There is a Legend of the World's End

A Tale of Chaos, War, Blood and Fire

Of Dark and Light Shattering the Earth

Then the Light Faded

And Darkness Swallowed All

Four Horses with Four Riders Appeared

Whose Trade Was Wrath

Even Darkness Trembled At Their Passing

And So The Riders Unleashed the Forgotten

Spirits, Gods, Beasts and Dragons

They Ravaged This Ruined World

They Prepared It's Soil

And the Eldest Rider Brought A Seed To Them

A Seed Ancient When Time Took Its First Breath

And From That Seed Came The Tree

And From The Tree, The World Was Revived

Spirits, Gods, Beasts, and Dragons

Sculpted Mountains And Ravines, Valleys and Hilltops

Planted Forests And Plains, Brought Storms And Sunshine

The Riders Left Them To Their Work

For Wrath Was Their Calling, Death Was Their Gift

And There Was No Place For Them

When We Returned To The World

It Was Reborn, As Were We

~Unknown Author, Runic Scroll Fragment 328-A, Imperial Archive of the Jade Empire

Comments of Scholar Weng ~ Fragment, runic script faded and incomplete, unreadable beyond first 24 lines. Discovered in the foundations of an ancient fort located on the edge of the eastern desert. Appears to be the start of a local creation myth. References to four riders strikingly similar to those found in the Most Venerable Scholar Pan's writings on the oral traditions of the remote northern provinces describing similar riders heralding destruction and renewal. The Most Venerable Scholar Pan ascribes the origins of these tales to distorted recollections of the days when the Horse Lords terrorized those lands, before First Emperor Sagacious Tien brought his armies to the northern plains. However, it is the consensus of the Scholar's Garden that runic script predates the height of the Horse Lord's reach considerably and there is no evidence they roamed anywhere near the eastern desert. Warrants further study. Attempted to mount a second expedition to examine the fort further, but masked miscreants claiming to be from a 'village hidden in the sands' stopped us, saying we were too close to their border. Implied they had observed my earlier visit and appeared to suspect I was scouting the site for the Imperial Army. Hopefully I will not encounter those knaves on my next attempt, but I shall hire more guards in the future.

~Chapter One~

~Awakening~

Yomi stood still as a statue, tension coiled in every muscle. Her eyes focused firmly on her opponent's weapon, watching for the first hint of a strike. The tip of the sword swayed to the left. There it was! Yomi parried the strike to her right side and took a step forward, leading into a strike on her opponent's left. She was trying to get inside his guard where he would be helpless. Clack! Her wooden weapon clattered off his and a palm struck her forehead, throwing her off her feet and to the ground with a cry of surprise.

"Too quick, Yomi." Her father loomed above her, practice sword in one hand. "Do not strike so recklessly that you leave yourself vulnerable." Yomi bit her lip to hold back a groan of pain, her forehead stung from the blow. She had been unusually clumsy, too eager to attack. Yomi got to her knees and bowed her head.

"I am sorry, Otōsama."

"Hmm..." He frowned at her, a worn face crowned by a head of thinning gray hair. "That will be all for today. We shall continue this tomorrow. For now... use the day as you see fit." Yomi turned her eyes up and caught the ghost of a smile at the corner of his mouth. She couldn't stand fast enough.

"Hai, Otōsama!" She shouted even as she was halfway out the door, a broad smile lighting up her face. Her father shook his head at her exit.

"That girl... Faster than most of my students two years her senior, yet still a child." Isayama Naraku turned to the wall of the dojo opposite the door. A scene hung there, carved into a dark wood relief. Figures wearing the kanji of the hunter clans stood with swords raised high opposite an amorphous twisting mass of clawing monstrosities. Their bound beasts could be seen throughout the ranks. A cadre of horned warriors with binding sigils burned into their skin and massive kanabō clubs in hand stood out ahead of their Tanaka clan masters on one flank. Thick chains hung around the limbs of the hulking Fu-Ma clan golem with a hammer raised high.

Naraku saw the figure of the Isayama clan head, his own ancestor, sitting astride the chimeric form of Ranguren, bound to the Isayama heirloom blade Shishio. At the forefront of the hunters, the Tsuchimiya clan head pulled upon the chains of the white wolf, Byakuei, matched in power only by one other amongst the bound beasts. He frowned as his eyes were drawn to the warriors of an extinct clan, one of many that had perished over the long years. A discerning eye could pick out a dripping cord emerging from a slit in their leader's wrist, one that slithered down to coil around a voluptuous feminine form with stylized clawed hands. That monster, like most of the others, had been sealed away as the monsters in the land dwindled or when the clans that controlled them died. One day perhaps even Ranguren and Byakuei would be buried. On that day, they would be rid of this burden laid upon them.

