Monster Squad

Quatre followed Hikaru and Yohji through the department store, sighing heavily. He had lost count as to what number this one was. /Somewhere around five . . . and the woman hasn't even bought anything yet./ He sat down across the way from the fitting rooms as Hikaru went in, Yohji's arms piled with clothes that she wanted to try on after the ones she was currently taking in with her. /Good lord. How many things can she possibly try on?/ His comm link beeped and he answered.

"Moshimoshi."

"Hey. Do you want stir fry or fast food?" Trowa's voice asked.

"I don't care, just get here quick. I dunno how much longer I can take this by myself," the empathic blond muttered. He watched silently as Hikaru paraded around in a tight electric blue miniskirt and a sleek black halter top.

"Fast food it is. I'll track you with your comm link, so don't bother calling me if you move depentsents again."

"Why didn't Heero let Duo take this one?" Winner whined.

"He'd make himself a friend of the target. Besides, he's partnered with Wufei. How well would that go over? Wufei shopping? I think not. I'll be there soon, don't worry." The comm clicked and the line went dead.

Quatre sighed and watched the two do a little dance around the fitting room area. In a moment things had gone from very strange to very interesting. Yohji had picked Hikaru up off the ground and swung her around. When he put her down, there was a tense moment as their eyes locked. The assassin smiled and leaned in to kiss the woman. Slowly she tilted her head back, and their lips met. And things got strange again. /Ew. They look like siblings. And they're kissing. What the hell?/ A wave of the same thought rolled off the kissers as they broke apart with a sputter. Fighting off a giggle, Quatre watched the two intently.

"I don't think that's gonna happen again," Yohji muttered.

"That was like kissing my own brother," Hikaru complained, making weird shapes with her mouth in disgust.

"No kiddin," the taller of the two replied. "Ok. Now, pick a couple of outfits. Then we'll go getcha some normal clothes. Even I own a pair of jeans."

Hikaru smiled and laughed. Quatre silently found himself rooting for the miniskirt and the halter top. It was one of the three outfits Hikaru chose. The others consisted of tight black leather pants, a sleek and flowing calf-length skirt in a pink and white paisley print, a white single shoulder top, a pale creme blouse, and a pastel blue plastic jacket.
The clothes were paid for, and they were off to another section of the store.

~~~~~~~~
Omi was shaken awake by a large explosion. /What the hell?!/ Aya still slept peacefully beside him. If there was one thing he had learned with the gang, it was that Aya slept like a rock, especially during the day. He quickly ked ked the redhead for injuries that were still healing. Finding none, he roughly shook the vampire.

"Omi?" Aya groaned. Shaking his head, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "It must've been a dream." Aya sighed.

"Dream about me often, Aya-kun?" Omi asked with a playful tone. Aya's amethyst eyes grew wide, and he looked at the boy in front of him.

"You're here," he mumbled. Another shockwave hit the apartment. "What the hell was that?"

"I dunno. I'll go check." Omi moved to stand, but Aya caught his arm. "No, you go help Ken with the girls. They're probably freaking out. I'll see what's happening."

Omi nodded and ran downstairs.

Aya walked onto the balcony.

~~~~~~~~~~
Heero's head snapped up as he felt Omi wake. He focused on the balcony, and Blaze stopped his current attack. /I can't have any of them getting hurt. Hikaru will kill me. It's a good thing that Treize and Nauroth left./ Yuy chanced a glance at Blaze. The god was also focused on the balcony. Voices wafted down to them, and Heero launched himself at the redhead. With a swift combination of blows to the head, he successfully managed to knock the god unconscious. The man slumped into his arms. Hefting him over his shoulder, Heero prepared to leave.

"Yuy! What the hell are you doing!" Aya yelled from the balcony.

"Saving your ass," Heero's flat monotone responded. "Another one that's after Hikaru."
Aya looked at the man, and memorized his face. He nodded curtly at the Soldier. Heero continued on his way.

~~~~~~~~~~
Across the street, Nauroth caught a red flash in the corner of his eye. Turning to look out the window of the office, he saw a very familiar face. /Ran./ He knew the man's name, but he couldn't remember how he knew the man. /There's something very important about this man./ His hand went to the scar on this arm again. Looking down, he stared at it blankly. /Did he give me this? Is he able to kill vampires? Dammit!/
General Khushrenada looked back as his hunter. Glancing out the window he saw Fujimiya. Scowling, he leaned close Nau Nauroth.

"He's one you're better off without. Besides, he loves a human."

Nauroth glared at Treize and grunted. /A human? Then he is a vampire. I fell in love with a human once. There's nothing wrong with that. But I can't remember him./ He pushed his way past the nobleman and left the building.

Khushrenada watched Aya for a moment more. /What are you doing to my hunter, Aya-san? What spell is it that you weave? I've yet to understand this./ He silently returned to OZ Corp.

