The day was cold. Like any other day, dark, mysterious, ominous and cold.
The large, shadowy forest of Makai yielded not even the least bit of light.
In fact, it was never there. To the wandering apparitions and ghostly
figures of this never ending night, "the light" was just a myth. A legend,
never to be fully recognized as of any importance. The sun was never there,
just forever black and blue. The stars were they're only salvation.
Somewhere, in the distance though, is where this happened. Where it all
started. A mother, poorly dressed and ragged, was desperately fleeing with
her two children-all three of them ice demons. A young blue-haired boy,
thin with battle-wounded clothes, probably only five in human years,
scuttled with effort to keep up with his mother.
"Mama, I can't keep up! Where are we going??"
His mother only nodded her head forward, telling him that they were heading towards the heart of the forest, where they would be safe from their pursuers. He turned his head, his eyes following the tracks they had made in the soft dirt and caught sight of the three deformed, angered teen-age demons. Their speed was almost impossible in the toddlers' perspective. The pitch cloaks they wore gave them an even more horrifying appearance, not to mention incredibly hard to follow with the hanging shadow over their bodies. He glanced at the baby in his mothers' arms, his little sister, who, out of all reasons, seemed perfectly calm. With the appearance of a two year old, he was surprised at her calm behavior. Maybe it was because she was too young to understand that they were retreating from their home, too young to really know the danger they were in. Hardly had a moment passed when he caught sight of the lead demon leap from his spot and rush forward. His hands glowed an eerie yellow glow and slammed the ground with his fist. The boy caught glimpse of the ground breaking in a current behind them-too fast for the poor family too keep steady. An explosion followed, directly below their feet, throwing them to the ground several yards away. The boy scrambled to his feet, hoping that his mother was not too badly injured. Lucky for her, she and her daughter were fine.but only for a moment. The next few seconds seemed to last a lifetime. A never ending slide show in the back of his mind as his mother was impaled by a narrow stone, sending her careening to the forest floor.
"MOTHER!!!"
He ran towards her, fumbling and tripping over his feet in sheer panic. He checked his sister a few feet away. Once again, she came out unscathed, but their mother nor so lucky. Pierced through the lung, bleeding tremendously, she was dieing. His sister clamored behind him. She looked to her brother with worry.
"Big brother, what's wrong with mama? Why can't she get up?"
The boy looked down to her, pity in his pupil-less, crystal eyes. She did not understand. Their mother pushed herself off the messed ground and gave them a look they had only seen once before, he remembered, when their small village was destroyed. A look of sad desperation, the kind one gives when all else fails. Her voice, rough and weary, said,
"My dear, I cannot travel with you any longer. Please, take your sister and run. Run away to the heart of the forest. There should be a creek running through it. You will be safe there."
The two children stared at her with pleading eyes.
"Mama, when will you get there? We don't wanna be alone!"
There mother gave them a sorrowful, apologetic look. She placed her dirtied hand on theirs and spoke in the gentlest voice,
"I'm sorry my dears, I will not be coming back, but don't worry. I have faith that you two can make it. Don't argue, it won't get you anywhere," she glanced at her forlorn son. "Touya, please take good care of your sister and Teri, do the same for your brother," she gave them a half smile, "Just be good to each other and farewell." She heaved her last dieing breath, ".'Till we meet again."
Those last words stayed with them forever; burrowed deep in the corners of their minds, the last they ever saw her. What seemed like forever to them was but only a moment in reality, the band of demons were closing in on them. They had no choice. Touya grabbed his sister by the hand and zoomed off again. Trailing behind the two, scattered about the grass and moss, were several hiroseki stones. That would be one of the only times both of them cried for the same loss. Both of their parents were dead.
