Sanctus Year 4

~ 12: 23 ~ Day 58 ~

"In Feran every child is born the same.

"The Fera are an ancient species, bonded between humans and animals through a markings known as Signum. But Signum are gifts, and not something that we are born with. When Fera are born they are born in Sanctus, or in purity. With no markings or color to distinguish them from each other. Their eyes are colorless, and no hair grows on their skin, from the time they are born until the time they were given their Signum at age 12.

"It is said that the gods blessed the Fera with a purity of birth so that all children would understand equality among their species when they are young."

"However, even now the divide between the five major races of Fera is great.

"The Aves- who are bonded with the birds, the Chiroptera- who are bonded with the bats, the Vulpini- who are bonded with the foxes, the Canis- who are bonded with the canines, and the Felis are bonded with the felines.

"Much like the animals they were born from, the races have a history of tension.

"For many years the Felis and the Vulpini hunted the Aves, killing hundreds of them in an ancient war. And even to this day, the Canis and the Felis were constantly feuding.…."

Yuuichiro Amane groaned.

It felt like the history video the teacher had put on that day at the Sanctus school had been droning on forever.

He got it. Everyone did. Maybe they were just children, but it didn't take long for any Fera to grasp the concept. The Sanctus were equals, pure children. But that was really just a waiting period. When they were twelve all of these gray, colorless kids where going be given a Signum and become part of a race that would be their family for the rest of their days. Yuuichiro didn't need to be told again that the process was supposed to be some kind of learning experience. It obviously didn't matter. The races had existed in separation for hundreds of years. Too long for any stupid video to convince anyone of anything different.

Yuu had been at the Sanctus school for three years now. Long enough to have a personal discomfort with being one transparent child among a hundred, but he tried to keep that to himself. After all, it was only four more years to the Signum Ceremony. Then he would never be transparent again.

Yuu noticed the video had ended at the same point the lights were turned back on.

"So everyone," said the teacher who moved to the the front of the room. She was an Aves. With large, yellow wings on her back that were tipped with black like they had been dipped in ink. "In modern times it is our job to hold onto the lessons of our youth and strive to bring together the divide that exists between the Fera races. Remember things as they are now, that all of you started out the same, and on the inside you always with be the same. Don't let appearances blind you."

Yuu frowned. He didn't believe that for one second. If everyone around him looking vaguely the same had taught him anything, it was people's insides were all vastly different from one another. That's how you could tell them all apart.

But what was so wrong with people being different anyway?

After class ended, Yuu followed the other kids as they were escorted from their social studies classroom towards the cafeteria. On their way, Yuu stared at the walls, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. He wasn't that interested in making friends. He'd never been very good at talking to people. Everyone always told him he was mean, which Yuu didn't totally understand. He was just honest, he said what was on his mind. Isn't that what you were supposed to do?

While Yuu stared off into space, his eyes caught on one of the maps of Feran that was hanging on the wall.

Feran was laid out like an open flower. Each race had it's own city, each one like a separate petal that all went around a single center, here. Also known as Sanctum.

All children were raised in Sanctum, away from the races and viewed as one whole. The first five years were spent in the nursery where they were acclimated to the other children. Then at five they were sent to the Sanctus school to be educated.

Sanctum was the one place that all the races shared. A sort of Heaven before Earth for all the Feran. And to Yuu that's exactly how it looked. With everything in glowing white, even all of the people. Hundreds of blank-canvas-lives before the world could start splashing them with paint.

Yuu had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't noticed when all the other kids had walked on without him, but Yuu stayed in the hallway alone, staring up at the wall.

"Are you lost?"

Yuu turned in surprise, momentarily confused by the question until he saw where he was.

Yuu looked over to see who had spoken to him, and saw a kid who looked about his same age standing a few feet away.

"No." Yuu replied quickly, blushing a little. "I was just looking."

The kid smiled at him. "It's a cool map, huh?"

Yuu nodded.

He was a little confused by this kid. First off all, he wasn't really certain if they were a boy or a girl. It was always a little bit difficult to tell with Fera kids, but this one seemed especially vague because, though they were about Yuu's height, they had big eyes and very delicate, pretty looking features. Not so pretty that it HAD to be a girl, but prettier than most boys had the right to be.