"Yomi..." Naraku closed his eyes. "At times I regret taking you into my clan... Even as our prey dwindles, it remains a heavy burden." He turned and looked out the door. "I only pray that you can bear it."

~Yomi~

"Nē-chan!" Yomi's grin grew even wider as she turned toward the sound of the voice. Kagura Tsuchimiya jogged toward her, dark brown hair streaming behind her. Despite being separated by two years of age, the two girls had grown close in the past year. When Kagura had lost her mother, Yomi had taken it upon herself to comfort her at the funeral and ever since. As they played and trained together, Kagura had come to worship the talented older girl. Yomi was thrilled to have the little sister she'd never had.

"Kagura-chan!" She exclaimed and met her friend with a hug. "Did you train this morning too?" A dark pall immediately came over the younger girl's features.

"Otōsama was meeting with other clans this morning about a hunt." She muttered. Yomi frowned. Ever since his wife's death, the head of the Tsuchimiya clan had been throwing himself into his duties. The girls understood that those duties were important, but it was hardly fair to his daughter.

"How about a game?" Yomi forced a bright smile onto her face.

"Hm? What ga-"

"You're it!" Yomi tapped Kagura's forehead and sped away before she realized what was going on. Then she shouted in dismay and chased after her friend. Their game drew them away from the Isayama house and through the main thoroughfare of the village. The village of the demon hunters was very small, but there was no shortage of people going about their daily routine. Some of them smiled at their laughter. Others scowled as the two girls nearly ran into them. Eventually Kagura finally managed to tag her friend and the chase turned, driving them towards the village entrance. There was no wall surrounding the village. The demon hunting clans had made they're settlement in the side of a mountain. Sheer rock faces surrounded the village on three sides. The only way to enter the village was a steep trail of switchbacks.

It was upon reaching the ridge at the top of this trail that Kagura tripped. Yomi turned back toward her friend and gasped as Kagura fell, slid, and then toppled over the crest of the hill. Yomi sprinted back, leaping to the spot where she had seen her friend fall. A call of dismay died on her lips as she saw the largest person she had ever seen standing over her friend. Thankfully Kagura had only slid down to the first switchback, not far below the top, but a massive figure shrouded in a black cloak loomed over her. It stood completely still, staring down at the six year old without any visible expression. Kagura, nursing a bloody skinned knee, was staring right back filled with fear at the imposing figure.

"Hey!" Yomi shouted before she knew what she was doing. She quickly picked up a rock at her feet and hefted it. "What do you want with our village?" The figure turned towards her and she saw a flash of red in the shadows of its hood.

"I have business with the clans of this village." His voice was gravelly and raspy at the same time. He sounded faintly amused by her challenge and the stone she was preparing to throw at him. The figure turned back to the prone Kagura and knelt beside her. "Are you alright?" He asked with the hollow tone of a person not very interested in the answer. He touched the bloody knee, causing Kagura to hiss in pain. "You'll be fine, let your friend bandage your knee." The figure extended a massive hand and helped Kagura to her feet. As she ran up the path away from him, the figure looked Yomi in the eye again. Yomi held his gaze for a moment, then she allowed the stone to drop and was running to help Kagura before it hit the ground.

Yomi looked back as she ushered her sniffling friend toward her home. The cloaked figure raised his hand, the same one he had touched Kagura's bloody knee with, to his face and muttered a string of syllables unlike anything Yomi had ever heard. A chill ran down her spine. The tips of his fingers flashed violet, then he let his hand drop and stared after them with eyes that gleamed crimson.

Yomi took Kagura to her house and bandaged her knee. A messenger arrived shortly thereafter requesting her father's presence. Naraku Isayama ordered Yomi to take Kagura home and then return to wait for him. The young Tsuchimiya heiress had been frightened when Yomi left her at her home, something about that stranger had truly rattled her. The older girl had told her not to worry, but in truth the stranger occupied her thoughts as well as she awaited her father's return just inside the front door. Night had fallen and she was starting to doze off where she sat by the time her father returned.

"Yomi," She started at the sound of her name and looked up to see her father standing over her. He sat down beside her with a stoic expression. "How much do you know about the mission of the demon hunting clans?"

"Um," She tilted her head at him in confusion as she recalled her lessons. "Well, a long time ago there were demons that ruled the world. They were beaten, but many of them escaped into the world. The Celestial Bureaucracy tasked the clans' ancestors with hunting the last of the demons to keep humans safe."

"And who was the Celestial Bureaucracy's messenger?"

"Yatagarasu," Yomi replied instantly. "The crow. Every fifteen years he returns for the Gauntlet, right?"

"Yes," Naraku nodded. "A series of challenges designed to test the young hunters… Yomi, that man you saw at the village gate was Yatagarasu."

