Monster Squad

Hikaru had mud and dirt streaked across her face again. She didn\'t care, though, as she moved a plant from an old pot to a new pot. It was the last one she had to transplant before the shop closed. Her thoughts were not on her task, and she nearly drowned the plant. /Aya, where the hell are you?/ As if in answer, the tall redhead walked into the shop.

Ken came in from the back room and dropped the watering can he was carrying. \"Aya, are you okay?\" the chocolate haired boy asked.

\"Fine. Why?\"
Yohji appeared from somewhere and slung his arm around their leader. \"Cuz yer smilin.\' An you never smile.\"

\"I\'ve had a good day. Should it bother you so much that I can smile?\"
Yohji snorted. \"You mean you\'ve had a good lay.\"

\"That\'s not what I said.\" Aya snapped defensively. Despite his words, a blush crept into his cheeks and gave Yohji the confirmation that he was looking for.

\"Then what\'s this blush for? Huh?\" the older blond prodded.

\"Oh, come on you guys. Stop acting like third graders,\" Hikaru said.
Aya looked at Hikaru, as if noticing her for the first time. Smiling even wider, he strode over to her and picked up the damp towel from the counter. With gentle sweeping motions, the red-haired assassin rid her face of the grime that covered it. \"I need to talk to you,\" he murmured. Taking Hikaru\'s wrist in his hand, he led her from the room.

\"I stand corrected,\" Yohji muttered. \"He\'s hoping to get a good lay.\"

\"Baka,\" Ken said. \"Help me close the shop.\"

\"And what\'ll you give me I do?\" Yohji asked, his laziness nagging at him.

\"More than Aya\'s gonna get.\"

\"What\'s with him anyway? Do you know Kenken? I mean, he\'s just so talkative now. It\'s like he\'s someone totally new. Aya does NOT talk, Ken.\"

\"I know that Yohji. There\'s a lot about him that we don\'t know. He\'s just another creature of the night. What is there to do about it?\"

\"Do you think he\'s sleeping with Hikaru?\"

\"No. He drank from her. He wouldn\'t do that to a lover.\"

Yohji sighed. He knew that Ken was right. Aya would never force anything like bloodsucking on someone he loved or cared about. Neither Ken or Aya had ever taken so much as a nip from he and Omi. They respected each other too much for that. Giving in, he began to help his friend close the shop.

In Aya\'s room, Hikaru sat on the redhead\'s bed and watched him as he sat in the chair that belonged to the desk across the room. His violet eyes met her own in a sad gaze. He was silent for a moment, then began speaking.

\"Treize has asked me to hunt you down and bring you back. Unfortunately for all of us, I don\'t want to do that. There\'s not enough of a reason for me to do so. Of course, I could be a good little dog and do as he says, but I see something in you that shouldn\'t be caged.\"

\"I don\'t think you should betray the Master of Tokyo,\" Hikaru stated flatly.

\"What?\"

\"It\'s not wise to challenge a vampire three times your age. He knows far too much.\"

\"You know?!\" Aya\'s eye were as large and round as Omi\'s.

\"Of course I know. Why else would you be sucking my blood? Only vampires and psychos do that. You\'re not a psycho.\"

\"Is that all that told you I am a vampire?\"

\"No, you reek of blood and death. Just like all other vampires do. Except Ken. He\'s not really a vampire is he?\"

\"I don\'t know. He and Yohji aren\'t very talkative when it comes to their origins. Omi and I are simply what we are.\" Aya cast his eyes to the ground. /How could I have been so blind? I knew that she had woken up when I was feeding...but how could she smell me? I know I reek, but no mere human could smell it./ The redheaded assassin sighed.

\"Aya, is Zechs alright? You\'ve been with him today, was he hurt?\" Hikaru\'s voice was quiet and gentle. She didn\'t want to upset the vampire, but she needed to know that her blond friend was alive and well. /Treize, if you hurt him, I swear..../

\"Roku is fine. He\'s sick, but I think he\'s gonna get over it. Why?\"

\"He told you? I didn\'t think he would. I had to drag it out of him. Did you save him?\"

\"I had to.... I love him.\" A sad pain flickered across Aya\'s face. He hadn\'t wanted to
think about Zechs\'... condition.

