S-CRY-ed Fan Fiction ❯ The Spectre's Seven ❯ Chapter Four--Reckless Fire Part II ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Raviel's mine! You can't have him! 0__0 Um…yeah…don't own s.CRY.ed though…

Chapter Four--Reckless Fire

Part B

"It's another bright and early morning in the Lost Ground!" Raviel laughed, sticking his head out the car window, black sunglasses over his eyes. Sydney had allowed Gray to use his black pickup after hearing about last night's fiasco with the car.

Kanami sat on Raviel's lap while Sydney was crushed in the middle and Gray was driving the car, his right arm propped up against the opposite window.

"Yes!" Raviel chirped. "It's a wonderful day for thieving! Pillaging! And getting drunk!"

"Cram it, Rav!" Gray shouted over the boisterous younger man. He was still unhappy with Raviel and the loss of his car.

"Raviel," Kanami frowned. "How can you think that this is fun?"

"It's a living, Kanami," Gray explained. "It's how we do things."

"Besides, no one gets hurt in the process." Raviel paused. "Except for that one time…and the time before that…but that one time definitely wasn't my fault…and…"

"Ugh…" The oldest man groaned.

"…And yeah," Raviel said, bobbing his head up and down. "That's about it." Then, turning to smack Sydney upside the head. "Hey Sydney!"

Clutching the back of his head in agonizing pain, Sydney turned, his bloodshot eyes on Raviel.

"Who has the first point?"

"YOU do, idiot." Sydney mumbled, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Costume's in the back. Grab it and we'll drop you off and the kid off in the back alley." Ever since Kanami joined the party, she was forced to go on all of the little escapades. "From there, Gray will park the car and him and I will change. We'll work our way around, you clockwise and us counterclockwise, until we hit the vault. Then I'll use this little thing…" Sydney held up a key--one he had made from a bar of soap. He was the master of locks. "…and the money will be ours."

"Awesome," Raviel flashed a smile. "Sounds like a plan." Kanami said nothing.

"Well you'd better get changed now," Gray suggested. "The drop-off zone is coming up on the horizon."

"How long?" The blonde man asked.

"A mile and a half."

"What!? Geez…Okay. Close your eyes, Kanami."

Kanami was used to this by now. Raviel turned his body and crawled over the seat into the back of the truck and began to change into a suit. He still kept the glasses over his eyes, for protection.

"Okay," Gray said, hurriedly. "Move!" He pushed Raviel out of the open door and then motioned for Kanami to follow afterwards. She jumped out of the car and into Raviel's arms. After departing from the moving vehicle, Raviel grabbed Kanami's hand and ran down the alley. Sydney had said that there was a backdoor that should've been unlocked, according to his assumptions. Raviel hoped that he was right.

"What are we doing?" Kanami asked as Raviel slowed in front of the back door Sydney had mentioned.

"We are going to slip in through here. In case anyone asks, you are my captive who was caught stealing in the back. Got it?"

The little girl sighed. She wasn't too fond of being Raviel's guinea pig, nor the idea of stealing in general.

Raviel turned the knob silently and stepped through the crack of the door, taking Kanami gently by the wrist. They were welcomed by the commodious interior of the warehouse, swarming with workers, eager to get today's shipment over to HOLY. The blonde man observed his surroundings cautiously. There was a bottom floor and an exposed second floor above that with stairs that led up to it and a railing that ran all the way around. Doors lined all the walls on the second floor as well. No doubt that one of the rooms that Raviel needed would be up there. But getting to it unnoticed would be the hard part. However, Gray and Sydney would be arriving soon.

He made an immediate right, hiding behind a crane, tugging Kanami along behind him. Just as he had suspected, the stairwell that Sydney had directed him to was on the other side of the room.

"Thank you Sydney," Raviel said with much intended sarcasm. Then he turned back to Kanami. "That says D-7 Stairwell, doesn't it?"

She nodded.

He wanted to curse, but he restrained himself for the girl's sake. "Applesauce." Was all he said. Then, getting a splendid idea, gently pushed Kanami in front of him, taking her by her wrists and leading her out into the open.

"Don't say anything," He whispered to her.

Just as he had portended, he was instantly attracted to several suspicious workers.

"State your business!" One ordered.

Raviel withdrew a fake ID from his coat pocket and flashed it in the man's face.

"Lieutenant Major Hyuga." Raviel spoke suavely and consistently. "I'm the inspector here."

The men tensed.