"Wha?!" Yomi gaped. "I thought he was supposed to be a crow! And wait! The next Gauntlet isn't for another four years!" Yomi was acutely aware of the timing of the next Gauntlet. In three years, she would be old enough to participate in the challenges against actual captured demons, albeit minor ones.

"He is preceded and accompanied by crows, sometimes." Naraku stared out into the night, a very serious expression on his face. "But he is as you saw, a creature larger and stronger than a man. He has deemed it time for the next Gauntlet. It will be held in three days."

"But then…" Yomi frowned.

"I know you have long looked forward to testing yourself against real demons." Naraku assumed a consoling tone, though in truth he was far from disappointed that his child would have to wait until she was older to meet demons in battle. "But you are old enough to participate in the preliminary bouts."

"Hmph," Yomi huffed and crossed her arms. "That just means fighting kids I already beat before…"

"Yomi!" Naraku snapped. "This is not a game!"

"But-"

"You will fight your peers," Her father stated firmly. "And you will do so to the best of your ability. For the next few days, you will practice your technique exhaustively. You will show Yatagarasu your worth the best you can." Yomi looked like she wanted to protest her case, but a look at her father's face told her the futility of argument. So she bowed her head.

"Hai, Otōsama."

Yomi's third opponent of the day was a boy two years older than her. She recognized him as one of her father's students and, just as she had predicted, he was somebody she had beaten before. That's not to say the fight would be easy. The boy was still bigger and stronger, but she was quick. His first move was his first mistake. From past experience, he knew that Yomi would run circles around him if he let her. So he started aggressively, approaching with a flurry of blows in attempt to end the battle quickly.

Yomi evaded and deflected the blows, taking the opportunity to slip inside his guard and strike at his legs, tripping him up before darting away. Three times he recovered and three times she avoided his strikes to land some of her own. He was slower the third time and she took advantage, stepping in to crack her wooden sword over his head. He fell to the ground like a sack of rocks.

Yomi was panting and sweating heavily by this time. She turned to look up at the edge of the carefully dug pit that constituted the arena. Members of the various clans were seated in the crowd. The clan heads were seated in a private box. She spied her own father among them and smiled. Kagura's father, the foremost of all the hunting clan heads, sat alongside the cloaked form of Yatagarasu who stared down at her intensely. Yomi bowed her head to avoid his gaze

The past few days had passed in a blur of intense preparation. The arena had been prepared with incredible speed and the traditional festivities were thrown together rapidly. The arena was carved from an old quarry. It amounted to a wide lowered pit with raised seats for spectating. A network of tunnels connected the quarry to the pens where a selection of lesser demons were held for the purpose of testing the young hunters. By tradition, there were three tiers to the event. The youngest students fought one another in carefully controlled bouts, three each barring injury. The older students tested themselves against lesser demons. Newly blooded hunters faced the toughest demons the clans had captured. All of this was to prove to Yatagarasu that they were performing their duties and remained capable of doing so.

"Good job, Yomi-." Kagura whispered to her friend as she exited the arena floor and Yomi smiled back. Suddenly a fanged maw overtook Yomi's field of vision as an earsplitting screech echoed in the tiny space. Yomi fell to the ground with a scream as the creature, a Minion some dim part of her recalled from her demonology lessons, was yanked back by the chains that bound it. A terrible smell of rotten meat and something undefinably foul assaulted her nose. Her heart pounded a thousand miles per hour as she watched the handlers get it under control with wide eyes. "Y-Yomi…" Kagura's voice shook. The older girl shook herself from her stupor and forced herself to stand. Kagura was shaking like a leaf, her eyes fixed on the snarling infernal beast. Yomi enfolded her friend's hands in her own and stepped in front of her, blocking the sight of the demon.

"It's okay, breath, you're going to do great." Following her example, Kagura began to take deep breaths.

"O-okay," She breathed out slowly. "I can do this." Yomi clapped her on the should.

"There you go, now get in there." With a sidelong glance at the Minion, Kagura clutched her wooden sword firmly and marched out into the arena. Yomi watched her go andand marched out into the arena. Yomi watched her go and then ascended the staircase to the stands. Kagura lost one of her matches and won two. She was happy for her friend, but Yomi found her gaze wandering to the cloaked visitor.

As with her own matches, Yatagarasu watched Kagura's fights quite intensely. However his attention seemed to drift with the other fighters. Even when Takeshi, a boy her own age, easily trounced his opponents the representative of the Celestial Bureaucracy barely took notice. When the demons were released and the fully fledged hunters took to the field, Yomi was fascinated. She recognized the Minion. There was also several Phantom Guard and a few other demons she couldn't identify. These primal violent creatures were everything she had been trained to fight against so they could hurt no one. To Yatagarasu, these seemed to be the least interesting fights of all. His lack of interest bothered her. It bothered her all the way through the formal ceremonies honoring his visitation and sending him off.

