The characters in the following story are from Air Gear. I claim no rights to them and do not own them.
A blue haired child was walking outside wearing a long flowing dress with a bottom made of feathers. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to care for the dress. Her face looked rather annoyed and irritated… but then, it had always been difficult to please the wealthy hadn't it?
A man in black leather pants with a matching leather coat leaned back. He held up the pair of binoculars he had been using to another man standing beside him. Gio took them and peered through to get a closer look at the school. He grinned.
"There she is…. With another fancy dress. Look at 'em…the lot of them are wearing some fancy shit. She's even got a butler at school." He said as he lowered the binoculars. He tossed them back to his partner, who was lying down and using his arms as a makeshift pillow on the empty rooftop. The binoculars landed with a thud on his gut which earned Gio a nice little glare from a pair of hazel eyes. The guy in leather sighed, pulling his hand through his short reddish blond hair.
"Ya know…. My older brother hates you." He said with a yawn as he returned his arm back to its position behind his head. Gio only chuckled at the news.
"He's just jealous I'm higher ranked then him now" He said with an arrogant sigh. He smirked at his partner. "By the way Kirin… you steal that outfit of yours from him? Seriously, skin tight leather pants and a jacket with a furry hood? People are gonna question your sexuality" He said with a laugh. Kirin immediately sat up and chucked the binoculars at Gio's head, a blush just starting to form on his face.
"Shut up and do your job" He muttered, pulling up the hood so the brown furry trim would hide his embarrassment. Gio smiled at his friend, catching the binoculars and walking over to Kirin. He patted him on the shoulder, only to be shaken off.
"Come on. Let's go report in" He said as a reluctant Kirin stood up and followed. He made sure to punch Gio lightly on the arm as he passed him.
Agito stomped outside, grumbling every step of the way. Ikki and Kazu were the next to follow him out and before long the entire cast had stepped into the sunlight. Dresses and suits were everywhere thanks to the class representative being so insistent they tried on their costumes today. Agito crossed his arms, wearing his too familiar scowl. He felt a chill run down his spine and he turned to look off into the distance.
'What's the matter Agito?' came a familiar voice. The voice that was partially to blame for Agito's current agitation. He just HAD to say yes.
"Nothing's wrong… I just…feel like we're being watched" he replied quietly to his other self as his uncovered eye continued to scan the buildings in the distance. He went stiff when a hand slapped him on the shoulder. Ikki only received the shark's notorious glare in return for the crow's ridiculous smile.
"Come on sharky. If I'm going through this torture, you're going through it with me" He chirped as he grabbed Agito's arm and led him to the spot the stage crew had set up. It wasn't exactly the best stage….the props currently consisted of cardboard boxes, sticks, and a few poles. The crew insisted it was just for today and that they would have real props ready by the time they performed. Agito groaned. He so wasn't in the mood for this. Well, on the bright side, at least the strange feeling he had was finally gone. Maybe it had just been his imagination. He was probably being paranoid.
With that thought, the 'princess' gave his attention to his classmates.
"Fuck! Dammit you stupid crow, is it really that hard to spin and land without waving your arms around like a damn monkey?" barked the blue haired wonder. Agito was so sick and tired of doing this stupid scene. Naturally the fang king, master AT rider that he was, easily pulled off the preschool level tricks his classmates asked him to perform. His …ugh he didn't even want to say it…. 'partner' however couldn't seem to even get half way through the performance. His hands had balled into fists as Ikki once again leapt into the air, performed a sloppy spin, then either missed the post he was supposed to land on, fell off said post, or just plain crashed. Seriously, the post was a whole two inches in diameter! Agito rolled his eyes. Two inches was plenty of room. He could land on it blindfolded! Shit, he pretty much did. With the stupid feathers waving around from his stupid dress, he could barely see where the hell he was landing. He had still landed perfectly almost every time. The first jump was an exception, and it was only because the sun was in his eyes that he missed his mark.
Sure. He'd go with that.
