FicWad

Chapter 21



They returned to the manor in a staggered fashion as not to draw attention to themselves, and everyone that had a significant other were greeted with joy and tears. Bridgette nearly tackled Gilbert, and Yuriya jumped up and wrapped her legs around her husband, and they kissed passionately, as the twins watched with mild disgust. Yuriya caught this, and looked at them slyly, saying, "Hey, how do you think you got here!"

They eyed each other, and Jean-Claude told the kids, "Find Kannon and go play-it's a nice night!"

Fumio caught the hint as she was greeting her son and daughter-in-law, and said, "Why don't you kids come to our apartment. I have dinner ready, you can eat with us."

Yuriya and Jean-Claude gave her the thumbs-up as the walked by and to their domicile, still kissing and in this position. However, something interesting was taking place with two people. Vincent and Anjou were starting to be friendly a bit, and were talking extensively about the mission from which they just returned. However, Innocent was pacing the floor, as if she awaited someone else. Hondo was the last to return, and when she saw him, she ran up and hugged him, and then broke away quickly, genuinely embarrassed for her display of affection. "Uh...well...um..." was all she could say, and then bowed before him, saying, "I am so glad to see your safe return."

All he could do was smile, and say, "I'm sure you are!"

He smirked and headed back to his room. She was now stuck. She did indeed tell him that she loved him, but never indicated to what level the love went. He started to gather his things, and all she could think to do was pick up some of his things and help him. "Hey, I thought I was the servant," joked Hondo, which got him a smack to the back of his head from her. "Ouch!" he laughed as they went their way, "Now that was more like what I expected!"

"I thought we talked about this..." she said as the conversation trailed off, and she went down the hall. Everyone was trying to stifle their laughter, and not doing a very good job of it! Innocent looked around and said, "What are you all looking at," which caused everyone to lose it right there. Everyone knew that it would not be long before they heard wedding bells.



That week marked the week for the cultural festival at the elementary school. The school that evening was filled with students and parents, all displaying their projects. Mickey and Sheila set up their displays, and she was working hard. They were all in the gymnasium, ready to peddle their wares and do their demonstrations as the parents milled around the house to see all the different sounds, smells, and other various things that they children had studied out and displayed. Sheila and Yuriya were both resplendent in their traditional Japanese garments and hair styles for the tea ceremony. Several cups were set out as many parents wanted to try the tea. Angela and Jennifer both jumped in on the project for their grade, and they both enjoyed dressing up in the traditional Japanese fashion for the project. Yuriya was more than happy to help even if only to support her daughter's efforts in making friends. They would serve the tea as the ladies prepared the cups. Of course, it went with all the precision and flair that goes with the tea ceremony. People were mesmerized at the sight of the synchronicity of the two as they prepared the cups. Once one row was done, Jennifer handed up the cups to Angela, and she set them on the saucers with the one sugar star that one is supposed to drop into the tea before they drink. They all enjoyed, and a few were caught by surprise by how hot the tea actually was. There were signs done both in English and Japanese warning about this, but some underestimated the heat. They all just laughed it off and enjoyed anyway. Needless to say, the tea was a success. Elsewhere in the gym, there was another interesting demonstration was going on.



In a spot that was kept a bit clearer for the demonstration, there were mats set up, and Mickey was dressed in a traditional Aikido uniform, with the white dojo gi top, and samurai style black pants. Jean-Claude was wearing a Ninjitsu outfit, considering how he had been trained by Hondo in the art. They then proceeded to talk about all the different Japanese forms of the martial arts, and then began to focus on their own. Each one gave an explanation and history for the arts they represented, and then went into empty-hand katas, followed by weapons demonstrations. Mickey demonstrated kendo, while Jean-Claude demonstrated throwing stars and the tonto. They then got the rattan blades and gave a sparring demonstration. It was noisy but entertaining. To finish the demonstration, they began to set up boards and cement slabs, preparing to show how hard body training worked. They were all surprised at the strength Mickey demonstrated as he smashed through a pile of ten boards. Jean-Claude then showed the power of the foreleg kick by putting a watermelon behind the thick piece of wood. He cracked the wood, with no harm to his shin, and the watermelon exploded. All the while, action style oriental music was playing, and they were putting on a show. Many of the boys that were jealous of him thought that he was just showing off at first. However, all that changed when he went up to a stack of about 10 cement slabs. He said, "Many think that all I do is break the first couple of slabs, and then a chain reaction takes place. In reality, what I am doing is aiming for the bottom of the pile, and pushing my fist all the way through. There is some chain reaction, but, if Ijust stopped at the top, I may just hurt my fist. Watch!"

