Chapter Two

Tied

The look on Nina's face was wary. Her eyebrows were pulled together and her body was tense, shifted, as if ready to run at any given moment. The three of them stared at each other for a long time after that, as if they were all afraid of speaking. Plus, their expressions were intimidating. The one called Shana had her arms crossed over her chest, and held herself in a very dignified way. She was beautiful and elegant. As for Rokuda, well, he just looked downright irritated with the entire situation.

In realizing this, Nina felt annoyed. He had no right to be irritated! If anyone should be angry and scared, it should be her. It reflected in Nina's very eyes, her insecure fear.

Nina also realized they were waiting for her to speak.

But when the silence was finally broken, it was Shana who spoke, and her voice was matter-of-fact, "I knew it. She is stupid."

Nina found her words, her voice was soft, even though she delivered an insult, "I'm stupid? You're the one asking if I can see you! If you're wondering, the hospital is a twenty minute drive from here. You might want to consider checking in."

Rokuda's golden eyes flashed, "Now listen here, you..."

Nina stood her ground and met his eyes, but he had a very intense gaze. Like molten amber...she looked to the ground, her face beet red with fury.

W-who do these people think they are? she thought to herself indignantly, gradually growing more annoyed than scared with the situation. However, it was hard to grasp. It was like water slipping through her fingers. If Nina could believe what she had just seen, Rokuda and Shana had come from...

Nina pointed upwards, former anger slowly ebbing away, "You guys...did you guys fall from the sky?"

Shana grimaced, as though in physical pain, "Rokuda! They never warned us about anything like this! They told us what to do, but how are we supposed to do that if she..."

Nina's face fell into one of disbelief. They were completely ignoring her.

Rokuda crossed his arms in what Nina considered an arrogant manner, "We'll just tell her and make her cooperate. Obviously there's more to her than just being able to deny fate."

Nina gritted her teeth. Unbelievable. Absolutely unbeliavable. She was getting out of here.

Shana's cold blue eyes were filled with anxiety, "But, Rokuda..."

The male slowly closed his eyes, ignoring the blond beside him, "Don't worry," he said slowly, "Now, girl, once you agree to cooperate with us, we will give you the information on a need-to-know basis - "

"Rokuda!"

The boy turned on his coworker, with gold and red anger all around him, swirling overwhelming colors, his voice snapping like a flame devouring wood, "What?"

Shana felt herself shrinking under his gaze, fumbling with her words, "S-she's walking away."

Rokuda looked up, seeing Nina's retreating back, "Hey! Stop!"

"Definitely not." was Nina's reply.

- - - -

"So you're telling me..." Nina began, but couldn't really finish the sentence.

She had eventually slowed down, but only because these two freaks wouldn't stop pursuing her. Her house was only a block away, and booking it from here to there didn't seem like such a bad idea. Unfortunately, Nina knew these two could outrun her. She'd never been all that fast. Their story was ridiculous, at best. Yet something about it was so angelic, that she almost wanted to believe. It was like the best of stories, romantic and divine.

"So you're telling me..." she tried again, "That...everyone has a decided fate? But I...I'm not following mine so far?"

Rokuda's expression was serious, and the look in his eyes made it hard to look directly at him, "Something like that. Ever since your birth, your partner was decided for you."

Nina shifted her feet, and glanced to Shana, who was looking fairly panicky. Probably about the idea of telling a "human" all of this. But from the story, Nina didn't see how they were much different from her. They were just part of the 'Council of Fate', according to their brief story, of those who upheld the law, and kept the wheels of destiny turning smoothly, and making sure nothing was interrupted.

However, at the concept of a 'partner', her celery green eyes widened, "What?"

"Husband. Boyfriend. Are you an idiot?" he replied.

Nina's hand clenched into fists, "T-that's stupid! People fall in and out of love! People get divorced."

It was Shana who answered her this time, and her voice held a dreamy aspect to it, "People who are truly, truly in love couldn't fall out of it. And the reason people get divorced is because that isn't their destined partner. It may take time and heartbreak, but in the end, your partner is tied to you."

