Disclaimers: All characters belong to rightful owners.
Story concieved by Lee.


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"Good Luck."

And with that, Lucia had left him alone on the streets of New Eden. The volatile confrontation between "good" and "evil" ended as suddenly as it had began. And to think it all started with a simple bump on the shoulder. Not to mention that things were going smoothly before their true identities were revealed. But was if it hadn't, would their little stroll ended in a more peaceful way if they were just two regular human beings. Unfortunately, his ever growing headache prevented Nathan from pondering the possibility any further. He simply resolved that if they were to run paths again, he would have to be more careful unless he wanted another outburst like that. No matter the case, it was growing late and he had to catch up with the girls. He rushed over in the direction of the park, to the area where the tree lighting would soon commence. In his rush, however, he didn't catch sight of the path of ice that laid ahead.

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Thalia only heard the moan and the burst of giggles from a crowd of children nearby. As she looked in the direction of the commotion, she caught sight of Nathan attempting to pick himself out of the snow. "Nice, Nathan," Thalia said between laughs as she helped dust him off. "Real nice...."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he finished cleaning himself off. "You know me, I have to make an entrance."

"Mm-hmmm," Thalia replied. "So what happened with your little admirer," she teased as she poked him in the shoulder. "What is it with you and young girls, Nathan? You do realize that kind of stuff is illegal, right?"

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"What?" Nathan said. Confusion had made his mark on his face as he took in all she said. "Who are you... Oh, you mean, Lucia, no, she's just a student at one of the schools I sub at. AND, she had to help me find this place since you abandoned me back there."

"What do you mean help you find this place? Like you don't know where the park is. See! You were flirting with her. You're a sick old man! No wonder you sub! You're like a white R Kelly, or a slightly darker Michael Jackson, you sicko." Thalia teased jumping up and down like an energetic five-year-old.

"Yah, okay," Nathan sighed as he looked over at the tree, ignoring his excited friend. It was nice to see her happy for a change, but she was still annoying nonetheless. It had been a crazy day, but hopefully this would be the last moody girl he ran into.

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Alexei harumphed in Lukas' arms. Well, the girl would die one day, preferably sooner than later. He certainly wouldn't forget what They had done to Sergey.

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Darran's veiled hostility turned to downright _fuming_ as he watched Dante order Para away. Who. The. Fuck. Did he think he was?

It wasn't that he had no idea why the guy would react that way. But god_damn_it, Parajo was about the safest fucking person in the world at the moment, as far as Tiger Claw went. Yeah, maybe he wasn't looking for much more than a cute clubbing partner, but he sure as hell wasn't looking for a victim, either. *More than enough of those.* And Para, hell, she was a great girl. Darran would've defended her without a thought, if the situation had called for it.

Okay, maybe he couldn't expect Dante to differentiate between a career and a lifestyle. Maybe he really did think Tiger Claw got off on seducing his hits before taking them down-- who knew, some crazy shit rumors circled around. Or maybe... maybe he thought just the seduction part applied. *Easy. Easy. Yeah, he's paranoid. But you can't cut him down in the middle of the park just for thinking you're out to break his sister's heart. Despite that being absolutely and without a doubt WAY more fucked-up than being a killer.*

But either way, it came out to the same outcome, didn't it? The guy thought he was out to hurt Para in some way, and definetely looked about to address that _and_ Tiger Claw. Whatever else happened, he didn't want Para to know, so, reluctantly, Darran kept his mouth shut as Dante persuaded her to leave.

Para's parting words and smile were an unexpected gift, and very nearly restored his previous mood. "Hey, of course. I promised to take you to Stardust, didn't I? If not tonight, we'll definetely make it soon." He returned her smile with a grin quite a bit like the happy, somewhat infatuated ones he'd been inclined towards before- - even if Dante's proximity gave it a bit of an edge this time. "I've got your name. Just look you up in the phone book, no problem." His eyes slid back to Dante as Para turned away and the grin turned nasty again, the message clear: Maybe you don't like me seeing her, but when push comes to shove I do what I damn well want and you really can't stop me. A pretty potent look, and all in all it was a shame Darran didn't even consider that the other would likely misinterpret it to imply all sorts of evil motives. "Yep. Darran Isanyeti."