Time was speeding faster then one could blink. Fate played without mercy as the two dodged tree after tree, boulder after boulder. They were always the same distance away, never farther, never closer. Yes, fate played a cruel hand indeed. Panting, treading, jumping, dodging, on the verge of collapsing, soon the heart of the forest-the creek of which they were told to travel to, was in close view. Wedged, almost, between a small ravine of a variety of bush and plant was an eyesore of a creek. To them, though, that was the key to their freedom, this ten foot creek in but a fracture of the forest maybe not even that was a heaven to their eyes. He looked back. The creatures were close to stepping on them. The children were failing miserably. 20 feet. 15. 10. 5. There! They dove for their spot and landed on the other side of the creek. Touya kept his tired eyes on their enemies. He looked back to his sister.
"Hang on; I think I can make a barrier!"
Closing his eyes, he focused all his energy on making the strongest shield. His whole body glowed a lime green color. Never before had he used so much energy at one time. His energy was pouring out to the ground, consuming the area in ice. The blast of cold air knocked the malevolent pursuers off guard. They froze in their tracks, staring at the mass of energy in front of them, which soon boomed upward and into the sky, creating the desired wall.
"How could one kid possibly make an entire energy field??" One of the demons spat in disgust. The leader smirked.
"He's a natural at bringing out spirit energy. With the right training, he could be a valuable member to our team." He said, still smirking. He turned to his comrades.
"Let's wait for it to die down, and then we will come back for 'em!" With that, the sly trio disappeared in the passing breeze. Touya sighed in relief.
"Thank Enma their gone." He said, his breathing gone heavy.
To prevent the barrier from collapsing, he had to keep sending energy to it, but he was growing too tired to support it. His knee fell to the ground. Still standing on one leg, he tried in vain to regain his balance. Not long after, his other leg giving way, he collapsed to the ground. Teri, frightened to death that he had died as well, ran to his side. Her complexion was pale, her small faerie-type wings, given to her by the elders of their former village, wilted, her pupil-less teal eyes ever running with navy tears. 'Was he dead? Would she be alone now?' These questions plagued her mind until she fell into a restless sleep, curled next to her beloved brother. Hours later, the barrier had dimmed and died away. The children were vulnerable once again. The demons knew this, as they reappeared the same way they had gone. They strode to the sleeping ice demons, which were unaware of their return. The leader stepped up and leaned over the two, making sure they weren't trying to trick him and his men into a trap. An evil smile crept across his face. He laughed.
"Their sound asleep!" he said in between his hysterics.
Quieting himself down, he reached his hand out to the small boy and snatched his collar. Touya woke with a yelp as he was being suspended three feet off the ground, his hands prying at the stronger demons grip.
"Let go! Let go!" He wailed, hoping the noise would wake Teri.
Realizing this, his antagonist used a strong knife-hand strike to the back of the struggling boy's neck, quickly knocking him unconscious. At the precise moment, Teri's eyes snapped open. She screamed with rage at the group, charging at them and pelting one of the shorter demons with an energy wave. He was sent careening into a tree. Panting at the sudden activity, Teri lunged at the one that held her brother. She completely missed as he jumped into the air and landed on a nearby tree. Trying to get around her, the other demons jumped as well, only to be knocked out of the sky with a shower of ice shards. The leading demon looked at them with annoyed distress.
"Bakuken!! Gama!! What the hell is wrong with you?! Get off your asses and come on!!" he commanded.
Just when he was about to go and help his idiot team mates, a thought struck him.
"Hey, new plan! Take the girl too! We can use her as a servant if she is so damn determined! I'd hate for you to waste your energy on a child, but go ahead and use your techniques anyway!" He shouted with dry enthusiasm. The two below smiled.
"Yes sir!" They bellowed in unison.
Gama took no time in producing his paint brushes. He slid past Teri's attempts to hit him again and painted four crudely made chains on Teri's wrists and ankles. Teri gasped in shock. She couldn't move any part of her body, the four main points as heavy as lead. Just as so, Bakuken stepped from behind her and, with the same fullness, cleared a perfect knife-hand strike to the back of the neck. He lifted up the small girl and flung her over his shoulder.
"We will just have to make sure they don't see each other or they might try to retaliate on us. And that should be a simple task!"
