FicWad

Notes:

Ok, this is my first published fanfic, really my first fanfic since I have never really written anything like this using a pre-existing story line as abase for a new story. I am looking for a beta reader or readers so if you're interested drop me a line.

"Speaking"
'Internal first person'
Written note or email

Most of the story is written in first person with some third person thrown in. Any comments regarding POV usage, grammer, story structure, or just about anything else would be appreciated.

Disclaimer:

The characters of Mireille Bouquet, Kirika Yumura and others from the anime'Noir' are neither owned by me nor are my original creations. These characters are based on the original anime series by Ryoe Tsukimura.

Other characters presented within are entirely my own and any resemblances to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The same goes for described locations and settings.

This will be rated "T" for the time being just to be safe, ratings may change as the story unfolds.



Chapter 1

The Race Home



"Noir is just aname, but you will stand aside if you fear the heart of darkness."

"Damn!" cursed Mireille as she dragged the now unconscious Kirika up the steep path another few steps before collapsing, "It's never easy."

'So far so good, no enemies yet' thought Mireille, 'we probably killed most of the people that lived here'. That problem was not weighing on her mind as much as just making it to the jeep. Looking down at her left arm she saw it was bleeding freely again, not a good sign, and Kirika's wound was still bleeding even through the packing she had put in the wound. Mireille bent over the young girl and put a finger to the side of her neck, her pulse was weak but steady, good.

'Well it's no good sitting here' she thought looking up the path and seeing that there was another twenty meters to the top. "Come on partner, we need to get out of here so you can make me that tea" joked Mireille as she pushed off the wall and hooked an arm under Kirika and again started her slow assent.

In the jeep she had her I.F.A.K. (Individual First Aid Kit)that that she had picked up from one of her contacts, she knew it contained all the supplies she needed to patch both her and Kirika up long enough for them to get back to Paris and back to her doctor. As soon as she got Kirika next to the jeep she stumbled to the back and dug out the fibrin bandages and patched herself up, it only took a moment and she was back at her young partner's side.

"Kirika can you hear me?" she said gently, and waited a few moments with no response.

'Probably for the better, this would hurt a lot f she was awake' she thought as she ripped the robe and removed the cloth packing from the gunshot wound. Taking quick appraisal of the wound she sprinkled on some quickclot and smoothed a fibrin bandage over it. She wanted to quickly check if her partner had any other life threatening injuries and unfastened the light robe she was wearing, what she saw shock her. Where there should have been smooth skin there were welts, burses, and unhealed cuts. Looking at the dreadful wounds a tear slipped down her cheek, it felt as cold as ice.

"What did they do to you Kirika" Mireille said as her breath hitched "How could they do this to you"

She closed the robe and bundled the young girl in a blanket and gently laid her in the passenger seat. Getting in the jeep she started back to Paris as fast as she could without jostling too much or attracting unwanted attention. Her arm was starting to go numb, she didn't know if it was from loss of blood or nerve damage, either way it was bad. Also she was starting to get tunnel vision, which she knew was from loss of blood.

'Dammit dammit dammit' The Corsican was thinking, 'I hate taking the stim-injections, but right now it's my only option, if I don't I'm going to black out and run off the road.'

"Well here goes" she scooped up one of the stim-injectors in her right hand and pressed it to the inside of her thigh. A quick "Click" a pinprick and it was done. Within seconds the drug took effect, the world came sharply into focus and the blinding pain went away.

Once she was back out of the mountains she called her doctor contact, one Dr. James Allen.

"James! This is Mireille Bouquet, I have an emergency I need help I don't care the cost I need you to save someone" she said in a rush, panic in her voice.

"Ok Mireille calm down, where are you, what's wrong?" asked James

Mireille forced herself to calm down and take a deep breath.

"About forty five minutes away, I have a friend with agunshot wound to the abdomen with loss of blood, she is unconscious but stable."

"Ok, call me when you pull up to my house, I'll help you. Look don't worry Mireille just drive safe and get here Ok, I'll get everything ready. Wait what wa...." It seemed the doctor turned away from his phone and was talking to someone else for a few seconds "... and get the stretcher ready too. Mireille do you know your friends blood type... never mind, just drive and remember to call when you get close."

Mireille looked at the clock on the dash 1:24 a.m., it had been more than five hours since they had left the manor.

She reached over and checked Kirikas pulse again, it was getting weaker.

"Kirika, you stay with me dammit!" She sobbed, "You can't die, I saved you, I need you to live, I need you." She was crying now, tears streaming down her face without making a sound as drove to the villa on the outskirts of Paris.

The villa wasn't large by Mireilles' standards but it wasn't small either. She had remembered to call ahead and started to pull into the back near the guest house where she had gone previously when she got injured, but instead was flagged down by a woman near the side of the house.

"Mireille Bouquet?" the woman asked.

