Moonlit Beach (Ended)

Toshi just shook her head. It was probably the first time that night she had gotten irritated with Mimi. She really didn't get it, although she knew it wasn't the privileged girl's fault.

"You should be thankful you have a family able and willing to pay for you," she muttered, glancing towards the sky. She really didn't want to, but she couldn't help but relive old memories sometimes. Her mother's voice always had a way of ringing in her head during the worst times. Her mother had screamed, bitten, kicked, and finally stabbed when Toshi told her she was going to high school, the night before she left (she wasn't stupid enough to tell her beforehand). She couldn't even imagine what it was like to have parents willing to send you off.

Damn it, she really hated that about herself. Sulking was so unattractive, and she seemed to do it so often. Earth to self, ever heard of the phrase "Get over it?" she thought, feeling stupid for allowing her mother's memory to even scratch the surface of her phyque.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she said finally, biting her lip and looking over at her. "It's just studying for scholarships are a pain, trust me." She laughed slightly to try and redeem herself, but it really didn't sound quite right. Way to kill the party Toshi.

Nemo half-listened to them, his mind elsewhere. Already, his thoughts turned to the Academy, and he wondered if everyone there was as nice as these two, or if he'd find himself in some sticky situation or other once the male students realized how weak he was. Instictively, his ears lay back at the thought. He really hated bullies, and he doubted this school was any exception to the rule in that it had to have at least one. Just don't let it be in the Night Class...

But, if there were bullies in the day class, Toshi was on her own. That wouldn't do either. Nemo chewed his bottom lip, thinking, trying to come up with a solution to that problem.

Well, at least until his stomach growled loud enough for both girls to hear. At that point, he turned a bright red and crossed his arms over his middle, glaring down at his stomach as though accusing it of conspiring against him. How embarassing. I couldn't buy lunch today, since I needed the money for the bus...

Toshi grinned at Nemo's expression when she turned to look at him.

Thank you! she screamed in her head, knowing very well he hadn't done it on purpose. None the less he'd provided the perfect distraction.

"Relax Nemo-san," she said with a smile. "We're all hu-" she paused, realizing that statement wasn't entirely true, "people requiring food here," she said instead, laughing slightly at the awkward phrasing. "Anyway, it's just a stomach. Do you want food? I have chips in my bag, they're really good," she offered, glancing towards her suitcase. Her eyebrows were raised in a you-won't-really-say-no-will-you sort of way as she looked at him.

It was funny, normally boys like this really bugged her. Yet for some reason she just couldn't help but like the guy. Maybe it was just her protective nature. She always ended up taking care of these weak-types. Luckily for her, they were usually cute-types too.

{LMAO. Love the post, Gem.}

Still blushing, Nemo looked up at her, his ears perking up at the mention of chips. "Y-you don't mind, do you?" Her previous comment clicked in his head a moment later, and he chuckled. "I don't mind being called human. Actually, I'd like if you thought of me that way."

He offered her an awkward smile, still extremely embarassed. May just be a stomach, but it coulda been quieter... "I'd really hate to be a burden. That's why I can't wait to start job-hunting." He lifted a hand, gently scratching his neck. "O' course, I have to get permission, but I don't think they'd mind me getting a part-time job...if I can find one. Ears don't exactly give a professional impression, y'know." He was babbling, and he knew it. Problem was, he couldn't help it. He talked when he was hungry, and that's that.

(soo sorry about the lateness... internet suckage. Won't be on much this weekend so Hitomi's gonna be a bit quiet quite, I've got an essay due monday, and coursework deadlines are coming up)

Hitomi was a bit disturbed by Toshi's comment... She knew she was right but, she just couldn't admit it to herself. Hitomi was lucky to be so privileged but she disliked it very much. What was the use in money if you never want to use it. What's the use in money if it means life's gonna be so easy that it's almost not even worth living. What's the use in money when it turns you into a selfish person who can't see past their own needs. Hitomi wasn't much of a good socialiser but this was taking her mind off of an earlier vision. Although she did enjoy their company very much, that was only an added bonus as to what she originally wanted. She knew she needed to change her ways. Yes, right now she was being quite nice, and she wanted to help these two but, that was probably only because they were abnormally nice, and she'd feel too guilty if she ever accidentally hurt them. So she was being careful... although deep down she did genuinely like them. They reminded her of her cousin.

