Dragonkeeper: Chapter 1
As the sun rises cheerfully, two children, a brother and a sister, run together through a field of grass. The morning dewdrops scatter frantically away from their pounding feet, sparkling in the daylight.
"Koko-nee, Koko-nee! Let's go play over there," the boy says, pointing towards a nearby patch of grass. Several other kids are already there, and the sounds of laughter and shouting can be heard.
"Hey, Kokoro, Kohaku, wanna come play tag with us?"
Both of the twins turn to face the newcomer. It's a little girl, about seven, younger than they are by two years or so.
"I will if Koko-nee wants to," Kohaku says, smiling cheerfully.
"I don't wanna play tag with them, Haku-chan," Kokoro replies, solemnly shaking her head. "I just wanna go sit and read and dangle my toes in the waves."
"Sorry," Kohaku tells the little girl. "Maybe another time." She nods and runs off, waving.
The twins carry on running through the grass.
When they reach their destination, they flop onto the sand, panting exhaustedly.
"H-hey Koko-nee?" Kohaku looks at his sister, who has already pulled out her picture book.
"Hmm?"
"Why do you never wanna play with those other kids? I know that we're only here at the beach for a week, but... why? And it's the same back home, with the kids from our neighborhood."
Kokoro stiffens a little, but Kohaku keeps on going.
"No matter whether they wanna play beach ball, or tag, or hide-n-seek, you never say yes..."
She pointedly ignores him, instead studying the first page of her book. She traces the outline of the kitten with her eyes, as if she is memorizing every detail.
"I mean, don't you want any friends, Koko-nee?
She puts her picture book face down down and stares at her twin brother, her face unusually serious for a child.
Suddenly, Kokoro breaks into a smile, for the first time in a week or so.
Kokoro carefully folds the corner of the page she's on into a dog-ear and closes the book with a tiny snapping noise.
"No, Haku-chan," she says, scooting over and hugging him. "I don't need any dumb friends. I have the bestest twinsie in the whole wide entire world."
The two siblings stay like that for some time.
"Heyyyy Hakuuuu-chaaaaaaan," Kokoro says after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Do you wanna play a game? It'll be fun," Kokoro chimes, a mischievous glint in her turquoise eyes.
"Okay, Koko-nee, which one? Kitties in a Trash Can? Sharks and Minnows? Lava Monster Island?"
"Not those ones. A new one."
"What's it called? How do you play? What about-" Kokoro grabs Kohaku's hand and tugs him impatiently towards some sand dunes.
"It's called... Monster Hunters. It's like hide-n-seek, only spookier, and with a twist to it. So the hider is the monster, and the seeker is a mage who has to cast spells by throwing globs of wet sand..."
The twins play their new game for hours, until the sun sets, painting the sky and waves a hundred shades of gold and orange.
They run back towards their temporary beach house, with Kohaku in front.
She looks over her shoulder, catching the last glimpse of the sun as the last ray of light disappears over the horizon. The sky darkens, muted coral and pink soon fading to a black and empty void with hints of indigo and midnight blue. For just a lingering moment after the sun vanishes, the ocean remains a haunting blood red, like a stop sign, before turning indigo.
Kokoro feels a chill run down her spine, tickling her nerves and sending the hairs on the back of her neck straight up. She shivers, despite the fact that it is a warm and humid summer evening, and goosebumps make themselves apparent on her arms.
She turns away and runs faster, falling into pace with Kohaku.
She tries to forget. But she can't, and it scares her.
That was eight years ago.
Now, Kokoro is all alone. Her mother was killed when she was 12, and her twin brother Kohaku mysteriously disappeared the year after. She doesn't know of any other family members, so she is the last one. The only one to carry out her mom's dying wish, which doesn't make any sense at all.
Kokoro sits on a rock in a forest, staring aimlessly into a murky pond. She feels so aware of her loneliness, and her memories start coming back, just like they always do.
Kokoro and Kohaku are playing cards in their room, when they hear the front door open. They run out to greet their mother, who just got home from work.
"Mama, who's that stranger man?" Kohaku asks when he sees a strange man there, talking to their mom.
"Oh, this is Mr. Sato, a- a coworker. Mr. Sato, these are my two lovely children. They are both twelve. Alright, kids, run along."