"A little underdressed, aren't you Lieutenant Major?" A man to his right remarked. "Where's your uniform? And a badge? Since when did the Mainland Military need one? And…" The man leaned forward. "We already have an inspector on the base."

Kanami gulped and turned her head away. Oh no. He was in for it now.

Straightening his back, Raviel pushed his chest towards the man who had so bravely accosted him.

"State your name." Raviel ordered.

"I don't have to…"

"STATE your name."

The man rolled his eyes. "Kato Tsugetsuki. I'M the inspector here."

Raviel blinked. "Oh." Then, gaining more courage, "WELL I'm glad to have seen you here, Inspector. The General back at Headquarters sent me here as a replacement. In fact, he wants to talk to you. Sounds like trouble."

"I'm not IN the military, you idiot."

"Oh."

Kanami groaned.

"Well uh…of COURSE you're not. But the General sent me here anyway…undercover of course. Can't have the military roaming around a place like this…being noticeable and all…That explains why I'm dressed like this…holding a badge."

"Oh?" Kato smiled sinisterly. "Is that a fact?"

"Well DUH Inspector! Haven't you heard about the recent robberies lately?" Then Raviel jerked Kanami out for all to see. "And as an example, this little girl was caught in the back, stealing all of your merchandise! For an organization, your security is very low. After all, just about ANYONE could walk in here unnoticed!"

Raviel was running out of ideas. He hadn't expected to collide head to head with the Inspector of the department. If Gray and Sydney didn't…

"Hey!" The attention was directed away from Raviel and to the two newcomers at the entrance of the building. They were dressed the same as everyone else, except the man on the left was of an unusual size and towered over most of the workers in the room.

"You stay here," Kato ordered to Raviel and then ran over to the two newcomers along with the men who were in front of Raviel.

"Ah! A window of opportunity!" Raviel whispered to Kanami. Scooping her up under his arm, he dashed across the room, unnoticed, and sprinted up the stairs, landing deftly on the tips of his toes on every step.

"We have company!" The smaller of the newcomers (who was wearing a green visor over his face) shouted. "It's a gang of Native Alters!"

The words 'Native Alters' spread across the room like wildfire and everyone began to panic.

"Yeah!" The taller man agreed. "We can't trust anyone! They may be trying to devise a plan to get in here!"

But then those words were used against them.

"Well you two just got in here! What if you're one of them!?"

The two stopped abruptly and stared at each other. Raviel, who was now at the top of the stairs, grimaced.

"T--That's right!" The shorter man agreed and then turned and pushed the bigger man by the chest. "He's not one of us!"

All at once, the room broke into a great uprising, giving Raviel the break he needed. Unfortunately, however, Sydney and Gray would not be there to assist him with the break-in. He set Kanami on the ground and tip-toed to the back, several rooms down from where he was.

"One, two, three, aha!" And he turned his back on Kanami and the rest of the room, attempting to break into the room. "Geez, why did Sydney have to cause such a commotion? I don't do locks."

"Or suave talking for that matter," Kanami added, looking over the railing.

"Hey! That hurts," But Raviel did not turn away from the door.

Then Kanami caught a form out of the corner of her eye. It was a petite woman with raven hair wearing a tan overcoat. She had just come from the backdoor that she and Raviel had used moments before.

"That's Mimori…" Kanami breathed.

"Come again?" Raviel asked, trying to jiggle the handle.

"Mimori, that's Mimori down there…!" Kanami smiled. "She's come for me."

This caused Raviel to quit messing with the doorknob. "Uh…what?"

Kanami pointed over the railing to the wandering woman down below. He squinted, watching her move about the room. "Hey…I've seen her face before…"

The uproar did not cease; in fact it intensified. Mimori watched the crowd carefully, wondering if it had been the bandits who were the cynosure of everyone's attention. However, she saw no sight of Kanami.

"Mimori Kiryu, right?" Raviel asked Kanami. "The Princess of the Mainland?"

"I…I think so."

At this, Raviel beamed. "Yahoo! We're rich!"

"I thought that you said you didn't NORMALLY take hostages," Kanami frowned and folded her arms over her chest.

"Oh, um…that's right." But Raviel could not take his eyes away from the prize. If her parents were as rich as he had heard, then…

"Kanami!" Mimori called out to the little girl, who was waving at Mimori.

"Hey!" Raviel screeched. "Kanami what are you doing!? You're not supposed to wave!"

"But she's my friend," Kanami protested.

"We'll get you new friends!"

Raviel watched as Mimori raced towards the stairs that they had just come up.