She looked up, realising she'd been in a bit of a daze for a while. Smiling to Nemo, she decided that maybe people like these could help her change. Make her a better person. "Erm... Nemo. If you wanted, I could talk to my mum, see if she's got any jobs going. The amount of businesses she owns I'm sure there's something, she knows about the more supernatural stuff as well so yeah..." Hitomi blushed a bit. It felt weird...

She saw the first turn they had to make, they were almost at the now. Just a few streets and tuns and they'd be there. "Guys, we need to make a left turn, this second turning here, onto that avenue. Shouldn't be long now." She was quite excited to be close to the , the front was so grand, even at night when they had all the lights on. It was beautiful. She really couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.

"That's really nice of you Mimi," Toshi said with a smile as she handed over the chips to Nemo. Zipping up her bag, she quickly caught up with them, having had to stop to get it out.

"Hope you don't mind salted," she added, glancing at the bag's type. Although, she had never met anyone who didn't before. Salt was pretty much the universal chip flavor.

"Almost there? You nervous Nemo?" she asked, grinning. She wasn't nervous herself, just eager to get into her room and dump this stuff off. She just wanted this time to be different. It didn't even have to be good. Just different from last time. She was tired of the gang scene, tired of being looked at as the bad seed, a future criminal, that violent girl. She was tired of the crowd parting every time she walked by. It was already turning out to be so much better than last time (two friends! Two!), and she just hoped she could keep up the good luck.

Nemo blushed at Hitomi's offer. "Really? You'd do that for me? Ah, don't bother, if it'd be too much trouble for you. I don't mind, really. I might actually feel better getting a job on my own without help, anyhow." He blinked at Toshi. "Wait, why'd you call Hitomi-chan 'Mimi'? That's a cute nickname, though." He turned back to Hitomi. "Can I call you Mimi-chan? I think it's really cute."

SHUT UP, YOU STUPID CAT!

He blushed, turning his attention to the chips, opening them quickly, thankfully not spilling them. Picking one up, he bit into it and immediately calmed down. "Food~" He looked up at the girls and turned bright red. "S-sorry about that...I tend to...babble...when I'm hungry." He looked down at the ground, quietly munching the chips Toshi'd given him. "Thanks for the chips...and, no, not nervous. School should be great this year..."

Toshi glanced down at her shoes, which were currently on Mimi's feet. They looked much cuter on the smaller girl than her, or at least she thought so. Glancing over, she realized that Nemo was actually shorter than Mimi, although only just. Either way, she was the tallest one there, which was odd because she was pretty short too. Still, it made her feel kinda cool if she was honest with herself.

"I like the optimism Nemo," Toshi told him with a grin. "I'm sort of at the mind frame of "once you hit the bottom you can only go up”." She laughed, tussling the back of her hair slightly. She wished she had put her hat on earlier, but there was no point in it now. Still, nine times out of ten she preferred to have her hair covered. She didn’t like the exposure. It was the same reason she never wore a bathing suit or shorts, or when she did wear them there were leggings underneath. She wasn’t sure why she was that way, but she assumed it had something to do with night times walks in the city.

"What grade are you in anyway?" Before she had learned Mimi was actually older than her, she would have assumed he was younger than her too, but now she didn't even bother guessing and instead just waited for an answer.

"Huhn?" He blinked at her, trying to remember whether he'd told her that already. "I'm a senior, eighteen years old. You?" He tilted his head to the side, ears tweaking to odd angles in curiosity. He put a chip in his mouth, nibbling on the edge while the rest wiggled up and down in front of his face. He had to force himself not to laugh, amused by this. His tail twitched, he grinned, opened his mouth and chomped the chip before it could fall.

He caught himself as he almost let out a small giggle. Blushing, his ears laid back. Sheesh, no wonder everyone thinks I'm a freak.

