*sigh* Well, I'm back. Been awhile since I was on here and I've searched through my other stories and DELETED them (they stunk anyways). So, I'm going to get a fresh start and kick it off with this story. Firefly is its name, for now, at least.
This story is a pretty violent romance story. I'll rate it mature just because.. Its mature. It is in my eyes anyways. I suggest you not read it if you are sensitive to stuff like that... But nothing to bad will appear in the first few chapters, hopefully. Not guaranteed though ^-^"
Please leave a comment, negative or not! Also, please do NOT copy this (like someone did with one of my older stories .) Come on, people! *angrily shakes a fist*
Bearing the weight of a thousand lives, clad in crimson streaked armor, with sword in hand, facing the onslaught. The battle whirled around her, screams of triumph and agony. She whipped her sword this way, a flicker of bright stream, to feel it connect with enemy. Or was it a friend? The battle, her senses... She no longer knew who was considered an ally. Everyone was a twin, each garbed in blood, eyes shadowed, as they struck out at anyone who came near. She spun around and beheaded another, her soul turned to stone. This was war. She could not afford to hesitate now.
A terrible cry suddenly surged up from the warriors around her as the last enemy fell. At once, she thought they had won; they had driven away the attackers. She jumped up onto a nearby slope and lifted her eyes to the stained horizon, about to proclaim victory. She was wrong.
Thundering towards her, on the wings of death, was no other then the demon himself. Surrounding him, the darkness growing larger in the pale light, came the shadows. She stood frozen, like the others around her. He was here. The real battle was yet to start.
"... Kasumi... Lord Kasumi!" Noise returned. Everyone was bracing for impact, some yelling out in defiance, others in fear. Kasumi glanced behind her and saw her friend, her deputy, Mai.
"Lord Kasumi." Mai was a mess. Her once long, flowing black hair was tied up in a messy bun, strands falling in her bloody face. The armor she wore, polished to a sheen, was now dented and falling apart. The parts of her body that were now exposed contained deep slash marks. In particular, her left leg, which was cut from the thigh past her knee. If Kasumi had seen her earlier, she wouldn't have realized it was Mai.
"He's bringing the shadows, my Lord." Mai dipped her head in respect, her feminine features shadowed by a now damaged, steel helmet. As she did, a few drops of blood rolled down her jawline and splattered the ground at her feet.
"Mai..."
"We've already lost half our forces. If we continue the fight, death is certain."
"..." Kasumi glanced again at the shadow army, led by their demon king. They were close now. In less then a minute, swords would cross, and the gore would begin yet again.
"We have to retreat." Mai stated, her breath faltering. She paused to shift her weight off her injured leg. "W-We could escape with minor casualties if we-"
"Enough, Mai." Mai looked up at her friend in shock. Kasumi tried not to notice the fear and exhaustion that were held in those eyes. "You know it as well as I do. Our horses could never outrun those shadow beasts." She clasped her sword, Eelibuj, and felt it shake in her palms. With as much courage as she could muster, she unsheathed and held it high for all to see. "Everyone!" she said, her voice ringing over the sounds of lost hope. She waited for each and every face to be turned her way before continuing.
"Today, we fought. Today, we were victorious. Today, we captured a victory from the depths of Hell itself. That is what our children, our children's children, and all of history, will say about this battle. You all know what is about to happen. The demon king is upon us with his army of shadows. We've all heard about the cruelty and power of the demon king. How he supposedly wiped out every village that opposed him, showed no mercy to woman or children, how he killed our old ruler with nothing but a cold glance." She paused to see their reactions. Most of them were grim faced, there souls already as hard as her own. A few, however, were facing her with wide eyes, their weapons quivering in uncertain arms.
She snuck a flitting glimpse at the approaching army. They were close... Fleeing was no longer an option. "This is where we take a stand!" she raised her voice so that perhaps even the oncoming legion might have heard. "The demon king has ruled these lands for far too long! Today, we fight for the people of Abaiya. Let us end this reign of blood and restore our country to prosper!" Silence and stillness followed her words.
"Lord Kasumi." Kasumi felt Mai step up beside her and Kasumi stepped aside to make room. Her friend paused a moment to make sure her face was covered before shouting, "Lord Kasumi is right!" Kasumi's eyes narrowed, partly in shock.
"Mai... You... You wanted to-"
"I know, but I was wrong." Mai said in an undertone, her voice softened, "and I must stand by my friend. There's no escape now, no where to go." Mai's dry lips, nearly hidden in the protection of her helm, curled into what might've been a smile. "If we are to die, we're to die. But I'm going to take a few of those bastards with me."