~~~~~~~~~~
Wufei and Duo worked in silence as they prepared the safe-house. It was one of the Winners' family estates that they had used during the war. On occasion, a soft breeze would ruffle the curtains of the sunny room that they were working in.

Wufei watched the other pilot as he tugged a pillowcase over the bare pillow on the creme yellow twin bed. Duo's long chestnut hair was loose, and it billowed with the breeze. He didn't seem to mind that Wufei was watching him, and simply went about tidying the room. When he was done, he leaned against the window sill and stuck his head outside. He turned suddenly, a strangely curious expression on his face.

"Hey, Wu?" the 02 pilot asked, his tenor resounding through the room.

"What Maxwell?"

"Uhm, can I ask you something?"

"You already have, now get to the point."

"What do you see in Treize?"

Wufei launched a death glare at Duo. It failed miserably as the other pilot spoke.

"Aw that was cute."

"I am not CUTE!" Wufei roared.

"Sure you are. But seriously." Duo's violet eyes skimmed over Wufei's body. He watched quietly as Wufei sat at the foot of the bed and pulled his knees up to his chest. He sat there, shaking. Duo sat beside him, worried that his coworker was going to have a fit.

"Treize is important to me. It doesn't matter what I see in him." Wufei whispered. He stared at the warm beige carpet. "You all automatically think that I am his lover. I'm not. I never was. But I must be loyal to him."

"Wufei," Duo murmured. "Why?"

"He's my sire."

"Oh." Duo didn't know what to say. He had always thought that Treize was using Wufei for sex. And now he knew that the Nataku pilot was the General's child. /Oh boy, this is gonna suck when the others find out./

"Duo?" Wufei whispered. "Please don't tell the others. It's easier to do this if they think I just want to fuck him." He glanced at the cherubic brunette.

Duo smiled softly. "Of course. But you realize that this changes things."

"How?"

"I don't have to worry about insubordination charges or a Blood Hunt if I kiss you."

"Wha-" Wufei's dark eyes grew wide as the other pilot's lips were pressed against his. He sat very still as Duo's velvety tongue caressed his lower lip, silently begging for entrance. The Chinese man tentatively opened his mouth, receiving the sweetness that was Duo. Melting under the Deathscythe pilot, Wufei uttered a soft moan.

Duo pulled away, violet eyes shining with mischief. The glow faded however, as he realized there was a flaw in his friend's story.

"How did you manage to keep this from Heero?" he asked.

Wufei smiled. "Treize taught me something that keeps him out of my mind. It's a simple task to think of my reason for strength, and he can't get past that or the wall it creates."

"So what is your strength, if you don't mind?"

"Before I was a fighter, I was married. And she was beautiful. Meiran was her name, and she was to pilot Nataku before me. She was killed defending our Colony."

"You were married? Wow. I'm sorry you lost her." Duo took Wufei's hand in his.

"It was a very long time ago. No need to worry about it." Sable eyes swelled with tears, but he smiled nonetheless.

Duo smiled back. "I'll make you feel better, Wu-man." He playfully shoved the other off the bed and landed on top on him in a heap. Laughing, he bent and kissed the man beneath him.

~~~~~~~~~~
Aya strode into the flower shop with a horrid scowl on his face. Ken and Omi were surrounded by girls, all begging to be held by one of the adorable bishounen. A group of girls flocked to the redheaded Popsicle king, all whining that they were scared and he should protect them. Growling, he shoved them away.

"I am going to have to ask you all to leave for the time being. One of the gas lines in the apartment behind the shop has been cut, and there is a high risk of explosion or illness here. Please leave the premises," Aya's voice rang through the shop, cold and hard.
A chorus of 'ou' went up around the three assassins and the fan-girls slowly filed out of the shop. Ken quickly pulled the shutter and locked the door. He joined Omi in slumping against the wall, and stared at Aya expectantly.

"Well?" the brunette asked.

"There is more to this than meets the eye. There is no gas leak, but I need you two to help me out."

"With what, Aya-kun?" Omi asked, his blue eyes wider than usual.

"Yuy-san was fighting some guy in the apartment courtyard, and he couldn't take the guy out. You all saw what he did to me, and I am fairly powerful. I doubt that even Omi-chan could have taken this guy. I need you to look up all gaijin who have recently come to Tokyo. The person we're looking for is about Ken-kun's height, stockier build, and will have reddish-orange hair. Can you find him, Omi-chan?"

Omi nodded vigorously and headed for his computer. Aya turned to Ken. "I need you to follow Yuy-san, and find out where he dumped the body. This guy smells weird, Ken-kun. He'll smell a bit like Hikaru, but not entirely. It's a very unique scent, and you'll know it when you smell it."

"Ok, Aya-san. But what are you going to do?" Ken murmured.

"I'm going to pay a visit to a friend of mine and find out what the hell is going on."

