"Fear is nothing more than a state of mind." -Napoleon Hill

[Thirteen years later]

Chapter 1- Common Route pt.1

(Asuka)

The Black Rose was a third rate club housed in a rundown warehouse on the outer edges of the Southern District, with broken in windows and crumbling walls that let out the smell of rot, garbage, sweat, and old booze that always lingered thickly in the air inside the building. Scratchy music blasted through blown speakers that stood as tall as a man and weighed about as much as three, which were placed haphazardly and at uneven distances along the walls. A few had been knocked over since it was open for business, though no one really knew when that was, injuring a few people and, if one believed the stories, squished the life out of a few with their immense weight, but no one ever bothered to pick them up again to check. Instead, those that were knocked down were used as tables, benches, meeting places, and , in the darkest corners of the buildings, places where people could go to relieve built up sexual desires. Nobody cared about it being in public. There were no security guards or people in charge to stop it. Most people were to lost in their own little dream worlds, flying far too high in the sketchy powders and pills that were passed around freely, to care much about anything. Those who weren't often just joined in, hoping to get laid before the dawn shut off the flashing lights and horrible music, forcing them to return to their own selves until darkness ascended again.

In the early morning hours, at the apex of time where both the black night loomed dominate over everything and the first tiny glimpses of dawn's light threatened to topple everything over, A young woman dressed in a simple black dress slipped unnoticed right out the club's squeaky front doors. The stiletto heels of her boots clicked and the metal bracelets she wore jingled as she walked calmly down the cracked concrete stairs that lead up to the building as if she didn't have a good sum of money wrapped up in a bright green leather jacket of the man she just robbed tucked under her arm. He had been a distasteful man, disrespectful and completely shameless in his actions as he continually tried to feel her up, insisting with a slurred voice that all he wanted was a quick blow. He'd make it worth her while afterword, he assured. That was, he smirked, if her pretty mouth could handle him. He said it like a challenge.

The young woman was only disgusted.

To get what she wanted, though, she played along and resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose at the man's personal mixture of body odor and cheap cologne. Pretending to be sweetly convinced, she grinned and got down on her knees right there before him. The only thing he did that was remotely decent in her presence was slip off his jacket, the bright green one in her arms now, and cover her head with it, draping the sleeves around his waist to hold in in place as she undid the complicated belt that held up his pants, but she knew it was only for his sake rather than to save her from the mortification of public humiliation. Inwardly, she rejoiced only slightly at the fact that the man had just made her job all that easier when thick heavy rolls of money bounced slightly against her shoulders. Successfully undoing the belt, the young woman began working on the button of his pants, the bulge of the man's sudden rising erection straining against the material of his clothing. The back of her neck started to sting and ache painfully.

How easy it would be, she thought, to utterly destroy this man-body, mind, and soul. No body would miss him, no body would could leave his body where it fell at her feet and not even feel a single shred of guilt at what she did. She could, she could, but at the same time, she couldn't. The other one wouldn't let her.

Undoing the button, the young woman pulled down the man's zipper and his erection, not held back by any underwear, sprung free almost immediately, brushing hot against her cheek. She shuddered, for a second wanting to gag at the feeling, but she held back, taking the thick organ in her hand. The pain in the back of her neck increasing, she made the man feel.

Only a few people spared the man a glance and nobody looked twice as he crumbled to the ground, twitching, with his pants still undone. The young woman stood and back up into the crowd, taking the jacket into her arms, as the man proceeded to wet himself. She had turned away when he started screaming, clawing red lines into his face that eventually started to bleed as he begged, sobbing for someone to help him, save him. The same small smile that played on her lips as she walked away had remained on her face as the music of the club grew dimmer and dimmer the farther she walked away from it, fading into silence as they were replaced by other sounds and music of the more populated areas of the Southern District. The man's screams still echoed in her ears.

"Spiders! Spiders! They're all over me! Save me!"

The pain on the back of her neck had decreased, but still had yet to completely disappear, remaining as an uncomfortable pinch that could only be tolerated. It was all the other one's fault.

