Disclaimer: I own nothing except the legend behind The Nightingale!

"Legend states, that in the middle ages of Ireland, there was once a king who sought out the person with the most beautiful singing voice in the country. He sent out all his Knights and servants around Ireland to search. Finally, after many years, a knight came back with a young boy, who he said had the voice the King was searching for. The king then had the poor village boy sing him a song. It is said, that the song he sang brought the King to tears. And also sealed his fate. The selfish King said to the royal blacksmith to craft a birdcage made of solid gold, so as to keep the boy locked away from kidnappers. But he was not able to place the boy into it, for even he knew it was wrong to keep a fellow human locked away. So he called upon the Fae of the forest to enchant the boy and turn him from a human into a bird. However, the spell went wrong, and instead of a bird, the boy was turned into a hybrid of human and avian. Talons grew from his fingers, wings as black as night sprouted from his back, and his hair turned to feathers. The King, fearful that the boy's voice had been affected, ordered him to sing. The sound was unimaginable. For the boy's voice had taken on a beautiful quality, similar to the sound of a bird song. Now, the King reasoned, the boy was no longer human, and had him locked away inside the golden cage. What no one knew was that the boy was also given the curse of immortality, so as the King grew old, the boy stayed the same. Because of his appearance, and magic, the village people were frightened of him. But despite that, due to his exceptional beauty, the boy was lusted after, and many wanted him to themselves. He began to be called The Nightingale, and was sought after, and raped on many occasions. The Nightingale began to hate human-kind, and all that had happened to him because of them. And so he used his new-found power, and tortured humans. Without mercy, he slaughtered towns, cities, even entire kingdoms. In his hate-filled mind, it was retribution for all he had been forced to endure. The Nightingale was soon a feared name, and many tired and failed to kill him. However, the High Mages of the Magick Counsel soon stepped in, putting the menace into a Magicked sleep, for many, many years. It is said, that The Nightingale awoke after a thousand years in slumber. No one knows where he is now."

The streets of Ikebukuro were in a chaos, and as Shizuo Heiwajima and his employer Tom Tanaka walked along, they heard another loud boom. The tall blonde sighed, taking off his ever-present sunglasses to better assess the situation.

"What do you think it is this time?" Shizuo wondered aloud, looking over and down at his shorter friend. A disinterested shrug was his only answer.

Shizuo sighed, rolling his shoulders to work out any kinks. His job always took a toll on his muscles. Throwing cars, traffic lights, you name it, got a little tiring after all. Plus with the added stress of having to battle it out with a werewolf until six at night was never fun. But, such was the job of a Supernatural. Shizuo had been drafted into the government agency immediately after high school due to his immense strength. The agency specialized in the cases that the other units didn't know how to take care of. However, Shizuo took one look at his watch, and knew he was in trouble. He quietly opened the door, hoping his wife hadn't noticed the time. As it was, fate was not on his side that day, as he was promptly slapped across the face.

"Well, look who decided to make it home for dinner. Good thing too, I was just about to throw it out." The blonde woman in front of him put both hands on her hips and glared. Ichi Okamatsu looked ready to kill. He hung his head in defeat.

"I tried…" A snort cut him off and his gaze shot back up to look at the woman angrily.

"Shizuo, I'm not stupid. I saw the news. I know why you're late. Just sit down and I'll bring your food!" She smiled suddenly, and twirled around to skip into the kitchen. Shizuo couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he sank into the couch. He'd met Ichi during a mission for the Supernaturals in which they'd found the young woman wandering around on her own seemingly lost. He had come to find out, she was a demon, and after working with her for a while, had fallen in love with her. Fortunately, she shared the feelings.

"Here we go Shizu-chan my dear! Your food." A plate was set on his lap and Ichi bounced onto the couch beside him. "So other than your target getting away, how was your day?" The answering groan from Shizuo made the woman laugh quietly and kiss his cheek.

"Don't worry! I'm sure you guys will catch him!" She patted his arm encouragingly, before jumping up, taking his empty plate with her. Ichi turned to start walking backwards, grinning crookedly.

"So in all his excitement, did Shizu-chan forget that he has an appointment with the doctor tomorrow?" She teased. He let his head fall back to glare up at the ceiling.

"Unfortunately no, it would have been wonderful to just forget that little fact."

Shizuo ran a hand through his hair, looking over to see that Ichi had turned back toward the sink and was currently washing his dish. He stood and walked unsteadily over to lean on her shoulder. The two of them weren't known for being very romantic to each other. Tom had commented one day that Ichi was more like a fox than a cat, tricky, hard to catch in the act, and always teasing Shizuo. He himself had just shrugged and let it go. Now, his mind went back to that conversation as she turned her head to give him a quick kiss.

"Aw, is Shizu-chan tired? Why don't you go to bed, I'll be there to read you a bed time story soon." He stood and whacked her upside the head before doing as she said and making his way to their bedroom. He stopped at the door.

"I forgot to ask, how was your day?"

"Oh, just the usual. Busy." Was her vague answer and he sighed, never understanding why he was never allowed details of her work. He stripped off his vest, shirt, pants, and shoes, pulling a large white tee over his head before flopping down onto the bed, not even bothering with covers. A soft laugh reached his ears, signaling Ichi's arrival in the room. He could picture her leaning against the door frame, watching him.

"No covers? That tired, huh." She laughed softly again, and he could hear her getting ready. The bed moved as she crawled under the comforter.

"Goodnight Shizu." He felt her kiss him, and through the haze of sleep in his mind, he attempted to kiss back.

"Night…"

(I promise Ichi will be explained in the next few chapters! Just keep reading to find out! ;D)