lostmoonchild: Ohayo! Welcome to "Winter Sun" which can honestly be read either by itself or following "Summer Snow" since I think the story would be able to stand alone. Anyway, for all of you that followed "Summer Snow" I'd like to welcome you back to the story that my brain's developed. For all of you that are just finding this fic: Welcome. Anyway, let's get this party started!

Disclaimer: I don't own KKM so don't sue.

Chapter One

For as long as he could remember, Jeremiah had always known that he was destined to bear the burden of the gift and curse given by the Originators. Those around him thought of him as the true vessel for when the Originators returned to seek revenge upon those that had sealed away the powerful darkness. Until just a short while ago, he had believed them.

He could still see her crimson eyes staring back at him, glowing brightly and telling him of the power that dwelled within. Before this seemingly fragile girl, he was nothing more than a weakling. This girl was the true vessel for the Originators. Every negative emotion that had given power to their creator radiated from her as if there was no more room within her being to suppress it all.

Yet there was something within her eyes that told him that while she may have been the true vessel, there was still kindness. Who was she? Why did she look at him like he was the one person on the planet that she wanted to see? She couldn't have been more than five or six years old although she was rather small for her age.

Before he could even think to ask her name, a flurry of snow surrounded the child and his vision of her vanished without a trace.

Jeremiah said nothing as he climbed the tree, smirking when he remembered how many limbs had been broken over the years. One misstep would break a leg, another an arm. If the wrong step was taken, a life was lost. Three lives had been lost in his entire lifetime although he wished that his half-brother had lost his life. Banishing the problem would merely cause more problems later on and he wasn't in the mood to deal with any of it.

An uneasy feeling came over the young man as he looked around at the surrounding trees. The Maoh should have sent help by now to defend their village against the human army he had seen coming but still there was nothing. Where in the hell were they? Was this Maoh really such an idiot that she would allow such a delicate treaty to be broken?

Then again it wasn't like he cared if the treaty was destroyed. That just meant they couldn't drag him away to vanish from the castle. He just didn't want his village to be destroyed and everybody killed. If he died then it wouldn't be much of a loss. He'd simply be reincarnated again and put through more situations that would make him mad and hate the world.

His crimson eyes dulled for a moment as the world around him shifted, the neat village shifting over to a village full of ruins and corpses. This vision would have bothered him more if he hadn't been seeing it for the better part of a month. Death always seemed to be the focus of his visions and he hated it but there were times where he could see the good to come.

"You shouldn't be up at this hour, Jeremiah." A middle-aged man stated calmly.

Jeremiah jolted from his vision before replying, "Don't you know we're not meant to sleep for long? Sleep's for the weak and we've been chosen to be the vessels."

Even to him it sounded like something that was pounded into a child's head before they became a soldier. Serve your country proudly and if you die, then you've died a noble death. He hated it with a passion. There was no honor in dying at the hands of someone stronger. There was only shame in his eyes although he had the strange feeling that there were no others that would agree. "One day you'll come to realize that all creatures need an adequate amount of sleep. When that will happen, I can't say." The man replied smoothly.

"You do realize that you'll be dead before sunset." Jeremiah snarled. "Everybody in this village will be dead."

"Then we die. No man can change his fate."

"I could if I actually wanted to."

"You mean if you were strong enough."

There were no words to describe how much Jeremiah hated this village and its inhabitants. He knew they whispered behind his back that he was some kind of monster and that if his younger brother didn't commit the greatest crime, they would have sat back while the brothers fought to the death. What they didn't know was that he was fairly certain his brother was meant to be a distraction to those that would hunt him down. Then he'd be free to reproduce with whomever he chose whether they wanted him or not and from his essence a child with greater power would come into existence.

His thoughts unwillingly went back to the child he had seen in his dream, a chill once more going down his spine. What in the world had happened to create her? What hell would his soul go through to fill that child with so much anger and hate but still kindness towards others?

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Jeremiah walked away from the man and returned to his house knowing that in a short while, he'd be needed to help defend his condemned village.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"You can't die."

Jeremiah stared at the girl and saw she was playing with a doll that had a rope tied around its neck. "What?" Jeremiah asked.

"You can't die yet. He needs you. He just don't know it yet." The girl stopped her game and looked at him, her crimson eyes glowing.

"Who are you?" Jeremiah asked shakily as he stepped back.

The girl stood up and wiped her hands on her bloodstained dress, looking calm as if the blood didn't bother her. "You." The girl answered. "But they call me Nieve. It means snow."

"Nieve. That's a weird name."

"It's Spanish."

He neither knew nor cared what 'Spanish' was. All he cared about was getting away from the girl. "Great. What the hell do you want?" Jeremiah demanded.

"To tell you something. It's important."

"What?"

"You need to go to the castle. He needs you."

Jeremiah stared at the girl and watched as she grinned up at him. "Who needs me?" Jeremiah asked patiently.

Nieve stopped a moment before answering, "Him. The soldier. He needs you just like we need him."

"We?"

"Uh-huh. When you die and get reborn as me, we can go back and be with him. Even the pretty lady will be there with the annoying boy."

Who in the world was she talking about? Before Jeremiah could ask his question, the girl smiled again before vanishing in a flurry of snow just as the world around him vanished without a trace.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Jeremiah gritted his teeth in pain as he struggled to move, his lungs burning as he breathed in the scorched air. He didn't know why he was still alive but his vision lingered in his mind. The girl told him to go to the castle. The Maoh was at the castle and he could find out why in the world she had sent the army to destroy them.

Anger and hate fuelled the half-Mazoku man's body as he slowly moved towards the castle, forcing his entire body to work. He could feel his wounds growing infected as he traveled, his entire body growing hot to fight off the infection that raged within his body. If he could find out the truth and kill those responsible, he'd happily die of the infection.

He didn't know how far away from the castle he was before he could travel no more and as his vision began to grow dark, he saw a young woman with the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen in his life kneel down. Her words blended together as she spoke to him before he fell into blissful unconsciousness almost praying that he died so he would never suffer the indignity of being forced to see that which no other should know.

lostmoonchild: I actually knew Jeremiah's character from the brief descriptions in "Summer Snow" but he was still a royal pain in my ass and I don't think he's going to get much nicer. Oh well, I like him anyway. For anybody who doesn't like yaoi, I suggest you turn back now cause this story will contain yaoi. With that warning said, read and review!