Here is a quick message: Hi, here is the second chapter originally posted by WingBladeWeaver1357. And now I am the one posting. And that's all I got, now on to the story!
A/N: An update ^^ We thank for those who have read, reviewed, faved and followed :D
And now a few words from my co-writer, Riku Kingdom Hearts: Sorry it took this long to post the second chapter, and please enjoy the second chapter. Oh yeah, and check out my other stories.
And so, enjoy this new chapter.
Chapter 2
It was a fine morning in Shizume City. The sound of an alarm going off could be heard around the dark room. A hand shot out of the bundle of blankets wrapping the body like a cocoon, shutting the alarm clock with a click. Slowly, a brunette was seen getting up to a sitting position. Her short messy brown hair was sticking out in many places and her gaze was blank and tired. She glanced over to the alarm clock, staring as the numbers showed the time. The girl let out a loud yawn before lazily getting out of bed, moving to the curtains.
She pulled the curtains back, allowing the warm sunlight lit the dark room through the numerous floor-to-ceiling windows. Her blue eyes quickly shut themselves in reflex. She groaned, scratching the back of her head before turning to face another cocoon on the bed at the other side of the room. The brunette dragged her feet to the other bed.
"Oi, Claire, wake up. It's morning." The brunette said, shaking the cocoon of blankets.
"Mmmmmm" Claire moaned, "Need...more sleep."
Hikari sighed, a vein popping on her forehead. She grabbed one edge of the blanket and yanked it away, making Claire fall off the bed. "Up. Now. Mission." she ordered tiredly and irritably.
Claire stared sleepily at Hikari then grabbed the blanket back, "Let me sleep more." Claire then jumped back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her head.
Hikari sighed heavily and shrugged. She decided to get ready first before waking her companion up. After ten minutes, the brunette came back looking a little fresh. She placed her hands on her hips and stood beside Claire's bed before shaking her shoulders. "Can you just wake up already?! I've let you sleep for ten more minutes!" she shouted.
"I want to sleep a little more...stop waking me up." Claire said from under the covers.
The keyblade wielder sighed, she knew Claire would say that to her again. She placed her hand on the bed, "Blizzard." a simple word came right out of her mouth. The mattress began to freeze, materializing to solid ice, but that didn't wake the Dragon girl up. With one last sigh, Hikari shook her head. It's finally time to use the last resort. "So… What'cha dreaming about this time? Is it you going out with Riku on a romantic date at a restaurant?" she teased.
Claire quickly pushed the covers off and sat up, her face was a bright red, "Shut up!" Claire shouted as she grabbed the pillow from behind her and threw it at Hikari.
The pillow hit Hikari square in the face. The brunette gave a deadpan look, "So it was true?" she asked.
Claire stared at Hikari, her face was still red, "I'm not telling you what I dreamt. Let's just get ready." Claire stretched and got out of the bed.
"I am. Just get ready quickly." Hikari said, crossing her arms.
Claire rolled her eyes, "Fine fine, I'll get ready."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Fifteen minutes later, the two girls exited their apartment. Claire and Hikari went to the streets, blending in the crowd. Both girls kept their eyes out for anything that seemed suspicious. So far, they found nothing. Claire tucked her hair behind her ears and put her hands in the pockets of her olive green jacket. "Nothing seems of out the ordinary. I'm bored. Can we go check out the HOMRA bar now?"
"What is with you and HOMRA? Do you have a crush on someone there?" Hikari asked bluntly, a smirk playing across her lips.
Claire gave a cold stare to Hikari, "No. It just seems that there's something suspicious about it."
Hikari crossed her hands behind her head, "You're just being paranoid. I sense nothing in there. Well, maybe a bit off...but that might be the smoke and alcohol getting into my brain." She said.
"Hmm, I would still want to check it out again… I know there is something there." Claire said as she crossed her arms and looked down at the ground.
The brunette sighed and waved her hand. "Sure, sure, do what you want. I'll go check something else."
"Oh no, you are coming with me." Claire said with a smile as she grabbed Hikari's arm and started to drag her in the direction of the HOMRA bar.
Hikari pulled her arm back, "No way! As much as I love to accompany you, I want to check something out. I don't want to be the mosquito when you hang around those guys." she sighed, walking at the opposite direction of the bar.
Claire walked in front of Hikari and stood right in front of her, "What is it that you want to check?"
"It's the mission King Mickey wanted us to do. You can go check HOMRA out while I check an organization by the name of…" Hikari paused, taking a piece of paper out from her pocket. She squinted her eyes, reading the name of the organization she has to check out. "...some police force called Scepter 4." she finished, looking at Claire.
"Scepter 4? Hmm..fine..just meet me at the HOMRA bar after you are done."
Hikari nodded her head, "Sure thing."
"Ok," Claire said as she started heading off in the direction of the HOMRA bar. "See you later."
The brunette raised her hand, giving a goodbye wave. Claire walked down to the HOMRA bar and stood outside the door, "Alright, let's see what secrets this place has." She thought to herself before opening the door and walking inside.
"Welcome~ Ah! It's you!" The blond bartender exclaimed, pushing his sunglasses up to the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, I'm back." Claire said as she crossed her arms and looked around the bar. Her eyes landed on the red head sitting on the sofa. She blinked, beside him was a little girl with hair like snow. The small girl stared back at her. Claire was surprised when the little girl jumped off the sofa and ran to her, tugging on her hem of her jacket.
