Tatsuya Kirozu's Story

Reika frowned down at her paper, lifting a hand to absently scratch an itch. With her nose buried deep into her book, she didn't exactly hear the footsteps until the person was nearly on top of her.

Of course, it was an NPC.

"Um, excuse me, Setsuko-san?"

It was a girl, with long blonde hair and dark brown eyes that battled the fair coloring of her features. She was surprisingly shorter then Reika, and for a moment, Reika merely stared up at her blankly.

"Yes?"

"Um, ah, I ... I-I ... I was just wondering ..." Obviously the gaze that Reika had fixed on the girl was a bit unnerving, so in an effort to calm the NPC - although it technically wasn't needed, she didn't have the heart to upset even a computer programming, as she thought of them - she gentled her gaze and added a smile.

"I'm sorry if I was a bit frightening before. How may I help you?" she asked, rising as she spoke and snapping her book shut. The pants of her male uniform was a bit itchy, so with a small movement of her hips, she straightened the pants and rid herself of the itch.

The girl blushed and looked down, biting the tips of her nails.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering ... If maybe ... You wouldn't mind if ... We ate lunch together tomorrow?" she stammered out, her cheeks a bright red.

Reika blinked at the girl, her surprise evident on her face, before she tucked her book beneath her arm and shoved her hands into her pockets. She turned her head away, her face shadowed.

"... I'm sorry."

The girl looked up quickly, tears already blooming in her eyes, which met Reika's, her vulnerability obvious through the tears.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just not interested in dating anyone right now. It's nothing to do with you; I'm merely not interested in dating," she said softly to the girl, who, as all of the NPC's had, mistaken her for a male student.

The girl teared up even more, and with a sob, she pointed a finger at Reika.

"You really are a heartless asshole, Setsuko!" And with that, she fled.

Reika stared after the girl, her hands still in her pockets, and with a small shake of her head, she turned away. The school was abandoned and she had chosen a spot on a windowsill to read. With her will to read gone, she started away from the windowsill, now clutching the book to her chest.

Ever since her arrival in the Afterlife, she had made a few friends in Death's Alliance, and had gone on dressing as a boy as she had done when she was alive. In her mind, it wasn't as if she actually were a boy. She merely didn't care if she was seen as either sex.

It did become bothersome when girls would approach her, though, in the same manner that had just occurred.

She let out a breath as she walked. What was it with girls these days, especially the NPC's? Fawning over boys as if they were an extinct species ... It was disgusting, to say the least.

When she arrived at the meeting point for those who were in charge of either Distraction or Back-up, she didn't say a word, but merely dropped into a chair that was placed on the balcony which overlooked the grassy clearing where 'Angel' stood.

She still didn't understand how he was a threat, but without any proof that he wasn't, she had joined Death's Alliance merely on a whim. From the things that the members had said of Angel, she was too afraid to doubt them.

She crossed one leg daintily over the other and flipped open her book once more, the microphone in her ear crackling with voices of member of Death's Alliance down below.

There was no point in this mission. Absolutely no point. So why were they going out of their way to antagonize Angel? He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was merely roaming the campus, as per norm for him. Without consciously realizing so, her heart went out to him. With a sad look in her gaze, she turned back to her book, the voice of the Leader of Death's Alliance crackling through the microphone. Despite her inauguration into the group, she had yet to even meet the Leader and Founder of it. Something about him not wanting to meet someone like her ... Well, screw him, she thought. She didn't need his approval, nor did she even want it.

"Tatsuya Kirozu ..." she muttered, slowly closing her book. "What is wrong with you?" she asked softly.

She suddenly rose as an outburst in the field appeared. Shots echoed throughout the school grounds and bright firelight erupted in the clearing. Reika moved forward quickly, braced her hand on the balcony ledge, and flipped over the side. She dropped below and bent her knees as she landed, before drawing her pistol and starting towards the field. Random shots ricocheted towards her, but she dodged them, causing them to piercing and ting off of the ground beside her. Raising her pistol as she walked, she cocked it and neared clearing. A stray bullet struck her free arm, momentarily distracting her, but the pain was minimal and almost nonexistent. Blood immediately began to spread on her school uniform, but she ignored it and fired off several shots. Angel was moving quickly to avoid the attacks, and out of nowhere shot towards one of the girls from their Team. A knife through her chest sent her to the ground, momentarily dead, and he moved on to the next teammate.

Tatsuya didn't know how long he was in the position he was. He didn't even know how he became appointed a leader of a bunch orf kids. All he knew was that he had to do something to help them. Yeah. That was right. He couldn't really protect them because they were already dead, but he could help them some way couldn't he. He had to be able to do at least that much. Standing right in front of him was the one person whom he was sure, stood in the way of his new found friends' happiness. It didn't make any sense. Ever since he came to the afterlife, he had been alone. As he remembers it there was always one person there. One person who was different from and the other npc's. Of course the difference really shined when he found Momo and Riki. They were the first people he'd actually met that were normal. Still, even with them this person still acted out of the norm. He doesn't even know how long it had been or even if there was actually a reason for it, but he knew that after a certain amount of time, he'd began to hate this person. From then on, whatever caused the dispute he learned that Angel had skills that he, the martial arts master, didn't have. Skills that a normal person couldn't possibly possess.

How long has it been since we've met?

If he could just remember then he would have known how long he had been there for. How long he had been dead for. For it was on his first day in this new world that he had met Angel. "Everyone, get ready. Get into positions." He ordered. There were about six of them now. Momo who was a year younger than him, and her little brother Riki who was 15. Ally who was also 15 and Cain who was 10. Reika, who was 16 and himself, who was 18. He smirked to himself thinking about it. It was god awful how unplaced he was out of the group. He, who was a high school graduate, was placed in a middle to high school. There was also a secret he had. To be precise he had many secrets, some of which was even a secret to himself, but the one secret he tried to keep away from everyone was the face that he was in fact not even enrolled at this weird school. The school which people who act normally reset everyday. Just like computer programs, or Npc's as he liked to call them. Even those in his gang and even Angel were enrolled in school, but for some reason he wasn't. He usually passed his not attending classes as skipping class, but he wondered what was the true reason he wasn't on the actual roster. He shook his head trying to get rid of the thought. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. He had to stay focused. He lunged out and pointed his gun straight at Angel.
"Freeze buddy. It's time you give me some answers." He said coldly with a smirk on his face. The boy, normal looking, but dangerous in front of him just turned around with his normal non-interested look.

"Every night.... Or at least, every other night you approach me the same way. I don't mean to be rude, but you seem like a Npc as you call them."
"Shut up Angel. If I shoot you in your face, you wont die, just like the rest of us. So just give me a reason."
Angel's face seemed to twitch at Tasu's words, but he didn't seem bothered in the slightest otherwise. "Why do you insist on thinking I can do something for you. Are you not just a lost cause?"
Tatsuya tried to hold back his anger, along with his index finger. "You can do things that we can't. Isn't that enough reason to believe that you are the key to this place."
Angel didn't answer. Instead, he shook his head as if he had given up on reason. Extending his hand a gun similar to Tatsuyas appeared in his hand and he pointed it out to the boy.
"I see." Tatsuya said, a smirk growing on his face. "Then that's how it's going to be."
He pulled the trigger and fired. If this weren't some act of powers higher than a humans, even in this world he thought, no, he knew the bullet would have hit his target, but instead it seemed to ricochet off of him and hit the ground a little behind Tatsuya. Looking behind him Tatsuya grew furious. "Everyone fire!!!" He roared. His cohorts came out of hiding and fired multiple shots in Angel's direction, each with no reward. The shots bounced off of him like he was rubber and went in different directions. Tatsuya knew that this attack was futile and was about to go into a more up close approach but Angel already had his mind focused on retaliation. He whispered something and held out his other hand. Another gun appeared. He slowly began spinning around over and over in an obscure fashion, speeding up with each twirl. That's when shots could be heard from his direction. It was as if his fingers were automatic guns of their own.
"Everyone take cover!!!!" Tatsuya ordered as he dove behind a bench and kicked it over.
"Boss!!! What's he doing?" Riki asked over the intercom.
"I don't know. I've never seen him do this before." He answered.
The shots continued for what seemed to be an eternity, and then, just like they began, without warning, they stopped. Tatsuya peaked behind the bench to see that Angel had disappeared. Or at least ran away. He didn't have any doubt in his mind that he could turn invisible, but that was highly unlikely. He called everyone to regroup to check on them.
"Is everyone okay?" He asked.
"Man. That was some harsh stuff. I can't wait to go home and take a shower." Momo, the second oldest said, cracking her neck.
"Hey now. Don't act like we just got through a game of tag. This is serious." Tatsu retorted.
"I know it is, but every time it's the same thing. Can't we just take a day off once in a while?"
Tatsuya was about to say something in response but stopped once he saw the blood on Reika's sleeve.
He was frantic. He couldn't even tell you why, but on impulse he jumped and almost grabbed her but stopped. "Does it hurt? Are you okay?" He asked. He touched the communicator on his ear. "Cain. Come down here with some bandages. Hurry!!!"
"Okay boss." The boy said.
He let a sigh go and took of his jacket. "Give me your arm." He said. It was a little more like an order and he didn't wait for her to respond. He quickly tied his jacket around her arm to stop the bleeding. "There." He smiled.

