the glass surface began to ripple like water. The energy then suddenly gained a great deal of speed and flew to and through the mirror, causing Oracus to stumble a couple steps backwards before regaining his grip. When the white energy sphere finally passed through the liquid glass, Mugendai let out a faint gasp as she stumbled to the side. Her crystal then lost all of it's light as she fell into the throne and gripped the handles, remaining still for a minute before wiping away the perspiration from her forehead.

"My queen, are you all right?" Oracus asked.

"Yes, I am . . ." she replied, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Now let us hope they receive the chests before Kuroi-Sakaime gets to the children first . . ."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Half an hour later, Mizuiro walked past a street corner located about fifteen minutes away from her apartment. She looked over her list and the contents in her grocery bag due to the feeling that she was forgetting something. A crescent moon hung in the sky, as clouds seem to roll in from the east. However, Mizuiro seemed too preoccupied with the current task at hand.

"Let's see," she said to herself, adjusting the left strap of her overalls. "Eggs, butter, milk, chocolate chips, peanut butter, banana's and carrots. Looks like that's everything."

Suddenly she stopped as she bumped into a man her age. Mizuiro quickly collected herself, thankful nothing was dropped, and tried to be on her way once more. However, she found the man was now blocking her path back to her street. He was wearing a white tank top with blue jeans and a tan colored scarf tied around his neck and another one on his head. On his face was a white scar that extended from his chin to the middle of his right cheek.

"Hey there sweetie, where ya in a hurry to at this hour?" he asked.

"None of your business you creep." Mizuiro replied.

She then looked away from the stranger as she continued past him, hoping the little trade of words was all that would transpire that night. However, her prayers appeared to be unanswered as her free wrist was suddenly grabbed from behind. Dropping her grocery bag, she turned back around to see that he had a good grip on her wrist. She began to struggle in desperation of freeing herself somehow.

"So, you still think you're a tough babe, don't you? Let's see how brave you'll be after you face me and my two buddies here."

"Let me go you bastard!"

Finding she was unable to fight back well enough, Mizuiro was suddenly thrown to the side only to hit the stranger's two accomplices. The first was male with a big muscular build, wearing the same clothes as the other two. His hair was a dirty blond while his eyes were brown. The second was female, with short, scruffy brown hair and hazel colored eyes. Snickering, the large male grabbed Mizuiro by her left shoulder tightly, while the other female did the same to the right. The first figure smiled, walking over toward the three.

"We got her Kyo," said the girl.

"God job Haruka, same with you Tama."

"Kyo? Kyo Setsuna!"

Okay, these three are worse than Yama, by a wide margin! They're names are Kyo Setsuna, Tama Ryuen, and Haruka Ri. They're all 16 except Kyo, who's 17. However, he failed his seventh year so that's why he's in his ninth year with my friends and myself. Kyo has the scar on his face due to me accidentally tripping him while going for the soccer ball in gym class, two years ago. His face landed on a piece of petal sticking out from the fence, giving him the scar. Now he blames me and tries to beat me up over it, but fortunately Enrai and Moroi are usually around so they don't try it. Tama is just one of his flunkies, while Haruka is Kyo's girlfriend. Who knows what she seems in him, but currently that's not my biggest concern!

"Perfect. Let me guess, still angry about that soccer incident in Gym class two years ago?"

Suddenly, Mizuiro let out a cry of pain as she was suddenly backhanded in the face. She froze for a minute, and then slowly shifted her gaze back toward Kyo, who was cracking his knuckles. As he clenched the fist tighter, a small amount of blood slowly started to escape a fresh wound on the left side of Mizuiro's mouth.

"It's because of your klutziness that I fell into the fence where that piece of metal was sticking out, waiting to make me as ugly as I am right now with this."

"Kyo, you've always been ugly because of your attitude!" she yelled out into the night hoping someone would hear her. "So just drop it already!"

"Shut up Kashi!"

Giving them the signal both Haruka and Tama turned to face into the alley, throwing Mizuiro into it with as much force as they could. She stumbled upon hitting her feet, but she found herself unable to keep from tripping over a garbage can that caused her to fall onto the hard concrete against her arm. She slowly turned onto her back and sat up, totally struck with fear as the three attackers slowly approached her.

"Go away!"

"Don't think so. Kyo says Haruka and me gotta teach you a lesson." Tama said, cracking his knuckles.

The three then continued to approach her, causing Mizuiro to quickly climb to her feet and slowly back away. Her fear was on the rise, and it seemed to reach its vertical peak as her back suddenly collided into a wall. She gasped, for she knew she was trapped between a brick barrier and three thugs. She began to shake tremendously with the very fear she felt.

"Now what am I going to do . . ." she thought to herself, seeing the three drawing ever so closer. "I wish I was Moroi right now, then I could use self defense to get out of this."

"Now you're gonna get exactly what you deserve Kashi." said Kyo, putting a great deal of fear toward Mizuiro into his voice. "Hope you're foster mom's got a lot of money to spend on your funeral."

