Love

Night Eighty Nine

Age 1991

Chrysanthemum City Alleyways...

"Everyone stay back! Stay back!" Sera announced loudly waving her arms back and forth. Yellow police tape could be seen behind her, and currently her and Lucy were on either side of a large alleyway blocking it off from the public.

Emma stood in the alleyway with a small frown on her face. Like Sera, and Lucy, she had been placed near the entrance keeping people from passing through. Further in the alleyway Nick Ale, and Captain Sif could be seen standing over a body...

"This is just..." Emma began but stopped for a moment.

"Police work?" Serenity finished. She was next to the recruits watching over them, since her Captain and Vice-Captain were busy, and she was the next highest rank.

"Yeah... Police work..." Emma nodded. "I mean we're with a corpse looking it over and keeping anyone from entering the crime scene..."

Nick had gotten the call that morning, or rather the note. A corpse had been found... Squad Seven and Six split apart. They were at the scene of the Crime while Squad Six was off to talk to the Noble as a Squad would be required to stay by his side at all times to stop him from being assassinated.

"We're Enforcers." Serenity said giving a nod of her head. "We are like cops in a sense... Or superheroes... Or the military. It depends on which you view us as. In a case like this where an Equation is suspected as being the murder weapon it is our job to deal with it. It may seem kind of boring for now but it is what we must do..."

Emma frowned as she watched Sif and Nick. "I get that... But for someone to murder another human... Especially like this..."

Over with Sif and Nick the two high ranking Enforcers were staring down at a corpse that was on the ground. It was a strange sight... A flesh suit with no bones. Just an empty shell...

"Yeah an Equation caused this alright..." Nick nodded as he stared down at the corpse. "Brutal way to go..." He muttered.

"It would also seem the Noble isn't insane after all..." Sif sighed.

"My Lady?"

"I had been hoping that dumb Noble was making a mistake and just being paranoid but it seems he's right. He's being targeted by someone... This corpse is wearing the outfit of one of his butlers..." The small girl muttered letting out a sigh as she grabbed the long black cloak she was always in and pulled it closer. "Now we actually got to do work and junk... I'm sleepy..."

"Lady Sif."

"I know, I know..." The small girl rolled her eyes as she pointed a finger at the corpse and closed her eyes for a moment. A small black wisp of darkness seeped out washing over the corpse for a moment. Finally she opened her eyes getting a confused look as she cocked her head to the side.

"What is it?" Nick question.

"Who's... Row?" Sif asked curiously.

***

Outside The Manner...

"Spooky!" Hero announced with wide eyes as he stared up at the large golden manner they would be entering.

Black smoke rose from large stone pipes that came out of the building. It was a large plot of land covered in a large black iron fence. Beyond the fence the golden building stood sparkling and yet ominous as black mist rose off of it in waves.

"We would get the spooky job..." Ken sighed.

"Want me to hold your hand-" Kitsune began but was punched into the face by Ken cutting him off.

Dawson reached into his coat pocket on his Enforcers jacket pulling out a simple badge which he pressed up to the gate clicking a button. A few seconds later static could be heard.

"Hello?" A voice asked speaking out of the gate.

"My name is Dawson Blight. A Gold Rank Enforcers. Requesting entry." He said.

A loud clicking sound could be heard as the top of the gate opened and a large robotic eye poked out. A red scan came off of it going over Dawson and stopping on his badge as the eye let out several clicking sounds.

"Someone will be down shortly to let you in. Please follow after them." The voice said as the large gates began to fold open.

"Am I the only one who has a weird feeling..." Irene asked.

"My nose burns..." Ken complained grabbing at her extra sensitive nose. The perks of being a Seraphin...

"It's likely from all that smoke." Hero pointed out.

"No... It's not that..." Ken shook her head as a small frown crossed onto her face. "It smells almost... Like de-"

The door to the manner opened as an older looking man walked out to greet them. He had long gray hair and a gray beard that hung down his body, and he was dressed in a simple butlers uniform. He gave them a small bow and a nod of his head.

"Please... Follow me mighty Enforcers..." He said as he turned and began to walk back to the manner. The group gave a small shrug and followed him entering the massive golden building. "Please refrain from wandering off..." He said in a simple tone. He began to walk down a large red hallway which had several twists and turns, as well as tons of strange looking rooms the group could see into as they followed after him. "The first Master of our family was a bit paranoid so he made his manner almost like a maze in order to make intruders confused and unable to find their way through. Since then every new generation of the Bathory family builds new hallways, and floors, each time they take over. This manner has nearly three hundred floors, each containing around five hundred rooms, and nearly one million hallways, some of which lead to nowhere and are pointless... If you would like to know the history of this place feel free to ask me as it is a very rich story." The butler chuckled.

The entire time Ken lagged behind and had a small frown on her face as she kept scratching at her nose.

"What is it?" Hero asked again walking along side her.

