While I am waiting for the next chapter of my other story to be checked, I have been playing around with this idea. This one hasn't been checked by anyone other than me with my crappy grammar, so sorry.
Any way I hope you like it and I'm not completely sure where to go with this yet
"Demon!"
Familiar cries and shouts were shot at the boy as he continued to run through the woods. His frail legs working hard, despite the burning in his muscles that begged him to stop.
He couldn't stop, the last beaten he barley escaped alive, he couldn't take it again. So he ran.
As soon as the cry escaped one of those he had hidden from, one of the townspeople, he ran. He had grown up hiding from most, mainly to protect himself and his brother.
People don't understand those that are different, and in this old fashioned town, different meant dangerous. From a young age the boy had learnt this and tried to stay out of sight for safety.
Of course he stayed with his brother and their guardian, they didn't care about his uniqueness, but he had to protect them. It was a hard life, but he chose to live on the outskirts of the town so that no one could associate him with ones that he held dear. If they were connected to him, they would suffer as well, these towns people were not above hurting them.
"Demon!"
The shouts sounded closer than they did before causing his panic to increase. Gritting his teeth, the boy pushed himself to run even faster.
Ducking under every low branch, hoping over all the upturned roots, the boy had the upper hand when maneuvering through these woods. He knew it almost like the back of his hand, alas those in pursuit of him were bigger. For every two of his strides it took them one.
He may have the advantage at knowing the forest, but his youth and lithe frame was his downfall.
A startled cry escaped the boy as a chain was thrown at his feet, locking them together. He fell to the hard ground beneath him with a loud thump which seemed to resonate through out the forest.
Terrified crimson eyes fixed onto those that were approaching, they were all armed. None of these men saw this boy as for what he actually was, they only saw a monster, a demon.
The boy gulped, this was it, this was the end. For all of his life he was told that he shouldn't be alive by those that were about to fix it.
He had barley lived, he survived, yet it was coming to an end. His pitiful existence was going to be eradicated, yet he didn't want it to. He wanted to live, he wanted a life that normal people had. A life that his guardian always told him that he was entitled to, but never had.
At the age of ten, his life was coming to an end, but he didn't want it to. He was stubborn, a fighter and if he was going to go down, he wasn't going to show fear.
As if someone had flicked a switch, the crimson eyed boy stopped scrambling away and calmed. The change in demeanor worried the superstitious men, to them, this demon was planning something.
"What have you done demon, confess before we end you?" The bravest of the mob, or possible the most stupid, of the men stepped forward. Everything about the man was dull, ordinary, just like everyone else in the town, he blended in with the others.
He stood with his rifle held steady between the child's demon like eyes, that he couldn't bring himself to look directly into.
"I have done nothing but exist." the child spoke smoothly, not like someone should at his age.
The remark seem to spike some rage amongst the group if men as the aimed their growl like remarks at the child. "You are a demon, you have no right to exist. You, who takes out your anger of your very existence on our town. You are a murderer that has taken the lives of many!"
The same man spoke, his finger teasing on the trigger. It sounded automatic though, as if that wasn't his actual thoughts. Words that he was made to believe.
"No, I have done nothing, it was a sickness!" the boy snapped, he wasn't going to be blamed for something he had nothing to do with.
"You are the sickness!" The man growled, those behind him nodded in agreement.
Hurt flashed the boys face, he had been called many things, but never a sickness. They actually believed that he killed all those innocent people, what for, what would he gain from it?
"You can't say anything, you know it to be true." The man said with a sense of finality as he placed his finger on the trigger.
"You people are truly ignorant to those of the other kind." A new voice floated around them, one that was foreign to these parts.
The group of men quickly aimed their weapons to the sky, their eyes darting amongst the trees. Taking the opportunity of the men aiming to kill him being distracted, the crimson eyed boy worked on freeing his feet from the chains.
"For one, demons can not be killed by a mere gun, they would also have fought back. If you were dealing with a demon, you would have been killed before the bullet even left the barrel.
"Furthermore, it is a sickness that is killing your people caused by a virus. You all living in a cramped church in attempt to stay from a 'demon' and safety in numbers, but all you have succeeded in spreading it. Your town is behind times a bit."
The men's confusion quickly turned into anger once they realised that they were being insulted by a stranger none the less.
"Who are you? What gives you the right to say such things?" One of the men yelled to the green canopy above them.