"Mai... Thank you..." Kasumi felt a rush of warmth towards her usually docile friend. Mai's eyes focused on Kasumi, questioning. Kasumi nodded. "Together." she murmured.
Mai's attention was now on the gathered crowd, but Kasumi noticed her grab her sword. "Even if we are defeated, this is our victory!" Mai's voice spread through the gathered people like a stream engulfing rocks, wearing away at their weakened resolve. "The demon king is weak! He only has his shadows left to protect him. The black army is gone so if we die, let's make sure that he has nobody left to hide behind!"
Kasumi noticed her cue and thrust her sword into the air, the last light catching on it. "My army! My friends! Can I trust you to fulfill this final dream?" Everyone was staring up at her with gleaming eyes, catching the fire that flew off her in sparks. The silence filled with the sound of the darkness closing in. Then everyone, one by one, began to hesitantly nod his or her approval. Kasumi lowered her sword and jumped down from the slope to join them, Mai following shortly behind.
"My Lord, Kasumi."
She halted and regarded the older man as he stepped forward. He was wearing a full set of armor that covered everything except his eyes. In the coming twilight, Kasumi noticed their unusual ice blue.
"I'm surprised you chose to hide it. Even now." Kasumi flinched, her sword twitching at her side. The man chuckled. "Don't worry. I've known for some time now that you're a girl."
Kasumi peered around cautiously to make sure their conversation wasn't overheard. "Don't worry. I'll distract them." Mai whispered from her side before melting into the crowd.
"You..." Kasumi hissed quietly, once she was absolutely sure no one was eavesdropping. "I remember now. You're that lone man we found on the side of the path near Hottep. You joined up with us because-"
The man held up a gloved hand and Kasumi reluctantly fell silent, forgetting her authority for a moment. "There's no need for a flashback, Lord Kasumi. I merely wanted to say a word. After all, " he added, his eyes twinkling, "this may be my last chance to speak with our great leader."
"What are you saying..." Kasumi growled. "We don't have any time for casual chatter. In case you forgot, or you completely blanked out on the speech that was just given, the army of shadows is advancing upon us."
The man was silent for a moment, his icy gaze fixated on her. She grimaced under their quiet power. "How do you even-"
"You're the unlike your brother, Rikuto. In looks, you are very near identical. However, in spirit, the difference is enormous." Kasumi stared, wide eyed. Before she could even form her mouth into a word, the strange man continued, "Lord Kasumi, it has been many years since a woman was pronounced a leader, and you only became what you are now because no other man was willing to after Rikuto's tragedy. Because of you, we have had countless triumphs. Your confidence and steady will supported us through everything."
"...!"
The man nodded, understanding her stunned silence. "Kasumi, though the parting hurts, we will support you until the end."
"T-Thank you...?" Kasumi nodded awkwardly back, losing her composure for the first time in months. She continued walking, the troop clearing a path for her. Though the parting hurts? Kasumi wondered, dangling her sword at her side. What could he have meant... And just who the hell was he?! She shook her head to clear the thoughts and stood at the edge of her army. Only heartbeats away came the nightmare soon to engulf them.
Mai arrived beside her. "This is it."
"Yes."
"Are you okay?"
"Mm?" Kasumi felt her friend's gaze fall on her and she forced herself to forget those blue eyes and the knowledge behind them. "Of course. We are about to win a place in history."
"..." The two stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the darkness beat ever closer. Kasumi took the moment to fix her helmet, letting stray strands of brown hair fall onto her glistening forehead. Only her brother had faced the demon king and lived. She would be the next.
Everything slowed down. She could sense everything. A trickle of sweat sliding down her neck. Mai, unsheathing her sword. The army behind them bracing itself. The night sky appearing above them. The army in front about to strike. Mai, exclaiming a battle cry. The silence before the storm. An icy set of eyes. Then madness erupted.
...:~*~*~*~*~:...
Kasumi lashed out at the dark figure. It tumbled off, screeching in pain, before being trampled by it's own horse. She grabbed onto the creature as it stampeded by and whipped her sword out at another shadow and caught it on the arm, her blade connecting neatly with bone. At that moment, the horse tripped on a body of its brethren, catapulting Kasumi off. She was hurled into the nearby throng, breaking up a fight between a comrade and a shadow. Eelibuj spun off in the other direction, its gleaming hilt disappearing into the darkness.
"Damn..." Kasumi forced herself up and lurched out of the way of a shadow's blade. She paused to recover her breath but was interrupted by dagger sent hurtling her way. With a quick sidestep, she dodged it, and broke into an unsteady run. I don't know how much longer I can continue without getting seriously hurt. She thought, breathing in ragged gasps. How long has it been? An hour? A few minutes?