Hikaru smiled at the usually stoic redhead. \"Aya, you have to protect him. Treize is very possessive about each of us. He\'s taken a liking to you, judging by the look in your eyes. He won\'t be happy to discover that you\'ve had both Illia and I in your company for sometime now. He\'ll kill you, and one of us. Don\'t cross him, Aya. It\'s not wise.\"

\"Then what do you suggest I do?\" Aya snapped.

\"Tell Treize that you haven\'t found me yet and are still looking. I will return to him of my own free will in a few days. Then we\'ll see how things go.\"

\"Baka. He won\'t let you go again.\"

\"He can\'t keep me caged forever, Aya. I am too great a power for him to do so.\"

\"So what exactly are you?\"

The blond\'s blue eyes grew teary, but she didn\'t allow her voice to waver. \"I don\'t know. I just know that I can do things that no one in either world is supposed to be able to do. I can\'t die, Aya. I can\'t be destroyed...I\'ve tried.\"

Aya rose from his chair and sat beside Hikaru, taking her into his arms. \"We\'ll figure everything out. You aren\'t going back to Treize. I\'ll deal with him.\"

\"Aya...\"

Omi burst through the door. \"Ah, gomen nasai. I\'ll come back later.\" A thick blade of jealousy stabbed him in the gut as he saw that Hikaru was with Aya.

\"No, Omi, what is it?\" Aya asked.

\"We...we have a mission. Manx is here. She wants us all down there. I told her that you might be busy now...\" The boy lowered his gaze from the two on the bed.

\"No, we\'re not busy, Omi,\" Aya rose, glancing at Hikaru as he did so. \"You\'ll have to stay here. Manx won\'t allow you to see a mission.\"

\"Uh, Aya-kun?\" Omi began. The redhead cast a stern look in his direction, but he continued anyway. \"Hikaru is the reason Manx is here. She has a mission for us concerning her. It\'s important. Hikaru has to come.\"

\"...\" Aya\'s face revealed nothing as he took Hikaru\'s had in his and led her into the lower levels of the apartment. Omi tailed them, silent for fear of Aya\'s cold treatment. He watched as the older assassin drew Hikaru close to him on the stairs. /Why?/ The young blond thought. /Why does she have to fall in love with Aya? Why does he have to respond? Doesn\'t he already have a lover? Or is that guy just a really good friend of his? Dammit, WHY?/ Omi silenced his thoughts when they reached the bottom of the stairs. He had to look as if everything were normal, as normal as two vampires, a werewolf, and a green child could get. The boy watched as Aya and Hikaru sat together on the couch. Ken and Yohji were in the chairs, leaving him to stand in Aya\'s usual space. Manx stood in the center of the room, usual red suit in place and waiting for them.

\"So you are the famous Maeda Hikaru. You\'re the cause of the turmoil that has been occurring,\" the woman said with a sneer.

Hikaru looked at the woman. \"I am aware of what has been going on. Treize will stop at nothing to have me returned,\" she said evenly. The television screen was turned on suddenly, and a silhouette of a man began to speak to them.

\"Weiss, there have been a number of killings lately, each related to the previous. The killings were committed by a group of five men, none of whom were careful enough to hide their faces. They are members of an elite force call the Preventers. These five were also the Gundam pilots of the war.\" The faces of Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Trowa Barton appeared on the screen. \"These assassins have been hunting a young woman named Maeda Hikaru. She is to be found, and the Preventers are to be destroyed. White hunters of evil, pursue the tomorrows of these dark monsters.\" The screen faded to black.
Manx turned to face Hikaru. \"These men are killing in your name. When are you going to give yourself up?\"

\"She\'s not,\" Aya said. \"You and Persia-sama shouldn\'t get involved in this one. We\'re already taking care of it.\"

\"So you\'ll take the mission.\"

\"No, this is not a mission to kill those boys. They have a good reason to be doing what they are doing. The people who have been killed are threatening the well-being of the world. You and Persia-sama will have to wait this one out.\"

\"Aya!\" Yohji snapped. \"Are you nuts? Acting against Persia like this?\"

\"No. I know what is going on better than they do. I am a part of it. There will be no mission.\"

\"What do you mean you are a part of it?\"

\"I am a vampire. Treize is my lord and master. He overrules any order given to me by these two. I have been ordered to return Hikaru to him, and that is what I am going to do.\" The rest of them stared at Aya, stunned partly by his rebellion and partly by his confession to being a vampire in front of Hikaru.