Nemo looked sooo cute as he chomped away on his chip. She noticed Tosh look towards her shoes... it made her wonder if she was thinking the same things she was. She shook her head and dismayed the thoughts. Looking again towards Nemo she noticed his tail twitiching, again mentally aww-ing at the adorableness. She'd always wanted a kitten but felt they were always too much responsibility.

When Toshi started talking, Hitomi turned her head towards her and replied to the question "Oh, I'm a senior too. Only I'm 17.. well only until Halloween." She giggled sardonically at the irony of her birthday. The whole reason she has these stupid eyes. If she hadn't been born on that day, she wouldn't be here, in this very situation. It was funny how fate worked. She was curious to find out Toshi's year and such.

She looked at the street infront of her, seeing that they'd have to turn down a short ally just to their right. "Guys, just down here now, theres like 2 or 3 turns left."

[woah 5 pages... acomplishment. Especially in this short space of time. Sorry for the short post]

"Awesome. So, when we get there, I figure we can drop off my stuff first, then head over to the Night Class dorms? Cuz, you know, I have to stay with you to get my shoes back and all," Toshi said, thinking out loud more than anything. She really just wasn't willing to part with them yet. Truthfully, she didn't want to part with them at all, and really wished for a power or something. Maybe she could meet someone who could change her into a vampire. The thought made her laugh to herself slightly. She would make such a terrible vampire, really.

They made another turn, and the way the scenery was slowly changing, she imagined they were very close. Her head was buzzing slightly. She never got butterflies for some reason, instead her head buzzed. It was strange, but it wasn't a nervous feeling so she didn't mind it.

"Oh, and I'm 16, a junior. You guys aren't gonna make me call you sempai are you?" she asked jokingly. The only person she had ever called sempai in her life was the person who taught her how to fight, and it was going to stay that way.

This time, Nemo couldn't stop the giggle. He flinched at the feminine sound and stuffed a chip whole into his mouth, praying the girls hadn't noticed. "Sempai seems so formal, and you're so not formal." He grinned at Toshi, then frowned and looked down. "Ah...Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but...if I ever start actin'...strange...y'know, if I get mean or scary...could you call me Omen?" He blushed at his own odd request.

"I hope you never need to call me that...It's just what I call the animal side of my personality...because I don't want that to be me, I say it's someone else..." This had always been the one drawback of having friends: having to explain his "Omen" side to them. It was so awkward, and the reactions were very unpredictable. The only person who'd ever really understood him the first time he said anything was his best friend, who had been nice enough to give him a name to call the part of himself he hated.

{Gah, shortness. >.< Please forgive!}

Toshi nodded, not seeming bothered by it at all. Truthfully, she was still happy about the not formal comment. He obviously got her at least a little bit, and that was a nice thing.

"Ok," she told him simply, shrugging slightly. After learning about shape shifting and witchcraft, something like that was nothing to her. It sort of made sense really, that instincts took over. It didn't faze her really. Everyone had something about themselves that they didn't like. "Omen, Nemo, doesn't matter to me. We're friends, right?" She smiled at him to show it was fine, and he didn't have to explain.

"Then, while we're sharing, don't ever ask me to get near a pool. Or a lake. Or a very large puddle." She tried to make Nemo feel better by bringing up her own issues, as well as turning it into a joke. Truthfully though, what she had just said honestly scared her. She had, in a sense, just told these practical strangers her weakness. Her tone had been very carefully used so it made it seem like it was a no-big-deal sort of fear, when in reality she woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe, covered in sweat from nightmares about that very topic. If they ever needed leverage on her, that was something.

Yet, for some reason, she had said it anyway. She supposed it was because A) she could easily beat up both of them if she had to and B) she knew she wouldn't need to. She trusted them, at least to a point before foolishness.

[have spent alll day sorting my deviantart finally... it's been an exhausting day -_-' sorry for the lateness]

Hitomi was kind of quiet. She wasn't really sure what to say. She respected Nemo and everything and was fine with the whole Omen thing. It wasn't that far off Irial's wolfishness. Well at least, that's as close as she could probably get to relating to him. When she spoke there was a rather dull tone to her voice "No worries. Nemo when your nice, Omen when your not. " She hoped how easy going she sounded didn't offend him or anything. After all, for him it's not as simple as that. Hitomi just wanted to make sure he understood that she was fine with it.