He sighed, hopping down from the post as Ikki crashed into the pole instead of landing on top of it. If this was just the first AT scene with Ikki, he wasn't sure they were going to make it to the end of the script. At this rate they would be lucky if Ikki didn't break his neck trying…. or if Agito didn't break it for him just so they could move on. Wait…that would be counterproductive. They would have to get a new guy to play the prince….probably Kazu. The young fang king peeked in the direction of butler number three. Apparently balancing was not his forte because he dropped the stacked plastic cups all over the ground. Then again, those fancy champagne glasses weren't always the easiest to balance, especially when they were stacked in that pyramid shape rich people always demanded they be stacked in.
No. He was giving the bean post too much credit.
He would stick to his usual analysis – Kazu just sucked.
Gio let out a nice long yawn as he leaned against the wall in a poorly lit pool hall. He watched as a game of pool went underway, one man clearly dominating the game. With that final shot, the 8 ball sank and the game was done. Gio stood up and walked over.
"Geez Kirin…. You know, you could make a fortune if you would just get off your high horse and become a pool hustler." Kirin rolled his eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous. That's a downright dirty thing to do. I'm not going to stoop to such pathetic deception." Replied the young leather clad man as he brushed his strawberry blonde hair out of his eyes. The reply only made Gio burst out laughing. Gio leaned on Kirin's shoulder, getting close enough that he wouldn't be overheard by the other ingrates loitering around the pool hall.
"A gang member with no qualms about kidnapping, but won't hustle pool because it goes against his morals." He snickered before laughing again at the ridiculousness of the idea. The only thing that stopped his laughter was a call from the back room. "Come on. Looks like the boss man wants a word." With that, Gio headed towards the back with Kirin at his heels.
The duo sat down beside another man wearing familiar black leather. Gio grinned as he glanced at him. "Nian…" he nodded in greeting only to receive a nasty glare in return.
"Fuck off" came Nian's venomous reply. Gio chuckled at Nian's blatant hostility. He'd been that way ever since Gio was promoted past him. Kirin was right…. Nian DID hate him. His chuckling only made Kirin's brother more irritated, but their boss didn't give him the chance to speak.
"Enough" came a strong voice from behind a translucent curtain. What was with that anyway? Was it ingrained in a leader's head that they had to have their form concealed behind something? Kirin personally found it annoying and harder to trust someone who didn't show his face that often, but Gio trusted their boss. He had seen him face to face. If Gio trusted him, so would Kirin.
The three men kneeled before their boss, Kirin between Gio and his brother, just in case the two got any ideas. He peeked up towards the curtain, watching the silhouette of a man sitting in a large chair. Another shadow stood beside him…well, more than beside him. It was like the shadow had a leg up on the chair with him. The second shadow was clearly feminine in shape, and when Kirin thought feminine, it wasn't just thin frame and skinny legs. Whoever was behind that curtain with their boss was a full-fledged knock out, and he could tell that JUST from a shadow. He glanced towards Gio and smirked despite himself. Gio had clearly seen the shadow too and the look of jealousy in his eyes was hilarious.
"… I take it you have already found the point at which the target is most vulnerable?" That voice was enough to clear the room of any stray thoughts and the faces of the three men shared a look of calm respect.
"Apparently she walks home after school. We can grab her then, once she splits up from her friend. Her servant boy looks like he will be easy to handle," replied Gio, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. He had watched the trio when they had first emerged from the school. The target seemed irritated for some reason and Gio had no intention of figuring out why the spoiled little princess was so sour. The well dressed boy that followed her out was smirking at her though, so he assumed he had something to do with it. After the two aristocrats had left the building, a lanky young man clearly dressed as a butler had followed after them, flustered. Yes. The servant would be easy to deal with.