"What gives you the right to end a boys life based on appearance?" The voice sounded closer than it was before, very close. " My name is Arthur by the way."
The men whipped round finding the voice was coming behind them, only to find to find another child.
The blonde haired child bowed to the men, his sandy blonde hair fell over his bright emerald eyes. They sparkled with some sort of mischief which only hid something dark.
"What are you, why are you defending this demon?" A confused townsman now aimed his weapon at the new arrival, not trusting those abnormally green eyes.
The new boy rolled his eyes, and folded his arms. He tilted his head by a fraction so that he could see the snowy haired boy who had freed his feet, before looking back to the men in front of him.
"Was you not listening to what I said earlier, this boy is not a demon. He is clearly scared for his life, which a demon wouldn't be as they wouldn't stand for such treatment. They would also be smart enough to hide their identity until it was too late for you."
The new boy grinned wickedly, shadows covering his eyes. The temperature seemed to suddenly drop, sending shivers down all those presents spines.
All the men that didn't have their weapon trained on the blonde changed their target, leaving the crimson boy free.
"How do you know his, why do you care what happens to this boy?" A new man spoke up.
"Ah, so you agree that he is a boy, not a demon, they are two different things after all. You can also say that it is a personal matter, now will you leave the boy be?"
These men were furious, they were being questioned by a child, he spoke to them as if they were the children. The nerve.
"No, this child is a demon, he deserves to die. You will be following closely behind him." The first man said coldly turning his attention back to the child who was silently backing away, but froze when he became centre of attention again.
"Shame that you insist on calling him a demon, would you like me to show you what a demon actually looks like?"
The child laughed darkly, his voice sounding like thunder. The men turned their attention back stranger, only to pale at the sight.
Those emerald eyes were replaced with green flames that burned into a man's very soul. His teeth became jagged, like knives. Large bat like wings were outstretched behind him, a thin black tail swayed by his feet that had a point on the end. His skin was completely covered in a black smoke, if it wasn't for the light reflecting from the moon onto him, he would have disappeared into the shadows.
The monster grinned, his teeth on full display. He then licked his lips and lurched forward causing the terrified men to scatter. All but one that fired at the thing.
The demon only chuckled as the bullet disappeared into its shoulder. "I told you that your weapons were useless against something of my kind. Now I am in a forgiving mood, as long as you stop mistaking this boy as one of us and leave him be, I won't devour your soul. It is an insult really, to think you thought that he was a demon. Now go!"
The demon shouted, his yell holding enough force to nearly knock the men over. Not wanting to face the wrath of a demon, the townspeople ran.
The crimson eyed boy stayed though. He didn't know if it was out of fear, but something told him to stay. And he did.
He stayed and witnessed the shadowy child fall to his knees, cradling his injured shoulder. The boy inched closer to the dark figure despite all his instincts that screamed at him to run.
The closer he got though, the quieter the warning became, the louder the cries from the 'demon' were.
"A-a-are you ok?" the sliver haired boy asked as he bent down so he was at eye level to the 'demon'. He almost fell back when the others head suddenly popped up, the fiery irises were now replaced the the abnormal emeralds of earlier.
"W-why are you still here?" The cool tone which the boy spoke in earlier has gone, replaced with one that actually suited his age. The demon child looked up to the other questioningly, ever on guard.
"You are crying?" the crimson eyed boy was confused, this boy was a demon, but here he was crying. He wasn't aware that demons could hold any other feelings other than rage or lust, yet here was one crying.
The demon sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the ball of his palms, but winced at the movement. He then resumed to cradling his shoulder, trying to avoid all eye contact with the other.
"It hurts, your arm? I thought you said guns couldn't hurt demons?" The white haired boy watched the other in a mixture of confusion and awe as the smoke faded away revealing how pale he was, not as much as the crimson eyed boy. The wings slowly melted away as well, his teeth reverting back to normal except for the canines.
"I said it wouldn't kill a demon, and I am not one. I am a Shift."
A shift? He had heard of the name before, it was short for shape-shifter, or form changer. It had been many years though and most thought of them extinct. Hardly anything was known about them, but they were known to be extremely powerful making them dangerous.
They wasn't actually a race though, you couldn't breed two Shifts together to make another. It was random, the magic of the land chose them and they came to be. But the land was thought to have nearly died a long time ago, which is why most magical creatures hated humans for what they have done.
