Chapter 1- The Arrival

A booming clap of thunder sounded. Rain, now pounding against my face as I ran. "Quickly, I have to be faster!" My body screaming in defiance as I pushed it to its limits. Lungs burning in desperate need of rest. Legs shaking, heart racing, the pulsing beat yelling at me with each thump in my chest. Run run,run run!

My erratic heart becoming unstable, it was terrified. Quickening its pace. Runrunrunrunrun! I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. I had to stop. Another roar of thunder came accompanied by the ominous sound of dragging metal. No No! I couldn't go any farther. I'm dead!Raucous laughter came from behind me. Several yards away I guessed. "Where are you little mouse, here here!" The grating singsong voice of a madman. The night was nearly over, if I could just find a safe haven until then I would be safe. For now.

Fear driving the last reserves I had into my legs I sprinted through the trees as quickly as I could. All the while attempting to not make a sound. Even while being stabbed and scraped by branches. This pain was nothing compared to the pain I would endure if they found me. There beyond the folds of forest I saw it. An abandoned, broken house. No light, smashed windows. The smell of death and corpse that had become this worlds normal. My nose was blind to such a smell now. I knew what it was but it no longer held the power to overwhelm my senses. Nor the power to frighten me. Racing across the open yard. praying not to be seen, I ducked inside a broken window. I was right of course. Death was here.

The laughing man was closer now. I stepped over the decayed bodies of a woman and her small child. No time to feel anything, no time to mourn too young a life being lost like that to starvation.

I rushed through a random door, it led to a small bedroom filled with children's toys. My haven, a large yellowed wardrobe. Turning a blind eye to the sad sight of the crib in the far corner, holding a precious bundle that would never move again, I threw myself inside.

Cramped, this small space held a strong musty scent. Water damaged and torn yet still a decent hiding place. That manic laughter passed right by this house, never setting foot inside. This man's weakness was always taking me for a coward. He thought i would never escape, that i would never step over the dead, let alone invite myself into a place where deceased bodies lay. Even so, I stayed there until sunrise. Knowing he could not come back for me for hours at the least.

I allowed myself to exit this spot. Continuing to ignore the death surrounding me. I took inventory of my belongings and my injuries. Clothes torn to ribbons showing me as indecent, my only possesions , a small black and red, checkered purse. Containing the only precious things I had left. Trivial things that should hardly matter in my current world. Still they were important to me. A small purple frog wallet, nothing inside of course, They took any money I had long ago. And a single manga volume of my refuge... The Future final battle, of Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Before the world turned into this, it was normal. Laughing people, a shining sun, chirping birds. Anything you might consider regular. Schools, children, mundane jobs, and even families. Cultures, countries, religions. Manga was my favorite pastime. Anime adaptations naturally became an addiction. Reborn was my favorite. Though it was hard to recall any others. It's strange I don't know why. This world was driving me mad, just like all others. Maybe I only recall Reborn because I had physical evidence of it. Try as I might I couldn't remember anything else but KHR.

Thinking back to the moment the world turned bloody, I realised I couldn't remember much. At the time I was far too young to understand. Being adopted was a foreign concept. All I knew was that this stranger man would be taking me in. No one else knew where I came from either I suppose. A little girl alone with nothing, no parents. No past. Heck if I think about it, I wasn't even sure how old I was. Nine or ten... maybe. That sounded right. How many years had it been since then, I didn't know. I was maybe seventeen now. My best guess.

That man was never pleasant. A simple man with no family, like me. Deciding to raise a pre-teen girl with no experience. I dont know how he was accepted as my gaurdian. Older now I know, his influence with money held a strong role in that. I was basically sold to the highest offer. Before the world stained red, he was as normal a man as you'd expect of someone all alone. He bought me things, took me to school, even helped me find odd jobs to help with everyday payments, and my own expenses as a woman of course. He supported me, but was never gentle or kind. He was a hard man who had seen too much.

That day the emergency broadcast, snapped him. He became something inhuman. The blaring sirens came daily. warning that one of them were coming. The mad ones. The government had no clue what was happening. There were many theories of course. Food poisoning, Infected water supplies. Attacks from other countries. At first when it began it was isolated to the US. The government shut down all transportation to and from the country. No one was allowed to leave, no one allowed to enter. They quickly changed their tactics when other countries began reporting the same infection. It was then the government discovered whatever this was, it was airborne and extremely contagious.

It spread very quickly, driving people insane. It was madness. Murders somehow became the normal thing. Whoever was left didn't bat an eye at the deed. Some killed in self defense from the Mad Ones. Some killed because it was fun. Some comitted suicide unable to tolerate the world. People fought always, food shortages were regular. In time, nothing was left. It was then I realised. Everyone was Mad now. All except me. Only I kept my sanity. Somehow I was immune to the disease in the air. All i could do was survive. That man noticed me eventually. Noticed I grew older, noticed I was not affected. He was my hell. He was Mad.

Now here in this crimson stained world, even the sky had abandoned us. No longer blue and refreshing. Simply filled with toxic mist and red clouds.

Forcing myself back into the present, it was full daylight now. No one found out the reason why the Mad could not be in daylight. But it was my only salvation. Tattered clothing was all i had left. Aside from the one piece of fabric that man ever gave to me after the world turned. I hated this. The idea of it being anywhere near my body. Yet i knew i had no choice. I would not be seen like this. My chest and ass bared for all the Madness.

A flimsy white cotton bath towel. He thought it a funny joke to play. Easier access he always said. Still no matter how much hatred I held for him it was the only clean thing around. Washing myself as best as I could with limited water from a bottle. I Folded it securely around my body, attempting to fasten it closed with a lone metal paper clip, I had found in the dead house.

I wanted to give up, seeing myself like this. Bruised and broken thats all i was. Filled with shame and hate. I still retained my basic human desire for self preservation no matter my circumstances. Giving up had never been an option, but I was dead now. No fight left. So very tired..He will find me soon. He always does.. Our game of cat and mouse. Daylight was gone. I fell to the floor stained with the rot of the world. I waited for him to find me.

My body felt strange. There was a sudden pressure to my temples. A sensation of burning numbness made its way throughout my body. So this is it.. I'm finally joining the Madness. A bright light enveloped me and I faded into nothing. My last concious thought was the feeling of falling hard and fast. Then it all stopped suddenly. I looked up feeling hard and warm arms around me. No.. this isn't possible... I must be dead.. Two words left my lips before I dissapeared into darkness.

"Hibari Kyoya"