"Yes"

"Pull up to the cellar doors over there." The woman pointed over to a small building attached to the rear of the house where they had astretcher waiting.

She helped the woman load Kirika onto the stretcher best she could with her near useless left arm and the woman pushed her and Kirika into the small room with a lift in it. She called down to James that they were coming.

Mireille watched as the woman stripped the unconscious girl and James started an IV and heart monitor.

James looked up at Mireille and was shocked at the state she was in, both her outward appearance and the odd way she was moving. She was covered in dirt and dried blood, her clothing was torn and gone was the catlike grace that he had seen, even when she was wounded.

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you two..." thinking better of it "... I'm sorry, you don't need to tell me anything." He knew that people in Mireille's line of work paid him to not ask questions.

Mireille couldn't move, she was standing there and her vision started to dim and her thoughts got foggy 'I... I think the stim-shot just wore off' was what she wanted to say but all that came out was agroan.

"Lauren, see to Ms. Bouquet's wounds and see if we can treat her later after we stabilize the young girl" was James quick reaction after seeing Mireille waver on her feet.

Lauren quickly walked up to Mireille "What's wrong? Are you injured?" she quickly tried to support the dazed looking Corsican by slipping her shoulder under her left arm.

Mireille looked at the woman in front of her with blurry vision, /'Why is she talking to me? Why isn't she helping Kirika?' /she thought slowly. Just then the woman tried to support her by reaching under her left arm, pain shot into her like an electric current; it was too much for her to handle as her sight of the room went white with agony. She could hear herself scream in pain but even that seemed far away as she lost consciousness.



"Beep... beep... beep..."
'Why is the alarm clock going off?' thought Mireille 'I'm so tired, why did I set it so early?' Just then she heard footsteps, and tensed up. Pain and the memory of what had happened washed over her mind. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the sounds and saw a woman leaning over Kirika who was in a hospital bed. She was checking some readouts and adjusted one of the IV's then looked over toward Mireille.

"Oh, I see your awake" said the woman "how are you feeling, do you want some water?"

Mireille was thirsty and tried to say "yes please" but all that came out was a dry raspy cough. The woman brought her a glass anyway and Mireille cautiously sat up in her bed ignoring the throbbing in her left arm. She took the offered water and drank it down quickly to wet her parched throat.

Lauren was checking Mireilles' heart monitor as the young blond watched, she then pulled the light shirt off of the Corsicans' left arm and checked the dressing. She noticed that the blond had stopped looking at her and was staring at the young girl across the room.

"She's Ok for now, my name is Lauren. Both of you were in terrible condition when you got down here, it took quite a few hours of surgery to put you and your young friend back together." She told Mireille "we think that she is over the worst of the fever as well."

Mireille had many questions tumbling through her head but first she had to see Kirika with her own eyes, to see if she was really alright.

"Can I see her?" Mireille asked not taking her eyes off of her partner.

"Of course, but she's on some powerful painkillers and may not recognize you so please don't be surprised." Lauren said while gently helping Mireille to her feet.

Mireille slowly shuffled over to the bed that Kirika was laying motionless in. She looked at her partners face and saw that her eyes were dilated and half lidded. Her entire left side was swathed in heavy bandages and her right arm was in a sling. She looked down at the floor after seeing the extent of Kirika's injuries. She didn't like seeing her partner like this, so weak and defenseless. It brought back memories of that job in the Middle East when Kirika was wounded and ... Mireille felt her eyes fill with tears just thinking about how selfish and cruel she was. How could she ever had said those things, making Kirika think that she was a burden, that she could just shoot her and run to save her own life.

"Kirika..." Mireille said softly and reached up to stroke her cheek, "Kirika can you hear me?"

"Kirika..." Kirika thought heard Mireille's voice through the haze of drugs and pain, "Kirika can you hear me?" It was Mireille; she turned her head slowly to the sound of her voice. Yes, she could see familiar blond hair and blue eyes now; the Corsican had her fingertips brushing lightly against her cheek. Mireille was here, and for some reason that comforted her. She had been dreaming, or was it remembering? She couldn't sharpen her mind to recall exactly what she saw when she was sleeping but it was so painful, she hoped that it was just a nightmare and not her lost memories. She came back to the present and saw that Mireille was still looking at her. She tried to say something but couldn't get anything but a raspy sigh to come out. Then she saw that Mireilles eyes were filled with tears. Kirika squeezed her eyes shut, she was disgusted with herself, she felt so weak and so selfish making Mireille cry. Hadn't she caused Mireille enough pain, was pain and death all she was good for. Kirika tried to turn away from Mireille so that she could hide the shame she felt but even the slight contracting of her stomach muscles sent a wave of new pain through her and her mind spiraled back down into blackness, back into the painful nightmares, or were they memories?

Mireille saw Kirika's body twist slightly and then she let out a pained wheeze and fell into unconsciousness.

"What's wrong with her" she said in a panic "is she going to be ok?" Mireille was on the brink of tears.