Cracking his knuckles once again, Kyo grinned as the three stopped right in front of the frightened girl. Not seeing any other options, she simply squeezed her eyes shut and expected the worst. He then grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and then aimed his fist for the center of her face. Seeing his actions, all Mizuiro could do was pass out from the fear of what was to come.

"Pathetic bitch . . ." said Kyo.

Just before he was about to strike however, there were sounds of footsteps echoing off of the walls in the alley. Kyo, Tama, and Haruka turned around to see a man draped in black clothing and a black cape, and a black cloth wrapped around his lower face, standing in the route of entrance or escape. The only physical feature that could be made out was a set of gold colored eyes. He as well wore a medallion with a quartz wreath surrounding a tiny mirror. He then lifted a gloved finger and pointed at both Kyo and the unconscious Mizuiro.

"Leave the girl alone, now."

"Yeah right. What makes you think you can just walk in on a private conversation?" Kyo asked.

"Yeah." Tama added.

"How is it private when you have two of your allies standing on both sides of you?"

"It just is. Now take a hike!" yelled Haruka.

The man did not seem to budge after the warnings given to him. A chuckle emitted from his body, while his gold eyes continued to watch the group of teenage bullies glare right back at him. It appeared he was remaining quite calm for someone who was outnumbered. Becoming very impatient and enraged, Kyo turned to Tama and pointed his finger toward the mysterious stranger.

"Man, this guy is giving me the creeps Kyo," said Haruka as she watched both him and Tama face off.

"Don't worry Haruka, Tama will do just fine." Kyo replied.

"Trust me Haruka." Kyo smiled to Haruka with great confidence before turning to his second companion. "Tama, take care of this guy."

"No problem Kyo." he replied.

Tama snickered, then walked over toward the man. He then went into a martial arts stance and grinned. The stranger simply stood his ground, not even flinching or showing any mental reaction. He shifted and advanced; throwing a punch and delivering a side snap kick toward the cloaked individual. However, he suddenly sprung to life and quickly blocked the punched, then grabbed Tama's foot, flipping him over which caused him to fall and hit the ground. The old man then brushed off his sleeves and his hands as he turned back to Kyo and Haruka.

"Who's next?" he asked.

Now both seemed to start feeling a little more concerned, about both the situation and the man that had managed to dispatch Tama for the temporary time. Shaking off the doubt of losing the scuffle however, Haruka stepped forward and clenched her fists, putting a confident expression on her face. She turned toward Kyo, with his same expression now plastered upon her own face.

"I'll handle this Kyo. I can take him on." she sneered.

"Go ahead and try. Nothing stopping you." replied the stranger. "You'll still lose of course."

"Shut up! You're going down!"

Pushing off of her right foot, Haruka charged forward and leaped into the air, slamming her feet down onto both of the stranger's shoulders. He cried out in shock, stumbling backward toward the alley exit. The female leapt up once again, this time landing a simple jump kick to his jaw. The force sent him into a collection of nearby garbage cans, knocking them all over and creating quite the noise. Haruka smiled, then waited for him to get back up onto his feet.

"Makes me wonder why Tama had trouble against him."

Just then, the stranger rose to his feet, but now had something that totally shocked Haruka. As she laid her eyes upon it, she suddenly felt faint and collapsed to her knees and screamed. Kyo heard the commotion and turned, only to became overwhelmed by the same fear. He unknowingly released his grip on Mizuiro's shirt causing her to fall to the ground.

"Oh . . . my god . . .he has . . .WINGS!"

Sure enough, Kyo was correct. The man finally got up onto his feet, suddenly possessing a pair of dark gray wings on his back. He slowly started to approach the two remaining opponents, but he didn't get a chance to do a thing to them. Kyo freaked out all of a sudden, along with Haruka and Tama. The three then scrambled to their feet and sped away past the man and toward the exit of the alley, letting out cries of fear and non-belief. The man removed the cloth from his face and smiled, then walked over to Mizuiro and kneeled down in front of her. He then removed a small blue crystal from his pocket and placed it in her hand, closing it into a fist.

"Don't worry child, you'll soon be ok."

As he did so, Mizuiro suddenly began to slowly stir. As her eyes slowly opened, she looked up and groaned as the man gently brushed his fingers through her bangs. A dark grey energy engulfed the hand and seemingly seeped into her head. Rising to his feet, he smiled once again as she felt drowsy and slowly drifted off back to sleep, allowing him to feel relief before leaping up into the air, landing on top of a building before disappearing into the night.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Cut loose from your fears . . .break free from your troubles . . .just look into your heart and see the light."

Walking down the street with a guitar in his right hand, a teenager with spiky green hair with a red bandana around his forehead, and aqua blue eyes approached the alley, totally unaware of what was going in inside it. He as well wore a black turtleneck, a pair of blue jeans, and black sneakers. An atmosphere of good emotions seemed to surround him completely as he made his way down the small slope of the street that led back to his home.

