Demons, Life and Homework

A/N: College has started. Boo... D: And just as my craze for a Nitendo DS Lite has started because there's a few games I want, especially one by the name of Hiiro no Kakera or Scarlet Fragment. I want that game.. want it sooooooo badly.

So what can I do? I've started to write.. and omg, it's a major crossover again, especially when I should be SO focusing on this year's Inter! >.<
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Demons, Life and Homework
MazdaKitsune

Chapter1- Welcome to College

The half-tanned long, black haired girl with emerald eyes looked up at the building before her and readjusted her white beret-cap on her head, doing a quick check on her clothes before she walked up the stairs to her college. Her new sandals still looking new? Check. Black boot cut jeans that hung on her hips fitted nicely? Check. Her purple top that clung to her fgure tidy and clean? Check. Everything was neat to her. Still, she couldn't help that churning feeling in her stomach as she climbed the stairs and pushed open the glass door, butterflies playing around to make her nervous.

'Come on, Hisui...' Jade Castero aka Hisui Kairi thought to herself as she eyed the group of students sitting around in the Lobby, none of which she recognized. 'This is ridiculous. It's my second year here and here I am, acting as if it's my first. I passed my A-levels, what's there to be nervous about? 19, you're 19.. act 19. You're an Intermediate senior now. Buck up!'

"Hisui!" A shock of golden hair appeared in front of her face and she was almost bowled over by Ririn or Lilith-Anne Vermouth, her coursemate from the A-levels of January the previous year. "You're here too!"

"Lilith!" Hisui gave a squeal of shock and hugged the other girl tightly, feeling a whole lot happier and better now that she had a friend with her. "Like oh my God, can you believe I passed?! I literally passed.. with an E in law!"

"I know, Risa told me!" Ririn grinned, referring to another friend that was missing at the instant. "She said you didn't show up to get your results, but came to register on the Preview day. What happened?"

"I know, I know... sorry." Hisui looked sheepish. "I got so terrified about failing and having to repeat, I just decided not to go get it until a week later. It was stupid, I know... but still.." She struck a pose and announced. "I passed!! There is a God!"

Laughter broke out between the two girls and Ririn linked her arm with hers, dragging her over to the lifts so they could get to the fifth floor, where the reception desk and the library were. "You didn't turn up for prom either, I got so worried. And did you just get even tanner?" She held Hisui back by an arms' length, narrowing her eyes. "I knew it! You're darker than before! Your skin is like a really golden-brown.. Hi-chan.. you remind me of a turkey!"

"I know!"Hisui moaned as the lift doors opened and they got in, pressing the number 5 button. "I went out to Wet World on the 1st of January with May, Shana, Michelle.. three other girls and their friends. We got into the water at 11 after a trek through the entire park because we got lost, and came out at 4. Michelle got sunburned, I got a tan. And it's not going to come off for a long, long time."

"I envy you," the golden-haired said with a pout. "I've always wanted a tan like that."

"Not when everyone compares you to a turkey," Hisui said mournfully as they reached their floor and she held the lift open for a lecturer to get in before they both went out. "Honestly, I preferred my slight tan. That way I wasn't too dark, and wasn't too fair.. but a golden-brown? No, not me."

"Your hair grew out much longer too." Ririn noted, leading the way to the cashier counter to get their Student Passes. "You had a Rhianna styled haircut before, didn't you? That was really short, although the bob suited your face... talking about that.. look who's here..?"

Hisui touched her hair self-consiously, running a hand through it. She had ran it through the straightening irons just make it look straight and neat that day, although it was already straight enough. It had been longer, up till her waist, but after her break-up the year before, had chopped it all off to a short bob in a fit of rebellion and anger. Now it barely fell to the small of her back, but at least it had grown rather long again. And talking about break-ups...

A certain loud-mouthed, silver haired teen stood surrounded by girls, all giggling as he entertained them with stories about himself. Dante Sparda was his usal flirty self, charming the junior girls with his looks and wit. His azure-blue eyes looked up when the two girls walked into the area and met Hisui's, obviously a bit surprised, but before he could lift his arm and hail her, she turned away with a bitter look in her eyes, pulling on Ririn's arm. "Come on, let's go over there. It's too crowded here because someone brought a whole harem with him."

Her words were thoroughly laced with sarcasm, and some of the girls gave her venomous looks although they didn't dare do anything to a senior. Dante however, just looked away as she tugged Ririn to the other end of the counter. The golden-haired girl simply sighed and looked closely at her friend. "You haven't forgiven him, have you?"

"Rin... Drop it." Hisui re-adjusted her beret-cap over her hair and ran her fingers through part of her fringe that fell over her eyes before giving their names to the flustered looking cashier who was looking through a box full of cards, overwhelmed by the amount of students crowding him. "I don't like talking about it... I don't even want to look at his face for now. God, I wish he hadn't passed at all......"

"Dante didn't pass." A cold voice said and they looked up to see Vergil Sparda standing next to them, also waiting patiently for his Student Pass. In contrast to his twin, who was in jeans and a red basketball jersey, Vergil wore a dark blue shirt, neatly tucked into a pair of black pants. "He's repeating the A-levels again and taking the June exams, so you'll be Dante-free for a year." His blue eyes swept over her and he reached out a hand for his card, asking politely for theirs too since the girls couldn't exactly reach the cashier. "My brother's an ass. I'm sorry for what he did to you, but your friend is right. You should forget it. Here." He passed them their card and tags before carving a path out of the body of students in front of them. "I'll be seeing you during class, then. And Lilith, that shirt clashes with your hair."

"It's Ririn, and thanks a lot, Ice Queen. I don't know why he insists on calling me by my French name.. honestly, who would want to be named after a succubus?" Ririn mumbled as she slid the red tag over her head, letting it hang from her neck. "Both brothers are asses.... but is he right? Does this shirt clash with my hair?" She showed off her bright green and black shirt to Hisui and the other girl nodded after a scrutinizing look.

"That bright green is rather sharp on the eyes, you know..."

"I knew it! I am going to KILL Dominique for this!!"Ririn raged, shaking her fist at the thought of her older second brother. "He just wanted to prank me on my first day back in college!!! Arrggh! I am so going to MURDER him!"

"Or.. maybe he has no fashion sense.." Hisui sweatdropped. While Ririn hated her name with a passion and used the Japanese equivalent for it, she used her brothers's names freely although they constantly teased her about wanting to get Japanese names too. "I'm going to see if the computer lab is free for a bit before the orientation starts... want to come along with me?"

"Nah.. I spy with my little eye a certain brown haired person with my entire group there." Ririn gave a quiet squeal as a group of three walked out of the lifts, a girl with flaming red hair, a brown haired boy with another dark-haired guy wearing a cap. "Holy crap, Densuke-kun passed too?! I'll see you later, Hi-chan.. I'm sorry, but I gotta go catch up with them!"

"It's fine, go chase your future husband, Rin-chan." Hisui grinned and watched as her friend took off like a rocket from her side, going after her love-interest. "About time too..." she muttered to herself as she turned to fight her way through to the stairs. "They've been giving each other eyes since they met during the first class last year... love at first sight, geez... Ouch!"

Somebody had totally ran into her, and she collided head-first with another person painfully. "Dammit!"

"Watch where you're going." A rather deep male voice said, and she looked up to see dark red hair and striking purple eyes that were now narrowed into a glare at her.

"Excuse me, you watch where you're going!"Hisui glared back, and would have flipped him the finger if there weren't anybody else around. Instead, she just pulled herself up to her full height... only managing to reach his shoulder, she belatedly realized, and placed a hand on her hip. "New kid?"

The red-head simply ignored her and walked by, acting as if she didn't exist. A red flush of anger and humiliation crept up her face, and she turned to glare at his back, hissing like an annoyed cat. "Teme... How dare you ignore me..." She muttered, a scowl appearing on her face as that glare intensified, reaching out to grab his shoulder. "Oi!"

"I have no business with you, step aside." The male replied before she could touch him, grabbing her wrist roughly in a rather tight hold. It was an unexpected reaction, yet his eyes showed no emotion, just some kind of icy detachment in them. A shiver ran up Hisui's spine. A simple glance, that was all he needed to scare even the bravest warrior.

But Hisui herself was a fighter... she wouldn't back down easily even if he had effectively scared the living daylights out of her with a glance. After all.. she had handled Vergil for a year, and nothing was really scary compared to when Vergil gave you that freezing look.

"Let me go. You idiot, let me go, or I'll bite you!"

This was really unexpected. The students' attention was now focused on the pair, waiting to see if there was going to be a fight or not. Both Hisui and Takuma stood still, yet their gazes clashed like metal swords fencing with each other. Hisui was serious about her threat, though she now stared him in the eyes, face to face. If he didn't let her go, she was going to reach up, and bite his wrist so hard it would leave a scar for a week. It had happened during a catfight with another girl in her school once, but let's not get into that; things would be bad if they were caught fighting and injuring each other, because it either meant expulsion, or suspension for God knows how long.