Shana's ice eyes were full of wishing stars. Nina blinked. Wow, that girl was really into this stuff. She couldn't help but vaguely wonder if Shana had a lover of her own.

"So, what exactly have I done wrong?" Nina asked. She tried to convince herself she was simply indulging these two, but as it was, she believed them. These two had fallen from the sky. She was sure of it. Unless she really was crazy, and they were simply figments of her dreamy imagination.

"Well," Rokuda muttered, somehow troubled, "It seems you've somehow broken your tie to a boy named Xian Li. It's our job to fix it."

"L-Li-kun?" Nina cried out, thoroughly startled. She was tied to Li? She would marry him someday? She tried to picture herself walking down an isle, with Li waiting for her. She tried to picture herself smiling with pure ecstasy, and pressing her lips to his. She felt her cheeks reddening, but only from the overall idea of something as romantic and devoted as marriage.

However, she couldn't picture it, and Nina voiced this, "Are you sure you have the right person? Besides, that's a little weird, isn't it? I mean, I always kind of believed in the "destiny" of meeting and all that, but if you think about it seriously, shouldn't you have the freedom to choose who you want to be with? It's kind of creepy, knowing there are people who are choosing your lovers..."

Rokuda's and Shana's eyes darkened, and the atmosphere seemed to drop a few degrees as the two exchanged melancholic looks. Nina felt a million shivers scatter like crawling spiders along her spine.

When they didn't say anything, she spoke again, "By the way, where did you come from. exactly?"

"Need-to-know." Rokuda replied gruffly, and Nina's eyes narrowed.

Shana tugged on the edge of her sleeve, "Actually, you weren't supposed to know about us or where we came from. Humans aren't allowed to know. We were going to enlist in your school, and you'd simply think we were your classmates while we set things right..."

"It seems these cloaks are pretty useless," Rokuda muttered, before staring at Nina curiously, "Unless it's just you...."

"What do you mean?" Nina questioned, on the verge of wondering if she really was a bit psychotic.

"This isn't the first time people like us have come here," Shana replied cheerily, "Others are down here too, every once in a while, to make sure everything is running properly. But we can't have humans seeing us all the time, can we? That's what these cloaks are for. And also -"

Rokuda stopped her sentence dead in it's tracks with a glare, "Need-to-know." he repeated.

So that's why Rokuda asked if I could see them... Nina thought to herself, Still, this is just unbelievable! Do they really except me to...

Nina turned on her heel, "Why can't you find someone else to do this with?"

Rokuda's voice stopped her short, "There is no one else."

Nina turned to look at them, her green eyes spinning with emotions, unable to settle on one. Finally, she began walking in the opposite direction as the one she had once been. She moved past the two without really looking at them, she walked past the houses, along the sidewalk. She felt them following her silently, but did not turn around. She could vaguely even feel the need for Rokuda to open his mouth and yell after her, but she could imagine Shana glancing at him swiftly to silence him. She didn't look back though. Perhaps if she pretended they were not there, they would go away. On and on, one foot after the other. A door jingled as she pushed it open, and the faces of Fuuko and Gin were warm and comfortable. She took a seat beside them.

"You came after all!" Fuuko cheered, mouth full of food.

"Algebra can wait." Nina murmured softly, as Shana and Rokuda stood at her shoulders, she could feel their presence behind her.

"What are you going to order?" Gin asked her, beaming.

"Whatever you're having."

"I haven't ordered anything yet. I'm not hungry."

Nina blinked upwards, and Gin's look was concerned, "Oh, then, whatever Fuuko's having."

Gin ordered for her, and the food was place on the table by a rather annoyed looking waitress with impatient, snapping brown eyes. She huffed and moved away without any words, and Nina knew she wouldn't be getting any tips (if there were tips here at all, Nina wasn't sure). She pressed her palm to her forehead, she really was out of it lately. She always had been a little...unobservant, but more so than before. She ate, quietly listening to the conversation as her two friends chattered excitingly about completely different things, yet coming together in harmony with whatever words burst forth from their lips. Sometimes their words were silly, or dumb, spoken on impulse. But it was normal conversation, for them, anyways.

