reccommended story: "Ruby, Mother of Wolves" by SecretlysilentEvil

betaread by: Secretlysilentevil

It missed…

The ultimate attack, her one chance at beating Black Rock Shooter missed. A massive cannon powered by the bonds of friendship she made with the human sides of the rest of the Otherselves fired at point blank range…

And it missed.

Kuroi Mato was forced to watch as her Otherself dodged the attack that honestly took far too long to charge up only to turn to her friends. She attacked them, destroying the reflections that showed up to support the young girl. With each one 'killed' the cannon itself deteriorated and crumbled—pieces fell, erupted craters as they slam into the ground before they disintegrated.

It was only a matter of time after that really.

When Black Rock finished tearing through the Otherselves and dropped once more in front of her she tried everything she could to defeat the reflection of her soul. She summoned guns, cannons and swords. She tried stabbing, slashing, shooting and exploding Black Rock Shooter but it barely slowed the reflection down as she approached before pinning Mato down with a sword of her own, which wrenched a scream of pain from the girl as she felt herself pulled once more into Black Rock just as she had been when she first joined.

She was unaware of how, this time, when she was pulled in her body was already starting to fade from the world she left behind to come here in the first place.

At first she had tried to force her way out, screaming and shouting at Black Rock to let her go as the Otherself moved to an unmarred area of 'her' section of the world they inhabit. She was ignored summarily. Over time as she began to fear how her body was doing she resorted to coercion, bargaining, and finally outright begging. All of which seemed to be completely ignored by the stoic Otherself.

The crystal forest was the only place left as the world crumbled around it. Only this one small patch of land remained and it too began to erode. Soon the world would fall and collapse into nothing unless Black Rock did something.

Like a puppet finally given purpose she stood and began to move again, headed for a section of the forest not yet affected by the decay, though it soon would just like everything else. This movement grabbed the attention of Mato and began what would be a conversation that changed everything for the young girl.

"Black Rock, what are you doing?" She asks in a tired voice. She hadn't really expected the reflection to answer. Black Rock hadn't said a word since the two had merged and was unlikely to break her silence now. So you can imagine the young girl's surprise when she did just that.

"Moving…" It was spoken in a quiet mutter—an almost emotionless tone that Mato knew by now to be deceptive. The Otherselves could feel, and felt quite strongly as their purpose revolved around acting as a kind of emotional dumpster. They shouldered the burdens of negative emotions for the humans that spawned them. Hatred, jealousy, despair, heartbreak and more. The Otherselves took them in for themselves and battled each other.

They fought in battles to the death in a paradoxical way. Seeking their own deaths while also trying to end each other in an odd attempt to 'help'. For the burden of negativity they were forced to carry could only be erased when the Otherself was destroyed. Those burdened by the negativity would forget all about the source of their pain at that moment and be free to continue their happy lives. It was a task the Otherselves carried out without bitterness or regret because despite the constant battles, the wounds they suffered, the endless burden placed on them. There was never any question that the reflections loved their humans deeply and without fail. Even Black Rock, who arguably had it worse than any other reflection she had come across.

Usually an Otherself would only be truly burdened by one or two emotions, those being the particularly strong ones that created them. But Black Rock had taken it a step further, greedily taking on every negative emotion Kuroi Mato had and kept the young girl from feeling any of it for long. Her devotion could not be questioned. And it was in knowing this that kept Mato from truly hating the reflection. Everything Black Rock Shooter did was out of the reflections love for her.

"Yeah I understand that, but where are we going? And why now?" She asked as her reflection continued the slow unhurried pace.

"The world is crumbling. We have to leave." Came the response and it left Mato feeling nervous at the vague explanation. But trying to get details out of the stoic girl was already difficult. If it couldn't be simplified into a short answer Black Rock would just ignore the question entirely.

"Are you taking me back to my world?" Mato asked with no small amount of trepidation.

The shaking of her reflections head was like a nail being hammered into her coffin. She would likely never see her family or friends again at this rate. She didn't even need to hear the soft reply of 'no'.

"Why?" She asked quietly as if to herself, knowing that her volume doesn't matter. Black Rock would hear her anyway even if she only thought the question.

Silence reigned for a long moment as Black Rock Shooter came to a stop and paused as if searching for something.