It was a little weird when he realized, but that was the first time he had interacted with he since she joined the team. It was also the first time she was hurt but still. He kind of wanted to back away, or hide behind Momo, but he couldn't. Something was stopping him. It was his jacket. Yes. He had to stay near her until he got it back. At least that's what he told himself.

When Tatsuya yelled to take cover, everyone but she followed the order. Instead, Reika continued forward, but this time with her gun lowered and at her side. Her eyes remained locked on Angel, who had in turn rotated to face her, his expression hard. A slight movement of her free hand told him to leave while he could, and the surprise that arose on the young man's face was almost more than her own at her action. After a moment of hesitation, he blurred and disappeared from sight.

It was moments later that her comrades began to rise from the places that they had ducked behind. They looked confused at the sudden absence of Angel, but moved towards Tatsuya for their next orders anyway. Everyone was speaking at once, while Reika stood at the edge of group, absently rubbing the elbow of her injured arm. The pain had subsided, but it was still bleeding profusely.

"Oops," she murmured, shrugging. She flinched and grimaced. "Bad idea, bad idea ... Let's not do that again ..."

It was then that she realized that the group had gone quiet. Tatsuya was suddenly before her, his hands lifted as if he wanted to touch her. Instead, one hand lifted to press against his ear, and as she heard him speak frantically over his communicator to Cain, she frowned. She wasn't that hurt, really. It didn't even hurt very badly, either.

"I'm fine. Really, Tastuya, I'm fine," she said quietly, her embarrassment evident in the soft blush that rose high into her cheekbones. When he grabbed her arm in order to wrap it, she grimaced and let out a soft sound of pain.

Well, it didn't hurt when it wasn't yanked. Why was he so upset over it anyway? It wasn't like he knew her, so when did he get the right to pretend to care about her bodily injuries? She had suffered from worse before.

The gesture of him wrapping his jacket around her arm was kind, however, and she pushed back her momentary feelings of hostility. Instead, she stared at him blankly for a moment before turning her gaze to the members of Death's Alliance. They all appeared to be just as confused as she was - but they were also beaten, dirty, and tired. Tatsuya was obviously too absorbed in taking care of her arm, so with a sigh, she moved around the boy, facing the members of Death's Alliance.

"Everyone is free to return to their dormitories and shower. Get some rest, eat something. We'll do debriefing in the morning," she said. The members let out a sigh of relief and momentary happiness before hurrying away. Cain had yet to appear, so Reika turned to face Tatsuya.

"I don't really know why you're bothering to help me, Tatsuya-Senpai. You don't like me - Hell, you didn't even want to meet me," she said, pushing around him and starting towards the dormitories, where Cain was undoubtedly gathering bandages for her. "I don't care if you don't want to know a person who dresses as a man but in actuality is a woman. I am who I am, and you are who you are. Just stop making it affect how Death's Alliance works," she snapped. Rarely did she become upset over something such as this, or really, upset at all, but something about him had just infuriated her. He was so bothersome and annoying sometimes!

"Moronic men ..." she murmured, clenching her jaw. "I don't need your help, Tatsuya. I'm fine on my own. I always have been, and I always will be. You should turn your focus on the people that you actually care about - the other members of Death's Alliance."

What happened after her little rant was something that she most definitely did not see coming.

One moment, Reika was striding towards the dormitories, and the next she was held backwards with Tatsuya's face inches from hers. His words caused amusement to bubble inside of her and her lips twitched, threatening at a smirk.

"You know, you really are weird ... But ... I think you're fine just the way you are, Senpai," she smiled a bit, her amusement evident in her grin. Once he had twirled away and allowed her to stand normally once again, she brushed off her uniform. It was when he attempted to turn the blame onto her that she raised her finger and scowled.

"Don't you try and pin your blatant disregard for my emotions on me. You're the leader. I shouldn't be expected to approach someone who has voiced his disinterest in me to my friends, especially when he has the power to remove me from the Alliance," she snapped. When he abruptly turned the focus onto Cain, she spun away, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stupid, stupid boys ... They're so annoying sometimes ..."

It was then that she noticed the rain, which had at this point drenched her. Despite the jacket that she wore, she could feel the chill to her bones. Not particularly wanting to be left out in the rain, and alone, she reluctantly followed after Tatsuya and Cain, finding it futile to do so in an attempt to fight away a cold. She already knew that she would have one the next day - she never did have a particularly amazing immune system, and she could also already feel it - but she didn't mind.

Once inside, Avelia, one of her closer friends in the Alliance, passed her a towel. Reika accepted it and began to rub at her wet hair ferociously, leaning over as she did so.

"You shouldn't have stayed out there, Reika. You know how sick you can get," Vel pointed out worriedly, the even-smaller, mouse-like girl lightly biting down on her thumbnail. Reika straightened and dropped her hand onto her friend's head, offering her a smile.

"I know that. But I had things to discus with Tatsuya-Senpai, and you know how he can get when something is important. I'll be fine. I'm sure my cold won't be too bad. I'll take a nice, hot shower and climb into bed right away so try and ward it off, alright?"

Avelia frowned for a moment before slowly nodding. "Fine, but if you're sick tomorrow, don't say I didn't tell you so!" she sang, the thirteen-year-old turning and racing off. She paused suddenly and looked back at Reika. "Be careful tonight. If there's thunder, don't be afraid to come and get me," she said beforee disappearing up the stairs, undoubtedly to her room.

With Avelia, Tatsuya, and Cain all gone, Reika was left alone in the recreational room that was the first room in the building. The rain was growing steadily worse outside, and for a moment, she stilled, her eyes glued to the pouring water through the window. After a few heartbeats, she managed to breathe again and turned away.

Hopefully, the thunder and lightning wouldn't begin until she was already fast asleep.

*Short Time Skip*

Reika let out a breathy sigh as she stepped from the shower. Steam followed her bare feet as she did so, which made no sound in the plush carpet outside of the shower. She leaned over to towel-dry her hair, approaching her nightclothes as she did so. Once her hair was semi-dry, she drew on her pink nightgown and made her way from the bathroom.

She had only just entered her bedroom and plucked up her brush when the first crash of thunder ricocheted across the campus, echoing in her room.

Immediately her body went still, a chill slamming through her. In an instant, tears appeared in her eyes, threatening to spill over her lids. Her hands raised to the sides of her head, her fingers curling in her hair. Another crash threatened to send her to her knees, but she managed to start in the direction of the door.

"Avelia ... I have to find ... Avelia ..." she whispered hoarsely. Her fingers numbly found the knob and turned it, and she stumbled through the door, shutting it behind her.

The next crash indeed caused her to drop to her knees, and there was no way in Hell that she would able to stand again. Instead, she dropped back onto her bottom, drawing her knees to her chest and clutching her ears, her back against her door. She sat there, shivering in the hallway, with tears beginning slow, trickling streams down her cheeks as she did so.

"Stop ... Stop being afraid ... You shouldn't -" she let out a small sound as thunder crashed before continuing, "-Be afraid of storms. They can't hurt you. Why are you -" She cried out as another one slammed through the building, this clash powerful enough to cause the building to shake slightly.

Reika pushed herself to her feet, swaying slightly as she did so. A glance at the grandfather clock in the hallway told her that it was extremely late and that Avelia would undoubtedly be asleep.

Where? Where?

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess in her mind, the confusion caused by the immense fear that held her captive. Was it possible that this fear stemmed from whatever lay within her past - when she was alive? Did the answer to her question of why thunderstorms rendered her incapable of thought dwell within the memories that she could not access?

She stifled a cry of fear as another sound of thunder boomed, and without thinking rationally, she stumbled four doorways down the hall, knocked once on it, and without a second thought, threw open the door.

"T-Tatsuya," she whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks. There was an abnormal moment of pure quiet, in which time she locked gazes with the boy. Her heart hammering in her chest, she moved far enough into the room to shut the door behind her.

In the next instant, lightning illuminated the dark room, and as soon as the following crash of thunder could be heard, she had taken one step before flinging herself at him, her arms wrapping in a vise-like grab around his abdomen. Her face burrowed into his chest, her tears soaking it. The next sound of thunder caused her to flinch, whimper, and tighten her arms, and she let out a soft sob.

"T-Tatsuya," she barely managed to gasp out. Having realized that he would be the only one still awake at that hour, she had subconsciously found her way to his room - or so she told herself. But he was comforting to be around in that moment, and for that, she was grateful.

"Please ... Don't ... Don't make me ... Don't make me leave ... Don't ... Don't leave me alone," she begged, her nails digging into his back without her full realization of her doing so. "I-I can't ... The storm ... I just ..." she cried out as another sound of thunder shook the room, and another sob followed. "Please don't make me be alone, Tatsuya!"

