I've had this little plot bunny brewing in my mind for ages and I just couldn't wait any longer to write it out and post it somewhere. I'm just going to post chapter one to see if it garners any attention, and I hope you guys like it!

Chapter 1

Mai inhaled deeply, her muscles relaxing as she concentrated on the life force that stood ten meters away from her. She exhaled, the tips of her auburn hair stirring with her breath as she nodded, allowing her partner to know that she was ready to receive and manipulate his energy. From behind her closed lids, she could see the energy of her partner brighten considerably before he released it, signifying its forced expulsion. The energy flew gracefully towards her awaiting form, her hands cupped in the practiced movements of her taolu as she expertly caught the ball of life force. She let the life force seep into her, the energy singing through her veins in white hot tendrils.

She was aware that as his energy rushed through her veins, her own qi began to temper it, the white hot energy cooling considerably as her energy began to mix through it, combining their energies before she expelled it through her fingertips; the energy that had burned upon entry left willingly, now a warm golden tone, as she sent it back to her partner, ready to use. She opened her cinnamon eyes, watching anxiously as her partner held up an onyx tipped arrow; the energy slipping into the stone head before her partner raised the bow that had previously been slung over his shoulder and shot the arrow at a twelve inch thick wood board that stood several meters to his side.

The board exploded in a shower of splinters and scorched pieces of wood.

Slow clapping sounded from above them.

"Excellent! Mai, Zion, that will be all for today's tests. Mai, as usual, you have exceeded any and all of my expectations as a Receiver. Zion, you could use some more practice on your Giving abilities, though. You seem to be forceful with your releases. You may return to your quarters now."

Mai glanced up above her, fiber glass surrounded the observatory nearly one hundred and fifty feet above where she stood. The room that she was in, though spacious, was dank with concrete walls and smooth cement floors. The observatory was graced with her presence multiple times a week, generally with different partners as they sought to find a suitable match for her gift.

Technically speaking, anyone would have been a 'suitable' match for her. Afterall, she was one of two Receivers in the Compound who could manipulate any and all energy that was Given into something other than just what the Giver could use.

She was a perfectly receptive medium. Hence the name, Receivers.

Not all Receivers could manipulate energy the way she did; hardly any of the Receivers she'd come in contact with could focus their qi into the palm of their hand with the ease that she could. The practiced movements of her taolu came naturally to her, born from years of spiritual training to hone her unnatural ability of manipulation.

Aside from being able to refine the unbridled energy of a Giver into something useable, she could manipulate the Giver's energy into something only she could use. Mai was known as a Mender, someone who could heal the broken and injured through her energy control.

Now, there were certainly Receivers and Menders aside from herself in the compound, but the two were never considered exclusive or even synonymous. She was the link between them. A missing link, she wasn't sure, but a link nonetheless.

With a brief wave to Zion, she exited the observatory, turning down a hallway to reach the quarters that she shared with one other person - the only other person that was deemed a special Receiver.

She opened the door to her quarters, greeted with the scent of roasted chicken and potatoes. A hearty meal was almost always required after a session and Mai could feel the fatigue rapidly creeping up on her like the shadowy cast of an eclipsed moon.

Her roommate stood by the sink, nursing a cup of hot tea as she kept a careful eye on the chicken in the oven. Silver eyes flicked up to meet her cinnamon ones, a glow of warm friendliness emanating from her companion.

Rin was a small for a female, but strong. Thick wavy hair fell to her mid-back and reflected the color of a moonless night. Her form was athletic and curved in all of the right places, unblemished skin the only indication of her apparent youthfulness, though she was the same age as Mai herself.

They were both nineteen this year; their birthdays marking the fifth year their world had been brutally snatched away from them.

"How was the session?"

Mai looked up at Rin, her hands beginning to shake as she poured herself a glass of water.

"As always. Captain wasn't pleased with the match, which continues to irritate me because, like you, I'm perfectly receptive. Anyone is my match." Mai huffed, sipping the cool water slowly. The oven let out a beep beside, her signifying the completion of their meal.

"Their just looking for someone who's strong enough. We both know that someone who is of a lesser calibre than ourselves would eventually deteriorate with the spiritual stress that comes with working with us, especially me," Rin smiled wryly as she pulled on oven mitts to take out the chicken. Rin was also a perfectly receptive medium, but aside from that, where Mai's abilities lay as a Mender, Rin was a Chaser. Her additional abilities stemmed from her concise control of the manipulated energy and turning it into melee attacks. Where Mai's ability was defensive, Rin's ability was offensive.

"True," Mai agreed, sighing imperceptibly. A lot of the Givers that she was paired with throughout the course of a week were weaker than her. Meaning that when she refined their energy and mixed it with her own, the energy is something that is actually harder for them to control because, simply put, they weren't strong enough to handle it.

Think of it like this. The Giver could be considered an outlet that outputs a total of 110 V. Mai acts as a Receiver which in turn could correlate to being an adapter that takes in the 110 V and outputs it as 220 V via the infusion of her own energy. The Giver is therefore unable to do anything without the assistance of a capacitor that can survive the absorption of such high amounts of voltage.

In today's experiment, Onyx had been used. Onyx had long since been renown for its absorption properties and retainment abilities. The stone could hold incredible amounts of energy per cubic inch and was sought after by psychokinetic users and mediums alike. Givers used Onyx to keep their energy flows in check. Many of the Givers that lived in the Compound had some form of Onyx accessories, whether it was a necklace or ring, the stone was used to hold the energy that the Giver themselves could not contain.

The two girls ate their dinners while talking of the day's events. Mai had been tested twice today and Rin had been subjected to undergo an intense physical training session that pushed her body to the absolute limits. Chasers were always supposed to be in top physical condition at all times. They were considered the Guard; the people who had no spiritual powers and were used for protection, created of the remnants of the police squadrons that the world had once depended on.

After dinner, Rin had to leave to go through her weekly taolu session with the Compound's highest trained Onmyoji, Lin Koujo.

With the day's events finally catching up to her, Mai retired for the night, taking a quick shower before slipping into her bed, exhaustion overcoming her tired body.

~o0o~

The Captain stared interestedly at the two males that were standing in the observatory. They'd been brought in just that morning, captured from enemy lines and heavily sedated for easy transportation. Both were tall, with leanly athletic builds and absolutely bristling with energy.

Ten meters away from the male with the dark hair and indigo eyes was a three meter tall, one meter thick, iron reinforced concrete block. A gaping hole had been punched through the middle of it, large enough for a fully equipped Chaser to step through easily. The edges were smoking slightly from the intense heat exposure, the iron bars that had reinforced the block welded permanently to the concrete itself.

Beside the brooding male that appeared to have been composed of shadows themselves, stood another Giver. With ash blonde hair, a tan complexion, and analytical brown eyes, this Giver was certainly of equal calibre as his companion, evident only by the perfectly welded ball of metal that sat nearby. Originally starting off as five rods of solid iron, it had taken the blonde male only minutes to complete the given task of welding them together using his raw energy, a feat that would have taken any standard Giver at the Compound hours to complete.

"I've found them," The Captain mused to himself, the light reflecting off of his spectacles as he stared at the two Givers. Neither was uncomfortable with the other, meaning they'd been in the other's presence for quite some time. The Captain smiled to himself, the shadows of the observatory's landing concealing his presence as the brooding male below turned to look over his shoulder, indigo eyes drilling holes into where he knew an unwanted presence was standing there, watching him.

"Oh yes. I've found them at last."

~o0o~

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