All was not right with the jungle. The nervous Mother Sloth pulled herself slowly towards the safety of the tree. Cautious birds hopped from branch to branch nervously. A large snake carefully unwound itself from the warm rock and slithered into a cool hole to hide. The loud cries of birds ceased, to give way to an uneasy silence.
A Japanese girl came crashing through the undergrowth, disturbing the small bugs and animals that hurried out of her way. In her right hand she effortlessly carried a large katana and in her left she held a small white stone. Tears streamed down her face and neck, carving trails in the dirt and grime that coated her face. She skidded to a stop and whirled, searching, looking, for something, anything. Her voice rose out of the silence
"Hiro?" she screamed "HIRO?" this time it had a slightly hysterical note to it.
He was dying. He knew it, felt it in his very bones. Nothing was left for him here. This he knew indefinitely. Nothing on earth was left to keep him here, if he was found, it was all over but he didn't care anymore. There was nothing for him now. Better sooner than later. Tendrils of red and black smoke curled around his vision. His hand death gripped the broken katana and the black stone. Let it end now, he thought. Let the pain be gone… A large face filled his vision. Is this the end? His dry mouth formed. Please let it be over… "Aha. I've found you at last!"
She ran, running fast, putting on bursts of speed, trying not to trip over the long blue steel of the katana. She stopped and slid the katana onto the sheath on her back and slipped thestone into her belt-pouch and drew both her knifes, one in each hand instead. These too glowed blue and shone in the rays of the fading sun. She began running again, if not to find her teacher, then to get out of the death trap she was in. She searched for the ties in her soul that lead her to him
The knife came up and down, once, twice, three times. He became detached from his body, he now was just a soul, drifting higher looking over the jungle looking for peace in the world of torment. The pain was gone now as he drifted into the clouds
His death hit her like a ton of bricks, her knees buckled and she collapsed into the dirt and dead leaves on the jungle floor. Memories, His memories began rolling down the tie of their souls and projected themselves into her brain
His last apprentice had died and now he needed a new one. It was hard work…No actually it wasn't. He was sitting in a tavern, waiting for someone. He was only half-assing the job waiting for the person that instantly connected to him. He knew it was cliché but what the hell.
He's remembering our first encounter! She thought in shock
A stranger walked into the tavern. A cowl hid his face and he had a long cloak that blocked anything else from view. Hiro glanced up and then returned to moodily staring into his cup. He was meant to be Searching but if it meant sitting in a tavern for a week or two he was happy to do it
The stranger made his way over to Hiro's table. What does he want with me? He thought irritably
She blushed. This is when he still thought I was a boy
As the stranger came over to Hiro's table, he pulled out a dagger and threw it onto the table in front of Hiro. This was the signal that he wanted to try his luck at an apprentice-fight.
Hiro sighed and got up slowly, lazy as a cat in a sunbeam. Suddenly, extremely fast he had pulled out his dagger and lunged at the stranger. He had anticipated this and-
The memory dissipated as fast as it had appeared. She slumped again and her hands searched the dirt. She reached out to pick up her knifes and was smashed by another memory.
It was that day in the courtyard
Oh no, she thought, I really don't want to remember this. But she was powerless against the memory's pull. She resisted for a moment and then gave in.
Their knifes were locked. They were straining against each other, a battle of wills as much as strength. Both of them were trying not to laugh, as laughter would break their concentration. He could see the spark of mischief in her eyes and that made want to laugh all the more. He loved her and that scared him. At the same moment they both pressed harder against each other, moving closer as they did. She smiled at him and he smiled back. She took this moment of distraction to slip out of the lock, curve around hisknife and hold hers to his throat. "Yield" she said smilingly. He acted on impulse, lent down, and brushed his lips against hers. She recoiled, threw down herknife and fled into the house. He slumped. What did-
The force of the memory left her gasping and crying.
Why did I… She looked one last time for the tie that bound their souls together. It was still gone, but another, more shaky tie had taken its place. She screamed, sending her anger burning though the cord.
An over a thousand kilometres away in a castle in England an boy named Harry Potter woke up gasing.