The hunting clans lined the main street leading to the village entrance. Each held a lantern and bowed their heads as the cloaked figure walked past. He paused as he passed Yomi's place, though she could only see his feet and didn't dare look up. She found herself holding her breath and a shiver ran through her. Yomi didn't allow herself to look up until he was well past her. She caught him as he was descending over the ridge. He raised an arm and a large crow alighted there. Then he vanished from her sight.

Days passed after the Gauntlet, then weeks, then months. The clan heads were disturbed by Yatagarasu's early appearance. They speculated that an imminent threat awaited on the horizon and stepped up their efforts to keep watch for demonic activity through their alliances with the shinobi villages. Unfortunately this meant that all able-bodied hunters were spending more and more time hunting and less at home. Kagura began spending more time at Yomi's home, even sleeping in her room many nights and training with Naraku. Finally, almost a eight months had passed since Yatagarasu had visited the village of the demon hunters. That was the day that Yomi Isayama lost everything.

She woke to the sound of screams and roaring flames. Yomi sat bolt upright covered in sweat. Oppressive heat rolled over her with the dancing firelight from her window. She opened her mouth to call for her father but instead issued a hacking cough as smoke filled her lungs. She forced herself out of bed and over to Kagura's futon. The smaller girl was curled into a ball, coughing and crying. There was no time to be gentle. Yomi pulled her up and shook her.

"Kagura, you need to wake up! Come on!" Not waiting for an answer, she dragged the smaller girl across the room and threw the door open. By the time they reached the front door, Kagura had found her footing though neither had the breath to ask questions. When they stepped outside the house, Yomi thought she had stepped into one of the old stories. There was fire everywhere. The smell of burnt flesh was everywhere. Bodies lay in the street. Some were still, others writhed in agony. She didn't know which was more horrible to look at, the ones she recognized or the ones that couldn't possibly be human.

"Yomi!" She turned to the sound of her father's voice and screamed. The bulk of a massive creature filled her vision. It was a great striped cat with dark red-orange fur. A thick wild mane framed a head with six eyes and eight serpent tails foiled behind it. It took her a moment to recognize Ranguren, the Isayama family bound beast. "Yomi!" Naraku Isayama sat astride the demonic chimera, holding the blade that allowed him to control the beast, Shishio. "Take Kagura to the shrine, remember where I told you to go!" She wracked her brain, it was hard to think.

"I think so-"

"Go!" And her father was off. Yomi grit her teeth and pulled Kagura in the direction of the shrine. It was difficult to see through the smoke and avoid the clashing silhouettes. Screams inhuman and all too human drowned out Kagura's whimpers.

"Nē-chan," She cried. "You're hurting me!" A sore wrist was the last thing they had time to worry about. They pounded up the wood steps of the shrine and Yomi pushed the heavy door. She chanced a glance behind her and saw her whole life in flames. Every building was on fire. Humanoid blue skinned demons with bulging muscles chased people she'd known all her life through the streets, but something was off. There were humans fighting alongside the demons, samurai mostly, ronin by the state of their armor. One of them was fighting her father. Yomi's heart leapt into her throat.

Ranguren lay slain in a growing pool of black blood that reflected the fire's glow. Naraku was fighting several enemies and he was losing. She saw his mouth move as her sliced through a demon and two samurai in a matter of moments, but could not hear his voice over the din. A new samurai approached. She saw their blades clash three times. Then her father stiffened and after a moment she saw the red blade protruding from his back. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. A numb detached terror took hold of her and she could not turn away as her father crumpled and the samurai pulled his blade free. He was a younger man with dark hair tied back and a stubbled jaw. He wore no smile, but a perverse thrill seemed to dance in his eyes as he flicked the blood off his blade.

"Yomi," Kagura squeaked. The older girl blinked and looked to see that her friend had pushed open the shrine door and slipped inside. She hadn't witnessed her father's death. It wasn't until she slipped inside and closed the door that Yomi realized she was shaking like a leaf. She leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. It was very tempting to simply let go right there, to wail and cry as she had every right to. But she could not allow herself that, not yet. Instead, she held her head in her hands and tried to control her breathing.

"Kagura," She finally gasped. "There's a passage under the panel in the northeast corner, open it up." Perhaps too numbed to let herself think, Kagura did what she asked while Yomi pulled herself together.

"Here!" Kagura called hoarsely. The older girl stood unsteadily and followed her call. The six year old had uncovered the outline of a trap door under the floor panel. She fumbled the latch for a moment until she got both hands on it, slick with sweat. She pulled. There was groan this time as the trapdoor rubbed against the floor that camouflaged it, but it stopped before it cleared an inch. The eight year old was huffing now, but two small hands shot under her own and found grips on the door lip. Kagura wasn't looking at her, but Yomi felt a wave of affection roll for the six year old.

