Bring Me to Life

Prologue:

"… go there and bring me his prized possession."

Eyes narrowing, they locked on the robed figure at the front of the room, "Now what the hell makes you think I can even do that?"

"You're the best I have, and if the best I have cannot even bring me his head, then what good is it to keep him around?"

"And what makes you think I will do it?"

"Did I not make myself clear?" The figure at the front asked, "If you will not fulfill your purpose, then why need I keep you around to grant you your own wish? If you shan't grant me mine, why should I grant yours? Understand?"

From the shadows, his eyes narrowed further, "Fine. I will bring you the Demon's prized possession. Just leave Sen out of this."

"But of course. I shall send him on a separate quest and have him meet you elsewhere."

Nodding, he turned his back on the man at the front without bowing to him — the standard procedure for whenever they met — and headed to the door to collect his weapons and then pack up for his new journey.

Making sure the younger man left, the robed man made a motion with his hand while speaking to a guard to his right, "Send the other in."

"Ow!" Another young man exclaimed as he was practically tossed into the room, "You didn't hafta push me…"

"Sen, come forward. I have an assignment for you."

Stepping closer to the man at the front on his fine throne — whose wood was rumored to have come from the Forest of Death itself, Aokigahara — Sen rubbed the back of his neck while looking up at the man he served… for now, "What is it?"

"I have sent your… partner to do battle against someone whose power I wish to have him estimate. I want you to follow him without letting him know he's being followed…"

"That's impossible!"

"… and then I want you to bring me his head."

Sen's eyes widened as his breath seemed to be ripped from his chest, "W-Wh… What?!"

"I have a feeling that your dear partner will attempt to betray me, and if he does so, my remaining forces will be no match for him, since you would also join him, of that I have no doubt. So I want you to eliminate him before he has the chance."

"B…B-But he's my teacher! I only know what I know because he taught me! There's nothing I can do that could possibly even hurt him, much less kill him! No, I won't do it!"

"You have no choice," the robed figure at the front said with a seemingly amused expression on his face, "I order you to kill your partner. Either before or after he does his task, it matters not. I merely needed to keep him busy. All the same, if you can't kill him, then you had better hope his opponent can… and hope that he has enough mercy to kill you as well, or else your death will be slow and merciless from my hands. Or, if you come back having failed miserably, you will never know the name of your fiancée's killer."

Growling at all the blackmail that was being thrown at him, Sen realized he really did have no choice. Kill his friend and teacher or else never find the son of a bitch that had had the nerve to kill his bride-to-be.

Bastards. Both of them.

"What happens if I try to kill him and he manages to find out what's going on and comes to fight against you anyway?"

A glint appeared from beneath the cloak's protection where Sen assumed the man's eyes must be, "Then don't tell him. Take that information with you to the grave."

Great, so his employer practically expected him to die. Wonderful.

Bowing at the waist, Sen straightened himself as he turned on his heel to leave. How the hell was he supposed to hide this? His partner could read him like a book written in big bold letters, and secret-keeping really wasn't his forte…

Entering their shared bedroom — definitely not ideal conditions for secrets, as his partner could ask him questions while he slept and he wouldn't know — he was glad to find it empty.

"What did he ask of you?"

Nearly jumping out of his skin at the question, Sen spun around to find his partner waiting for him behind the door, four foot long sword at his waist, "How long have you been waiting there?!"

"Ever since I heard your footsteps coming down the hall. Answer my question."

Sen attempted to shrug it off, "Can you believe he's actually sending me off on a murder?"

"You're shitting me."

"Nope, got me a murder assignment." Sen said with a smirk as he moved to sit down on his futon on the left side of the room.

"Who are you going after? Can't be anyone important or else you'd have said 'assassination', so for it to be murder must just be someone getting in the way…"

Sen shrugged, "Yea, something like that. Nothing you need to worry yourself with. So what are you doing? Is he sending you anywhere?"

"Nothing too big. Just a basic pick pocketing to be honest. More your work than mine. I wonder if perhaps they didn't mix our jobs."

"No, they didn't," Sen said, checking the room quickly, "because then my murder job would become your suicide."

His partner's eyes widened… just before he burst out laughing, "Me? They want you to try and kill me?"

Too miffed to see any hilarity in it, Sen merely crossed his arms over his chest, "Thank you for your doubt in my abilities."

"Come now, be honest with yourself. What skills do you have that could even hit me? You couldn't kill me, Sen-san. You're too damn emotional, attached."

Sen's jade eyes turned reflective, internalizing and burning this moment into his brain, "We've been together for a while now, right?"

"Since we were kids, yes. You've been a pain in my ass ever since."

"Could you… if you had to… could you….?"

"You ask the dumbest questions sometimes, you know that, Sen?"

Sighing, Sen lowered his eyes, chin resting on his chest. His partner was right, that question had been pretty dumb. They both knew that, if it came down to it, his partner wouldn't hesitate to kill him. He would do it without any feelings of guilt or attachment.

"Who are you being sent to pick pocket?"

A chuckle met his question, "A war god on earth, followed by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

"And that means… what, exactly?"

"It means, Sen, that we're going to encounter the greatest swordsman alive."

Sen's eyes widened. There was only one man his partner held in such reverence as to call him a war god come to earth:

Demon Eyes Kyo.