Curse of A Mark
Chapter 1: Remembering bits and pieces
Koomahana
This story is heavily influenced by 'A plea of Denial' written By 0Shadowcast
Thank them if you like it!
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site
Thoughts
Paragraphs are memories
…
…
He was running with a smile, laughter surrounded him from the other kids running beside him. Each of them as happy as the next. He spun on his foot, dodging the soft tap of a small brunet, he laughed as he quickly got out of her way and then suddenly, their game was advancing as one of them used his ability to get out the girl's reach.
"That's not fair Kai-kun!" the girl whined, shaking a fist at the boy who now floated just out her reach, "the rest of us can't fly!"
"My name is Ka….!" the shouted back at her, blurred face looking down at her in annoyance, "Remember it!"
"I like Kai better!" the girl laughed instead, watching how the other girl, the oldest in their group, signed to her to be quiet.
"That's not true you little—whoa!" the girls laughed as the oldest in their group shot a beam of green light at Kai, missing him but distracting him enough to lose concentration of his ability, forcing him to fall to the ground. "Mo-chan that's cheating!"
"You started it!" Mo giggled almost helplessly, the little green orb she summoned disappearing with a soft 'pop'
"Ah! I almost forgot!" the girl giggled suddenly, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Mo's dangling limb, "Tag! You're it!"
"What?!" The girl ran before Mo could touch her, "you little brat!" they all ran away laughing, he looked over his shoulder again, his smile wide as Mo chased after them yelling loudly, one fist shaking in the air. "Get back here you little brats!"
…
He could still hear the laughter long after he woke up, eyes still closed and body still curled around his pillow. It had been a long time since he last dreamed of his past and even longer time since he last dreamed of his once friends and the games they all played, each one trying to outdo the other. He couldn't remember their names anymore, not even their faces or event their abilities but he did remember that it was that annoying little girl who had brought them all together.
Calling them ridiculous names that mostly didn't make sense to anyone but her
With a sigh he rolled onto his back and stared dully up at his sunlight washed ceiling, wondering just what he was supposed to do for the day. Crimson eyes blinked slowly, calmly pushing away pale locks of hair, showing him just how bright his room suddenly seemed, even with the faint echo from his childhood.
…
"I'm gonna call you Tenshi from now on!"
"Don't you dare!"
"To late Tenshi-kun!"
"If you're so stuck on it at least call me 'Enjeru'!"
"No!"
"They mean the same thing!"
…
Stupid brat, the thought came and went like the wind, forcing him to open his eyes and scowl at the ceiling overhead. If it was one thing he hated most in his life, it was the endless amount of sunlight that always seemed to find its way into his room, despite everything he's done to block it off. He hated it because the sun always reminded him of that stupid little girl who was as bright, blinding and as cheerful as sunlight. She always found a way to make someone smile and she always had a reason to laugh, she pulled him out of the darkness he was steadily building around himself at that point in time.
She was always smiling, no matter what people said to her
…
…
She woke up with a start, blinking stupidly at the golden washed pillow she was curled into, silently wondering just when her bed had gotten so hard. A second blink and she realized she was on her apartment floor, with a huff she picked herself up and stared out at the three other bodies that surrounded her sleepily. The clock beside her bed read 10:30, staring back at her in the same neon green as her perfectly round orbs. Her friends were still out cold from their earlier party for their one hundredth successful mission, paper cups and plates, foods and drinks, blankets almost everything in her apartment was scattered on the floor like a tornado had swept through while they slept.
"Mo-chan! Mo-chan!" she giggled helplessly
What… she looked over to her open window, blinking sleepily at it, what was I dreaming about?
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she swore she could hear someone laughing
…
…
The day was nice, a normal summer day, no clouds in sight. It was the perfect day to sit outside with sweets at hand and gossip like the middle school girls that they were. Currently, everyone was staring dumbly at the bubbly girl sitting-no-bouncing in her seat beside them, her face a glow and her eyes sparkling brightly.
