Chapter 6; If it doesn't kill you…

As he walked, Kieran pondered what he'd said to Kazuya. He'd never lied to someone before so blatantly. He'd never said he could trust someone then lie about exactly what they thought he was trusting them with. He turned his head to the sky, remembering the story he had told his new 'friend'. He didn't actually lie, so to speak, everything he'd said was true, to an extent, but he'd left out about six years of detail. Actually, every detail of his life from age four till now. As with both of his male friends, he'd lost his parents as a child, they'd abandoned him before he could remember. He was adopted by a so called 'genius' Dr Finnia Akagi, who now works for Gen Australia, but at that point worked for a very different institution. She'd brought nine boys into her life, all of them had lost their parents before they turned ten. The eldest didn't survive three weeks in her care, dying of 'complications due to rejection' as she put it.

Kieran himself didn't have a sad, or violent or nasty or enraging story like his friends to begin with, he'd been put up for adoption by his parents, his mother was Chinese-born, and because his family lived there, they decided that instead of bring up a child, they'd adopt him out. However, he was week, even then he was a runt, he'd had many complications with his fragile body, and in the first six months of life suffered six broken ribs and a cracked shoulder. Nobody wanted a baby who could get hurt so easily. Here is where his story becomes everything listed above and more. His father, in a rage because of their inability to raise their son, attempted to kill him. The knife had done more damage to his wife, who'd jumped in front of it and been killed. His father was now serving twenty-seven years in jail for the murder of his wife and intent to murder his son. Kieran himself was then taken by the government and given to Dr Akagi, the youngest and final member of her research group.

Kieran's life had taken a severe turn then, and now, after all those years, he had become an exchange student here at West Japan Genetics. He exhaled and lifted his head, telling himself for the umpteenth time that he'd done the right thing. Should the renowned Dr Akagi's true work be uncovered she could definitely go to prison, or at least lose her position at Gen. He looked around when he heard someone call his name. He turned and, when his eyes lay on the owner of the voice, he tensed slightly. Kazuya Aoi walked toward him. Kieran smiled softly to his new friend and, without a word, fell into step beside him. Kazuya grinned, "How has your first week here been, Kieran?"

"Fine, Kazuya-san. I really don't get some things about hierarchy but…"

A sound made them stop in their tracks, someone cracking their knuckles. Kieran had heard that particular sound many time in his life, only one person did it like that. He turned and stared. Right down the barrel of a big revolver.

The taller, more well-built boy glared at Kieran, his eyes practically glowing in anticipation. Kieran leapt out of the way as the boy fired, the bullet sliding silently from the barrel like nothing had happened. As the chamber rotated, volt particles collected in the empty slot and a new bullet formed. Kieran jumped, vaulting on his left hand away from Kazuya and crouched. The new boy grinned, "Come on, number 9. Why don't we have some more fun for old time's sake? Don't tell me you've lost touch with them in your time as a…" he spat at the ground and looked down his nose, "Limiter"

Kieran dropped his hand to the ground as the new boy fired again. Once again, the weapon made no sound as it fired, but Kazuya noticed that it had kickback and everything, it was the same as a normal gun except silent. Kieran licked his lips, "I don't want to fight, Joel. Don't force me t…"

"To what? Die, because you could never beat me back home"

Kieran stepped back and prepared to fight when a shiny silver object floated past his head. Jacqui held her volt weapon out towards Joel, who never flinched. A second new person held a blade against Jacqui's throat. Kazuya watched, bewildered, as Joel began speaking again.

"Why do you bother with these idiots, Kieran? You're far better than this" his pistol took aim again at Kieran's head, "Or is it that you don't believe that?"

"I'm not ashamed to say that I like being a normal limiter"

"Normal?" Joel laughed, "That's rich. You, normal? Tell me, why is it that you haven't attacked me yet?"

Kazuya watched as Kieran answered and the two kept talking. Then Joel decided to stop talking. He jumped forward, closing the gap between the two boys ad making it impossible to dodge the next attack. He fired twice. One bullet went right through Kieran's ear, tearing the flesh to pieces. The other grazed his left hand, drawing blood but not doing major damage. Kieran grabbed his ear and felt the hot, sticky blood flow between his fingers. His wide eyes showed his pain, but he still didn't fight, he simply fell to one side as a third round pinged off the wall behind him. Joel put the gun to Kieran's head and smiled, "Looks like I was right, you were too weak to have this power" he went to pull the trigger.

Jacqui screamed from where she was held captive, a single pair of words, "Ereinbar!"

Kieran nodded and whispered under his breath, "Set."

Kieran's hand exploded in a freezing area, projecting a purple field of energy out towards the two new people. The girl's eyes widened, but otherwise she didn't move. Joel tried to pull the trigger, but he himself couldn't move, "Wha..What is this!?"

"It's called a freezing, ever heard of it?"

A short distance from them, a teacher ran in their direction. She was yelling to another of the instructors, telling her that a freezing area had been deployed in the courtyard. It didn't take long for the instructor to arrive, and she instantly yell for the freezing to be removed. She summoned her own weapon and held it towards the deadlocked Pandora, "Dismiss your volt weapons, girls"

After they had, she turned her weapon to the boy holding a still-active freezing. She ordered him again to remove it. He did and a bullet instantly whipped past him, tearing the rest of his ear off and cutting cleanly through his long hair. The instructor jumped and held her blade to the owner of the weapon's throat, only to be struck speechless when she saw it was a boy. Joel grinned, "Hello, sensei" he said, turned the gun and fired.

This is going to be a rather short series of chapters, the chapters are short, not the series…

Kisuke Bomb