"It's that smell again..."

"Blood?" Hero asked slightly alarmed.

"No." Ken shook her head. "I can always smell blood. My senses are so sharp I can hear your heart beat, and smell the blood moving through your brains and the quiet sounds your nerves make as they fire off signals. My senses are too good actually... Just standing next to you is like being in a thunder storm so many sounds going off at once, that I couldn't smell or hear anything else that is to far away. At least not things like blood or screaming..."

"Geez... I'd hate to have senses like that... But then what are you smelling?"

"I know it may sound crazy but I think it's Despair..." Ken said shrugging slightly. "When I was younger and with Viper she was always able to smell actual Fear. Somehow she could smell the concept of fear on people... She fed off of it literally hunting her pray for days keeping them up for weeks until they were so afraid they just died."

"I don't think I like this person you used to hang out with... Your Ex is one messed up girl..." Hero frowned.

Ken shook her head for a moment. "That isn't the point stupid..." She hissed at him for a moment as she folded her arms. "I think something else is going on here and I wanna check it out... But I need a distraction to slip away."

"Oh that's easy..." Hero said moving away from the girl. "Hey Kitsune."

"Yeah?"

"I'm a massive uncultured idiot who knows nothing of Noble concepts and I'm to embarrassed to ask this guy because of how uncultured I am. Could you get him talking about the history of this place for me cause I don't know how to ask people things and you're so smarty and a Noble so can you do it for me?"

"Ha... Watch and learn Devil Arm!"

"Damn you're dumb."

"What?"

"I said Damn you're smart." Hero said flatly as he lagged behind getting back over to Ken. "Also bring up those cartoons you watch to him. See if all Nobles are interested in those stupid sh- In those amazing shows."

"Hey Mr. Butler man! I had a question!" Kitsune yelled out as he moved to the front of the group getting everyone to turn towards him as he moved over to the man.

"Oh no..." Dawson muttered. "He's gonna say something dumb..." He moved over to Kitsune quickly as Irene and Light both sighed following the man. None of them noticed Hero or Ken turning and walking down another hallway leaving the group and entering the weird maze that was this Manner.

Within seconds they had already gone down several twists and turns and were away from the group.

"Now we're lost." Hero nodded.

"We aren't lost stupid..." Ken mumbled moving down the hallway more. "I'm following my nose."

"So you're like a dog-"

"No! I'm a cat." She hissed back at him causing Hero to recall he black cat suit she wore to sleep that was like his golden wolf suit.

"Yeah I can see it."

"Why are you coming anyways?" Ken asked as she folded her arms and kept going down several paths and turns. "We're gonna be in huge trouble doing this... You didn't have to follow me you know..."

"Meh. We're friends." Hero shrugged throwing his hands behind his head. "Plus Irene has been kind of smothering me lately... Made worse as she still insists on sleeping in only her underwear and a white buttoned up shirt and no pants..."

"You're sinful for staring-"

"Everyone stares at her!"

"You're still sinful." Ken shot back. "So... Do you... Like Irene?"

'Smack!'

Hero fell back as he smacked into the wall caught off guard by the question.

"Ow..."

Ken rolled her eyes as she pulled him back to his feet. "Fine. Don't answer the question then."

"Why are you trying to play matchmaker anyways..." Hero asked.

"I just... Like love? And I like you Hero... I might even love you but I'm a Seraphin and love to us is different. It's all about being attracted to power to us. That's why I want to find someone who could actually love me and I could love them the same way as a human loves another human. I guess I want to find my soulmate which no offense isn't you..."

Hero snorted slightly. "I get it. I'm to cool for you-"

"Other way around..."

Hero was silent for a moment. "I guess I also don't know about love to much either. It kind of scares me... I had a messed up childhood thinking back on it. And the only person I did love I left..."

"You were already in love with someone?" Ken asked looking up.

"I guess you can call it that." Hero nodded. "It was before I joined the Enforcers... There was a girl... Her name was Leena... She was so similar to me and a little older... Like me she lost someone she loved... During this time though I still was having some memory problems and kept thinking of a girl with silver hair and blood red eyes. Now I know that silver haired woman was Hero. But back then I thought that was who I loved... I ended up hurting Leena though now that I think about it."

"How did you hurt her?" Ken asked frowning.

"I left. I joined the Enforcers. After saving her and getting the stiches out of her she ended up grabbing and pulling me into the bed and we ended up-"

"I don't like where this is going."

"After we were done she asked me to stay with her. She said she loved me, and I guess thinking back on it I loved her too. But I didn't stay. And she didn't protest... We never even told her father and it had been the first time I even kissed a girl much less have- And I'm just realizing you're still fourteen so I will be dropping this conversation."

"Sinful..." Ken said shaking her head. "You're not even married..." The small girl stopped for a moment as her nose twitched. "We're here..."

Both her and Hero looked up finding a massive vault ahead of them.