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Dante growled softly as he noted the strange, infatuated grin Darran threw his sister before she left, but the words were even worse. What the bloody _fuck_? He had her name? He could look her up in the phonebook? Oh wonderful. So not only did Para give this creep all but a written invitation to do god only knows what sort of shit to her, but to their siblings as well? Sometimes it seemed that the girl didn't have a single brain cell in her head and he couldn't do anything for it; he was at work too much to be able to follow her around and protect her from creeps like this. Still, these thoughts were driven from his mind by the look which Darran turned to him once Para had gone.

That look, it was the sort of a man who'd set fire to an apartment building, then rush in so as to save the kids... only to rape the mother and slit the babies' throats later. It was the look of, well, of one who would belong to the name and the stories which went with along with Darran Isanyeti and, with these, he was quite familiar. Hang around with businessmen long enough and you learn a few of their secrets. Who slept with whom so as to get their position. Who's pocketing funds. Who's backstabbing who, literally and figuratively, as well as the name of a few good-hearted men who'd be willing to accomodate these things. Like our good friend, Mr. Isanyeti, here.

"Well, Mr. Isanyeti, I hope you realize that you're _never_ going anywhere _near_ my sister again..." He growled as he stared down into that rather nastily grinning expression. It didn't matter that the man was clearly a stronger and better fighter. It didn't matter that he could beat Dante to a pulp without so much as breaking a sweat. It didn't matter that this could be his life on the line. All that mattered was that he keep the creeps, the perverts, and the fucking killers away from his family, regardless of the cost. "I don't care who or _what_ you are, but you don't do shit like that, okay? She's not one of your little ravers that you can seduce with puppy dog charm and muscle-flexing then drug and feel up in some dark alley, okay? She's my _sister_ and you. aren't. touching. her. _ever_. Do you understand?"

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"Nope." Darran ground the syllable out, keeping his eyes locked on Dante and his stare absolutely infuriated. The only words he could hear-- or care about at all-- were the ones calling him a sexual predator. He'd promised himself he could take care of it without going nuts, but that was pretty fucking hard to swallow. Here was this punk just _assuming_ that not only was he a killer, but he drugged up girls for fun. "Your whole little seduction speech is such absolute _bullshit_," he continued, gritting his teeth as he fought for control over his temper. "You've just got to be the dumbest asshole I've run across all day if _that's_ what you're assuming."

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"Well, tell me what else I should assume from the man who, not even two days ago, was overheard proclaiming that he could kill a certain patron of the S&G before they could so much as blink?" Dante responded cooly as a smooth grin stretched his lips. Of course, he hadn't been able to overhear _all_ of the conversation, but, even his client for the moment had shut up long enough for him to overhear this little bit of information. "Now, what makes you think that a man who would brag about such things wouldn't be above a little drugging and groping? It doesn't seem very likely, to me..."

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Sam nodded to Lucia's reassurances that she was fine, but it didn't keep him from glowering at the one responsible for what injuries she did have. Though he had calmed due to the words of both the woman and his dear friend, he was still rather... annoyed that one would think to threat Lucia so brusquely, so rudely. Alas, it seemed that vengence would have to wait for another day, though, as, once Lucia had gone off to get herself some icy hot, all the fight and all the blazing anger seemed to drain from him and, again, he was left empty and confused. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair as he tipped his head at his two friends.

"Fun day, huh? I always heard that Christmas was a magical season, but this wasn't what I thought they meant." He grinnned, hoping that a joke might put things back on a more normal plane. Right now, he just wanted to go home, to sleep, to end the day, but he was afraid of what he might see in his dreams. So, no. Maybe that wasn't the best solution, either. Well, barring that, he'd have to simply exult in the love of his friends. "Anyway, you guys still up for going to help Gleda? You don't have to, you know. I think you've enough karma to spare..."

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Thankfully, things seemed to be calming down. This, however, did not stop Kisoku from his pettings and affection mostly for the fact that being affectionate with Sam was still one of his favorite things to do. "Hmm... I'm sure I did something this weekend that threatned my karma reserves. Then again, I was too drunk to remember most of the weekend, but one would assume..."

The blonde giggled cheerfully, all too happy to agree with Sam's subtle insistence that things were just fine in the world. "So, let's get to those cookies!"

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Unlike his two friends, Lukas was far from convinced that everything was right with the world. In point of fact, he was absolutely certain that somehow, everything had gone straight to hell in a handbasket... although he couldn't put his finger on exactly *how* this had happened... Still, he was willing to at least give lip- service to the general consensus that all was well.

"Yeah..." he replied, favoring both blondes with a lazy grin, "You can never have too much good karma stockpiled, eh? So let's go!"