Yet this child claim to be one, and the other believed him. He did just take the shape of a demon to save the other boy, but why?
"You need help then, I know someone who can."
The injured Shift looked up to the other, confusion showing through the haze the pain had causes. "Why are you helping me, most people either head for the hill or tried to have killed me by now. You're one of those that try and extract my magic aren't you and try to use it for your own selfish gain!?"
The Shift accused, as he began to stand. Hoping not to scare the other and understanding slightly why the Shift had helped him; both of them had faced hardships from being different, the boy gently placed a hand on the Shift's uninjured shoulder.
"You helped me, so I am going to help you, Arthur was it? I don't like owing people, so they can try black mail me for it later. Name is Gilbert, but you can call me Gil."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When Gilbert brought Arthur back to his guardian Frederick's house, the older man was shocked. His charge had some how managed to befriend the rarest creature left on the planet, a creature that had appeared to have given Gilbert a future.
His brother, Ludwig, didn't seem to trust the Shift, but aided his caretaker in treating him. It probably didn't help that he still had some demon like features, as sometimes it took Arthur a while to revert back to normal. The younger brother had much practice in caring for Gilbert in the past due to his appearance.
After a couple of days the boy was healed and intended to leave, thanking the family greatly, but was stopped by the Albino. Gilbert insisted that the boy should stay at least another week as there was no way he could have healed so quickly, even though Arthur told Gilbert that it was normal for him heal so quick, the other would have none of it.
So he stayed for a week, which then turned into a month, to more. No one was sure how it happened but Arthur became sort like a part of the family. Of course he could never leave the house in his normal form as the towns people will recognise him, so often took form of a small chick that sat on Gilbert's head.
Arthur even went to school with the albino; now that he wasn't being shunned by the whole town and was allowed to, but in the form of a bird. Both Arthur and Gilbert were able to get the education which they wasn't really able to before. (though Arthur couldn't actually sit any exams at the school, he was able to do online courses)
Gilbert had been taught many things by Fredrick, or Old Fritz and Arthur had read many book in his travels, but neither of them had a proper schooling.
Before anyone knew it, 8 years had passed and Gilbert wanted to get an education outside of Germany. This leading the duo to Canada where Gilbert studied to be an engineer and Arthur taking a mixture of different courses whilst working at the cafe near Gilbert's university.
Whilst studying, Gilbert was given an accommodation on site, somehow Arthur was able to live with him. Gilbert had no doubt that it was because of Arthur's abilities, he most likely took on the appearance of someone high up and okayed it.
That was also probably why Arthur changed every time someone knocked on the door, making it look like only one person lived there if it was ever queried. It probably was some sort of crime but considering how the planet was currently being run, it was about the equivalent of walking on freshly laid grass.
Not that Gilbert would complain, he quite liked Arthur curling up beside him as a cat or a dog, depending on his mood. It was a nice was to get some extra body heat.
Arthur could have used his skills to get his own place, but didn't want to. The Shift may seem confident, but was afraid to be away from the albino. He would say that it was fear that Gilbert would reveal to everyone what he was, but really it was that he had simply just grown attached to the other. He didn't need much space anyway, being a Shift and all.
Gilbert had invented a knock so the Shift knew it was him, if he forgot his keys. A different knock was made for any one else, Gilbert's friends Antonio and Francis or Arthur's Lucas and his cousin Mathias.
Gilbert meet his friends at his university, when he was given the tour but were studying different things. Arthur had met Lucas at the cafe as he frequently went there, his cousin often picking him up and teased the Shift.
It took a long time before they could trust any of them, but once they did, the pair finally started to relax having been put on edge since they moved.
It was only then that the pair felt as if they had been truly accepted, as most of the town people still thought Gilbert as a demon, but let him take part out of fear. Arthur was a bird or another animal for the most part, so this was a huge step for him.
He didn't really care that Gilbert's friends were loud, as well as Lucas' Danish cousin, or that they some times teased his eyebrows. He felt at home knowing that these people wasn't scared of him, but then they didn't know.
No one other than Gilbert's family and his own really knew what he was, some knew that he was different, but that was it. Did he want others to know?
There we go, I have this very lose plot idea for this and others will make an appearance, not sure at pairings, I can't tight romance, most of my relationships turn into strong bromances.
I don't own Hetalia by the way and review and stuff if you like.