Taking a nice hot shower surprisingly cooled Tatsuya's head down a little bit. He honestly needed to stop thinking about his past so much. Especially since he couldn't remember anything from it. It did give him allot of grief. He knew most of the past of the members who were open about it, but, when it came to him, he wasn't able to tell anyone a lick of information about his own. Then he remembered one of the things Angel had told him.

"Maybe you're just an NPC."

He pounded his fist on the polished tile wall, angered by just the thought of it. "No." He said to himself grabbing his neck to caress the scar hidden underneath his hair. "I know I was alive at some point. I just don't remember what life was like." He stepped out of the shower, put his shorts on and threw a towel over his neck. walking out to his bed he continued.

"These weird dreams don't help either. They seem so real, but I know their fake because....." He was interrupted by someone bursting open his door. Looking eyes with the culprit he pin pointed that it was Reika. Her voice was trembling and low. Looking into those big brown eyes of hers made his heart drop a little.

Suddenly with a spark of lightning and a clash of thunder she lunged at him, holding on to him tightly. He felt the warmth of her body against his chest and also something that felt like warm liquid.

Is she... crying?

The next sound of thunder caused her grip to become even stronger and he heard a soft whimper come from her. On reaction, his face felt hot once again, almost as if he was taking another shower, but without water. She began rambling about how he didn't want him to leave her. She seemed generally petrified and with her words, he could feel more tears traveling down his chest. "Please don't make me be alone, Tatsuya!" She shrieked, ever so clear for him to hear. Her nails dug further into his skin and he almost felt the pain, but the situation at hand had him too flustered to realize it fully. He slowly reach his own arms up and held on to her, much like a father would hold his child if they were hurt or scared. His heart racing fast, he brought her head closer to his chest. "Don't worry." He said, making sure to keep his voice low as to not startle her. "I'm not going anywhere. After all, this is my room, isn't it?" Holding her even more tightly as if to muffle her ears. "Just listen to my heart beat okay. Everything else doesn't exist. Just listen to the thumps." His face grew even redder as he said this. He didn't really want her to know that his heart was beating so fast, but something told him that this was a good remedy for people who were fearful of sounds. forcing them both to drop, he laid up next to his bedside and held on to her. Not wanting to let go until the storm halted. Who knew how long that would be. Her body was so warm and soft. He began to loose to his exhaustion and drifted to sleep.

His arms were so warm ... And comforting. His voice was soft, lulling to her ears, and after a few seconds ticked by, she could feel her trembling begin to slow. The thunder seemed softer to her ears now, but in actuality was still as powerful as before. But Tatsuya's words and body dulled the loud ka-boom's that ricocheted throughout the building.

When he dropped to the floor, she dropped with him, and somehow throughout the movement ended up half-sitting, half-laying on his lap, with her head cradled against his chest and his arms around her. The rapid thump-thump-thump of his heart was distracting, but in a good way, and before she knew it, her tears had all but stopped flowing and her trembling had completely subsided. Reika relaxed against his chest, a part of her mind wondering how a body could be both hard and soft at the same time.

Her eyelids suddenly heavy, she a soft chill beginning to settle over her skin as the still-present shower water began to grow cold, causing goosebumps to rise. Somehow she managed to maneuver her hand up and yank the blanket from Tatsuya's bed, pulling it over them both in the same movement.

Lightning suddenly illuminated the room and the crash of thunder followed, but she merely flinched and whimpered softly, burrowing deeply into Tatsuya's chest.

How a moron like him could make her feel so safe was beyond her.

*Flashback/Dream*

"You little bitch!"

Lightning glinted off of the blade in the man's hand and partially illuminated his face, despite the dull lighting in the warehouse. A chill settled throughout Reika's bones as she slowly back to crawl backwards, attempting to get away from him. She turned and scrambled to get up, only to have her ankle grasped and roughly yanked by a sweaty, meaty hand. Her nails dug into the wooden floorboards as she was dragged across the floor, destroying her fingertips in the process, and her scream echoed in the large building. A hand struck her across the face immediately afterwards, the man's growl for her to 'shut the hell up' causing her to sob.

"Let go!"

The man twisted a smile as he rose the knife, and the glint of it in the moonlight sent dread through her body.

"Oh, I'll let go ... As soon as I'm done with your cute little body. And as a memory ..." He grabbed her hair, yanking it back roughly and drawing a cry from her lips, and brought down the knife. The hair was sliced jaggedly, and within seconds he had shoved it into a nearby bag, the blade pressed to her throat to hold her still.

Her foot struck out, slamming into his abdomen and causing him to grunt and stumble back. Reika rolled, scrambling to her feet and taking off, but had barely made it twenty steps before he caught up to her. A tackle sent her to the ground as he pinned her, thunder crashing throughout the building at the same time, his hand moving between them to struggle with his pants, and ...

*End Flashback/Dream*

Reika jerked awake, and the movement almost caused her to topple off of Tatsuya's lap. For a moment, her still-sleepy haze caused her to feel disoriented, and she was unable to pinpoint where she was and who she was on top of. After a few beats, she blinked and rubbed at her eyes, almost looking like a child in the process, and stifled a yawn. Bright sunlight streamed through the window, momentarily blinding her as she glanced in that direction, and she turned her face back into Tatsuya's chest.

Wait. Tatsuya!?

A startled squeal escaped her lips, and in the process of of attempting to scramble from his lap, she tangled herself in the blanket and face-planted into the floor.

Rolling over, she groaned a little, rubbing at her face.

"Ow ..." she moaned, grimacing, "that was a mistake ... That hurt ..."

Sitting up, Reika averted her eyes from Tatsuya.

"I'm ... Sorry about last night ... I didn't mean to throw myself at you like that," she said quietly, folding her legs to the side and picking at an invisible thread on her nightgown. "I'm just a little afraid of storms," she laughed dryly, her eyes dark and hollow after the storm and the memories that had flooded her dreams since she arrived in the Afterlife. She pushed herself to her feet, her arms moving over her chest as if to cradle herself. "I-I'll leave you alone now. I'm sure you're more than sick and ready to get rid of me," she spoke softly, turning and heading for the bedroom door.

Tasuya kept his strong, yet soft, grip on Reika. It all felt familiar and scary in a way, and even though he couldn't quite understand why, he was actually happy that he was the one to comfort her. The warmth of her body. The chill of her tears against his chest. It just, felt like he was actually supposed to calm those things. She was rested over him, but it felt as if no wait was received. It was almost like she was a blanket to him. As she grabbed the blanket from his bed, He moved his free arm around to help cover the both of them and as she shook with another strike of lightning, he moved around to cover her, so that the sound would muffle even more.

It wasn't long until she eased up and he felt her fall asleep. IT was odd to him how someone he rarely talked to in his team felt so familiar and safe, but he was only given the thought of helping her. Though, realizing that she fell asleep, he also found himself dozing off. For naught did it take long for him to drift off into his realm of dreams. Usually they would be a nightmarish memory of the last moments of his living life. Something he also cursed god for letting him retain even though he was dead. However, this time, he felt as if he needed to thank whoever called himself almighty, for he dreamed of the good times before the events of his death. A moment before his death in which he was happy living along side one girl. A girl whose face he was still unlucky enough to remember. Though, for him, it wasn't her face that he was happy or sad for. No. He was just happy that in this dream she seemed happy too. That was all that mattered.


Huh?

As the sun entered the room, his eyes slowly opened upon the light hitting their lids. It was a bight morning. Another morning which meant his crew would have to go to classes if they wanted, or do whatever it was they did if they weren't hanging around their base. It was really a buzz kill spending those days alone.
Looking down, he realized that the girl was still sleeping in his arms. He even felt a fragment of his body fall asleep underneath her. He knew he'd regret that later on, but for now he sat staring at her, trying to snapshot a picture of her sleeping face in his mind. As she showed signs of waking, he closed his eyes again, as to fake his own sleep, and calmed his breathing. Though once the girl had woke up, she seemed to violently roll off of him, pulling the blacket as well and had ended her movement in a hard thump. Tatsuya opened his eyes to watch her state and wanted to ask he if she was alright, but the sight was too funny at the moment and he tried to withdraw from laughing. He did notice, that as she sat up, her eyes averted his, which he deemed as er looking cute, which mad him chuckle a little.

As she apologized a little and explained her fear of storms he simply told her that she dindn't have to. Afterall, he actually enjoyed helping her through her fear. However, the last line of words she said kind of made him feel off. As she stood up to exit the room, he stood up and grabbed her arm. "Wait," he said, letting his grip loosen. "I...I'd never try to get rid of you. You should know that. At least, I would hope you would." He stepped around her to look her right in her eyes. "In fact, I think we should hang out more. Don't you?" Flashing his cat like smile, he raised his hand, only to ruffle her hair a little. "Jeez. You're too cute," he said in a playful manner. "I, I think that if you ever have the need, you should come to me from now on. Kay?"

