Even at their distance, the fighters could discreetly hear it and an invisible wave of impact emitted from the source, lashing out at the surroundings. They were both lifted off their feet and flew in different directions, one of them crying out in pain as his back slammed into a brick wall. He languidly slid to the floor on his bottom and rose to his knees with a strained grimace.

"She'll never know now, hahahahaha!!" came the mocking laugh of his previous opponent from the shadows.

The first figure's eyes widened in fear. Trying to ignore the angry welts marred on his body that were beginning to burn, he weakly got to his feet and hobbled over to the ruins. The harsh wind bit and tore at his exposed skin unmercifully, provoking his open wounds. He gritted his teeth and moved on foreword, an image in his mind slowly withering from disintegrating hope.

She's all right; she just has to be, the young male thought stubbornly as his anxious eyes hastily scanned the area.

Smoldering rubble and charcoal-blackened objects were the first things that he sighted. Small flames licked at unidentifiable items, sluggishly burning them down into melted puddles. Broken pieces of the formerly upright building were scattered all over the ground, shards of cinder blowing away from their original spot by aid of the breeze.

…No… he thought gruffly as he failed to glimpse what he had been anticipating to find. Where is she…?

A feeling of panic flooded inside him as he looked around again, wincing as the injuries he had endured started to call attention to him. He let out a quiet groan under his breath, trying to fight down the dark possibilities that were seeping into his mind, making him cringe at the thoughts. Blinking back tears that had begun to form in his eyes, the forlorn young man opened his mouth to scream the name of his beloved, anguish clearly in his mood as he interrupted the tranquility of the quiet atmosphere.

I-it's cold here… Just how long are we staying in this place anyway? I've never been away from home more than a few weeks; this is all pretty much new to me…

Scuffling noises cut through the chain of thoughts as rushing forms brushed by, paying no heed to the other occupants. Grimacing inwardly, the figure was pushed along with the current of the crowd, looking around in bewilderment as the rest of the group quickly went out of sight.

Oh no… Where did they go?

The musky air of the inside environment felt albeit suffocating to the searcher as nervous chocolate brown eyes glanced around, trying to find the other compatriots. Numerous passengers walked across the large room, proceeding over to the escalators, but none of them looked like her accomplices. Groaning silently, she cursed under her breath and went to stand by a large white pillar, hoping to catch sight of the others soon.

All of a sudden, she heard a few names shouted into the air and recognized those as that of her friends. Ducking her head, she braved her way through the crowd again, stopping abruptly when she bumped into a figure.

"Oh! S-Sorry!" She apologized, looking up sheepishly.

"Riko!!" A voice exclaimed, sounding relieved.

Her long brown bangs fell over her forehead as she jerked back slightly in surprise; she pulled down the long cotton sleeves of her lavender sweater upon feeling a chill from the sudden breeze that swiveled by. The female youth's light blue jeans shifted when she moved foreword and enveloped the other person in a tight hug. One side of her face pressed against his left shoulder as the two embraced each other almost protectively.

Suddenly, out of the large crowd of people came a hand that clamped onto her forearm, startling the female youth. She snapped back slightly, unintentionally making her companion do the same as words reached her ears, "Hey! Finally found you, sis!"

"…? Sister!" The dark-haired protagonist whirled around and sighted her older sibling. "Where are the others?? This place is so huge; it must be really easy to get lost here!"

"Have you seen my brother anywhere?" The solo male of the trio inquired.

"BOO!!" a masculine voice boomed as the previous speaker felt two hands latch onto each of his shoulders.

"Augh!!!" he screeched in surprise, jumping a few inches off the ground.

The older woman of the group raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend as she lightly scolded, "Yugo! How mean of you, scaring your little brother half to death like that!"

"Yeah!" the other female agreed wholeheartedly, slugging him in the arm.

"Ow, okay, okay, sorry!!" Yugo Ohgami apologized with a grimace. The twenty-five year old ran a hand through his dark brown hair, brushing his bangs away from his forehead. Adjusting the small black duffel bag on his shoulder, he shot his girlfriend a withering look, a playful twinkle in his tan-colored eyes as he remarked, "Thanks for siccing your little sis on me, Alice!"

The blue-haired woman smiled sweetly, her short hot pink outfit shifting as she took her hand off of her younger sister and reached over to cup his chin. She tilted her head up a bit, discarding his four-inch advantage to her light-weighted five-six figure. Her voice was low as she said, "We're not at our home anymore… This place is new and foreign; I don't think that scaring the daylights out of any of us is a very good idea."

"She's right," his brother grumbled wearily, rolling his eyes. "I thought this place's version of the ZLF was already onto us and had spotted me or something…"

Immediately his face hardened, his leadership showing as he murmured, "Sorry about that… But you're right, we're going to have to be careful around here. Who knows when we'll be attacked… They can sense our zoanthrope blood after all."