The small white-haired girl pulled out a red marble and peered through it, looking at Claire from the red marble. "...pretty." she mumbled, a small smile tugging on her lips.
Claire tilted her head confusedly, "Huh? What's a young girl like you doing here?"
The girl didn't answered, instead she took Claire's hand, dragging her to the sofa. She patted the seat next to her.
Kusanagi laughed, "It's really rare to see our princess getting along with someone other than Mikoto." he said.
Claire looked at Kusanagi, "Oh really?" She then looked at the girl who Kusanagi said was their princess, smiled and sat down next to her, "Hi, my name's Claire. So what's your name?"
"Anna…" Anna introduced, barely in a whisper, but Claire heard it.
Claire smiled again, "That's a pretty name."
"Wednesday, 20th of April, a mysterious girl befriend Anna-chan!" A man said happily, filming both Claire and Anna with an antique camera.
Claire looked at the person who was filming, "And who might you be?" She asked.
"Totsuka Tatara, at your service!" Totsuka replied, giving a smile.
"So, do you film every interesting thing that happens?" Claire said as she leaned back on the sofa.
Kusanagi snorted, "More like he films everything that happens." he smirked when Totsuka pouted.
"But every day is an interesting day at HOMRA!" The man exclaimed, spreading his arms wide open.
The redhead, who was sitting on the other side of Anna, opened an eyelid, his amber-colored eye staring at the brown-haired man. "Tatara… be quiet." he sighed, leaning his head back against the sofa.
"Ah! The King is awake!" Totsuka clapped his hands together.
"King? I wonder…" Claire thought to herself.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
After Hikari split up from Claire, she went off to find the group called Scepter 4. She was walking around the center of town trying to find out where this group was. The King told her to investigate the group, along with a few other groups. Technically, there were seven that she has to investigate. Scepter 4 was one of them. HOMRA as well. Claire didn't know the real mission. She was just told to keep Hikari out of trouble. Being with Claire and HOMRA, could actually throw away her real mission. Claire was good at telling if people were lying, and Hikari was one of them.
'It's a keyblade wielder's job I guess...' Hikari sighed, scratching the back of her neck. She glanced around, trying to find clues. She leaned against the wall, silently observing everything with her blue eyes. Finally, two men clad in blue with swords at their hip were seen walking in front of her. 'Is that…?'
'Nah, it couldn't be...' Hikari walked away, doubting her own thoughts. A few seconds later, she turned around on her heels, watching the two men patrolling the city. 'Or could it?'
'Can't hurt to follow...' She followed them in a distance, pulling up her hood to hide her eyes.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Akiyama glanced over his shoulder. He had the feeling he was being watched. He stopped on his tracks, standing sideways as he observed his surroundings. He blinked a few times when he spotted a suspicious character standing not far away from him and his friend. The person stopped when Akiyama spotted him. Akiyama calmly stared when the man pulled out a newspaper to hide his face.
"Is there something wrong, Akiyama?" Benzai asked, turning around his heels to look at the shorter man.
"We're being followed." Akiyama stated, placing a hand on the hilt of his saber. He walked forward, wanting to confront the man stalking them, but a hand stopped him.
Benzai firmly gripped Akiyama's shoulder. "Wait. We don't know for sure. I have an idea. Follow my lead." he said, leading the way.
Akiyama nodded. He followed Benzai's lead to a busy street. They both walked through the crowd with ease since the citizens knew that they were members of an organization called Scepter 4. The black-haired man slightly turn his head to see if the man was still following them. The man had a difficult time trying to get pass through the wave of people going to the opposite direction of them. Finally, Benzai turned to an alley.
The members of Scepter 4 hid in the shadows, their back pressed against the wall. Akiyama leaned forward, watching from the corner when the man ran to the alley, stopping to catch his breath. He glanced around trying to look for both Akiyama and Benzai. He walked a little forward, cautiously in each step he take.
"Akiyama, battou." Akiyama whispered, unsheathing his saber.
The man turned when he heard the sound of a sword being unsheathe. His blue eyes widened when he spotted Akiyama ready to strike him with his saber. He jumped out of the way when a blue aura appeared after Akiyama swung his saber. The blue aura hit the trashcan behind him, cutting it into two. The man looked over his shoulder, staring at the trashcan with a mixture of awe and horror.
"Amazing…" The man whispered under his breath before jumping out of the way again. He did a flip in the air, watching Akiyama and Benzai at the spot where he used to stand. 'These guys are serious…' he thought, landing on the ground with a soft thud.
Akiyama stood in a fighting stance, pointing his sword at the man. "Why are you following us?" he questioned, staring at him with a calm look.
"Ah...err… no reason?" The man laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
Akiyama frowned. "Everything has a reason. Now speak before we take you in custody for stalking." he simply ordered.
"Geez… talk about being cold." The man commented, letting out a chuckle. He pulled his hood down, revealing short brown hair and a pair of light blue eyes. He had a boyish face, a grin forming on his lips. He caught them staring at his face. "Ahaha! You were probably wondering if I'm a girl or a boy. The right answer is… Ding! A girl of course." he-she cheerfully stated.
"So then, Miss, why are you following us?" Benzai asked, furrowing his eyebrows down.
"Well, I was wondering… are you Scepter 4?" She curiously asked, crossing her arms.
Akiyama and Benzai exchanged looks. "Yes, we are. Why do you ask?" Benzai asked back.
"Are you perhaps...a Strain?" Akiyama added.