Chapter Four: Enter Shade

 

            *Three weeks. It had been three weeks of nothing. Nothing but the same, monotonous and mundane routine in the club Specters. Hiiro wondered if perhaps there had been no real reason for him to come here, only that Doctor J had thought it might keep him occupied. He swung again at the boy who was trying to charge him.

            These boys. He had once thought they were the most feared gang members of the city for  reason. Now he saw no reason, only the dim regret that the Preventers weren’t quick enough to catch these ruffians. They were, he had to admit, quite skilled in some areas, such as martial arts. However, in a real battle full of improvisation and weapons they couldn’t be counted upon to win. Slowly he was beginning to realize this wasn’t it. There was more, there had to be more.

            “Enough.” Shin order his boys. Hiiro looked down to see he had knocked over more than eight guys; all were either out cold or moaning and groaning in pain. He stopped and bowed his head slightly, a sign he was done with his ‘work’.  As he turned to leave, a voice sent warning signals through his brain.

            “Fight me.” He looked around the room and found Darien walking up to him, his own workout suit on.

            “No.” Hiiro declined. If he fought Darien, he would win. He couldn’t afford to seem that good. Not yet.

            “Why not Hiiro? You’ve fought all of these boys and easily won. You’ve even beat Shin from time to time. Don’t you think you’re ready for the bigger fish?” Darien mocked as he stepped forward to challenge Hiiro more. Hiiro needed an excuse… Darien himself would do just fine.

            “Sir, I will not fight you. You are my Father, I should never disagree with you.” She watched from the corner and smirked. This Hiiro Yui was smart. Using Darien’s ego against him was a good move, and if Darien succumbed to his trap like she assumed he would, Hiiro would yet again have avoided death by order of Darien’s fear of him.

            “Very well then, that is an understandable reason.” Darien smiled. The kid was bright. Hiiro had already learned it was Darien who made the rules, it was Darien who was in charge, and it was Darien who was the top dog. His Perfect Mercenary was wrong to want to keep such a close eye on him; they had nothing to fear of Hiiro Yui.

            “Then I would like to fight him.” A voice came from the shadows. Hiiro swiveled his head around in the direction the voice had originated from. He could make out a form shrouded in the darkness. Why hadn’t he seen the figure before?

            “My Perfect Mercenary. Are you sure he’s ready for you?” Darien’s voice was filled with concern, Hiiro noted. Why would Darien be worried about another of his pathetic goons? Then the connection buzzed his synapses. The Perfect Mercenary had been the voice that had disturbed him his first night. The voice was low and smooth. He couldn’t tell much about the person from hearing it, and because he could hardly see the dim figure, he assumed this was just one of Darien’s favorites.

            “He’s ready.” She answered. Stepping from the shadows, she entered the fighting ring and faced Hiiro. “ I still believe Hiiro Yui is an unusual name.”

            “No more so than the Perfect Mercenary.” He retorted calmly. He was sure this boy was smirking beneath his mask; it was obvious from the tone in his voice.

            “Of course. Shall we begin this match?”

            “Hnn.” They began circling each other slowly, each getting a sense of the other’s abilities and weaknesses. She could tell right away he would indeed be harder to beat than most. But she had matched up against some of the toughest before- this time should be no different. It looked as if he had a solid stomach, so she would avoid that area. His face seemed vulnerable enough, yet she would bruise her own hand more aiming there. Going lower than the waist was dirty, so she would steer clear of that- after all, they wanted a fair fight. However, his balance looked as if it could be knocked if he was winded enough…

            Hiiro sized his opponent up. Small and thin. He would probably fall over with the first punch. Then again, appearances were often deceiving. Quatre looked weak and he was one of the strongest people he had ever met. Looking again, Hiiro spotted the weak defense around the boy’s stomach. Even through the incredibly baggy clothes he could see the lean muscles were too weak to withstand a major blow after he was tired out a bit.

