Adventure Today [June]

Option A- Star Spangled Study.

"Who said?"

Brian turned, looking over his shoulder at the two girls sitting behind him, the light pallor of the shop adding a sense of slight ambiance to their conversation. They stared at him, grins on their faces while they whispered together. He gave an easy smile, cocking an eyebrow at the looks on their faces. One leaned forward, displaying her voluptuous set of boobs, the low cut V neck shirt showing ample amounts of skin. It was like a museum of bosoms, and she was the crown jewel. He licked his bottom lip, bringing his right hand off the back of his chair and reaching toward them...reaching... reaching...only to grab the paper they were both looking at and discussing. They gasped suddenly, trying to snatch it before he could get a look at it. They jumped from the table, but too late- he saw everything, and it only took him half a second to realize what was going on.

"Why Starbucks?"

He said off-handedly. They both stared at him curiously, wondering what he was talking about. He took a little sip of his light venti Carmel frappuccino, pointing with his left hands (which also held the cup) index finger, his right hand holding a pencil to the paper of his History quiz. "Your planning a location by location base walk. Why in a Starbucks? Isn't that something you want to do at, say, home?" He wrote an answer in, looking up at the girls who stared at the map in mock confusion, as though they themselves were studying it. He took another drink, glancing between them from behind his glasses. They turned it upside down, and he laughed, licking his lips a little before continuing.

"So a map neither of you own, leading to a place neither of you knows about. Awesome."

He shook his head a little, his ear caught on the lead anchor woman of a television set. He pointed at the bartender. "Hey, Mitch, can you turn that up?" The man behind the counter nodded, bringing over a chair and setting it up under the TV. He hopped up, cranking the old-school nob and pouring volume into the room. Brian listened intently, eyes squinting a little as he looked at the three locations described in the show. A random set of violent muggings, they called it, but rather than listen to such cockamamie nonsense, he stared back at the map in the girls hands. He then look up into their faces.

"Where did you get that?"

They understood almost instantly.

"H-here. We found it under the bench at were-wood train station. We just thought it was funny because of all the shapes the tracings made. We don't know anything!" They stood, a little scared at what he might do to them. Surprisingly, he utterly ignored their existence, once again looking over the map again in scrutiny. He should call the police, but he knew they would never believe his story. So, instead, he folded the map up, placed it inside his back pocket and stood, slamming his books closed and shoving them deep into his bag scooping his cup of coffee from the table on his way out, leaving the two ladies to wonder and whisper as to what that was all about.

Option B- To live, or not to live. That is the question.

Brian honestly had no idea what the hell he was doing. He wasn't exactly the gung-ho, I'm going to take on the world types. Nor was he a mis-guided vigilante. He surmised and deducted that the action and subsequent reaction he was currently taking part in was only a paradign of human nature. Even he was susceptible to it. Regardless, there was no turning back now, not for him. He was generally slow to make decisions, but once they were made, it was like taking a leap into a bottomless hole. No turning back. His footfalls sounded as though only they existed, and his heart accelerated drastically. Excitement. He was the one with all the answers, he held the key to their very objective. It was a strange, unwelcome twist of fate that saw the map planted in his hands, but he guessed that, if it had to happen to someone, it might as well be him.

He rounded a corner, the first stop on the path of the transgressors being a corner shop between pine and maple. A drug store. Not too classy, slightly run down. A cliche utopia of illegal drugs and over the counter scandals. Still, it was a legal business, publicly, and was already in shambles. Those who had pre-meditated the destruction of this building had already arrived, leaving the pain and plaster covered in a spreadsheet of bullet holes. The counter-top was a stain of glass and blood, the owner sporting a bullet hole to the upper-bicep. He seemed upbeat on Brian's arrival, strangely, trapezing around with his open wound like a man who just won an Olympic gold medal. Brian took his shoulders, seating him against the wall while he dialed 911. He wouldn't bother talking to the operator, as he would then be forced into questioning. Instead, he dropped the phone beside the man, coming to his feet smoothly, casually.

What a dramatic display of violence. Putting aside that only men were stupid enough to rob a drug store, there was something else that pointed to the male race. The lack of artistic value in each blow. The broken door, the bullet holes, the gunshot wound, the shattered counter. Men, amped on testosterone and energy drinks. Bull headed, bull necked. Probably could only think with their guns. He hated men, for that reason. He liked women because, not only were they infinitely smarter, faster, and more artistic, they had warm holes with which to do bath things to personalities, nearly never combatant unless forced to be, It reminded him of a moment in his last school, at the most recent dance when everything had seemed to go wrong...