"Ahhhh no! This isn't supposed to happen!" Raviel grabbed his hair with both hands and snatched Kanami up from the ground.

"Raviel!" She shrieked. "What are you…!"

"She'll ruin everything if she finds me! Then we won't get the money!" He looked down at Kanami, his brows knitted together. "Gah, Kanami! I can't believe you got her attention."

Mimori was closing in now, her footsteps climbing the stairs at a rapid pace. But from below, the attention was driven away from the two newcomers to two more newcomers from the other end.

"All right, what's going on here!?" Kazuma entered from the back door, his Alter already formed on his arm. "Where's the stinking bandits who have Kanami!?"

"Kazu-kun?" Kanami stared at the man walking into the circle of workers.

Then Ryuho came in from behind.

"Ryuho?" Mimori stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at the emerald haired man.

"Egads!" Raviel cried. "Can my luck get any worse!?" Then he set Kanami upright, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Are those REALLY the two legendary Alter Users? Kazuma and Ryuho?"

"I…I think so…" Kanami nodded.

"Aww man!" Raviel's teeth grinded together and he picked Kanami up, throwing her over his back. "Thing One and Thing Two! Abandon the plan!" Then the attention was focused on the blonde man standing on the second floor.

"…What did he just call us?" Gray mumbled to Sydney.

"…Geez what an IDIOT!" Sydney buried his face in his hands. "Can't even do a mission right."

"Kanami!" Ryuho and Kazuma echoed as they saw the girl over Raviel's shoulder.

The façade left the blonde man's face. Now things were going to get serious. Mimori approached him from the right while the two Alter Users stood facing him from below.

"That must be the ringleader," Ryuho observed, pointing to Raviel.

"I don't care who this joker thinks he is! I'm gonna split his skull open! Shocking…" Kazuma squatted down, holding his arm on the ground below him.

"Hope you don't mind if I catch a ride with you," Ryuho said, grasping Kazuma's shoulder.

"…First Bullet!" The two were pushed off the ground with immense force, shattering the floor beneath them, and were propelled through the air, and landed on the second floor with Raviel. Now trapped between Mimori and the two Alter Users, Raviel had no where to go.

"Ryuho," Mimori spoke. "How did you find this place?"

"We followed you here," Ryuho admitted. "We figured you were hiding something from us."

"Well, well, well," Kazuma snickered as the smoke cleared. "Looks like you're cornered."

"Really? Is that so?" Raviel pushed the glasses on his face back up the bridge of his nose using his index finger. "So, you're Kazuma and Ryuho…Am I right?"

"And if we were?" Ryuho stepped in alongside with Kazuma.

"Oh I'd be scared." Raviel joked. "Real scared."

"You really are worthy of being detested." Ryuho told him. "Kidnapping a small girl for your own selfish purposes. I should snap your neck right here and now."

"Hey, that's my intent." Kazuma cut in. "First I'm gonna break every one of his fingers. Then I'm going to rip his ears and nose off. Then I'm going to…"

"I get the picture," Raviel yawned, bored. "Give me a break guys. What if I wasn't an Alter User like you two?"

"I could care less." Kazuma admitted. "All I care about is paying you back in exchange of kidnapping Kanami."

"Wait Kazu-kun," Kanami struggled to turn and look at him, but Raviel's back was facing Mimori. "You have it all wrong…" And her words could not be heard.

"Aw geez, you're not giving me much of a choice here," Raviel said, edging towards the railing. "You could at least cut me some slack…" Then with an abrupt amount of force, he swung Kanami's legs over his back, letting her fall to the floor below.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Came her fierce scream as she plummeted to her doom.

"Kaaaaaaannnaaaaaaaammmmiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!" Kazuma threw himself against the rail, his deafening roar resounding in the large room as he watched her fall.

Then the brute man caught her in his arms below and saluted Raviel with two fingers, grinning. He and the smaller man ran past the startled workers and fled out the front door.

"You!" Kazuma turned to look back at Raviel. "Is this your idea of a joke!? If she had died, I'd…"

"You already planned on killing me," Raviel pointed out. "I just didn't want the girl hurt."

"At least you're right about one thing!" Ryuho shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde man. "Zetsuei!" And his body illuminated brightly with the light of an Alter User. The independent Alter materialized in front of Raviel, its presence threatening.

"My word, you're unfair." Raviel shook his head. "Fine, you two against me and my new hostage." Spinning back on his foot, Raviel wrapped his arm around Mimori's neck. "Princess Mimori Kiryu."