When a hand suddenly grabbed her arm, Reika made a soft sound of surprise. She was jerked to a sudden stop, pulling at her shoulder a bit and causing her to grimace. The touch of his hand on her sent flashes of painful memories through her, causing her to rip her arm roughly out of his grip. She stumbled a bit and once again lot her footing, sending her to land loudly on the floor. A grimace crossed her lips as her hand moved back to rub at her bottom.

"Ouch ..." she mumbled, shaking her head a bit. After a moment, she slowly pushed herself to her feet, absentmindedly rubbing at her arm.

"Please ... Don't grab me like that," she said quietly, her eyes off the to side and on the floor. "It ... Brings back bad memories ..."

"Wait! I...I'd never try to get rid of you. You should know that. At least, I would hope you would. In fact, I think we should hang out more. Don't you?"

Snapping her head up, her expression clouded. She closed the distance between them quickly, an angry finger coming up to jab him in the center of his chest.

"I should know that you'd never try to get rid of me? you think that we should hang out more?" she almost spat out, fury rising up inside of her. Her eyes darkened immensely as she looked up at him, her head tilted nearly all the way back so that she could see his face. "How dare you? Ever since I joined Death's Alliance, you done nothing but avoid me. It wasn't even until last night that you spoke more than two words to me!" she exclaimed, jabbing him roughly on the chest once more. "Rumor has it that you avoided me like the plague because you couldn't stand the fact that I dress like a boy at times. Well, excuse me for not believing that people should be identified by their gender!" she huffed, crossed her arms over her chest and spinning away.

"Jeez. You're too cute ... I-I think that if you ever have the need, you should come to me from now on. Kay?"

Blinking several times, Reika turned her gaze upwards and to the side, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. Why was he being so nice to her all of a sudden? Her cheeks slowly heating up, she cursed the blush that rose to them.

Scrunching her face up, she ducked out from beneath his hand, her own set rising to brush and pat her hair down.

"Why are you acting so friendly towards me all of a sudden? It was like you couldn't get far enough away from me before, and now you're treating me like your closest friend. Just who do you think you are, thinking that you can treat people sorely one minute, and then well the next? That isn't very fair, Tatsuya-sempai, and you know that," she said.

Based on how the girl was reacting, she did seem genuinely upset about his action, though the blush on her face showed something else. He started to think that maybe she hadn't been complimented on her appearance before. Either way, he didn't want her to think that he felt the way she thought he did. Sure, he was ignoring her, but it wasn't because he didn't like her. Mostly because looking at her reminded him of someone. Someone who, unluckily for him, he couldn't remember because of the way he died. Of course he didn't think that far into it, but he did feel something of uneasiness. Though now that he was talking to her, he began to feel different. Sure the feeling was still there, but talking to her made it feel more familiar and comforting. He really couldn't wrap his head around.

"Why are you acting so friendly towards me all of a sudden? It was like you couldn't get far enough away from me before, and now you're treating me like your closest friend. Just who do you think you are, thinking that you can treat people sorely one minute, and then well the next? That isn't very fair, Tatsuya-sempai, and you know that," she said.

Looking down at her, he sighed and smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry for avoiding you, but....." This was a point in his life where he probably should have thought about what he said. In truth he may have spared himself a lot of trouble in telling her the truth, but the fact that he didn't know the truth himself was hindering. He didn't want anyone to think he was crazy. He also didn't want anyone to think he was weighed down by his past. "but...." He was at a miss for what he was going to say. He forgot what he was even thinking of saying in the first place. Even he had a the question of why he was avoiding someone who gave him a familiar feeling. The whole entire thing was weird even to him. Though, he knew that if he stayed silent then the girls mind wouldn't change about him, even if her thoughts were wrong of him. Damn rumors. "I don't care how you dress or anything. I don't know how rumors began to spread like that, but I just...." Once again he was stumped. It felt like he was staling for something. He decided just to say something, anything that could get him out of this tough situation. The same situation that was making his body temperature rise and his face flushed the color of roses. "I like you!!!"

There was a pause when he realized what he had said. He wasn't expecting it to come out of his mouth, but something other than the random feeling that he had felt did come out. In truth, he looked at her thinking that she would be his type if he had one at the moment, but in truth he hadn't thought about going out with anyone since he was well... dead. "I look at you and I get this weird feeling that makes me nervous and I don't know what to do and when I had a conversation with you last night and saw you crying from the thunder and lightning I just wanted to protect you.... I don't know, it sounds weird. I don't even understand myself. It's just that..." In the middle of his dialogue his alarm rang and he realized that it was time he went on his morning training routine. "Damn.... Well it's okay I guess," he said walking over to turn his alarm off. You wouldn't like a guy like me anyway and it's not like it matters what type of feeling I have now. After all, I'm dead."

Dead. It was something he had to come to grips with before. Even though he couldn't remember his past, it used to effect him, but he quickly replaced the feeling with anger towards the one that he refers to on the regular as god. If that wasn't bad enough, he also gets a girl on his team who gives off an air of dejavu, though he knows not even his feelings for her matter because he's dead. He's dead, he doesn't know how he died and he barely even knows who he is. It was really infuriating. A run was just what he needed. Seeing as he was already wearing sweat pants, he through a t-shirt on over top of it and put on his running shoes.

Crossing her arms over her flat chest - which hadn't really bothered her before, but under the intense scrutiny of Tatsuya, she was now very self-conscious about - she fixated a heavy gaze on him, her thoughts on the matter running amuck.

Yes, it was unfair of her to just bombard him with her accusations, seemingly out of nowhere, but she couldn't help herself. Reika rarely lost control, and only did so when her emotions grew too much for her to handle, but it seemed that whenever Tastuya was involved, she had zero control what-so-ever. She didn't know what it was about him that bugged her to now end, but she was damn well determined to find out. So huffing a bit, she set a firm expression on her face before he finally began to speak.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry for avoiding you, but ...."

Really? Was it so hard for him to just tell her what it was about her that he just couldn't stand?

"But...."

Oh, great. He was a broken record. Did the man have no thinking process?

"I don't care how you dress or anything." Than why avoid her? "I don't know how rumors began to spread like that, but I just...."

Yeah, well, either way - they spread. And fast. So you'd better get your damned story straight before I kick you, Tatsuya. I mean, is it really so damned hard to-

"I like you!!!"

Blinking, Reika's thoughts came to a screeching halt at that sudden admission. True, she had had a variety of people declare their love for her - most of whom were female, but still. However, this one caught her completely off-guard. Of all the thing she had expected him to say, that hadn't even been on the list. In fact, it seemed as though he hadn't even thought that to be the reason. Indeed, he stood there with a surprised look on his face, as though he could barely believe it himself.

But his words rang true.

Actually, it was quite funny.

Before she knew what had happened, a soft snort escaped her, and in an instant she was laughing. Her arms wrapped around herself, she doubled over with the laughter as it racked her body. A hand lifted to press against the nearest wall so as to avoid her falling over, and her cackles echoed slightly in the room.

"Really? Honest to God, that's why you avoid me? Oh, the irony ... I suppose the saying's true than. 'He's only mean to you because he has a crush on you'," she chuckled, wiping at her eyes. Heaving a sigh, she shook her head and pushed away from the wall. "I'm not laughing at you. I just found the ironic part of your admission to be amusing is all."

"I look at you and I get this weird feeling that makes me nervous and I don't know what to do and when I had a conversation with you last night and saw you crying from the thunder and lightning I just wanted to protect you.... I don't know, it sounds weird. I don't even understand myself. It's just that..."

Jumping, her heart skipped a beat as his alarm suddenly began to go off, cutting him short of finishing his sentence. When he finally silenced it and turned back, his expression had changed, leading her to believe that that was all that she would be able to get out of him for the time being.

"Well it's okay I guess ... You wouldn't like a guy like me anyway and it's not like it matters what type of feeling I have now. After all, I'm dead."

In an instant she was across the room, reaching him just after he had finished tying his shoes and was rising. Due to their differences in heights, she was forced to go on her toes in order to do what she hadn't even truly registered herself that she was doing. Her hand gripped the front of his shirt, tugging him down half an inch so that he was closer to her face, and when her lips met the corner of his in a simple, quick, and yet seemingly-lasting and chaste kiss, she felt a small spark go through her body.

After a moment she pulled back, dropping to the flats of her feet.

"Last I checked, being dead didn't rid you of who you are on the inside. You still have a soul, and souls can feel every bit as much as any living person can. It's that type of thinking that makes it so we are unable to defeat Angel," she said, stepping back from him.

A soft blush rose to her cheek but she patted it away, turning her face to the side.

"Anyways, I wanted to speak to you about something. I'm tired of being behind the scenes when we attack Angel. I want to be on the front lines," she said, her gaze holding on something that only she could see outside of the window. "I know I'm not the strongest person on the squad, but that doesn't mean I can't-"

Reika was cut off abruptly as the door to the room was thrown open, revealing a disheveled Jou, a young man from the tactical division of Death's Alliance.

