Hello everybody! For those who don't know, I decided to re-create Ragged Souls. It's not a remastered version; a lot of things are changing. I realized I got myself in an awkward position with the sixteen year timeskip in the last one, and judging by the timeline, most of the arcs if not ALL of them are completed already. There were also a lot of things wrong with the first story, and I wanted to make things more believable.

I promise I'll make this quick, since a lot of you just want to read the thing and probably won't read this anyway (I never do). This opening takes place around 110 years BEFORE the actual start of the series. So people like Shinji, Isshin, and Yoruichi will still be Captains. But fear not. This story is still ToshiroxRyoko.

I have four chapters ready (including this one), and the fifth one incoming. I won't promise to upload them on any given day, though I'll try to be consistent. But I think we all know how crappy I am with keeping a schedule.

Anyway, please tell me what you think!

There was screaming. There was lots and lots of screaming. She didn't know what was happening. Things were going well… She and her family were having a nice dinner; her mother, father, and older brother were all together around the table just talking and laughing. Next thing she knows, she's being ushered into a closet by her brother.

There were strange people. They were dressed in black… and had strange swords with them. She could hear distorted and broken words coming from her parents, but they were muted due to the yelling and screaming. Those people just… barged into the house. They attacked her family. Father was yelling, mother was getting out her own weapon. Chaos erupted almost instantly.

Her father was first. One of the people hurt him badly and he fell to the floor. He didn't get up.

That's all she saw of the fighting before her brother dragged her into the deepest parts of the house. They were running into room after room before the brother brought her to her room. He opened the closet and pushed her in.

"Stay there," he said, "Don't move or make a sound."

"Haru-nii-san…" she whispered in terror, reaching out to her older brother. He grasped her hand tightly and gave her a warm smile.

"Don't worry, I'll come back for you. Just wait here, okay? You can trust in me, right?" the girl nodded, her whole body trembling in fear. She trusted her brother completely. The brother reached around his neck and took off his necklace, which had a cross pendant with a bright blue jewel in the middle. He put it around her own neck and tapped the jewel, making it glow for a moment before returning to normal. "I love you, Ryoko." Her eyes widened as he kissed her forehead. "Stay put." He stood up and closed the closet doors.

The little girl heard Haru run out of the room and call to the attackers before racing further down the hall. She was frozen in fear, her eyes wide and body shaking. She could see through the crack between the closet doors, but other than that, she was blind to the happenings around them. She could hear shouts and screams and things breaking and falling...

Suddenly, she heard footsteps running down the hall...toward her! She barely contained a squeak of shock when the door was swung open by the attackers. She slowly opened one eye, not even realizing she closed them, and slowly-and carefully-moved closer to the crack of the door to see whatever she could. She saw two people. Strange people. Dressed in black. But there were strange stains on their clothing, like someone squirt ketchup on them. She realized one of them walking her way and moved back from the crack and into the darkness.

"Find anything?" one of them said.

"Nothing. I could've sworn I felt a spiritual pressure here," the other replied in aggravation.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. Come on, let's finish our job and go."

The two men walked out of the room, leaving Ryoko to release a breath she had been holding. Her head spun in confusion and fear. What job? Why were they hurting her family?

After a while, the sounds seemed to have calmed down. Ryoko stayed in that closet for a long time, wondering where her brother was. Finally, she decided to look for him herself. Slowly opening the doors, she wandered out of the room and down the hall to the dining room. When she got there, her body froze and her eyes widened.

"M-mommy…? D-d-daddy?" She stared in horror at the sight before her. Her parents were sprawled on the floor in different parts of the room. Their bodies were cut up and lay in a pool of red liquid. She couldn't look away from the sight no matter how much she wanted to.

A thought popped into her head and in a flash she was running down the halls in the house, checking every room and corner. "Haru-nii-san?!" her voice cracked as she screamed his name. She needed to find him. She needed to!

She passed one of the rooms, only to stop and look inside again. Her eyes widened in shock. Her brother was laying against the wall, his head and limbs limp. More red liquid dripped from his mouth, head, torso...everywhere.

"Haru-nii-san!" Ryoko ran up to him and knelt down quickly, shaking him. "Wake up! You have to! Please!"

After a few moments, the boy groaned in pain. Her eyes lit up for only a moment before letting go of him and leaning forward to get a better look at him. His eyes opened slightly, a bit glassy. He looked over to see the worried look on his sister's face, and gave her a weak smile. "H-hey… Ryoko…"

"N-nii-san… M-mommy and daddy… they aren't moving," she said, tears filling her eyes and blurring her vision. "I-I don't understand… Why are you hurt? Who hurt us?"

Haru frowned, seeing his sister cry. Despite the pain, he moved his hand up and stroked the young child's face. "Hey… D-don't cry…" Ryoko sniffled, leaning into the touch. "Y-you're a big girl...right?"

She sniffled again, nodding.

"Then…don't cry…"

"I-I can't help it…" she said, trembling, "I-I don't wanna be a-alone…" She wrapped her arms around his and hugged it, rubbing her cheek against his hand. Tears flowed out of her closed eyes and down her cheeks.

Haru said nothing as he watched Ryoko cry, his frown deepening. He didn't want to leave her alone. But he wouldn't last much longer. He could feel himself slipping away…

"Hey… Look at me…" he said in a hushed tone. Ryoko opened her eyes and stared into his own, gold meeting gold. He gave her the warmest and biggest smile he could. "You won't be alone…understand?"

She frowned before looking down, feeling her dress getting wetter. Her eyes widened when she noticed the pool of blood getting bigger. She felt the hand on her cheek move and pull her chin up to look at Haru and away from the red blood.