Ryuho was caught off guard. "Why I outta…!"

"You 'outta' step out of the way there, pretty boy." Raviel grinned, his pearly teeth cutting through the dense, smoky air.

"Over my dead body!" Kazuma lunged into the air, his right arm extended. "Annihilating Second Bullet!"

"Kazuma!" Ryuho warned. "Don't!"

But the explosion had already come. Unable to withstand such brute force, the second floor crumbled and Kazuma and Ryuho fell to the bottom.

"You depraved lunatic!" Ryuho coughed, holding the palm of his hand over his nose. "Do you understand what you've just done!?"

But Kazuma paid no attention to his green haired rival. As the debris settled and the smoke cleared, two figures could be shaped from above. Raviel hung from mid-air, his arm around Mimori, while the other hand was wrapped tightly around the hook that was connected to a large crane. By now, the entire warehouse had cleared, the screams of the workers no longer audible.

"Cheers," Raviel beamed.

"Why you little…"

With great momentum, Raviel jerked his body back, causing the hook and the rope to swing with him, and he let go, landing diligently on the roof of the crane. Mimori was still secure in his arms, and he took a step backwards.

"You're welcome to try and stop me…if you'd like." Came the thief's crafty taunt.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Kazuma said, leaping on top of the crane. He moved around Raviel a bit, who continued to evade him.

"Are you going to fight me or are you going to dance?" Raviel taunted, avoiding Kazuma's strike.

"You know what?" Kazuma said, rearing his arm back for a second time. "You're right. Who cares if you're an Inner? I'm gonna pummel you into the ground with my Alter anyway!"

"Even if it means sacrificing the woman?" Raviel asked, holding Mimori out in front of him like a human shield.

"Kazuma!" Ryuho called out, warily. "I highly doubt that he's playing. Don't harm Miss Kiryu!"

"Well she shouldn't be in the way in the first place!" Kazuma retorted, keeping his eyes on the grinning blonde boy.

"Kazuma I swear if you don't back down…"

Frowning, Kazuma turned to look down at Ryuho. "Why don't you slither back to the rock you were hiding under!?"

"She's a hostage!"

"And he's dead meat!"

"If you had half a brain, you'd think of something strategic before acting all the time!"

"Yeah? And if you weren't so ugly, I'd MIGHT consider joining up with you!"

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah!"

"This is your rescue party, love?" Raviel rolled his eyes and silently leaped from the back of the crane, carrying Mimori in his arms. "Don't move," He ordered.

"Then it's agreed that after we take him down, I kill you?" Kazuma continued, still arguing.

"Sure, unless I kill you first."

"Great. Now that that's settled, where were we?" But when Kazuma turned back to Raviel, he was astonished to find that the blonde man had already vanished. "What the?" He caught an escaping figure from out of the corner of his eye. "Hey!"

Ryuho ran around the back of the crane. "Kazuma! He's headed for the dock!"

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"You know," Raviel joked. "for being the Legendary Alter Users I've heard so much about, they're really rather a couple of dorks."

"You've never seen them fight," Mimori told him. "Their power is incredible."

"That I don't doubt," He ran out to the harbor (which was located right out behind the warehouse), swerving around the people in his path. "It just seems that I hit a sore spot by using you."

"Ryuho is a man who cares about other people," She said sharply. "Kazuma protects Kanami and when people try to harm her or others he cares about, he can become completely unstoppable in battle."

"Yes," Raviel hummed. "I've heard much about dear ol' Kazuma. Sounds like a complete moron to me, from what Kanami has told me."

Then he came to a busy dock where workers unloaded fish from the cargo holds.

"Clear a path people!" Raviel demanded. "Lieutenant Major Hyuga coming through! I'm being pursued by two savage Native Alters!"

That started a commotion. Within seconds, the dock was in a panic attack, running in every which way, throwing boxes and crates to the ground, and a stampede of people charged for the streets.

Kazuma and Ryuho were halted in the street leading to the dock. They were ambushed by civilians and workers from all around, distracting them in their hunt for the bandit.

"Get out of my way!" Kazuma ordered, pushing past the panicked residents.

"Where did he go?" Ryuho asked himself, scanning the premises.

"Are you deaf!?" Ryuho's attention diverted to his rowdy rival. "I said get out of my way!"

Then from out of the corner of Ryuho's eye, he watched a towheaded figure hop from the end of a dock into a speedboat. "Kazuma! The dock!"

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"I very much appreciate you cooperating during this time," Raviel flashed his hostage a smile as he jumped into the boat. "And I'm delighted that that sailor gave his boat up so willingly."