\"I\'m glad you see things my way, Aya-kun,\" Hikaru murmured. Having had enough of Kritiker\'s antics for the day, she turned on her heel and went up the stairs.

The Weiss boys simply looked at Manx, who was trying to figure out just what to do. Tiring of the silence and confusion quickly, Aya followed Hikaru up the stairs. He looked for her in the first place he thought she would be: his room. She wasn\'t there, and Aya\'s search continued until he found her on the balcony of the apartment. He walked up to her in silence, not sure why he had come after her in the first place.

/Because I am falling for her.../

Hikaru sat on the balcony railing, staring at the courtyard three stories below. A simple white fountain spouted water in the center, and served as a watering hole and bathhouse for the birds. A young man with a wild mop of moss green hair walked into the courtyard, one Heero Yuy. Hikaru\'s eyes narrowed, and she shifted her position on the railing from sitting to readying for a pounce. The next second, she was gone.
Aya watched as the German woman jumped from the balcony. Gasping, he ran to the railing and looked over. Hikaru was rolling on the ground with a young man, struggling to dominate him. Despite the man\'s smaller frame and weight, he was overpowering Hikaru. Aya drew the dagger he kept strapped to his ankle and jumped to the ground. The man had Hikaru pinned to the ground and was open to attack from above. Swooping in for the kill, Aya raised his dagger.

Hikaru saw Aya\'s attack and rolled Heero onto his back, covering him from the oncoming blow. Aya stopped short, confused by Hikaru\'s actions. Heero pushed Hikaru off him, and stood.

\"What do you think you are doing?\" the wing pilot growled, giving Aya the infamous Yuy death glare.

Aya was unmoved by the look- since he could de sae same- and passed it off with a calm, cold sentence. \"I should be asking you the same.\"

\"Aya, this is Yuy Heero. Heero, this is Fujimiya Aya.\" Hikaru stated flatly.

\"This the guy that pissed off Chang so badly?\" Heero muttered.

\"You mean before or after I did?\"

Heero\'s lips quirked into a smirk, but his voice held none of the amusement he expressed.\"After. I\'m only here because we want to get you to a safehouse. Chang is against it all the way, but you know how he is when he fails to fulfil a mission. We don\'t want you to go back to Khushrenada. The men we\'ve killed are key to a ceremony that our dear General wants to perform. We slowed him down a couple of days, but that won\'t matter once he has you.\"

\"Guess you won\'t be going back to Treize after all, ne Hikaru?\" Aya murmured softly.

\"No, I am going back. For Illia. I can\'t just leave him there alone.\"

\"Let Zechs play his part!\" Heero barked. \"You can\'t save a human who’s dying from AIDS anyway!\"

\"Aya already has.\"

In a moment of human-ish emotion, Heero squawked, \"What?! Great now Treize will know exactly who is lover is, and he has no hope of escaping this ordeal with his life.\" Heero slid back into his stoic persona as he watched their plans get blown out of the water. The wild wing boys had decided to get Zechs out of the situation as soon as possible without alarming Treize. /This makes things difficult. Hn. What is wrong with this vampire? And why was Hikaru so intent on not having him hurt?/

\"It doesn\'t matter that Treize knows who I am. He\'s known since the first time I fucked Zekusu. I doubt that he will harm either of us.\" Aya paused as a thought entered his mind. /What if Treize had tried to lure me with seduction only to kill me for being Roku\'s lover?/

Heero heard Aya\'s thoughts as if man man had spoken them aloud. \"Catches on quick, doesn\'t he?\" the wing pilot murmured under his breath.

\"Shut up, Heero. Just because you are telepathic doesn\'t mean you can just jump in and out when ever you like,\" Hikaru chastised.

\"As the ultimate weapon, I have been given certain rights,\" Heero said flatly. He had no intention of allowing this redheaded assassin/vampire/whatever-else-he-could-be to get away with assisting in the prevention of merging two worlds that were meant to be exclusively one.

\"What do you mean, \'ultimate weapon\'?\" Aya asked.

\"...Hn.

\"I\'m sure you heard of the \'mad five\' during the war. One of those maniac scientists, uh.....\" Hikaru searched for the right word.

\"Modified.\" Heero spat.