"I'm Yuuichiro." He tried, hoping that a name might help him sort this out.

The kid, who had come up next to him to admire the map, turned their head.

"I'm Mikaela." they said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Mikaela? That didn't really help, Yuu decided. It wasn't really clear to him if that name fit better for a girl or a boy.

"So where are you supposed to be right now?" Mikaela asked.

Yuu shrugged. "Lunch."

"Ah,"

"You?"

"Recess." Mikaela smiled. "I decided to stay inside though."

"Why?" Yuu asked. He liked the outside; the fresh air and the freedom of it. He prefered being outside most of the time.

Mikaela shrugged. "Some of the kids make fun of me. They always say I'm too girlie and call me Princess Mika."

Too girlie? Well that answered that question.

"You do kind of look like a girl." Yuu admitted. "Just a little."

Mikaela stared at him. "Hey! It's not like you're mister macho."

Yuu shrugged. "Maybe, but no one's called me Princess yet, so I must be doing something right."

Mika laughed. "All right then. I guess I'll just have to call you princess, won't I? Princess Yuu-chan."

Yuu blushed. "Yuu-chan?"

"Mmm-hmm." Mika hummed.

Yuu frowned. "I don't like you."

Mika laughed. "Well I like you, Yuu-chan. Maybe we should be friends?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Yuu wondered, scowling.

"Because then maybe I won't mention your new nickname to the other kids."

Yuu snorted, "Is that a promise?" He asked.

"It's a threat." Mika corrected him with an angelic smile.

Yuu rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. I'll say you're my friend if you keep a lid on it."

"Deal." Mika held out his pinky. "Swear on it?"

Yuu eyed him suspiciously. "Fine…"

He twined their pinkies together.


Sanctus Year 6

~ 17:45 ~ Day One ~

"I can't believe they made us roommates!" Mika chirped happily as he flopped onto his bed on the far side of the room.

"I can," said Yuu. "They assign it alphabetically by last name. All I had to do was change our last names in the database to be the same."

"What?" Mika sat up. "You changed our names? To what?"

"Hyakuya." Yuu answered. He was currently lying on his stomach on his bed, staring out the window.

"What- Wasn't that one of the teacher's names during third year?"

"Yep."

Mika snorted. "So what, I have to answer to Mikaela Hyakuya now?"

"I'm sure they'll realize the change soon anyway." Yuu admitted. "But all the rooms are assigned now. Their not going to rearrange it."

Mika laughed. "Leave it to you to come up with something like that."

He layed back on his mattress again. "I can't believe we're already starting our sixth year."

"Really?" Yuu asked. "Seems like we've been here forever to me, and we've still got two more years."

Mika giggles. "But come on Yuu! Two years isn't that long. We're almost three fourths of the way there!"

"Don't speak math to me." Yuu snapped. "It's gross."

Mika snorts.

"My point is, if you can get through five whole years, two more should be nothing. Besides…" Mika trailed off.

"Besides what?" Yuu asked, glancing over at him.

Mika shrugged. "Besides… Once we go through the Signum Ceremony, everything's going to be different."

"Yeah," Yuu agreed. "Like, we'll finally have a family, and we'll finally have our own identities and get treated like our own person."

"Yeah…" Mika echoed. "And we'll be moving out of Sanctum. And we'll have to live by the race laws…"

Yuu raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

Mika shrugged again.

"Nothing. It's almost time for dinner anyway. We should go."

"Sure." Yuu stood up. "I'm starving."

"I figured."

The two boys walked downstairs together, and were almost immediately greeted by a crowd of children.

"Big brothers, you're here!"

Yuu groaned internally.

Mika had always been really popular with the other kids, specifically the younger ones. Yuu figured it was because he was so smart and so nice to everyone. Despite their teasing when Mika was younger, they had all taken to calling him "Prince Mika", which Mika found hilarious and used as an excuse to call Yuu his princess which usually got him elbowed in the ribs.