"All the more better, just worry them more…" Alice Nonomura (Tsukagami) sighed in slight exasperation.

"They have to know the risks, Ally!" He insisted. "They got to know to look over their shoulders and watch out for sudden attacks and other things like that…"

"We are aware of the precautions," a new voice chimed in from behind the four.

"So you don't need to tell us; we went through the same thing with 'our' ZLF," came another.

"Master!" The younger female exclaimed upon recognizing. "Jane! You didn't get lost!"

"Heh, of course not, runt." A half-smirk touched the lips of the aforementioned person. "This is no different from when I first went to Japan from France, you know."

"Same here with my journey to Japan from China," her accomplice inputted. "Please, no need worry about us."

"Um, after we gather up everyone, we can go find our luggage…" Alice bit her lip as she glanced about the place warily, looking a little blank at the rushing inhabitants roaming the area. All of them turned to peer around the large airport, feeling albeit weary at the vast wide space that spread out in numerous square miles. White paint splashed the walls, seeming to be new coats, and signs directing people to different parts of the environment hung from small black hooks overhead.

"…That's easier said than done, Sister…" the female teenager with auburn hair scrunched up her nose as she commented.

"We're supposed to meet two people here that'll help by being our guides in the States, Uriko," her sibling informed her, directing that to the others as well in reassurance.

"Oh, okay… That's… somewhat more of a relief, I guess." Still looking uncertain, Uriko Nonomura fixated her large brown eyes on her surroundings, feeling somewhat intimidated by everything.

"So…" her cyan-haired male companion raised an eyebrow. "Uh, where are they…?"

"Erm, damn… I'm not sure," Yugo replied.

As if on cue, he felt a light tap on his arm and he started, tensing up the others; quickly recovering, he turned to face a stranger with dark hair that mirrored his own. Black-colored slacks paired with a matching shirt served as the new figure's attire, going well together with his eyes. His bangs swayed slightly by way of the direction of the breeze, and the rest of his tress was slicked back, making him look proficient. The expression that he withheld made him appear culminated and vastly mature yet his features were that of a young adult. A welcoming smile formed over his lips as he inquired politely, "Do you and your friends need help? You all appear a bit lost."

The wolf zoanthrope let a sigh of relief escape the corners of his mouth and replied gratefully, "Yeah, this our first time here in the States! All of us are looking for these two people I spoke with over the phone who offered to be our guides here, since none of know our ways around."

"Oh? Do you know their names?"

"Uh, I wrote it down somewhere…" he began looking around in his pockets.

"…A Uranus and Strider Hiryu," Alice answered for her boyfriend, after looking up from reading a small piece of yellow binder paper in her hand.

Their enigmatic helper's expression turned solacing as he turned to look at the boxer. "You must be Yugo Ohgami and company."

"…?" The young leader's head snapped up to attention. "You're Strider Hiryu? I think that I spoke with your companion, Uranus, on the phone…"

"Yes, that's her," he confirmed. "She is in the luggage area, waiting for me to bring everyone to her so that you all can retrieve your suitcases and such."

"Thank God we found our guides, Long," the leopard zoanthrope mumbled to her fiancé. "I was about to smash Yugo for being so irresponsible."

"Heh, he might not have appreciated that, Jane." Long Shin commented, giving her an amused gaze. Abundant strands of extensive raven black hair swung around the middle of his lithe back, tied together into a tight ponytail with a dark gray band. His five-eleven figure sported a royal blue Oriental top with white trims and dusky pants covered his lower body. "You may want to save the pent-up tension for the people that we are going to deal with here."

Jane Gado dismissed the issue with a quick wave of her hand, her fingertips grazing against her rough blonde bangs. Only two inches diminutive to her fiancé, her mahogany outdoors attire appropriately portrayed her rabidity for active events such as fighting. "Alright, alright, but I'll do it because you asked so nicely." The couple exchanged an affectionate tantalizing look.

"Come with me," Strider Hiryu said to his six clients, motioning with his fingers as he turned and began heading in the opposite direction.

"You heard him everyone! Head out!" Yugo told his friends in a somewhat commanding tone and followed their guide.

Shaking her head even though a small smile formed over her lips, Alice trailed after her boyfriend, quickly beckoning to the others to go with her. The two remaining doublets glanced at each other, and with nonchalant shrugs, began pushing their way through the crowds. Lengthy periods of walking and rooms filled with people passed by as they all continued pursuing, until reaching a place that had baggage and suitcases sliding out of machines.

"Um… this is where we get our belongings?" Uriko inquired to no one in particular while her eyes scanned the new area.

"Yes," Strider answered with a quiet laugh. "Uranus said that she would stand next to where the luggage from your flight will be-oh, there she is!"

