penned by: aznchick
please do not copy, redistribute or plagiarise my fics
© 2002-2003 All Rights Reserved
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11. Civil Blood
"- From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean."
- "Romeo & Juliet" by: William Shakespeare
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Soft voices spilled through the crack under the door. He could hear the words, with a bit of difficulty. Outside everything was quiet. The people stationed at the front of the headquarters went on to their business, thinking nothing of his actions. Then, inside the room, someone began to speak.
"Wake up."
Tyse groaned and turned over. Sunlight shined into the room, spilling over his white comforter.
A nudge. "Get up, Tyse."
He pulled the pillow over his ears.
"Tyse...!"
"OWW!" Tyse shot up, awake. He glared at the green eyed boy, laughing at him. "Didn't have to poke me, Kace."
"Wake up when I call you next time."
Tyse flopped back down into the white sheets and took a deep breath, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He blinked in the sudden brightness of day. It was blindingly sunny. Too sunny. His head hurt. The glass windows, cracked open slightly, allowed fresh air to sweep through, giving the room a cool light feeling. But despite the cool breeze, his head was throbbing, and he felt horrible.
Damn...! His head really hurt.
"What the hell happened last night?" he groaned, turning over again. Last night...August House, and the docks. He vaguely remembered fighting and the sound of waves lapping against a clear shore.
The boy got to his feet. "The girl got away."
"The girl...Makoto?!" Tyse shot up again and hit his head against the bookshelf above. "Oww! Damn it!" he cursed, glaring at the bookshelf and rubbing his head. "What the fuck happened last night Kace?" He grumbled.
"Someone came and disrupted the operation before we could succeed."
Someone? Tyse looked up, still rubbing his head. "Who?"
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"...Dakota."
"Damn..." Tyse cursed again, but softly this time. "Dakota...wait Dakota?! Are you sure?!"
"It was him." Kace said, confidently.
Tyse closed his eyes. It didn't help. His head was still throbbing painfully. "Kace, um...my head hurts." He started placidly. "It's the crack of DAWN." he waved towards the window, where the sun was already at it's climax in the sky. "And you come in here, trumpeting BAD NEWS at every angle...start over again? Start at the beginning. What happened!?" He shouted.
"We attacked Makoto Hiroto at the August House event." Kace replied calmly. "You, me, a few others...and-" He paused.
Tyse's eyes narrowed. "And...?"
"And Nathan."
Crap.
"Nathan..." Kace spoke softly. "Nathan was the one who initiated the attack. He's got a personal grudge against Makoto but I doubt she really remembers why." He glanced at Tyse. "You remember though, don't you? Back when Arashi was still..."
"Kace," Tyse swallowed, cutting him off. "Did Dakota see us?" His voice was edgey. "It was dark wasn't it? Does...does he know it was-"
CRASH!
Kace jerked his head back at the door. What the hell? He ran and flung it open.
"Oh my god...ISSAC! what the CR-!!!" Someone was screaming outside.
"SOMEONE CALL A MEDIC!!!"
"WHAT HAPPENED!?"
"Oh my god..."
"NOW! Hurry! He's loosing blood!"
Tyse ran out, catching up to Kace. "What the hell happened?!"
"He just stumbled in and crashed onto the floor..." someone was mumbling nearby.
"Oh my god...the blood...!"
People were crowded around the entrance of Magnum headquarters, mumering and covering their mouths in shock. Kace stepped forward and began to push his way through the crowd, looking worried. And there, in the center of the shocked bystanders, was a boy. One of the guys from Nathan's squad, Tyse realized. He was groaning on the floor; and holding his stomach in limp hands. A pool of blood was seeping out from under him.
Tyse froze.
The boy was gasping for breath, mumbling incoherently. His eyes moved over the crowd frantically, searching...searching for someone.
Kace stiffened but knelt down by the boy's side. "Issac...what happened?"
"Nathan." Issac choked out. "Wh...where? Where is he? Nathan! Nathan!!"
Kace looked up. A boy with black hair and icy blue eyes pushed his way through the crowd towards them.