AS she continued forward, the different sounds and music grew louder, almost loud enough to silence the dull roar of the people who inhabited the streets and sidewalks, standing in scattered groups or just by themselves, drinking, smoking, talking. Some of them stared at her as she walked by in her small dress, following the painted lines on the road with no fear of the cars that rarely passed. She ignored the people and, in response, no one approached her. All the better for them.

With her feet only slightly aching, she reached the place where she was to meet her clients, the two men who had paid her rob the man who had first robbed them,her tactics not a problem at all. She was familiar with the place, a dark and dirty alleyway that smelled foul and rank. She had done several jobs for these particular clients before and this had always been where they had met but, beyond that, this alleyway had been the place where she hid and slept several years earlier. In the back of her head, the woman had a feeling that they somehow knew that fact. It wouldn't surprise her, not really.

They were already at the meeting spot, the two men standing as if they completely belonged in such a place despite the cleanliness of their clothes. She was familiar with these two men, too. Both tall, blonde and blue eyed, they looked enough alike to be twins and were often confused into being just that, even though they weren't even related and constantly insisted they weren't. The three had known each other for years, but she didn't like to dwell on that part of her past too much.
The taller one noticed her first, his bright blue eyes flashing up to meet her own dark grey as his face twisted into an uncharacteristic scowl. Her smile dropped but her steps did not faultier as she tensed. As if he could feel the air change around his companion, the other male's gaze flicked toward her behind green glasses. Locking onto her figure, the bespectacled blond did not scowl. Instead, he pleasantly smiled as if he was truly pleased to see her. "Asuka-san." The glasses blonde greeted warmly as she drew nearer, smile still on his face as he stood up straighter.

Virus.

Yamane Asuka forced a smile back warily, a strand of dark brown hair falling into her face. "Senpai." She greeted back, nodding once in the direction of the said male before once again meeting the gaze of the taller male and, after a moment, nodded in greeting to him as well. Bottle blonde, she thought towards him before turning her attention back to Virus. Next to him, Trip did not utter a word. Asuka didn't mind at all.

"Everything went fine, I assume." Virus said.

We're here, aren't we? Asuka nodded, taking the jacket out from under her arm and holding it out in front of her, offering. "He kept it in this." She paused slightly as Virus took the green jacket from her, then added. "For some reason."

Letting her arm drop, the brunette didn't speak while the leaner blond examined the garment given to him, his expression remaining consistently pleasant as he held it up by a shoulder. Trip, taking his hands out of the pockets of his pants, silently reached into one of the pockets and pulled out one of the thick rolls of money. "Not a very clever thief." Virus commented, sounding slightly amused, as Trip pulled out each roll one by one. Soon his hand was full and they started going in his pockets. "His personal taste in clothing should be reconsidered, though." Asuka, not knowing who he was speaking to or if he was just talking to talk, nodded once, though barely.

A moment passed before Trip stopped, slipping his hands into his pockets that now slightly bulged due to the ten rolls, she had unconsciously counted, of money that now also occupied them. "Some is missing." He said, speaking for the first time that night, to Virus. Asuka felt her tense muscles tighten up even more just at the sound of his voice, her breath catching in her throat. She resisted the urge to curl her hands into fists.

"Really?" Virus asks, turning his attention to his companion, casually tossing the green jacket aside like it were nothing more than a used tissue.

Eyes flicking back and forth between the two men, Asuka slowly inhales then exhales, trying to keep away the anxiety and nervousness that started to take root. Shit. She was not afraid of them. She was stronger than them. She could beat them if it came to a fight. That is what she told herself. It wouldn't be wrong to say that she did desperately wish that what ever was going to happen after this point wouldn't end up in a fight, though, and it wasn't because she had fear for any damaged relationships. They were already damaged beyond repair. The only reason the tree of them ever kept in contact was because of how useful they were to each other, Virus and Trip being a pair against her.

Everyone works for everyone's benefit. That's what Virus had said.

"Yeah," Trip nods, then pull one of his hands out of his pockets again. He holds up three fingers. "Seven hundred, four hundred, eight hundred."

"That much?" Despite the tone of his voice, Virus does not look surprised at all. "How unfortunate." The amused tone returns as he speaks and Asuka realizes that the numbers Trip says mean nothing to her. Was that the amount of money gone? If so, it was quiet a bit all added together, but Trip had made it sound like they were all different things. It is money, right? She feels the question come up, barely a faint whisper in the back of her mind, and she silences it quickly before the question can become verbal.

