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Chapter One
First Impressions Are Never Perfect
The sun gave off a subtle radiance across the lightly clouded sky as it started to make its daily decline. Asuke stood in the alley, facing three adversaries, two of whom were unarmed; the last one held a baseball bat. He bursts foreword kicking the closest one across the face, making him fall with a loud thud. The armed thug swung his bat, hitting Asuke across the head, knocking him against the wall, blood gushing from the injury. He stumbled trying to get up, as the thugs surrounded him. The one Asuke had kicked across the face returned the favor, beating him senseless.
The sun had started to set as a ghostly figure began to appear behind the men. It took the form of a woman with a cat’s tail and its ears. As she grew more aware of her surroundings, she noticed the men attacking Asuke.
"Get away from him!" she said in a loud, threatening voice. The men turned their attention to the catlike woman behind them.
"A Twilight?" the lone armed man pondered out loud. "Is it sunset already?" He glanced into the western sky, watching the sun roll behind the building tops.
"Who cares?" said the man with a shoe print across his face. "She’s a witness! We have to take her out!" The men left Asuke, who was still slightly conscious, and surrounded the woman.
"You really don’t want to do this." She said, an ominous look on her face.
The men laughed in unison. One said, "Make us." They lunge directly at her, fists and bat pulled back ready to attack. With one swift movement of her right hand, an immense gust of wind burst from her body. The men were blown back, hitting the narrow alleyway walls and assorted garbage lying around.
She smiled at the defeated foes, making her way to the wounded man. As she neared, Asuke got up against the wall and gave a weak, yet joyful smile. "Are you okay?" asked the Twilight, putting a hand on his shoulder. He nodded then fell chest first, spewing a glob of blood from his mouth as he hit the pavement. The woman sighed, bending down to grab the young man, watching the sun slowly set in the distance.
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Beep… Beep… Beep...
Asuke woke from his slumber, still baffled by the incident that took place two days before, in a bed he didn’t recognize. He rubbed his dark green eyes, moving the sole red bang out of his face, his vision still blurry. Stroking his arm, he felt a tube run up to a thick plastic bag, and a machine making a distinctive sound.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"…Hospital?" He said to himself.
"That’s right, Asuke." A voice came from beyond the bedside. "Okayama Hospital to be exact." A hazy figure started to walk toward Asuke’s bed.
"My vision is a little blurry." He explained. "You are?"
"I’m your nurse, and don’t worry that will go away in a few minutes." The woman said, checking her clipboard. "It seems you were ambushed a few days ago in an alleyway not to far from here. You had a major concussion, but no swelling in your brain, and a few broken ribs. You can leave tomorrow if you feel well enough. "
Asuke massaged his black hair, feeling the bandaged gash. He started to remember what had happened and who had saved him. "Who brought me here?" He asked, thinking of the catlike woman.
"Unbelievably, a Twilight!" The nurse said, still shocked by the notion. "She came into the ER with you on her back as the sun completely set, disappearing before any one could question her."
Asuke asked, "Did she look like a cat/human hybrid?"
"That’s her. The next day she reappeared and explained what had happened and demanded to see you."
"Did you let her in?"
"We usually don’t let any Twilight inside the hospital, especially with ATF breathing down our necks, but we made an exception. Last time I saw her was when she disappeared at the doorway yesterday. She should be here in," she checked her wrist watch, "about 30 minutes."
"Thank y-" as Asuke thanked the nurse for her help, a large man in an elegant suit came rushing into the room with a black leather suitcase in one hand and black rimmed glasses in the other. "Hey, Ro. How was Naples?" said Asuke in a sarcastic tone.
"Shut it, Asuke! I told you not to go through that alley!" Ro snarled in his deep voice.
"Excuse me, Mr.…?"
"Ro. Its just Ro, ma’am." He said to the nurse, cooling down to greet the young woman.
"Okay, Mister- I mean, Ro. Are you his father?" She requested.
Ro shock his head. "No, miss, I’m his legal guardian. Single guardian, if I may add?" He winked at the nurse making her blush and giggle, holding the chart up tightly against her chest.
"Well, Ro, visiting hours are over, but I’m about to go on my break and I was wondering if you would like to join me." She said flirtatiously.
He smiled at her and replied "I would love to." He then turned his attention to Asuke, who was still sitting on the bed. "We’ll talk later. Got it?" Ro said in a commanding tone.
"Got it." Asuke replied catching the man’s bluff to act stern in front of the cute nurse. He watched Ro and the nurse walk out of the room, the nurse laughing at some petty joke Ro had just told. "That guy will never stop hitting on women," Asuke thought to himself. He stood from the hospital bed, watching the clock above the nurses’ station. He counted down the minutes. "15 minutes" he thought to himself. "10," "5," then "2." Turning his attention from the clock to the doorway as the final seconds were counted down, a simple silhouette appeared. The image became clearer and clearer as the sun made its slow descent. As the figure became tangible and turned a thick, transparent white, she turned her eyes to Asuke, who was standing by the window. Her eyes were glowing with happiness as she ran toward the injured young man. As she embraced him tightly, Asuke fell the ground giving a loud yelp as he held his broken ribs.
In a sweet, sincere voice she said, "I’m sorry. I’m just really glad your okay." She smiled, giving off an angelic radiance.
Asuke smiled back, noticing the tranquil beauty of this Twilight he missed a few days before. "All thanks to you," he replied. Not saying another word, the Twilight lay her head on Asuke’s chest, cuddling her ghostly body into his. "May I ask you your name?" He asked, watching her relax as she listened to his heartbeat.
She replied without looking up, "My name is Neko." Asuke looked puzzled then realized it was because of her cat-like features. "I already know yours, Asuke. The nurse told me it." She gave a satisfied sigh then went silent.
He lay completely still, resting his head against the wall as they both enjoyed each others company. A sole echo flowed through the room and their ears.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
 Helm of Demonica · Tue Jan 06, 2009 @ 12:44am · 0 Comments |