"Attack ... Angel ... In the clearing!" he exclaimed. Immediately afterwards, he dove forward towards the floor, giving Reika only a second to cross the room and grab him before he made contact. Gently lowering him to the ground, she shook her head, heaving a sigh.

"Stupid boy ... You shouldn't have been running in your condition. This would be why you are dead now," she murmured, searching his body. It showed signs of several bullet wounds, and blood stained almost every inch of his clothing.

Pushing herself up, she tossed a look over her shoulder at Tatsuya. "There isn't any time for me to change, so I suppose I'll have to go out there in a dress. You know as well as I do we need to get out there and see what's happening," she said, already making her way into the hall. "Let's go."

Rising up, Tatsuya flinched at the sudden action but then was completely surprised by what came over him. Even though it was only a split second, it felt like he had all the time in the world to access the current situation. Though, he couldn't loose himself inside a trance of euphoria and confusion. He looked dumbfounded before easy his stance and looking down at Reika.

"Last I checked, being dead didn't rid you of who you are on the inside. You still have a soul, and souls can feel every bit as much as any living person can. It's that type of thinking that makes it so we are unable to defeat Angel,"

Tatsuya facial expression dampened upon hearing that. She sounded right. He wanted to believe she was right. However, the fact remained, even if they feel alive they were dead, and sooner or later... No. He didn't want to think about it.

While thinking, he was watching as Reika began talking about something. He couldn't really make it out because he was feeling kind of dizzy at the moment. Too many things were happening all at once. Of course he was even more dazzled by the fact that angel was attacking them. Really wasn't expected. Mostly Angel would stop them from doing things, but he hadn't harrassed them before. Least not on their own turf.

At any rate, the news was enough to get Tatsuya back on track.

He nodded to Reika who had already out of the door and ran downstairs, passing through the traffic of children fumbling around, hopefully going to their assigned area. Tatsuya held his nose as one kid passed by him. "Hey. You go take a shower instead," he said, before running off to the door.

Once outside he saw Angel walking towards their dorm. Though he didn't seem to have a weapon on him. The boy sighed at the fact of having to play the bad guy again. Sure it wasn't like he was the bad guy, but Angel sure knew how to make it look that way.

Taking out his gun, he pointed it at the boy in front of him screaming, "Get back. Get back Dammit. I swear Angel now isn't the to mess with me!!!"

With his heart beating and thoughts running, anger seemed to course its way through his system. On top of that the confusion and anger combined made him edgy. It was probably looking at Angel that made him so tense. Upon seeing him, he was reminded of all the negative things about his current situation. That was enough to make any man go mad. He couldn't remember his past. He couldn't enjoy a life of love and family. He couldn't even beat Angel with the stupid gun in his hands.

To this he spat on the ground and chucked the gun behind him. In a blind rage he charged at the mysterious boy and lunged at him, kicking into the air. The move was too obvious for Angel who didn't even have to use his speed to side step the boys move. This was just going the way Tatsuya wanted it to. As soon as he got the chance he flung some dirt in the air to distract angels eyes as he slid behind him and grabbed him, quickly leaning backwards to smash angels head in the ground with a wrestler style suplex.

His fellow members gasping at the feat, thinking it was about to be over for Angel was quickly disappointed. Mid way from the ground, posed in an uncomfortable from, Tatsuya could no longer feel Angels weight. Instead, he felt as if he was hanging onto something. Soon his arms began to pull him up and continued until he was off the ground. Looking up, he saw Angels emotionless body floating into the sky and moving around to land him safely back on the ground.

"So that's how it's going to be huh," Tatsuya asked, pacing around the boy in front of him like a wolf ready to kill it's enemy. "You're just going to use your damned mythical powers and torture us here? What the hell is this?"

The boys lack of response crawled deep within Tatsuya's skin. "Is this some kind of joke to you? Huh?"

Once again, Tatsuya ran at Angel, throwing an open fist at his face, but it was evaded with Angel's speed. However, Angel wasn't the only person who could through fast punches. By incorporating more force and less distance, Tatsuya was sure his punches would be undodgeable. All though, it happened to be to no avail. Once Angel saw that Tatsuya had gotten closer to hitting him, he too sped up and even through a hard punch towards Tatsuya's face.

At once everything in the boys perception flashed white. For such a scrawny kid, Angel had emense streangth, and the speed he was moving around at wasn't any help either. Still, Tatsuya fought on swiping away at Angel, with killing intent. All he needed was one hit. That's all. If Tatsuya could just land one hit. One kick. One something. It would all be just fine.

Slowly as he continued to miss and continued to receive counter hits here and there, he realized that maybe he was being toyed with all along. All of those times he had won, thought they were definitely out weighed by the losses, were just Angel letting him win? No. That couldn't be it. One thing was deadly clear. Angel couldn't fly before. He fell through many of their holes in the ground before. That only leaved one conclusion. He was getting stronger. Though it was okay. Being strong and fast never helped in the long fight. It was brains. One thing Tatsuya had about fights, it was brains.

Calming down, he took off his shirt and threw it on the ground. He didn't need Angel grabbing any part of his wardrobe. After which, he stepped to his opponent and threw a few, boxing style jabs at him, which Angel just back away from. Though his manner of defense was unethical. Maybe because he was confident in his speed, or he just didn't know how to just move his head.

"So you're faster, but you need to move more," Tatsuya breathed out.

Inching closer to Angel with his hands guarding his face, he threw a couple more jabs until Angel stepped back again. Once that happened, Tatsuya threw out his left food, lunging it towards Angel who had caught almost all of the force in his hands upon gripping Tatsuya's leg. Though the boy was still left with a grin on his face for having reached the Angels chest.

Once the contact momentum had secluded Angel twisted his hips in order to throw Tatsuya away from him, but Tatsuya used the lengthened time of connection to propel his other food towards Angels face kicking him just before being thrown hard to the ground.

Slowly standing up do to his bones trying to heal themselves, he looked at Angel seriously before getting a clear look at his face and seeing the dirt mark on his face.

"Hehe....Hehehe.....HaHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!" In seconds he was back on the ground grabbing his sides, feeling both the pain from the fall and his laughing coma. "I'm... hehe... sorry, but you have a little something....a little something on... your face hahahahahahaha!!!!"

Angel looked bored for a second before rubbing his face and finding dirt on his fingers. For a second he looked as if he was human before darting towards Tatsuya like a bullet. Rolling backwards to his feet Tatsuya kept his face before jumping forward into a flip over the blur that was Angel, who stopped to turn around to kick Tatsuya while he was in the air. Luckily for the boy, his reflexes were good enough to catch Angel's kick, though he still traveled with it. He was surprised that Angel could be so flexible, but it didn't change the fact that he was inexperienced.

Tatsuya managed to hang on to the end of the ride and get back to his feet, but Angel had already started his own attack. Most of them were impossible for Tatsuya to block or dodge, so instead he decided to go with the alternative route and fight him without guarding, as Angel seemed not to care about getting hit either. Both of them were locked in combat, trading blow for six blows. Tatsuya landed good punches, but with Angels speed increasing with every punch thrown, Tatsuya couldn't do anything, but take the train wreck. That's how each punch felt and it displayed on his face too. Soon he was bleeding and though Angel had gotten some of his best hits, they just weren't clean enough to cause much damage, safe a few marks here and there.

With one last punch Tatsuya was off his feet and about to land on the ground, leaving behind nothing, but a bloody pulp. Though he wanted to, he just couldn't move his body. From the knowledge he had about the human body, he was sure almost all of his ribs were broken and the bottom part of his jaw dislocated from the top part.

It was.... It felt....unfair.

---

Fast. It's all too fast. Everything. It's too fast ... Too fast!

Reika turned back and forth, her mind darting from area to area, her eyes flashing person to person. A headache began to build in between her brows, and the deafening sounds of the world around her momentarily stunned her. Unable to control herself, her hands lifted to her ears, trembling the entire way.

"Stop ... Stop ... Everyone stop ... The fighting ... It's too ... Too much ..."

Fingers curling over the tops of her ears, her knees began to tremble. Images darted before her eyes - images that only she could see. Images that no one else could view. Only her.

Images that were evil.

Her heart thundered in her chest, her lips pressing firmly together, and just as the glimpses threatened to overwhelm her sanity, they disappeared. The sudden absence caused her to feel an odd emptiness in her chest.

As she straightened, Reika's brown eyes flashed.

"Angelo."

The person in question froze, the sound of his name being uttered from her lips stunning him and rooting him in place.

"Enough."

After several tense minutes - which ticked by rather slowly - of pressurized staring between the young woman and man, he slowly straightened and relaxed his fists. A toss of his head allowed his hair to fall back from his face, revealing a slightly disconcerting smirk on his lips.

"Ah ... It's about time, Daímonas," he said softly. His voice held a musical lilt that could entice even the most stubborn of people.

It was also the first time that the boy had uttered a word around any member of DA.

Reika's expression neglected to change. Instead, she ran her fingers through her hair, which seemed to lengthen itself on its own. By the time she had finished running her fingers through it and had tossed it to the side, it was nearly to her knees in length.