The answer is once more quiet but no less powerful and full of conviction. "To far away. Can't protect anymore."

That took some puzzling from the young girl to figure out. As Black Rock comes to another stop at the edge of a serene lake that seemed rather out of place within the crumbling world, she realized the extent. If she went back she could return to her old life, her family and friends and school. But with this world falling apart what would happen to Black Rock? The reflection would die with it and there would be nothing she could do to protect Kuroi. Everything they do is out of love.

As much trouble as Kuroi might have accepting that she wouldn't be going home anytime soon, she was still worried about what could happen to Black Rock. Her reflection had never done anything to her out of spite or malice, and as terrible as some of her actions were, trapping Kuroi here and tearing apart the other reflections, she only did them to protect the young girl. Surely she didn't deserve to die for that?

"Where are we going then?" She finally asked, more or less accepting her fate. Fighting it hadn't worked when she had a form capable of physically resisting her reflection, nor had it helped her in the slightest when she was yelling, screaming, and crying from her current place trapped within her reflection.

The question brought Black Rock to pause again as she tried to think of a way to actually answer the question. Finally she spoke in her normal quiet tone, answering as short and simply as she could. "Closer."

Unfortunately for Mato, she didn't get the chance to ask what Black Rock meant by that before her reflection's eye lit on fire and they ran straight for the edge of the lake. Terror gripped the younger girl as Black Rock leapt and dove over the ledge, a large splash shot upwards as their body sunk deep into the lake's waters and darkness moved in quickly to envelop them.

Mato doesn't have any idea how long they spend in the dark. She had been afraid the body they were sharing would drown but the Otherselves aren't really human and she's not sure if they even need to breathe. It's only the occasional reply of 'yes' coming from Black Rock whenever asked if she's still there that keeps Mato from giving in completely to her rising panic.

Suddenly however she becomes aware that she feels wet and as soon as that realization occurs she notices a light above her and an equally sudden need to breathe. Desperately she swims towards the light and breaks the surface of the water, breathing in great gasps. With shore not to far away she heads for that first and upon reaching the safety of land she stops and looks at her hands, moving the fingers slowly before digging them into the sand, laughing somewhat hysterically as she relishes the simple joy of touching something again. Even if it is through her gloves.

Slowly she increases her movements, standing up and jumping in place before spinning around and inhaling deep the scent of the world around her. The fresh salt air tickling her nose as she grins broadly. She had been miserable, trapped inside Black Rock for who knows how long. It was good to be back. And yet, this wasn't her school counselors apartment. She was at the beach and had no idea how she got here or even where 'here' is.

Another thing that made her wonder is why she was back at all. Black Rock had said she wasn't bringing Mato back to her world because it was 'too far away'. Her reflection had no reason to lie to her before so why would she start now? And if they weren't in Mato's world, why was Mato in her own body?

Looking down she did immediately notice something strange. She had a chest. Not that she hadn't had one before but now she had breasts! Well she had started growing those too yes but now they were… noticeable… obvious even. And beyond them the ground looked farther away than she remembered it being. It was only after getting over her new assets that she noticed something else. She wasn't wearing her clothes either. A black bikini top, a long black coat with full sleeves and a hood, black short shorts with a thick white belt and knee high boots with white trim at the top. Grabbing her shoulder she cranes her head back to see the large white star on the back of the jacket to match the small one on the left breast of the outfit.

And her hair… She'd never let it grow this long.

'Am I in control of Black Rock Shooter's body?' She wonders to herself as she twists left and right to try and see it from every angle. It was similar in body structure and build if taller and more endowed, The clothing however was what lead to the belief. It was Black Rock Shooter's outfit without question. It was then she heard the voice in her head that made her jump.

'Ours' comes the calm stoic response and Mato looks around to make sure she's really alone and Black Rock wasn't just standing nearby. She wasn't, In fact as far as Mato can see she's completely alone. Reeds ran along the ground where sand ends and what looks like a long stretch of plains begin.

The air is hot and humid and honestly it almost makes her grateful for the stark clothing as she starts walking along the beach, biting her lip, before talking to her Otherself, this time vocalizing the words meant for Black Rock. "Our body? But… it has your hair and clothes and it's… bigger. And I left mine behind back home didn't I?"