"Kasumi!" Kasumi turned at the sound of her name and saw Mai with Eelibuj in one hand, her own sword in the other. In battle, honorifics were hardly used, and for many reasons.
"Mai! Eelib-" Suddenly, two shadows appeared and attacked Mai. The small girl spun with the two edges, blocking what would've been a death sentence. "Take this!" Mai flipped the blade over and stabbed at one of the shadows as it leaped nimbly out of the way. The other shadow stabbed at the same time, towards Mai, and narrowly missed her head.
Kasumi rushed towards her friend, insanely thinking of tackling one of shadows in order to give Mai a clear shot. The idea was squashed flat when a horse toppled over onto her. Kasumi felt all the breath leave her lungs as the giant pressed her into the dirt. She struggled to push it off, with no success. "... Mai!" she panted, attempting to wiggle out. She grasped the horn of the saddle and pulled on it to free her leg.
Somebody jumped over her. Kasumi froze and watched the shadow go streaking off into the chaos, sword held high. She shook herself. "Kasumi, move it, you have no time for this..." She pulled harder and felt the pressure on her legs lessen.
"... How unfortunate." Kasumi immediately turned and saw a shadow standing behind her, bladeless.
"You, who is stuck in this predicament and I, who is found weaponless." said the voice, cold and lifeless.
"...!" Kasumi struggles magnified and she suddenly found enough strength to free a leg.
"Oh no, we'll have none of that." The shadow picked up a shield discarded nearby. He walked back to Kasumi, who was franticly trying to remove her other leg. It raised the shield and Kasumi stopped, staring up at it with horror.
"KASUMI!" Kasumi had just enough time to catch a glimpse of Mai running wildly toward her, Eelibuj in hand, before pain exploded in her head. She fell backwards, back into the darkness, and only one thought rang clearly:
"... You. You are a fool."
...:~*~*~*~*~:...
The night sky, smeared with the legends of the past. Constellation upon constellation of hopes, dreams, adventures. Stories reflected in glassy black eyes, staring at them but not reading. Then Kasumi blinked. She was alive.
Coughing, Kasumi sat up and realized that the horse was still pinning her down. With weary slowness, she worked herself free, and then sat, leaning against its broad back. She painted the scene before her with a canvas that had been used once to many times. Friends, foes, the sea of death was endless. Among that sea, were sharks, picking over the dead. Or rather, not sharks, but shadows. Shadows dancing in the afterblood.
Kasumi closed her eyes, reality sinking in to her numb husk. They had lost... Yet, she was still living. Why? How did she survive? There was a shadow... Then Mai and Eelibuj...
"... Mai?" Kasumi called out quietly. Her mind was blank as she looked over the deceased. Did Mai escape? Did anyone in her army escape? And if they did... Who would-
"Hey! Over there!" Kasumi dully realized that a shadow had spotted her. He alerted his companions and they all rushed towards her, drawing their swords. For a brief moment, Kasumi was compelled to flee. She tensed her muscles but waited. Mai's words flashed in her head: "There's no escape now, no where to go." She was right. Kasumi was helpless.
The shadows reached her. A point was held to her throat as the others quickly bound her hands behind her back. "Who are you?" the shadow with the sword questioned.
"..."
"I asked you a question."
"..."
"Answer me, damn it!" the sword point dug into Kasumi's skin, causing a stream of blood to trail down her neck. She winced as the pain awakened her senses and suddenly, she was no longer broken, no longer trapped in a dream.
"Who am I... No, I'm no longer that person. I am... Kasumi. Just, Kasumi."
The shadow grunted, uninterested. "Well, congratulations, you managed to survive in front of Abaiya's greatest army. Welcome to your new life."
Kasumi perked up at its words. "New life?"
"Well, we can't have you living without a purpose can we? So now your purpose is to help someone else live."
"I don't understand..."
"Takeshi, enough." The other shadow's gripped her shoulders. "We didn't expect another survivor so we must take him to the Lord to find out what must be done with him."
Kasumi felt a sadness drop in her. Him... Of course, her face and body was still covered by her bulky armor. They wouldn't know that she was actually a girl. She looked up at the peaceful sky, despair climbing up into her. Rikuto, brother, what should I do now? What mad dream is this? How could it all disappear so quickly?
"Get moving!" She was shoved forward and almost lost her balance on another body. Kasumi felt a wave of disgust hit her and she kept her eyes focused on the sky. She had witnessed enough gore to last her a lifetime.