Brian turned his head when the hand touched his shoulder- he hadn't even been aware she was approaching. He pushed himself back into the present- dwelling on the past that deeply was liable to get him killed, especially at a school where people only too measure of strength, uncaring whether your parent had died or not. He stared at her for a long moment after she spoke... "The night is beautiful, lighting up!". He spoke bluntly. "You don't know anything about me, or what i could possibly be going through. The past few days....i haven't exactly been the nicest guy to you. Yet...You just confused the hell out of me!" He paused, staring at her.

"I just don't really get you- why are you being so friendly to me?"

He felt he knew the answer to that question- because she wanted to be friends. For once, Bran didn't want friendship. Just because they were going to be working together on the school project ,didn't mean he had to get close to her, and she seemed to be trying her best to see to it that they went down that road. Still, he couldn't help but acknowledge in his own mind the attraction to her- she was kind and caring, with a strange child-like innocence. She was beautiful, to be sure, but she seemed to have a little bit of an unknowing nature about her. It made him question her, in many ways. Could he really trust her to his grade? What was the point of her constant, ever present innocence and peace?

He turned his eyes back to the Scenery. It was home, yet not the first one he ever had. The stars here reminded him, though, of his first home. He couldn't exactly remember everything about it, except this well of emptiness, of an overwhelming feeling of desertion. He wouldn't...couldn't let that happen to him again. He puzzled for several moments, awaiting the response from her. She said nothing, opting instead to stand beside him, staring out over the hills next to where their dorms were. Co-ed. He moved to speak again, instead hearing footfalls behind him. Males approached, cracking their knuckles. They chuckles, laughing at finally having them both, right where they wanted them. It was amusing, to say the least, that they would think him a threat. He had done nothing but be near her, and he was targeted for it.

Brian turned, looking back at the girl who struggled so hard for him, before staring at those before him.

"Two birds with one stone."

"Its her last day. Let her go." A car honked. Brian glanced down, the crisp, reflective surface of a black sedan parked neatly before the school. "See, there's her ride. Just leave her."

The bully tisked.

"Not gonna happen. She'll get what she deserves, as will you."

Brian sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that then. Well, at least three's one thing in your favor- your right about half of it."

He lunged backward, kicking the girl square in the chest, sending her tumbling three stories down to land in the massive, fifty foot fountain pond below. The boys stared in surprise, the girl getting out of the water and being helped to the car by the driver, who was also forcibly holding her back from coming back to his rescue. He held his hands out to the sides, smile broadly, and shrugged.

"Do your worst."

This is gonna hurt...

Brian snapped to, his eyes striding up to the body of a rather large man, his legs wide spread, bald scalp gleaming cheerfully in the sun. his tattoos snakes down his neck, the legs of an octopus, the head more than likely planted dutifully upon his skull. Brian's hands were in his pockets, his eyes looking over the fearsome brute before he glanced inside. Almost immediately, a man ran out, carrying a bag of cash. It was almost comical, the vast differences in their body type. It was like Mario and Luigi, human version. A massive man whose biceps held the girth of Brian's thighs, and a skinny little stick pole, who looked as though he might blow away were a minor breeze to suddenly pick up. He ran headlong into the young Andeste, who stepped back at the sudden force. He went flying, however, when a kick to the chest from the big man blew the winds from his lungs like a high powered vacuum. They both took off sprinting, running down the street without a care in the world, or fear of capture.

Brian growled, coming to his feet and chasing after. He called the police, his footfalls cracking beneath him as the operator answered. Within moments, he was talking to a police officer, who was sending as many units as possible to his exact location. Brian was surprised- pleasantly, of course. He expected things to take a slightly different course, but the wailing sirens in the distance signaled the storm that was readying to sweep upon them. An alleyway. Brian ran after them, the far end cut off by cops. The thin one turned back, glaring at Brian before removing his mask, a glower steadying almost painfully upon the face of his father. The shock almost didn't register, such an absurd change of action was this. But the evidence before his eyes caused a release of excitement- his father lived. He couldn't believe it! It was almost as though-

A gunshot.

