Prologue

It's so cold... it's always so fucking cold in here… Kanda thought to himself angrily as he leant against the dark cave wall, watching the luminescent blue shadow flicker on the ground before him.

Closing his eyes he breathed in deeply, preparing himself for what he knew was around the corner.

Everything was silent except for the sound of trickling water on glass. How he wished to not have to face it again... but he knew too well of the consequences that awaited if he did not. Clenching his fist over the handle of Mugen, he continued around the corner.

He slowly approached the large stone construct standing along the back of the dark cave wall. Intricately carved with ancient symbols and patterns that all curled upwards to form a bowl which cupped the shimmering light blue crystal egg, floating a few inches above the stone tendrils.

Kanda knelt down before the egg and waited calmly. The egg stopped the sound of running water and then remained silent for a few moments before suddenly bursting apart. Water scattered all about the room in every direction but did not fall to the ground instead floating, twisting and turning inwards back towards the area the egg originally floated. However, it did not resume its original form but writhed its way into a different, much larger shape.

Kanda looked up at the familiar watery form of a young girl. It was difficult to make out her features, being made up of constantly moving water, but her hair was made of thin strands of liquid that flowed about her head. The expression she wore had been one that haunted Kanda's nightmares for the past two years. Kanda shivered involuntarily at her rage-filled sinister face, and failed in maintaining eye contact.

"Youu...you...!" It screeched.

Kanda was not sure how to describe the way the thing sounded. The way it spoke made his skin crawl and gave him the sensation that his insides were frozen and cold fear, dread, overwhelmed him almost to the point of paralysis…

It was not the voice of the child it imitated, but the voice an old man nearing death; raspy, breathing heavily between every word and wheezing with the effort to live.

The girl looked down at Kanda, her expression one of pure anguish. "Where...wheeere?"

Kanda panicked. "I just need a bit more time. I have located it. Definitely, this time! At a school. I will have the one soon, I promise. Just a few more days..."

The girl let out a piercing scream of rage that held none of the misery her voice had only seconds ago. The water of her body twisted and expanded into the form of a huge serpent faster than Kanda's eyes could follow and whipped across the room to slam into him, ramming him into the jagged cave wall.

All the air in his lungs was knocked out of him and he was momentarily blinded, unable to think as he fell to the floor roughly, not able to even gasp for breath.

The water writhed its way to float a few inches above Kanda's head as he lay barely conscious upon the stone floor.

It grotesquely resumed its shape of a young girl. Kanda's vision slowly returned to him and could only just make out two piercing eyes looking directly into his own and was instantly grateful his vision was still unfocused. Once his vision cleared completely, however, Kanda saw that the thing was visibly upset again.

"No...Noooo…" It wailed. Kanda tried desperately to drag himself away from it. "Cannot...no. No, no no NO!" it shrieked at him. "Must...make sure. We must!"

The thing shook its head side to side violently and made a choking, regurgitating sound at the back of its throat, suddenly spewing forth a shimmering blue strand of what looked to be saliva. It clung from her mouth, dripping down towards Kanda, and then it shot forth with a life of its own. Straight into Kanda's chest.

Kanda screamed in absolute agony. It burnt like liquid magma through his veins. He felt it spread from the top of his chest down to his waist. The pain was so intense; he could not feel anything but the scorching sensation in his chest. He writhed and shook on the hard rock floor like a fish out of water, his hands tearing desperately at the skin underneath his shirt.

It felt like it went on for an eternity, but eventually the pain slowly began to decrease. When he could finally organize his mind back into thoughts, the thing once again shifted itself above him to speak down to him.

"Yes... soon... Soooon, you will bring the one... Marked... MARKED! You have been marked... Symbol... grows... Each passing...moment... four...days... your soul, ripped...RIPPED! From... throat… join... us... four…"

The thing suddenly shrieked in pain and flung itself back to the stone construct, balling itself up to resume the shape of its egg. Kanda slowly lifted the remains of his shirt, revealing a dark blue tattoo in between his two collar bones. Kanda could feel it moving underneath his skin, it sickened him to his core. He was too weary to think of it, he just let his head fall and snap back into unconsciousness.

-5 hours later-

They're all stupid. They have no fucking idea what they are getting themselves into.

Whatever, like I can talk right. I was just as naive... dreams of killing demons, rescuing innocent people, bringing down the Earl and becoming a hero. Someone to look up to. That's what it's all about, right? Heh.

Kanda shook his head in disgust, his unbound black hair billowing about his face in the wind.

Look where my nobility got me: cursed… About to have my soul torn out and devoured if I don't find the one with more Innocence-infused blood than I have. He's supposedly one amongst all these idiots, so it shouldn't be too hard to find him.

Capturing him will be even easier. Then all I've got to do is take them back to that thing so it can devour his soul instead. It's better him than me, right? I know it's probably not fair… An innocent kid dies for no reason. But who was there to bring justice when everyone I loved was taken from me? Nobody. So I intend to find this brat and feed it to the bitch without one glance back.

Kanda pulled the collar of his uniform up and walked towards the entrance of the Exorcist High School.