Chapter 1 – Destined for Darkness
"You know I've never been one to gush, but... wow. My babies are adorable."
Mrs. Kiryu held the curtain affectionately, smiling at her boys from afar.
"Yeah," said her husband, drinking from his mug. "Those two are so full of sunshine, it'll probably melt all the snow."
Today was one of the 'good' snow days, according to Ichiru, when flurries came occasionally to renew the areas that the twins had... destroyed, for lack of a better word. The sun was setting for the day, about to put an end to the two boys' play time.
"It's almost time to go inside, isn't it?" Ichiru called to Zero, patting the last gap in his wall of snow.
When he wasn't answered, he patted the wall once more. "Zero?"
"Don't you hear that?"
He frowned for a moment. "No... what is it?"
Ichiru had just risen from his snow fort when he heard it- the distant wailing.
Zero turned to him. "Now do you hear it?"
Ichiru responded with a nod, and looked at the trees in the distance. Zero had looked there too, so that must have been where it was coming from.
After a few seconds, a small girl had emerged from behind the snowy hill. She was in a nightgown, heavily stained with blood. Her hands were balled up in her eyes, trying to wipe the tears that just kept coming.
Ichiru came out of his fort, walking ahead of Zero. "We should go help her, come on-"
"No, Ichiru."
Ichiru looked at Zero's grip on the sleeve of his coat awkwardly. "But... she's probably lost?"
"Even if she is, we shouldn't interfere," he said, making eye contact with his brother. "That's a vampire."
Ichiru looked back at the girl again. She was walking blindly, stumbling around, without any clear knowledge of where she was going. She
It was when Zero released Ichiru's sleeve that they heard a running in the distance. As the soun got closer, the twins could see a woman her holding her neck, with a pistol in the same hand, and another pistol in the other. Blood had trailed down the side of her clothes, dripping into the snow.
"Niyuno!" the girl cried as she ran to the woman.
She dropped her black pistols, slumping over in the snow, as the little one hugged her bloody side. The woman known as Niyuno violently coughed up a spurt of blood, then tried her best to get back on her feet. Her eyes rose to the boys in the distance.
"You two! Come... here...!" she managed to call, spiting the last of her blood into the snow in front of her.
Zero looked at Ichiru, and shook his head. Ichiru frowned angrily at his brother in response.
"That woman is a hunter. I'm going."
Ichiru gently shook Zero's and away, and walked towards the two. Even though he didn't know if it was safe or not, he had to stay by his brother in case it wasn't... so Zero hurried to Ichiru's side. The twins stopped in front of the woman and girl, looking over them.
The hunter had pure blue eyes, but everything else about her- her dark hair, her skin, even what she wore- made it apparent that she had fought an intense battle. And she wasn't done yet.
"You two have to take care of her. I failed as a hunter, and as her protector."
"No, Niyuno, you're still here! You didn't fail!"
The little girl tugged at the hunter's clothes, and Niyuno shut her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the girl's despair. "Will you? Promise me!"
"We promise," Ichiru said hastily.
"Emika, go with them. If..."
The girl looked into the hunter's eyes, digging into her skin as she held onto her pants leg. "Don't say anything like you're not coming back... I know you are. You have to..." she said, trailing off into tears.
Zero and Ichiru felt a pang of sadness. They knew, as well as Niyuno, that she would not come back. She was too badly injured, and she seemed to know that whatever battle she had to return to, would not end in her favor...
"I was going to say, little one, that if you get scared, or worry about me, know that I swore a long time ago to keep you safe." She stroked the little girl's hair. "I can't do that if I'm gone. Now go with them."
The little girl looked down into the snow and swallowed. As she did this, Niyuno looked intently at the two. "Keep her from following," she whispered.
The two nodded, and Ichiru extended his hand. The little girl took it, and before she could notice, Niyuno had taken off in the opposite direction, down the snowy hill.
Zero grabbed her other hand, and the twins hurried towards the house. Ichiru had to shake the girl's wrist, to keep her from turning her head. "Don't look back, Emika. Don't worry about Niyuno. She swore she'd protect you, and she will."
Sobbing, she nodded and faced forward. "O...o-okay..."
As they approached the house, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Kiryu exiting the front doors. Mrs. Kiryu walked down the steps, holding her arms close to her sweater.
"...A hunter told us to help her. But she was badly injured and ran off," Zero said.
The twins released the girl's hand, and their mother hugged her. "What happened, little one?" she asked, pulling out of the hug and holding her by the shoulders.
"Someone came after my Niyuno... and now I don't have anyone else..." she answered, her green eyes planted in the snow.
"Hey. Everything will be alright. I promise."
Mrs. Kiryu took the girl's hand, and led her inside. Zero and Ichiru walked up the steps toward their father, and after they entered the house and he closed the door, the three just stood in the doorway.
"Can we really just take her in, dad?" Zero asked.
Mr. Kiryu watched as Mrs. Kiryu took the girl into the bathroom.
"She doesn't want to hurt anyone... she just lost her caretaker. Bloodlust is probably in the back of her mind, or at least for right now. I'm sure your mother would agree."
The bathroom door closed, and all fell silent.
"I hope so," Zero whispered.
x x x
A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter, and please tell me if you think I should continue. This is just to tell you how Zero, Ichiru and Emika know each other. All the fun at Cross Academy begins next chapter. :D
