(Climbs onto stage and tapes the microphone. Feedback is heard) Hiya people!
(Crickets chirp)
Er, well, this is my, what, 17th attempt to start a story? Anyway, if all goes well, this will be a ONE-SHOT! Unless, of course, someone demands I make it into a story. But I doubt that . . .
(Crickets die of bordem)
Well, I do not own Dragon Knights, any characters from other animes mentioned (cookies to those people that can figure them all out!), or Millennium, (the TV show) which inspired me to do this. Oh, and as a note, this takes place in an alternate reality where Rath never killed Gil in the first place, okay? (basically everything's the same, so just imagine all the events in books 10-current with Gil in them, okay? Nothing really complicated.) And I did this without a beta, so if you spot an spelling or grammar errors, feel free to point them out!Criticism and Flames are accepted! (What? With gas prices I need some form of energy . . . )
So read, review, and enjoy!
How To Not Be Dark
By: Unknown Fool
". . . Why am I here again?" Gil looked up at the building in front of him. It seemed normal to him, the walls painted a cheery pale rose, and the lights shining out from within, giving it a soft glow even in the pouring rain. It seemed un-remarkable to him, and couldn't figure out why the hell Thatz had dragged him all the way out here.
"You're here because it's a present!" Thatz cheered, nearly jumping about in joy.
" . . ."
"Oh come on! It's been a year since Rath didn't chop you're head off! Don't get mope-y on me now!" he exclaimed quickly, seeing Gil's eyes cloud over at the memory of those days. "You go in, and I'll come get you in a few hours!"
"Hours? Where will you be?"
Thatz proudly brandished an old faded map from one of his pockets. "I filched this off of Kitchel the other day! She was so busy drooling over Tetheus that she never even noticed me!" He chuckled for a few moments and started to skip out into the rain. "Later!"
Gil could feel his imaginary hackles rise, "THIS WAS ALL JUST A SCHEME TO GET OUT HERE, WASN'T IT!" he screamed after Thatz's retreating form. "HOW DO I GET BACK TO THE CASTLE!" But it didn't matter, because Thatz was gone.
Gil sulked in the rain for a bit after that odd outburst of emotion, and looked at the building again. He glanced around him again, not being able to see more than a few feet in front of his nose, thanks to the rain. It was literally coming down in buckets. He was soaked to the bone, forgetting to bring a water-proof coat. Shivering in annoyance, water trickling through his drenched navy-hued hair, Gil considered his choices. Well, anything was better than being wet . . . acting quickly before he changed his mind, Gil stepped forward, pushed open the door (resisting the urge to go leap after the bell that sounded) and entered the building.
It was just as warm and comfy inside as it looked outside. Red tinted lamps cast a happy glow everywhere, the floors and walls made out of some sort of dark red-ish wood (mahogany? Hawthorn? He didn't know) A soothing flute played off in the background somewhere, as an assortment of people milled about. Over by the wall, he could see a young couple arguing.
The effeminate man was screaming at the girl, who had the same red eyes and black hair he did "By the infernal abyss Kagura! I'm wasting time! I could be plotting out new ways to gather Shikon shards!"
"Shut up you moron! You need this and you know it!"
"I do not! I shall burn down his house, kill the inhabitance, and then return you to my body!" That . . . doesn't sound good . . . Gil thought to himself
Kagura, as she seemed to be, told the man to go to a very hot place that was underground, and stormed over to a random person walking by and demanded a vodka. As Gil listened, he realized that there were equally other strange people here too.
"Police Girl . . . This does not seem wise." A man in a red trench coat muttered to a well endowed blonde.
"Please. You need it! With your: 'BLAUGH! FEAR ME FOR I AM BADASS! HELLISH HELLY HELL!' talk."
A man muttering to himself, his white hair falling up and down, up and down.
"We need it Yami!"
"No we don't!"
"Yes we do! My friends are afraid to come over."
"Hmph. Good. More plotting time."
And a small group muttered in a corner . . .
"Come on Hiei! I'm staying as well!"
"Hn. You don't need it. What you need is a class how to handle your intolerably large stupidity."
"WHY I OUGHTA!" The carrot-topped man screamed as he launched himself at a small child with gravity-defying hair, while two teenagers caught him in mid-air.
"Really Kwuabara, I don't see why you're staying." One of the teenagers said, in a calm voice, his green eyes flashing.
"For all the girls of course!" the man boasted proudly, "Do you see some of the babes coming in? Like that one with blue hair in the corner!"
Gil twitched in rage, and turned his attention upfront where a young girl with dullblonde hair climbed up to the podium set up in the back of the room.
"Hello?" she said quietly, her call lost among the babble. Squaring her shoulders she opened her mouth wider. "HELLO!"
The talking stopped, and all eyes turned to her.
"Greetings!" she continued, "Welcome to today's class, "How to Not Be Dark."This class is proven to help those of you overcome your inner shadows!Anyone who is not here to participate in the class is now asked to kindly leave."