"Nathan!" Issac gasped, as his squad leader knelt down beside him. His fingers clutched at the ground beside him."I didn't do anything. I swear! I didn't draw my weapon. I didn't do it. He did. He did. It was him! It was HIM!"
"Calm down, Issac." Nathan said steely. "The medics are on their way. Stop moving you'll hurt -"
Issac screamed. "IT WAS HIM! HE'S CRAZY! IT WAS HIM!"
"Issac! Calm down-"
"IT WAS HIM! IT WAS HIM! I SWEAR NATHAN I DIDN'T BREAK THE TRUCE! I WOULDN'T, I COULDN'T, I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I-"
"Issac, calm-" Nathan choked on his words. "Calm down."
Issac started thrashing, scratching himself as though his skin were swarming with ants as he screamed.
"HE STARTED THIS! IT WAS HIM! IT WAS HIM! IT WASN'T ME, I SWEAR IT WASN'T-I WOULDN'T BREAK THE TRUCE! YOU KNOW I WOULDN'T! YOU KNOW I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I-"
"ISSAC! who did this?" Nathan asked. "Who did this to you?!" His low, soft voice seemed to cut through the air like daggers.
Issac calmed down a little. His leg jerked. "I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I didn't do. I didn't do it. I didn't...I-"
"I know, Issac." He spoke gently now. "Who did?"
"I...It..."
Silence. Nobody breathed.
"It...I...It wasn't..."
...
Issac took his last, shaky breath. "I..."
Nathan gripped Issac's hand. "Issac. Issac! The medics'll be here soon just-"
"Sorry, Nathan..." Issac swallowed. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. The fist that had been clenched, now loosened.
"NO! Issac! ISSAC!!" Nathan shouted.
Silence, again. But the silence was deeper, more profound.
Nathan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood up. Two medics came rushing up, blundering over their excuses for delay and apologizing deeply as they set to work on a silent corpse.
"What happened?!" Nathan said in a soft, dangerous voice to the crowd.
"Sir...he stumbled into headquarters a few minutes ago, spilling blood everywhere." responded the frightened voice of a newbie. "He was stumbling over his feet, trying to get to the Offices when he fell."
"Where are the postals?" Tyse demanded. "Why didn't they see him? They're supposed to be on guard all the time!"
The door opened. Everyone's eyes swiveled towards Kace, who was shutting the door. More than a few sheathed back their weapons that had been drawn in panic.
"The postals are dead." he said, his voice constricted. "They were stabbed from behind."
Tyse took a sharp breath. From behind? His thoughts echoed the mutters of everyone in the room. What a cowardly, selfish, completely abomindable, outrageously unthinkable and dishonorable thing to do! What kind of insane coward would-
The medics brought in a stretcher, carefully lifted Issac's body onto it, and swiftly left again.
Nathan glowered at the crowd, as if it were their fault. "WHAT ARE YOU STANDING THERE FOR?!" He yelled. "Back to your stations!"
They scurried away quickly, not wanting to test his wrath.
"Nathan..." Kace came up behind him. "Calm down. Anger isn't going to help the situation at all."
Nathan's eyes narrowed. "Issac was my friend, Kace. From childhood. Before I even started Magnum."
"I know."
"They're going to pay." He said, in a low voice.
"We don't even know who did it yet." Kace said tiredly. "We have absolutely no proof and no reason, nothing to justify our beliefs it could be anyone you think it is."
"Of course we know who it is!" Tyse snapped, clearly angered. "Who else, Kace? Who else? Issac wasn't just slaughtered into ribbons they poisoned him to go insane too! Didn't you see the way he was scratching himself?"
"Blue Star had no reason for a preemptive strike against us." Kace said. "It is to their disadvantage every single way I see it. Why would they want to break the truce? We nearly killed them two years ago."
"Maybe," Tyse argued. "They don't see it as preemptive."
Kace glared. "What are you thinking Tyse?" He shoved him. "That this is about last night? That Blue Star would kill one of our best because we scratched the Hiroto girl?" he hissed the last part in a low voice.