They continued past the war-ridden grounds until they came to what seemed to be a camp. White tents littered the landscape, the cloth illuminated by fire pits nearby. Shadows walked casually around, their black capes making them blend into the black of night. Kasumi widened her eyes as she noticed a group of them eating around a fireplace, their shoulders shaking from a joke. How dare they... They act as if nothing happened! As if they didn't just murder another army today! Enraged, Kasumi glanced harshly at the ground. She could not bear to go on looking.
"Here." Kasumi forced her eyes to stay down as they led her inside what must've been a tent. Wherever this is, it's just as dirty as the rest of this hell. She choked on her surprise when her feet stepped on marble flooring. How..? In a tent?!
"My Lord." She was suddenly forced down on that floor, until her nose was nearly smashed. Lord..! It couldn't be-
"What is it?" The voice that replied was cold, almost lifeless, with a sense of arrogance attached to it that infuriated her. As she fought the urge to look up and see the face of her captor, she shadows beside her continued, their own voices sounding pathetically feeble in comparison.
"My Lord... We've found another survivor."
"Another? Your report earlier told me clearly that all that remained were the dead."
Kasumi felt the shadow beside her flinch. Her mind darkened. So her first impulse was right... At the moment, without a doubt, she was bowing to-
"F-Forgive me. It was a mistake. A simple mistake."
"I don't enjoy mistakes. Especially, when they affect me."
"But, my Lord!" The shadow sat up, still kneeling. "This is minor. We can keep him as a slave around the camp or... We could dispose of him now." Kasumi's blood ran cold.
"I have a better idea." There was a sound of a liquid being poured into a glass. "Today's been boring, so I'm going to need some form of entertainment. Go, tie this man up to a pole in the center of camp and light a fire under him."
Kasumi froze.
"Then, I suppose we could have a little celebration for defeating that minor nuisance today in the presence of his burning corpse... A perfect victory feast, hmm?"
"Yes, my Lord!"
She began to shiver.
The voice laughed, a cold, lifeless laugh. "I just tagged along so I could kill that bastard, Rikuto... Thought it would be interesting. But the coward didn't show. I must've run him off after appearing in person. Ah, well, now I have his worthless sword. It might earn me a few gold... Still, what a waste of time. I'll need something to keep me from my boredom."
"That's enough!" Kasumi stood up abruptly, shaking off her captors. She felt her hands curl into fists, two cannons quivering with a burning rage. "I've heard enough." She growled. "You thought my army was weak? That the battle, that occurred only a few hours ago, was boring?" Kasumi felt herself trembling with quiet rage. "And now, you called Eelibuj worthless! You truly are a person of no merit, aren't you demon king?"
"How dare y-" began a shadow, standing up.
"Shut up!" Kasumi yelled, taking a step forward, tears blurring her vision. The shadows immediately jumped up and restrained her, bending her forward with a force that caused more tears to spring to her eyes. "Enough... Enough..." She whispered, gritting her teeth.
She heard a small chuckle and glared at the demon king, trying to blink the tears from her eyes. "I'll never forgive you!" she seethed.
The demon king continued to laugh, standing up in one smooth movement, his black cloak coming unwrapped. "That was quite the outburst... But I heard you mention your army. It was Rikuto's army not too long ago... Or is this just a defiant bluff?"
Kasumi struggled, trying to free her hands. The shadows held onto her firmly, looking to their Lord for a command. The demon king waved a hand. "Remove his armor."
"Yes, my Lord." Kasumi felt a hands worm under her armor. She tried to throw them off but felt a pressure on her back as her breastplate was removed. Her arm and leg armor was stripped away and in moments, Kasumi was standing in only the pale, rough clothing she wore underneath and the helmet upon her head. A pair of fingers seized the metal covering and yanked it upward.
"No!" She jerked her face away but was too late. Wavy, brown locks fell in a curtain around her. They curled gently around a slender face, pale with shining dark eyes rimmed with a wave of soft lashes. Kasumi felt the prying hands of the shadows slip away and she stubbornly faced the floor. Silence filled the space, only aiding her in feeling vulnerable without her armor and Eelibuj.
"... What is this..?" the demon king murmured. Kasumi glanced sharply up, preparing a retort. Her eyes widened as she was met with a cold smile. "So... You aren't Rikuto, though you bear an uncanny resemblance." He took a step toward her, bring himself right in front of Kasumi. His hand snaked forward and took a hold of her chin, forcing it upwards so her eyes met with a gleaming red.
"It seems like I've found my entertainment."
Please review! XD
If anything confused you then I'll be happy to explain through messaging. It will all become clearer in the next 'chapters'. When I wrote this, I didn't really use chapters, so it may sound kind of jumbled. Cheers~!