She lifted her arms in a big stretch as she yawned. It was about 2am now. 4 hours or so until her own curfew. As she listened to Toshi she soon remembered the vision, and although Tosh was being very light hearted about it, it seemed she was disguising most of her true terror of water. Hitomi knew better and she knew she wanted to seriously get the message across that she wouldn't do something like that. She manoeuvred around so that she was in front of Toshi blocking her path, she held onto each arm with soft grip. Looking straight into Toshi's eyes, a brave feat for Hitomi, she said with solemn seriousness " We would never, ever, do that. Phobias are very serious things, some much worse than others." Hitomi felt a bit bad for not telling them about her eyes, but she wasn't ready to tell them yet. Not yet.

He felt a sudden urge to hug them both when they calmly accepted his short explanation of "Omen." Thankfully for his pride, he managed to refrain. "Thank you. Both of you."

He blinked, hearing Toshi's comment about water. A serious expression crossed his face and he nodded shortly. "Understood. Stearing clear of puddles, ponds and pools." He wasn't trying to be silly about it. Actually, he thought she was serious with the "large puddles" bit. Guess people are stranger than I thought. That's whatcha get for not having friends, Nemo. You miss out on all the really weird quirks and start thinkin' you're a freak, when you're actually pretty normal...ears aside.

He smiled as Mimi-chan grabbed Toshi's arms. They're so cute together...

{...clue...less... lol ...and...no, he isn't thinking like "they'd make a cute couple." I think it's more along the lines of "aww, puppies~" lol}

Inside, Toshi was banging her head against a big concrete wall.

Stupid stupid stupid! You made people worry about you dumbass! This is why we have that rule about talking about yourself! she thought angrily. She hated when people cared about her. Since it was such a rare thing, she really had no idea what to do with it. It overwhelmed her and just made her feel like a variable. A variable in someone's life that they didn't need. She was very content in her shell, and felt extremely uncomfortable when others tried to enter.

On the outside however, she grinned at them both. Laughing, she removed Mimi's arms gently, not wanting to hurt her or anything.

"I never said it was a phobia Mimi," she told them, still light hearted. She felt terrible about lying, especially when Mimi was staring her in the eyes like that. But after years of going to school with bruises, she had learned to be quite the little actress. "I just can't swim is all. Drowning would be bad for my health you know."

Glancing over at Nemo's serious expression, she shook her head at him in amusement.

"And I was kidding about the puddle thing, by the way," she added, reaching over and tussling the back of his hair. She was careful to avoid the ears.

Hitomi felt really awkward, she knew Toshi was lying about the phobia. There was no doubt in her mind that the fear Hitomi felt herself, simply by watching the vision (although some emotions always slipped through) it was great enough to make a life long impact on the person whom it happened to. What made her feel awkward was that she had no idea why Tosh was lying, also, if Toshi was lying she obviously didn't want people to know she was seriously scared of water, this meant that Hitomi's serious reaction wouldn't have gone down well. Toshi brushed it off so easily. It scared Hitomi to know that she could act so well, if she hadn't seen it herself, she would be fooled. Hitomi knew that Toshi probably only brushed it off so that her and Nemo wouldn't worry, but it made Hitomi question whether Toshi would probably play down other serious matters, ones that she probably shouldn't. Though deep down Hitomi knew that she couldn't exactly say anything considering she was keeping secrets. And although they were friends it was way to soon to be trusting enough to share major secrets, if any. Hitomi needed to keep her big curious beak out of her business. So she just said simply. "Yep it certainly wouldn't be very good on your lungs. Did you know you could suffocate if you were in a closed enough space, closed up enough that you can't move you're rib cage though. Although that's not a very nice thought. Erm well... I've got lolly's if anyone wants one." She shrugged nonchalantly.

She wasn't enjoying the gloomy feeling that came over her, not at all. So to cheer herself up, she plastered a smile on her face and tried to think positive. The streets were opening up and they were now in a much more upper class area, walking down posh streets with the big Edwardian buildings and high street lights. One more corner and they were there, Alculard. This street was a long one though, leading further and further away from the buildings, going into a more secluded area, where cherry blossoms and other trees and greenery surrounded them. The road to the left was very quite compared to the others they'd walked past. She whistled a tune, she didn't really feel like talking at the moment, she knew the others could probably guess they were approaching the school.