"You're not going to get away with this," Mimori vowed as he reached for the wheel. "You kidnapped Kanami, ruined any chance of independence for the Lost Ground, and made a complete mess of things."

"What? Me?" Raviel paused. "Now hold on, sister, I don't recall…"

"There you are, you pig!" Raviel held that thought as he glanced up. Ryuho and Kazuma were racing towards the end of the dock where the boat sat dormant in the water.

"Darn, they found me," Raviel shook his head. "Whatever. They won't be able to catch me."

"Exterminating Last Bullet!" Shattering his fist through the boards of the dock, Kazuma propelled himself through the air at an exceedingly rapid pace towards the boat.

From behind, Ryuho's body illuminated with his Alter power and Zetsuei appeared before him.

"Tootles!" Raviel waved as he turned the key over in the ignition and the boat began to hum. The white boat pulled out of the dock and Kazuma, still lingering in the air, had nothing to fall back on.

KKKKEEEEERRRRRSSSSPPPPLLLLAAAASSSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mimori held her breath as she jolted her head to look behind. The water, disturbed by Kazuma's intense landing, flared up like a tsunami and crashed onto the dock. Retreating backwards, Ryuho leapt off of the dock as the giant wave engulfed the dock, and debris was hurled into the sky.

"Kazuma!" Mimori shouted, the wind catching her voice. Then she turned back to Raviel. "How could you!? He could've been hurt!"

"Hey, what was I supposed to do? Let him blow us to smithereens? I don't know about you, lady, but I don't have a death wish. I still have a list of things left to do." The boat swerved to the right, cutting through the water as Raviel sped away from the shoreline.

Mimori turned back to where Kazuma had fallen into the water. From a distance, she could see another boat, similar to the one they were in, pull out of the neighboring dock and turn sharply. A body emerged to the surface of the water and pulled himself over the side of the boat.

"Blast…" Raviel said, following Mimori's gaze. "How did he get a boat? That's the second time they've bested me." Curving to the right, Raviel nearly flipped the boat, but strangely managed to maintain balance.

Mimori shrieked as she was thrown to one side of the boat, and grasped the back of her seat for dear life.

"Put on a seatbelt, would ya?" Raviel told her, turning the wheel again. "I don't need my hostage flying out of the boat."

"You're the one who needs to learn how to drive!" Mimori frowned. "You remind me of someone I used to know."

"Is that a fact?" The man chuckled.

The boat, still gaining speed, was aiming for the vast horizon, where the waves were not so merciful.

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Meanwhile in the boat behind the escapees, Ryuho manned the wheel while Kazuma shook the water from his cold body.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but how the heck did YOU manage to get a boat?" Kazuma asked, grabbing the side of the boat as Ryuho pulled the wheel to the left.

"I demanded it from the owner. He was close by, so it wasn't difficult."

"Close? How did you even know that the boat belonged to him!?"

"He was on it."

Kazuma sneered. "So what did you do? Take the keys and throw him off?"

Ryuho said nothing, but glared at the waterlogged man.

"Boy this guy is persistent," Kazuma observed the boat zigzagging ahead of them. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

"I'm trying the best I can," Ryuho muttered through gritted teeth. "This brand isn't as good as the one they have."

The wind irritated Kazuma's eyes. It was true that the boat wasn't the greatest at handling, but he couldn't help feeling that they were doing less than the speed of light.

'So why can't we catch them?' Kazuma thought bitterly. 'Maybe it's because this brainless dope doesn't even know what he's doing…'

"Argh…You're letting them get away!" Kazuma growled and seized the wheel from Ryuho.

"What are you doing!?" Ryuho demanded.

"Step aside scumbag!" Kazuma tugged at the wheel. "I can do better than you!"

"Kazuma stop that! You're going to flip the boat!" Ryuho snatched the wheel back.

"I should've known better than to let you drive!"

"I said to let go!"

"Oh my, it looks like those two can't even get along for a minute," Raviel said, the ends of his lips curling into a malicious smile.

Mimori felt her hopes die. Those two couldn't do anything without fighting.

"Let me drive, all right!?" Ryuho pushed Kazuma backwards and regained the wheel. "I told you that I'm going as fast as I can!"

Kazuma scowled.

"Thanks to you, we're further behind!" Ryuho leaned forward, turning the boat against the crashing waves.

For a moment, he could feel the boat go airborne, signifying a definite change in the water. The waves were getting rough.

