Parasitic

"Stay away," Anna whispered into her knees, her voice hissing in fright and anger. Small hands clenched the strands of her hair, pulling in frustration as she tried to curl smaller and smaller within herself. Her thin kimono was drenched as she sat in the rushing water, shivering under the arched wooden bridge.

They'd left her. Abandoned the daughter they'd never truly understood but had always feared. She'd easily seen it on their faces, let alone within the recesses of their minds. Sorry, they'd thought as they left her, waving goodbye with the words "We'll be right back!" on their lips. Their betrayal was made real under the pitying light of the moon, a truth which she'd known all along but the reality of her complete and utter solitude was cruel and biting.

Her heart was learning though. With each scar, a new, stronger flesh grew.

It is better this way, the oni often told her, whispering gleefully in her ear. Humans only cause pain, with their greedy desires and selfish passions. They needn't bother, of this she was painfully aware. Even now she could hear them, the faint buzz of the hearts of man.

Why doesn't he love me?

She's cheating!

I want to be beautiful...

I wish he'd just die!

Anna squeezed her eyes tightly, swallowing a scream as she tried to push the voices back out. She sensed the snickering of malicious spirits around her, feeding off her pain and anger with cruel delight.

"Hate," they whispered to her, tugging impatiently on her wet clothes. "Fear!"

Anna pressed harder into her knees, clamping her hands over her ears. "Don't touch me," she cried. "Go away!"

What a slut.

I'm useless.

I hate my life!

She doesn't deserve him.

I hate him.

I wish they'd all just go-

"Enough."

Silence.

Anna breath hitched, confused. Her hands shakily left her ears and after a moment of hesitation, lifted her head. She peered through her veil of dripping hair up at the young boy staring calmly down at her.

"Who - " Something stopped her. She didn't know what he was thinking. Instead of the maddening cornucopia of thoughts, wishes, and desires that had become a constant in her young life, she was met with silence. Not only that, but with one word he had stopped all the other thoughts ramming into her conscious.

Never before had she felt so peaceful.

"It would seem I've found a mouse." The boy eyed the oni surrounding Anna and narrowed his eyes. "A rather interesting mouse."

"How did you make it stop?" Anna whispered, her soft voice loud now that everything else had gone silent.

"Stop?" He smiled toothily, eyes wide with a sinister flash. "You mean this?"

And just as suddenly as it had disappeared, it was back - pounding against her defences harder than ever before. Anna screeched, hands back over her ears. Tears escaped her eyes at the unexpected violation and the oni squealed joyfully as they grew strong with her upset. Hate! Fear! Destroy! they urged around her.

Fingers touched her bowed head and silence surrounded her once more.

Anna's breath left her in a shaky sigh. She looked up at the boy as he withdrew his fingers. He'd joined her under the bridge, kneeling in the stream infront of her.

"How?" she asked again.

"I don't," he said, rising. "It's simply muffled."

"Teach me," she hissed, demanding despite her small, shivering body, blue lips, and wet clothes.

His eyes were cruel as he looked down at her. "And why would I do that?"

Anna glared up at him, eyes wide and full of a dark loathing. Her oni perked up at the taste of her anger.

He watched as they responded to her emotions, intrigued. "What are you thinking?" he wanted to know.

"Teach me and I'll tell you."

He smirked. "Are your thoughts worth so much?"

"You tell me." Her voice was hoarse, angry, and growing increasingly desperate.

The boy's laugh was as cruel as it was joyous. "Alright. Come with me and I will teach you." He offered her a hand, a mischievous smile on his face.

Anna took it without hesitation. "Who are you?"

"Asakura Hao."


So yeah, the story summary was pretty self-explanatory but to reiterate, this is going to be a collection of snippets regarding a relationship between Hao and Anna in a universe where he finds her before Kino. I'm expecting that they'll all be pretty short - about the length of this one - unless I get a a sudden burst of motivation... which I doubt. Unfortunately, updates will be sporadic as I have a very short attention span. Thank you for reading!

Sandman