"Like you said, we don't have proof that they DIDN'T!" Tyse shoved back.
"We don't have proof that they DID! This isn't even their STYLE, only a savage would do something as cowardly as this!"
"What are you on their side now, Kace?! You're helping the enemy now?! You on their side?!!"
The dagger came out of nowhere, and pressed aginst Tyse's throat. "Take that back."
Tyse glared.
"Take it ba-"
"Tch." Nathan scoffed and stood up. "Kace, put the stupid dagger away before you actually poke someone's eye out. Weapons are not allowed to be drawn inside the quarters. If I see it again, you're BOTH cleaning out bathroom gutters." He walked away, towards the Office.
They stared at him. After another ominous glower, Kace sheathed the dagger and walked back to his own room, grumbling.
Tyse fixed himself up and rubbed his head, still throbbing in pain. The rest of the morning, he sat and stared murderously at the pool of blood on the floor. Whoever had killed Issac was going to pay.
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"How's Makoto?"
"She's fine, Subcommander." Sanders responded. "I just talked to her this morning and she seemed okay."
"Yeah? Well I hope she recovers quickly, soon." The subcommander said sincerely. "The Alta Operation should be coming up soon, and we need her on this one. With her memory and agility, she'll be priceless."
"Memory, sir?"
"I trust she still remembers events from the past two years?"
"I believe so, sir."
"Then we'll definitely need her." The subcommander checked his watch. "Ah, time to go. I have a debriefing with the Cheif right now, Sanders, please give my regards to Makoto's health, will you?"
"I'll be sure to."
The subcommander gave a curt nod, and left.
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Makoto stubbornly kept reading, even as the lines began to blur together. She was tired, her shoulder was aching painfully, and, to tell the truth, she hadn't even registered what had been written on the papers for the past five pages. Either Sanders was right, and that all the documents were completely worthless, or she was weaker from the shoulder wound than she had previously thought.
"Devion Alta..." she muttered, catching sight of the name on a document. "What the heck does he have to do with anything?" She sighed and propped her head up with the other hand. This was all too confusing. Underground organizations, infamous for God knows what. Political and industrial giants that clawed their way to the top using unthinkable methods...tch. She wouldn't be surprised if Blue Star and Magnum had been just a whole...big...crazy... dream....
Makoto yawned.
A dream...hmph...
Another yawn.
The lines swam in front of her blurry vision. Her head slumped down onto her arm. Sleep was settling down.
A dream...
*flash*
It was a dark room, hidden in the back alleys and guarded by at least ten postals. Bare amounts of light filtered in through the musty brown blinds, and the corners were hidden in shadow. Brown paint was peeling off the scorched walls, as if withered from a million years of summer heat; revealing the structural skeleton underneath.
In the front of the room, were the two Chiefs, the generals of Blue Star and Magnum. They were signing papers, and careful to be as courteous and distantly polite as possible. To the left and right, were soldiers of the highest skill, standing at attention, and pretending to ignore the opposite end. Then...there in the center...
They stood facing each other. Makoto's head was bowed, and hair partially hid her face from all onlookers. She didn't want Sanders ...or Arashi, to see the tears. And especially not the Chief.
A few stamps of the official red seals on the official stark parchment and the agreement was made formal. A truce; a ceasefire between the two organizations. Fighting between the two erstwhile allies would halt forever, on the condition that Arashi and Makoto were seperated. They had both caused too much trouble, and sparked too much hatred between the troops. By being together, just by being together, the two had unearthed a bitter resentment for the opposite teams. They had discovered a hidden animosity. And with the jealous rage uncovered, neither side could stand the other. Shaky friendships were broken off, fighting erupted and people began to die.
Arashi, the agreements stated, had to go.
A stiff handshake. The truce was binded. The Magnum soldiers trooped out swiftly, with their Cheif, blatantly ignoring Makoto, following behind. Arashi left the room last. He never looked at her, but touched her fingertips in one last farewell. He was gone.