"Mr. Sato, how do you know our mom?" Kokoro asks.
The bulky man shifts his hands nervously behind his back. "Like she said, we work together. I drove her home because we had unfinished business to attend to."
The twins shrug and run back to Kokoro's room and resume their game.
"Got a three?" Kohaku asks hopefully.
"Nope, go fish." Kokoro replies.
"Darn. I'm gonna lose, at this rate. Oh, by the way, Koko-nee?"
"Hmm?"
"That Mr. Sato guy seemed super suspicious, didn't he?"
"Yeah. Let's play something else... like Spies!" The two children drop their cards and stand up.
As Kokoro reaches for the doorknob, a huge sound suddenly echoes throughout the house, thundering through their ears and causing the floor to shake.
"What was that?!" She asks, frightened.
"Gunshot... come on, Koko-nee!"
They run out and wildy begin searching for the source of the gunfire.
"Mr. Sato isn't here and neither is his car! Where could he have gone..." Kohaku mutters, staring out the window. Kokoro shrugs, trying to not shake, but her fear stays with her. She walks over to the kitchen and trips over something warm. She hears a groaning sound.
Kokoro looks down in horror, staring at her mother who is lying on the floor.
"MOM! Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god. Oh my god. KOHAKUUUU! HAKU-CHANN... Mom is..." She feels sick to her stomach as her brain tries to take it all in, to take in the pool of blood, the metallic and haunting stench, the huge hole in her mom's stomach. She sinks slowly to the floor, in disbelief.
Kohaku kneels next to their mother, on the opposite side from his twin sister. They grasp their mother's hands firmly, but her hold is weak, as is her voice.
"Kokoro, Kohaku..."
They lean in closer.
"Learn magic- you'll need it to survive. And then-" She groans, low and throaty, as she grasps her wound in pain.
"Find him. He'll tell you all about me- ask him about Nightshade and about Aoi-" She pauses once more, wincing. "Find Natsu Dragneel-" she stops talking, and Kokoro shakes her head in disbelief.
"No mom, don't talk like that! I promise you'll be okay! Stay with us. Please mom, you have to, you're the only family Haku-chan and I have left! Please don't go..."
"N-nonsense. You- Y-you have each other... remember to-" Their mother's eyes glaze over and her hands go limp. Kohaku stares at nothing, shaking violently.
"No. She can't be gone..." The dam breaks finally, and his tears come pouring out like a faucet. "Nononono, it can't- she can't, NO!" He smashes his fist into the ground, angry and sad. "Nonono. I- I'll kill him. I'll kill whoever did this t-to you, m-mom! I promise," he wails. "I promise."
Kokoro collapses against the body of her mother, sobbing loudly. "Please no... I promise too, mom. We'll avenge you and carry out your wish!"
Kohaku gets up and offers a shaky hand to his twin sister. She slowly takes it, and he pulls her into a hug, and they just cry together. They stare down at their mom's lifeless body. They know what they must do, and they know that it won't be easy.
Kokoro jerks back into reality.
She stands up and stretches, shaking her head once or twice to get her pitch black bangs out of her eyes. They ignore her languid motions and lazily flop back onto her face, partially obscuring her vision.
She rolls her eyes, reaching up one of her hands to physically brush them away. Her hand runs over the one bright white streak in her hair and she stops, stroking it between her thumb and her forefinger. Kokoro tries to feel something in her heart, to find some sign of her brother's location, but just like every other time, it doesn't work.
When she and her twin brother Kohaku were little, they used to pretend that the white streak in her black hair was magically connected to the black streak in his white hair, so even if they weren't physically near each other, they'd still be together.
Of course, Kokoro knows that this is made up, but it doesn't stop her from trying.
"Oh, Kohaku... Where are you? I wish you were here with me. " She says to no one in particular.
"Who's that?" A high-pitched voice makes itself heard right next to her head.
"EEEEEEEEEKK!" She shrieks, startled. She whips her head around, ready for combat, but instead finds herself staring into the face of a dragon. A baby dragon, to be exact.
She draws her knife to kill the little pest, when she realizes that it's eyes are a bright and intelligent amber.
"Kohaku?"
End of Chapter 1