Rukia Kurosaki

"AL?" Elizabeth stared for a moment. It was pretty weird meeting people she'd spoken to but never seen. Kaito-chan was here, and now Al? She cracked her fingers a bit and shook her hand out before holding it out to Aster. "I'm Sparrow, aka too many names to count~"

Elizabeth followed the others down to the restaurant, staying behind a few feet and studying the others. These're our DCW friends... interesting. With a sigh she glanced up at the menu for the restaurant, noting the long list of tarts. When she'd made it to the register she ordered herself a strawberry tart and asked for another of the most popular choice to go. Taking her paper bag, she glanced at the others before heading back to the terminal. When Amber was visible, L gave a smile and picked up her pace, stopping a couple feet from the girl. "I figured you might like company while you wait..." She took the extra box from her bag and held it out to the girl. "Eh, it's a tart. Didn't know what you like, so I asked for whatever sells best."

oo I have a cousin from a parallel universe?! . . . Cool~

Koi Wa Thrill Shock Suspense, Opening 8 of DC~

Dear Anonymous, Why can't you ever understand? I don't need people like you do. It isn't just you I'm not attached to, oh clingy, needy one. And I don't appreciate you trying to have me choose between you and my friends, as I said I'd pick my friends or family every time. You were so quick to call it love while I told you I don't have emotions like that, and now we haven't spoken in over a week. I'm not making up, because this would just happen again, every time I hang out with friends, or worse, talk to or hang with a male. I'm better off on my own anyway. So I'm going back to single life, Almost 5 months in and I still didn't care~ \o/ --

Spiral (not the mystery one, suiri no kizuna... HORROR x3) Ibitsu (also horror, we don't have enough good horror anime --) Library Wars~ I think one shot animes would be interesting~

High five right back~

Zettai Bouei Leviathan, Attack on Titan, or Detective Conan~ Don't remember the order I watched in xD I started Oreimo because it was popular, but the whole idea I thought was stupid, unrealistic and overdone. _ _

Hercule Poirot beats both xP His reliance on psychology and human behavior made him more fun to me, where Holmes simply observed clues that happened to point to the criminal. Poirot actually points this out in one of the books, though I don't recall which, I think it may have been Cards on the Table. Shinichi knows how tricks are done every time, and Holmes has the constant enemy of Moriarty, but they doesn't give it the excitement of Poirot's deductions and last minute escapes. Hercule is far more human in thought processes, and more realistic in actions than they. In the same manner, my favorite modern popular culture detective is Adrian Monk, who has quite a few issues and quirks, though quite a few episodes were too easy to figure out and predictable~

Awesome song~ >< Promise by Thomas Bergersen~ ((Sig song xD))

xD Hey man~ I'm Akai Sera from the same xD I wrote Synchronicity, and we talked about your fanfic idea~

Attack on Titan Opening Theme~

*poke* Hullo~ Wait wait... oO Are you conan44ed from Fanfiction.net?!

Zettai Bouei Leviathan xP

*poke*

Yuki-san: I figured he'd be the most interesting choice, and I've always found him slightly suspicious~ Ari: xP We'll find out about the execution later, but I'll give you a teaser: The Crooked House is an important name, and it's a tribute to mystery literature.