[o.o.c. Right end of college is coming up and I have massive deadlines coming up in two weeks, I have sooo much work to do it's scary. I'll keep reading and checking but I'd really apreciate it if Hitomi was able to just be a bit quite, obviously I'm gonna keep posting when I need to (and really want to ^_^), it just won't be very often, I'm seriously sorry. I just really need to get my work done.]

Nemo frowned, watching Toshi for a moment before looking down. ”Joking, huhn…Well, I wasn’t joking. I like swimming, so it’s good for you to tell me you don’t like water. That way, I know not to invite you to go swimming with me.” His hands clenched into fists in his hoodie’s pocket. What the Hell? Why is she lying to me? She was being honest when she said that about not liking water, I’m sure of it. And… He blinked and sighed. I think I get it now…she doesn’t want us to worry about her. But, still…

”You know, Toshi-san…I don’t like being lied to.” He looked over at her, his eyes sad. ”I get lies all the time from my case worker and the lawyers and…well, everybody who thinks I’m a freak, really. I don’t want my friends to lie to me…for any reason.” He ran his fingers through his hair, carefully combing out the knots Toshi had made when she played with his hair. ”Truth is, I don’t care what you’re afraid of, as long as you tell me ahead of time so I know not to do certain things. That’s all that matters, really. That I know what not to do.”

Stretching a bit, he looked up at the sky and smiled sadly. ”You remind me of Sempai, a bit. He was always acting really cool, and he hated to make his friends worry about him. But…that’s what I hated about him. He could never give me a straightforward answer. He was always trying to protect me from the things that bothered him, and it hurt so bad, like he didn’t trust me.” He blushed. Why am I bringing up Sempai? Ugh…I’m so weird.

”I guess…what I’m trying to say is that friends are supposed to be there for each other, right? And…how are you supposed to be there for your friends if you don’t know when they need you to be there? I mean, it’s not like there’s any reason to worry about you, Toshi-san. You’re tough, and I can tell you’re a good person at heart…but, still…” He looked down again. When did I get so…talkative…? ”Even if I’m not gonna worry about you, I want to know that you’re alright. And, if you’re not alright, I want to know that, too. That’s what friends are. They take care of each other…they stand by you when nobody else will. They help you through the hard times and laugh with you when times are good.”

He smiled, looking back at her again, his expression gentle, eyes calm. ”That’s why I want you to try not to lie to me again, okay? I’m not going to start worrying. I just want to know, so I can be there for you, just in case. Does that make sense?”

Toshi's gaze grew hard as she looked away from him, listening to his little speech. She didn't like that he was calling her a liar, she didn't like feeling like she had done something wrong, and she didn't like that he was trying so hard.

I'm not worth the waste of breath Nemo is what she wanted to say. Jamming her hands into her pockets, she thought back her old “friends.” It was a lot different from Nemo’s description of it. They had watched each other's backs or beaten them up. There was no emotion except maybe a little trust. Trust them not to get their asses kicked, anyway. Then she thought back further, to when her father was still alive. Her first year of elementary school was in Germany. That was a bit closer to what he was saying, but still not quite the same. When your children its more of playing next to each other than with each other. But still, she could recall that warm fuzzy feeling generally associated with friendship. Nemo seemed pretty childish though, so she wasn’t certain if that was normal or if it was just him.

Although…. Even if it was just him, it sounded awfully nice, if a little scary.

“Alright,” she said quietly, nodding her head. She could give this a try at least. After all, they had both told her one of the biggest secrets she could think of. Maybe people with powers were nicer.

And with that thought, everything went downhill.

“Is that Toshi-sama?!” A male voice cried from behind them. Toshi instantly tensed. The only people who called her that were not the people she wanted anywhere near Hitomi or Nemo.

Spinning around, she saw two boys headed their way. Both of them were quite a few inches taller than Toshi, making them tower over her two friends. They wore big sweatshirts, and one of them had a hemp necklace around his neck that was similar to Toshi’s own.