"Makoto Hiroto." the Chief stared critically at her. "You are hereby sentenced to a leave of two years absense from our troops. You are not to contact any of our soldiers, or Magnum's. You are not to attempt re-entry into our Headquarters. You are to remain completely isolated from Blue Star, Magnum, and U.Tense. If you carry a weapon, it will be confiscated."
Cheif nodded to his aid, who presented her with a full fledged set of documents. "All details concerning your leave, as well as the conditions, are contained here. Do you have any questions?"
"No sir." She spoke softly.
He nodded stiffly and stood up. Blue Star soldiers from the left side of the room trooped out swiftly as the room quietly emptied itself, and life returned to normal. The sun, with it's last few minutes of light, struggled to cast red-orange rays into the room. Makoto stepped outside into the chilly breeze of autumn air.
She opened her fist. On his departure, Arashi had inserted a small slip of paper between her fingertips. Whether anyone had noticed or not, she would never know. She pried open the carefully folded paper.
'Midnight', it read. 'At the usual.'
*flash*
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Makoto woke up with a jolt. A stab of pain shook her shoulder before returning to the dull, pounding ache.
BEEP! BEEP! BEE-
She snapped open her cellphone. "Hello?" She said shakily.
"Makoto? Makoto? Are you okay?"
"Huh? Friday? Yeah...fine. Just- um, I was sleeping."
"Aww...does the beauty queen need her beauty sleep?" Friday snickered.
"What?! No, I-"
"Anyway," Friday plowed on, ignoring her attempts to talk. "I stopped by the Medic's on my way home from work this afternoon to pick up some painkillers if you want any. I can get some sleeping pills too if you want."
"Sleeping pills? No, I'm fine. I was just dreaming. I'm not having trouble sleeping."
"Dreaming about me?"
"Actually it was a nightmare."
"Ouch. Good one Koto. That one really hurt." There was a small thump as he mimicked a stab in the heart.
Makoto laughed a little.
"Alright Koto I was just calling to check up on you. I'll be by your house tomorrow morning with the painkillers alright? Unless you need them now?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Then get some more sleep. And change your bandages. And remember to take the other meds. And get well soon."
Click.
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"Dakota."
Dakota blinked in the late afternoon sunlight, glancing up at the rooftop of his house. "Hey Ecki."
Ecki jumped down. "Have you been to headquarters today?"
"Nah, not yet. I haven't been in a while, actually." he said truthfully. "Except on Sundays." A hint of suspicion crept into his voice. "Why? Wha...did something happen?"
Ecki nodded gravely. "Something happened."
Author's Notes: Wow. Yet another bad chapter. I'm in a bad streak now eh??? ^_^; Er, anyway I was planning on updating before my twin and I left for Hong Kong but that didn't work out too well. I'm dreadfully sorry. Anyway, I didn't get any writing done in Hong Kong either :D but thanks to five hours of the mysterious disappearance of my Internet connection, I've finally completed somewhat of a badly written chapter for you. Heh. Anyway ~ I'm starting school on the 18th and taking a ton of Pre-AP courses again, and I have to get used to a whole new school so...I hope I will write again soon! Cross your fingers for me eh? I always feel like writing after I finish a chapter...but the will to write diminishes over the hour. So. Thanks for sticking with me.
CherrySakuraGirl - Hahah wow it's been a while eh? :D How has your summer been??? archali sounds pretty... hmmm did you make that up or does it mean something? Sorry for not updating for 2+ months! I really was trying to get one out before I left to Tokyo and Hong Kong o_O; didn't work. -_-
BeautifulSinner - Thanks for the compliment on my fic! I did have fun on my trip! ^_^
How has your summer been?? I thought I would have more time to write since it was summer but it seems I had less... o_O; very odd.
Eldainwe Aduial Elenath - Hahah I still trip over your penname everytime I type it. -_- Actually, you know I've never seen X (the anime), I've seen it listed with other animes and things but I haven't heard anything about it either. Sounds interesting though. I got the name, Arashi, from a Japanese band whose name is, (duh) Arashi. :D I was obsessed with one of their songs. Anyway, that's the only good song they had though. -_-. Oh wait! They just got a new CD out so actually...hmm...