"Wait… a what mark?" the red head asked, feeling as if she just missed a vital piece of information in an important case
"Oh come on Kuroko!" the black haired, bubble-girl laughed at her, black eyes sparling brighter, "You heard me! A Soulmate Mark! They say everyone in Academy City has one!"
"A… soul mate… mark?" Mikoto repeated slowly, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah! It's the latest gossip on the Academy City's Legend's Website!" Saten gushed with stars literally shinning in her black eyes, "They say that if you have a mark then the only other person who has it is the one who is the best fit for you!"
"'If'?" Mikoto repeated with a raised eyebrow, "As in, not everyone in this city has a mark?"
"Well…" Saten paused before she turned and started digging in her purse, digging around for what everyone assumed to be her cell phone. "Got it!" Saten smiled and pulled out her…
"A lap top?!" Uiharu gasped, "When did you get that? Aren't they expensive?"
"Well yeah but I didn't buy it," Saten smiled, "My mom sent it over to me from home. It's actually her old one from when I was a kid so I don't mind that much. At least I can access the internet!" Mikoto and Kuroko shared a look as Saten opened her laptop and imminently started doodling away on the keypad, searching for what she wanted. "Got it! See!" Saten turned the laptop around and showed her friends what she was talking about, Kuroko and Mikoto stared dully at the screen.
"'The mark of a soulmate'" Kuroko read aloud, voice dull and face bland
"'Only soulmate's share the same mark?'" Mikoto repeated dully, one eyebrow raised, "uh… yeah, what's the point of this conversation again?"
"I've got a soulmate mark!" Saten smiled proudly at them, "you wanna see it?"
"…dose it involve me gouging out my eyes after word?" Kuroko asked in amusement
"You wouldn't have ask that if Mikoto asked that," Saten pouted
"Ah!" Kuroko looked as if she just remembered something important, Mikoto stiffened as the red head turned her amber eyes towards her. "Onee-sama… do you have a mark?" Mikoto narrowed her eyes sharply at her roommate, her left arm stiffened and pulled itself just that little bit closer to her body as she leaned slightly away from the red head.
"…a birthmark?"
"A soulmate mark!" Kuroko corrected, eyes suddenly glowing as brightly as Saten's, "Ca~n we see~?"
"…I don't have one," Mikoto answered quickly, leaning away from her glowing teammate
"That's not true~" Kuroko smiled, almost purring, "I've seen a little of it! It's on your left—"
"KU~RO~KO~!" Saten and Uiharu flinched as Mikoto sent the redhead screamed when a burst lightning snapped at her; darkening her skin and making her hair stand on end. Unfortunately for Mikoto, she might've been able to deceive Saten and Uiharu but Kuroko was another matter—the red head had teleported into her shower more than once.
"I don't see the significance of a so called 'soulmate mark'," Mikoto sighed, leaning back in her seat as Kuroko twitched uselessly on the ground, "It's not like there's an actual chance of meeting the so called 'significant other'." Saten snickered and tapped a point on the screen, drawing Mikoto's attention to a specific headline reading 'the science behind the soulmate mark!'.
"…is that supposed to make me feel better or is it supposed to make Kuroko shut up?" Mikoto asked with a raised eyebrow
"I've already clicked on it!" Saten beamed, as if that was supposed to make them proud of her, "it says that a soulmate is supposed to be the ideal partner!"
"That doesn't mean soulmate's would get together though," Uiharu pouted, having already read the link before when Saten brought it up earlier before they left for lunch with Kuroko and Mikoto. "Not all of them merry Saten."
"Well that's true," Saten smiled, "Circumstances prevents most, like distance, relatives, wars, death, marriage to someone else, I'm sure you guys can figure out the rest."
"Pretty much if two soulmate's can't marry it's because the universe hates them?" Mikoto asked, sounding amused by the conversation.