He measured it, and then, with a big yell, put his fist through the pile. This was accompanied by "oohs" and "ahs" of the people watching. Jean-Claude went over to three of the piles set up for this stunt, and said, "We have spent time hardening the striking surfaces of our bodies to do this. What happens is that microscopic fractures build in the bone structures. They heal, but they become thicker. The more we did this, the harder surfaces we struck until those areas became bludgeons. After time, one can do this!"

He then brought one forearm through each pile as he smashed his head through the one in the middle. Mickey then went up to four stacked ice slabs and proceeded to smash through them with a double axe handle maneuver. Jean-Claude then took a three point stance in front of about 12 thicker cement slabs set up vertically, and then charged through them in one shot. They then took a couple of karate poses in front of it all just as the music finished. Everyone applauded loudly for the display, as they did a proper Japanese bow for them. However, the one thing that happened was that there was a clear message sent: don't mess with the half-oriental kid, or you might get your head handed to you!



The next day, the A-team met and talked about how things had gone. Despite acouple of burps here and there, everything went without too much of a hitch. The one good thing was that, as the Clan moved through the Far East, they could split up into two or three groups, and then they could expedite the work there. However, they were much smaller, though not less effective. However, they were worried about how the reaction went. Jean-Claude then decided that it would be best that Victor and Elda take a semi-independent control of things on that front. All they had to do is let them know where they would be going, and then corral them into Paris, using the intelligence they find there to conduct their own operation. They had the numbers to do what they needed to do. The others in North America had to be more cautious, not because they may meet larger forces, but that they may shift operations as to where their bases may not be found. Since there would be a space of time before the destroyed bases would be found, they had a few days to go over the intelligence they had gathered, and then to prepare for the next move. It seemed that the next bases were in Mexico City, and in the mountains of Pennsylvania. They would prepare the same two teams, and then make it happen.



In Paris, there was concern. The bases in Portland, Oregon and Rio had not been heard from in a few days. Leo had to assume the worst, but he had to find out. He sent detachments out to those locations, and was horrified by what he found. The detachments found an empty facility, rotting food, and the men dead and fed upon by animals. A few of them had bite marks on their necks, and that cinched to Leo just what was responsible. However, the scene in Portland was even worse. When they arrived, the animals had made short work of the corpses. Some had been dragged out by larger animals, never to be seen again. What was odd was that there was no indication of a frontal assault, no sign of a break-in, (considering that he replaced the vent before they left, and that they covered their tracks, and not much sign of a struggle. The only thing was that they all had bullets in them, and that was it. Leo knew that he could not tell the authorities, lest the whole operation be exposed, and the Jesuits descend on them en masse. One thing they did find was some intelligence files missing, but whoever took them made sure to not have it look like anything was taken on the surface of things. He examined the patterns, and he then realized what they were trying to do. They were trying to work their way towards Paris, taking what they could in the process. This began to frighten him. The forces that were hitting him were bigger than anything he had yet faced, and far more organized than that foolhardy attempt to break into the headquarters by those four foolish vampires. However, those vampires seemed to be connected, else, how did they know to look in those locations? Worse, why were a bunch of vampires so organized? How were they operating? He never felt more in the dark than he did at that point. He had a foe that was working systematically, but they covered themselves well, and he had no idea from where they could come, or when they could strike. He wasn't even sure where to start to look. The principles that they had been watching seemed to disappear off the face of the earth, yet he had to figure that they had something to do with it. Still, he had no way of finding a bargaining chip, because those bargaining chips were no longer there! He was back at square one, and the only thing he could do was to evacuate a couple of bases to stronger locations, and reinforce them in case they came. All he could do was go to his knees and pray for a break in the case.