Brian's smile faded, his eyes slowly turning downward to the bullet hole in his chest. He reached up lethargically, touching a finger to the hole experimentally. He looked up, slight confusion on his face as the wicked smile painted itself on his dads mouth. He fell backward, his butt hitting the ground harshly, darkness swimming in his vision-

He awoke with a start, breath coming ragged with the memory of pain,a string of drool from his cheek adding a cool tingle to his skin. He reached up, wiping it away without much to-do. Around him- his room, the soft light of his desk lamp casting a mellow glow along the hard oak-wood table-top. It was only a dream. He took a deep breath, rubbing the spot where his dads gunshot had punctured him.

Then why did it feel so real?

Word Count: 2100

Damn, I need a break. This revision shit is killing me.

Cain groaned, thinking to himself as he left the school, carrying his almost-empty backpack over his left shoulder. He was wearing a black shirt with yellow sleeves stretching down just past his elbow, tightening at that part, fitting his body quite perfectly. He followed up on the attire with a pair of dark blue Levi's jeans, also perfectly fitting. That is, it was not loose and baggy enough to be an urban thug's, or tight enough to be 'emo'. The ends of his pants were tucked into his yellow Dunks as they made soft taps against the asphalt ground. The tests were coming, and contrary to popular belief, the teachers were actually focusing hard on it. And dragging the students, at least those who came and stayed in class, along.

Cain was exhausted. He knew he had to study, but at the moment, he could not give a damn about that. He was too exhausted and spent. He just wanted to head home and rest. Unfortunately, it was not the end of his exhausting day, for Cain was going to be forced to walk home too. He forgot to bring extra change and now no longer had the capability to flag a taxi. And so, with his right hand on his bag strap and his left thumb in his pocket, he would continue on his journey home. Of course, he was never going to reach there. At least, not yet.

Cain's eyes would subconsciously rise as he caught sight of a police patrol car driving towards his direction. He looked at it for a bit, before shrugging it off, thinking that it would simply just drive past him. However, he was dead wrong. The sound of sirens then reached his ears, causing him to stop in his tracks instinctively as he looked up, noticing then that the car was going into the opposing lane... Towards him.

Wha-What?

Cain took a step back as the police car came to a halt in front of him, the sirens still ringing loudly in Cain's ears, before switching off as the front doors swung open. Two Caucasian male, one larger than the other, emerged from the car, one pointing towards him and the other simply moving closer to the Junior.

"You are under arrest."
"Wait, what? What for?"

Yeah, well, Cain was not exactly the cleanest of citizens here in this lovely city, but he knew how to clean his tracks. There was no way that these guys could have found him. Nah. Unless... Someone ratted him out? Well, that was not good. Still... Who could have? No one knew he did this other than his clients, though they know him as 'Abel', and Zen. The other policeman would approach Cain then, grabbing his right shoulder and pulling him in, before smashing him down onto the car hood, pinning him down on his chest, the Junior grunting upon impact.

"Don't try to trick us, Gambit. You won't get away now."

Gambit? Who the fuck is Gambit? Holy shit, they got the wrong guy. For real. As relieving as that sounded, it did not really do Cain much good at that moment. He was still being hand-cuffed. With that in mind, he started to resist.

"Gambit? You got the wrong guy!"
"Yeah, yeah, save it for the judge."
Oh, hell, no.

Cain placed both feet firmly on the ground, before suddenly jerking himself upwards, producing bursts of wind from his palms to push the policeman that was pinning him down back and onto the wall of the building behind him. The other policeman watched in shock for a moment, not expecting his partner to be thrown back so far by such a small kid. And by the time that he had recovered, it was already too late, as Cain placed both hands on the car hood, pushing his legs upwards once more. Using his leverage on the car hood, he would then swing both feet around and smash it down upon his head and upper chest, throwing him back onto his bottom. And as soon as he landed on the ground, instincts took over as he broke into a sprint.

"Hey, freeze! Fuck!"

Cain knew he had to run and run fast. Knowing protocol, the two policeman would have already called for back-up before they even approached him. With that in mind, Cain would dash across the street, hearing in the distance another squad car coming in towards him. He would quickly come to a halt, before drifting into an alleyway to his left, his legs pushing him forward on their own, his mind now being taken over by instinct. He had to get away first.

He heard the police car screech to halt behind him, but he bothered not to look back to see if they were chasing him. It was already obvious that they were. After all, the car would not be able to fit into an alley this narrow. Cain, however, was a tad bit too swift to be caught by just on foot, especially by this large and bubbly policemen. Then, at the opposite end of the alleyway, another car screeched to a halt, aiming to stop him from escaping.