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"Tch. Between the two of you, though, you'd think there was enough good karma to choke a horse..." Sam laughed as he reached to link arms with both of the other boys. Yes, that's right. Everything's normal and they're just going to go have some yummy cookies at the Park. Happy good time for all. Though, really, it was getting increasingly easier to believe that as he started to walk and, leaning his head on a random shoulder, he sighed softly. "Just hope all the cookies aren't gone by now. That'd be a huge disappointment, you know?"

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Two days ago... the S&G... Darran's eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to remember what the fuck Dante could possibly be talking about. Then it hit, and he gave a tiny, involuntary twitch. He'd been out with Anton at one of the guy's favorite nightclubs, maybe drinking a little too much and thinking a little too vocally about the next one...

Staith. *And I was doing so _well_. The whole damn day without stressing over it.* The latest on Kein's list, and due to die in three days. The research was done, his habits tracked and the route mapped out to the last second. But, as he always did right before a hit, Darran had been trying to distance himself from the actual hit, and to be reminded so unexpectedly was _not_ welcome. "Well," he murmured, eyes unfocused and looking just a little beyond Dante's face, "I'd say _you're_ the sneaky bastard here.

"Let me make this a little clearer, okay? There's a pretty big fucking difference between you and me." His eyes snapped back to Dante's, clearly angry but also coolly calculating. "I'd put you at fifth tier. Maybe fourth-- you're tall, you got some reach on most of us." He shrugged. "You're all pretty much newbies down there, still thinking you're so badass, still thinking it's _fun_." Fuck, hadn't he been like that himself? Come to New Eden like a goddamn hotshot, killed a couple jerks, and gotten his ass pasted across the wall. "Now maybe you're thinking I'm _like_ you and your buddies, only better at it." Darran paused for a moment, glaring up at the other. Damn it, he probably wouldn't get a fucking word of this.

"I'm telling you you're a dumb fuck, because that attitude is exactly what's going to screw you over one of these days. You seem to know so much about me-- I bet you've heard already, but I'm the best in the city. And trust me, it's got nothing to do with _liking_ it, or any such bullshit."

Darran took a step back and let a grim smile creep in, though his stare was still just as furious as before-- and maybe even a little bit more. He hadn't meant to say quite that much. "In other words, taking how much self-control you've got compared to how much I've got, taking how much bloodlust you've got compared to how much I've got... Para's a hell of a lot safer with me."

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That took Dante by surpise, to say the very least. Tiers? _Liking it_? What the bloody fuck? Tuning out the blahblahblah of the other's voice, he thought on this for a moment before realizing that the fucking pervert thought that Dante was an assassin, too. Biting back a laugh, he couldn't keep the smirk from his lips at this.

"You're the city's best, huh? Yea. I heard as much from a few different people. I think we've some clients in common." He chuckled at this as he stared hard down into the other's eyes. Still, breaking the anger for a moment, there was only amusement--okay, and more than a little mocking--in his eyes. "Still, I think you're mistaken on a few things..."

"You don't like it, huh?" He chuckled smoothly as he narrowed his eyes to thin strips of color between lash and cheek. Stooping, he brought himself to eye-level with Darran and, tipping his head a bit, he let his grin turn nasty, rather unpleasant, as his voice dropped to a silken whisper. "I don't believe that for a second. I bet you get off on it as much as anything else. There's probably no better aphrodisiac for you than the blood, the guts, the killing. You probably can't even get it up, otherwise..."

Still, as Darran's last comment registered in his mind, Dante found all trace of humor gone from him and in its place was only pure, cold anger. How... how the fuck could a blood-stained pervert even _think_ that he could protect Para better than her own fucking _twin_?! Christ on a cracker, that was such a faulty bit of logic...

Snarling deep in his throat, Dante took a quick step back from the assassin and, grabbing for the back of Darran's head, he swept a hand down so as to draw a short-bladed dagger from its usual place. Trying to hold the assassin in place with his other hand, he slashed wildly at the other, without even thinking how very bad an idea this might be... nor how it was just proving Darran's point.

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_Holy shit_! Darran's mind gave a sharp spike of alarm as he identified the reach for a hidden weapon. Unsure of what would come out, acting on blind instinct, he grabbed not for the blade in his boot but the gun tucked in the small of his back.