"What is the point of this senseless fighting, Angelo? Your war is with me, not them."

That only brought forth a loud, echoing laugh from the boy's lips. It was a laugh that could chill ice, and even she felt goosebumps scatter across her flesh.

"That may be true, but it's quite enjoyable playing with them. They are toys after all. Is that not why you made the decision to venture to the forbidden place ...."

"... Dear sister?"

Her lips tightened and an instant Reika was toe-to-toe with Angel, the skirt of her nightgown fluttering in the breeze. Her face had changed along with her hair, giving her cheekbones a slightly more angular look and her chin a bit more of a point.

"That is none of your concern, Angelo! My business is my own, just as yours is yours, and it shall always remain so! Blood relation or not, what I do is nothing for you to worry about! In fact, I would prefer you to not be a part of my life at all!"

A dark look passed over Angel's face. "It is not your right to tell me what I can and cannot do. Besides ... Are you truly willing to go against His orders?" he growled out, his hand clenching at his side.

Reika's eyes narrowed and her own hands copied his, her teeth clenching together.

"To Hell with Him! He hasn't the right to treat living creatures as though they are simply pawns - including us! We have a right to our own freedom, and he should not be allowed to use us in such a manner!"

The angered expression remained on Angel's face, which only gave a slightly more menacing appearance to the smirk that crossed his lips at her statement.

"Is that why you created this place? So that you could be free? Because you could never possibly be free. Do you honestly believe that any of the people here would want to be around you if they knew what you are - and if they knew that you are the reason for their being here?"

Reika flinched at that, her eyes narrowing further, which pulled a sinister chuckle from Angel's lips.

"That's what I thought, Daímonas. Now, enough of your silly games - it is due time for us to return home," Angel said, chastising her as though she were simply a child who needed guidance. His hand moved towards her arm, his fingers curling around it. In an instant she had grabbed his wrist and flipped him, her movement nothing but a blur to those who watched. Paying no heed to the shouts of her comrades, Reika brought her leg up, driving her knee into Angel's abdomen. He let out a grunt of pain as a loud snapping sound echoed through the air, undoubtedly belonging to the breaking of several ribs. Instead of that hindering him, however, he was on her in an instant, his hand gripping her arm in a bruising grasp. He yanked hard, the sound of her shoulder dislocating sickening as it snapped, and just before she hit the ground, she pushed off with her feet, using the arm that he held her with as a base. Her legs shot up and wrapped around his neck in an unbreakable grasp. A twist of her body brought him to the ground, her arms quickly moving to wind around his legs and hold them up so as to disable his attempts to get free. She used her thighs to push his face further into the dirt and grass, digging his mouth into it.

"Eat shit, Angelo!"

In a flash of blinding white light he was gone, leaving Reika kneeling awkwardly on the ground with her arms up and over the back of her head. Several moments passed before she lowered them and pushed herself to her feet. The people surrounding the area where the fight had ensued were speechless, their eyes wide and uncertain as they stared at the mysterious person before them.

How much ... Did they hear ...?

Tilting her head to the side, she glanced at a nearby puddle, only then noticing the differences in her features. In fact, she was nearly unrecognizable. Her cheekbones were far more chiseled, her chestnut hair immensely longer, and her nose was noticeably more angular. Large, hazel-brown eyes shimmered in the moonlight and were framed with long, thick black lashes, giving her a smoky look, and her chin was obviously more pointed.

Stifling a sigh, she raised her arms and wrapped them around herself. There was no going back from all of this. The people in Death's Alliance would undoubtedly all discover the truth about her, and instead of focusing their rage on Angel, they would turn it onto her.

And she hadn't even known what - or who - she was until a mere few minutes ago.

Her head slowly rose, her eyes catching Tatsuya's beaten body on the ground. It took her a matter of seconds to close the distance between the two of them, and when she had, she looked down at him, not entirely sure what to say. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but finally she simply dropped to her knees. Her hands lifted, trembling, as though to touch him, but she quickly drew them back, visibly afraid of what his reaction might be. They folded together in her lap, her head slowly tilting downwards and casting several strands of hair to slightly hide her face.

"I'm ... I'm so sorry, Tatsuya-Senpai ..."

---

Even beaten, Tatsuya wasn't completely out. He probably was barely breathing and in immense pain, but he stayed awake, fueled to get up and continue his fault. Yet his body wouldn't move. He could feel it regenerating, but it always took about an hour for bones to fully recover. Still, he wanted nothing more than to stand up and fight as Angel left him as if he was nothing, but a piece of trash. Furthermore, the events that took place next hurt him more than any of the wounds Angel has ever inflicted on him. If what he heard was true, then that had meant Angel was just their enemy in a matter of getting in their way. His way. Which, by some freak twist of events, meant Reika should have been his enemy all along. He wasn't sure if what he heard was true, but even through the shock, he could make out their meaning. The one responsible for everything. For him being here. For all of his friends being there. For everyone being stuck in purgatory. Maybe for even losing his memories.... It was her? He still didn't want to believe it, but it wasn't like she denied it.

On top of all that, when all was said and done she said, "I'm ... I'm so sorry, Tatsuya-Senpai ..."

Maybe that was what set him off. He couldn't take it. The pressure was getting through to his heart and he was having an anxiety attack of some sort. His breaths became quickened and picked up past his pain, through his battered lungs and by opening his mouth he let loose a scream that carried all of his hate, sadness, and confusion with it. As soon as he was done, he began coughing up blood and since Angel was gone, everyone that was sat still was going to help him, though some stayed, either to comfort Reika or to console her. He didn't care anymore.

Maybe he was being selfish. For a second there... no. For the whole time he knew her, he could have sworn she was the girl from his past. Thinking on it, maybe that was the reason why he kept her away. For he had two fears. One, being if she was, then maybe all of his memories would return and he would have some kind of transcendence or something. Two, If she wasn't... Well she isn't, and now he had felt pretty bummed out.

"So... what now boss," One of the older members asked when he brought him to his room. "What do we do about Reika? She has powers now."

Tatsuya looked off to the side before letting loose a long sigh, followed by a cough. "I.... I don't care. Do whatever you guys want. Now leave me. Please...."

Looking back at him before closing the door, Tatsuya could see in his eyes that he too was sad, whether it be for his own reason or for pity. It was probably this that made him stay in his room. For days, weeks, maybe even months, he stayed in his room, starving himself, but always coming back to life. In retrospect, he decided to live in hell. Better that then playing someones game. One thing remained on his mind though. Why couldn't he remember his past. It was the only thing he couldn't actually move on without knowing. He didn't intend to move on when figuring it out, but in a figure of speech, it was killing him not to know.

Walking over to his door, he finally took the lock off for the first time in who knows how long, went down the steps and made a sandwich in the kitchen. He hated the food in the afterlife. It wasn't food at all, but something else. He didn't know and it made him feel even worse about eating the stuff. It had seemed everyone was asleep or in there rooms for he was the only one downstairs at the time. He knew what he wanted wasn't a sandwich though, but answers. Answers that seemed only answerable by one person.

So he walked back upstairs to Reika's room, cautiously standing outside of her door. However, he didn't go to touch the door nob. Instead, he headed back to his room, leaving the door open and diving into his bead. There wasn't a point anyway. Besides, the last thing he needs is more surprises. The tears came to the corners of his eyes and he could feel them slowly going down his face. He was ashamed. Why was he crying at a time like this? It was too late to do anything. Nothing he could have ever done. For knowing that, he was truly gone within the feeling of it all. The feeling of nothing. Soon, he fell silently asleep.

---

Reika knelt in the position that she had been in when she had originally lowered herself to Tatsuya's side, her dark eyes staring blankly after him and the DA members who assisted him in returning to his room. Her fingers curled, bunching up the skirt of her nightgown. It wasn't as though she had wanted this. When she had originally created this world, it was so that those who had lived unfair lives or died of untimely and unfair circumstances could spend their time doing whatever they wanted with little to no consequences. True, they viewed it as a purgatory or their own little Hell, but the actual point of The Afterlife was to give them the chance to live the lives that they had wished to live. Each time He snatched out their chances as early as birth, she had grown to hold a deep sorrow in her heart, which increased with each miserable life. Not only had she made it for herself, but for the young people who had had no chance at a beautiful life. In The Afterlife, they could not die completely or age, and they would rarely change at all. Instead, their minds and maturity could grow, allowing for them to lead prosperous 'lives', so to speak. Once the teenagers had reached their peak of their minds and maturity and were ready to accept their deaths, she would instead move them to a place that was similar to the plane of the living. It was an exact replica of Earth, only with NPC's just as The Afterlife held student body-wise. One was able to get a career and live the life that they had wished for, and not only did they graduate to this plane with the people that they had spent The Afterlife with, but they would also have the ability to meet the people who had been there far longer than they.

It was a simple concept, and yet this first group of young people had blown it into a completely different view.

