Title: Fate's Favorite

Length: 62,000 words/10.5 Chapters

Rating: T for language, violence, mature themes, etc.

Summary: Deep in the Egyptian desert, an ancient evil changes Ishizu's life. Fifteen years later, a chance encounter with the supernatural finds Ryuuji Otogi in the center of a centuries-old battle where choosing sides is a privilege and death only a roadblock. Supernatural AU.

Notes: After a conversation with a lit professor convinced me to try my hand at writing a story about vampires, I found myself in an unfamiliar genre with a story that wouldn't stop growing. Fifteen months and countless drafts later, I'm glad to say I'm finally done. It was an adventure into the unfamiliar, and that alone made it worth writing.

While this does list Honda and Otogi as main characters, Ishizu dominates this chapter. The boys will show up next time. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

0: Death

"What we call the beginning is often the end.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from."

— T.S. Eliot

It was midnight, and Ishizu was breaking her curfew.

It might have been trickier to sneak out of the chambers where her family slept, but the outer halls were still difficult to navigate in the dark. Every sense alert, she crept down the dim corridor, a hand pressed against the cracked granite walls as she listened for any guards that might find her and send her back to bed. Like every member of their clan, she'd had their schedules so ingrained in her daily life that she knew, down to the minute, when it was safe to skirt along the rare patch of light and when she had to stay absolutely still in the shadowed recesses along the wall.

She'd been told that these small spaces had originally been designed to hold the mummified remains of their ancestors, but now they held nothing but dust and cobwebs. It hadn't taken them long to learn that corpses were far less likely to reanimate if they'd been cremated. None of the clan members, not even old Siamun, could remember ever keeping a body in the catacombs.

Ishizu knew, in an abstract sort of way, that other families didn't live in crypts, but she'd never seen this for herself, and this way of living, in the constant presence of death, was as natural to her as the daily combat drills and divination sessions. It was simply the way things were.

Not that she was unaware of change: before her mother had died, she'd told Ishizu that if you stood directly beneath the small ventilation shafts carved into the ceiling and looked straight up, you could see the stars. Since then, they'd installed floodlights aboveground, and the thin beams that came down the shafts and fell onto the floor prevented anything resembling stargazing. Ishizu herself had never seen a star in her life. She wouldn't be old enough to leave the compound for a good three years.

Tonight, the stars were the last thing on her mind. The stone was cold under her bare feet, but her thoughts were colder. She'd had a dream, one where a creature descended out of the darkness and consumed the desert with teeth made of ice until there was nothing left but damp skin and her thudding heartbeat. She didn't know if it had been a vision or simply a nightmare; she'd only barely started training in the art of prophecy, but the first thing they'd taught her was to trust her instincts.

The difficulty was convincing others of the danger. She didn't dare risk waking an elder, not even her father, for the dream of a novice. Instead, she'd headed for the entrance of the catacombs, where her older brother would be on guard duty. People respected Rishid. If she could convince him, he could convince the elders. They would know what to do.

The patter of footsteps in a nearby corridor made her pause, ready to duck into the closest recess, but as she listened, they stopped and continued again in the opposite direction. When they'd faded completely, she moved forward. She was close.

The Necklace sat heavy on her neck. She shouldn't have taken it from her room—she wasn't even allowed to wear it without permission—but she'd been frightened enough to slip it on before she snuck past her sleeping father. If her dream was a vision, she needed to be prepared.

When she found the stairs, she touched a steadying hand to the wall and peered into the darkness to ensure the absence of guards. She didn't want to think about what would happen if her father found out that she'd left their quarters. Leaving the compound was a different story. She thought Rishid had been posted right by the door, but if he wasn't, she would have to think of a different strategy: she wasn't permitted to take even one step outside the walls. All she could to do was climb up to the trapdoor entrance and knock. Already she could see the floodlights streaking through the cracks in the wooden slats.

Even as she braced herself to climb up the stairs, she saw the light dissipate; the hall went dark. Thinking for a moment that she'd gone blind, Ishizu blinked frantically and raised her fingers to her eyes. Someone outside raised a shout of alarm and it was echoed around the compound, the patter of running feet sounding in every direction. Something was wrong. Shivering, she pressed herself against the wall and touched the Necklace again, wondering if she should try to use it. She'd had very little training, but thought she could access enough of its power to generate some light.

She thought she heard a scream, and looked up just as someone flung open the trapdoor above her. There were no stars and there was no moon, but still she could make out Rishid's lanky silhouette against the dark sky, and as she leaned forward to call out to him, he turned around, murmuring something, and a second silhouette, large and unfamiliar, appeared beside him.

"Come in," Rishid whispered, and Ishizu barely had time to react before the trapdoor slammed down again, enveloping the three of them in darkness.