~~~~~~~~~~
Zechs sat in silence as he watched Treize and this new vampire discuss what they were going to do to get their hands on Hikaru. The dark-skinned man paced the lavish room before his eyes, and grumbled incoherently as Treize pulled up a picture of Aya on his computer screen. The second the redhead had appeared, the dark one stopped, nearly in mid-step, and stared intently at the screen. Emotions boiled in the man's eyes, and his face clouded over with the most vile of confusion.

Zechs stood and marched past the man to see what he was looking at. "Treize, what are you planning on doing to Aya!" the blond demanded to know. It earned him the attention of both men.

"This is the human you spoke of?" hissed Nauroth. "He is yours."

"He also belongs to Aya-san," the Aryan murmured thoughtfully. "They seem to love each other well enough."

"He's only going to hurt himself again," the hunter muttered as he left the room. Zechs and Treize stared after him.

"He knows Aya-kun?" the blond pilot asked.

"Apparently so, pet. Apparently so." Treize opened his live security file and watched
Nauroth leave the building. He passed Aya on the way out, and both of them stopped, dead in their tracks. "Oh, my. Now this is interesting."

Downstairs, Aya stormed into the lobby of the OZ Corp. building. He saw the dark-haired man coming toward him, but was so immersed in being angry that he didn't really notice the man until they were nearly on top of each other. Normally, he would've found the man a spectacle in a place like this. Dressed up in gothic clothes in a military institution, didn't fit the scene at all. But that wasn't what got his attention. It was the man's scent. He knew it like he knew no other. Stopping so abruptly his guts jumbled together, Aya turned and looked at the man. /Dear gods, he's supposed to be dead./

The dark man looked at Aya carefully, and then spoke. "Do I know you?"

"I thought you were dead," Aya whispered.

"Who are you?" Nauroth asked. /If he thought I was dead, then he either killed me or cared about me./ Bracing himself for an attack from the redhead, he couldn't help but feel that the other wouldn't hurt him if his life depended on it.

"You don't remember me?" Tears stung at Aya's eyes. "My name is Ran. Fujimiya Ran. I met you in Germany."

"Germany?" /When was I in Germany?/ Nauroth thought hard. /That was so long ago. Have I forgotten him by time alone? No, there's something important about this man./

"You really don't remember, do you?"

"No. Would you care to enlighten me?" Nauroth asked, hesitantly. He offered his hand to Aya. "My name is Nauroth."

/Nauroth? No! Your name is... your name is.../ Aya threw himself into Nauroth's arms, a small hitching sob escaping him.

Surprised, Nauroth wrapped his arms around Aya. His eyes were a bit wide for the slightest of seconds, then narrowed in contentment. /Oh, this feels so familiar. He reminds me of a lover I had once. Could it have been him? If I knew him in Germany, re ire it was even Germany. Ran, who are you? Why do you care for me so?/

"Are you going to cling to me all day, or are we gonna get reacquainted?" Nauroth asked quietly. Aya peeled himself off the other vampire and nodded. "Come with me," he murmured. Having completely forgotten his earlier mission to interrogate Khushrenada, Aya led the other to Ken's bike in the parking lot.

Upstairs, two pairs of shocked blue eyes stared at a wavering monitor. "Curiouser and Curiouser," the General murmured. "What do you think, my dear white rabbit?"

"I think Alice has found the Mad Hatter and his company." Zechs left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~
Ken stood outside in the courtyard, trying to sort out all of the scents that seemed to be plastered to one another in the air. A bead of sweat trickled into his eye, and he looked up at the sky again. Thick storm clouds were brewing overhead, and the smell of rain was beginning to permeate to the ground. Picking up the particular scent in question, Ken followed it a few blocks on foot. He returned to the apartment and took Aya's Hachi-Roku. Driving with the windows down and his head nearly hanging out the driver side, Ken followed the smell.

He soon caught up to Heero and the unconscious god. They were heading to the mountains, close to the cabin that the team used for "vacations." The perfect soldier was running and jumping about at such speeds that Ken's sensitive eyes barely had time to catch the movement from one location to the next. The damn man might as well have been flying for all the struggle Ken made to keep up.
A sharp corner jumped Ken and the tiny white car as they sped up the mountain. The assassin barely had time to grip the steering wheel correctly before curve had appeared. With a gentle turn of the wheel and a several gear downshift, he allowed the initial drift of the car to carry him smoothly through the turn. The bumper of the Hachi-Roku nearly rubbed the guard rail as it slid through the corner. Fishtailing on to the straight away, Ken grinned to himself. It had been quite some time since his street racing days. He was glad to see he still had skills enough to keep him from going over the edge.