"She's been through a lot, not only the bullet wound to her stomach but she had two broken ribs at the entry point" Lauren was explaining"we had to cut into her back to get the bullet out. Her right shoulder was dislocated and she also had lost a large amount of blood."

Lauren was personally amazed that they young girl had survived at all given the severity of her wounds.

"You weren't as bad off as your friend here but you had astraight through bullet wound on your left arm as well as a fractured wrist and sprained knee." Lauren was hesitant to mention that she had found amphetamines in her blood work but decided that she should say something "you also tested positive for meth in your blood work. I don't know if you're a user or not but please don't get her mixed up in whatever is going on."

Mireille could almost laugh at this woman trying to lecture her on drug use and not wanting Kirika to be involved in anything criminal.

James was walking in just as Lauren was talking to Mireille about not getting involved in drugs. He quickly strode over to the side of his wife.

"Lauren, honey, they aren't some spoiled rich kids that don't want the media to know about their accident" James explained "they are some of my more... interesting patents... please, leave them to rest." He said with an apologetic look at Mireille.

"I am sorry Ms. Bouquet, my wife has been taking care of you while I took a short nap. I was so tired after the fourteen hours it took me to mend both your wounds that I was thoroughly exhausted." James explained "It won't happen again I assure you. Lauren won't come down to bother you anymore".

Mireille looked at them both and saw that Lauren was getting a little pale and James was slightly tense.

"No problem at all" Mireille said with some amusement"...think nothing of it. I was just going to ask your wife if I could move my bed over here near Kirika's, I think she would sleep better if I was near her."

As James obliged her and wheeled her bed next to Kirika's he wondered just what the relationship was between the two. He and never thought Mireille would be one to take a partner, she was always so cold. 'She's always been indifferent towards everyone, even towards me' he thought. Even though he had saved her life once and patched her up a few times it didn't seem to make him a friend or even put him in her favor. On the other hand she was almost panicked when this young Kirika was wounded, so much so that she didn't even tell them about her own wounds. 'This is going to be something to think about' he thought to himself, 'I need to find out more about this situation, I have a feeling that I'm missing something important.'

"Ms. Bouquet, you should really get some rest, you need not worry about your security" James told her confidently " I parked your jeep in the back barn and you came in late enough that I don't think anyone saw you, in any case while you are under my care I will protect you personally if it came down to it."

As he said this he moved his white coat aside slightly and Mireille saw that he was carrying a pistol in a cross draw holster. He smiled at her as he turned and started to walk out with is hand lightly pushing his wife ahead of him. She wasn't surprised but slightly taken that he would promise to protect them so fiercely without even knowing them.

'Could he be with Altena and the Soldats?' Mireille thought to herself 'no, he's been around for years, Uncle Claude had told me that he was a trustworthy contact.'

Mireille shook her head, 'I need sleep, I'll be no good to anyone if I'm dead on my feet' she thought as she slipped under the covers. She glanced over at Kirika and saw that she was twitching slightly as if she were having a dream and not a good one by the grimace on her face. She was reaching over to stroke her partner's cheek when she stopped 'what am Idoing... god I've gone soft if I've been reduced to this. Kirika is strong, she doesn't need my comfort, she's probably one of the world's best assassins. It's not like she's some little kid, I would be a fool to think that she needs someone to stroke her cheek and tell her that it's just a bad dream.' With that she lay back on her bed and sleep overcame her almost immediately.



James was at his computer chatting with yet another one of his contacts trying to figure out what was going on. It had been almost three days since Mireille and her partner arrived at his door and still he had no idea what was happening. He had contacted some of his most trusted informants but still no one knew anything about what was going on. It was true, many of them knew Mireille Bouquet but none of them seemed to know what was going on. Of course he had been circumspect in his questioning; saying that she owed him a favor and he was trying to contact her to call it in but still no one knew where she was or what she was up to. His computer beeped and he opened the email:



Mireille Bouquet is in a precarious position; the people that are after her will want to either find her and kill her, or they may want to use her for their own purposes. James, please do not get involved and stop looking for her. If she comes to see you send her away immediately if you value your life, because once you get involved the only way out will be death.



He looked at who had sent the email, an old war friend, and felt that he could trust what was said. James sighed and thought to himself 'Mireille what have you gotten yourself into, and you dragged me in as well.' He quickly sent off another email with more questions. A few minutes later another reply:



James, Mireille Bouquet's precarious position rests on the fact that a cetin powerful organization believes that she and her partner are some kind of divine assassin team. Please do not underestimate their reach James, many people died by doing that and I want to save you from that. Please, don't dig any more into this; it can only lead to trouble.



He needed to talk to Mireille; he needed to find out what was going on and why they were in so much danger. They say ignorance is bliss but it can also get you killed, no he amended, it can get you and everyone that you ever cared about killed, /very/ quickly.

Auther notes:

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