There's a long silence from Black Rock before she replies once more by saying 'ours'. And whether it's something Black Rock doesn't know how to explain or that she doesn't want to talk enough to clarify, Mato can't be sure. For now she's just grateful to be able to have control of a physical body again. It was actually rather terrifying for her to spend all that time watching through Black Rock's eyes and unable to interact with anything. Or it would have been had Black Rock not taken her terror as it formed.

"How can it be ours? This isn't my body, I would remember if one of us looked like this!" She replies gesticulating wildly as she talks and walks. The act almost unbalancing her in the unfamiliar body. The answer makes her twitch first with irritation and then bite her thumb in silent worry.

'Older'

"How… How much older? Black Rock… How long was I in your world?" She asks with obvious trepidation. Unfortunately for her, it seems to be a question Black Rock cannot—or simply will not—answer, as the reflection stays completely silent on the subject.

It feels like she walks for hours when she finally speaks to Black Rock again, one hand playing along the collar around her neck. "So, this isn't my world but it's one that's… closer? Is that why I can hear you now," she wonders aloud, feeling a little better at being able to talk out loud for the first time since she went to confront Black Rock. Even if Black Rock isn't a conversationalist, She still enjoys the ability to just speak. Despite the voice not sounding quite right to her own ears.

'Yes,' comes the simple one word response, just as she had expected, having grown used to the lack of elaboration or explanation during her time with her Otherself. Black Rock didn't mean to keep her in the dark, not really. It's just that Black Rock doesn't understand human curiosity. Nor has she ever had a need to hold a conversation. Expecting her to now would be unfair really so Mato contents herself to what little she can coax from Black Rock.

"Well, do you know where we are? Are there even people in this world," Mato asks at length, waiting some time herself before asking as she picks her way across the beach after drawing her hood up to protect herself from the bright sun. But the answer makes her smile. Really, she should have guessed.

'Closer,' a pause, then, 'yes,' she states answering both questions in her usual manner. Mato can't help the small laugh she gives as she walks feeling twinges of fear, helplessness and uncertainty before they're swiftly whisked away to be guarded zealously by her Otherself when they threaten to grow too strong for her to bare. The knowledge does frustrate Mato a small amount that even now Black Rock protects her from feeling the more painful emotions by taking them herself but it is tempered by the knowledge that Black Rock does so out of unquestioning love. And right now really isn't the time to devolve into panic anyway. At least her Otherself was letting her feel them a little.

As Mato opens her mouth to ask if she's heading towards the people in this world she's interrupted by her Otherself speaking suddenly and loudly. 'Danger, weapon' The first word a warning, the second an instruction and it takes Mato a long moment before recalling just how to make a weapon. When she fought Black Rock it was instinctual, she was losing badly, she needed something to fight with and it was just there. Now she was struggling to make the cannon again and instead barely managed to make the 'Black Blade' her reflection favored.

Then she heard it. A low hungry growling noise as a nightmarish approximation of a werewolf covered in black fur broken only by plates and spines the color of bone pushes through the reeds behind her, sniffing at the air even as its head turns towards her. It tenses, and when its bright red eye meets her, she feels dread clutch at her chest before it's ripped away by Black Rock.

But it was there, and the monster felt it in her. With a roar it sank its fore claws into the sand and charged with a loping gait. Its maw snapping as it grew ever closer.

'Fight!' Came the order and Mato, unencumbered by her fear, lashed out with a clumsy swipe that missed the monster entirely before it swung a large clawed hand and sent her flying backwards as purple blood flies from gashes torn into her waist.

'Let me.' Is the next order spoken into her mind and she feels herself slipping back into her mind even as Black Rock takes her place. The hand holding the sword joined by another in a two handed grip as the fighter shifts slowly to the side her eyes narrowing with concentration. 'I will protect you, always.'

When the monster lunges again Black Rock ducks low and jumps forward bisecting the monster with her sword before looking at her weapon for a long moment seeing the blade is still clean and the monster behind her disintegrating into a cloud of smoke. She didn't have long to look, however, when another monster dived at her forcing the Otherself to roll forward under the attack.