"Ready?" Kagura spoke so softly Yomi hardly heard her.

"Now!" The older girl finished and both pulled up as hard as they could manage. With a creaking groan, the door flew on its hinge so fast the latch was ripped from Yomi's grip and gravity slammed it down on the wood behind with a loud crash. Both girls stared dumbly down the steps, carved into the stone beneath the shrine, as they descended into shadow.

"Keep moving," Yomi whispered as she took the lead. The stairs twisted into a narrow spiral. The light vanished quickly behind the curve of the staircase. Their time in darkness seemed to stretch on for far too long. Then Yomi walked straight into a door. "Ouch!" She rubbed her sore face with one hand as she searched for a latch. She found it just as Kagura walked into her back and with a yelp they spilled out into the corridor in a heap. A bestial screech jolted them into motion and they scrambled to their feet. They were in a rough hewn stone corridor lit by torches. Some of the torches had been knocked from their sconces and several massive metal doors had been ripped from their places on the wall and lay warped on the ground. Yomi felt her stomach drop.

"We're in the beast pens," Kagura finished her thought. The older girl's mind was racing. Why would father send us here of all places?! It was perhaps the most dangerous place they could be with demons attacking.

"We need to leave," Yomi snatched her friend's hand and pulled her toward the exit. That was when the sound of shouts and demonic laughter reached their ears. They were getting closer. Yomi stopped for half a second, petrified in terror. Then she turned the other direction and ran, dragging her friend behind her. There was one other thing her father had told her, about a specific room once she descended the stairs. It should be at the far end of the corridor. He had not told her what exactly lay behind it, but it was the only choice they had.

"Where are we going?" Kagura panted to keep up.

"Trust me," As I trust my father. A chorus of shouts and whoops followed by pounding footfalls behind them told her that they had been spotted. She forced herself to run even faster until she was desperate for breath and suddenly they had reached the door. It looked no different than the others, heavy and made of metal. To her surprise, there was no lock. "Get… in!" She grunted as put all her weight into pushing the door aside. With a groan of rusted metal it gave way. Glancing through the opening, Yomi saw another staircase descending into darkness. Maybe this one will take us to the base of the mountain. She could only hope. The moment Kagura was through, she slipped in herself and balanced precariously on a step as she tried to push the door shut. She had the door half closed when it exploded inward and knocked her off her feet.

"Ahhh!" Yomi's yelp was lost in the cacophony; she felt her shoulder impact the stone first. She tried to twist to regain her footing, but it was all she could do keep her head from hitting the stairs as she tumbled down into the blackness. Then, a slight error brought her head down on the lip of one stone step and she knew no more.

When Yomi regained awareness, she found Kagura leaning over her. Her face was the picture of care, worry, and stark terror, but broke into relief when she caught her surrogate sister's eyes.

"Yomi-nēchan, you're awake! But you're hurt..." Kagura trailed off as her eyes were transfixed by something just above Yomi's brow. The older girl felt something warm and wet trickling down the side of her head, she touched the spot and her hand came away crimson. She felt woozy, but forced herself to a knee. The younger girl affixed herself to Yomi's arm and allowed herself to be used for support. The cavern they found themselves in was tiny, hardly six paces across and two dozen deep from where they stood at the foot of the stair, though the other end was too dark to see clearly. Yomi did not despair because the cavern was small. She despaired because it was a cavern, not the escape tunnel she had hoped for.

"Come on, Kagura-chan, we have to keep moving..." The mere act of talking was painful, her head was far from her only injury from that fall. Arm over Kagura's shoulder, Yomi limped forward. Her eye caught on something odd no sooner than her second step. The blood had bled from her head injury, it was flowing along the cavern floor in rivulets as if it were heading steeply downhill, though the surface was fairly flat. She followed the rivulets with her eyes until the dim of the far side of the cavern made it impossible.

"We shouldn't go this way." Kagura spoke so suddenly and crisply, Yomi had to do a double take. The girl had her eyes fastened at the end of the room. She had not seen the blood, but something was bothering her. Yomi scrutinized the shadows, the way they seemed to bend as you looked at them. For a moment she felt a peculiar touch of foreboding intimately coupled with a dark fascination. Then the light from the stairs grew brighter and she heard men's voices shouting. Her fascination was dispelled immediately.

"Move," The word was free of her throat before she had time to think. The two girls began their shaky approach. By their third step, Yomi could hear heavy footfalls on the stairs. Her heart leapt into her throat and beat faster with every footstep as they grew closer. Suddenly she was violently shoved forward. Stone rushed up to meet her and the breath was forced from her chest as a crushing weight pressed down on the small of her back.