The three laughed at their success before vanishing into the cold, endless night.
Years Later.
Another mild day, full of cheering crowds and packs of excited demons of all kinds, were filling up the seats in the relatively large stadium. Koto, the Emcee, had just concluded the Rokuyoukai vs. Urameshi teams, her voice still shaking from the events that had occurred only minutes before. She and Rinku helped Chuu to his feet and took him to the recovery room so they all could recuperate. After returning from helping the two, Koto announced future pairings for the next meet there.
"Urameshi Team! Dr. Ichigaki Team! Toguro Team! Mashoutskai Team! These teams will be fighting in the next round, see you then!" She howled through the microphone before running off.
Finally! A day of rest! She thought happily. Pretty soon, Koto was in the locker room, gathering her things and preparing to lounge as soon as she got back to the hotel. She hummed while doing so. A voice, soft and sweet, echoed through the empty locker bays.
"Hello Koto, nice to see your still in one piece. I was watching you from inside. You almost got scorched out there. How do you do it?"
Koto jumped at the voice, her tail frizzed. She turned to a suspended shadow in the corner of the room. A very slim woman with long hair, green bangs that hung only over her left eye, a dark green tunic with a short skirt just above her knees, a slanted belt, large wings and pupil-less eyes appeared into the cat demon's view. The brown cuffs she wore over her wrists, with fabric that stretched over only her middle fingers and fishnet shirt underneath her tunic, where scuffed or torn from what seemed like endless work. Dirt was smeared in some places on her face and dress, bringing out her bright eyes even more. Koto sighed with relief.
"Teri! It's just you. How many times have I told you not to scare me like that???" Teri just smiled at her friend and laughed.
"A lot! Jeeze, how come you can stand strait and firm at sudden explosions from complete strangers, but jump through the ceiling at the sound of your friend's voice? You're so weird!" Teri mused. Koto stared at the unhealthy Teri.
"My god Teri, what happened to you?! You look like you haven't slept in years!! Not to mention you're completely filthy from head to toe!" Koto glanced at Teri's sandals, which were also torn from too much walking. "And your sandals don't even look like they have bottoms to them anymore! What did they do to you???" Even though smiling, Koto could see the tired sadness hidden in Teri's eyes.
"Oh Koto! This is awful! I've done everything he has told me to do and he still doesn't do anything in return! He only punishes me more!! Have I done something wrong??" Teri cried.
Koto looked at her with a very sympathetic smile. As always, Koto had to hush and comfort her friend and tell her that she didn't do anything wrong and it was okay. She always did. Always half the time, her friend was crying. They were like sisters to each other and it was always their job to look out for one another. After Koto had once again successfully calmed Teri down, a loud and harsh voice boomed from outside.
"TERI!!! Where the hell are you?!?! Get out here you lazy bitch!!" Teri winced at the sound of her tormentor's voice, Reishyo.
The one who had robbed her of all her strength, all her spirit energy incased in an orb he always had. She clenched her fist, knowing that if she still had all her power, she could easily overcome them and escape. For now, escape was futile and a complete waste of time. She stood and looked out the door, her eyes wavering. She started towards the voice outside. Koto quickly followed her.
"Teri! You shouldn't go back! You'll get in even worse shape! Just come back to the hotel with me. We can go out the back way!" Koto begged, knowing that Teri would be hurt the moment she stepped out that door.
Teri turned back to her companion and slowly shook her head.
"No, Koto. I can't. I'm sorry. It would just get me into more trouble if I did, not to mention you would get involved, too. Even though I hate saying no to an offer like that." Teri said regretfully. She waved a hopeless 'goodbye' to her long time friend and morosely opened the door.
What awaited Teri was far from pleasant. Reishyo grabbed her arm with a hard grip; so hard that Teri's skin had tightened and turned red. He bombarded her with endless verbal harassment, saying every swear word possible in a chain lasting for what seemed like ages. She shut her eyes until she couldn't even see the shadow of the clouded sun above. She wanted desperately to get away, to be free from her day-in-day-out torture.