As if that would work. Cain would only increase his speed, as the policemen from inside started to open the door. And then, Cain jumped, pulling his knees to his chest to increase his leap height. And much to his surprise, he managed to reach the roof of the car, letting his momentum bring him forward then as he rolled forward, coming to the other side of the car, placing one foot on the top of the door and leaping off it, forcing it back and closing on the policeman inside's outstretched leg.

That was going to leave a mark.

And he would turn away from the patrol car, once more breaking into a sprint, leaving three policemen trapped in the alley trap they had created for Cain. Now, where to run to? Then, Cain caught sight of his answer. A somewhat rundown bar to his right, the one only found in the suburbs, with the door leading into a narrow room with tables on one side and the bar on the other. Turning back to make sure that he was at the moment invisible to them, Cain slowed himself down into a casual pace, before entering the bar, trying to control his breathing as he glanced around the place There weren't much people inside, save for three customers at different tables and the bartender himself. Giving a soft nod of his head to the latter, he would seat himself upon one of the stools by the bar.

Acting as calm as possible, Cain ordered himself a glass of water, not seeking to use up any more money than he already had left. He would place it upon his lips, a sigh escaping his lips upon relief of the cooling liquid. He really needed that. At that, he would raise his hand towards the bartender, his mind still playing back the events of before. Gambit? Who the hell was that?

"Hey, Bartend. Any idea who Gambit is?"
"Oh, Gambit? The art thief?"
"Uhm... Yeah. Thanks, I guess."
"Right."

An art thief? An art thief that looks like him? Well, this seemed out of the world, certainly. A soft sigh escaped his lips, as he heard then finally the sirens of the police cars passing the bar. At that, Cain started to count down from ten in his head, before finishing up the glass and leaving the bar. He knew what he had to do now. He had to find this gu-

... And there, right opposite him, entering an alleyway after turning back, was a man that looked oddly like him.

Fate was really having fun playing around with Cain that day.

Without hesitation, Cain would run across the road, barely dodging a passing motorcycle as Cain followed the man into an alleyway. He looked just like him, save that he was clad in an overcoat, hiding the rest of his clothing. Was this Gambit? Well, there was only one way to find out.

"GAMBIT!"

Cain called out as he entered the alleyway, his eyes on his supposed doppleganger. The man would stop in his tracks, turning around with an eyebrow raised. Well, that confirmed it. This guy was Gambit. Cain grinned, as Gambit looked at him in awe. Cain already knew how this guy looked like, but Gambit apparently did not think that there would be someone out there that looked like him.

Cain raised his right hand then, his grin disappearing almost instantly, the Junior pointing at Gambit.

"You asshole! Because of you, I was chased around by the cops. You're going down."

However, Gambit could only grin then, finally understanding the situation, of sorts, as he turned around, facing Cain fully, removing his overcoat. And under that jacket, he wore a full black overlay. Cain could only figure that he was attempting to steal another item now. Well, that was good. Now, Cain could kill two birds with one stone. Without even a second of pause, Cain would break into a dash.

And boy was he entertained, as Gambit took a step back, an expression of shock in his face. He never expected Cain to be this fast. Or anyone, for that matter. Well, it was simple how Cain was able to do this, actually. He had used the burst to throw himself forward. And with every step, he would add a smaller one to increase his speed. It was not even a second before Cain was already on Gambit, his right hand coming up to smash onto a reflexively-raised left arm, shoving it aside and leaving his clone open for a follow-up right elbow, driven forward by his left hand, adding a burst from the latter to add a force on his elbow.

True, this was going to hurt Cain, but it won't be as bad for the other, as Cain's elbow found his face. Gambit would stagger back, his hands raised as he tried to cover his nose, but Cain was a tad bit too frustrated to give him the space to recover, as he slid forward once more, going low this time as he drive his left fist into Gambit's lower ribs, causing him to double over and be swept off from under his feet, falling backwards on his bottom. And thus came Cain's last strike. A hard roundhouse right kick to the side of the head, sending him soaring to the side and shoulder first onto a wall.

So quick. So lethal. So deadly.

And with that, Cain was satisfied, Gambit simply laying there, probably unconscious, as blood seeped out from his mouth and nose, covering his whole chin and neck. Finally, that settled this little escapade. Cain let out a grunt, pacing forward then, grabbing Gambit's right leg, before proceeding to drag him out of the alleyway, without a care for Gambit's welfare then. He could care less what happened to this guy, for all the trouble he had given him. Tossing him out into the road then, Cain would slap his hands together, brushing the dust off, before walking away.