"Did you really think you could hide, little girl?" The voice, low and mocking, sneered at her from above. Yomi tried to scream, but found herself unable to breathe at all, a sharp pain in her chest.

"These are the ones." Her blood ran cold at the sound of that voice, impossibly deep and echoing more than it should in such a small space. The weight on her back was suddenly gone. Almost against her will, she twisted just enough to see behind her. The being that had spoken was certainly no human. It stood a head taller than the unkempt mercenary that had stepped on her back and even taller compared to the rest. Its gray-blue skin and red carapace of armor caught what little light there was, revealing bulging muscles and curved dark horns emerging from its scalp to sweep behind its head. Beady red eyes filled with a malicious mirth peered at her from under a heavy ridged brow. Fangs pulled into a smile. In a dim corner of her mind she recognized it as a Phantom Guard, but the label was meaningless now.

"W-why?" Yomi's mouth moved without thought. She wasn't even sure what she was asking. The monster crossed its thick arms. The smile seemed to widen.

"In time, you will know." Yomi heard Kagura whimper at the sound of the unnatural voice. "Take them, you will have your reward when we are far from here." A callous hand seized Yomi's arm painfully and yanked her to her feet. "Wait." The girl shut her eyes. Despair welled up, the strength left her limbs, she felt darkness would swallow her whole. Kagura's small hand clutched her arm.

"What's that?" For a moment she was confused, but then realized that everyone had stopped moving. A moment later, she heard what had drawn the attention of Kagura and the demon. It was a wet, slurping noise, as if some starving beast was trying to draw the last drops of nourishment from a corpse.

Father, She thought, what is that?

"What the hell is that?" One of the mercenaries muttered. Her eyes opened. At the edge of the shadows encompassing the far end of the cavern there was movement, little more than a vague silhouette pressed low to the ground.

"Get a torch." One of the men grunted. There were a few moments of fumbling as someone passed on the torch from the upper stairs. In another moment the cavern was awash with red-orange light. What little breath she had regained caught in Yomi's chest. A shudder ran down her spine. Something was very wrong here, beyond the tragedy of this night. The figure was all in shadows, a mop of ash blond hair atop her head, for by the contours of its body it was indeed female. Her face was nearly pressed to ground, where a far too long tongue lapped at something on the ground.

"What the!? What were those snobs keeping down here?" The man holding Yomi's arm said nervously and stepped back. She hardly noticed. The girl had just realized that the creature was lapping up blood, she unconsciously touched her head wound with her free hand and winced at the sting, her blood. The creature raised her head and transfixed Yomi with twin crimson eyes, luminescent even in the torchlight.

"A vampire? They were all thought dead." That unnatural deep voice seemed more amused than concerned. There was a coarse scraping of metal; Yomi realized he must have drawn a sword. "I will remedy that. Kill it, take its head!" There was a moment's pause while the men hesitated. The girl saw the creature's mouth widened into a smile full of porcelain razors.

For a moment, she nearly fainted.

Then the hand on her arm disappeared and something warm and wet splattered her face. The creature had her arm stuck in the middle of the man's chest. Blood gushed from the wound and dripped to the floor in a cascade. His mouth was open in a silent scream. Out of the corner of her eye, Yomi saw Kagura go limp, her small body dangling from her captor's grip like a rag doll. It was finally all too much for her.

"Fools!" The deep voice hissed. "I'll do this myself." The creature met gazes with Yomi. Don't worry, everything will be alright. She gasped, she had heard those words inside her own head, but her ears heard nothing. They had a peculiar accent attached to them. Then the creature's mouth parted and the fangs bit down. This time, the man did scream. Yomi's stomach lurched and she bent double to vomit on the floor. She fell on her side and blackness enveloped her thoughts.

When Yomi awoke, the first thing she saw was a pair of scarlet orbs peering down at her from a beautiful pale face set in an expression of concern. Instantly, the expression brightened.

"Good, you're awake!" The chipper vampire exclaimed with such energy and glee that Yomi was momentarily stunned. Then she screamed and she kept screaming as she flailed and attempted to distance herself from the creature. She didn't get far. The creature was holding her in its arms and its expression was once more concerned. "Master? Don't move, you're hurt!"

"Let me go!" The eight year old screamed desperately. To her own shock, the creature instantly relaxed her grip and allowed her to scramble free. Yomi kept scrambling until she felt the cold stone at her back. Her eyes darted about. The mercenaries and the demon were still there, or rather what was left of them. They were torn to pieces, everything was red. She spied the demon's head near the far wall. The rest of him was by the foot of the stairs. Her eyes swiveled back to the creature, the vampire, as the demon had called it. She had stood and was walking towards Yomi now, her face the picture of worry.