“It is! We thought you were gone for good girl!” the other one cried, the one with the necklace. “So schön wie immer,” he added (as beautiful as always). Toshi frowned is disgust.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked. Her voice was completely different with the way she talked with Nemo or Mimi. It was hard, guarded, not a hint of the carefree attitude she’d had just five minutes prior. She subtly stepped forward a bit, getting in between her friends and her “friends.”

“Oh you know. Sight seeing. We heard you got a scholarship for Alculard? Didn’t take you for a nerd,” one of them joked. They stopped in front of her. The hemp guy ruffled her hair, and Toshi didn’t move a muscle besides flicking it out of her eyes again. She stared at them both, hands her pockets too. It was unusual how easily she adjusted to their pace.

“And looky here J! She’s already got some new richy friends. Nice hair kid,” the other remarked, staring at Mimi.

“I’m partial to the Neko boy myself,” J said. “You got yourself a little house cat Toshi! Have you taught it any tricks?” They both laughed, and Toshi bit the inside of her cheek to keep from punching them. She couldn’t get into a fight, not here. She didn’t want to scare the smaller teens.

“Here kitty kitty,” he baited, smirking at Nemo.

“Ignore ‘em Nemo-kun,” Toshi told him. She used –kun to mark him as her friend, and to let them know she wasn’t kidding. “Why don’t you guys head on to the school? I’ll meet up with you later.”

Nemo half-turned when he heard someone call Toshi’s name, but stopped, seeing her response. He frowned at the taller boys, watching them silently, wondering why she was so tense. Until they called her a nerd for getting a scholarship. Then it hit him. These two…they’re trouble. He nearly growled when the one with the necklace spoke to Mimi-chan.

And then “J” called him Neko. He smirked and looked at the ground a moment. House cat? You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, punk. Omen closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they glowed softly, pupils turned to cat’s eyes. The key…is to take it slow. He stretched, smiling coldly as he began the process Tadashi had called a “slow-shift.” He let his incisors lengthen just enough to be noticeably larger than the normal human’s, his feline claws flicking out from their sheaths.

That’s where things got tricky. He couldn’t shift completely, and there was a certain point in the shift after which there was no slowing the process. Omen could slow the first half of the shift, the part that changed his outer layer of muscle and his bones, but once it got to the internal structures, slowing down would be fatal. This “slow-shift” could last hours, if done by someone who’d mastered the process. For Omen, it would only last about half an hour…if he was lucky. But that should be more than enough time to get to safety.

He looked up at the one called “J” and smiled cutely. ”You’re ‘partial to’ me, J-san? And how am I supposed to take that?” The pectorals and abdomen first, then the arms. It will be enough. He chuckled softly, letting the sound ripple through the muscle groups as they began to shift. Jaguars were called “stocky” by humans, who seemed to think the muscular build of the creatures did not suit their stature. “Stocky,” then, would be the goal. Omen knew better than to make himself look too “built.” It would be more natural to someone like him to have just enough muscle, no more. So, he stopped changing the tissues at the point where each muscle showed faintly under his skin, then moved on to his arm. Toned, not “pumped.” Sometimes, it was the subtleties that frightened bullies off.

”If you’re looking for trouble, every cat likes his share of mischief. But I suggest you leave Mimi-chan out of it.” His voice cold, empty, he laughed and stopped the shift in his muscles, focusing his energy on keeping this appearance from changing too much too quickly. ”And, as for tricks…Sempai taught me plenty.” He felt no need to clarify as to “Sempai’s” identity, knowing they’d assume it was Toshi-san.

Letting out a soft purr of satisfaction, he pulled his hoodie off and gently folded it over Mimi’s arm, leaving him shirtless. ”Could you hold this for me, Mimi-chan? I don’t want to get all bloody.” He turned to them, gold eyes flashing with bloodlust. ”So, tell me, Baka J-san…do you think you’re clever, tempting this… ’house cat’ into using you as a scratching post?” He grinned, the purring getting louder, sharp incisors glinting in the moonlight as he stepped forward.