\"That\'s a good one. Doctor J modified him, a bit.\"

\"Hn.\" Aya grunted. \"I don\'t want him here.\" With that, Aya slid into a fighting stance.
Heero mimicked his opponent.

Sighing, Hikaru moved out of the way. They were both too stubborn to try to convince otherwise. /DON\'T hurt him, Heero./

Heero snorted in response. Aya lunged at him, and he dodged easily enough. A wiry leg flew toward him as an unseen round house kick was launched at him. Heero caught the foot and pushed it away. The redhead spun where he stood, confused but undaunted. He erupted in a barrage of punches, each narrowly missing Yuy. While avoiding his attacker, Heero heard the unmistakable sound of running inside the apartment. He and Aya were being quiet, but apparently Aya lived with other out-worlders. Moving faster than Aya could see, Heero grabbed him by the throat and flung him carelessly into the ground.

The assassin lay there for a moment, trying to believe the strength he had felt. No one had ever thrown him, and this kid had just taken a millennia of fighting skills and smacked him three feet into the ground as if he were nothing but a ki particle. /What the hell?/ Sitting up, Aya heard his teammates running toward him. He glared up at Heero, slowly climbing out of his hole. The familiar sound of his katana flying through the air caught his attention, and he reached up to grab it. Glancing toward Omi, who usually threw the weapon, he saw that the team was ready to fight Yuy as one.

\"He\'d kill us all, if we fought him. Don\'t bother with him,\" Aya ordered. He looked over at Hikaru, who was watching with mild disinterest. /You knew, didn\'t you? There\'s more to this than meets the eye./ The redhead turned his attention back to Heero. \"Allow me to speak with her for a moment.\" Heero nodded in response, a disapproving grunt escaping his lips.

Aya ignored the wing pilot for the moment as he strode over to Hikaru. \"Would you mind telling me what I am being dragged into? I don\'t want to bring the others into this if at all possible. Please Hikaru,\" the vampire murmured.

Hikaru chanced a glance at Aya\'s vibrant violet eyes. The concern for his friends was evident in the orbs, and the truth shone through them. \"I honestly can\'t tell you much, Aya. I don\'t know why Treize has kept me around all of these centuries. Ask Heero to tell you what is going on, and make sure that I am there when it happens. There is one thing I can tell you for sure. I am NOT letting Illia die. I\'m going back for him. Neither one of you can stop me.\"

\"I wouldn\'t try, Hikaru.\" A smile flickered across Aya\'s face. \"You said you wanted three days time before you returned to Treize, ne?\"

\"Three days should be sufficient enough to do what I want. Then I\'ll go back to that damned building where our good lord and master Khushrenada keeps me. Heero can disagree with this all he likes. We can find a way for him to get me out,\" Hikaru surmised. She waved Heero over and looked him in the eyes.

\"I heard,\" the perfect soldier muttered. \"I\'m not going to tell you what\'s going on out here. That would be stupidity.\" He led the way into the apartments. Using his telepathic abilities, the wing pilot extracted the directions to the basement from Aya\'s mind and led the group to it. \"Sit,\" Heero ordered. The group organized itself on the furniture and awaited an explanation.

\"A few months ago, Hikaru ran away from her \'home\' with Treize Khushrenada. Around that time, the Preventers discovered a plot to merge our worlds. Our orders have been to stop this merging at all costs. However, several other points have been brought to light since then. The Preventers support the possibilities of the merging. In order to keep the merging from occurring, Khushrenada needs Hikaru\'s blood. We don\'t want her anywhere near him. It\'s that simple.\"

\"You can get me out after I get Illia out,\" Hikaru said flatly.

\"It\'s not wise to stay here. If I found you, the others will. Aya isn\'t the only one Treize employed to hunt you down. I\'d be careful if I were you.\" Heero turned and began to leave. Pausing, he turned around. \"I\'ll get you out when *I* see fit, Hikaru.\" With that final decision, Heero Yuy left the premises.

\"There will always be at least one of us with you. There\'s no reason to worry. None at all,\" Yohji murmured to Hikaru, despite Aya\'s glare. \"We\'ll work it out so that Aya is with you most of the time, since that seems to be what *he* wants.\" Yohji smiled brightly at the redhead, enjoying the snickers and giggles coming from his comrades behind him. Aya merely continued to give him a death glare.