Takuma simply ignored her yet again, dragging her until she was practically pressed up against a wall, looking dangerously down at her. "I told you to step aside, didn't I?"

"And I'm telling you to let her go." A hand clamped down on his and the two looked up to see Dante hovering above them, his ice-blue eyes blazing. Well, hovering wasn't exactly the correct term since Takuma reached his height somewhat if he pulled himself up... but he let go of her wrist and gave Dante a glare before walking off to collect his card and disappearing from the area.

"You alright?" Dante asked as Hisui rubbed her wrist, her bangs covering her eyes from sight.

"Who asked you to help me?" She muttered under her breath. "Mind your own business next time, Dante."

"Babe.." He reached out to touch her wrist, but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" Hisui snapped. "You don't have a right to! Look, just back off, alright? I'm a big girl now, I know how to handle this kinds of situations. Why don't you just go back to your A-levels class, before I tell Mr. Kevin that you're playing hooky again?" She dropped her wrist and stood up straight before glaring. "That's an order! You're a junior, right? So respect your senior and get your butt back to class!"

Leaving him startled and slightly affronted, she marched away, fuming as she went.
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The Orientation lecture was held on the 1st floor, in the biggest lecture hall there was, also dubbed "The Freezer" by other students. One, because the air-conditioning in the room was always going at full-blast; Two, because it was so big, they had more air-cond vents than other rooms; and Three, they were placed in the middle of the hall, so no matter where you sat, you literally froze to death.

Ahaha... not to death, really. But it was cold enough to knock you out.

"Trust them to have the lecture here in "The Freezer"." Akamatsu Arisa or Risa complained as she shivered, arms crossed and tucked into the sleeves of her thick jacket as she picked her way towards her friends, taking a seat between Ririn and Hisui after arriving late. "God, I'm freezing here...." She nestled further between them, trying to absorb as much warmth as she could from them.

"No, the question should be, why did I even come today?" Hisui muttered, doodling idly in her notebook to create tiny little hearts with wings. "It's only for those who hasn't been here before... We've already gone through this crap for a year."

"You're cursing." Ririn commented. "I heard you almost got into a fight with some new kid today. Did you punch him back or something for grabbing your wrist like that? Kitty would."

"Kitty? I think she would have done worse," Risa said, referring to their female senior, who was in her second year already, one above them.

"Are you kidding? She broke a beer bottle over a guy's head in the club once," Hisui chuckled, remembering that one night when she had gone clubbing with her seniors. "How worse could that get? No... Dante-freaking-Sparda came to play hero again. I pulled rank and told him to get his ass back to class."

"No way!" Ririn exclaimed, then immedieately shut her mouth when a few students turned in her direction. Once they had turned away again, she continued in a whisper, "That must have either pissed him off, or embarassed him. You did that in front of everyone?"

"What else could I do?" Hisui countered, then straightened when Mr. Jarrod came walking in. He was a young, handsome man in his mid-twenties, with close cropped hair and a youthful face. But in spite of his looks, he was quite the strict person in his classes, and a very good lecturer. "Uh oh... it's Mr. Jarrod. I guess it's time to shut up. You know how he's like about people talking during his class. But I like him... whatever he teaches stays in our brains."

"I second that." Risa replied, looking relieved that at least they knew one of their Law lecturers was a strict, but good lecturer. "He's bound to give us a taste of Contract Law, so we had better focus."
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All in all, the Orientation class was pretty... boring and refreshing at the same time. After three months of not touching the books, some students found their memory being jogged as familiar topics, phrases and cases were brought up, the lecturers giving their students a dose of what to come. The boring part for most were only for ex-A-levelers of the college, when the principal himself came to tell them about their courses, a verbal tour of the campus, a reminder for new students to always make sure they checked in each day with their Student Passes at the computers in the Lobby for Attendance, and of course.. the dress code.

A few people sweatdropped at this one. It wasn't a uniform or strict dress code per se, but there had cases of students wearing slippers or skirts that showed a really good portion of leg, shorts that looked like some boys were going to a beach party, and.. um... really, really mini clothing. Example of cases; the current A-levelers that were about to sit for their June exams. The college really had no choice but to prohibit these kind of clothing, after a few certain rebels got into trouble.

That was that, and at the end of the day, Hisui took a seat on the stairs outside the building while waiting for her ride to come pick her up. "I'm so glad it's over. Really... it's such a hassle on the first day."

"You're not the only one who doesn't like getting up early." Risa gave her a sympathetic smile. "How are you going back?"

"My brother should be around by... now." Just as the words left Hisui's mouth, a shappire blue Mazda Rx-7 Spirit R came down the road, coming to a halt in front of the building. The window rolled down and a handsome ivory-haired man poked his head out before giving a wink to the three girls. "Ladies."

"Your brother is hot!" Ririn exclaimed, Risa grinning as she waved, Hisui getting up and adjusting her bag over her shoulder. "Now, I wouldn't mind going out with him... Mind giving us his number?"

Hisui shot them all an amused look and pointed at them. "You..." she pointed at Ririn. "... have a boyfriend. And you..." her finger shifted to Risa. "... already have a fiance, courtesy of your parents. So lay off. Haken is mine." With that, she laughed and waved before going down the steps and getting into the car.

"So, how was your first day?" With a final wave at the open-mouthed Ririn and Risa, Haken Browning gunned the engines and drove off as she strapped in, giving her a glance.

"Interesting, boring and bad," Hisui declared after strapping in and leaned back, looking out the window. "Some punk bumped into me, then picked a fight with me. He didn't even say sorry! And then my idiot of an ex had to step in when all I want to do is never see his face again! I wonder whether it's too late for me to change colleges...."

"It is too late, I guess," Haken replied to that. "Aschen already paid the fees, so you can't go anywhere else. Who was this guy you're talking about anyway? Did he hurt you?"

"Don't know and I don't care." It was clear Hisui was still stewing over it, the girl able to hold a grudge for a long, long time once she had been rubbed on her bad side. "He had this dark red hair, though.. and striking purple eyes. No, he didn't really hurt me, he just grabbed my wrist."

As she said it, her hand rubbed her wrist absently again. It didn't hurt, nor was she hurt, but she remembered the strength in his grip. The red-head was really strong, almost as if his grip wasn't human. She wondered slightly about that, as much as she hated that guy, there was something about him that didn't seem remotely human.

Tsukihana

A/N: I'm watching Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae, and I've just fallen in love with the opening song.

Tsukihana, by Nana Kitade.


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Tsukihana
MazdaKitsune

"Agh!"

For the third time that night, a tail smacked across the face of a girl, throwing her to the ground with it's force to land painfully on her back. Jade Castero lost her grip on her katana, the blade falling to her side, vivid emerald green eyes closed in pain as the impact rattled her spine, threatening to fracture it at least.

She wasn't herself... that was for sure. Maybe it was just because the hidden bitterness deep inside her had built up until she just had, just needed to find an escape? Maybe..... God, she felt like laughing at herself now, a trickle of blood running down from the corner of her lips as it turned up in a mocking smile. She couldn't help it, all those times made her feel numb inside; she just wanted to end it all sometimes... but she couldn't. Because she had a duty, and she had to keep it.

Jade wasn't pretty, not pretty at all by any standards. She had large emerald eyes, eyes that potrayed her emotions as clearly as the moon, and scars that marred the otherwise smooth skin of her body, the results of her rough childhood and the marks of her trade. But she had that fresh look of youth that made up for her looks, and a thick curtain of black hair that cascaded past her shoulders. Her body was lean, firm... not desiring the soft, curvy look any girl her age would kill for. Overall, she was good-looking, but didn't consider herself pretty.

She had ran out that day... simply left just to be alone with herself and her deep emotions. How much bitterness had she accumulated through the years? Jade felt like screaming, just going to a quiet place to scream and scream until she broke down in tears, tears that she would not allow anyone, not even her own adopted mother to see. She never let anyone see her tears. This was another ironic situation... she wanted an escape from the sadness and pain and she had gotten it...

... In the form of a spirit fox, a white demon with many flowing tails and red glowing eyes that was now sitting afar from her and watching her quietly as if waiting for her to get up and fight. It was strange, how the animal spirit had appeared just like that, just as the clouds unveiled the moon. It carried itself with dignity, attacking when she attacked, never once taking advantage of it's opponent, not even when her back was turned and she carelessly left openings for it to attack.