A wet droplet landed on Reika's cheek. Her hand lifted, her fingers lightly pressing to the water, and when they came away damp, she simply stared at them. In an instant the sky had opened up, pouring out its anger and sorrow just as she so wished to do. Instead, the sky did it for her, immediately drenching her.



For the next few months, Reika went about her daily tasks. She was not forced to leave her room - all of the Death's Alliance members had almost completely forgotten her change. The only people that had heard the news of her being the creator of the land that they were held in were Tatsuya and Angel. Instead, while Tatsuya remained locked and depressed in his room, retreating from society, Reika slowly climbed the ladders of success within DA. She climbed up to second in command and took the leadership of DA over during Tatsuya's absence. Angel had made only three appearances within the time that Tatsuya was gone, and each of the three were successfully handled by Reika and her small team of elite. They did, of course, use each member of DA to their advantage. However, the elite five consisted of; Reika, who was, of course, the leader; Talon, who was an expert at swordsmanship; Marcos, the expert on guns; Claudia, their lead archer and the younger sister of Talon; and finally Elden, their head of hand-to-hand combat.

Biting into an apple, Reika chewed carefully, her eyes slowly moving over the land that she could view from her perch on the roof of the building that housed a majority of Death's Alliance's members. Perhaps she could add a town into The Afterlife so that they teenagers put in it wouldn't grow so bored and hostile ...

Frowning, she chucked the apple core over the side of the roof and shook her head, her long ponytail flopping over her shoulder. No, that would be considered bribery.

After moving over to the edge of the roof and easily swinging herself back into her room, she landed softly on the floor and snatched up a jacket. It was nearly one, which meant that she was due to head the weekly DA meeting. The muffled sound of footsteps outside her door caused her to pause when they stopped, but once they began to move again, she shrugged it off and adjusted her jacket, sliding on her black boots immediately after.

It was only when she had left her room and walked a few doors down the hallway that she noticed Tatsuya's door was open, and despite the wave of emotions that assaulted her, she gulped in a cleansing breath and slowed as she passed it. What she saw inside was an extremely disheveled Tatsuya collapsed on his bed, his back rising and falling with each breath he drew in. The tears that glistened on his cheeks were heart-wrenching, and before she knew what she was doing, she had reached the side of his bed, her hand reaching out and a single finger brushing the stray tears away.

"I never ... Wanted to see you cry," she whispered, her throat throbbing with emotion. "I only ... I only wished to see you happy ... After what happened when you and I were still alive ... I couldn't forgive myself ... And when they made me into ... Into this ... And I created this place ... I only wanted to see you smile ..." Blinking back tears from her aching eyes, she bit her cheek, stifling a sniffle. Her hands nimbly grabbed the blanket that was shoved at the bottom of his bed and she quickly drew it up and over him. She went still in her position, her watering eyes holding onto his face, and after several moments, she bent and dropped a ghost of a kiss onto his forehead, her hand brushing some of his stray hair back from his face. "I'm so sorry, Tatsuya ... I'm so sorry ... For everything ... And for your hatred of me ..."

With that, she straightened and ducked from the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Instead of heading directly to the meeting, she strode outside, nodding at the Alliance members that she passed and forcing back her tears all the way. It wasn't until she reached the stream that she allowed the tears to escape and trickle down her cheeks in slow rivers of pain.

"My, my ... I always did enjoy seeing women cry ... It was something about their appearance that held an innocent, sexual appeal ..." A purring voice slithered from the shadows, causing her skin to crawl. Reika didn't bother to even turn to look at him, but instead focused on the water before her.

"What do you want, Angelo?"

"Why, the same thing as you, dear sister! Eternal joy and happiness! Whatever could I possibly want other than that?" he smirked, his arms cast out by his sides innocently.

Still not turning, Reika answered with a monotonous voice, "Death. Despair. Anger. Hatred. Betrayal. Lies. War. That's how it has always been with you, Angelo, and both you and I know this."

He simply chuckled and moved over, slinging his arm in an annoyingly carefree way across her shoulders. His finger moved out to touch her chin, turning her face towards his. "You seemed to have forgotten a few. Money. Power. Women. Sex," he chuckled, his lips lightly brushing across hers. Immediately she jerked away from his grasp, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand in disgust. He laughed, shoving his hands nonchalantly in his pockets. "It's no use resisting, Daimonas. You will come to me eventually, but whether it is by your own free will or not is your choice. I am simply playing nicely right now and biding my time, allowing you the freedom that you so desire. But it will not last. You know that we are destined, little princess."

Reika tossed him a scowl, her eyes darkening with hatred. "Destiny is never fully written. There are streams that separate from Destiny in which one is allowed to stray, in order to make their own path!"

With only a laugh in response, [url=http://wallpapersinhq.com/images/big/alvaro_garay-1479141.jpg]Angel[url] disappeared in a flash of light, leaving her steaming with anger and sorrow. Turning back to the stream, she kicked a rock and sent it sailing into the water. It wasn't satisfying in the least and did not rid her of any of her tumultuous emotions, but instead caused her to boil even further.

"Pig-headed, stubborn, piece of shit, dick-faced, son of a bitch ...!"

"... Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Whipping around, Reika's eyes darted until they found Talon, who stood only a few feet away and in the shadows, leaning calmly back against the cliff-side wall, his ever-present sword resting point-down at his side. He pushed away from the wall, uncrossing his arms and gripping the hilt of his weapon, easily swinging it up and onto his shoulder. As he approached her, she felt her shoulders tighten, her fists clench, and her teeth grind together. But instead of attacking her, he simply dropped his free hand onto one of her shoulders, his eyes boring into her own.

"You know ... It's okay ... To cry ... Every once in a while ... Allowing yourself to bear all of this weight ... All on your own ... It isn't healthy ... We won't judge you ... And we won't think any little of you ... After all, we are all simply human beings, whose emotions are strung high and stretched far. So it's okay ... To cry. It's okay ... To feel."

Before she realized what had happened, her lower lip had begun to tremble, tears had welled up in her eyes, and she had let out a soft sob and flung herself into Talon's arms, who simply held her in a similar way to how a brother or a father would hold a distraught sister or daughter.

---

Waking up in the dark of the night, he couldn't help but notice the moist feeling on his forehead. Passing it off as sweat he still felt uneasy about it. The sleep, on the other hand, had done wonders for his psyche. He could swear without a doubt that he had figured out what to do. Going to his door, he noticed that it wasn't open, though he was sure he had left it untouched. Even so, the current thought in his brain was one he wouldn't let become abstracted. Once again he locked his door, for what he would count as the last time he would ever even see the room. Putting on his sneakers and taking a few weapons and canteens with him, he left the manor via his window, closing it back and hoping down in the midst of the night. It would seem since no one was going to bother him anyways, they wouldn't notice he was gone do to the locked door.

In all certainty, he knew, for without a doubt in his mind, that there was no point in leading the DA anymore. For his goals had changed completely. Though, before he could set on his goals, he would have to do his families meditation technique. He was glad to see that herbs were made just as easily as bullets in this realm and had saved himself some hemp plants. Though usually, one would need the proper sticks and channels, Tatsuya was sure he could make do with anything. When he thought about it, what couldn't he do in the afterlife exactly? If it could bend the laws of science, then what exactly was the extent of its hellish wonders? He didn't quite know nor did he care for now. It would just have to be something he would meditate on later.

Choosing a nice area to keep the cleansing fumes in, the boy went to the old abandoned hut, a far stretch from the school. It brought up the question though, of why there was so much space off the school grounds that aren't used for anything. It was convenient however.

Placing his self made candles on the floor in a neat order, Tatsuya lit them and his bowls of the hempus plant. With the right touches done, he sat down, crossing his legs and closing his eyes to meditate on his next move of actions, he seemed to get lost in time. For the fires never ceased and the time steady passing.

That was until he opened his eyes and seen the dark of the night and the smoke coming out of the finished candles. Scratching his face he realized that he had been in a trance for a long time. Sighing he stood up and walked out of his meditation hut, back towards his old home. It was night so he felt pretty safe as he scurried about like a fox, sneaking back towards the building via the bushes. Sneaking in through the back he noticed that no one was in the kitchen, so he crawled his way over to the fridge and retrieved all the vital pieces he needed to create the perfect sandwich. Using just about everything in the fridge, Tatsuya stacked items upon items until he was assured he had made a sandwich, glorious enough for a king.

"Nice," he said in awe looking at his creation. Taking his plate in hand, the boy proceeded to leave the dorm, all while stuffing his face, not even paying attention to see if someone would follow him.

"How quaint and cute. The little puppet's found some toys of her own to play with."

Going still at the sound of the voice, Reika clenched her hands against Talon's chest, her hair standing on end.

"... Lutkar."

Slowly turning and stepping out from Talon's arms, Reika adjusted the sleeves of her jacket, her head tilting slightly to the side. A dull, bored look filled her eyes, despite the hollow fear deep in her stomach. "What brings you to this part of the In-Between? As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat."