"Don't be so negative!" Saten pouted at Mikoto before she perked and seemed to vibrate in her seat again. "They say that the mark of a soulmate is on the person that is fundamentally perfect for that individual, it's got nothing to do with the life they lived but everything with the personality traits and physical characteristics that make up the basic building blocks of who that person is!"
"…You got obsessed with this subject didn't you?" Mikoto asked with a smile, feeling even better than when they started the conversation.
"I don't get obsessed," Saten pouted again, "I get interested and the rumors of a soulmate mark are VERY interesting to me."
"Anything paranormal is interesting to you," Mikoto snickered
…
…
He stirred in his almost completely dark room, the echo of laughter echoing in her mind like the distant sound of a waterfall so far only the blind could hear it. He remembered what his life was like before he secluded himself in the darkness, before he hid himself away from society and lights. He remembered the friends he had, the games they played, the light they lived in… he remembered all of it.
He remembered everything, everything, including the man that took his sister away
…
"Ai-chan look it! Look what I can do!" she smiled brightly as she held up one glowing blue hand, brown eyes dancing
"Be careful Imoto," He smiled fondly at the smaller girl, "you don't want to hurt anyone do you?"
"I won't hurt anyone! I promise!"
"Of course you wouldn't," He smiled and patted his sister's head, delighted in the resulting giggling
…
"I don't know Imoto… I don't think we should go in there," Ai looked steadily at the building, unsure in their newest game
"It's stable enough, look it!" she pointed at the large red building, brown eyes still dancing, "People are coming and going from it all the time! I think that should be our newest game!"
"And what kind of game are you thinking of now?" Mo asked, amusement in her voice
"It's a race!" she giggled, "Whoever can get to the top the fasts is the winner!"
"Eh~? Isn't that unfair with Kai-kun's ability?" Ai asked, one hand his hip
"Nope!" the girl giggled, "because we have to go through the inside! Outside travel is forbidden!"
"And what's the penalty for disobeying this order?" 'Kai' asked with a huff, finally used to his newest nickname
"The cheater buys lunch!" she giggled
"And the winner?" Mo asked, still amused with their youngest member
"They pick out the activity for the day!" She smiled, "that or they can buy us all treats! Their pick!"
"I'm so winning," the boy with white hair snickered to himself, taking his place at the end of their line but closest to their youngest member. "All of you can eat my dust!"
"Just you wait TENSHI-chan," Kai snickered back, "I'm the fastest runner in our group"
"It's Enjeru!" He snapped back, pale face reddening like a tomato, "See what you did? Now they're starting!"
"At least you have a name!" Imoto giggled, as if she was proud of herself
"Whatever," Tenshi sighed, slumping where he stood beside the girl. "When are we going?"
"In three, two, o—"
"NOW!"
"Hay! Wait up!"
They laughed as their youngest member tore off in front of them, leaving them all to catch up. They laughed, spinning around the people of the park, ducking under low branches and jumping over obstacles, each of them running straight for the big red building full of people. When they each reached the middle point, something different happened… a scream tore through the air and everyone stopped running to look back at the person screaming. Behind them Mo was clutching at her long red hair, screaming as the person holding her ponytail continued to electrocute her mercilessly.
"Mo-chan!" they screamed, eyes widening as they each spun to face the oldest in their group, the red haired girl didn't answer, she just continued to scream as electricity sparked off her body, splitting open the pads of her fingers.
"Onee-sama!" the scream woke everyone up and the turned just in time to shield themselves from a large blast of something black and blue, "LET GO OF HER!" the man holding Mo jerked and quickly let go of her in favor of jumping away from a mixture of black and blue strings that lashed out at him. Kai burst forward with his own power and grabbed Mo off the ground, lifting both of them high into the air before he doubled back and landed in their circle, holding Mo up while they each gathered a little closer together. Panting hard and trembling as more people dressed in black rushed towards them, something appearing and disappearing, other's weaving up water or lightning.
