A/N: I'm back! Sorry to just leave you guys off like that. I feel terrible honestly. So here I am apologizing and I'm not going to make any excuses because I suck.

P.S. I'll be updating Poetry In Motion in a couple of days. Oh and just so you know, I've deleted one of my stories, Pushing Up Daisies because I was getting nowhere with it and it just sucked. Bleh. I'll stop now so you can read on. Forgive the mistakes and tell me what you think m'kay? :D

Saving Grace
He realizes it's hard to run away from the ghosts of the past, and even harder to chase down the life just within his grasp.

Chapter One
Six Feet Under

It was raining hard. People who had predicted the downpour brought umbrellas with them and managed to avoid getting themselves wet. A few who had miscalculated the weather were either running down the busy streets to take cover, or were getting soaked like it didn't matter at all. The latter was proven when a man casually walked down the wet pavement of the road, the pitter patter of the raindrops on his cap under the hood of his jacket was like a rhythm that directed the flow of his movement—slow and precise. He crossed the street and stopped in front of a small restaurant.

The soft clanging of a bell signaled his entrance and his dripping form caught quite a lot of attention. He reached the far end of the room and settled down with a man who was sternly looking back and forth from the shady looking guy in front of him and to the foggy view outside the window.

"You weren't followed were you?" Amethyst eyes bore intensely at the hooded figure. His eyes searching for any signs of deceit and treachery. He was good at this—an expert even—because he was known as the head of the first division in the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

"I wasn't. I made sure of that Lahar." the deep and low voice was cool and composed.

The man known as Lahar exhaled.

"Very well. Report."

The man removed his hood and took off his cap. From underneath the clothing concealing his face was a tousled mop of wet ultramarine locks and a striking red tattoo from his right forehead extending all the way down to his cheek.

"It's Kyouka, I've finally gained her trust." With this, Lahar was all ears. A high level of seriousness present on his hardened face. "This time, she's targeting Yajima."

The cop just scoffed, realizing that his guess was right all along.

That demon bitch! She's targeting another high military official!

"She'll be at the "Sleepless Town"—Kabukichō tonight at quarter to twelve."

"At Shinjuku? General Yajima is stationed at Shibuya, why would she—" Lahar's eyes widened in confusion. It didn't make any sense as to why Kyouka will be heading to the neighboring city when she could finish said man in Shibuya.

"Yajima and his men are going to conduct an important meeting at a local nightclub as to avoid any suspicion." the ultramarine's lips formed to a thin line and as he frowned. "But as expected, Kyouka was already way ahead of him."

"Very well. I must contact and relay the message to the general. I'll also prepare my men for the encounter tonight." he sighed. "One more thing. Will she be doing this alone like she usually does?"

Purple bled into green. The man who relayed out the information shook his head.

"No, I will be with her tonight."

Lahar smirked. It had been a while since the last time he smiled. Maybe it was because that they finally have a chance of capturing one of the most notorious killers in Japan; the one who was responsible for all the deaths of most of the military leaders.

And this man, this very man in front of him, the double agent who had been working for him in the past couple of months was their trump card.

"Then I expect to see you again after we've delivered, Jellal."

Jellal hadn't warned the head policeman that one shouldn't count chickens before they hatched. The operation was failing, the nightclub's a wreck, the majority of the cops were dead before they were in action and Lahar with a few couple of other policemen were the only ones left. Kyouka had brought along three of her best men as skilled as her and that was the reason the mission was in ruins. If Lahar and Jellal had known, they wouldn't have taken her lightly and the head officer might've brought along ten more men. Luckily, they've managed to kill all three of her accomplices, leaving her all alone. Still, taking her with only a few men and ammunition was still a hard task.

He hissed in pain as the wound on his shoulder throbbed. Apparently, Lahar wasn't as clever as the locals described him. He was a complete idiot for not even mentioning that yes, Jellal was on their side before the operation had begun. Now, he was one of their targets too because Lahar had his hands full on the mastermind Kyouka.

Damn that cop! The least he could do was tell his subordinates!

Jellal tore his shirt and wrapped his torn flesh, grunting in the process as he applied pressure on it. This was it. There was no turning back now. The battlefield they're in is filled with nothing but bullets and rubbles. He was sure as hell that if he made even the tiniest of mistakes, he'd be sending one foot to the grave. The ultramarine had already devised a plan in his head where drastic measures had to be taken. He wasn't an idiot. It was either to blow his cover as a double agent working for the police, or be killed by the police. If he were to die now—and the odds were remarkably high—he'd die as a martyr. Not a goddamned accomplice of a murderer.