Ahead, Heero was making a turn. Right into the mountain? /What the fuck?/ Ken slid to a stop where Heero had disappeared. Locking the car, he headed out on foot to track the mysterious pilot.

~~~~~~~~
Quatre fell silently into the arms of the Heavyarms pilot, groaning about his aching feet. Hikaru and that crazy fashion bum had finally gone home. After traipsing through half of Tokyo's shopping district, they had decided, four hundred twenty three thousand yen later, that it was time to call it a day. The other pilot wasn't being very sympathetic, but the blonde knew that he'd had his own trials to deal with earlier that day when the man called Kudou Yohji had cornered him and nearly killed him in the men's restroom after deciding that he didn't want to be followed any more. And worse yet, they'd nearly blown the entire mission when Quatre tripped getting on the escalator and fallen on top of Hikaru. If it hadn't been for Trowa's abilities to morph appearances, they would have been recognized for sure.

Grumbling, Winner slid from Barton's embrace and plopped down on the couch of the apartment that they were using as a spy hut. The other pilot set up watch as the blonde slowly drifted into a restless sleep.

## Heero was running through the woods, a man hot on his heels. He carried someone that Quatre had never seen before, and was losing ground quickly. Prussian blue eyes narrowed as the view sharply flung itself in front of the speeding pilot. Yuy flew overhead as he launched himself and his baggage over a steep cliff, stumbling ever so briefly as he landed safely on the other side. The safehouse was just ahead, and nothing was there to stop him. His pursuer was still after him, until a bright flash of vermilion sent the man tumbling. He lay unconscious as a giant red tiger prowled over to him. Gently, the tiger picked up the fallen man and carried him into the house. Yuy glared daggers at the animal, but was not rewarded with any response. Growling, the soldier trudged into the house. ##

Several hours later Quatre awoke, groaning loudly. Trowa was still seated by the window, binoculars in hand. His hunter green eyes watched his lover as the smaller framed man fell from the couch with a thud.

"Are you alright?"

Groaning, Winner looked up. "I had a vision . . . Have the others contacted you?"

"Yes, and it seems we have some captives now."

Captives, plural. /Good, he didn't kill the other one./ The small blonde staggered to his feet, and wandered over to the window. The sky had clouded over with the treat of rain, and the humidity was beginning to kill the young Arabian. A think migraine was also starting to thump away at the innards of his skull. Groaning for the umpteenth time in the pfew few hours, Quatre meandered to the ken ten to rummage for some painkillers.
Trowa watched him go, worried that his lover was exerting himself too much. There had been an unusually large number of visions lately, and Quatre was looking worse for wear. The visions had begun the day Hikaru had left and were steadily increasing in frequency and length. To his surprise, and relief, the vision today seemed to be relatively short. Yet, an unnerving sense of unease had settled in the Heavyarms pilot, his worries doubling every time Quatre had a vision or his face squeezed tight against the pain of the migraines that followed. Even when he did not speak of the blurbs that were force upon his mind, 04 had difficulty concealing his pain. In the silence of the room, Quatre entered his field of vision again, this time gently lowering himself to the sofa. He knew that the other was aware of his worries, what emotion can you keep from an empath? And what was there he could do about it? His lover was steadily eroding away before his eyes, under the pressured of his natural abilities no less, and there was nothing that the silent emerald eyed man could do about it.

Giving up his vigil, Trowa picked up the fitfully sleeping Arabian and carried him to the bedroom. Laying the blonde gently in the soft sheets, he spooned him from behand and tried his best to sooth the other in the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~
Yohji walked through the apartment silently. There was no noise in the place, other than the quick clatter of someone's nimble fingers over the keys of a computer. Finding that no one but Omi was in the apartment, the Eurasian sauntered into Omi's room.
"Oi, Omi-chan. Where's everyone?" Yohji murmured in the boy's ear as he leaned over to check the computer screen.

"Ken-kun is following Yuy Heero, and Aya-san went to find out 'what the hell is going on.'" The wide-eyed boy swivelled in his chair to look up at the older assassin. "There was a fight between Yuy and some guy that freaked Aya-kun out."

"Eh? What fight?"

"It happened right after you two left. It was strange. I dunno who the guy was, but he did indeed know who we were and that Hikaru is here."

"Eetou . . . omae?"

"I am trying to figure out who he was, and judging by the description Aya-kun gave me, it's gonna be very hard."

Hikaru popped her head into Omi's room. "What's gonna be hard?"

"Finding out who beat up Yuy-kun
"
"Someone attacked Heero?" Hikaru snorted. "Damned fool thing to do if you ask me." She sat on Omi's bed. "What'd he look like?"

"I am thinking he looked like one of these guys." Omi opened up a page of saved pictures, all from passports or police records. Each had a similar look to them.
Hikaru's eyes widened a bit. /My dream. The guy from my dream, is he real?/

"Do you have a piece of paper and a pencil? There's something I want to try and draw." Hikaru said.