\"That\'s not necessary, Yohji-kun. I\'ll be more than happy to burden you all.\" Aya snapped his head from Yohji to Hikaru, not liking what he was hearing. They all knew that he was the strongest out of the four of them; he could provide the best protection for her. Omi\'s strength was the closest to Aya\'s, and that didn\'t comfort the assassin any.

\"Do what you want, but there will always be one of us with you. Even in the bathroom.\" Aya\'s os wes were clear, extreme but clear. No one questioned the redhead as he left the room, quite obviously angry at the entire situation.

\"So who gets to spend tomorrow with her?\" Ken asked quietly. /Please don\'t let it be me. I don\'t want to be on the receiving end of Aya\'s wrath, nor do I want to be her babysitter./

\"I have tomorrow off, so I\'ll hang out with her,\" Yohji said.

\"Ok, I have the day after that off too,\" Omi piped. \"Ken-kun, why did you schedule us all for a day off this week?\"

\"I thought we could all use a day off. So I scheduled it. Aya was okay with it. So I did it.\" Ken offered. /She is spending the day with Yohji. *My* Yohji. She\'d better not try anything on him./

Not satisfied with the new situation, Ken left the basement a little miffed.

Omi groaned as he watched the chocolate-haired boy leave. \"Now they\'re both mad. What are we going to do with an angry Aya and an overprotective Ken? Its not so bad a situation.\" The youngest Weiss member sunk into the couch even further than he had been before. He hadn\'t liked the way Heero had been eyeing Aya and Hikaru, and now he didn\'t like the way they were acting. And that meeting hadn\'t cleared up anything. He was still just as confused as he was before. /Why me?/ Omi just couldn\'t see what was wrong with himself at this point either. He had been going through some ty moy mood swings lately. These swings wofteoften affiliated with Hikaru in Aya\'s arms. /Kuso! Why what\'s wrong with me? I\'m not gay, and I am not in love with Hikaru. Although, she is really soft for being nothing but muscle. Nice curving muscle.... Stop it! I am not getting more involved than I already am. Jesus, you\'d think I was in heat or something.../ An image of Aya violently thrusting into Hikaru appeared in his mind, entirely uninvited. Automatically, his hormones placed himself behind Hikaru and doing the same. /Kisama! What is this?!?! I can\'t be doing that!/ Exasperated, Omi stood and ran to his room without a word to either Yohji or Hikaru.

\"Yohji-kun? Is he okay?\" Hikaru asked quietly.

\"Yeah, he\'s a tough kid. He\'ll be fine.\" The blond assassin shrugged and waved her up the stairs. \"I doubt anyone will be cooking dinner so you want take out?\" he asked.

\"No, I\'m not very hungry. Thank you, though.\" Hikaru smiled warily at the other blond, then made her way up to Aya\'s room. Cautiously, she opened the closed door.
The redheaded vampire sat on his bed, growling as he spat curses in the language that the supernaturals called Laric. He didn\'t notice Hikaru open the door. His cursing switched to a form of heavy complaining. \"Why the hell does everyone have to stay with her? Why can\'t I just keep her?\" /What am I thinking? I love Roku, not this woman. Why am I being so protective?/ Without any warning, Aya punched a hole in his wall. Growling even more, he turned his attentions to the breathing he heard at his door. Hikaru stood watching him.

\"Are you okay, Aya-kun?\"

Aya glared at her, not liking her concern for him in the least. She shouldn\'t care about him, not when he was ready to force her into bed with him. \"No, I am not. You should stay somewhere else tonight,\" he ground out. In the back of his mind, he was screaming at himself. /Why are letting this wonderful body get away?! Weakling! You need to accept what you are and survive!/

\"If you say so,\" Hikaru murmured. She turned to leave, but Aya caught her arm.

\"I didn\'t mean to come off sounding cold, or rude. I do want you to stay here, but I can\'t guarantee your safety. I don\'t want to hurt you,\" Aya managed to say in a calm and controlled voice. He pulled Hikaru into his arms and buried his face in her hair. Relief flooded through him when Hikaru slid her arms around his waist and began to rub his back. Sleep lulled at him, and all thoughts of hurting Hikaru fled his mind. Aya felt himself being guided to the bed, where he was put to rest. Through his sleepy daze, he felt Hikaru crawl in beside him. Wrapping his arms around her, he fell asleep to her already heavy breathing.