Far away in the darkness but coming nearer by the second, a bell chimed twice, deep and clear in the choking air, the only sound and solace save the pounding of her heart and footsteps as she fled the ringing, not daring to look back. Deep in the blackness, shadows descended like dangling puppets behind her, reaching out their tendrils and twisted forms to graze her sight. Another pair of footsteps joined hers, swift but calm and measured. They rang out from behind, then echoed through the emptiness until the sound came from all around, sending her heart racing faster as her breathing became loud and labored. She squinted her eyes closed and raced on, stumbling in the unsure darkness and shaking her head. "No... I'm never going back..." "You will return." The voice was no more than a whisper, right beside her ear. It sent a shiver through her as though his breath had grazed her skin, and she shook her head again. "The tiger and the fox must return to their place beside the crow, or the crooked house will fall upon everything they long to protect... You will return to me, Erru." Her blue-grey eyes snapped open, and she drew a shaky breath, swallowing although she felt parched and exhausted. She glanced around, giving a relieved smile as she recognized the room. There were three shelves full of books, two stuffed with mysteries and one dedicated to assorted novels she'd enjoyed reading and re-reading. A writing desk sat against the far wall, set beside the only window, which was shuttered. Erru smiled as she studied her bed; The same scarlet sheets and mismatched comforter lay beneath her, and once again she'd thrown off her plush blanket in the night. "That same dream," she muttered, running a hand through her short ruby-dyed hair. She'd dreamed that same nightmare since the day the Black Organization was overthrown. Shuuichi had said she shouldn't continue to sleep in her old room at the Headquarters, but when everything was falling apart, this solitary base was the only familiarity. Every night the voice returned, telling her that she must return to the organization... but it didn't make sense. It wasn't her father's voice. And it wasn't the voice of any of the members she had known in her ten years spent observing, training with, and becoming a part of the Organization. Erru knew it was silly to put stock in nightmares, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming. Her fight against the organization that had corrupted her father and killed her mother and countless others was not over, and she knew there would be more death and worse nightmares to come if she didn't take action against the rising toll of the Black Organization's crimes. Since Kudo Yuusaku had been arrested along with Chianti and Korn, the group had scattered across Japan, its crimes becoming more devastating and cruel by the day. There had been a dozen shootings, three bombings, one bomb scare, and at least three assassinations attributed to the Black Org since its supposed disbanding only a month and a half before. Erru mulled over the crimes as she threw on her blue slacks and jacket, frowning as she mangled the knot on her tie. There had to be a new leader in the organization. Someone had to be pulling the strings. If not, there was a more frightening alternative... If the group was still alive after its leader was incapacitated, it was possible that her father was not the highest ranking leader. The true leader, the mastermind of the most devastating organized crime in Japan, was still out there, unobserved and hiding behind his false life and scapegoats. But if that was so, either Yuusaku was lying for him, or he truly believed he had been in charge of the organization. A shudder passed through her as this thought took root, and she couldn't shake it through her morning routine. By the time she'd brushed her teeth, neglected to fix her hair, and locked the door of the building behind her, she was sure there was someone controlling the criminals... if not the police force as well. When she hopped on the back of Sera's motorcycle, refusing the offered helmet, she sighed and mumbled, "You've only got the one, so you better wear it." "Somebody's having a bad morning," Sera laughed as they turned the corner and stopped in front of Teitan High School. "You forgot to do your hair again." The smile faded as Erru's stomach growled. "You had that dream again?" "It doesn't make sense..." She frowned and stepped off the motorcycle, waiting for Sera to chain it up before adding flatly, "There's still a Black Org. I can't wait for them to find me, Sera-chan..." She looked to her friend expectantly, and Sera sighed, "Whattaya want?" "You'd cover for me if I disappeared, right?" Sera cocked an eyebrow at her former babysitter, smirking. "Of course," she chuckled. "If Shuu-nii got on my case, I'd just say I was as clueless as him." "You would be," she mumbled. "Huh?" Erru blinked, then smiled at the girl. "Um, nothing, I was just thinking aloud. Let's go inside before the bell rings." She put her hands in her pockets and motioned with her head for Sera to follow as she headed into the school building. Inside, they were surrounded in moments by the combined force of their classmates. "Sera-san, have you decided whether to join the MMA club?" "Natake-san, will you help me find out if my boyfriend is cheating on me?" "Masumi-san, Natake-san, are you going to start a detective agency?" Reeling a bit, the two girls laughed and waved off the questions, ducking out of the crowd and into the classroom, where Sonoko and Ran were busy talking. "Oi, Suzuke, why'd ya spread all that stuff about our detective work? I'm supposed to be laying low..." "It's Suzuki. And puh-lease~ Everyone knows already that you're a famous police officer, and about your little FBI gig, and Sera-chan's got a bunch of fans now that they know she's an awesome detective. You two should thank me. You'll get plenty of cases to solve and gratification from all the students, including the guys. Not that you'll become as popular as the Deduction Queen, of course." She gave a self-satisfied smile and laughed as Erru gave an annoyed chuckle. "Uh-huh. Well, I've got 'plenty' of real cases I have to take care of, and if the Black Organization case was well publicized, I need to be that much more careful to keep myself out of the papers until we nab the rest of the group... And high school guys are the LAST thing I want attention from" She frowned at Sonoko, thinking, Definitely the last thing... "Natake-chan, you're wearing a boys' uniform, have your hair a bright, unnatural color, and you're worse than your brother at keeping your nose out of mysteries. If they haven't noticed you by now, they're not going to." Ran gave a sigh and glanced at her friend, giving Erru an apologetic smile. "Don't worry about it, Natake-chan." "Would ya not call me -chan?" "If you stop talking in Kansai dialect," Sonoko interjected. "It's kind of hard to understand from you." "I can't." Erru frowned at her again, grumbling, "I spent a long time living in Osaka. The accent pops out when I'm annoyed." "Okay, let's just sit down, Erru-san... The bell already rang." With a heavy sigh she plunked into her seat, glaring across the aisle at Sonoko. "Yeah, who needs security anyway?" she grumbled sarcastically as she ignored what she figured was a student standing in front of her desk. "-ake." She transferred her glare to the person, then blinked, her blue-grey glare receding into a look of confusion. "Hm?" Amuro waved his hand in front of her face, "I said, 'Hey, Natake.' Are you alright?" Erru gave a curt nod and mumbled, "Yeah, fine," glancing at the teacher before looking back at Bourbon. "You're not an expected visitor... What're you doing here?" Amuro grinned and gave a shrug. "Can't a guy visit his subordinate?" "Hey, you're only a higher rank than me because I spent the past ten years with just the Org, thank you very much!" Tooru stuck his tongue out at her, laughing, "And yet I'm now older than you, AND your superior. Anyway..." His voice changed from teasing to grim, and he motioned for Erru to follow as he left the classroom behind, tossing a paper onto the teacher's desk as the class watched them go. "We've been assigned to investigate something that could be the next Black Org. There's a syndicate rising that calls itself the Crooked House. Mystery fans and wannabe gangsters have started forming up and acting out, committing violent crimes throughout Beika... "We're supposed to infiltrate this group and track down the leader before they start initiating more people... We traced the first wave of initiates to a mass execution that took the lives of 20 citizens last week. You and I will take false identities and take apart this crime group from the bottom up." He opened the passenger door of his car as he finished the briefing, heading to the driver's side as Erru grumbled, "Why do I have to work with you on this? Isn't Shuu-chan in on this case?" Again Amuro's voice became more serious, and he looked at Erru in the car mirror. "No. As of this morning, Akai Shuuichi is officially a missing person..."