For the whole day she had done nothing but walk aimlessly, her face devoid of any expression, her eyes empty, hands shoved in the pockets of her jacket, katana slung across her back, until evening had come and she still hadn't gone back... the poeple waiting for her might possible get worried, but she didn't want to move just yet. Then the mystical fox had shown up...

What was she....? 18, going on 19... she was so young, yet all this had happened to her. One bad luck after another. Losing her family, growing up on the streets, finding love only to have her heart mangled up and broken so badly she couldn't even piece it back together, then running away from everything and everyone she knew.... Her eyes prickled, and finally... a tear or two fell silently to the ground. She was just a scared young girl trying to survive in a big world, having grown up far too fast, behind the facade of a strong and carefree person.

It was true... she had freedom, but she wanted the birdcage.

Jade wanted someone to be there for her.

And on this day... she never wanted it more.

She blamed it on the person who had caused the bitterness to grow, then blamed herself for falling in love with him in the first place. Her lips moved as she whispered to herself silently. "Anata ga nakucha ikirarezu... Kuchiru yoru o oikaketa no wa... Watashi o subete sono ude e... Ubai agete hoshikatta kara..."

If you were gone, then I wouldn’t be able to live. I chased after the dying night because I wanted to let you take everything of mine into your arms...

The lyrics of a song she had heard before... Tsukihana, or Moonflower.

Jade's eyes focused dimly on the full moon overhead, slightly unfocused as she mulled it over in her thoughts. She was like a flower that did not bloom during the day. Moonflower.... she loved the thought. Certain Moonflowers were beautiful, yet there were some that were dangerous, having thorns to protect themselves. Some even contained poison... blooming during the night when the moon was at it's fullest to spread it's pollen by the night moths.

She needed that escape from the bitterness, alright. She needed it badly... to finally bloom. But she wasn't just a normal girl... she had grown up on the streets. Like the Moonflower, she was different from other girls.

If I’m not with you, I can’t be satisfied... I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself... So I shuddered and pushed myself up on this two feet....

'Do you really want to die here...?' a voice came from inside her thoughts. 'Poor, poor girl.. you've always been alone, and that's how it's going to stay. That man ruined your life, and here you are... alone again. Is it even worth it, dying for a man like that...? You had strength... strength to push on... where is that strength now? You're no ordinary girl, Jade Castero.'

And then realization came to her. All she needed to do was to accept and pour out these feelings.

"Sou desu ne, yo?" Jade said quietly, and the fox tilted it's head when it heard her voice. "Watashi wa.... mada saikoro ja nakutte. Datte... watashi jya na kya yurusanakutte."

It watched silently as she pushed herself up to stand on her feet again, her right hand reaching out to grasp the handle of her katana tightly. Under the moonlight, the young girl faced the spirit fox in a field, the wind blowing softly in a breeze around them. "That man... he broke my heart into pieces. But..." She opened her eyes, fire flashing in it's emerald depths, her fighting spirit back. "Until that day comes when I can finally let go of all my bitterness, I'll keep pushing myself up to stand on my two feet! Sou... I smile because no matter what, I'll always get back up to stand!"

I'm saved by endless slavery, but amazingly the lock is broken... I'm like the crazy little bird, that wants to be in a birdcage...

"Gomen. I've kept you waiting." And with that, Jade rushed forwards again, feeling slightly better as the two clashed in yet another attack. She still hadn't been able to release those emotions of hers, but as the last of the tears stopped, peace came to her. One day she would have to face her darkness again... and when that day came, she hoped to finally be free of it.

A flower embraced by lies...

~Owari~
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A/N:

1) Jade's words were: "That's it isn't it? I... can't die now. Because... I won't be able to forgive myself."
2) The mystical fox is actually a spirit that manifested to help Jade get over the bitterness threatening to overflow her soul and to keep it in check. All she had to do was come to terms with her feelings and memories, then find peace within herself. I think the idea came from some myth or so.. I can't remember.
3) This came from the song Tsukihana.

Fanfic

The light shimmering in the air seemed to make everything and everyone freeze. Laughter, bickering and chatter alike stopped as though a silencing spell had been cast on the population of the Mystic Peak students. A group of laughing girls, once joking about a male student, now looked up sharply, fear and apprehension in their eyes as they clutched their books.

A male Swordsman sitting alone and polishing his Broadsword looked up at the sky as well, muttering to himself.

All around, everyone held their breath, as though waiting for something to happen... then the shimmering passed as quickly as it had appeared and the air stabilized, as clear as they blue sky over them.

Safe... for now. Nervous chatter started up again as the students continued on their way, either to rest, train or to class.

Leonair had fallen. Would their force fields fail and their school end up like that as well? It was only a matter of time.
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"Something strange is going on in that school." Jade declared, lifting up fingers to quote the statement. "At least that's what they're saying in the papers and all that." The young 18 year old was sitting on one of the many benches in Mystic Peak Square, her dark blue blazer thrown beside her because it was warm, Sodium Gauntlets sitting on top of the thick fabric. She kicked her legs back and forth, looking very much like a kid instead.

"Well, wouldn't the paparazzi be surprised if they found out about us." Alyssa, a female Archer said absently from next to her, skimming through her Economy textbook. "I mean, the Sacred Financial Group (SFG) are trying their very best to hide whatever fighting skills they're teaching us here from our parents and the outside world... but some reporters are just nosy. They don't know what they're getting themselves into."

"Come on... the whole world knows about Leonair." Jade rolled her eyes. "Mr. Fujiwara labeled it as a freak accident and compensated the grieving parents, but the whole world knows the dimensional rift opened up there after.... okay, let's not talk about it."

Lyssa was quiet. After what happened that morning, everyone seemed to bring up the whole Leonair incident again. Almost as if they were preparing themselves to face a sudden death. The students from the different schools or campus actually, were quite close to each other, each priding themselves on becoming a warrior with their own skills and the ability to defend themselves from the corrupted zombies and demons out there. It was a close knit society, one that the SFG had founded, giving the future leaders of Asia a chance to free their continent from quarantine.

They had lost a lot of friends that night. Lyssa remembered him, the Sowrdsman with blue-green eyes that looked almost violet in the dark and his broadsword that he always carried around. He was gone now. At least his body hadn't been corrupted.

Zack.

"Jade. Lyssa." a voice said, and they looked up to see Miyako grinning at them. Jade's mouth fell open. "Miyako!! What are YOU doing here? It's usually me that sneaks out to YOUR campus at Sacred Gate!"

"I wanted a change." Miyako shrugged. "How are your studies going?"

"Copped Business class..." Jade said offhandedly. "Geez... one minute in there and I'd just fall asleep. I'd rather train than study."

The Shaman sighed and set down her Bamboo Staff before sitting, Lyssa shifting aside to make space for her. "You, my friend, are going to be so dead when graduation day comes. Which is, by the way... only around the corner."

Jade winced. "Please don't remind me. At least I'm not staying in dorms... I got my own house." A grin appeared on her face.

"That's because Jengkol is a high-level Swordsman and you got lucky he made friends with you and accepted you into his party." Lyssa said, shooting her a look. "Or you'd still be sitting in dorm right now. In a room. With me."

"Oops... sorry, sorry." Jade raised both hands in placation. She knew from the look Lyssa gave her that she was still harboring a grudge for leaving her dorm-mate to sleep alone.

Miyako gave a laugh, then cocked her head as she noticed someone approaching. "Hey, looks like I'm outta here. Here comes the Swordsman."

Lyssa looked up, then sighed. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to train. Come on, Shaman. Let's go to the cafe off campus to get some coffee."

"Lovebirds?!" Jade looked outraged as her girl-friends beat a hasty exit. "What do you... hey! Get back here!"

"Let's go, Archer.... bye bye, you violet female!' Miyako teased as she walked off, waving her staff at her. Jade just stared in open mouthed resentment as Jengkol walked up behind her curiously, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Whassup?"

"None of your business." Jade snapped, then leaned down and put on her blazer and Sodium Gauntlets. "It's a girl thing."

"Anything to do with that blush on your face?" Jengkol snickered.

"Shut it. Right now."

"Jeez... alright. Always the violent one...." Jengkol mockingly sighed, then grew serious. "I think it's time to get serious with training. You saw what happened this morning?"

"Yeah... the force fields protecting out campus wavered." Jade replied uneasily. "i'm doing good, though... but I took a rest this week."

"Still, that's not enough. I'll round up the rest of the party." Jengkol lifted his fist. "Meet you at the field, Brawler."

"Yeah." She touched fists with him. "I'll be at the library side, fighting Jr. Bruisers."

He nodded. "I'll come as fast as I can. Hold on." He grasped his Broadsword that was slung across his back and held it out, closing his eyes and focusing his Qi.

"Tranquility."