Saturn Princess - Thanks for the compliment! Sorry this update wasn't very soon...
Lukita Ravenwing - Good questions but after re-reading your review I still have no idea whether they were rhetorical or just a tad bit insulting. But actually I needed a review like yours ^_^ thanks ~!
Simply Turquoise - My story's different? That's good. I hope it doesn't resemble anything you've ever read because that would be plain boring :P
eThErEaLAnGeL - EVERY girl needs her beauty sleep! O_O! You're so right... I sleep 12-14 hours a day now. :D I need to catch up on all my lost sleep from the schoolyear and from Hong Kong. UGH. I woke up at like... 8AM *EVERY* morning because someone would call the blasted hotel room. GAHH. and then when I came home I had serious jet lag so... I didn't even GO to sleep at ALL some nights. ~_~ HEY you know I got Jay Chou's new CD?! and I'm...ahh...sooo in love with it. hahah. It's really good. Hmmm you should get it if they sell it in the states. I heard they do some places all the way up there. Of course there would never be a C-pop, K-pop, J-pop, or ANY asian pop store down here in TX...
ardenz - four hours of sleep sounds horrendous to me now. ahhh... I start school next Monday. *twitch* ohmygod...the horror... ~___~
snowqueen/yukichan - not a very soon update but...yeah :D thanks for reviewing!
Lainie - Omg...Hahahahah I totally forgot about that deal!!! Hehehehe *snickers* bet you did too eh?? ;) (you update, I update) ...well...two months later I updated! :D so I technically did not break any deals...
aznistic - Yeah *you* know what's going on because you're my twin sister and you pay attention to this story or you die. (jk) Uhh yeah anyway :D I just think it might be a tad confusing for the people that DON'T devote so many hours to writing and reading. :D Not that you do anymore...everything's devoted to drawing. T_T
PixieMina - Hey!! You've been gone for so long eh??? Hahahha Dakota...her knight in shining armor. hehe. BAHAHA. (jk) Thanks for the reviews...I'm back from Hong Kong!! :D But yeah... I think I only just arrived in Hong Kong the day you reviewed. Eh...(because I was in Tokyo for a week first). Anyway, sorry it took so long to udpate! =] I wasn't writing there though, I neglected to print out a copy of my fic so I wouldn't make any mistakes in writing another chapter, so I had to wait a month until I got back home. :D
BF4LIFE - Perfecto eh? Thanks but that's far from the truth. ^_^;; Thanks for loving it though! All your questions are so...exactly on point X_x; which means if I told you it would completely spoil the plot. -_- Thanks for saying I'm talented though! ^_^;
Davi - I've gotten over the flu now, thanks! :D Took me a while though. Thanks for reviewing and dropping such a nice comment.
Fox Dance - Aww...hahah well I updated! Only two weeks after your review! Thanks for reviewing!! I hope you studied for your exams after reading.. o_O but I know exactly how it feels to be wanting to read something and having to study for something like Finals or other major exams... gah... I had to turn off my monitor and force myself to stare at the composition of like...the human nervous system or something.
pikurusu - Hahah I love your penname! It's so cute. :D Thanks for your review, and for joining We Ownz It! I'm afraid I don't deserve all the credit everyone gives me ^_^;
Bishonen Chaser - Hahah no worries, I'm soooo not patient either. I've thrown quite a few temper tantrums because my mom took too long on something or another. ::sigh:: Well you got a chapter! Yay! Before school starts! And...it's all because my stupid blasted infernal computer somehow got cut off from that goddamned stupid internet connection which WOULD NOT WORK for SOOO LONG X_X and I was getting SO BORED OUT OF MY MIND that I had nothing to do but write. sigh.
Also much thanks to: Green Envy, and Eternal Aeris for their reviews. ^_^ Thanks for liking my story and taking the time to review!!! Every single one is very much appreciated.
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