### Hikaru walked into the living room of the apartment. A glaring red light panned over her, setting her attentions to her body. She was naked, but she couldn\'t figure out why. Slowly her body turned around, looking for something or someone. A deep feeling of sorrow filled her, although there was nothing to be sad about. A thick mist began to seep into the room. Tiny pricks of fear forced Hikaru to turn again. She forced her legs to move, forced them to take her farther into the room. Her legs stopped moving, and her head drooped, forcing her to look at the floor.

A body lay sprawled at her feet. Its pale skin was untouched by the red light. The willowy limbs were gracefully placed in the frozen dream of death. Hikaru leaned down, a sick feeling of fascination fillier. er. Reaching for the milk white skin, she started as a ragged, hitching sob clawed its way from the body. /It\'s still alive./ Hikaru thought with a twisted joy. A rough shove sent the body rolling. It landed on its back, revealing the face. Thick red hair spilled across the pallid cheeks and open slits of amethyst eyes. Ran... The word drifted through tir lir like a whispered breeze. A gob of air was sucked into the body, and the eyes flitted slightly with recognition. Hikaru turned her head as a curious owl would, inspecting this creature that she was about to tear apart. One of the arms was dragged from its limp designation on the floor to the air, where it hung between Hikaru\'s face and the body it belonged to. Hikaru leaned forward to lick the y ofy offered appendage, pondering its taste. Sweetness filled her mouth, not sickening like the taste of honey or too much sugar but sweet like the gentle touch of honeysuckle to the lips. Wanting more of this seemingly new taste, Hikaru stuck her tongue out for another lick. The arm moved as she did so, drawing her nearer to the body. It allowed her another lick then moved again. This continued until Hikaru was sitting atop the body, toyed with like an animal. The arm fell back to the floor, this time above the mop of unruly red hair. Still in need of the gentle sweetness, Hikaru leaned down.

A sharp stinging sensation ran through her neck as the body sank its teeth into her. Hikaru\'s eyes rolled back in her head as the body began to suck, drawing an opaque sense of pleasure from her nerves. As the pleasure grew, the body beneath her made conscious movements. Its arms slid around her, forcing her closer to the mouth. Slowly the body rose to a sitting position, then cradled hs its it withdrew from draining the life out of her supple body. Tilting her head, Hikaru looked up at the man that held her now. Ran...the name was on her lips now, begging for attention.

Ran held no interest in foreplay. He forced the her to the ground and roughly spread her legs. With a grunt, he thrust into her and clamped his mouth to her neck once again. Hikaru could feel his pleasure each time she cried out, enjoying it almost as much as he was. Suddenly her pleasure was replaced with a sheer, intense bl The The change forced her eyes open. They were greeted by a man with flame colored hair and amber eyes. He wasn\'t as rough as Ran had been, and he knew exactly what she wanted. He thrust into her at an unbelievable speed, cooing soft words of love to her. She orgasmed, and he came soon after. Taking her into his arms, he kissed her gently.

A name was whispered past his lips. Ko-ishi....###

Hikaru woke with a start. /What the hell was that?!/ Shifting is Aya\'s arms, she realized she was wet. Groaning she moved to go to the bathroom, but Aya drew her closer to him. Squirming, she tried to get free until she rubbed against something that made her bedmate gasp. Horrified that she has just rubbed against Aya\'s erection, Hikaru forced his arms open and ran to the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the realm of the gods, a man sat on the throne of the Northern Kingdom. Smiling to himself, he reached for his glass of wine. His lover would soon be his again. /My sweet, sweet Ko-ishi./

\"Blaze!\" a thick bass rumbled through the throne room. The single lantern above the golden throne shook in the air, scattering its light over the many treasures that lay hidden in the velvety darkness of the room. The man on the throne looked away from his wine, and at the man who stood in the great double doors that led to the hall.

\"Yes, Sirocco?\"

\"What do you think you are doing? Get off Ko-ishi\'s throne!\" the other roarroared. A dense blast of wind hit Blaze square in the chest, knocking him backward. The flame haired man glared up at the newcomer with vile hatred. Thick white hair swirled around the man\'s perfect model build, his icicle-colored eyes filled with the gaze of death.