Nina slurped up the last of her noodles, and then finally immersed herself into the talking, more so than she would otherwise. Nina spoke, offering opinions and points to many things. She laughed freely, spoke when called for, or even uncalled for, and enjoyed herself. She wanted to know which boys Gin admired and how Fuuko was doing in Science. This was all she wanted. She didn't want to hear about fate or love or marriage. She didn't want to hear about how she was "tied" to Xian Li. This...with her friends, was enough. She didn't need anything more.

When it was time to leave, Nina waved furiously, eagerly, a genuine grin across her face. She could feel a pair of amber and blue eyes, staring at her. She didn't return the gazes, and instead, finally headed home.

Figments. Figments. Figments.

This was her chant. She put all of her thoughts into it, as the crowded streets changed into deserted streets, nearing closer to her home. The brightness changed to dull pinks as the sun slowly began it's descent. It was quiet. It was lovely. Nothing could shatter this serenity. That's what Nina tried to convince herself. But, in fact, perhaps something could. It was sudden, but she realized it was not only Rokuda and Shana that she was being followed by, so she turned.

In that very moment, she just barely dodged a fist that just about connected with her face. A harsh cry scattered from her lips like a thousand harsh breaths. The air wavered, and then there was red and gold, blurring, mixing, taking that fist and twisting it. A battle cry escaped Rokuda's lips as he threw the attacker to the hard, unforgiving ground.

"Get back!" was his command.

Nina obeyed. Her feet tangled as Shana helped her to stand, moving her away. Her livid eyes glazed. They were surrounded.

Perhaps surrounded was a bad term for it. There was about six of them. They moved in black waves, faces shadowed off from the hoods on their cloaks, similar to the ones Shana wore. There was no way Rokuda could possibly fight them, whoever they were. He was outnumbered. And yet, somehow, he held his ground. A reckless grin was attached to his features, a vicious glint in his golden eyes. His fire hair seemed to move as though alive.

Rokuda spoke, his voice rough and amused, "Idiots. As if it would be that easy."

And then he was moving. His leg rounded, connecting with a face, a stomach, a chest. Bodies flew, yells resounded in the open area. Rokuda dodged down, bringing his fist up, cracking a nose, sending droplets of liquid roses into the air. Nina cried out as Rokuda endured a punch to the gut. But he simply grinned wolfishly, before counter attacking with a punch of his own. In a quick, startling moment, Rokuda was surrounded in defiant black, darkness seeming to smother him. But Rokuda burned too brightly to die out with such things, and his force blew the threat away as easily as the wind rushes through the sky. Rokuda, unfortunately, gained a few scratches of his own, but they were nothing compared to the damage he dealt to the others.

And when it was done, six bodies scattered the ground, and Rokuda wiped a drop of blood from his lip, "I hate being underestimated. Especially by weaklings like you."

Nina struggled as Shana covered her eyes, but darkness consumed her. However, when the hand was removed, the bodies were gone and Rokuda stood before them.

"Were you hurt?" he asked.

Nina's lips were clamped shut, but she soon realized he was speaking to her, and not Shana. She shook her head furiously as an answer, unable to make out words. She was too awed.

"W-Who were those people?" she demanded loudly.

Rokuda's lips only went up in that fearless, arrogant smirk, "Need-to-know."

- - - -

Rokuda and Shana lingered behind as Nina glared back at them suspiciously, before walking up to her house.

"They were going to dispose of us, and then erase her memory, right?" Shana asked quietly, her voice a flutter of moth wings against the light in which they seek.

"That was most likely their plan," Rokuda answered solemnly.

"That makes things more interesting, I suppose."

His eyes were serious, "Yeah, it does."

Nina turned to look at them once more, her back stiff and her eyes unsure, "Well. You two mine as well come inside. It'll be getting cold soon."

A/N: There! I hope that chapter was to the satisfactory of everyone! I admit, it got a little rushed in areas, but I was just so excited while writing and really wanted to get it done! I hoped it was good enough! Well, I liked it. I was going to leave the fight for later chapters, but I decided it would be a good starting point for Nina to begin trusting her new friends. Oh, by the way, I also have another story, "Eyes of Hope". If you like this, you might like it as well!

R&R please!

Ja ne~!