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"The water is getting risky," Raviel said, looking over the side of the boat. "At the speed we're going, we could easily overturn." He dared not change his course of direction. Going straight was about all he could do, but the oncoming reef told a different story.

"My luck still hasn't improved," He mumbled, his hair beating against his face and eyes. He chewed on his lower lip. "I didn't want to have to do this…" But no matter how many times he swerved, those two would amazingly keep gaining on him and gaining on him. As the waves slowed their movements, it wouldn't be long until Ryuho and Kazuma caught up.

Mimori's eyes were still focused on the boat behind their own. She did not even know about the situation at hand. Raising the black sunglasses from his eyes, Raviel concentrated hard on the water in front of him.

'Let him move to the right…' And his body grew numb for just a moment.

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"Hey, how did he get over there so fast?" Kazuma blinked, disbelief rising in his voice. He couldn't believe what he saw!

Ryuho mirrored his expression. "I…I don't know…" And with great reaction, he swerved to the right, now following the boat back to the horizon.

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"It seems that something else has caught their attention," Mimori watched Ryuho and Kazuma's boat slowly drift in the opposite direction. Her hopes were crushed. "Why did they give up?"

"Oh they didn't give up," Raviel chuckled. "It's as you said. Something else caught their attention."

A mirage of a white boat sailing back to the horizon slowly dissipated before Mimori's eyes, but she was not the only one who couldn't believe it.

---------------------------------

"An illusion!?" Kazuma freaked. "An illusion!?"

The boat sat at a complete halt. With no new leads, Ryuho could not follow the bandit. By now they were long gone.

Kazuma pivoted sharply on his toes and gave a fierce look to the green haired man. "What was that about!?"

"It's impossible," Ryuho's brows furrowed together. "Completely unexplainable."

"Well it HAS to be!" Kazuma's voice rose. "OBVIOUSLY! He got away!" Then, pointing an accusing finger at the other man, "AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Mine!?" Ryuho snapped. "You saw him just as well as I did! We both saw him veer off to the right!"

"Well you MUST'VE done something wrong!"

"Oh shut up! You have a lot of nerve blaming me!"

"You were the one driving, numbskull!"

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"Heh, heh, heh," Raviel found it entirely amusing. No one could see beyond it. No one ever could.

Mimori sulked in her seat, her eyes lowered to the floor.

"Oh cheer up love!" Raviel said, slowing the boat. "Welcome aboard!"

With a sudden urge of detestation rising within her, Mimori jumped to her feet, reared back her hand, and slapped him across the face.

---------------------------------

Gray and Sydney both retreated from the building, Kanami over Gray's shoulder, and scurried up the hillside.

"Hey, do you think that Rav's okay?" Sydney huffed, the loss of breath getting to him.

"Of course," Gray said confidently. "He can handle his own."

Once the delivery site had vanished from the horizon, Gray and Sydney slowed down.

"I'm beat," Sydney hunched over, his fingers dangling over his toes. "An unsuccessful robbery."

"Well, as long as he distracted those Alter Users for the time being," Gray said, helping Kanami to the ground, "we'll have a chance of getting away."

"But that was Kazu-kun and Ryuho," Kanami protested. "If they would just listen then…"

"Eternity Eight!"

"Huh?" Gray turned…a little too late.

He was pummeled in the belly with eight emerald balls and then thrown to the ground.

"What the heck!?" Sydney panicked and stepped away from Gray.

"You there!" The trio turned to see Asuka marching up the path. "You're the robbers, aren't you!? Surrender now or else you will pay the price for defiance!"

"Mr. Tachibana!" Kanami cried. "You have it all wrong! These are my fr- - "

"Why tell them THAT, Asuka?" Urizane, followed by Elian, joined alongside Asuka. "I'm looking forward to kicking their mangy butts!"

"Alter Users?" Sydney gasped. "But why would…"

"Shut your mouth, you filth!" Urizane thrust a hand holding a watermelon out in front of him. "Unless, of course, you want to be crushed under this thing!"

"Is that…a watermelon?" Gray mumbled, staggering to his feet.

"Yeah? So what if it is!?" Urizane spat back.

"Do you yield? Or do you want us to beat some sense into you!?" The eight balls that had attacked Gray were circling obediently around Asuka's waiting hand.

"Nuts," Gray's hands slowly rose above his head. Sydney, unsure of what to say or do, did the same.

"Wise decision," Urizane laughed. "Now time for some payback."

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Wow…completely random…Well I hope it was okay anyway. ^^'

Kat