Lahar then directed his men to secure General Yajima while he pursued Kyouka alone and Jellal, knowing the difference between the two, rose to his feet and ran outside. The victor of this clash wouldn't be measured in feats of strengths or wits or ranks. It will be measured on whose mindset was to kill. And Lahar didn't have that. What he had in mind was justice, which was soon going to be his downfall. He rallied past confused crowds with his lungs burning in fatigue and lack of air. His vision was getting hazy from blood loss and the rain just wasn't letting up. He knew he'd be in trouble if he kept this pace up or if he even tried to rescue Lahar.

He heard a gunshot from a nearby alley and decided to check it out. Placing all his strength left on his feet, he dashed onwards and he was just in time for the second bullet to hit the chest of Lahar as he slumped to the ground.

"Jellal, you're still alive?" If the tone in her voice was out of surprise or disgust, he didn't know. Right now he was still the trump card. He still had her trust and right at that moment, he was focused more on killing this whore. As he was about to pull the glass shard stuck on his left thigh to flake her skin out, a third gunshot had his right ear ringing at the proximity of the sound.

Kyouka was hit on her forearm but it wasn't enough to make her fall. It was quite the opposite in fact; she avoided the remaining shots fired at her with inhuman speed, shooting the rookie officer on his leg. He was lucky that it was her last bullet, because if she still had another round of ammunition, he'd be having much more holes than a cheese grater. But this was a sadistic killer they're facing, and Kyouka doesn't leave anyone who had witnessed her vulgar act of slaughtering people alive. Jellal quickly moved, slashing at the officer's face who refused to surrender to fear. Jellal kicked the cop hard on his stomach and watched as he blacked out on the muddy ground.

"We have to get moving." he told her in between pants.

"He isn't dead yet." Kyouka's cold and sinister voice sent shivers down the ultramarine's spine. He gritted his teeth, if he failed to save Lahar, the least he could do is save at least one of his men.

"No he isn't, and the lot of them still aren't. I can hear them coming and we're outnumbered. We have to go now." Jellal was grateful that the pouring rain was there to aid his lies. There weren't thundering footsteps or hushed orders in the distance, but the gloomy weather was enough to convince her.

"Fine! Get in the truck!" she barked at him, and Jellal took the wheel and drove. He made a sharp turn to the left and zoomed past the streets. It only took him a few minutes before reaching the national highway. They've managed to escape and luckily, they've left no trail. It was time to take things up a notch, Jellal thought and as he planned to use the trust she had in him against her, he stepped on the gas pedal, rapidly bringing the speedometer's numbers to a hundred.

"You're going too fast!" she hissed, holding onto his arm with a vice-like grip. Jellal ignored her and kept on increasing the speed, ignoring the numbness that was settling on the foot that was on the gas pedal. Kyouka tried to grab a hold of the steering wheel but the ultramarine was already set on track.

There at the road ahead of them was a dangerous curve, and at the bottom of it was a deep ravine. He kept his foot firmly glued to the gas pedal even if Kyouka was raking her fingernails at him. Realizing that there was no way to stop him, she prepared to jump right out of the truck. Jellal grabbed her arm and handcuffed her to the steering wheel. It was a hopeless case for her now; even if she managed and tried to make the turn, at the speed that they're going, there was only one way the truck was headed.

"You're going to hell with me bitch."

The first thing that enveloped him was darkness, then it was followed by the stinging pain in his head. Jellal slowly opened his eyes, dim light flooding his vision.

"Oh god. You're finally awake." Jellal knew that voice. It was so familiar that even without his sight, he'd still manage to identify to whom it belonged to.

"U-Ultea-r? Where am I?" he croaked, head spinning as he tried to motion his head to look at her.

"We're at an abandoned warehouse in Shinjuku. It was the farthest place my Jetta could take us in your condition." Ultear wrung a wet cloth before wiping the remaining dirt and dried blood off of his chest.

"What happened?" Jellal forced himself to sit up but the female's hands pinned him down.

"Don't strain yourself. I did just finish patching you up."

"What happened?"

Ultear sighed.

What is it with men and details? Can't he just say thank you and inquire later?

"You were lucky I was in the area. Hell, you were lucky that I was only a few cars away. Meredy and I found you lying on the ground, just a few meters away from the truck that exploded. What the hell happened to you?"

Jellal sighed. It was right at the split second when the truck was about to hit the ground did his reflex work. He kicked open the truck's door and jumped out just in time for the crash. That was also the time that he blacked out.

"I—We were in the middle of an operation and," the sour memory of Lahar's slumped body on the floor made the bile rise to his throat. "Lahar was killed."

