Year Two

*Eve starts on some work sheets passed out by her teacher*
---
*Cameron sets down his textbook then walks over to the window, staring out into the backyard*

<I wish I could go outside...or talk to someone other than Mom, Dad, and Kylie... Of course I had to get stuck with the totally obvious mutation.>

She eventually gets him to the shore, but he's still not happy and she's now covered in green gross.

Azuma: "Uh, yeah, thanks."

That's weird.

===============================================

Kari: "Umm...can I help you with anything?"

Taiyo: "Can we play with the kittens?"

Kari: "Yes, of course. I'll go get the key."

Kari hurries off and Taiyo plasters herself back to the window.

Taiyo: "Is she your aunt or something?"

Mimiru: "No, she's Azuma's brother's girlfriend. Not sure what she sees in that bonehead."

Taiyo: "Maybe it's like what you see in Azuma."

Mimiru: "What?"

Kari returns and unlocks the door to the kitten room. Taiyo hurries in, Mimiru following behind.

Mimiru: "You don't have any dogs, do you?"

Kari: "I'm afraid we don't."

Mimiru: "All right. Thanks."

===============================================

Cafe Patron: "Fascists. Always quick to go after the underdogs of society."

Cafe Patron Two: "What the hell are you talking about? The guy wasn't some disenfranchised Mutant taking his frustration out on society. He was a killer, plain and simple. Why would he use an alias if he weren't?"

Cafe Patron: "He's a vigilante. He's telling other Mutants they shouldn't take this kind of oppression lying down. And that's what it is. Oppression. The Mutant Busters are just this decades gestapo, targetting those who had the audacity to be born with abilities that diviate from the norm."

Cafe Patron Two: "And killing four people is just his way of saying I'm being oppressed?"

Cafe Patron: "I never said his methods weren't radical."

*She then leads him to the truck. Even if she can't get him to go in the cage, she'll be able to hook a body harness on him if he tries to make a break for it again.*

I've never liked that name. Mutants... Dalia pondered the name as she sipped some more tea. It is such an ugly word. I suppose that is what we are... we have mutations, but as a name it sounds so cruel, condescending and brutish.
She look another sip, Even if nobody knows about me, it's who I am. Knowingly or not, it feels like a slap on the face every time somebody says it.
She glowered at the two patrons for a moment before taking another sip and averting her gaze.

Grimm echoed Azuma's thoughts as he continued on his way, hands clasped behind his back.

*Eve finishes the worksheet and takes it up to the teacher, then returns to her seat and takes out a silent reading book*

[I hope the period ends soon.]
---
*Cameron sighs then goes back to finish his French work*

<Just have History to do after this...then I'm free the rest of the day...]

Still have so many hours to kill. And at least one and a half before noon.

Azuma goes for a stroll, a feeling of malice building up inside of him as two Tyranno Boys pass by and enter the park, spotting Ven.

Tyranno Boy One: "Eyes slideways. Chicken legs in fur."

Tyranno Boy Two: "In fur? Nah man, you handle this one. Remember what happened to Spot awhile back? Both arms broke."

Tyranno Boy One: "Don't be billy, Spot wasn't no slicer dicer."

Tyranno Boy Two: "Whatever man, I don't shiv."

The second Tyranno Boy goes in the opposite direction back out of the park.

====================================

Taiyo crawls around with the kittens, sitting up and gasping when one tries to climb up her back which Mimiru peels off.

Taiyo: "Owie... One thing I don't miss about kittens is how sharp their claws are."

Mimiru sets the kitten down and it waddles off to join the rest who are all waddling off to a corner to sleep.

Taiyo: "I guess it's naptime for them."

========================================

Weather Reporter: "Rain all along the east coast with storm clouds making their way across the country. Hopefully it'll bring some rain to cut through all this heat."

*Of course she can hear this exchange, so she quickly gets the dog in the cage, secures it, all of that jazz, & then heads for the driver's seat, which has a towel on it for just such occasions.*

Dalia felt a little relief at this news, but still couldn't feel quite as calm as she would like. She felt irritated, and that coupled with her boredom and it festered. Why was she a Mutant? Pure chance? She felt lucky in life, in every way but for her mutation.

Grimm eyed the scene with little discretion, his expression turning sour.

*Eve continues to read, wishing the period would end soon*
---
*Cameron starts on history*

Fastforward to noon hour. The schools let out for lunch and the halls flood with impatiant students and the streets fill up with vehichles from different places looking for a meal.

Outside the school, Taiyo and Mimiru sit on a bench on the frontlawn.

Taiyo: "How come you asked if the pet store had any dogs?"

Mimiru: "Umm...I like dogs. I always wanted one, but mom's allergic and dad didn't like dogs and living with my grandmother in a small apartment, I still can't have one. Something big, friendly, and maybe a nice brown."

Taiyo: "You have Azuma."

Mimiru: "Totally different."

*Eve picks up her books and wanders off to find Jin*
---
*Cameron makes himself some lunch, then returns to the table to eat*

*Ven heads to the burger joint she usually eats at to find Aroma & Thiera waiting for.*

V"What are you doing here?"

T"We're out of classes for the day, so we figured we'd get lunch with you before going back to the dorm."

A"Is that alright?"

V"...Suit yourselves."

Dalia had now left the cafe and was walking home the way she had come. On the way back she walked at a much slower pace, looking at nothing in particular.

Eve would find Jin sitting in the sun on the grass with a large packed lunch and a large bottle of water. She waved to Eve when she saw her nearby.

Grimm had found a bench in the park and sat on it, contentedly letting the time go by.