Gil marveled at how easy it would be to slip out right now, to just hang out on some street corner until Thatz came back. But a small voice in his head told him to just wait it out, and so he did. He stood still as he listened to the good-byes said.
"Bye Naraku, you bastard! I'm never coming back to get you!"
"You'll pay for that Kagura!"
"Good-bye Master! I'll be right across the street in the pet-shop if you need me!"
"Last chance Kwuabara."
"I'm staying!" Kwuabara, the orange-haired man, almost as if feeling Gil's gaze on his back turned to look at him. He winked in what he must have assumed was a seductive manner, and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Gil shuddered and turned away.
By the time the other people had filled out, only 20 or so people remained.
"Okay!" the girl continued, "Those of you remaining, please sit on the ground. Assume a comfortable pose and we will begin."
Gil sat down with his legs crossed, and glanced about him, confused. What was this about? Nearly all of the people around him had a youkai aura about them (save for the orange-haired idiot), yet weren't acting out in anyway. What was going on?
"Now . . ." the girl began, "Are you ready?"
As I'll ever be . . . Gil said to himself.
"Close your eyes. Imagine yourself on soft, white sand, the beach tide rolling in, and out. In, and out, in, out, in out," she droned on, her voice becoming just another soothing part of the background.
Beach . . . beach . . . beach . . . . What's a beach?
"Or if you can not imagine an equally calm place, maybe in a forest, or by a river," the girl continued, almost as if she was reading his thoughts . . .
Mentally shrugging, Gil pictured the garden at the Dragon Castle. The stream flowed gently through the flowers, the beautiful statues of past heroes and dragons, and the trees covered the ground in patched shadows. It was decidedly peaceful, and big enough for him to hide if anyone else came through.
"Are you in your place?" she asked. A chorus of 'sure' 'yeah' and 'whatever you say' rang out. Gil stayed silent.
"Just continue to sit there for a moment, reveling in the beauty of your chosen place. Go on," continued the girl. Gil cracked one eye open to see what the others were doing. Most seemed to actually be trying. Even the one man with the long black hair was sitting down, muttering to himself. Feeling slightly guilty, Gil closed his eyes before the lady started to speak again.
"Now, to begin, I want you to imagine a disturbing image you've seen," Gil gasped and shuddered, his mind quickly flashing back, "Maybe it's a stain on your favorite outfit, or a scratch on your wall . . ."
"-Mind-searing agony assaulted his body as the demon seed was forced into his ruined eye. Terror mounting, he felt his body change, mutilate itself into something inhuman. Bones broke themselves, only to grow back stronger, harder then before. Ear drums shattered, eyes bleed, everything failing only to be born again. Lying on the ground, struggling to regain his breath as the process goes on, Gil wonders where he'll go when he dies, if he'll still be allowed into heaven.-"
Gil gasped as the memory flooded through him. Concentrating, he tried to stop the train of misery going through his head. He didn't succeed, and the memory melted into another one.
"-it was a strange science to killing a man. It was his fault really, coming up to the mountain despite all the warnings. He stared down at the corpse, the life blood staining the ground. Blood. Too much of it. More blood then he would have dreamt a body could hold. He walked away, licking his claws, unaware of how the forest had fallen silent.-"
He quickly covered his eyes with his hand, falling forward slightly, the mental pain become physical. He was unaware of the gazes of fear and concern he was receiving.
"-He looks down on Fiji's face. Her skin torn off by sharp claws, gaping eye sockets wide, blood staining the once adorable face. He wonders briefly what soulless monster would do such a thing to a child, who had barely tasted life yet. With a pang of horror he remembers what he just did.-"
Gil grunted into his hand, screwing his eyes shut, feeling sick.
"-as the sword rested against his throat, he remembers all that happened in his life, and what he has become. The deaths he caused the sadness he brought. There are many words for their, no HIS, kind. Monster, beast, devil, youkai so many words in so many languages. A voice cut though his thoughts "Now you will die, DEMON." -"
"Excuse me? Sir? Are you okay?"
His eyes snapped open, glancing around him. The whole group was looking at him with curiosity. Even the one man in red was eyeing him with a questioning look.
"Are you okay sir?" the girl asked, with one eyebrow raised.
Gil glanced around again,his mind mutating their stares to leering glares, concern melting to disgust, the walls closing in on him. He needed to get out.
"I . . . remembered something important . . . ." he gasped, breaths ragged and uneven. He stood up quickly, and not pausing to apologize over the people he tripped over, he stumbled out of the house.
It was still raining outside, even harder if that was possible. With a heaving sigh, Gil leaned against the wall, and let himself slide down. Burying his head into his arms, he let the memories overwhelm him as he waited for Thatz to come back.
End
TAH DAH! What do you think? If you want me to continue it, or if you don't, there's a nice shiny button down there for you to press!
Press it!
You know you want to!