The Search For Peace 2

Chapter 20

"A Capricorn?" Ultima voiced her thoughts, eyeing the shrivelled arrow lying a few feet away. "What're they doing here?"

"Exactly what they always do." Kevin's tone was grave. "Disrupting peace."

"Can we trust your guard to deal with them?" Sir Aiden asked The Aquarius Leader.

"If it's one person, then yes." He swivelled his head around to check on the people standing by, worry enveloping their features. "Lien-Hua can handle them on her own."

Right then, Ultima noticed something important. "Um, guys?" With wide eyes, she scanned the crowd. "Where's Juliet?"

~~~~~~~~~°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°°°°°°°°°°°~~~~~~~~~~°°°°°°°°°°°°~~~~~

Juliet did not know what she was doing, or why she was doing it. But at the time, she didn't have the luxury to think about that, too busy trying to follow a flying person.

As the Aquarius girl leaped from roof to roof, a clinking sound resounding every time she did, Juliet scrambled through the streets below. And since her gaze was fixated upwards, she rushed into a fruits stall, toppling it over. "Sorry!" She screamed back as she continued to run, the elderly man picking up his tangerines with a scowl.

Lien-Hua jumped over yet another alleyway, her eyes not leaving the ebony back of her target for a second. They were fast, their movements flickering as they teleported from one place to another. It was obvious they were a Capricorn now. All the more reason to slice off their head.

Suddenly, her target descended, disappearing into the streets underneath. Clicking her tongue, Lien-Hua landed on the ground, her steps kicking up dust. "Over here!" Someone called her to a corner, pointing towards an opening to the left. She nodded in gratitude and quickly headed that way.

Sure enough, her target had met a dead end, towering walls holding them in place from all sides. Lien-Hua closed off their exit as well, glaring at their heaving back. They were wearing a sleek black jumpsuit that was tight enough to reveal they were a woman, an ebony ponytail poking through the scarf they had wrapped around their neck.

Lien-Hua pulled out her sword, sucking in a deep breath to calm her thumping heart. The woman finally turned to face her, and she saw the most menacing transparent set of cyan eyes she had ever thought she would see. They were blinding, even at that distance, so much so that she couldn't react fast enough when the woman teleported right in front of her face.

Upon reflex, she guarded herself with her sword, a dangerously lit dagger meeting it on the other end. It flickered a purplish blue, just like the arrow that almost killed the leader had earlier, sizzling heat eliminating from it. Her heels grinding the ground, she struggled to push her back, and a gasp escaped her lips when the woman disappeared once again, this time appearing behind her.

Lien-Hua whipped around, only to be elbowed in the nose. Without giving her time to recover, the woman swiftly came in for a kick, but she dodged it, her heightened reflexes saving her yet again as she folded backwards. But when she got up, fingers surging with electricity flicked her forehead, stunning her.

She cried out in pain, her whole body trembling with the force that was enveloping her. Her mind was numb, her sword dropping from her grasp. This person....was too strong.

Before the effects of the shock wore off, her opponent seized the opportunity and pushed her down, pinning her to the floor with her legs sinking into her stomach. Even in her tranced state, Lien-Hua reached out a shivering hand, one that the woman caught and gripped tightly.

"Little girl....you need to be taught a lesson." The Aquarius girl yelped with fear as she held the dagger close to her wrist, ready to cut it off completely. For all she was worth, she screamed, desperately trying to wriggle her poor hand free from this monster. If she lost her hand, she wouldn't be able to hold her sword. And if the can't hold her sword....the Leader...Hirohito...who was going to protect him?!

"Stop it!!!!!" Unable to watch anymore, Juliet ran straight for the woman who stared at her in confusion, ramming her head into her back in an attempt to throw her off. She knew that wouldn't be enough, but even so, she pushed as hard as she could, grabbing her from the waist. But just as she had suspected, the woman peeled her off with ease, grunting angrily as she threw her off to the side.

Juliet slammed into the wall, her head colliding dangerously against it. She slid down, the striking pain making her quite dizzy. Through her distorted vision, she watched the woman stand over her, her scowl evident. She closed her eyes, expecting to have a dagger plunged into her anytime soon, but to her surprise, nothing happened.

When she opened them again, the woman was gone, leaving her and a girl with a bleeding wrist all alone in the dusted alley. Juliet let out a sigh of relief, her head lulling to the side as she succumbed to unconsciousness.