"Let go! Let go! Stop it, you shit head! If you're going to do this constantly, why not just do it all at once?!?!" Teri hollered, enraged.
Had she stopped and thought about it, she would have realized that that remark would lead to something far worse then what she had accounted for.
*****
"Mama, I can't keep up! Where are we going??"
His mother only nodded her head forward, telling him that they were heading towards the heart of the forest, where they would be safe from their pursuers. He turned his head, his eyes following the tracks they had made in the soft dirt and caught sight of the three deformed, angered teen-age demons. Their speed was almost impossible in the toddlers' perspective. The pitch cloaks they wore gave them an even more horrifying appearance, not to mention incredibly hard to follow with the hanging shadow over their bodies. He glanced at the baby in his mothers' arms, his little sister, who, out of all reasons, seemed perfectly calm. With the appearance of a two year old, he was surprised at her calm behavior. Maybe it was because she was too young to understand that they were retreating from their home, too young to really know the danger they were in. Hardly had a moment passed when he caught sight of the lead demon leap from his spot and rush forward. His hands glowed an eerie yellow glow and slammed the ground with his fist. The boy caught glimpse of the ground breaking in a current behind them-too fast for the poor family too keep steady. An explosion followed, directly below their feet, throwing them to the ground several yards away. The boy scrambled to his feet, hoping that his mother was not too badly injured. Lucky for her, she and her daughter were fine.but only for a moment. The next few seconds seemed to last a lifetime. A never ending slide show in the back of his mind as his mother was impaled by a narrow stone, sending her careening to the forest floor.
"MOTHER!!!"
He ran towards her, fumbling and tripping over his feet in sheer panic. He checked his sister a few feet away. Once again, she came out unscathed, but their mother nor so lucky. Pierced through the lung, bleeding tremendously, she was dieing. His sister clamored behind him. She looked to her brother with worry.
"Big brother, what's wrong with mama? Why can't she get up?"
The boy looked down to her, pity in his pupil-less, crystal eyes. She did not understand. Their mother pushed herself off the messed ground and gave them a look they had only seen once before, he remembered, when their small village was destroyed. A look of sad desperation, the kind one gives when all else fails. Her voice, rough and weary, said,
"My dear, I cannot travel with you any longer. Please, take your sister and run. Run away to the heart of the forest. There should be a creek running through it. You will be safe there."
The two children stared at her with pleading eyes.
"Mama, when will you get there? We don't wanna be alone!"
There mother gave them a sorrowful, apologetic look. She placed her dirtied hand on theirs and spoke in the gentlest voice,
"I'm sorry my dears, I will not be coming back, but don't worry. I have faith that you two can make it. Don't argue, it won't get you anywhere," she glanced at her forlorn son. "Touya, please take good care of your sister and Teri, do the same for your brother," she gave them a half smile, "Just be good to each other and farewell." She heaved her last dieing breath, ".'Till we meet again."
Those last words stayed with them forever; burrowed deep in the corners of their minds, the last they ever saw her. What seemed like forever to them was but only a moment in reality, the band of demons were closing in on them. They had no choice. Touya grabbed his sister by the hand and zoomed off again. Trailing behind the two, scattered about the grass and moss, were several hiroseki stones. That would be one of the only times both of them cried for the same loss. Both of their parents were dead.
Time was speeding faster then one could blink. Fate played without mercy as the two dodged tree after tree, boulder after boulder. They were always the same distance away, never farther, never closer. Yes, fate played a cruel hand indeed. Panting, treading, jumping, dodging, on the verge of collapsing, soon the heart of the forest-the creek of which they were told to travel to, was in close view. Wedged, almost, between a small ravine of a variety of bush and plant was an eyesore of a creek. To them, though, that was the key to their freedom, this ten foot creek in but a fracture of the forest maybe not even that was a heaven to their eyes. He looked back. The creatures were close to stepping on them. The children were failing miserably. 20 feet. 15. 10. 5. There! They dove for their spot and landed on the other side of the creek. Touya kept his tired eyes on their enemies. He looked back to his sister.