"Stay away!" Yomi wrapped her arms around herself. For the first time she got a good look at the vampire. What she had originally taken for a black outfit was actually series of wrappings, many layers of the faded white cloth covered with the black ink of countless binding seals. Much of the cloth was torn and hung about her in rags. The kindred stopped, perplexed. Then a look of understanding came over her.

"Master, do you know what I am?"

"V-vampire," Yomi stammered out, "But-"

"...But you don't know what that is." The vampire nodded solemnly. She glanced at the demon corpse. "And apparently all the rest are extinct. What's your name?"

"Y-Yomi Isayama."

"Isayama?" Now the creature stopped, looking confused. "That's your clan?"

"Yes… W-well, I'm adopted."

"Ah," The vampire smiled, a genuine smile untainted by malice or bloodlust. Yomi felt some small comfort despite herself. "And your parents told you to come here?"

"My father told me to come here in an emergency."

"So he knew then," She said more to herself than to Yomi. She fixed the young girl with a comforting look "But your father never told you about me?" Yomi only nodded an affirmation. "I see..." The vampire looked thoughtful for a moment. Abruptly she knelt on one knee and bowed her head. "My name is Seras Victoria, master. I am your family's legacy."

"W-what," The girl felt no less bewildered than before, but the way the vampire kept calling her master was disturbing. "I don't understand." Seras lifted her head and offered a warm smile.

"Yomi-sama... Your family is descended from an old line known as Hellsing, hunters like you, though they haven't used that name in a very long time. By virtue of that blood I am compelled to obey you and serve you, so please don't cry. I'm here to help." She held out a hand. The eight year old stared at it apprehensively. Perhaps she was simply too exhausted and in pain to be suspicious. Perhaps she just wanted something to go right after the night's events. Whatever the reason, Yomi reached out and took the offered hand. Seras stood and gently pulled Yomi up to stand beside her. "What about your friend, Yomi-sama?"

"Kagura-chan!" The girl shouted abruptly. She had been so consumed by her own terror that the younger girl had slipped her mind entirely. She searched the ground quickly and saw Kagura's tiny form, curled on the ground. "Kagura-chan!" She shouted again as she rush to her friend's side. All at once, Seras was there, one hand on Yomi's shoulder, the other supporting Kagura's head.

"Don't worry, she's just had a bad fright." She patted Yomi's shoulder comfortingly. "Let's get out of this cellar, shall we?" The vampire's arm dropped from the girl's shoulder and curled around Kagura. She stood with the small girl cradled in her arms.

"There'll be more of them." Yomi said numbly. The frantic energy of stark terror had left her, leaving only emotional and physical exhaustion. Seras offered her another small smile. This time, Yomi could see fangs, far too white in the twilight.

"Don't worry, master. I won't let anyone harm you." The girl felt her stomach lurch and nearly vomited again. Instead, she turned her back stiffly and led the way up the stairs in silence. When they emerged from the pens, it became apparent that the attack had run its course. The sounds of battle were gone; the fires were fewer and burned lower. How long was I fainted?

"Is anyone left?" She breathed and for a moment she felt that dizziness might overcome her and send her headlong down the steps, but she clung to her lucidity with every ounce of will she could summon.

"I don't think so." The vampire spoke behind her. "I don't hear any heartbeats." The softly spoken words, drove a knife into Yomi's heart. She swallowed hard. "I..." She stopped for a moment as her voice nearly broke, fearful that if she continued she would begin to weep and be unable to stop. "We need to leave, we need to find another place to stay."

"I think I can find the way to the nearest settlement," The vampire's voice was gentle and she began down the steps before the girl. After a moment, Yomi followed. The wooden frame of her childhood home was yet smoldering. Far too many bodies with familiar faces stared at her with unseeing eyes. She resolutely refused to look towards the spot where her father had fallen. If she saw his eyes set in that glassy stare, she would be undone.

"Wait," Yomi stopped and looked at the vampire questioningly. They had passed outside the compound half a mile ago, though the red glow of the remaining fires could still be seen behind them. Kagura had awoken, but was in no state to walk on her own. Seras was staring into the darkness intently, the small girl in her arms stirring slightly at her words.

"What is it?" Yomi's voice was strained.

"Someone is alive." The girl nearly jumped a mile upon hearing those words.

"What!?" A disproportionate sense of relief flooded her, mingling with shock and wariness. The vampire pointed into the shadows.

"A few hundred yards that way," Yomi did not wait, she immediately began a stumbling run in the direction indicated. Seras called out to her in concern, but she paid no heed. She made it several yards before the bodies started appearing, mercenaries, each dead by horrible wounds. They were scattered about the forest floor like so many leaves. Yomi did not pause. After a brief time, she finally arrived in a clearing. The moonlight gave the space a pale surreal quality. She heard his labored breathing before she laid eyes on him, and when she did she gasped.

