Hello to all, Snow here. It's been a while since I last posted, with the exception of my recent contribution to Yullen Week. This is partially because I've been too lazy to upload (procrastinator extraordinaire here), but also in part due to involvement in extracurricular activities, my workload at school, illness, traveling, and working on non-fanfiction writing. I've never really been a regular poster as it is- my life is too hectic to be consistent as a general rule. I've been focused on completing my novel, which has been taking up a lot of my focus for the past two and a half years with the planning, plotting, writing, rewriting, etc. and it leaves little time for other things.
This will be a longer series, I'm projecting it at between fifteen and twenty five chapters. This story will be M rated, mostly for gore, violence, and profanity. Sexual scenes will either be implied or I'll cut out the mature part and post the uncut versions on my AO3 and tumblr accounts.
Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is the property of the wonderful Katsura Hoshino-sensei, whose literary genius lies far beyond my humble, still developing writing skills- no matter how much I'd like to brush Kanda's hair.
Prologue- Warning Shot
The sun was low in the polluted sky over the city of Chicago, bathing the waterfront, buildings, and people alike in a dull orange light. Workers heading home filled the streets, avoiding cars that headed swiftly towards their various destinations. Smoke and dust filled the air, in the more industrial sections, and the rumble of cars and other machinery combined with shouts, cries, groans, and the general noises of the populace to blanket the city in a tide of continuous sound, ebbing and flowing depending on the area.
In one of the more decrepit areas of the metropolis, a man in his mid to late thirties made his way through the crowd at a rapid, but forcibly casual pace. He looked to be a fairly average working class bachelor, dressed in a nondescript and somewhat scuffed grey suit with a matching hat and a long tan trench coat overtop that was streaked with dust and soot. He fingered the brim of his hat, cautiously eying the passerby as he moved along. As he walked towards the street corner, he noticed two shadowy figures following behind him, gaining slowly but steadily as they prowled forward through the throng.
The man's brown eyes widened, and he cursed fluently under his breath, speeding up until he was shoving people out of his way. He turned the corner, then ducked into an alleyway, coming out on the other side before slowing down and turning again to walk in a different direction. After a minute or two, he halted and waited outside a shop, scanning the streets. He then turned and walked with the flow of the crowd, heading in the general direction of his destination. Within minutes he had gone down two blocks, continuing to shove his way through the crowd, weaving and doubling back in places in a frantic attempt to lose his tails.
Despite his efforts, the low chuckle of one of his pursuers came from a few feet behind him, cutting through the grumbles and shouts of those he pushed and shoved out his way and the usual din of the city. The sound, mirth laced heavily with malice, sent shivers down his spine, and he broke into a run. The fleeing man paid no heed to the cries of surprise, pain, and anger as he shoved through the thinning crowd, aiming for a side street he knew lead to a safer area, where he would have backup to prevent them from-
His train of thought was cut off abruptly as he was caught and hauled into a deeply shadowed alleyway. A massive hand clasped his forehead harshly and began to squeeze, the pain sending panicked energy to his limbs as he struggled, scratching frantically at the appendage holding him in place.
"No! Let me go, damn it! Stop-" he begged, kicking as he was lifted into the air with seemingly no effort by his captor. The trapped man kicked back, but his captor merely shook him like a rag doll, unaffected by the blows to his thighs and torso. The clack of well-kept shoes echoed on the pavement as his two tails entered the alleyway.
"It seems that the cats have caught the filthy little rat," the taller one said, his voice a smooth, low baritone. His companion giggled in a high-pitched voice as she played with a battered teddy bear, ripping off its already mangled ear with relish. The tall man chuckled lowly as he patted her on the head, ruffling her short locks of hair with an elegantly gloved hand. The young girl's face was split by a sugar-sweet smile, but her wide eyes glittered with murderous glee as she grasped the decorative pink handle of a dagger that was sheathed within the much-abused toy.
"And now it's time for the cats to play!" the girl sang out in a voice like poisoned candy-high pitched and sweet, yet laced with an undertone of darkness that chilled the brown-haired man to his core.
"Can I crush him?" asked the one holding the struggling man in a gravelly bass rasp flavored with the slow, lazy drawl of the bayou. The captive's eyes widened in fear, and a small whimper escaped him as he shook in horror, feeling the gradual tightening of the powerful hand that held him aloft. The tall man sighed, giving his mountainous counterpart a meaningful look.
"No, we need to ascertain what he knows before we can dispose of him. Surely even a brute like you would know that? Besides, you've killed enough this week. You can stand to wait for a bit longer. " he said, causing the large man to growl in an irritated manner. He ignored him, turning his attention back to the captive. "Now, might I inquire into what your business was in our sector of the city, much less in dear Lulu's house of all places?"
The brown-haired man's mouth opened and closed, his eyes bulging and displaying the whites. Terror and desperation rolled off of him in waves, and as his gaze locked with his inquisitor's, the tremors that shook his frame stopped only to be replaced by the frozen state of prey as it faces the crouching predator, knowing it is unable to escape. The small girl seemed to be amused by the man's response, grinning wider and spinning the dagger in her hand as she took a step closer.
"Can I take over the interrogation? I haven't been allowed to have any real entertainment in a long time." she said, her young voice sweet to the point of cloying. The tall man looked at her, raising one elegant eyebrow, before sighing when he noticed the beginnings of a pout on her cherubic face.
"Fine, fine. Let's go inside so the noise won't attract attention." he grumbled, turning to open a door set into the wall. The captive man was dragged inside, his pleas for mercy lost in the ever-present sounds of city life as the door slammed shut behind them.
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