There is a pause from the reflection as she glances down at her own body. 'Inconvenient' Comes the thought and Mato finds herself laughing in incredulous hysterics that her reflection is complaining in her own way about their chest size when a deadly monster is trying to kill them.

Black Rock's eyes shift as she notes more coming to join the second creature in an effort to ring her in with the sea at her back. The reflection straightens her stance as they slowly hem her in.

Stepping back as they slowly close the half circle, Black Rock formed what Mato thought of as her signature weapon, the 'Rock Cannon', on her right hand after moving her blade to her left. The sound of metal hitting metal and grinding as it slides into place fills the air for a few seconds before it is complete.

As if that were some kind of signal the monsters attack only for her to evade by firing the cannon straight down, launching herself skyward, leaving the monsters clumped together below as she started shooting into the grouping. Her shots removing limbs and blowing open torsos. None of which bled. Only that same thick black smoke that rose from severed limbs and broken bodies floating up and blown away on the wind.

When she lands there are still three monsters left standing and unharmed, the largest sporting far more of the bone like protrusions than the other two as it eyes her cautiously and moves slowly directing the two others to once more take up positions around her. This time when the two smaller ones attack together from opposite sides the reflection rolls towards the one on her right using her blade to cut open the one passing above her only to meet the claws of the larger creature as it pins her to the ground by her shoulders and slowly lowers itself over her its monstrous face inches from her own as it inhales slowly.

Its attention is pulled away to growl at the last of its smaller kin when it draws too close. When those red eyes turn back to its victim however they go wide as one of the blue ringed eyes on the Otherself alights in ethereal flames. Its surprise only lasts for a moment before Black Rock brings her legs up and shoves the creature off and rolls backwards, severing the head of the last of the smaller ones when she moves to stand.

Now alone with the largest she lowers herself to make a smaller target as she rushes in her blade slashing and sliding against the bone white plates coating its arms that it raises in defense.

When the sword fails to penetrate she discards the sword and turns her cannon on the creature only to be met with similar results. As the blast pushes the monster back but fails to injure; also blocked by the armor. Black Rock is forced to reevaluate her cannon before shifting it into a long heavy black blade. The 'Cannon Lance' is then lifted and aimed at the large creature as it hunches and tenses readying itself to charge.

When it does it tries to block her counter swing with an arm only to lose the limb in the attempt. The heavy lance cutting through what the lighter and thinner sword could not, severing the limb at the elbow before being pulled back and thrust forward skewering the monster through its chest as Black Rock pushes it onto its back. Pinning it to the sand as its one good arm claws at the weapon driven into it and roaring in defiance until the reflection yanks her weapon free and removes its head.

She stares at it while it fades not moving a muscle while turmoil erupts in her mind. Her human finally speaking up after having been mostly silent throughout the fight. 'What were those things Black Rock?' Comes the first question, and the reflection is sure it isn't the last.

"Unknown" Black Rock replies as she slowly loosens her stance, the cannon lance fading into a familiar blue light before disappearing entirely before she bends down and scoops some of the sea water into her hands using it to wash away the blood from her now healed waist. Her head turns as she scans for any more of the creatures before looking in the direction they were walking before. Nothing but beach as far as they could see ending in mountains. Still, it was as good a direction as any to move in and -

"People" She states to Mato before giving her back control of the body. Leaving Mato off balance and stumbling for a moment before finishing the step and looking around. It's the soft rumble of an engine that turns her attention towards the vehicle heading her way and she waits while it pulls to a stop next to her, people getting out and looking around warily even as a tall lanky man holding a rifle exits the driver's seat and makes his way over to her. There's nothing all to remarkable about him aside from his warm smile. But what draws Mato's eyes aren't his facial features or the fact that he's armed.

No, what draws her attention are the two large fluffy rabbit ears protruding from the top of his is what gets her jaw dropping. Which is apparently amusing enough for the man to start laughing at her. It isn't until he starts speaking that she realizes she has a very serious problem.

She has no idea what they're saying.

Something about her she's sure. Or at least, they're asking her something. That much she can guess from their inflection but she can't understand what's being said. It sounds like english but she'd only been learning that in class for two years. And she was far from the top of her class, they had barely even started the speaking portions of her classes. Still, She tried to at least give them her name.