”Are you really…” He stepped up to J, leaning up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. ”…that stupid?” He dug his claws into the boy’s stomach, biting into his ear momentarily before pushing him forcefully away, smirking at the scent of blood that now hung in the air.

{He hasn't stopped shifting. He's just taking it so slow it won't be noticeable until he has to resort to changing his skin tone.}

Toshi's eyes went wide as Nemo... no, this was defiantly the Omen he had been talking about... Omen suddenly took up the attack. She didn't even have time to stop him before his claws sunk into J's stomach. She saw the blood run down his neck and knew he had been bitten as well. Omen threw J away, and his expression was terrible. While Toshi could understand enjoying a good fight, this was not the same. This wasn't fair. He was just enjoying the pain.

"Shit..." she muttered. She really didn't want to have to do this. But she was not going to let Nemo end up in jail because of her idiotic playmates. If she was lucky, he wouldn't claw her eyes out.

In the mean time, J had fallen back. He had gone into shock, his skin a pasty white. The puncture wounds were not terribly huge, but they were big enough. Blood was slowly seeping into his shirt. Omen hadn't bitten his ear off thankfully, but there were definite puncture wounds from that too.

"What the f@#$?!" the other one shouted, glancing from his fallen comrade to Omen. He looked a lot less like a predator now and much more like prey.

And that was when Toshi tackled Omen with as much force as she could possibly manage. She thanked whatever force may or may not be out there he had ended up so damn short.

"Get outta here!" she yelled at her friends, locking her hands firmly around Omen's wrists. Although she didn't know a whole lot about his species, she could guess the basic insticts. And she knew that more than likely one of them was to chase after something when it ran. He would probably fight harder before it got better.

"And you, knock it off!" she added, glancing down to Omen. She would never yell at Nemo, (he was too cute) but Omen was different. She had to show dominance right now or he would never realize he had a leash. Split personality, a simple bi-polar, she didn't care. She wasn't going to let him end up in trouble and do something he would regret later.

(just so you know, they haven't gotten away yet. If Omen finds a way to break from Toshi's grasp, he still has a chance at them.)

"Toshi-san..." The voice was empty, if a little annoyed. "L'eggo of me. I'm not so far gone." His eyes were still locked on J-san, though, a little smirk playing at his lips. "I just don't back down from a challenge."

He turned those glowing eyes on her. "And trying to assert dominance over a jungle cat is a bad idea. Let go. I don't want to hurt you." The words may have been kind, but the tone... His gaze was cold, emotionless, merciless. "Let me the Hell go." He pushed up on her, rolling out from under her and threatening to bite her hand, the scent of J's blood awakening the predatory nature of his breed.

He shuddered, his eyes closing, a low, grumbling growl tumbling past his lips as a bone cracked while it shifted to a new position within him. His eyes opened again, ears perked up. A slow, spiteful grin spread across his lips, and he hissed at Toshi. "I told you I would get scary...and you've seen next to nothing of what I'm capable of."

"If you don't want to hurt me then quit being such a jackass," Toshi replied evenly. In her head however, she was coming up with a checklist. Just like with every opponent she had ever fought. It hurt her to have to do for someone who had just promised he was her friend.

1) Still recognized allies
2) Does not regard them in the same standing
3) has basic control
4) claws, teeth, eyes. Change can occur slowly, rapid change is unknown
5) I have superior strength and height, however he has weapon.
6) enjoys a challenge

The last two were the most dangerous by far. But her plan was already working out perfectly. She just had to keep it up.

"I'm afraid of water, not cats. I thought we covered this already," she continued, her voice low. She too had a small smirk on her face, and was staring straight into his eyes, not wavering for a second.

"Come on Omen, count to ten or something. The school is right there. Or does Alculard not matter anymore?" she asked, stepping a little closer to him to keep his interest. She felt like she was negotiating with a criminal or something. First thing she was going to do once she got settled in was research. On jungle cats, personality disorders, techniques therapists used in dangerous situations. Anything she could to make sure she was never ignorant again.

In the mean time, J and Hans (the uninjured one) had slowly started inching away. J needed support and Hans wasn't so heartless as to not offer it, at least as long as Toshi was protecting them.