AKI

Chapter One: Inquisition

10/21/o6 sat.

Multiple colors of red, yellow, and orange shined down from the church's stained glass window and onto Neko Midori's pale white face. She wore a heavy looking – most likely gothic styled black dress that hugged the base of her neck and billowed downward to bloom around her ankles. Black leather boots were the only thing visible under the fall of clothing, along with pristine ivory gloves.

She inhaled deeply through her nose, savoring the heady smell of incense that floated up and around her in thick grey clouds. She turned around after enjoying a long, peaceful moment of silence, and faced the shadows that shifted behind her. Her glasses caught onto the fractured sunlight, making them gleam ominously for just a split second, before her forest green returned. kukuku…

From the darkness, two figures slowly emerged and stood just at the edge of the light – just close enough that they could be identified.

Tanuki and Wolf-chan's dark copper eyes stared back at her, waiting silently for her voice to break the easily attainable harmony. The goddess of the night stood in a similar black dress, for the exception of her neck reaching further up the column of her throat and fanning out just behind her winged ears, in addition to the black scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. And instead of immaculate white gloves, hers were just as black as her dark gothic dress. Her assistant stood in a black blazer, the coat tails reaching below her knees. A perfectly tied black tie hung around her neck, barely visible among all the inky blackness. Black slacks seemed to blend it perfectly with the blazer – gleaming dress shoes on her feet. Her glasses also caught the light at such an angle that it glared at Midori from where she stood.

The emerald cat of the universe sucked in a breath of scented air, parting her lips and catching the oh-so subtle movements of the raccoon's and the wolf's eyes sharpening on her – paying complete and total attention.

"Your assignment?" she asked, her voice sounding louder to her ears, and she knew it was because she had spent so long in this silence.

"Completed," Wolf-chan answered, her chin moving up by just the slightest fraction. "And there were no casualties."

"And…?" Midori drawled on, prompting more from the two expert thieves.

"It was a complete success. We retrieved all that we needed, and then some." This time, it was the older of the two that spoke, Tanuki's eyes glittering in the shadows.

"I see," was all the feline had to say.

The darkness shifted again, but it was due to the raccoon woman walking towards her. Once reaching Midori, Tanuki reached beneath her scarf and under a flap of her dress, pulling out a manila envelope. She held it out to the other female, and Midori was quick to confiscate it, hiding it beneath her own flap.

Once it was safe atop Midori's bosom, the ringed one turned on her heel and returned to her companion's side, both of them now heading back outside to the cold winter day in England. The clicking of their expensive footwear faded gradually from the walls of the Victorian church. Silence slowly encompassed the green cat again, and she was left alone.

She remained rooted to the glossy marble floor, her heart pounding against her chest and against the slight warmth of the envelope.

She would review its contents when she was sure of her solitude.

The contents inside – letters, artifacts, and whatever else Tanuki and Wolf-chan had managed to get their paws on – would explain a lot of things to Midori. Some of which she wasn't sure she even /wanted/ to know. Other things… Well…

Even so, with all this incriminating evidence, there was still so much she wouldn't know. That was why her friends had gone back out into the cold of winter. This envelope was only the second of several that they were to collect. With their experience in thievery, one would think jobs like these were just common – just another hit. But these documents and objects were under secrecy – some artifacts even guarded by the Vatican priests that if forced to, would kill... And expertly so, leaving behind no trace of heathens.

Suddenly, the danger of the entire mission dawned on her, and a shiver shot up her spine. She bowed her head slightly, and whispered a soft prayer to whomever would hear her, that her friends would come out alright.

Her eyes slid open slowly, and she lifted her chin up high. Taking a breath and holding it just a second longer than usual, she released it as she began walking forward, heading toward the open ten foot door that led to a wintry England just outside.