"We have one of our men already seated in the police. Once her parents file the missing person report, we will have all the information we need to get the money," added Nian, a determined glint in his dark brown eyes, though they too were trained on the floor. They had been unable to locate the girl's house in the short amount of time they had been following her, but they would have her address soon enough. Police plants were a much simpler way to gain information as well as a good defense. Once they took the child, Nian had no doubt her wealthy parents would involve the police to try to track her down. Their plant would make sure they were one step ahead of the game.
"Good good. Gio. Nian. You will both go out to acquire the target. Take who you need and don't cause a scene. Leave no trace." Despite being in shadow, the boys could almost see a hint of a smirk on their leader's face. Nian held a scowl, looking up for the first time since the group had been addressed.
"But Sir! My men and I can do this without any help. This will be an easy capture. Why bother sending that second rate out with me?" Nian said, his tone agitated but forcibly calm. It was taking a lot of effort for the man to not yell his disgust.
Gio smiled at Nian. "Now now, I outrank you remember Ni ? If I'm second rate, and you're beneath me, you must be third rate," he added with a sly smirk. The furious glare he received in return brought that old saying to mind – if looks could kill. Kirin flinched at his companions' outburst. He still had his gaze on the ground, tracing each and every curve in the wooden boards with his eyes. He was visibly shocked when he heard subtle laughter coming from behind the curtain. He had expected anger from their boss but instead … their boss was amused by Nian and Gio's disrespectful word war. As the laughter rose to a more audible level, both Gio and Nian quieted and stared at the shadowed curtain.
"That is my mandate. You do not plan on going against it …. Do you?" asked the shadow with a grin his men could not see.
"Of course not" Gio responded with a bow of his head. A reluctant "no sir" came from Nian and the trio was dismissed. Kirin exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding once they were out of their boss's presence.
"Geez Nian, I thought you'd be able to keep a lid on your deep emotions for me during work," laughed Gio. Kirin still couldn't believe how lightheartedly Gio dealt with things. Part of him wondered if he was just that calm and collected….or if he just didn't realize how serious of a situation they had been in. He finally let a smile drift across his face as Nian and Gio continued their foolish little fight.
As time moved on, the team of three grew in number and seriousness.
At last it was time to make their move.
Akito twirled around, letting the soft feathery base of his dress flair out and sparkle as the silver tipped feathers caught the light of the falling sun. He clapped his hands together with a warm hearted giggle, ignoring his friend's minor look of disgust (As well as the annoyed groan in the back of his mind from a certain little shark). He skipped over to Ikki and walked happily beside his favorite friend.
"Ikki-kun, you did great today! The class really seemed excited by the time we finally finished practice" said the young blue haired child as he sent an encouraging smile in the crow's direction. Ikki only sighed.
"Yeah, because Agito can do all the tricks they want him to do perfectly. In a dress! I can't even tease him about it," cried the crow as he reflected on the day's events. He had messed up one of his tricks and heard that mocking laughter of Agito's. His return taunt about how naturally Agito could twirl about in a dress was thrown back at him with a nasty snarl. Agito had completely turned his words around, commenting on how he could skate perfectly no matter what he wore, yet Ikki, who got to wear pants, still sucked.
"You know…he won't say it to your face… but Agito does respect you Ikki-kun." Akito said as he laid his hand comfortingly on Ikki's arm. Ikki stood tall, smirking.
"Well of course he does! I'm awesome and he's my loyal minion. I'll be so amazing tomorrow, I'll make him eat his words!" Ikki said, send a challenging smile Akito's way. Akito cheered happily for Ikki. Suddenly he seemed to remember something.
"Oh! I left my ATs back at the school!" Exclaimed Akito as he stopped in his tracks. "You go on ahead. I'll just run back and get them." With one last wave, Akito turned and started skipping back towards the school. Ikki waved bye and continued walking to the Noyamano house. He wondered if the Noyamano sisters were as interested in seeing Akito's dress as the little kid was in showing them. He shook his head as he smiled.