<3 Vi-chan. -w-

((Sweet round guys~ I get to be a mutant AND a vigilante xP Could've used more Moho to liven up the labcoats' side xP But it was cool. Vi, Lily and Sakila, I will avenge you~ And Lionel will pay. Attempted murder charges or death~? Hmmmmmm. Misaki, THANK YOUUUU, that was awesome! x) ))

((xD Still immune~ But I guess Lionel didn't know that xP)) Hex twitched her fingers as feeling came back into them, stretching out as her body returned to normal. Her ears flattened against her head, and she growled under her breath. Lionel was a traitor. He had probably had something to do with the deaths of the experiments at the ceremony... She stood as soon as she was able and cracked her back, flipping open her phone. In a minute she was on the line with her boss. After she'd explained the situation, she declared her intentions, and the chief did not try to talk her out of it. Hex's eyes glowed yellow as she clenched her fists at her sides, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm. She would take personal leave from work, a temporary resignation, and find everyone responsible for harming the experiments. And one by one, she would take them down, administering justice any way she could. She figured since Dr. Webb was in the hospital, she'd start with Lionel. He wouldn't expect her to come back. If she couldn't get them arrested, she had a backup plan. But it was a bit more... violent. ((Great, now she's an immortal vigilante xP Good luck labcoats xD))