A glowing sphere of light appeared around him and Jade, a shield against attacks and a boost to their physical defense. With a smile, the two parted ways, Jengkol heading into the building to search for the rest of his party, Jade heading to the field to train.
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Mr Fujiwara drummed his fingers on the windowsill, looking out at the student population from his window. "The graduation ceremony is this weekend." He stated without turning. In front of his table stood four of the faculty heads; Brawler, Shaman, Archery and Swordman. The Head of Archery stepped forwards, hair tied up in a ponytail, her blue eyes troubled behind her glasses.

"Sir... one of the force field terminals wavered this morning. It's bad enough that the papers are trying to hack into the Group's database, and they already suspect that we're turning the students into a military group... what will happen if the parents find out?"

The chairman of the SFG turned from the window to face his subordinates. "We will just have to hope that nothing happens. I'm aware of those that are trying to glean the truth, but for now, we just have to lay low. We can't let anyone find out what we're doing, or our plans won't go as directed."

"The students are doing reasonably well." The Head of Brawlers, a strudy man with exposed biceps stated. "Training is their utmost importance, and no one has pulled out of the school yet."

"Only to your faculty, Mr Jaccob." The Head of Shaman chuckled quietly, rubbing his stubble. "Might I remind you that your faculty students cause the most trouble in all the campuses?"

"Arashi!" Jaccob veinpopped as he whirled around to face his rival and good friend, jaw agape in an anime style. "How could you say that?!"

"It's true..." Arashi sent more stabbing words as he looked aside, holding his chin. "At least our students are outstanding in their studies, able to balance training and studying well....."

Musume looked at her colleague, the quiet and reserved Head of Swordsmanship, Vincent. "They're at it again." she said in exasperation while the two Heads bickered. "Can't you stop them?"

"...." Vincent just watched with a deadpan expression.

Mr Fujiwara resisted the urge to roll his eyes and facepalm at the childishness of the Heads of Brawling and Shamanism. It was true that the two faculties were rivals, for the Brawlers considered the Shamans cowards for not using their strength, while the Shamans considered the Brawlers foolish and themselves intelligent by using their Qi energy instead.

He coughed. "Musume-san? Might I trouble you for a bit?"

The Head of Archery heard his soft quietly and turned, ignoring the fight going on. "Yes, sir?"

"I need you to help me with the Graduation event." Mr Fujiwara requested. "In case of an emergency, assemble a defense guard of the strongest students or any student willing to fight. We need the Brawlers as the main firepower to tank, Swordsmen to lure and the rest for support."

"Yes, sir." Musume's glasses gleamed as she pushed them up the bridge of her nose. "I'll take care of it."

"Oh, and Musume?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Make me an emergency speech, will you?" Mr Fujiwara looked abashed. "In case something goes wrong and I have to explain everything to the parents."

"No problem." She smiled at him and left. He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh before looking over at his Head of Swordsmanship. "Vincent."

The man nodded. A split second later, a sword crashed down between the two bickering Heads, creating a loud boom that made some students look up in surprise and a huge dent in the floor.

Both Jaccob and Arashi paled.

Mr Fujiwara smiled. "You can both fix my floor now."
___________________________________________________________________

"Cover me."

"I got your back."

Jengkol and Danny took positions on either side of Jade, covering her from any attacks coming her way. The female Brawler closed her eyes and concentrated on her flow of Qi energy. An aura circle appeared around her feet, her hair floating slightly with the force of her aura. "Regeneration."

Her word was barely more than a whisper, but her party heard it and immediately moved closer to protect her while she self-healed her wounds and refreshed her energy. It would leave her feeling refreshed and energetic, but the side effects would come later, leaving her feeling sore all over. It would usually be healed by a Potion from the Nurse, so she didn't care.

Besides, she was tough.

"Damn!" Bara flinched and dropped her Bow, going down on one knee when a Slasher threw a dagger at her from God knows where.

"Bara!" Danny saw the female Archer go down and raised his sword. "There's Slashers about!"

Jade's eyes snapped open and the aura around her disappeared as she slid into her fighting stance. "Help her. I'm alright now."

He nodded and left her side to fight off the incoming Slashers. Bara was already Regenerating, healing herself and her injuries to support the major tankers of her group. Jade whirled around and delivered an energy focused uppercut to one that Jengkol was fighting. "Raging Dragon Riser!"
____________________________________________________________________

Only the smartest, strongest, fittest students were recruited to these institutions. Yet beneath its quiet façade of learning and academia, an unsettling truth began to surface. These were no ordinary schools. Their infrastructures, rising menacingly above all others, were strange and alien in design, as if echoing an ominous, inescapable fate.
____________________________________________________________________

"Cyclone Slash!" Jengkol's broadsword created an energy wave that took out most of the corrupted.
____________________________________________________________________

Soon, rumors began to spread about the alarming activities conducted within the four campuses. Students, they said, were being trained in cryptic, deadly forms of combat beyond the understanding of even the military’s most accomplished intelligence agencies; they were studying forbidden scrolls and texts believed to hold incomprehensible, supernatural power— power to create as well as destroy; and being taught the use of weapons exiled long ago for their genocidal role in the Ancient Wars.
____________________________________________________________________

Lyssa laughed with Miyako as the two students lounged in a cafe, sipping chilled coffee and chatting.
____________________________________________________________________

A dimensional riff some attribute to the meteor storm had opened the gates to a demonic realm, poisoning the living and possessing the dead.

Only the four schools proved immune to this paranormal plague. Force shields were believed to protect the boundaries of the four schools and its students, keeping them safe within the schools’ borders.

The shields, however, were beginning to show signs of weakness. There were reports of creatures infiltrating school grounds and of students being taken almost daily, never to be seen again.

It was only a matter of time...
____________________________________________________________________

A disgruntled Jaccob lifted heavy slabs of stone back into the crater caused by Vincent's immense power to be resealed into smoothness by the Qi energy Arashi was using to fix the damage done.
____________________________________________________________________

Today, everything is calm and peaceful at the three schools, even as they wonder which of them is next.

When will their time come? How long will their shields hold?
____________________________________________________________________

Mr Fujiwara sat staring at nothing, his fingers linked together, a crease of worry between his brows. If something were to happen while the parents were around...... He seriously hoped that the students were ready, and willing to stand together as one.

It was important.. for the their future and the future of the school.
____________________________________________________________________

For now, the students continue their studies.

Waiting.

Training.

Praying...

RAN ONLINE 1-SHOTS

RAN Online fanfic (short one shot)
-------------------------------------------------

(10/12/2008)

Sometimes she forgot she was a girl. Oh yeah. But there were some instances that she was forcefully reminded that she was a girl, and those instances came in embarrassing and humiliating forms.
Jade (Jade008/Brawler) could only thank GOD it was 4 am in the morning, and...... no, she couldn't thank God for this one.... it was raining.


Scowling, she glared at the Swordsman fully clad in armor standing next to her. "Give it back.
"

Jengkol grinned an infuriating grin, eying the bare skin of her arms and shoulders. "I dropped it somewhere back there, I think.
"

"Well, I don't care!! Give my damn coat back!!!" Jade turned an interesting shade of red as she crossed her arms over her pink bra and ran for the campus building, taking shelter under the shade. "This is so embarrassing...."

"Oh, it happens... trust me..." Jengkol gave a loud roar of laughter and went off to get her shirt. Jade sniffled. How the hell she dropped her own shirt, she didn't know. But not many were around at that place where she was so she was grateful for it. The poor female brawler now stood shivering on the porch in her Preparatory Shoes, Preparatory Skirt, her bra and her Heavy Gauntlet on her right arm, her left hand clad in a Glove for defense rather than attack.


"I swear I'm going to Heavy Punch somebody...." she muttered, making a mental note to ask Miyako (Miyako08/Shaman), her Shaman friend at the Sacred Gate campus if anything like this happened before. She often sneaked out of her Mystic Peak campus to visit her friend, and it really exasperated the Shaman to no end. But then again, Brawlers were known for their notorious behavior and uncanny knack for breaking the rules and getting into fights.


Jade wasn't afraid of getting expelled. The main firepower of the school rested in the Brawlers and Swordsmen, so they needed her, like it or not. Her right hand flexed as she glared at a staring Archer... Ryuzen, if she got his name right.... and the gleaming iron of her Gauntlet forming into a fist made him continue on his journey inside the building nervously.


"I got it!" Jengkol's voice pulled her back to earth and she turned, relieved to see him holding out her Preparatory Coat. "Thank god!" Grabbing it, Jade slid it over her head and smoothed down the material, hiding the embarrassed blush she got on her face again.


She could only deduce that the backlash from his Cyclone Slash sword attack KOed her on the spot, making her lose her defense based article of clothing.


"Right, so how many Street Junkies do we have left to kill?" Jengkol asked, hand on the hilt of a giant broadsword strapped to his back.