Taiyo: "Speaking of dogs..."

Azuma comes strolling up to the two.

Azuma: "Howdy."

Mimiru: "Mind if Taiyo comes along?"

Azuma: "Why not? I'm stacking mass benjis."

Mimiru: "You work in a bookstore."

========================================

Two cars pull into the parking lot of the burger joint. One a red Tyranno Boys car, the other a dark blue SUV.

From the car emerge four Tyranno Boys, one firing a large caliber handgun at the SUV. From the side of the SUV not under fire come three men in dark suits, each carrying submachine guns and promptly fire on the Tyranno Boys, killing one.

*The trio promptly hit the deck, Aroma looking this way & that, her eyes wide as saucers. Ven looks pissed off & vaguely concerned. Thiera glares out of the window with a distinct focus.*

A"What's going on? Who are the guys in the suits? Are they going to shoot us?"

V"How should I know?"

*Thiera reaches into her pocket, knocking out one of the acorns. Covered by her hand, it produces a sapling, which burrows in between the tiles.*

T"Everything will be fine. Don't worry."

*Eve waves back and heads over*

<How are you today?>

*Eve drops her backpack on the ground then sits down, taking out her lunch*
---
*Cameron finishes eating, and starts on more work*

The three make their way down the street. Sirens wailing as police cruisers and a swat van pass by.

Mimiru: "No Mutant Busters van."

Azuma: "All human crime."

Mimiru: "They still dispatch one just in case."

Azuma: "Looks like there are some exceptions."

===============================================

A Tyranno Boy runs inside, spraying a machine pistol over his shoulder. Another attempts to follow, but isn't so lucky as he's riddled with bullets.

A picture window explodes in shards of glass as one of the suits fires after the Tyranno Boy that ran inside and books it to the bathroom.

The gunfire outside stops and the three suits enter the establishment an eerie silence following. A tall male in a concrete grey suit carrying a Benelli M4 steps forward and speaks calmly in a thick Russian accent.

Grey Suit: "Where is he?"

Dalia began heading home, taking a deliberately long route. She could hear gunshots and sirens somewhere around. Nothing particularly new.

"Pretty good, I guess," Jin said after gulping down some food. "Classes are boring, though. Stuffy classrooms suck."

Grimm looked in the direction he had heard gunfire from and frowned a little, appearing to be considering something.
"Far too early in the day..." He said quietly, standing up and walking out of the park.

*Eve starts to eat*

<Yeah, classes are always so boring this time of year.>

*Eve takes a sip of water*

<So, do you want to do something after school?>
---
[Also most done...just a another 20 pages of reading.]

*Cameron picks up a history textbook to finish his required reading*

*The vines down below approach the grates & suddenly a large cloud of pollen enters the room, obscuring everything in a cloud of green & yellow. Any pollen that touches the gun begins growing into leaves & vines to fill every nook & cranny, jamming it in case the guy should get trigger happy. Once she is obscured by the pollen, Thiera quietly gets up, waving a hand in front of her face. As she walks, the pollen around her assembles into a mask made of 2 leaves slightly larger than her hands over her eyes white vines also grow down the hems of her clothes, blending in. As she approaches the bathroom door, these developments do nothing to calm down Aroma, who throws her hands over her head.*

A"Oh God, please, I don't want to die!"

V"No one's going to die! He's in the bathroom, take him & get out!"

The three are stopped at a police roadblock consisting of one cruiser and two officers, a white male and black male.

Black Officer: "Sorry, kids, but we can't let you down here."

Mimiru: "Why not? More Tyranno Boys?"

White Officer: "Just watch the news this evening. Until there you're gonna have to go elsehwere."

Azuma: "All right, whatever."

=======================================

A clatter comes from where the suits are as the one in grey throws his gun down, feeling leaves and shit all over it. A second Russian speaks.

Unidentified Russian: "The hell is this, a Mutant."

Grey Suit: "It matters not. The only Mutant the boss wants is their leader."

The three stumble about, stepping on and tripping over the occasional person who hasn't hid under a table. Sirens wail outside.

Unidentified Russian Two: "The cops!"

Grey Suit: "They won't storm the place. Not with that car out there, they'll think it's a hostage situation. And this damn cloud'll block any sharpshooters."

In the bathroom, the lone Tyranno Boy hides in a stall, fumbling to reload his weapon.

Tyranno Boy: "I'll show those fucking Reds. I got them pegged. I don't shiv."

*Thiera opens the door, quickly glancing around. Noticing the feet of the Tyranno Boy member, she dashes up to the stall. A vine at her wrist sprouts a flower. If he opens the door, she points it at him & sprays sleep pollen. If not, she jams the lock with vines from her other hand & sprays it under the door.*
==============================
*Outside, vines pop up out of the ground to tie up the Russian gangsters. Of course, vision is still obscured.*

A"Wha...what's going on?"

Dalia found herself deliberately heading towards the commotion she had heard.

"Sure, I'm free," Jin nodded. "Anything in mind?"

Grimm walked back towards the church, contemplating his night's activities.

*Eve shrugs*

<How much homework do you have?>
---
*Cameron continues reading, rushing towards the end*

At some other joint the three partake in their meals.

Azuma: "Never heard of this place 'til now."

Taiyo: "Me and Mimi were going to stop by during our spare, but we got sidetracked at the pet store."

Azuma: "Oh. I don't go to the pet store."

====================================

The one in grey struggles.

Grey Suit: "There are easier ways of getting yourself killed than sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!"

The establishments fans turn on, as a tactical unit moves in through the kitchen in full face gear.