"They're espers," Ai whispered in horror, knowing that the adults in black surrounding them were stronger than them.
"What was your first clue?" Tenshi asked with a low growl, his heart beat increasing as their youngest member finally reached them and collapsed beside him. "Imoto are you okay?"
"I… I think so," the girl gasped, "I'm… I'm r-really… t-tiered…"
"You have to stay awake Imoto," Mo ordered, carefully pulling the girl into her lap, nodding her head in thanks to Kai. "I don't know what they want but either we fight until Anti-skill arrives or we run full tilt away from here."
"Anyone got any ideas?" Tenshi asked, stomping one foot on the ground and disrupting it, forcing a few of the shadows to fall flat on their faces. "I don't think any of us are going to last much longer…"
"They're level four at least," Ai said, head snapping around to observe their enemies, "We can't let them touch any of us!"
"The girl!" they all perked up at the hard cold voice, their attention drifting to the elector-master who attacked Mo first. "Get the girl, the youngest one!" they hissed and pulled themselves closer around Mo and Imoto, eyes hardening and powers swirling into being.
"Not without a fight!" Ai screamed, standing protectively in front of his sister and Mo, "Three teleporters! Four Pyrokinesis, four Hydro users! That's eleven in all!"
"Go Ai-chan," Kai chuckled, "Alright, I call Hydros!" and his ability shot him into the air, nearly taking out two of his targets when he shot past.
"I got Phyrokines!" Tenshi agreed, diving head first towards the fire users, disrupting their balance and messing with their abilities
"That leaves me with the teleporters," Ai whispered, eyes narrowing as the three in questioned jumped around him, trying to confuse him
"Heh, did you count me out?" Mo asked, fingers tightening on their weakest friend, "You do the math and I'll do the shooting." Ai glanced behind himself and blinked dully at the two rotating orbs that gently floated protectively around Mo, they were barely the size of her palm and defiantly unstable. But her gold-brown eyes were glowing with fury and determination, Ai couldn't keep the older girl out of the fight if he wanted too.
"All right," he closed his eyes and concentrated on the teleporter's movements, "Three O'clock, five meters." The teleporter screamed as a thick line of green light pierced through his hip and shoulder, burning him almost from the inside out. "Six O'clock!" Ai gasped, his eyes popping open in alarm, he snapped around to defend but he could only blink in surprise at the dark mass pierced with green streams of light.
One of which was in the man's forehead
"Mo…" Ai whispered, his face paling
"No one," Mo growled, "no one is touching my friends!" the light exploded into a single orb, covering more than just Mo's back but her entire body—and it consumed the man attaching them.
"Nice trick," Ai turned only to be pelted with a bolt of lightning, he screamed but he was already twenty feet away from his sister and Mo.
"AI!" Mo screamed, her eyes wide as she watched the boy remain still on the destroyed ground, blood pooling around his small body
"So sorry, did you forget me?" the man asked mockingly as he walked towards them steadily, unfazed by the fighting surrounding him. Kai and Tenshi twisted in their fighting, getting just far enough away to look back at their friends, their eyes widening and their faces paling. "Hana!"
"Right," Mo flinched at the softly spoken agreement, her eyes widening as the third teleporter appeared and disappeared before she could attack.
"No," Mo whispered, "no…" she looked up, her eyes widening further as she watched the remaining figures straighten and retreat from their opponents. "No… No-no!" She looked over and the woman teleporter was beside the electro-master, kneeling beside him and restraining their sister with little effort. "NO! Give her back!"
"Mo-chan! Ai-nii!" she screamed, kicking and struggling in her captor's hold, "Tenshi-kun! Kai-kun! Help!" they could see sparks lighting up and splitting out from her body but it seemed to have no effect on the woman holding her.
"Take her to Kihara-sama," the electro master ordered coldly, "he'll have someone take care of her memories. We don't want a soldier to think for themselves."