The second that passes in silence between them seems to stretch on longer than is possible, filled only with the sounds of the people around them, oblivious to the current actions of the group. The back of Asuka's neck started to ache again, the pain of the pinch increasing to that of a throb that beat with the rhythm of the heart pound in her chest, almost urging her.

Suddenly shifting his attention back to her, Virus smiles again and takes a step forward. It takes a good portion of the young woman's will power not to take a step back, and another not to lunge forward in a pointless attack. Reaching into his the pocket of his pants, the glasses wearing blonde pulls out something and holds it out the her with an open hand. Resting at the center of his palm is a small, dome shaped object colored sky blue no bigger than a silver coin at the base. Keeping her expression composed, Asuka holds out her own hand. Virus lets the object slid from his hand to hers and she catches it in her palm. It has a smooth, almost glass like texture to it.

Wrapping her fingers tightly around the object like shes afraid it'll suddenly vanish if she keeps it out in the open for a second longer, the brunette quickly pulls her hand and the object away from the man and bows her head slightly. "Thank you." She says softly, before straightening, then looking at Trip. Their gazes lock almost instantly, ice blue clashing with storm grey, despite him not even facing her direction in the first place and, much clearer than before, all she could see his blatant dislike of her. It wasn't hate, nor was is disgust or malice. Just simple dislike. It was an emotion that she never once saw him express towards another human being other than herself. In a way, it seemed like this made her special, and maybe gave her an upper hand against him, but a part of her doubted it. There was no way he would fall for the same tricks twice. That was a certainty.

Breaking eye contact first, Asuka bows her head slightly in Trip's direction as well. A silent, obligatory thank you. In response, Trip just looked away again, his eyes wandering until they settled on something of minor interest.

Virus, as if oblivious to the silent interaction that just happened between the other two, clasps his hand behind his back. "Thank you for working with us, Asuka-san." He says, amusement shifting back to pleasantness that did nothing to ease the the insistent temptation of just running away right now, heels or no heels.

Asuka nods. "Thank you for working with me, Senpai." She says in a almost hasty way, mimicking the man's words almost exactly. She paused for a seconds, taking another breath, before speaking again. "If that is all, then I shall take my leave from here."

Nodding once, Virus starts to turn away. Trip does the same. "Until next time, Asuka-san." It sounds like a casual goodbye but, hidden beneath it was the weight of the promise that there would be a next time.

To Asuka, that was both a good thing and a bad thing, a promise with both pros and cons.

"Yes." Was all she could say in to that and, promptly, turned around and walked out the alley the way she came, refusing to run, and started to make her way towards home, the back of her neck still throbbing.
In the sky, along the eastern horizon, the sky began to lighten into a lighter shade of blue-black. Noticing this, Asuka knew she would have to hurry if she wanted to get back before sunrise, when the time in her pretty red hour glass ran out. Nothing would be worse than running out of time.

There was so little of it as it is.

Author's note-

Hehe, did I say Aoba was coming in this chap? I meant Virus and Trip. Seriously.

Okay, not really. I had written it out once, but then I got grounded and banished from the computer and was unable to finish the chap I already had almost done. So I wrote this in one of my old school notebooks. Asuka wasn't supposed to come back into the story this early on, and Virus and Trip were supposed to appear until about the middle of the common route, but Im no good at sticking to my plans and it happened like this. Sorry.

It'll work out, though, since even with this it still follows my main plot.

To any Virus and Trip fans, I apologize for the OOCness. I personally don't like them a bit, but that's no excuse for OOCness. I swear, I'll do better next time.

Okay, I must get serious and express my gratitude. I mean, 6 follows, 2 favs, and a review for a chap that didn't even involve canon characters?! My inner author was skipping and throwing flowers in the air, singing Daisy Bell. No joke.

My many thanks go out to: CrazyAnimeFan20, Incendo, Loane Lunoa, Tsukiko-wps, black4star5, zaria55, and ThisIsFear. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

Thank you, also, to anyone reading this. It means so much! Please, stick around for more!

Until next update,

-tcf