"Hang on; I think I can make a barrier!"
Closing his eyes, he focused all his energy on making the strongest shield. His whole body glowed a lime green color. Never before had he used so much energy at one time. His energy was pouring out to the ground, consuming the area in ice. The blast of cold air knocked the malevolent pursuers off guard. They froze in their tracks, staring at the mass of energy in front of them, which soon boomed upward and into the sky, creating the desired wall.
"How could one kid possibly make an entire energy field??" One of the demons spat in disgust. The leader smirked.
"He's a natural at bringing out spirit energy. With the right training, he could be a valuable member to our team." He said, still smirking. He turned to his comrades.
"Let's wait for it to die down, and then we will come back for 'em!" With that, the sly trio disappeared in the passing breeze. Touya sighed in relief.
"Thank Enma their gone." He said, his breathing gone heavy.
To prevent the barrier from collapsing, he had to keep sending energy to it, but he was growing too tired to support it. His knee fell to the ground. Still standing on one leg, he tried in vain to regain his balance. Not long after, his other leg giving way, he collapsed to the ground. Teri, frightened to death that he had died as well, ran to his side. Her complexion was pale, her small faerie-type wings, given to her by the elders of their former village, wilted, her pupil-less teal eyes ever running with navy tears. 'Was he dead? Would she be alone now?' These questions plagued her mind until she fell into a restless sleep, curled next to her beloved brother. Hours later, the barrier had dimmed and died away. The children were vulnerable once again. The demons knew this, as they reappeared the same way they had gone. They strode to the sleeping ice demons, which were unaware of their return. The leader stepped up and leaned over the two, making sure they weren't trying to trick him and his men into a trap. An evil smile crept across his face. He laughed.
"Their sound asleep!" he said in between his hysterics.
Quieting himself down, he reached his hand out to the small boy and snatched his collar. Touya woke with a yelp as he was being suspended three feet off the ground, his hands prying at the stronger demons grip.
"Let go! Let go!" He wailed, hoping the noise would wake Teri.
Realizing this, his antagonist used a strong knife-hand strike to the back of the struggling boy's neck, quickly knocking him unconscious. At the precise moment, Teri's eyes snapped open. She screamed with rage at the group, charging at them and pelting one of the shorter demons with an energy wave. He was sent careening into a tree. Panting at the sudden activity, Teri lunged at the one that held her brother. She completely missed as he jumped into the air and landed on a nearby tree. Trying to get around her, the other demons jumped as well, only to be knocked out of the sky with a shower of ice shards. The leading demon looked at them with annoyed distress.
"Bakuken!! Gama!! What the hell is wrong with you?! Get off your asses and come on!!" he commanded.
Just when he was about to go and help his idiot team mates, a thought struck him.
"Hey, new plan! Take the girl too! We can use her as a servant if she is so damn determined! I'd hate for you to waste your energy on a child, but go ahead and use your techniques anyway!" He shouted with dry enthusiasm. The two below smiled.
"Yes sir!" They bellowed in unison.
Gama took no time in producing his paint brushes. He slid past Teri's attempts to hit him again and painted four crudely made chains on Teri's wrists and ankles. Teri gasped in shock. She couldn't move any part of her body, the four main points as heavy as lead. Just as so, Bakuken stepped from behind her and, with the same fullness, cleared a perfect knife-hand strike to the back of the neck. He lifted up the small girl and flung her over his shoulder.
"We will just have to make sure they don't see each other or they might try to retaliate on us. And that should be a simple task!"
The three laughed at their success before vanishing into the cold, endless night.
Years Later.
Another mild day, full of cheering crowds and packs of excited demons of all kinds, were filling up the seats in the relatively large stadium. Koto, the Emcee, had just concluded the Rokuyoukai vs. Urameshi teams, her voice still shaking from the events that had occurred only minutes before. She and Rinku helped Chuu to his feet and took him to the recovery room so they all could recuperate. After returning from helping the two, Koto announced future pairings for the next meet there.