My name is Nissha Seiei. I'm 16 years old like the others, and my birthday is on August 1st, 1985. I am 178 cm tall, 73 kg, and my name means "Powerful Solar Radiation". I'm usually pretty straightforward and I speak my mind, especially in my music. I'm the lead singer and guitarist in a band called "Suta-Itsutsu" and we're doing pretty well for an unsigned act. My favorite foods are Cherries, and I hate peppers. My favorite classes are Music and English, while I hate Geography. I hate it with a passion. Any ways, I know Mizuiro and Moroi from the orphanage eleven years ago, but I never saw them again until a year later when I transferred to their school. As well, she may have said Moroi is just in the band with my friends, and me but she forgot to mention that Moroi is as well the other lead singer along with myself. We make quite a team and we're both the best of friends.

"Just feel acceleration . . .hold high your pride . . .never let anyone bring you down . . .join the revolution . . ." he sang.

Before he was able to continue the singing the song, Seiei was suddenly knocked over by the three frightened bodies of Kyo, Haruka, and Tama. They ran out of the alley and up the sloped street, screaming about a monster before they finally disappeared into the distance. The green haired individual simply stared in bewilderment until he could no longer see the terrified bullies.

"Those three looked like Kyo and his flunkies. Wonder what they're up to . . ."

Seiei rubbed the back of his head and slowly climbed back onto his feet before brushing the dirt off of his clothing. He then breathed a sigh, and looked down the alleyway to see just what was down there that could have possibly frightened them so much. He let out a gasp as he laid his gaze upon a familiar form, lying on the ground and moving not even an inch at all.

"Mizuiro!"

Seiei then dropped his guitar case to the ground and quickly rushed into the alley until he reached Mizuiro's body. Kneeling down, he placed a finger on her wrist and watched the second hand on his watched until a minute passed. Afterward, he breathed a sigh of relief and placed her wrist back onto the ground.

"Good . . .her pulse is still normal. Come Mizuiro, wake up."

He reached down and gently picked her up, shifting her body so she was in a reasonable sitting position on the ground. He shook her shoulders in hopes of stirring any signs of life within her, which caused her to slowly come around and open her eyes. It took a moment for her vision to adjust, and when it finally did she saw the warm face of Seiei.

"Where am I?" she said, weakened somewhat. "Seiei? What are you doing here?"

"I was coming home from rehearsal. Are you okay Mizuiro? Did Kyo try to hurt you again?"

"I'm fine . . .just my lip is cut, probably going to have a few bruises."

"Okay, as long as it's just that."

Mizuiro flashed a weak smile to Seiei's sudden one, then rolled over onto her right side. She then placed her fists on the ground and pushed herself upward, then climbed to her feet slowly with the help of Seiei. As she leaned against the wall, she suddenly noticed something in her clenched fist. She opened it, to find a small, sparkling sapphire shaped to resemble a diamond. Mizuiro's eyes widened, but then thought back to what had happened a few minutes before when the man was just closing her hand into a fist.

"That man . . ." she said. "He must have left this . . ."

"Left what? And whom are you talking about?" A great deal of concern and confusion echoing from the tone of Seiei's voice. "There was no one in this alley but you when I came. Kyo, Tama and Haruka were just running away when I was passing by."

Mizuiro sighed to herself, then pushed herself off of the wall and began walking toward the entrance of the alley. Upon exiting, she picked up her grocery bag and started down the street, but was soon followed by Seiei with his guitar case. She blinked a few times, confused as to why he was walking with her. She remembered that Seiei lived in the opposite direction by the docks.

"What are you doing Seiei?"

"I'll walk with you," he said.

"Why?"

"To make sure you get home okay, and to make sure Kyo and the other losers don't come back for you."

"Thank you."

She smiled, thankful for friends like Seiei. She looked back in front of her as the two continued walking up the street toward her apartment complex. Thought the two continued to talk amongst themselves about daily happenings and topics that concerned people their age, she couldn't help but think of the stranger who saved her.

"I wonder who he is," she thought quietly. "How he knew I was in trouble back there. And what's the crystal he left me?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

High atop the skyline of Tokyo, Yuuku snickered to herself as she gazed about the city. Her red cloak flapped in the breeze, as did her now visible, neon orange hair. She lifted her head to allow the light to wash over her face, revealing a pair of narrowed yellow eyes, as a sinister grin appeared visible.

"Beware, children of Senkyou," she said, "The time will soon come, when I find all of you, and then end your lives forever. So enjoy humanity, and I hope you enjoyed your lives as Senkyoudens in the past. You'll never receive the chance to fly on your wings."

She suddenly started to snicker, covering her mouth with a hand covered with a fingerless glove. A pair of bronze colored wings then suddenly unfolded fully from under her cloak, allowing her to rise into the air and fly away. As she flew over the peaks of the numerous buildings, the stranger who rescued Mizuiro from Kyo and the others saw her down below. His wings were totally outstretched as he held three throwing daggers in his right hand.

"Yuuku has arrived," he said to himself. "That means the war between us and Kuroi-Sakaime will soon continue here . . ."