"What did you do to me boy!" I shouted angrily at the black haired, green-eyed boy.
"Nothing! You got in the way of my fun!" he sneered. My body, though once human and weak, now turned powerful and anthropoid. Smoke was starting to set in.
"I will kill you! I will take your lives stone by stone by stone!" My body, once short and slender, now towered over the young boy. The black haired boy looked up to me and with an evil smile, turned his back on me. "I don't care what you are …you were never my sister." My once human ears, now turned long and furry, dropped. My tail that was sticking out of my jeans, danced back and forth. My small human teeth, turned fangs, were bared. My fingers clenched and claws, formed from my nails, emerged.
"What? I have treated you like family for the past two years. And now you wish to kill me?" I asked throatily. The boy turned his head toward me and with a cocky grin, nodded. "You only took pity on me because I was different! Now look at yourself! I've changed your composition into that of a chimera. A perfect chimera. One that cannot be broken down by normal alchemy standards. You will be living in state of perpetual fear. Never knowing if what you seek is the truth!"
I could feel something taking over my body. My blood pressure began to rise. My sharply tuned ears stated to ring. My eyes started to burn from the tears that were streaming down my face. The voice that came out was not my own. This voice rang clear and true. It spoke of wisdom, truth, honesty, and hope. The next thing I realized, was that the green-eyed boy lying on the floor, was not moving. The scent of blood was thick in the air. I followed the scent from the body to my fingers and claws. I turned them over and over, hoping in vain that the blood on my hands was my own. Somewhere, in the deepest, darkest part of my human heart, I knew that it was not. I had killed my own brother. I fell to my knees and wept openly. That night, I realized that I would have to bury my own flesh and blood. My parents, left a long time ago to pursue some childish dream about some Red Stone. I didn't use a shovel to dig my brother's grave. I used my hands. Once small and delicate, now turned large and sturdy. I picked up my brother's corpse and placed him gently into the hole. I covered up his body with the fresh turned soil. That was over ten years ago.
"C'mon slowpokes! I want to get going before dusk!" a young energetic voiced piped up.
"Why are we in such a hurry Yuki-Onna? It's still early!" a husky voice, sleepily replied.
"Hotei, relax. You too, Yuki-Onna. There is still time for us to browse around the town before heading on the train." My voice, still full of hope and my childish energy, replied to my comrades.
Yuki-Onna, tall and slender always bouncing with energy, simply smiled a cheeky smile and stuck out her tongue. Hotei, somewhat largely built and kind, smiled to me and replied, "Hachi-san, one day we are going to be late for the train."
Hachiman. How I got that name I will never know…but I am glad that I never had to reveal my true name.
"So? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I nonchalantly replied. My long and furry ears now lay underneath a well-worn brown fedora. My face never to be clearly seen hid my white fangs. My large, strong hands resided in leather fingerless gloves. My long tail wrapped around my waist like a living belt. "Hotei, just how much is the train to get to Davenport?" I asked her questionably. She looked up to the clear blue sky, as if waiting to be hit by answer. "About 200." She responded calmly. "Oh, 200 round trip is it then? Good, we can get some lunch. I'm starving!" I hungrily answered and began to walk to the nearest restaurant while my stomach growled. "No, Hachiman. 200 per person," she corrected me.
My jaw dropped open and my eyes widened. "WHAT! 200 A PERSON! THAT'S A RIP-OFF!" I shouted. Yuki-Onna, hearing the commotion came to me and tried to calm me down. "Hachi-kun, relax! The ticket price also includes some light snacks." My tail was starting to unwind from my waist. I quickly pulled it in. She was the only one I allowed to call me by that name "Good," I angrily sighed. "It better."
As my cohorts and I walked through the town of Benzai-Ten, Yuki-Onna noticed a large crowd gathered around a local bar. As we walked over to the over crowed bar, a blue light shone with intensity. "Alchemy…" I whispered softly to myself. Maybe, just maybe… "Hey! Get off my back, Yuki-Onna!" I shouted to the dead weight that was now sitting on my shoulders. "Not my fault that you are so damn tall now is it Hachi-kun?" I sighed and continued to look forward, my hat still placed firmly over my ears. I saw a large armored man with a small blond haired boy, roughly the size of Hotei. I made my way threw the crowd and stopped. My body could no longer move.