((Am I the only one who wants people to live? TT_TT)) Hex had just finished her paperwork for the day and was spinning around in the swivel-chair Sakila had given her for her 20th birthday. Her tail wagged as she thought of the surprise the girl would have when she got home. She may have wanted to eat at that ceremony, but there was no way Saki could resist the standard dessert Hex had been perfecting. As she boiled up a batch of caramel sauce to pour over the custard flan, she turned on the news channel, wanting to hear the speech Sakila had been working on for the event. When the program began, she set her saucepan aside and wagged her tail through the apron she'd received from the girl for Christmas. "She'll do a great job." The ceremony took off. "...and I thought that I wanted that as well. But not I realize that I do not. Throughout my exeperience with them, I've found these experiments to be even less necessary than their animal counterparts. In fact, they shouldn't even exist." Wait, what? "They have nothing to contribute to this world. They are monsters. Monsters that should not be outside bars." What was this?! That woman had been working with the experiments since day one! She should know the truth! "And so, I have taken it upon myself to save society from their existence." What? She took out what looked like a small remote. "Have a nice life in hell. Where you all are meant to be." And then she clicked a small button. "No..." The screen fizzled out to static as the cameras recording the event were destroyed, and she froze. Her final glimpse of Sakila had been a shot of her face as Dr. Webb had activated the explosives. Fear, confusion.... but why? Why was this happening now? Just after everything was coming back together... "No... No, no no! She's supposed to survive! They're all supposed to live and become part of this damned world! How could they be monsters to those who created them and now destroy everything they ever worked toward?!" Tears of anger were wiped away as she panicked and snatched her phone from the table. The ringback tone of her first speed dial played softly, a melody she'd come to associate with the girl. But the call wouldn't go through to Sakila's phone. What had happened was no trick, no cruel, twisted joke. Once again, everything was being destroyed by the very people who'd given them their mutated existence. Hex closed her eyes, and she knew that somewhere far from here, near a hut where two girls had spent the only happy days of their lives, there was no more laughter to be had. The trees had reclaimed the last breath of the two she'd seen off, just two years ago. And now that last, faded glimmer of Sakila was nothing more. There was no reality check, no girl coming inside late with shopping bags laden with the work she'd put off and whatever she'd seen in a shop window. There would be no more monday morning rituals of tossing out the hardened bread and making the perfect toast, or lounging about on their day off watching whatever they hated on television, just to enjoy the freedom of being alive outside of the habitat. As the sound from her phone ceased, Hex remembered the words that labcoat had spoken on her last day in the safehouse. "And that makes you the biggest monster of all, 93. You shouldn't exist. But your mother interfered with your mutation. You should know that it's irreversible. You will never know the solace of death. You cannot grow any older, and you will watch everyone around you die. No matter ho long it takes, they will leave you one by one." She had known that this was true. Even the experimental cure couldn't change a thing. She was to be the survivor, the experiment that lived on as the others passed, never to be replaced or acknowledged in society. In a world that did such terrible things, that never accepted them in the first place, what could she expect? Would they return, when they realized she hadn't died and wouldn't, return and take her back to the lab, start the experiments all over again, and remind her of what the director had destroyed? Mid-panic attack, she held down the 2nd speed dial button and listened to the soothing ringback tone. As per her expectations, she had to leave a message. She always did. "Lion... I hope you're alright. If you haven't seen the program yet, and you weren't there... Everyone... she-" Hex couldn't bring herself to say it. "Most likely it'll be the top story for a while...." She coughed, giving a small smile as she added, "I know it's been a while, and you've also been busy. And this is a tragedy... But that's why I need it, I guess, as a distraction. Remember back when we were escaping the habitat, and you said we could go watch a movie? I'd like to take you up on that..." She hung up the phone, giving a sigh. Had there been a single experiment spared? Aside from herself, did anyone stay away from the ceremony? With her heart beat still unsteady and the feeling of death lingering in her mind, she trudged back into the kitchen, glancing at the flan she'd been making: In the pan, the caramel sauce was a burnt and dark as her last vision of the camera screens in the program. She set the saucepan in the sink and ran cold water over it as she waited for someone to contact her. The new chief of police would either demand that she, the experiments' representative in the force, come in and work the case, or that she take off on this one for personal leave.... She didn't know which she'd prefer, as there was nothing to investigate, only the moment to relive, and yet it could put them at rest to have someone there who knew, who remembered how far they'd come from their cages to that shining moment when all eyes were on them for their accomplishments, and to help them forget the next... Hex's phone rang, and her ears perked up. She flipped open the phone, desperate for contact and not caring whether it was the Chief or Lionel. "Hello!"