The school year progressed, and first term reports came through. The twins were straight A's, as their parents expected. Kenta was making excellent progress on his master's, having to sweat through many classes of some of the most difficult math on the face of the earth. Jean-Claude and Hondo were gaining an education on Phys Ed, and realizing that there was more to it than they thought. They were both running a 3.33 grade-point average, which is not bad, but they both had to work for it. Karin was turning into a regular Julia Child, and she was learning all the fine points of cooking expertise. It could be that the Cavern could expand their kitchen, and make for a fine dining facility, but that would remain to be seen. Wiener and Maki were fairing well in their English studies, and hoping that they could put that to use in the book selling industry. Anjou was making decent progress on her oratorio. She had her framework, and the chords for each section ready to go, and she was working on the base lines at that point. One interesting thing that people noticed was the fact that many of the girls that had been jealous of Anjou were becoming less and less. They were actually becoming friends with her, and she did all she could to aid them in their composition work. What no one knew was that they were providing a fairly steady diet for Anjou, and she was happy for the jealous girls. They were always easy to find. Some of them were on the opposing bowling clubs, and she was always able to isolate one or two of them after the matches at their post match get-togethers.



The time was allowed to pass in an attempt to lull the Inquisition into a false sense of security. Mickey and Sheila were vital in the operation, in that they could communicate with their bats anywhere in the continent. However, instead of seeing anyone in the two sites they expected-Mexico City and the mountains of Pennsylvania-they were abandoned. Once this was learned, they knew that they had been tipped off, and that they were now laying low. Unfortunately, that put them back to square one. Now they had to find the information all over again. However, this did not mean that there was not matters of interest happening.



Ai was watched closely. Ever since Paris, she had been suicidal. It was achore just getting her to feed, and Chiyuki had all she could do just to get her out of her coffin at night. The last thing they wanted was for her to give up on life. However, this had strong shades of what had happened hundreds of years ago. Her and Chiyuki had been chased and persecuted by both humans and vampires because of how they had come to be. They had been humans transformed into the undead by a vampire who had not told them this is what had happened. Worse, he had no intentions of dealing with them, and it was just his sadistic little twist to having them die. He would have killed them normally, but he performed this then forbidden act as an extra slap in the face. They were able to survive and make friends, but they were constantly on the run. They even had their vampire lovers killed because of their association with them. They would have gone mad if it had not been for Ryuu. Now, he was gone. Chiyuki was able to hold up because Ren had been there to help her get through things. Ai, however, had no one. Shell shock had overcome her, and now she was losing the will to live. This, Chiyuki wanted to avoid at all cost. It was not just because she was her friend, but also, she did not want to lose Ai again, as she had once thought had happened. One morning, before the sun came up, Chiyuki came with some blood, knowing that she was in one of her darker moods, and had not left the room all night. Chiyuki knocked, and there was no response. She knocked louder, and still, there was no answer. "Ai, honey," said Chiyuki,"C'mon, you have to feed. It's Chiyuki, please let me in."

Chiyuki, never one for patience, tried to walk in anyway, and the door would not budge. It was not locked, but it was as if something were holding it. "Ai," shouted Chiyuki, "Open the door!"

She started to put her vast strength into it, but it was no good. What she did not know was that Ai had both chained the door shut, and used a length to tie to a pillar so that it could not be opened in that way. It was not any ordinary chain, but several logging chains. She started to panic, because she knew that the sun was coming up soon, and because of Karin, they were now normal vampires. However, it was at this point that Chiyuki realized what was going on. It was now obvious that all this was deliberate. Now Chiyuki was shouting, "Ai, open this door! Don't do this to me! We've already lost too much! Don't do this, please, I'm begging you!"