Ultear swallowed but the shock was evident on her face. She bit her lower lip, trying her hardest to suppress the aftershock of the groundbreaking news. He was her boss too after all.

"I just don't know if Yajima made it out alive." he grunted, massaging his temple with a free hand.

"Who was it?"

Suddenly flashes of the horrible tragedy played in his mind and he bolted upright from where he was lying.

"Kyouka! Was she in the truck? Did you find her body?" Jellal grabbed both of Ultear's wrists and the woman just shook her head and frowned.

"No. I didn't bother to check. The truck was a wreck and your safety was my priority."

"Kyouka's a mass murderer! You should've checked on her first before me!" he yelled at her but Ultear just remained stoic as she slapped him.

"I would've if I had known."

Jellal sank back into bed. She was right. If Ultear had known, she would've done so because she was a cop, and she had always worked for the greater good.

"If this involved the case of Kyouka," her features suddenly darkened. "Do the other officers know?"

Jellal slowly shook his head as he let out a weary breath.

"No. That goddamned Lahar failed to brief them. Now I'm a wanted man. You and Lahar are the only ones who knew."

"I can fake your death if you want to. I am a member of the Medical Examiner's Group anyway."

Jellal considered this as a great deal but right now, the city's cops were probably at the wreckage and right about now, they must've found Kyouka's body charred ultimately. There was no need to fake his death because nobody but Lahar and Ultear knew.

"No. Faking my death would only raise suspicions. Besides, the police would overlook me if somehow, they don't recover her body. Searching for her is going to be their top priority. If however, they did find her body, they would be too busy celebrating and my existence would be just the same as the shadows. I'm insignificant."

Ultear weighed his words and decided that he was right.

"But there is something I want you to do for me." Jellal stated, and even if his body was in tatters, his mind was still in one piece. No wonder Lahar picked him as one of his secret agents. "I want you to change my identity. Change everything. Make sure to erase Jellal Fernandes from all the records. Can you do that for me?"

"Give me a whole week."

Jellal nodded in approval as he closed his eyes. He was tired. He was exhausted from living this kind of life. A life that never suited his tastes and principles to begin with. It was time to let go of this kind of living and start living for himself. It was time to stop working in the shadows and stop taking the blame for everything that he had saved.

It was now time to see the light.

"Oh, you might want to change your hair color, and probably schedule for a laser surgery to remove that tattoo on your face. That might blow the cover away."

"There's no need." Jellal grunted.

"You have to take extra care. You are still a wanted man after all, and there's no guarantee that the police won't be issuing a warrant of arrest for you."

"That's why you're in the picture Ultear. You're going to fake my identity. Make me Jellal Fernandes's twin brother."

"Nobody's going to buy that." she flatly stated.

"I told you, I am a nobody. I've got no family left. However, if there's someone that looks a lot like me, living in some remote area, the warrant is issued, I'm seen and then an interrogation happens, they look at the records that you faked and I'm cleared."

Ultear narrowed her eyes. He's good. Too good to be true. Where the hell did Lahar manage to fish him out? Was he a retired member of an intelligence agency? But he's so young!

"You'd really go far as to fake a twin brother rather than change you face?"

He smirked.

"This face gets the ladies."

Ultear rolled her eyes. The mood seemed lighter than earlier and she wondered if that was one of his intentions as well.

"Be careful alright? I don't want you and Meredy getting involved." he said with much sincerity laced in his voice.

"When was the last time that we didn't get involved?" she shrugged, taking his words far too lightly.

"Ultear, I'm serious. After this, don't get involved with me anymore. I might be an asshole for not returning the favor but trust me, it's for the best." he stated and Ultear held his gaze. She dabbed at his wounded shoulder and he winced in pain. "Ouch woman, what the hell?"

"You'll pay your debts in full when you keep Meredy and I in contact. Got that?"

He heaved a weary sigh. This woman was stubborn indeed.

"Look Ultear—"

"It's that or the whole deal's off."

Jellal pressed his mouth to form a thin line before muttering to himself.

"Fine."

He heard her squeal in delight as she resumed cleaning his wounds.

"Hey,"

"What?"

"Your name."

"What about my name?"

Ultear rolled her eyes.

"What is your name going to be? Do I get to pick or do you get to decide?"

His mouth formed a small "o" when it dawned on him. Ultear thought he wasn't that much of a genius after all if he can't even decide on a name.

"Well?" she asked when he awfully became quiet all of a sudden.

"Siegrain. Siegrain Fernandes. The twin brother of Jellal Fernandes."