Yeah, it was just another one of those unusual days. Perhaps now he could finally take a little rest, eh?

Option A:

Kazuya sat at his desk, his pen tapping against his paper, as he read from his textbook, while at the same time, referencing to his notes, when he heard the ring tone of his phone go off on his desk, without taking his eyes off his paper, he stretched his right hand out, and grabbed his phone. He tore his attention away from his paper, and pressed a button with his thumb, silenced his ring tone, as he saw he had a message from the person he least expected to message him, Kaito.





Closing his phone with a loud clack, Kazuya pushed his chair back and stood up, and walked over to the TV beside his dresser, and flicked on the TV. "... famous news announcer was found dead on a TV antenna." Pulling out a map of the city his uncle, after being called to the institute to break up a fight and learned his nephew was in San Diego, took him in to live with him and his daughter, Kazuya's cousin, had given him, he spread it out on the table in front of the couch in the room, as he marked down the location that the crime occurred at. His eyes flaring in surprise, a small pattern was emerging, the new announcer had appeared on TV. Pulling his cellphone out, Kazuya began to do some research, he couldn't very well ask his own uncle, a member of the police force, for help, his uncle would chew him out for investigating matters that he shouldn't even be involved in, much less give him information about the crime itself.

Option B:

"And now, it's the Evening News Murder Corner! Tonight, we have a very professional interview with the girl who found a body." "A dead body ladies and gentlemen! Wowzers! So, was it awesome, or was it awesome!?" "Whattttt." Kazuya grimaced, if he was right about the pattern, the girl, whom he recognized as one of the seniors in the university, was next. Throwing himself into the research, Kazuya completely forgot about studying for his exams, his Biology books laying abandoned on his desk. The sun steadily setting, Kazuya's room slowly turned dark, as his eyes flared, he had determined the next location. Stowing his cellphone in his pocket, Kazuya grabbed his house keys and walked out of his room. He then walked downstairs and into the living room, as his cousin looked away from the quiz show she was watching on TV and over at him. "Are you going out? I can watch the house." Nodding his head slightly, Kazuya headed out of the house, before bolting down the street the moment he closed the door behind him. He couldn't tell the police, especially not his uncle, and besides, who would believe that a university student managed to figure out the next location when the police had barely managed to make a break in the case.

Reaching the location a few minutes later, Kazuya breathed heavily, resting his hands on his knees as he took a moment to catch his breath. He then straightened up and looked around, but no one came. Walking back home, Kazuya headed in, and saw his uncle was home, sitting at the table in front of the TV. "Hey, some chick went missing. All this work is such a pain. It's like the people expect the police to solve crimes or something. Mayuko, get Daddy another beer." The news then suddenly came on, as the announcer began with the breaking news, that the girl was found dead. Heading back up into his room, Kazuya heard his cellphone go off, and saw his classmate, Asuka, had sent him a message.





Kazuya bolted out of his room, his uncle and cousin having gone to their rooms, and ran out of the house, moving as fast as he could. Reaching Shizuka's house a few minutes later, he heard the sound of footsteps coming up behind him, as he whipped around and saw a man facing him, carrying something over his shoulder. "I... I will save her... Don't... don't get in my way..." But before Kazuya could even react, he felt a burning pain somewhere below his neck bone, as he slowly lifted his hand up and felt a warm liquid on his hand. It was blood... and not just anyone's blood, it was his own.Collapsing to the ground, he heard footsteps come closer and closer before stopping beside him, as the man towered over Kazuya, but it was too dark to see the man's face. "... I... I couldn't stop her from dying... I will find who killed her... and that girl... I will save her... " The man then turned and walked off, as Kazuya felt his life slip away slowly. I'm dying... for real this time? Crap... there's more than one person involved... two guys... One killed the announcer and the girl... And this guy... What is he planning? Saving her...? What did I get myself into? Emily... Looks like I'll be seeing you sooner than I liked to... I'm sorry... Kazuya's vision then faded into black, as he felt his life slip away... Not!

"!?" Kazuya woke with a jolt as he fell out of his chair, landing on the floor with a loud thump. "Are you okay...?" "Kind of. I'm okay. Did I wake you up?" Kazuya called back to Mayuko. "No, I went downstairs to get some water. Okay. Well good night." Kazuya heard Mayuko go back to her room, as he got back up to his feet. Maybe he would study another time...

OOC: Word count without BB coding and this note: 969)