            “Fight!” Both fighters took notice of the crowd they had surrounding their ring. Almost all of the other Specter fighters were watching, as well as Darien and Shin. Serena turned back to Hiiro and noticed his attention wasn’t focus on her. The perfect time to attack. She lunged forward, through Hiiro back. Attacking at a low power, she threw punch after punch in his direction. Some hit their marks, but most were deflected. Hiiro too, had his fair share of hits and punches on her.  As they went, they left the crowd in awe of the force at which each was attacking.

            Darien watched his Perfect Mercenary fight the lowly boy. He knew by now the girl could beat everyone in the entire Specters clan- including himself. If this boy bested her, there was no telling how powerful he truly was.

            She was mildly surprised he was able to match her punch for punch, kick for kick, but then, she had known it was coming. While she had observed him she had seen the educated potential he carried in his trained muscles as he quickly and efficiently disposed of each enemy as they rose. She herself wished she could fight as naturally as he did. It was almost as if he had learned to fight before he had learned to walk. She re-doubled her efforts and brought out a second burst of speed and agility she had been holding back.

            His vigorous attack was beginning to let up. How long had they been at it so far? Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. This boy was good, he had to admit. Very good. Better than anyone here, most likely even better than Darien. And Darien probably knew it too. That was why this boy was a favorite. Darien wanted all of his best fighters close to him. No risk in betrayal that way. Hiiro inwardly moaned as she hit a sore spot on his side. Just where he had had a huge sliver of metal slice through his stomach during the last battle with the Barton Foundation. It was still very bruised and sore. Of course, he couldn’t  let his opponent know it. He found extra strength and poured more heart into his own attacks.

            “End fight!” Shin called when he saw both fighters were tiring too much to keep the pace brisk. He checked the clock again. The two had been fighting for over forty-five minutes. They were the epitome of classic fighters. And they were his students. He was bursting with pride. But he couldn’t allow them to faint on each other. Who knew what would happen? He decided to end the fight and call it a draw.

            Both fighters heard Shin’s voice call the end of the match and both immediately stopped their fighting and backed away. Barely with enough strength, she bowed, and he followed in suit.

            “That was brilliant! Excellent job Shade! Hiiro! Truly a magnificent demonstration of the skill we wish everyone to eventually attain.” Darien clapped lightly. The crowd too, clapped, then began to disband to speak over what the had just witnessed. “Because you both fought so well, you have the rest of your five hour training off today.” Darien clapped, then stood to leave, Shin following him out. Shade was able to catch her breath enough to look back up at Hiiro. He was already up and acting as if nothing had happened. She too, stood and pretended like the world was the same as it had been two hours ago.

            “Good fighting Hiiro Yui. Perhaps your name isn’t so unusual after all.” She smirked, then realized she still had her mask on.

            “You are better than I expected.” Hiiro had the grace to pay the compliment. Though he preferred being quiet, he believed his opponent truly deserved the praise.

            “Thanks. I’ve been working at it for a while.” She found the bottom of the mask, but then decided to leave it on. Usually she got unusual looks from the other Specters without it. She hated being looked at by them that way.

            “Hnn.”

            “ I’ve been observing you for the last few days. Why are you here? You don’t really want to be part of the Specters. Your hiding something.” She prodded.

            “I’m here on business. I’ve dealt with people such as yourself before. Be careful what you say. You might go to bed and never wake up if your not.” Hiiro warned him, turning on his death glare. Shade choked back the urge to laugh. She grabbed her mask and decided to take it off anyway.

            “Work on your threats, they’re not very bad Mr. Yui.” She replied while pulling the mask off. Hiiro watched as the boy lifted his mask and blonde hair spilled over his shoulders and down past his waist. Looking over the face, he found a very feminine face with pretty, lady-like features attached. Rosy cheeks, starry sheer indigo eyes, and tiny pink pouting lips. The thought that this was no boy suddenly dawned upon him. He had been fighting a girl? A very pretty one? But a girl nonetheless?

            “Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Shade, or the Perfect Mercenary.” She tipped her head and gave a faeryish giggle and wink. “Welcome home Hiiro Yui. Even if it is only temporarily.”*