Jade hesitated. Her mission said she had to eliminate at least 22, and the level of a Street Junkie was way higher that her... which was why she kept getting injured so easily. The rapid healing called Regeneration that she learned healed her wounds in no time, but it left her feeling sore all over. She was already killed 13 with his help... but she couldn't take any more.


"You know what? I'm going back to the dorm...." Jade waved a hand tiredly. "You can stay here and train..... I've been around the main campus since midnight.
"

"Yeah well.... I'm heading to bed too..." Jengkol scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Don't get lost around campus and head back to your own faculty." He grinned. "No going to Sacred Gate or to a Shaman/Swordsman/Archer area.
"

"Oh shut up. I don't wander into any other combat faculties except my own." Jade snapped, then turned, lifting a hand as she walked off.
"Party again tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, see ya." Jengkol hesitated a bit, concentrating for a while as he cast a Tranquility skill to shield her as she made her journey back.
"Night!"

"Night!" Jade called back, a glowing orb of light making an orbit around her. Ugh.... she was really tired and sore.... looks like she would have to crash for now and skip morning classes tomorrow....

"Go Brawlers..." she murmured to herself with a grin when she reached her room and crashed down on the bed, kicking off her shoes, but not bothering to remove the Heavy Gauntlet from her right arm though it was made out of heavy iron. "You don't mess with us, heh........"

Sweet dreams, violent female.
XD

Uh, Really Random...

A/N: Yes... really random. This is what comes out of my brain at 3:50 am in the morning.

And for that matter... I'm still not sleepy.

3 December 2008: I know the ending sucks, but I kinda lost my feel for this, sorry.....
____________________________________________________________________

"You should not have opened the box, Dante." Jade said from behind him, her voice sounding weak and sick. "You should NOT have opened it... it's like a Pandora's box...."

Dante didn't listen to her, his breathing erratic and his hand curled into a fist. Anger rode off him in waves; it was almost stifling to be in the same room with him. "Fuck humans..." he growled, turning to smash his fist into the wall. "Fuck humans! Ungrateful bastards-!"

"There is a chance, Dante." Jade cut him off. "There's still a chance for Vergil, I know it..." She regained her composure and stared down at her hands. "After all, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Dante turned to her in disbelief. "You still forgive those scientists.. after what they did to you?!"

Jade didn't reply, her emerald eyes looking haunted. She knew. Yes, she knew and understood how he felt, but it wasn't going to change anything. "What's done is done... we can't change what happened, alright..?" Five years ago, she had been captured by human scientists, ironically. The people she had worked so hard to protect had captured her and run sickening tests on her.

Five years ago, Vergil had been found, unconscious and malnourished. Since the fall of Mundus, he had been trapped in Hell, but managed to find a way out, after a long time. Having been found by the wrong people, he had been a test subject, an experiment to find out what he really was.

It was escaping from a nightmare into a worse one. Throughout his time in the underground lab, he was in a light coma from the trauma his body had suffered, and he moaned and called out in his sleep. Two names stood out, but one was repeated more than the other. Dante... and Jade.

Half-demon by Vergil's blood, Jade was found when he gave away her cover. By letting him loose one night, he had stumbled half-consiously to where she was, only by locating her scent. Jade had fought off the soilders the best that she could, even going as far as to Devil Trigger, but she could not bring herself to kill them, and was taken into captivity along with Vergil.

All kinds of experiments were performed on the half-demon hybrids. They wanted to see if other blood could be fused with theirs, and Jade was forced to endure pain, forced to watch countless animals die, innocent orphans be killed from the heartless breeding experiments. She was raped, again and again, the same things happening to Vergil.

It wasn't long till their funds ran out, and they decided to be rid of Jade, just because she was making little progress than Vergil was. And to kill her, they stunned her, then tossed her into a waste pool laced with chemicals and blood from the dead test subjects before she could recover. The pool would be flushed later on to rid it of it's "trash". When she did recover, she Devil Triggered to save herself, and something happened.

It could be the chemicals, it could have been the results of being injected with so many types of fused blood, human, demons and animals, but a tail grew in place of her legs, gills appearing on the side of her neck. Her eyes turned a dead greyish red, claws appeared, and so did the webs between her fingers and on her ears. The scientists were delighted at it and fished her out, keeping her in a large, round tank for the rest of the days to come. They considered throwing Vergil in the waste pool as well, but some of their colleagues protested, claiming that more tests should be run on him first.

Jade was their prize. They dressed her up, put her on show as a freak of nature, collecting money to run their cruel tests on more demons. It wasn't one day when the "Mermaid Princess", fake pearls adorning her head in a tiara, twisted in her hair, around her wrists and tail was being shown off as usual in a freak circus, that she saw a flash of silver hair.

It was then she knew who had returned from Fortuna. She called for him, unseen tears in her eyes as she swam agitatedly around, crying out for him to save her, though she knew he couldn't hear her. But Dante had noticed, and he had walked slowly up to her tank, staring at her as though mesmerized. He placed a hand on the glass questioningly, and she pressed hers to his in vain, pleading with him through her eyes. He didn't understand at first, she could see it, but the more he stared at her, the more he regconized her, and she saw ice blue eyes widen in regconition. "Jade?!" He had exclaimed and she had nodded before someone in charge came to lead Dante away.

It was clear that Vergil's twin had been regconized, and eager for a fresher subject, the scientists wanted him.

They wanted Dante, and it was Dante they got.

The devil hunter stormed into their lab with unleashed fury a few days after gaining information of what had been done, no doubt from the Underworld itself. Everyone was destroyed, not a building was left standing, as he brought Jade and Vergil out. Jade was well enough to walk after going out of her Devil Trigger, but it was clear that she had lost her Devil Form forever. She was human out of the water, and was healing rapidly, but Vergil was still in a traumatized state.

Dante dropped onto the sofa next to her and pulled her close, burying his head in her hair. "I'm sorry I didn't come home earlier... Yamato was with Nero in Fortuna and I was so stupid to think I could find my brother there if I stayed long enough.."

"It's not your fault." Jade pointed out gently. "No one knew he would bust his way out of Hell alone. Well, it was predictable, but..." She fell silent, then spoke again in a cheery voice to cheer him up. "Why don't we bring him to the sea? You know... get out and breathe in the fresh air once in a while, enjoy the peaceful enviroment... swim for a bit..."

Dante gave her a faint smile.
____________________________________________________________________

Vergil stared at nothing in particular as Dante coaxed him out of the car. The cool sea breeze blew softly on them, ruffling his hair back as the cry of seagulls reached his ears. It was peaceful here, truly peaceful, and he found the nightmares that were haunting him flee his mind for once, leaving him free. He sat down in the sand and stared out at the open air, watching the sea crash against the beach in gentle waves.

"Hey, Jade! You be careful up there!" Dante's warning voice made him turn and he watched Jade scramble up a large outcropping of rock while Dante surveyed her lithe body.

Clad in a bikini and a shirt, Jade stuck her tongue out at him and waved. "I'm a big girl, Dante! I can handle myself!"

"Still, you better be careful or....."

Their gay voices lightened up Vergil's heart greatly, and a tiny smile crossed his features. He had worried for Jade immensely when she was in the lab with him... and worried for Dante too, should his younger brother be caught as well, but they were free now. Mundus was gone, the lab and scientists were gone, they were free from the suffering and pain and could live happily.

His eyes returned to Jade, who had reached the top of the rock and was pulling off her shirt, tossing it to Dante. She stretched, paused, then leaped and made a dive into the sea, her legs transforming into a gleaming tail in mid-air before she disappeared under with a splash. Ten minutes passed and she didn't surface, and all of a sudden she burst out of the water in a spetacular backward arc, the droplets of water shining in the sunlight.

Jade looked free, free and beautiful with complete freedom to swim and leap and dive whenever she wanted. Her Devil Trigger form had been altered, but to Vergil, this mermaid form suited her the most. It was beautiful to him, although humans considered it frightening.

"Enjoying the view, are we, bro?" Dante's grinning visage appeared in his line of sight and he scowled, unhappy at having being disturbed. Without an invitation, his brother sat down beside him, watching Jade as well.

"You know, when I first found you, I wanted to know what they did to Jade and you." Dante shook his head ruefully. "Then I found out that I didn't want to know at all. I saw those tapes, Vergil. I saw them, and it made me sick. I think I wanted to just go out and kill every human in sight, but.... Jade reminded me that there are good humans out there, like Lady.. and Enzo, though he seriously needs a lipo suction."

He chuckled and leaned back, sighing. "When are you going to start talking, Verge? I've been doing the talking for a month now, and you're still not responding. C'mon... say something to me. Heck, even a bitch-slap would be welcome. Anything to tell me you're still in there, bro."