"H-hello, I am Mato Kuroi." She says wincing at her own accent but feeling at least a little proud that she managed to remember to put her family name second when introducing herself. When the bunny eared man looks at her in obvious confusion the pride falls hard. He clearly didn't understand her.

Of course with her luck he would be speaking a different language entirely. Some other germanic language she's sure because it certainly sounded a lot like english. Though she would admit to being no expert in languages. The idea that it might at least be close to a language she knows something of is something that gives her hope that she'll have at least a toe in the door if she needs to learn it.

The whole time she's stuck staring at him the other men with him spread out slowly scanning the surroundings before one returns and mutters something to the tall rabbit eared man while gesturing towards her. The reaction to whatever is said is what sets her on edge as the rabbit man's eyes go wide before narrowing warily.

She takes a step back from him and bites her lower lip before wincing as one of her new little fangs catches on the soft flesh causing it to bleed purple. And boy does that draw attention. Eyes widen and weapons rise all around her. She doesn't even get a chance to open her mouth before Black Rock is in her place. Eye flaring as a pair of pistols appear in her hands. All black metal with blue decorating the top of the slides. There is shouting in that language neither Mato or Black Rock understand. Some at her, some at each other but it all sounds worried and somewhat scared now.

The man with the warm smile and bunny ears looks stunned as he gazes into the fiery blue eye before shaking his head rapidly and shouting something loudly.

Slowly, very slowly, the guns trained on Black Rock are lowered and she lets the fire die in her eye. Ringed blue eyes shifting from one person to the next her guns remaining raised and aimed though they do occasionally change targets based on the small movements of the group surrounding her.

'Black Rock, lower the guns. Don't get rid of them just stop aiming at them. I don't want to kill anyone.' Mato pleads using what little control she has to gently tug the arms down. Gently, slowly, Black Rock obeys her request and lets her hands drop before gradually giving complete control back to her human.

Mato offers a small nervous smile to the rabbit eared man that he returns with his own hesitance. When he speaks again she strains to understand any of it but to her dismay she cant figure out what anything meant.

"I don't understand any of that." she mutters to herself in japanese before trying again in english. Both her poor understanding of the language and accent have her blushing brightly. At least from his continued look of confusion he likely didn't speak it any better than she did.

What preceded was an awkward game of charades between the two that seemed to amuse the other men who slowly relaxed and occasionally chuckled at their antics.

Eventually she figured out the man's name was Marco. And that he was offering her a ride…. Somewhere. Now she knew better than to get into a car with strangers. But on the other hand she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to avoid wandering and potentially getting lost.

At least she had gotten him to start calling her Kuroi.

Unfortunately as much as she knew it could be a bad idea to ride with him she really didn't have much of a choice. It was this or wandering aimlessly again and potentially getting attacked by more monsters. She knew Black Rock would protect her if she needed it but that didn't stop them from getting hurt. Healing fast doesn't stop the pain either.

She nods before approaching the vehicle and climbing on top of it. Letting her legs dangle over the side as she draws her hood up once more. It's enough for the man to chuckle as he says something to the others and they all pile in as well.

'Well Black Rock, I guess this is the start. Where do we go from here?' She asks and smiles a bit as she gets silence in reply. It's then another thought occurs. Something she hadn't had the time to really question before but in retrospect does draw some concern. 'Why is our blood purple?'

Instead of the silence she was half expecting she does get an answer, and it's one that makes the girl chuckle. 'Mixed.' Comes the short answer but it's enough to get Mato to realize what has happened.

Humans might bleed red, but Black Rock has always bled blue.

'Closer indeed.' She replies before turning her gaze forwards as the vehicle makes its way towards the same mountainous area she had been walking towards before the monster attack. The pistols vanishing from her hands the same way the cannon had before them

AN: Someone help me, I can't stop myself anymore. I get so fixated on an idea that I have to write it even if I only needed to hold off on it for a few more months. So here, chapter one of a story I hadn't planned on working on until after at least Whiskey Rose was finished. Lord help me I'm a glutton for punishment.

Also, A big thank you to Secretlysilentevil for beta reading this chapter and helping me determine how certain scenes came out (namely Mato realizing she's older now).