But for some reason that Yuu didn't understand, the kids had also taken a liking to HIM. He figured it was some extension of being friends with Mika, but Mika said it was because Yuu always seemed so confident and cool. Either way, the other kids had started calling the two of them "Big brothers."

"It's weird." Yuu told Mika when it started.

"Why? We do look out for them. Would you rather they call us their parents?"

Yuu blushed. "No! If they did, you would be the mom."

"Whatever you say, Princess Yuu-chan."

"Hi!" Mika greeted them all with a brilliant smile as the younger kids hugged him around the waist. The older kids gathered in front of Yuu and started tugging on his shirt.

"Can we play together at recess again tomorrow? I want to play swords with you again."

"Why not?" Yuu agreed, toting the kids along towards the dining hall. "You guys have a lot to learn anyway."

"Yay!" the kids chorused.

Mika smiled. "We'll worry about that tomorrow. Come on, it's time for dinner." he said, as he started herding them all together until they were standing orderly in line for dinner.

Yuu sighed.

"This is all your fault, Mika."

"You're welcome."


Sanctus Year 7

~ 21:04 ~ Day 364 ~

"Yes! It's so close I can almost taste it!" Yuu whooped as he jumped up and down on his bed.

Mika jumped on his own bed across the gap, laughing.

"We've finally made it. The Signum Ceremony is tomorrow." Mika agreed in a surprisingly calm fashion, especially considering the jumping was making him out of breath.

Yuu laughed. "So what do you think? Any guesses on what race you'll be?"

Mika quickly shook his head. "No, no! We can't guess. It'll make it weird tomorrow if we're right, and disappointing if we're wrong."

Yuu laughed, "Okay…"

"Besides it's more than that isn't it?" Mika said as he slowly stopped jumping, dropping down to sit cross-legged on his mattress. "We're going to be whole different people. We're going to look different-,"

"We're still the same people," Yuu interrupted shortly, dropping down to mirror Mika. "We're just… finally going to look like the person we've always been."

Mika made a face. "I guess you're right… it's still going to be strange though."

Yuu smiled. "Haven't you ever wondered what your eye color was? Or what your hair would look like?"

Mika shrugged. "I guess. I've wondered about yours. I kind of picture you with dark hair…"

Yuu waved his hands around. "Whoa… what happened to no guessing?"

Mika giggled. "Right."

Yuu flopped on to his back, sighing. "It is really is going to be totally different after this."

Mika nodded. "Yeah…" his voice sounded dropped a little as it trailed off.

Yuu looked at him without lifting his head. "Are you worried?"

Mika's eyes widened.

"Maybe a little…"

"What about?"

Mika twisted his hands together. "I guess… being in a new place. With new people. I'm so used to it here…"

"Yeah… " Yuu agreed. "I guess that'll be strange, huh?"

Mika nodded.

Yuu stared up at the ceiling.

"Do you think…" He started but then stopped. He was on the brink of asking a question that he had avoided even thinking about until now. He had avoided thinking about because it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it, and he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"Do I think what?" Mika asked, laying back like Yuu was.

Yuu took a deep breath.

"Do you think tomorrow is going to be last time we see each other?"

Mika stiffened.

"What?" he asked, instantly sitting up again.

Yuu shrugged, sitting up with him. "I mean…. we'll leave Sanctum after the ceremony. What if- I mean the races all live separately… right? So…"

Mika looked down. "I don't know… I mean… it might not have to be like that."

"But," Yuu pointed out. He didn't really feel the need to say more than that. He felt Mika got the idea as well as he did.

Mika ran a hand over his face. "Yeah…," he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about this. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow."

And there's nothing we can do about it either way. Yuu added silently, as he lay back down again. "Yeah."

Mika laid down again too.

Then there was a call from outside their door.

"Lights out!"

There was a two minute delay and then the lights in the room all went off automatically, and the two boys laid together in the darkness.

It was silent for a while. Just the two of them breathing, and the sound of a clock ticking.

Then…

"Yuu?" Mika's voice was soft, and a little timid.

"Yeah?"