If Vergil was listening, he made no sign of it, his ice-blue eyes trained on the sea, staring out at nothing. Jade was swimming below the surface and hadn't risen since her last leap.

"It really isn't fair because you left alone all those years and I had to take care of her, since the last incident in Temen-Ni-Gru.. and talking about that, I'm glad Lady hasn't dropped by since. I'd hate to listen to her bitching about me owing her cash......."

Dante's insistent chatter was starting to grind on his ears a bit and Vergil gave a small, unnoticable twitch.

"... And I'm guilty to Jade too, leaving her for a few years alone with Lady. It wasn't really my fault, though. I'd say it's yours, because you were the cause of my amnesia......."

There was a splash and Jade's head appeared from under the water as she took a deep breath and pushed her wet hair and water out of her eyes. The sight almost made Vergil smile again.

"... But I find that over the years of your absence, I may have fallen in love with our little Jade baby-"

"Shut up."

"Yeah, I know I- what...?" Dante stopped mid-sentence and turned to look disbelievingly at Vergil. "Did you just... speak?"

Identical eyes turned to look at him and Vergil scowled. "I said shut up. You talk too much as always. What I needed was rest, both mentally and physically, and your ranting did not help one bit with my condition. So could you just shut that pie-hole you call a mouth for once, and let me heal in peace?!"

Dante stared at his brother in shock. After the long silence, hearing so many words come from his brother was something to be celebrated, a miracle to shout about. "Jade!!!" Before her knew it, he was up and running to where Jade drifted lazily with the tide. "Jade, he spoke! Vergil just spoke! And he cursed me!!!!! He cursed me, you hear? It's a miracle!"

Vergil fought the urge to facepalm and roll his eyes as his younger twin went about screaming and shouting, dragging Jade out of the water. It wasn't long before he was pulled into a tight bear hug by said man, with Jade watching sheepishly.

Again, said man ended up bitch-slapped just because he had requested it earlier.

"I'm not mentally ill, if that's what you're thinking." Vergil explained later on. "True, I'm still traumatized by what happened, but I'm healing nicely.. if you'd just give me some peace and quiet. It isn't easy to close your eyes and heal when someone keeps yapping in your ear all day long, though it does provide a good distraction from the nightmares."

"You cocky bastard..." Dante finally said after closing his gaping jaw. "You never once responded to me! I was so..."

Worried. The word hung in the air in silence for a while without him having to say it. Then, whithout warning, Jade leaned over and enveloped Vergil in a hug, hiding her face in his neck. the Blue Devil looked surprised and slightly awkward, looking up rapidly at Dante for help before hesitantly putting his arms around her to pat her back.

Dante snickered.

Jade was silent for the first few minutes, the cool drops of her tears falling on his warm skin, before she lifted her head and smiled at him, her eyes brimming with tears, but clear. "I'm so glad... Welcome back, Vergil."

And before he knew it, she was kissing him.

Dante was laughing when Jade broke away, red-faced before escaping to the water again, calling for them to join her. A slow smile broke across Vergil's face as he got up and followed her and his brother.

He was home at last.... and his nightmares were over....

Amaranth

A/N: Now seriously... how long has it been since I updated this? ^^; problem is.. I've been too lazy and my muse flew off to Mount Olympus... so... at last I'm lifting my lazy hand up to the computer... and I'm trying to write this. Since I've gotten over Kamelot, I've been hooked to Nightwish due to Anette's amazing vocals. The best song so far that I've ever heard is Amaranth, that's why this chapter is named after it. Originally, I wanted to dedicate this song to Dante.. or Vergil... you know, considering one of them died, but I changed my mind in the end and went about dedicating it to Vergil instead because he's such a lonely man.
____________________________________________________________________

UPDATES:
1) Vergil dumped Amy (months ago) so I jumped him like I said I would. And yeah.. we're still together..
2) It seems that whatever we do on MySpace... uh... either consists of him dominating me... and me waking him up to more.
3) Crushing on Daaaannnntteeeeee.....!!!!!! XD Lol... yeah, since Vergil and I are not really a couple but having an affair after that "break-up".
4) No, scrap that. Dante and I ARE a couple! *giggle*
____________________________________________________________________

Caress the one, the Never-Fading,

Rain in your heart, the tears of snow-white sorrow,

Caress the one, the hiding Amaranth,

In the land of the daybreak...

~Amaranth~

~Nightwish (Dark Passion Play)~

____________________________________________________________________

Rebirthing

MazdaKitsune
Chapter 3- Amaranth

The large form of Sparda towered over her and Vergil, the environment around them reducing to total silence. Jade could swear she heard the frantic beating of her heart, the rapid shallow breaths of fear that she took. All was still for a while.. and sudden she found herself under attack, screaming as Sparda lunged towards her with razor sharp claws, ready to tear her heart out. Instinctively, she brought Yamato up to defend herself, and enraged, the demon lord threw her to the side. pain flared up her whole body and she screamed again, this time in fear for her life......

Jade's eyes snapped open and she found herself lying in a bed, covered in sweat with her heart beating away at her chest with the speed of Dante firing Ebony and Ivory. Someone's palm rested on her forehead, but her vision was unfocused, blurred, and her chest tightened painfully, cutting off air to her lungs. She whimpered, desprate for oxygen before she could pass out again.

"She's having a panic attack..." A seemingly familliar voice said. "Calm down and breathe, child. You're safe now."

Somehow, her mind obeyed the gentle but firm command, forcing her heart to slow just enough for her to take in a wheezing gulp of blessed air. Her eyes watered and she blinked to clear her vision. "D-Dante...? Vergil...?" she croaked, searching for them.

The hand left her forehead and Dante's face appeared above her, a relieved grin on his face. "Welcome back, babe. Man, when you started screaming like that, I think you almost gave Verge here a heart attack."

Jade slowed down her breathing at his voice and pushed herself up, ignoring the flare of pain in her arms. "Where am I..?"

"You're in my mansion." The voice from before said, and she turned to see Sparda standing calmly by her side, Vergil once again deliberately not looking at her. The Legendary Knight smiled down at her and once again placed a hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry to have startled you, dear child. It only occured to me later on that you are a friend of my sons. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to traumatize you by attempting to take your life."

"It's... it's alright, Mr. Sparda.." Jade stammered, then rubbed her head when he lifted his hand away. "What happened? Why am I here?"

"Well, Vergil brought you back, all passed out from shock, I think." Dante rubbed his nose as he began to explain. "You've been out cold for a day now. That is... until you started screaming at the top of your lungs about five minutes ago. Hell, we were catching up peacefully in the den, and suddenly we hear you screaming like a demon had a bite out of your ass or something... Dear old V was the first to arrive, but no matter how much he tried, you wouldn't wake up. Until dad came along and did one of his mind thingys again..."

Sparda suppressed a snort of laughter and carressed Jade's hair. "I take it that you're confused and hungry, young one. I shall leave you to yourself now and see if there's food in the kitchens. Come, son.. let's not distress her further."

"See ya later, babe." Dante pressed a kiss to her forehead before following his father out. Strangely, Vergil stayed where he was, and Sparda did not call him out. He was staring out of the window, his face an unreadable mask, and slowly.... Jade felt the tension in the air rise. Finally, unable to take it any longer, she said quietly, "Um.. thank you for saving me... I.. uh.."

Oh, pretty smooth, Jade. She chided herself with a wince when Vergil turned a cold eye on her and walked away. You could have just kept quiet and let him do the talking first. Absently, she had started picking at the scars on her arms again as was her habit, and was startled when a warm hand closed over her wrist, stopping her. She looked up in surprise to see him close to her, observing her face.

"Don't." Vergil said as he sat down next to her with a first-aid kit. "It won't heal properly if you keep doing that, and the scar will just be more prominent." He opened the kit and rummaged inside for some lotion and a cotton swab. "You pretty much injured yourself when Father threw you off to the side. Nothing much, just some scrapes and bruises. But it's wiser to treat them properly or risk it getting infected. Besides, your skin would get marred by the remains of scars."

Jade just nodded dumbly at his words, watching him busy himself with the cotton and lotion. There was a slight crease between his eyebrows, and she knew for a fact that it appeared there each time he was concentrating on something... which was probably all the time as that look almost seemed perpetual now. It was so like him... so like him to be cold, precise and ever so meticulous with his work. She wondered how it must have been like growing up as him. Did he ever laugh, or smile or even relax and say something warm to someone? There must have been somebody he smiled to before. She couldn't imagine him never smiling once in his life....

Something cold touched her skin and she almost jumped. Vergil paused from where he was swabbing a scrape on her arm and looked up curiously at her. "Did I hurt you? I apologize if I did."