\"Ko-ishi didn\'t leave you in charge,\" Sirocco seethed. His anger was subsiding, as was Blaze\'s. The white, sleeveless trenchcoat he wore stopped billowing behind him, and he reached down to assist Blaze to his feet.

\"I know she didn\'t, Sirocco. She just left.\" Blaze allowed his old friend to tug his smaller frame upright. \"I\'ve found her though.\" The shorter man raked a hand through his short wavy hair, then shoved it into the pocket of his tight black leather pants.

\"Are you sure?\" Sirocco murmured. He slid a hand over the bare chest that he had struck with his winds. The deep purple fabric of the open vest fell over his hand, tickling ever so slightly.

\"Yes, I\'m sure. Now get your hand of. Ts. Tsunami will be upset if he finds out you were hitting on me again,\" Blaze snapped. Sirocco was the best looking one out of all of them, he had to admit. It didn\'t help that the Air God\'s clothes consisted of only a white trenchcoat and tight gray pants.

\"Oh, Tsunami won\'t mind,\" Sirocco muttered, but he removed his hand from Blaze\'s chest anyway. \"Are you going to call a meeting?\"

\"Perhaps. Now, what are you doing here in the North Kingdom?\" the Fire God asked.

\"I bring news of happenings in the East. We are being invaded by some type of creature that feeds off blood. There is rumor that the mortals are beginning to seep through in the heartland.\" Sirocco reported. He leaned on the back of the throne, his long white hair falling around him like a curtain of mist.

Blaze\'s amber eyes closed as he sighed in distress. \"What about the West and South? What\'s happening in those kingdoms?\"

\"There are large half animal half human creatures wandering in the South. They are hard to kill, just as the bloodsuckers. In the West, I don\'t know. Tsunami hasn\'t said a word of invasion to me. Our world is beginning to merge with those of Earth. I don\'t know what to do.\"

Sirocco glanced at Blaze, aiming to say something useful. He was deterred by the golden youth that entered the room. She wore only a thin yellow toga over her sun browned skin, narrow gold ropes loosely wrapped about her to keep the fabric from falling. Sirocco\'s eyes traced the curves of her body beneath the almost transparent clothing. He drew his eyes to the hazel pair that sat beneath a crown of curly sun-bleached blond hair. The youth\'s eyes were not on him. They were focused on Blaze and filled with desire. Blaze looked at the sun-child briefly, then looked away with obvious regret and shame. Sirocco returned his gaze to the Goddess of the Heart and smiled. /She\'ll help us out greatly in Ko-ishi\'s lack of presence./

\"Amor, we need your help,\" Sirocco murmured, breaking the tension in the room.

\"Yes, Lord of the East?\"

\"Our world is being invaded. Without Ko-ishi, we cannot keep proper defenses. We need you to defend the North Kingdom while she is away. Can you handle this task?\"

\"Yes, Lord. I will defend my homeland to the death.\"

\"Good,\" Blaze began. \"We will be heading to our respective empires now. Prepare to defend yours.\"

\"You will not be staying my lord?\" Amor asked, disappointment filling her every movement.

\"No, I am leaving shortly after to bring Ko-ishi back.\" Blaze stalked out of the room.
Amor turned to Sirocco. \"Help him bring my sister back alive. I can\'t rule this kingdom without her. These are her children, not mine.\"

\"I\'ll do my best, Lady.\" Sirocco followed the God of the South.

In the stables, Sirocco found Blaze saddling his winged ruby dragon. Silently, he prepared his wyvern for flight. Thinking about the events that had just occurred, the white-haired man mounted his steed and glanced around for Blaze.

\"Why so quiet, Sirocco?\" Blaze\'s voice came from behind the God of Air. \"You are usually talking a mile a minute when you are in here.\"

\"Have you replaced Ko-ishi with Amor?\" The question came in a case of cold ice.
\"Never. I will admit that I slept with her once. It was a one night stand, and it will never happen again. I regret that night so much it sickens me. I\'ve betrayed my only love. My hope is that Ko-ishi will find it in her heart to forgive me eventually.\" Blaze\'s voice cracked.

\"She loves you, and she will forgive you. Come now, we must meet Tsunami at the Lunar Tower. Gyha!\" Sirocco kicked his wyvern into the air. Blaze followed, but not very happy that the older god had read his actions so well.