There was a shifting sound, as Mika sat up in bed again, and Yuu looked over to see his silhouette in the light from the window. It wasn't a very distinctive shape, but Yuu had known Mika long enough to recognize him, even by the curves of his cheek and neck in the dark.

"I don't want tomorrow to be the last time I ever see you." Mika murmured. "But…"

Yuu watched him, waiting for him to finish without pushing him.

"But," Mika continued. "Either way… this IS the last night we'll be roommates. Here, like this. So…"

Yuu still waited, but he felt his heart start beating much faster for some reason that he couldn't explain. He wondered how loud it would have to beat for Mika to hear it.

"So… would it be okay if I slept in your bed with you?"

Yuu's heart felt like it stopped.

There were a few moments of silence then, while Mika waited with his head down for Yuu to respond, and Yuu stared across the room at him, waiting for his heart to start again.

Then finally…

"Yeah," Yuu murmured, his pulse starting to jump again. "That would be okay."

Yuu thought he could feel the warmth of Mika's blush from across the room as the boy stood up and grabbed his pillow and extra blankets and walked over to the side of Yuu's bed.

Yuu scooted over for him but snorted. "What's with all of that stuff?"

"You're a blanket hog, Yuu." Mika explained as he tucked his pillow next to Yuu and wrapped his blankets around his own shoulders. "I've lived with you for four years, I've seen it."

Yuu frowned as Mika laid down beside him twisting himself up in his blankets. "Whatever! So are you."

"True." Mika agreed. "That's why I brought my own."

Yuu rolled his eyes, but gathered his own blankets around himself and tried to snuggle into his pillow. But didn't take long for both of them to notice an issue.

Sharing a twin bed was a bit cramped.

Every time Yuu would move, his elbows and feet kept hitting Mika or the wall. And every time Mika tried to avoid him, he would nearly fall onto the floor.

At first both of them just blushed and struggled to fit in comfortably. Then Yuu huffed in defeat.

Mika ducked his head. "Sorry, I'll-,"

But before he could finish Yuu grabbed him, adjusting the blankets around them and rolling Mika over until the two of them were spooning with Yuu, holding Mika around the waist.

They fit then, like puzzle pieces. Their shins twisted together, and their breathing falling into one slow rhythm.

Mika blushed. "Goodnight, Yuu."

"Night, Mika." Yuu replied his arm curling tighter around his waist as he closed his eyes.


The Signum Ceremony

That morning was the first time Yuu had ever seen the inside of the Sanctum Temple. The temple had always been like a beacon, pure white and sitting atop a large hill at the center of the city. Always catching the light of the sunrise in the morning, but it was only during the Signum Ceremony that anyone are allowed to go there.

Yuu's eyes traveled the other faces in the crowd. He recognized almost everyone as kids from his year, all of them like ghosts dressed in white. The adults who accompanied them standing out as stark patches of color, their Signums of wings or tails or furry ears twitching and swaying in the darkness of the pre-dawn. The kids in the lower years were not allowed to come. They wouldn't see the ceremony until they had their own, just like Yuu had never seen it.

It was close to dawn, and the grass felt cool against Yuu's feet through his shoes. Mika walked beside him, smiling nervously whenever Yuu would glance at him.

Nerves needled him, and with a silent breath he looked forward at the same time that he took Mika's hand in his through the dark. It's warm and soft against his fingers, which Mika squeezed reassuringly, and Yuu could see his smile grow wider out of the corner of his eye.

It wasn't long before group reached the temple. All of them cresting the hill to see it gleaming in the silvery moonlight. Yuu blinked, and looked around at all the familiar faces in their white clothes as they walked up the path leading up the wide arch doors of the temple ahead.

Yuu didn't know what he expected to see when the doors opened, but what was inside surprised him. Columns traced the edge of a large round room, and in the center, stairs rose up to the edge of a giant circular pool of water that lay beneath an open ceiling. Reflecting back an image of the stars.

Kya— the prophetess— stood at the very top of the stairs, her hair short around small, black-and-white ears and her long striped tail swaying patiently behind her, as if marking the time. Her face was wrinkled, and her body was thin, but her warm hazel eyes seemed ageless as they gazed down from above.