The next sound he could identify with any certainty was the clash of metal on metal as he forced the blade away with the barrel of his gun. Too bad. Not enough time to block with any force and knock the knife out of the other guy's hand. So Dante still had his knife but, some part of Darran's mind noted as the barrel began to turn towards the other, it just wasn't enough--

*Easy. Hold it, Darran. Just hold it a second.* Too distracted to notice it was Kein's voice, a memory of the many times Kein had had to say just that, Dar tensed and stared up at the other man. His eyes were wide, just on the edge of blazing fury-- and fright that gave him the look of a caged, wild animal. After a long pause, he slid his gun back a little, to point it at neither of them and keep it locked with Dante's knife.

"Put your knife away," Darran finally said, eyes still fierce and every muscle tensed. "Don't pull a weapon on me." It was more honest advice than threat.

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Dante's resolve--which was firmly set on at least slashing the old pervert--wavered rather badly as he caught sight of the gun Dar had drawn from behind his back. Catching his breath, he took a quick step back, but he continued to hold his own weapon at the ready. Sure, it wasn't really a suiting match for what assassin boy was weilding, but it could still serve him. Tensed and ready for the shot, he could only respond with surprise when the other failed to follow through.

"What...?" Dante half-laughed as Darran told him to put his knife away. Of course, this would be the wise moment to do as asked and, perhaps, to also go away before he could get his foolish ass shot; naturally, he did neither of these. "You turning pacifist on me now, Tiger Claw?"

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*Easy,* Dar forced himself to remember, *take it easy. Just breathe for a second.* Now that Dante had taken a step back, he could slowly force his arms down, the gun dangling loosely at his side.

It... fuck, it scared him. Darran had been resolved not to fight this guy-- not to threaten him and pull out a gun, anyway. But he had, and the thing was that he hadn't _decided_ to change his treatment of Dante or anything... the change just came. Immediately and way too easily.

"Yeah," he said flatly, that little thought cutting short his tolerance for Dante's bullshit. "So put it away."

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"Take back what you said first." Dante insisted as he continued to watch the other with a definitely wary eye. Though it was good that the gun was no longer being pointed at him, he still wasn't about to let down his guard. From what he'd seen, to point, the Tiger Claw truly had the reflexes and the speed of his namesake and it was also pretty clear that Dante couldn't even hope to win an even fight with the assasin. Of course, none of this mattered; what mattered was that Darran had the unmitigated _balls_ to say that Dante couldn't take care of his own family. That was simply unforgivable.

"I won't let you get away with that." He contiued in a low growl as he brought the hand holding the knife up. The gesture, in itself, wasn't overtly threatening, but it was only a simple step to go from this to go back to slashing. "I don't give a _fuck_ who you are."

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"Which part of what I said?" Darran asked dryly, one eyebrow slightly raised. *Just... think of it as a joke.* Kind of. Not a particularly funny one, but as long as the confrontation was just something he could stand back from and shake his head, he could avoid getting sucked back in. Sometimes the only way to keep his sanity was to laugh...

"That Para's safer with me?" He shrugged a little. "Sorry, kiddo. Yeah, I'm sure you'd fight to protect her to the last breath and all that, but what's that _worth_ if you won't take care of yourself? Look at this. I'm faster than you-- maybe not stronger, hard to say, but definetely faster-- and you know it. I've got a gun, you've only got a knife. Frankly, it doesn't look like you give a shit about whether you walk away from this or not. I've got no intention of killing you, but you're just going to get yourself in the same situation tomorrow or the next day. And if you get yourself killed, how's that supposed to help her?" Darran shrugged again-- it got to him, a little. The kid talked big, but his actions were just _dumb_. And if he meant to be protector--

Whoa, did Para ever deserve better than that.

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"If it means that it might keep fucking perverts like you away from her and away from the rest of our family, then it's worth my life." Dante answered easily as he shrugged a bit. Still, he couldn't help but give the other a somewhat curious glance. It was odd. One moment they were fighting to kill, apparently, and the next the guy seemed to want to psychoanalyze him. Was this normal for assassins or did he just happen to luck out and get the city's only fighting psychiatrist?

Fuck. If this day got any more twisted...

"Still..." Pushing these thoughts aside, Dante soon refound his rather smug smirk. Cocking an eyebrow at Darran, he tilted his head a bit as he narrowed his eyes. "Since when do assassins get pangs of conscience? Is it just because you wouldn't be paid to off me or are you just going to wait till you get Para on her back, _then_ come back and kill me... and maybe the rest of the family, if you're bored that day? I bet you'd _really_ get off on killing the younger ones, huh? To hear them cry and scream and all?"

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