Someone moved down the stairs, and Ishizu reached out blindly, her mouth opening to say her brother's name, when a cold hand closed around her wrist and wrenched her away from the wall. A second hand pressed against her mouth when she tried to scream, the skin foul and strong and rough. She tasted blood and froze.

"What is it?" Rishid asked, still at the top of the stairs.

"An observer, it seems." The voice that replied was flat and strangely accented, as if reciting foreign poetry. Ishizu knew the name and face of every person in their clan, and this voice belonged to none of them. The creature nuzzled its mouth in her hair, his hands tightening on her wrist and mouth as he took a deep breath. "But she is only a child."

"What?" Ishizu heard the click of a flashlight and suddenly she was squinting into a beam of light as she heard her brother take a startled step back. "Ishizu?"

Behind her, the creature hissed. "Turn that damned thing off!"

Ishizu's mind raced to comprehend what was happening. The creature behind her could only be a vampire. Only vampires needed to be invited into homes. Only vampires had cold skin and disliked light. She was afraid, but she knew what to do. They all knew how to kill vampires; Rishid surely knew the danger as well as she did. What was he waiting for?

Then her mind caught on to the one fact that she should have noticed first, the cruel clarity of it stunning her for only a moment.

Rishid had invited him in.

She didn't have time to wonder the how or why of the situation; she only had time to move. The vampire was already pulling her closer, bending his head down toward her neck, and Ishizu had no delusions about what would happen next. With her free hand, she touched the Necklace. It activated immediately, flooding the hall with a supernatural light that protected her better than any physical force ever could.

The scream that erupted from the monster was unearthly; it resounded against the stone like a hammer and spiraled out into the night to vibrate against the sheet metal of the stars. As the light and the ringing in her ears started to fade, she found herself on the ground, freed, her palms and knees stinging. Without hesitating, she pushed herself to her feet and began to run.

The vampire's scream hadn't gone unheard; doors slammed and lights flashed distantly down the corridors as she passed. Ishizu kept running, a hand outstretched blindly out before her, her heart pounding in her throat as the vampire kept screaming and screaming.

She was so focused on running in the dark that it took her a few moments to realize that the screams she was hearing weren't coming from the vampire. She slid to stop and found a wall, panting against the stone as she listened.

The screams were distant, but definitely human. More than one human. Ishizu's blood chilled. The vampire hadn't even bothered chasing her; it had just gone for the nearest possible target. And what had happened to Rishid?

Wiping a sleeve across her face, she turned and started running again. She had to warn the other Item holders. It was the middle of the night and they'd need power to kill this vampire.

As she reached the corner of the catacombs where her family lived, she saw her father standing at the entrance to their quarters, the Rod clasped in his hand.

Ishizu nearly collapsed in relief, but even in the midst of calamity she practiced the respect he was due and lowered her head in a ceremonial bow as she reached him. He hardly noticed, pulling her roughly by the arm into their dimly lit living space. "What's going on?" he demanded. His eyes fell on the Necklace and widened, his expression darkening in fury. "What have you done?"

Ishizu shook her head, gasping for breath. No point explaining that now. "There's a-a vampire! Inside!"

"Impossible. Who would-"

Ishizu shook her head again, more adamantly, and struggled to get out of her father's grasp. "Please! I saw it!" As she spoke, another scream sounded. Closer.

Her father looked through the doorway and dropped her arm. That she was telling the truth, at least, was undeniable. "Take Marik and stay out of the way until this is over." He disappeared through the door, closing it behind him, and Ishizu went into the adjoining chamber, where her second brother sat up on his pallet, blankets pulled up to his chin.

"Why are they screaming?" he asked, his young voice pitched with fear. "Why is it so dark?"

Carefully, Ishizu unraveled the blanket from his sweaty fists and pulled him out of the bed. She stood him up and put her hands on his shoulders, trying express a calm she didn't feel.

"It's just a drill," she told him. "We need to go hide."

Fears assuaged, Marik nodded in instant understanding. They'd all been drilled enough times to know how to react in the case of a surprise attack, and he was still young enough that he couldn't difference between routine and reality. He followed her to the common area, where Ishizu went to the door and pulled the bolt shut, even if it was unnecessary. The vampire wouldn't be able to get in without an invitation, and there was no way Ishizu was going to let him in.

As she waited, she considered the realities of what she'd seen. If Rishid had invited the vampire into the catacombs, could he have invited the vampire into their chambers, as well? She couldn't comprehend how or why her brother had betrayed their family, but she couldn't argue with the evidence of her own eyes. Rishid had been surprised to see her, but he hadn't been horrified.