The group strode over a few years and watched as their escort met up with a young woman stationed next to one of the motional devices that sent valises to their owners. Remarkable light aqua hair outlined the upper portion of a lank figure that formed into a shapely attractive waist. Her spaghetti-strapped dress touched the tips of her knees, leaving a set of dainty legs exposed to the outer world. Luminous brown eyes settled upon the visitors and luscious light red lips curved into an enticing smile in heralding.

After quietly conversing with her for a few moments, Strider turned back to the others. "These are our international guests. Everyone, this is Uranus."

"Mr. Yugo Ohgami?" The female postulated, sounding slightly uncertain as she shook hands with the wolf zoanthrope.

Nodding, he gave her a small grin and replied, "Hey that's right. Nice to meet you. And these are my friends and girlfriend-"

"I'm Alice Nonomura," the dark-haired nurse informed brightly.

The blonde woman nodded her greeting. "Jane Gado."

"Hello, my name is Long Shin," the Kenpo master said.

"Hi, I'm Uriko Nonomura," his disciple spoke up. "Alice is my sister!"

Uranus Hiryu smiled at them. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, all of you." Adverting her eyes, she noticed the young ninja, who was standing next to his fiancée, looking at his surroundings. "…Oh, who might you be?"

Yugo's grin turned wry. "That's my little brother, Kenji. Hey Kenji! Wake up!"

Blinking rapidly at the sudden interruption, his cyan-colored bangs brushed against his eyelashes as Kenji Ohgami spun his head around and snapped to attention. Standing at five-feet and eight inches, his muscular frame was clothed by a dark teal polo shirt and navy blue denim jeans. Catching the curious looks on the others' expressions, he flushed and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude; I was just looking around is all-…"

"No problem." She assured him with a warm twinkle sparkling in her eyes. "This is your first time here, so feel free to explore. Don't want to get lost in big cities, especially not in such an immense state like California."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for understanding, and sorry again…"

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Uranus winked at him. "I was also like that myself when I first came here to the United States, curious to explore, yet I felt nervous about doing so."

"Hey, there's my suitcase!" Uriko suddenly piped up. She darted over to her luggage and snatched it up by the tan handle, then motioned her compatriots to do the same.

As soon as they all had reclaimed their belongings, Strider plucked two sets of key chains out of his breast pocket and handed one to Uranus. She nodded in reply, and then when she spotted questioning expression on the others' faces, she explained, "Strider and I will be driving everyone to the apartment complex. He's taking a van that can seat up to six people, including the driver, so I'm taking at least one of you with me in the Corvette."

"I call van!" Yugo immediately said.

His younger brother shot him a weary look. "Um, I guess I'll go in the van also, if no one minds."

"I'm with Yugo," Alice voiced, glancing at the tiger and leopard zoanthropes to silently ask if it was all right; they nodded their agreement.

I'm going with my fiancé, of course… the Kenpo student thought to herself decisively, smiling at the blonde woman, who gave her a small grin as consent, speaking for both her and Long. The brown-haired youth mouthed a "Thank you" to the couple.

"Alright, so that means Long and I will be consorting you, Ms. Hiryu," Jane said, grimacing inwardly at her usage of formality. Hm, Long's courtesy must be rubbing off on me.

"Just Uranus is fine," the verdant-haired female assured her with a diminutive smile.

"Well, should we get going then?" Strider suggested to the group.

Receiving his friends' assent, Yugo represented the others when he said, "Yeah, we're ready to leave anytime!"

The two drivers glanced and each other. "Okay, come on then!" Uranus hyped, sounding albeit puerile. "Corvette riders follow me, and van riders go with Strider!" With that, she started off to the left, and disappeared into the crowd, while her accomplice went in the opposite direction. The group of six remained behind momentarily.

"Well… see the rest of you at the complex, 'kay?" Yugo gave a half-shrug.

"Alright, take care of yourselves," Long said to the others as he smiled at them, then took a hold of his fiancée's hand and trailed after the dark-haired woman.

"See you there!" His martial arts student called, grinning when she felt Kenji slip an arm around her waist and lead her toward where their older siblings had gone.

Waiting for her passengers at the parking lot, the female guide unlocked the driver's door and peered inside, her attention furtively going to a small black pager clipped onto her key chain. Smiling triumphantly, she pressed a tiny red button, and took off the electronic device to slip into her car compartment.

*****

The shrill beeping reached the quiescent figure's eyes, snapping them out of the present trance-like state, the ringing bringing irritation. Raising a hand to brush her midnight black bangs away from her forehead, the female scowled under her breath as she agitatedly searched for the source of the noise. When she found it and stopped the beeping sound, the recognition hit her then, and a malicious smile formed over her lips. Resentment filled her indigo-colored eyes, yet sharing the space with the wicked promise of revenge for something that she was deprived of.

"Time to meet your end, fools…" she murmured lowly, her threat traveling throughout the chilly emptiness of the room.