She was now growing frantic, and was practically bracing both feet on the door as she pulled. She did not know Ai was on the other side helping to hold it shut. Chiyuki now started to curse and shout, demanding that she open the door, which got the attention of many in the manor. Now everyone was fighting to get the door open, but to no avail. At this, Jean-Claude decided to do something desperate. He went to an upper room, made a Swiss seat for himself, and prepared to repel down to her room. However, this caught the attention of the twins. They were torn out of their sleep, and wandered out to see what the problem was. Once it was explained to them, they stepped aside and began to talk. When the adults stepped aside for a quick talk, Mickey stepped up, concentrated with all he had, and swung at the thick, oaken door. Just before that, Jean-Claude swung in to find Ai just sitting in the middle of the floor legs drawn, arms wrapped around the leg, staring into nothing with her chin on her knees. He saw the chain and started to undue them. When that happened, Ai screamed and thrust at Jean-Claude faster than he could react. He was powerful, but even he would have had to admit that the Devil sisters were far more powerful than he. She threw him across the room, and before he could react, he found himself wrapped in a thick layer of chain. She then sat down again, but only for a moment. Mickey, because of his hard body training, and because of what he was, managed to punch down the door. Since the door swung outward, and the chains were set to stop this, it was no good against an inward blow. The door came off at the hinges. Ai was on her feet in a start, and she spun around to confront the intruder. That's when everyone flooded in to stop her, but it was a vain effort. They all found themselves outside on their rear ends, and she then went to go out the window. Yet, Sheila, faster than the eye could detect, filled the window, and extended a hand. Ai flew out of the room into the hall, and stood up, ready for the next challenger. It was the twins that confronted her, saying, "Lady Ai, you must stop."

"Silence, childe!" she snapped, "You are no match for..." but that was all she got out. Before she knew it, she was knocked down again by a force blow, and then found herself surrounded by flame. It was an odd flame, in that it was not igniting anything else around it. "Lady Ai, this is not the answer,"pleaded Sheila, but Ai jumped out of the flames to confront them. However, when she lashed out at them, they were too fast for her. It would have been easier to try to put your thumb on mercury. The flames had since gone away, but a fireball began to form on Ai's hand. "So, you like to play with fire, huh?" shouted Ai, and prepared to attempt to fry the twins. That was her last act that morning, as it seemed a bright flash of blue-white light flashed around her for a brief moment, and then she was out. When she collapsed, Kannon was about 20 feet behind her, with her hands extended, saying, "Auntie naughty! Auntie thtop!"

She had been hit with what would have been a tazer shot big enough to knock out a moose. Everyone stood and stared at the twins and Kannon, absolutely floored at the power they just saw displayed before them. The thunderous silence filled the room, as not even their parents knew just how powerful they were. They closed the canvas on Ai's window, put her in her coffin and closed the lid after they freed Jean-Claude. A watch was set up to make sure she did not try anything. In the meantime, Jean-Claude went up to all three, and said,"Um...just when was it that you were going to tell us that you could do all this?"

"Father," said Sheila, "You may not believe this, but we did not even know. Imean, we have been practicing things, but we never did anything like that before."

Kannon was now sitting confused, not even sure what it was that she had done herself. At that, Karin picked her up and started to console her, telling her that she was a good girl, she had helped her auntie, and that auntie would be okay. At this, Jean-Claude said, "Let's get you two ready for school, and then we are going to talk. Don't worry: this is not going to be a lecture, because you didn't do anything wrong, but I think more of a family meeting thing is in order. We have to come to some kind of understanding on some things, because there is more here than meets the eye and I want to know what your feelings are on all this. I have to know..."

Mickey cut him off, and said, "Pop, I think I know what you want to say, and Idon't think it's any different than anything else you have told us. With great power comes great responsibility."

"Well, that's good that you still remember all that, but..." Jean-Claude tried to continue, but Sheila said, "Dad, this power doesn't make me feel powerful, but it makes me feel scared."

"It scares me too, dad," added Mickey. At that Jean-Claude sighed a breath of relief, because, at least, it was not building a desire for power within them, and he said, "Well, then let's talk about what has scared you, because I think there is something there that will help the two of you not to abuse what you have, for power is seductive. Come on, breakfast will be waiting, and we can talk then."

They both came up and embraced his waist, as he swung them around, and walked back to their domicile.