"Yes sir," the woman was gone before any of them could scream much less stop her
…
Once again his eyes popped open, a feeling of dread sweeping over her like thick smog of a blown up power plant. Realization dawned on him almost at the same time and he was on his feet with his blanket and bag in both arms before he ducked into the corner of the room just in time to avoid the door slamming open and blinding light entering the tiny stone room.
"He's not here!" a man's voice snapped rudely, irritation and the beginnings of anger tinting his voice, "Damn Clairvoyants, they can't see their own hands in this place!" he perked at the information, his eyes widening just slightly, his face paling. Of course the underground sewer system of academy city was the perfect place for him to hide, it was lined in a natural mineral that seemed to hinder Esper abilities and it gave off a toxin that made one hallucinate if they were down there too long. The deeper they are in the sewer system, the stronger the toxin and the less control one had of their Esper powers.
It was the perfect place for him to hide—and the most dangerous
While it stopped most of his ability from working it also put it on the frenzy. When he slept he dreamed of the past and relived all of it in perfect clarity, when his powers decided to actually work in his favor it showed his the fate of someone else nearby. Sometimes it showed his drowning and being revealed to the so called 'Anti-skill' soldiers hunting his in the pitch black maze and sometimes it showed his friends walking beside him.
After living so many years in the underground network of the tunnels and halls, he had nearly become immune to the natural toxin. As it was, once a week he was forced to surface and recuperate above ground for three days, then he could enter the sewer system again. It was dangerous and deadly if he wasn't careful but with his ability to foresee the future, past and present, he was able to avoid any and all conflicts aimed his way and could predict someone's traps.
He was the perfect clairvoyant, he saw the past, future and present—when he bothered to try
Taking careful breaths, he counted to one hundred before he dared to exit his hidden room in the system. It would take time, a lot more of it again, but he could build another room in these tunnels and not have to worry about the entire place coming down on him. He could always hire that sweet little girl to bend and move the rock to her liking, after all, with the power to move the earth little Hashan was perfect for the job. Double checking his equipment he tucked his blanket away and pulled his backpack back over his shoulders, without missing a step he continued down the stone hall, unfazed by the near complete darkness of the halls.
It was almost time for him to surface…
…
…
A few days later
…
…
He stared dully at the perfectly repaired railcar sector, the same place he had the most interesting battle the week before. The level five he battled turned out to be Mikoto Misaka, an electro master; she's all esper and no physical powers. She was so vastly different from her clones, who were all physical and brain power and next to no esper power. He was rather disappointed with the fight, having expected more from the girl, but he really should've known better considering she was in emotional distress and had temporarily lost control of her abilities when she discovered the clone's detached leg.
Still, he was disappointed in her reaction to him… although…
He turned in his place, staring up at the clear blue summer sky, a smirk twisting his lips as his eyes landed on the tall pillar of smoke steadily rising into the sky. He had heard that various buildings were being attacked, mostly research facilities, and all of them were being destroyed from the outside without the people inside losing a single life. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Mikoto had decided to fight back, she was using the very thing they relied on most to destroy them. It was a bit of a pity really, she just didn't understand how truly large the entire cooperation was. She may have been erasing the data of the scientists but she wasn't eliminating the root-case of the entire thing. So the people behind the operation where just being re-located to a different building and continuing their research with the back-up copies that they have.
She was smart enough not to leave behind any evidence of her actions but she wasn't smart enough to put in some real terror
This game is almost getting interesting, he smirked and walked away from the once-ruins of the final fight of one little clone. I wonder if she realizes just what she's doing, he smiled and jump up to the bridge overhang, easily clearing the edge and landing smoothly. Does she know that she's doing more damage to her clones?
…
…
Thoughts are helpful
Opinions are wonderful
Helpful criticism is lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?
Please no cursing!
And don't forget to rate and review!
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