"Young ones," Kya said as she reached her arms out as if to hug the crowd collectively. "I have been looking forward to meeting you."

The adults in the crowd all stopped to gather among the pillars at the edge of the room, so only the twelve year-olds stood in a group at the bottom of the stairs, raising their eyes to look at the prophetess where she stood at the edge of the water.

"I will call you up twelve at a time." She informed the children below her, in a warm, soft voice. "When I do, please approach the pool, and each take your place around the edge of the water. When everyone is gathered, we will all recite the words of the ceremony, and then you may all step into the pool."

Yuu swallowed tensely.

To Yuu's relief, the prophetess didn't somehow start calling out names alphabetically. Instead she merely pointed to the kids who she wanted to come to her, and Yuu watched as she slowly picked out her dozen of kids.

She pointed to a couple of girls Yuu though he had seen around before, and a smaller boned boy Yuu thought might have been in one of his classes, and a taller boy Yuu didn't really care for just by looking at him. She also picked some kids that Yuu had never seen before, and by the time she only had two left, Yuu had almost stopped paying attention and was about to turn his head to look at Mika when the prophetess' hand suddenly landed on the two of them.

"And you two." She said, pointing between Yuu and Mika.

Yuu tensed.

"It's okay." Mika whispered lowly, giving Yuu's hand one last squeeze. Yuu could feel his nerves through the tremor of his fingers.

Then Mika released him before everyone else noticed.

Yuu followed Mika's lead as the two of them ascended the stairs. They ended up standing on nearly opposite sides of the pool from each other as they fit themselves in among the other kids. And somehow that made Yuu even more nervous. His heart beating heavily in his chest.

Already Mika felt so far away.

Then Yuu looked down at his reflection in the water.

Round hairless head and translucent eyes, so close to the same as everyone else. It was hard to notice the things that were distinct and different to him, among the other unmarked children— the curve of his lips, the sharpness in his cheekbones, narrow bridge of his nose. He wondered at each of these features, and tried, carefully, to hold them in his mind.

Then he looked up, and his eyes found Mika.

Mika was already looking at him, to Yuu's surprise, and Yuu desperately searched his face.

He wanted to find something to hold to. He settled on Mika's eyes.

They were colorless, like all Fera children's eyes, but they were wide, and deep, and gentle. And Yuu studied them fiercely, trying to be sure that he would recognize them. Even after…

"Let's begin," Kya said suddenly, breaking Yuu out of his thoughts. She bowed her head "Tonight is of great importance in our society. It is the night all of you become who you are meant to be. For that opportunity we must give thanks to the Gods, for the gift of Signum that they bestow on all of us at this crucial point in our lives."

Yuu bowed his head.

Kya raised her arms to the open ceiling, gazing up at the stars, "Thank you, for your gifts and for your wisdom. I pray that I may be worthy."

"May we be worthy." All of the twelve repeat.

Then they all faced the water.

"Since I was born I have been nothing," They all said together in one clear voice."Today, I become myself."

The voices echoed through the hall, coming back to ring in Yuu's ears as everyone slowly stepped forward into the pool.

A hush fell. A pure stillness that Yuu had never felt before. It made him imagine that the temple was part of its own world, a place full of something more. Feeling strongly that he was connected to something here, something that was far greater than him, and he was no longer afraid.

The water rippled, radiating out from the twelve children. Yuu raised his head for one last look at the stars before slowly bowing it over the water. That's when the water began to glow.

The stars, thousands upon thousands of glittering lights reflected on the surface of the water, cast a fractured silver shine against his skin. Yuu sucked in a breath as the water shot up in streams and began to circle him, like clear silk ribbons wrapping around his arms and legs. Coiling all the way up his neck and face, like the water was consuming him.

Yuu startled, and for a moment worried that he wouldn't be able to breath. However, to his surprise, he wasn't uncomfortable. The water simply spread over him, holding him inside a rippling surface that is impenetrable to his eyes.