"No... no, you didn't. I'm sorry." Jade shook her head to clear her muddled senses. Vergil's fingers had closed over her elbow and had turned her arm up in order to reach some of the scars there, and his palm was pressing warmly against her skin. His touch left her breathless somehow, and the way he was gently touching her many scars... it left her heart fluttering. "What's that you're using on me?"

"Aloe Vera. It's supposed to reseal the skin and soothe it fast without leaving too much of a mark during the wound's healing process." Vergil said without stopping, frowning when he saw the remains of an old scar running down the side of her right arm, from wrist fading towards her elbow. "This...."

Jade followed his gaze, and her face flushed red. The memories of how she had gotten it was fresh in her mind, and it was the result of Vergil accidentally hurting her during one of his nightmares. "I... I got it from a cat."

"It looks too deep to be from a cat's claw." Vergil stated flatly. "I gave this to you, didn't I?" He searched her face, but she stayed silent. After a minute, he realized that she wasn't going to give him one, and started on the rest of the scrapes that he could see on her back, moving further up on the bed to get behind her. Jade was thoughtful, silent throughout his gentle ministrations, moving when he told her to move, twitching when he brushed a sore spot.

"Vergil?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you leave?"

"To restore my pride." Vergil said shortly, his eyes flicking to the back of her neck, discreetly noting the invisible mark he had left on her left shoulder before turning back. No, he would not admit to her that he had left because her very presence made him loose control, driving him mad with need. "There's a wound on your neck. I need you to bend forwards slightly."

Jade complied, bending her head so that her neck curved up to him. He hesitated, then gathered her hair and draped it over her shoulder to access the skin easily, touching the scar lightly with a finger. Instantly, she gave a yelp of pain, jerking away from him. "That hurts!"

Vergil frowned, taking in the seriousness of the wound. It didn't look serious, but the stretching of the skin probably caused it to hurt. Furthermore, there was dried blood on it, making it painful to move. Drawn by the scent and sight of her blood, Vergil struggled with himself. "There's... some dried blood here, so it'll hurt a bit if you stretch the skin."

"Really?" Jade made to twist around, her hand coming up to touch it gingerly, but Vergil's hand shot out and closed over her wrist tightly, holding her in a vice-like grip.

"Don't..." he said harshly, his breathing rough and irregular. "Don't move an inch, Jade. I can't control myself if you do."

Jade nodded mutely, instantly going still in his arms. Vergil tried to calm himself down, to ruthlessly crush the demon struggling within him, but it was difficult and painful. His demonic instincts demanded that he mark his mate, to claim her and satisfy his hunger on her. He let out a growl of frustration, and felt the shiver of fear that rippled through her. She was afraid of him.. He can't... He shouldn't...

Vergil leaned forwards and pressed his lips to the wound on the back of her neck, gently running his tongue over the dried blood to clean it off. Jade gave a gasp and tried to twist around. "Vergil! What..."

"Shh... Didn't I tell you not to move?" Vergil breathed against her ear, his arms tightening around her waist. "You've let me have your blood many times before... why are you scared now?"

Jade went as still as a stone, her eyes widening slightly. She wasn't afraid, would never be afraid of giving him her blood, but his voice had dropped several octaves lower to a deep growl filled with possessiveness. The sudden change in his demeanor made her blood run cold, as did the sudden icy blue aura that swept over her, making her shiver, goosebumps appearing on her arms.

Vergil seemed to notice this, and whispered in her ear. "You're freezing cold, Jade... Do I really scare you that much...?"

Jade closed her eyes when she felt his breath on her ear. "No..."

"Liar." Vergil returned to the scar on her neck and started sucking softly on it, cleaning it with his tongue and urging the wound to heal. A shudder rippled through her and she moaned softly, unwittingly urging him to do more. Her moan made him trail kisses to the side of her neck, sucking on the skin softly before his lips drew back to reveal sharp fangs, the fangs of a predator. His eyes glowed a ruby red with his bloodlust as he prepared to bite her. But before his fangs could sink in, Jade stirred against him with a pleading whimper.

"Mm... Vergil..."

Vergil froze when she said his name, inches from biting her neck, his senses snapping back into place. Abruptly, he let her go and swung his legs off the bed, standing as frustration swept over him. Jade opened her glazed and dreamy eyes and stared at him, confused. "Vergil? What's wrong? Did I... Vergil!"

He had started walking to the door, and he looked back over his shoulder at her with a cold glare. "Don't." He snarled, wrenching the door open. "Follow me." With that, he left, leaving her shaken and confused.
____________________________________________________________________

Dante turned when he heard a slam and rapid, heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. "Well, that didn't go well..." he commented. "Looks like Mr. Emo lost it."

"Don't rile your brother up," Sparda advised without turning from the sandwiches he was making. "He's already going through a hard time recovering from his previous nightmare with Mundus. You remember when you were ten and you hid his favourite book?"

Dante winced. "Yeah. He went dominant on me and locked me in the cellar for days with the spiders till mom persuaded him to let me out."

Sparda chuckled. "You see? No telling what he might do now..." His voice trailed off as Vergil stalked through the kitchen, his face looking as if he had just been told that Dante was better than him; he was royally pissed off, but at who, nobody knew.

Dante made to slide off his chair, but Sparda held him back with a light frown, noting that his eldest son's eyes were glowing a ruby red. "Hold on... Let him cool down a bit first."

"It's not Vergil that I'm worried about. It's Jade." Dante said, tearing his gaze away from his brother's back to look towards the stairs. "What in the world did he do to her?"

"I... I'm fine, Dante..." Jade's small voice said as she appeared, looking flushed, confused and very dishelved. "Maybe it was my fault. He was helping me with my wounds.. and then he.. got attracted to one of the bleeding wounds on my neck and tried to.. but he left when I said his name."

"Young one..." Sparda walked over and took her by the shoulders, his sharp gaze travelling over her and coming to rest on her right shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over at his youngest son. "Dante..."

"I didn't do anything!" Dante protested. "What.. oh." His cerulean eyes rested on the same spot before flicking to her other shoulder, a slow smirk coming to his lips. "Ah... I see..."

"See what?" Jade frowned, evidently confused as she looked back and forth from father to son. "Dante, just what the Hell is going on?"

"I'll go handle Vergil." Dante automatically said, sliding off his chair. "Catch you later, Jade, Pops."

"Wait!" Jade glared as the Red Devil beat a hasty exit, leaving her outraged and even more confused than she already was. Sparda shook his head and steered her to a chair, pushing her down onto it. "Do you want some tea and sandwiches, Jade?" He began to busy himself with a teapot. "My darling Eva used to say that I made tea which was out of this world.. but I think I'll leave it to you to judge. Anyway, you'll need it to handle what I'm going to say to you."
____________________________________________________________________

"Verge?" Dante cautiously poked his head into the ground floor's study room. It was dark, and he could make out Vergil's shape by the corner of a window. "Verge, c'mon..." He made his way into the room, only to be stopped by a cold glare of ruby-red eyes. Damn, Vergil was sure going dominant on him...

"Go away." Vergil ground out. "I don't want to see anybody, least of all you."

"I know how you feel, but it's not-" Dante began, but was cut off when a Summoned Sword almost ran him through.

"You know how I feel?!" Vergil snarled incredously. "YOU know how I feel?! You're nothing but someone whose easy charm wins the heart of many women around you! You have NO idea HOW to treat a lady, but sleeps with them and leaves them the next day, and doesn't take responsibility for how they feel! And here you come and tell me that you know how I feel?" He turned away, nails digging into the palms of his hands. "You have no idea how I felt when I saw your mark on her shoulder. I thought Jade was special... I know she was when I saw your mark on her shoulder. I thought Jade was special... I know she was when she willingly offered her blood to me. But YOUR mark was on HER shoulder and I knew you branded her as mate... yet she isn't your mate. When she says my name.. I don't know if she's saying it merely because it's me.. or she doesn't mean it when she looks at me and sees you. You bastard, I felt her LOVE for you, hidden deep within."

Dante was silent as Vergil continued his little rant. His suspicions were confirmed and as much as he wanted to punch him in the face and let loose a few rounds into his brother's head, he held his anger and temper in check. Fighting and angry words were not going to get him anywhere with this one. Their earlier fight had already caused their father sorrow... There was no need for more, especially when they were handling the delicate matter of fighting over the claim of a lifemate. "You done yet, bro? Or do I need to pull up a chair and wait while you continue to whine?"

"You-" Vergil's porcelain skin flushed red with rage, but Dante held up both hands.

"Chill! Look, I know we had this talk and this fight over and over again, but for Pops' sake, let's not start another fight in the same day. Something tells me he won't let us go for a second one. What happened between Jade and me.. that was a long time ago, okay? Yeah, sure I used her for the mating season-WHOA!!! DAMMIT, WOULD YOU CALM DOWN?!"