Chuckling, Lutkar dropped down from the tree that he was perched in, landing lightly on the toes of his feet, and without a sound. With his hands casually being held in his pockets, he lounged over to the two. He held himself like a prowling cat as he circled Reika, leaning creepily to the side with a slightly sadistic smirk on his lips. Leaning in close, he took a few sniffs of Reika before straightening and stretching his arms high above his head. "You smell delicious as always, Little Daímonas. You still holding out on allowing me to have a little taste?" he purred, his voice holding an underlying growl to it.

Easily hiding her response to his suggestion, Reika ran her fingers through her ponytail, nonchalantly braiding the hair as she brought it over her shoulder. "I will not ask you again. Why are you here, Lutkar?"

Jutting his lower lip out, he looked down at her like a child who was scolded would to their mother. "You're so cold, Little Daímonas," he sighed. After a moment, he drew up his smirk again, his eyes darkening with malice. "I'm here to deliver a little message. It comes from Him."

With that, he launched into an attack - one which killed Talon and brought Reika very close to death herself.



The man glanced up from the book in his hand. The smell of rain was in the air, and as he upturned his nose to gain a better sniff, he muffled a sigh. However, the sound of footsteps intervened with his annoyance. Tilting his head to the side, he fixated a dark eyed gaze on the young man who was currently retreating from the dormitories, plate and sandwich in hand, cocky attitude and all.

"'Bout damn time that kid got his shit together ..."

Snapping the book shut, he tucked it into an alcove nearby, braced his hands on the balcony railing, and vaulted over the side of it. He didn't bother to shield his presence but instead sauntered nonchalantly right up beside Tatsuya, hands shoved into his pockets.

"So ... The beast lives," Elden joked dryly. When he didn't receive an answer, he turned and began to walk backwards, quirking up an eyebrow at the boy. "Well? Are you going to explain yourself?"

When, again, he received no answer, he moved to block Tatsuya's path, standing directly before him. Instead of allowing him to pass him, Elden held out his arm and stopped the boy.

"What you're doing ... It isn't right, Tatsuya. You're worrying everyone. It's an inconvenience for me, really. But not for everyone else. They're all worried about you. All of them. They need their leader back. They need their friend back. They need you back, Tatsuya."

Dropping his arm, he still had yet to look at the young man, instead staring directly ahead of him and behind Tatsuya. "And you're worrying her. You haven't a clue what you're doing to her, do you? The girl rarely eats and sleeps. She is constantly either training or worrying about you and the other members of the Alliance. I don't know every detail about what happened that night so long ago, but it isn't right what you're doing to her, and you damn well know it. It isn't fair to her - and it's pissing me off!"

Lifting his hand, Elden shoved the other boy roughly, leaning down so that his face was directly in his.

"You're acting like a spoiled little piece of shit brat that didn't get specifically what he asked for for Christmas. Now get your shit together and figure out what the Hell you want out of everyone, because what you're doing right now - it's the lowest of the low!"

Clenching his fists, he ground his teeth together and turned on a heel, quickly leaving now that he had rid himself of the words that he had pent up for so long.



"T-... Tatsuya ... Please ... Don't ... Don't go ..." Lifting a hand, Reika came to a shaky stop several feet away, her hand lifting to grip her elbow in a tight grasp. "I don't ... Want to see you sad anymore. I can't ... I can't take it ... I only wanted you ... To be happy ..." Moving her hand from her arm, she lifted it to her face, trembling all the way. Tears clouded her eyes, threatening to spill, but she choked them back, allowing them only to shimmer over her irises and cling to her lashes. Lowering her hand a bit, she looked at him through her hair. Gone was the fire that had once been lit in them, and in replacement was emptiness. Complete emptiness. It was as though all of the joy and happiness had been drained from her very core. Glinting throughout that emptiness, however, was pure anguish. Her lips suddenly changed, her jaw clenching into a grimace, and immediately it was as though the flood gates had opened. Endless tears began to stream down her face, and with her energy drained, she simply dropped to her knees. A few splats of rain pattered from the sky, plopping lightly onto her uniform. Bending forward, her hands both lifted to her face as she attempted to rub the tears away and yet only accomplishing in smearing them across her face. "I never ... Meant for any of this ... To happen ... I'm sorry ... That I couldn't make you happy ... And I'm sorry that I'm no good ... And that I'm useless ... So much so ... That I hate myself ..." Blood mixed with tears across her skin, and soon the sky had upended above them, letting loose its own misery for all the inhabitants of The Afterlife to see. "I ... I only ever wanted ... For you ... For us ... For this ... For ..." Clenching her fingers, she grimaced further, more tears overflowing. "More than anything ... I just ... I wanted ... I wanted ..."

"... I wanted us to be together!"

"So ... The beast lives,"
"Well? Are you going to explain yourself?"

The familiar voice was enough to startle Tatsuya. Turning around slowly, he found that it was in fact Elden who was speaking to him. Someone who he really respected as a martial artist. The lump in Tatsuya's stomach made him want to turn around. Fighting Elden wouldn't get anyone anywhere. Not only that, but he didn't want to hurt someone from his old team on top of leaving them.

Before Tatsuya could move, Elden was already blocking his path.

"What you're doing ... It isn't right, Tatsuya. You're worrying everyone. It's an inconvenience for me, really. But not for everyone else. They're all worried about you. All of them. They need their leader back. They need their friend back. They need you back, Tatsuya."

Tatsuya turned his face away from him, not wanting to hear the kids bull. Tatsuya knew what he was doing and didn't need to explain himself. Though once he saw Elden's head move toward the dorm, his face couldn't help but frown up in anger.

"And you're worrying her. You haven't a clue what you're doing to her, do you? The girl rarely eats and sleeps. She is constantly either training or worrying about you and the other members of the Alliance. I don't know every detail about what happened that night so long ago, but it isn't right what you're doing to her, and you damn well know it. It isn't fair to her - and it's pissing me off!"

"So. It's not like that can be helped with all that's happened. She'll be fine, I have other stuff to worry about."

Once the boy responded to him with a shove, Tatsuya was about to drop his food and hit him, but decided his hunger was more important than a fight. That, and he knew that Elden didn't understand. It wasn't his fault. If anyone was to blame, Tatsuya blamed himself for telling everyone something... no, making people believe in something he had so little knowledge of. So since it was his fault, he just stared directly into the boys eyes. He could tell Elden was thinking the same thing he was thinking and that all there had to be was one move taken. One move to start their fight.

"You're acting like a spoiled little piece of shit brat that didn't get specifically what he asked for for Christmas. Now get your shit together and figure out what the Hell you want out of everyone, because what you're doing right now - it's the lowest of the low!"

With that said, Elden left, leaving Tatsuya dumbfounded. He sighed in exhaustion looking at his food. "I haven't eaten in a long time either. Damn.... It's gonna rain huh?" He looked at the rain then towards the dorms. If he had walked back to the hut the rain would wet his food. It was definitely something to question when it came to the taste of wet rice bread. Climbing to his window with the food back slung around his back, he peeked inside to see that the window was locked and the door was opened. He made a mental note to change his locks. Of course that'd have to be after he got inside. He went from window to window, but the locks were on each of them. God forbid he had to go to the student bedroom windows. He looked over and saw one more faculty room window and lunged at it, hanging from nothing but the railing on the window and his fingers. Just as he was about to open it up, he heard murmuring coming from the room. Taking a closer look through the glass he could see Reika, who looked like she was crying or something. He pressed his ear to her window to hear what she was saying.

With each word Tatsuya heard a steady thump from the sky, which made him want to go inside even more. If it had started raining that would mean thunder would come soon as well as the lightning.

However, that wasn't the only thing he had to worry about, for it seemed she was bleeding. He couldn't tell from the dark of the room at first, but the flash of lightning confirmed that it was infact blood he had seen. Tatsuya tried to open the window, which was unlocked, but the window wouldn't budge. It was almost like it was frozen in place. Tatsuya could hear Reika muttering to herself and raising her voice. At first he thought it was because he thought she was in pain.

"... I wanted us to be together!"

With her yell, it was like the weather went from harsh to haphazardness in a blink of an eye. The wind picked up, blowing out the windows and launching Tatsuya through the hole. On the outside, the rain was coming down fast and hard and the lightning was setting streams all over the place.

The wind still caused trouble on the inside, blowing into the room with all it's fury.

"Reika!!!" Tatsuya yelled, trying to un-glue himself from the wall. He reached into his back of now smashed food and bread, pulling out a nice honey bun. It looked so good, he was going to eat it, but he started crawling towards the girl instead. It took him awhile to reach her, seeing as the wind was trying to push him away, but since he was on his knees he was able to balance himself out better. Once he was within arms reach her he wrapped his arm around her placing the honeybunn on her lap and used his now free hands to cover her ears.

"It's okay. The storm's not going to hurt you as long as I'm here."

He didn't know how bad the storm was going to be, but he wanted it to be over soon. He knew that Reika wasn't a fan of thunder and lightning, plus it wasn't like he would be able to enjoy his food like this.

"I'm sorry."

He said words, a lot of them actually, but he didn't think any of them would reach the girl with his hands on her ears.