"I'll always… be there… with you…" he said, taking deep breaths every couple words. He lowered his hand and tapped the crystal on the cross. Ryoko looked down at the necklace, then at him. His smile had gotten smaller, but was still there. "S-see that? W-whenever you have that...you're never alone…" His voice started to fade.

The little child's eyes widened as she watched his hand fall to his side with a thud. Her eyes shot back up to his own. She could see his eyes slightly hidden behind his blue bangs enough to see they were starting to close. "Brother?"

"Ryoko…" his voice was barely a whisper anymore, and Ryoko had to strain to hear it. She leaned in closer.

"W-what?"

"C-can you…say my name…o-one more…time…?"

His soft plea caused Ryoko's heart to drop. Her eyes shut tightly for a moment before opening once again. She gave him her biggest and kindest smile she could, despite it not reaching her eyes. "I-I love you…Haru-nii-san…"

Haru smiled weakly at her before his eyes finally closed, his head leaning on his shoulder as he let out his last breath.

Ryoko's smile slowly dropped and she looked at him with regret and sadness. Tears flowed faster down her face and blurred her vision almost completely. She jolted forward and wrapped her arms around him, crying out openly.

Why did this happen? Why did those people do this? What right did they have to make her alone? Her mommy didn't deserve it. Her daddy didn't deserve it. Haru didn't deserve it!

She didn't leave her brother's side that night. Ignoring the blood, she curled around him, hugging his arm, and tried to sleep through the night. Being near her brother, despite being deceased, allowed her to have a nice dream...one that allowed her to momentarily forget her real life and all the pain she went through.

But it wasn't the end.

She awoke the next morning to the smell of death and blood. She sat up and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes, only to see her brother's body once more. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she wiped them quickly, noticing the dried blood on her clothing from sleeping there overnight. She looked at her brother with a frown. She didn't want to leave him…he made her feel safe and happy…but now that he was gone, she had to leave. Those people could come back again. She stood up and placed a kiss on his forehead before reluctantly walking out of the room, gripping the cross pendant tightly in her fist.

She went into her room and changed into a plain white dress with a blue trim, and put on a pair of white shoes. She put her hair into a ponytail with a white ribbon in a bow, and put two white clips in to keep her bangs out of her face. She stared into the mirror at her reflection for a minute.

Her eyes were no longer bright and shining. They were dull and sad. She lost everything so quickly… She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream… But she was just numb. Her tears were gone, spent last night mourning her losses.

Sighing, she left the room, then out of the house the back way. She couldn't bear to see her parents again. It hurt too much.

She closed the door behind her and stepped back, looking at her home of ten years. After this, she knew she'd never see this place again. With a deep breath, she turned, shifted the back on her back, and walked toward the nearest town.

She wandered around the forest for what seemed like forever. She didn't know how long it had been. Suddenly, a loud howl was heard. She stopped and whipped her head around, looking for a origin of said howl, but finding nothing. Gulping, she started walking again, only to hear the howl much closer.

Panicking, Ryoko started to run. She didn't know where she was anymore as trees and grass flew by her.

She continued running until her legs gave out. She fell face-first into the dirt with a pained grunt, feeling the bruises already forming. Noticing a tree, she quickly hid behind it, trying to calm herself down enough to not be noticed. She heard the roaring in the distance and sucked in a breath, her eyes shutting tightly as if it would keep the creature away. After a few minutes, the roaring disappeared completely.

Ryoko let out a breath and hyperventilated for a moment as she tried to regain her bearings. She didn't know what that noise was, and she definitely didn't want to. She took a couple deep breaths as she leaned against the large tree trunk. Bringing her head back against the tree allowed her to see the sky as it started to lighten. Her hand unconsciously reached up to grasp the cross, allowing her to ground herself once more and calm down.

A frown crossed her face as she looked down at the cross. "Haru-nii…" Her eyes shut tightly, tears threatening to spill.

"Y-you're a big girl...right? ... Then…don't cry…"

She sniffled and wiped the unspilled tears, looking at the path ahead with a determined look. "I won't cry anymore…" she vowed in a hushed whisper before starting her trek once more. Unfortunately, she had run off the trail leading to the town. The area around her was unfamiliar; new. She didn't know where she was or what direction led where. She could only hope the direction she went would eventually lead to civilization.

She didn't know how long it was. Night turned to day. Day turned to night. Over and over. Whenever she thought she found civilization, a strange roar nearby would scare her into running a different direction.

Her stomach rumbled and she placed a hand on it, looking down at it with a frown. Her food had run out a few days back… She needed help!

So hungry… so cold… Where were the people? Why hasn't she found anyone? How big are these woods?

Even more time passed… She now barely registered the pain in her legs from walking.

She felt so weak… She just wanted to rest, but knew that if she did, she wouldn't want to start again. So she kept going.

She barely registered the dark spots that now littered her vision.

She didn't notice how thin her body had become.

She felt the pain grow as she walked, her limbs creaking and hurting like never before, but she couldn't do anything about it.

Darkness swam in her vision, slowly growing until it consumed all of what she saw. She didn't feel herself falling. She didn't feel the blood drain from her face. She didn't feel.

Ryoko slowly awoke sometime later, her vision returning, but still blurry. She blinked her eyes a few times before groaning. Her head hurt, her stomach hurt; she felt like she was going to implode. She felt her bones creak as she pulled herself up slowly so she wouldn't fall. She took a few steps forward before falling again, her limbs simply too weak to continue. She curled in on herself, her body shaking.

She didn't register that her dress changed to a simple pale blue yukata.