He shouted in outrage as yet another Summoned Sword tried to bury itself in his body and he leaped aside with a growl. "Look! Yes, we were in love before, okay? That was why I left my mark on her shoulder! We used to love each other and I thought it would be forever, but it didn't turn out!" Dante spoke rapidly in case Vergil tried to spear him with another Sword again. "I can't erase what I left there, but since I'm not bound to her anymore, it'll fade in a few months or so! Jade's free and in case you hadn't noticed, she's currently infatuated with you, you idiot! Why do you think she offered her blood so willingly to you? Do you want me to spell it out? SHE. LOVES. YOU!!"

He turned away. "And if you still don't get it, then explain to me why you told Jade you loved her before you put her to sleep back at the ritual site."

Vergil regarded him, the red of his eyes flickering back to it's cool blue. He shared a special connection with his twin, but he wasn't expecting Dante to be in his mind during that time. "You have no right to incade my privacy."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Except I wasn't invading it... the words came through our mental path loud and clear."

"Do not test my patience, Dante."

"Fine. But you know, if you really love her, stop acting like a jerk and tell her." Dante walked back to the door, but paused by a cd-player on the way and held out his hand, Summoning a cd by way of telepath. "And if you don't know... Jade's favourite band is Nightwish, her favourite song the third track of the Dark Passion Play album, Amaranth." With that, he put in the cd and walked out.

Vergil closed his eyes, calming himself down as the clear vocals cut through the air, sounding very much like Jade.. wait. It WAS Jade. His eyes snapped open and he turned to see her standing behind her, a wary expression on her face as she sang softly.

"Baptized with a perfect name... The doubting one by heart... Alone without himself..." Jade looked at him, only her lips moving. "War between him and the day... Need someone to blame... In the end little he can do alone..."

"Jade..."

"You're not alone, Vergil." Jade said as her chin trembled and she moved forwards to hug him, burying her face in his chest. "You're never alone. You have me to share your pain with... All those nights, I held you, I stayed with you, but even while you recovered, you refused to share your pain with me. You have me now.. Please... let me share your pain, ease it for you.. I don't want to see you suffer like this.."

Slowly, Vergil's arms surrounded her, held her close. "My pain is not for you to know, Jade.." he said softly. "It's too much for a human to handle.. it would drive you mad as it made me mad and made Dante lose his memories."

I love you...

There it was again, those words unbidden. Why could she turn away the darkness in his mind with a simple touch, make him feel at ease with her voice? She was his light, the one to complete him. But Vergil couldn't say them, couldn't tell her... "Jade."

"What is it, Vergil?"

He looked down at her, his expression unchanging. Then his thumb swept across her cheek, rubbing it softly. "Explain to me this feelings. Why... do I feel warm inside when you're in my arms? Why is it that you gave your blood so willingly to me, to help me, to want to share my pain? Why does all this make me ache, yet put me at ease?" He stared into her emerald eyes. "I don't understand this... but I do know one thing." His eyes rested on her left shoulder next and he bent to nuzzle the skin through her shirt.

"I am your mate." Jade said softly, closing her eyes. "Your father explained everything to me. Vergil... why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I? When I don't know how to love?" Vergil regarded her. "It has frustrated me many times, Jade. Time and time again, I didn't know how I could tell this to you. Your very presence drives me mad, drove me insane so I had to leave. I didn't know what to do or say."

"A simple 'I love you' would've sufficed." Jade smiled slightly. "I'm scared, Vergil. I admit, I don't know what we've both done. You're not Dante, and I barely know you. But.. I'm willing to work it out." She looked at him hopefully. "I'm willing to get to know you, all of you... but a little at a time."

Vergil looked down at her. "I'll never understand you, human." He bent towards her neck, lips brushing against her pulse.

"But in time you will." Jade closed her eyes as his teeth sank deep, connecting them together. and she offered herself to him yet again.

(tsuzuku)

Leave Out All The Rest

A/N: Thought it might be a good theme song for Zack Fair.... Rest in peace, Zack... *cries* I love youuu!!!!
___________________________________________________________________

Leave Out All The Rest
MazdaKitsune

The room was fairly silent, except for the girl sitting at the desk, her head buried in her arms. Short black hair brushed her shoulders, hazel eyes closed as she listened to the music playing in her ears, courtesy of the earplugs that was connected to her phone. Linkin Park's latest album, "Minutes To Midnight" sat near her, the cd still in it's casing. Jade didn't bother taking it out; her favourite songs were already saved on her phone and the cd wouldn't be going anywhere without her knowing it.

She was depressed. Oh yes, she was. This shiczo little authoress was simply feeling depressed that day. Maybe it was just mood swings, she didn't know. She had been having totally random mood swings lately, from a bounciness to a moody depression to a sudden bad bout of crankiness. Pink lips moved silently, mouthing the lyrics to her favourite song in the album.

"I dreamed I was missing...
You were so scared...
But no one would listen...
'Cause no one else cared..."

A bitter-like kind of smile appeared on Jade's lips. She felt so lonely sitting all alone in her room, but she had no one else to come talk to her or comfort her. It couldn't be helped. Life sometimes was unfair to her. Sniffling, she continued on.

"After my dreaming...
I woke with this fear...
What am I leaving...
When I'm done here...?"

"So if you're asking me I want you to know..." The familliar, youthfull voice made her gasp in shock, her head whipping up and whirling around to face the owner of that voice. What she saw made her eyes widen in disbelief. "Zack?!"

A smile appeared on his face and he nodded, holding out his hand to her. "When my time comes... Forget the wrong that I've done.. Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed... And don't resent me... When you're feeling empty... Keep me in your memory... Leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest.."

"Zack.." Jade's eyes began filling with tears as she removed the earplugs from her ears and grasped his hand, letting him pull her to him. Her phone dropped to the ground with a thump, the cord disconnecting from it so the music filled the room softly. "Oh my God.. It's really you, Zack... it's really you..."

"Gomen na, Jade..." Zack hugged her tightly. "It wasn't my fault... I couldn't do anything about it..."

"But you died!" Jade cried, looking up at him. "Why did you always have to play the hero and die in the end? I never wanted you to..."

Don't be afraid...
I've taken my beating...
I've shed but I'm me...

Mako coloured eyes met her hazel ones and for a moment, they filled with pain. "I'm strong on the surface... Not all the way through..." He caressed her cheek gently, wiping away her tears. "I've never been perfect... But neither have you..."

"It's not fair, Zack... I never wanted you to die..." Jade cried as she buried her face in his chest. "But then again, this is all a dream, right? I'll wake up soon and find myself alone again in an empty room... You're not really here..."

"Maybe it's a dream, maybe it's not.. What do you think?" Zack released her and sat on her bed. "Your hair's grown out longer."

A strangled laugh escaped her. "Don't change the subject... I don't know how you can go around with a smile on your face all the time... You were even smiling when you died..."

"Saa... shiranai, yo?" He shrugged nochalantly. "Maybe I've lived my life the way I wanted it to be. Maybe I'm just happy Cloud got to live." Zack looked at her, his voice going soft. "You're not alone, Jade... remember that.. You'll never be alone."

Forgetting all the hurt inside...
You've learned to hide so well...
Pretending someone else can come...
And save me from myself...

Jade shook her head and turned away. "I can't be who you are..." she whispered. "I can't be who you are..."

"Jade." Zack got up and hugged her again. "Whatever you do... wherever you go... I'll always be watching over you. Don't hate Cloud. He's the reason I lived. He's the proof that I had lived once before." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll never let you be alone. When you look up at the sky... think of me.. and I'll be there with you."

"Zack..." Jade closed her eyes and whispered longingly. "I love you..."

"I know you do, Jade. I know you do..."
___________________________________________________________________

With a start, Jade opened her eyes to find that she had fallen asleep on her desk. Gingerly, she got up and stretched her stiff muscles before bending down to pick up her fallen phone. There on the table before her, was a perfect sketch of Zack Fair from Final Fantasy Crisis Core in her sketch book. For a while, she sat and stared at Zack's smile, the shining mako-filled eyes that glowed with warmth.

Was it all a dream? Had she really met Zack Fair? She let her finger trace his smile before she set the sketch book down and placed her pencil aside. There, written in a corner of a book were the lyrics to her song.

When my time comes...
Forget the wrong that I've done...
Help me leave behind some...
Reasons to be missed...

Don't resent me...
When you're feeling empty...
And keep me in your memories...
Leave out all the rest...

A smile appeared on her face and she nodded once at her drawing, smiling at it. "Zack..." Turning, she got up and turned off the light before leaving the room.
____________________________________________________________________

Forgetting all the hurt inside...
You've learned to hide so well...
Pretending someone else can come...
And save me from myself...
I can't be who you are...

I can't be who you are...