"Tsuchimiya-sama!" The gray haired man was propped against a tree. He bore a horrible wound upon his chest. Even Yomi knew he was not long for the world. She rushed to him and fell on her knees, unsure what to do.

"Yomi-san," He spoke faintly, as if struggling to remain conscious was a trial and in and of itself. "You are alive... Good. The village..." His question died at the sight of her face and what he saw written there. "...I see... Tell me, is Kagura-"

"Otō-sama!" Yomi's head whipped around. Kagura stood at the edge of the clearing with Seras' silhouette just barely visible in the forest behind her. She used forward but stopped short just behind Yomi, staring at her father's wound with eyes full of fear.

"Kagura-chan..." Relief flooded his voice, then it turned stony and stern. "Kagura-chan, I am dying. Though you are young, you must take on the legacy of our clan, do you understand." The small girl did not answer, indeed she hardly seemed to breathe. She had only grown paler. "Be strong, Kagura-chan. You must be strong... If you are to control Byakuei." He lifted his shaking hands to form a seal in front of him. Yomi turned to her friend in worry, but Kagura seemed to have sunk into the same numb trance that Yomi herself had been in as they left the village. She lowered herself to her knees and formed the same seal.

What happened next, Yomi was not entirely sure and later her memories of it would be unclear and disjointed. She recalled Tsuchimiya-sama's intense look of concentration, a peculiar glow, and most of all, the wolf. It appeared as if made of fog, only for an instant, a great canine with fierce eyes and fur ghostly white. Then it was gone. She heard Kagura cry out in pain, then the small girl was pressed to her chest, sobbing. She wrapped her arms around her friend absently, but her attention was on Tsuchimiya-sama. His weary eyes had come to rest on Seras' half hidden form.

"She is free? I see then..." His eyes met Yomi's. "Then you both shall see the end of this world. I am sorry." Then the head of the Tsuchimiya clan of demon hunters breathed his last and a shiver of foreboding went through Yomi. She clutched Kagura tightly to her and finally allowed herself to cry. After tonight, there will be no more tears, for Kagura's sake.

"You have my condolences," Yomi whirled and stared at the source of the voice, putting herself in front of Kagura. In an instant, Seras was standing beside her. Standing at the edge of the clearing was the cloaked form of their mysterious benefactor, the enigmatic Yatagarasu. His red eyes took on a particularly hellish cast in the darkness. Despite all she had seen tonight, they had a cold unfeeling quality that unnerved her even further.

"I know you," Seras growled. "You're the one that set all this up, the demon hunting clans." She received a curt nod in response.

"Yes, somebody needed to mop up the dregs of hell infesting this realm."

"Where were you?" Yomi spoke so quietly nobody else could hear. The cloaked figure tilted his head.

"What?"

"Where. Where. YOU!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she raised tearful eyes, all her grief and frustration finding voice all at once. "We've done everything you've asked for centuries! We've dedicated our lives to fighting demons! And tonight we needed you," Her voice cracked. "Where were you?"

"I am privy to many things, but I am not omniscient," He said flatly. "Whoever organized his attack was able to hid their activities from the Celestial Bureaucracy, and that is no mean feat." He adopted a somber tone. "By the time I knew something was wrong, it was already over. For that, I am sorry." They were all silent for several long moments. Yomi found that she was too tired to continue arguing. "Continue west, by morning you will encounter patrols from Konohagakure. They will take you in."

"And what will you be doing?" Seras asked suspiciously.

"I am going to search for survivors." The cloaked figure walked past them in the direction they had come. They watched him fade into the night. Then Seras gathered up Kagura in her arms and held Yomi's hand as she led them west, toward the only hope they had.

~Next Time~

~Chapter Two: The Cloak of Flesh~

Author's Note:

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the net
Not a story was stirring, not even Titan of Rapture;
The readers were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of feel-good fluff and ultra-violence danced in their heads;
Down the chimney A Mountain Sage came with a bound.
With a bundle of chapters he had flung on his back,
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And updated all the stories; then turned back whence he came,
But you heard him exclaim, ere he fell out of sight—
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Way I see it, Christmas is about giving, not receiving. So even if you don't celebrate Christmas, I can still give you a Christmas present. As fun as it is to rip off classic Christmas poetry, I do have some words for my readers. This is a reboot of my earlier story by the same name. I abandoned that story for several reasons, chief among them my own poor planning and splitting too much time up between all the different characters. This story will have fewer characters, but retain most of the same crossovers. The good news is that I have not given up on this story. The bad news is that I am entering into the last semester of my college career and I need to both finish my major requirements and look for a job. Strange to think I may be moving out of my parent's house within a year. The point is, my life will be busy and fanfiction is going to be taking a back seat.

But by all means, leave a review and tell me what you think. I love to hear from readers and it might help me get my inspiration back down the line!