"Yuuichiro Amane,"

He jolted. It was as if he could hear a hundred voices, not so much inside his head as running beneath his skin like cold water.

He closed his eyes tightly, his breath leaving him in a WOOSH.

Everything inside of him started to burn and tingle, like all of him was dissolving. It hurt, and Yuu wanted to cry out but couldn't find the air. All he could feel was the sensation of something poking and prodding around his skin like it was sculpting him. And just when he started to think it might be too painful for him to bear, he felt the sensation start to leave him. The grip on him unraveling like a thread.

When it was gone, the light around him dimmed and he was left with a dull aching throughout his entire body as the world spun around him.

When Yuu finally blinked his eyes open, he raised his head just enough to see his face reflected in the water. When he did, a breath hissed through his teeth.

The first thing he noticed was his hair. Thick, and black as ink with two folded down ears sticking out and twitching from where his old ears used to be. His eyes, which he had always hated as plain, colorless pools, were now bright green. The color of summer leaves, the color of fresh grass, and his skin had tanned to a warmer golden color.

Reaching up, he ran his hands through tangled, wet hair until they brushed against soft, floppy ears that perked up in surprise- Yuu getting almost embarrassingly amused when he realized he could hear sounds through them, much better than he ever had before.

At almost the same moment he felt a strange ache in his backside, and moved carefully, until he could see a long, fluffy black tail wagging excitedly behind him. He reached out and ran a hand over it, delighting in the rich, warm fur that wrapped around his fingers.

Then he looked up.

He was expecting to see Mika, Mika as he knew him, so that he could share his excitement with his best friend. But when he looked across the pool to where Mika had been standing, he was completely baffled.

The person standing there looked angelic, waves of pale gold hair cascading from his head, and two slitted, blue eyes that were piercing as the summer sky were set in his sharp, pale face. But the parts that confused Yuu the most, were the pointed golden cat ears that twitched on top of his head, and the languid, wriggling tail that swayed through the air behind him.

A Felis? Yuu thought, uncomprehendingly, but when he looked closer at the boy's eyes- getting passed the slitted pupils and the bright color- he saw something instantly familiar reflected in them.

His own eyes widened.

"Mika?"

Mika's beautiful face took on a stricken look. "Yuu?"

But before anymore could be said, a round of applause broke out from the crowd.

"Congratulations," said Kya, raising her arms again. "You are now who you will always be children. And it is time to join your place in the world."

She turned around to the adults. "Ambassadors. Please come collect your new children,"

Yuu blinked and turned to look, just in time to see a man with dark hair, and folded ears much like his own, approach him.

"You two," the man said, pointing at Yuu and a blonde girl who was standing a few kids away. "Come with me. It's time to join the other Canis."

Canis? Yuu thought in shock, and he turned his head to see a silver haired Felis man offering Mika his hand.

No… Yuu felt a pit drop out in his stomach.

The Canis and the Felis were famous enemies. They always had been. Their rivalry was the worst that the races had ever had, and now he and Mika had just been split across the divide.

Mika's eyes suddenly met Yuu's across the pool again, and in them was a wealth of confusion and fear. Yuu felt his eyebrows draw together.

"Hey kid," Suddenly a hand clapped down on Yuu's shoulder and he looked up in surprise.

The dark haired man was frowning down at him.

"I'm Guren. I'll be looking after you now. Do you have a name?"

Yuu blinked.

"Yuuichiro…"

"Good," said the man, and Yuu looked to see the short blonde girl from a moment ago standing behind him.

"Let's go, Yuuichiro. Your new family is waiting for you."

Yuu swallowed. Family?

Yuu glanced back, one last time. Just in time to see the silver haired man wrapping an arm around Mika and leading him down the stairs. Yuu's eyes meeting only the back of Mika's head.

Yuu turned around.

"I'm coming," He agreed, allowing Guren to lead him down the stairs.

And even though there was still a hollow feeling in his gut, Yuu tried to dig out some of his former excitement.

I wanted this. He reminded himself. This is my real life now. It's time to finally meet my family.

Yuu tried to ignore the image of Mika that flashed through his mind.

End of Prologue