She glanced back at Marik. He crouched obediently by their only source of light, a small oil-burning lantern. He was using his finger to trace designs in the sand that lined the cracks in the stones. As she watched, he looked up at her and smiled before dropping his head again. The flame flickered once, the shadows to dancing wildly around his small frame, and Ishizu knew that they weren't safe.

"Marik, come here."

Instantly he was at her side, and she put a hand on his head, smiling down at him. "We're going to go down the hall to the royal chambers," she said. "I'm going to need you to be very quiet. Can you do that for me?"

He nodded, and Ishizu hurried to her father's bed. She knew that, as one of the elders, he would have a master key to the entire compound. She found it and brought it to the door. No one lived in the royal chambers but their clan leader and his eldest son, a boy a little older than Marik. Long ago, Siamun had told her that the chambers once held the mummy of a king. They were certainly the largest and most ornately decorated section of the catacombs. More importantly, both occupants were experienced Item holders. There was no way the vampire would be allowed inside.

Sliding the deadbolt open, she took Marik by the hand and pulled him out the door. She needed her free hand to feel along the wall in the dark, so she gave Marik the key to the royal chambers. The immense responsibility of holding it would keep him quiet and obedient.

In this manner, they slowly made their way down the corridor, Ishizu listening intently for danger, Marik padding silently behind her. The corridor was still. Since her father had left, Ishizu couldn't remembering hearing anything human or vampiric. As she contemplated what this could mean, Marik whimpered, his hand tightening around hers.

"Marik?" she whispered, turning. "What's wrong?"

There was no answer. Then a quiet hiss.

"Well, well, well," the vampire said. "This one's even smaller."

Ishizu couldn't see anything, but suddenly Marik's hand was yanked out of her grasp and she spun around, hands outstretched, trying to figure out where he'd gone.

She heard a muffled cry.

"So small," the vampire said. "I can't believe they'd let children run around in a place so...dangerous."

"Stop!" Ishizu said, her hands automatically rising to her neck.

"Oh, no you don't," the vampire chided. He could see her, even if she couldn't see him. "You can't trick me twice, girl. Take it off, or this one dies."

The vampire couldn't risk taking the necklace from her by force; even touching it could seriously weaken him. If she took it off, they would have nothing to protect them.

In the darkness, she heard Marik's labored breathing, and she clenched her hands into fists. If she gave up the Millennium Necklace, it could endanger the entire clan, but it was one thing to say it in theory and another to let her little brother die right in front of her.

"It's the uncertainty isn't it?" The vampire said, and she thought she could hear him smiling. "I might kill you both anyway, is that what you're thinking? But I might not. What you can be certain of is that if you haven't taken that damned thing off in the next two seconds, I will rip this boy to pieces."

Ishizu pressed her hands to her mouth and tried to think, tried to breath. She could hear Marik's voice, strained; he was crying. He was telling her not to do it. Even he knew that she was doing the wrong thing. She knew it too.

The clasp snapped open far too easily, given the weight of the situation, the necklace sliding onto the stones in a metallic clatter that made her cringe.

Then Marik screamed and Ishizu lurched forward, thinking that it'd been hopeless, that the vampire had killed him after all. And then there was another scream, a scratching metallic one she knew was the vampire's, and something hurdled into her in the darkness. She fell onto her back, hitting her head against the stones, the Necklace skidding off down the hall.

"Ishizu!"

Light speared through the night, and she saw the vampire reeling, a hand clasped over his eyes, and as she watched, the shadows reached forward to catch him as he fell back, snatching him out of the light and swallowing him until he'd disappeared completely before her eyes.

The light faded, only to be replaced by the more erratic glow of several flashlights, and she found herself surrounded by several of the Item bearers.

"Are you all right?" One of them knelt down beside her as the others continued on to make sure that the vampire had fled. He swung the flashlight over Ishizu, his fingers clenched protectively around the golden sphere in his hand. The Millennium Eye.

"Yes," Ishizu said. "But the vampire—"

"Don't worry, we'll hunt him out. How is your brother?"

She looked down, painfully aware of the dead weight in her arms. "Marik?" she asked, the panic rising in her voice as she pulled him up with trembling hands. "Marik?!"

He squirmed and she gasped, pulling him into a fierce embrace, almost immediately letting him go again to look him over, hardly believing that he'd escaped unscathed.

"How—?" she said, pushing his hair back, examining his body for injuries. "I thought—"

Utterly unafraid, Marik smiled a grim smile and raised his hand. Clenched in his palm, wet with blood, was their father's key.

"I got his eye," he said, and Ishizu, laughing with relief, clung to him tighter than ever.

XIII. Death. The arrival of the end and the beginning of a new phase. Sudden transformations have arrived in your life, making it necessary to let go of the past and look toward the future.