Akito slowed as he got further and further away from Ikki. The sky was darkening fast and he got a strange chill up his spine. He felt this way before…when? Oh yeah. In the schoolyard when Agito was in control. As he walked he peeked over his shoulder and swept his eyes over the streets. He stopped a moment when he saw a man leaning against a wall, but it was just a man right? No need to be so paranoid. He kept walking, picking up his pace a bit the closer he got to the man.
"Hey kid. My my, that dress is stunning on you," came the man's gentle words. Akito glanced over at him and mumbled a thank you but didn't stop moving. Another man had stepped out of the shadows, causing the short cross dresser to bump into him.
"Sorry sir," Akito apologized automatically even though he knew very well this was not good. He quickly tried to push past the man but was stopped by a heavy hand on his arm. He was spun around to face the man who had been leaning against the wall. The man got up and walked over, pulling his hands out from the pockets of his worn out jeans. Akito looked up at him cautiously. He was tall with messy brown hair and goggles on his head. His brown and tan jacket resembled an aviator's jacket with a pitch black undershirt. He didn't exactly look menacing, but clearly he wasn't here to play nice.
"Now now, don't be frightened…" started the mysterious man as he stepped closer. He got a good look at the kid and stopped his planned little speech. She didn't look scared at all. That was no fun. Oh well, skip that part then and move on to a different rant. He let his hand drift down to lift the child's chin up so he could look her in the eye."I thought your boyfriend would never leave," again the man paused, raising an eyebrow at the excitement evident in their captive's face when he said that, but he quickly decided to move on. "Now you're going to come with us all right sweety?" He cooed. Once again he was floored by the reactions he was getting from this girl. She smiled at him? What?
Akito smiled as the man talked to him. He even chuckled a bit at the man's befuddled expression. "I'm sorry. Ikki-kun expects me home soon." He said simply, tugging his face away from the man's hand.
"This ain't a joke kid" was all the man said as he straightened up and returned his hands to his pockets. Akito merely smiled once more before twisting his held arm and pushing against his captor's thumb. He easily pulled free and began tearing down the street. "GET HER!" growled the man, pushing the surprised goon who had let their angel literally slip through his fingers. Akito ran hard, hearing the footsteps echoing behind him. They were catching up to him. He started reaching for his eyepatch as Agito pleaded to switch places, but his arm was grabbed by one of his chasers.
"Let Go!" cried Akito as he tried to pull away. That wasn't working, so he bent down and swept the feet out from under the man with a strong kick. Sure he didn't ride air treks anymore, but he wasn't defenseless. He head-butted another man and dove between the legs of the goggled guy. His legs sent him flying forward, though it was hard to ignore the sound of ripping fabric as the guy grabbed for Akito's dress. It was a foolish mistake to steal a glance behind him for in that moment his head crashed into something.
With a thud, he fell to the ground, dirtying his now torn feathery gown. He looked up to see a man glaring down at him, muscled arm extended exactly at Akito's head level. For a moment a look of pure terror flitted across Akito's face as he looked up at the man, but it soon faded. Their eyes held the same dark look… but this man did not have long silver hair, lacked a whip, and had dark brown eyes instead of pale blue. Akito let out a sigh of relief (Again completely baffling his attacker) but the moment of relief was short lived as the man reached down and grabbed Akito by the collar of his dress. He was wearing a dark smile that made Akito's skin crawl. Thinking fast, Akito bit down on the offending hand and once again took off down the street as profanities were shouted after him. He breathed heavily as he hid in a dark alley, pressed against the wall. As he peeked around the corner, searching for his pursuers, he completely missed the silent hands that were coming from behind him. He let out a short gasp as his head was pulled backwards and strange smelling rag was pushed against his mouth and nose. He tried to yell but everything that came out was completely muffled by the cloth. He tried to push the arms away but his arms suddenly felt weak and his mind ached for sleep. He vaguely saw the angry face of the man he had bitten arrive at the entrance to the alley followed by the group he had run away from earlier, but his vision was getting blurry. He saw their mouths moving, but couldn't make out the sounds.
Then everything faded to darkness.