"Urameshi Team! Dr. Ichigaki Team! Toguro Team! Mashoutskai Team! These teams will be fighting in the next round, see you then!" She howled through the microphone before running off.
Finally! A day of rest! She thought happily. Pretty soon, Koto was in the locker room, gathering her things and preparing to lounge as soon as she got back to the hotel. She hummed while doing so. A voice, soft and sweet, echoed through the empty locker bays.
"Hello Koto, nice to see your still in one piece. I was watching you from inside. You almost got scorched out there. How do you do it?"
Koto jumped at the voice, her tail frizzed. She turned to a suspended shadow in the corner of the room. A very slim woman with long hair, green bangs that hung only over her left eye, a dark green tunic with a short skirt just above her knees, a slanted belt, large wings and pupil-less eyes appeared into the cat demon's view. The brown cuffs she wore over her wrists, with fabric that stretched over only her middle fingers and fishnet shirt underneath her tunic, where scuffed or torn from what seemed like endless work. Dirt was smeared in some places on her face and dress, bringing out her bright eyes even more. Koto sighed with relief.
"Teri! It's just you. How many times have I told you not to scare me like that???" Teri just smiled at her friend and laughed.
"A lot! Jeeze, how come you can stand strait and firm at sudden explosions from complete strangers, but jump through the ceiling at the sound of your friend's voice? You're so weird!" Teri mused. Koto stared at the unhealthy Teri.
"My god Teri, what happened to you?! You look like you haven't slept in years!! Not to mention you're completely filthy from head to toe!" Koto glanced at Teri's sandals, which were also torn from too much walking. "And your sandals don't even look like they have bottoms to them anymore! What did they do to you???" Even though smiling, Koto could see the tired sadness hidden in Teri's eyes.
"Oh Koto! This is awful! I've done everything he has told me to do and he still doesn't do anything in return! He only punishes me more!! Have I done something wrong??" Teri cried.
Koto looked at her with a very sympathetic smile. As always, Koto had to hush and comfort her friend and tell her that she didn't do anything wrong and it was okay. She always did. Always half the time, her friend was crying. They were like sisters to each other and it was always their job to look out for one another. After Koto had once again successfully calmed Teri down, a loud and harsh voice boomed from outside.
"TERI!!! Where the hell are you?!?! Get out here you lazy bitch!!" Teri winced at the sound of her tormentor's voice, Reishyo.
The one who had robbed her of all her strength, all her spirit energy incased in an orb he always had. She clenched her fist, knowing that if she still had all her power, she could easily overcome them and escape. For now, escape was futile and a complete waste of time. She stood and looked out the door, her eyes wavering. She started towards the voice outside. Koto quickly followed her.
"Teri! You shouldn't go back! You'll get in even worse shape! Just come back to the hotel with me. We can go out the back way!" Koto begged, knowing that Teri would be hurt the moment she stepped out that door.
Teri turned back to her companion and slowly shook her head.
"No, Koto. I can't. I'm sorry. It would just get me into more trouble if I did, not to mention you would get involved, too. Even though I hate saying no to an offer like that." Teri said regretfully. She waved a hopeless 'goodbye' to her long time friend and morosely opened the door.
What awaited Teri was far from pleasant. Reishyo grabbed her arm with a hard grip; so hard that Teri's skin had tightened and turned red. He bombarded her with endless verbal harassment, saying every swear word possible in a chain lasting for what seemed like ages. She shut her eyes until she couldn't even see the shadow of the clouded sun above. She wanted desperately to get away, to be free from her day-in-day-out torture.
"Let go! Let go! Stop it, you shit head! If you're going to do this constantly, why not just do it all at once?!?!" Teri hollered, enraged.
Had she stopped and thought about it, she would have realized that that remark would lead to something far worse then what she had accounted for.
*****