.Man Fanfic
Lament of Sorrow
Intro
Do you know... the pain of betrayal and abandonment?
Do you know... the sad song the suffering souls sing?
Do you know... the horror of death when it is brought by the hand you
thought loved you?
Yes, I have died once.
Killed by a sword through the back, and cut with a thousand daggers
to the heart... falling, fading light, endless void. The pain was
sharp but the despair sharper. My lament of sorrow joined those of all
the spirits who could not rest in peace with death, their voices an
echo of the wind crying out to ears that could not listen.
Shadow.
That is my name, Shadow, and it suits me well. That is the name I
heard calling out to me in the darkness of death, the entity of my new
world. Shadow. Shadow. Shadow. It is all I can remember through the
torrent of anguish that enveloped my mangled spirit.
Intro cont.
Love is like a flower.
When spring comes, the dawning morrow of a moon reigned night, and
the grass is high, the breeze cool, and the rain fresh, it protrudes
as a growing bud from the softening ground like affection seeping
through the heart's barrier. It continues to thrive and stretch
towards the sun's warming rays until, finally, it blooms; and it is
beautiful, is it not? The myriad of colour painted masterfully on each
individual petal catches the eye. Everything about a flower is
alluring; the feel of petals soft as kitten's fur, the captivating
floral scent.
But you forgot something, didn't you?
Come fall, it withers away in the coldness of day and is obscured
and demolished by winter's ice and snow. Like the feelings of a girl,
it is crushed and devoured and it's beauty forgotten. Some say that
there are those that survive, but I don't believe them. I say they all
die.
I, Shadow, am filled with hate because the one I thought I loved was
the one to bring my demise, at the end of a blade. That was two years
ago, when I was seventeen and wrought of innocent bliss. I had only
known him for a year, but that was enough for a lovestruck young girl
like me to fall for. I should have seen in it coming; I never saw
through the feigned passion, the lie behind a sugar coating, until it
was too late.
Until I lay dying in a puddle of my own blood, a sword through my
back the night after our wedding. Now I know, and am bitter, that he
loved the money I had inherited from my deceased parents. Never me,
but the large sum of cash that hung over my head. And it was that
fateful night that my whole world was turned upside down:
"EZRE!" That was my name before the tragic series of events that
changed my sunlit fields to barren night.
"EZRE!" The voice shrieked again, a pitiful cry of futile
desperation. My white nightgown was soaked in deep crimson and my eyes
and mouth were forever wide in shock. I could hear, in the
subconscious corners of my fading mind, my sister Echo screaming my
name as she sprinted towards me, tears streaming endlessly from her
blood red eyes. My twin was normally a very unfeeling person but I was
and always had been the most precious thing in the world to her, as
she was to me, even above the young man I thought I loved. And now I
was dying.
Echo sobbed and pressed my wounds repeatedly in a desperate attempt
to stem the blood flow, to no avail. I just stared ahead blankly with
azure eyes that seemed to see nothing with my long black curly hair
matted randomly against my face.
"Ezre, don't go, please! Who did this to you? I promise I'll-"
The heavy oak double doors slammed open suddenly.
"There!" A dark haired man shouted, pointing accusingly at Echo who
sat in front of my dying body. Right behind him was a team of
policemen in blue uniforms with guns ready at the holsters. "I knew
it; that greedy girl killed my love Ezre!"
"What?" Echo exclaimed suddenly, jumping up in anger at the false
accusation. "You fiend! You killed my sister, didn't you?"
"Seize her!" He yelled back, queuing the squad to charge forward
across the hallway. Echo wasn't stupid - but she wasn't about to be
jailed and possible executed for a murder she didn't commit; a murder
that she would have done anything to stop.
"I'll kill you," Echo growled, narrowing her cold eyes at the man.
She flipped her silver hair and swept me up with the sword still
deeply embedded in my back. The policemen pulled out their guns in
response to the resistance but in the blink of an eye she was nowhere
to be found. They paused, dumbfounded at the disappearance, before
spreading out rapidly around the large mansion to search. Echo, like
me, had been trained in the arts of fighting and agility and knew her
trade well, therefore making her more than a match for them. She ran
on with quick, light feet for several minutes, having elusively jumped
out through the first story window. Echo kept to the shadows until she
reached a temporary sanctuary in a deep alley. She gently set me on
the ground on my side, careful not to move the sword and further open
the wound or increase the pain. The sun had fallen over the horizon,
shrouding the town in night under a canopy of stars. Under the
moonlight, my face shone faintly, a mask of horror that sent shivers
down Echo's spine.
"Ezre..." Echo whispered softly. She put her hand to my chest and
felt my heartbeat. It was faint, as if the butterfly's wings had
slowly ceased to flutter. "OUI! No, you can't do that, you can't die!"
She yelled suddenly.
"Echo...?" I breathed. I couldn't see anything but black dots
dancing in my vision; the agony was so overwhelming that I could
hardly hear my sister's voice - but it rang somewhere deep within,
like in a dream, and I put every ounce of energy I had to respond to
it.
"No, don't talk!" Echo shouted in response. "By the goddess are you
trying to kill yourself?"
But I couldn't hear her anymore. I couldn't even see the black dots
that were flying in front of my eyes... and the pain, the excruciating
pain, it was gone…
And I was dead.
Echo continued to weep for hours, unable to let go of the fact that
her sister was gone – that she would never her Ezre's soothing voice
again, or have anyone to run to for help or simple company. Ezre had
always been there in her life, no matter what happened, and she had
believed that it would always be that way. Nostalgic images flashed
before her; Sitting beside Ezre as she played soothing piano melodies
on a rainy day, hearing Ezre praise her drawing as she watched over
her shoulder intently, hiding behind Ezre's door to glomp her when she
walked out and nearly giving her a heart attack, sitting in the snow
in the middle of the night just to enjoy the winter sky…
"I swear, I'll avenge you, Ezre," Echo swore, over and over. She
continued to stare at her sister's broken body, allowing the sight to
fill her with rage and hatred. Why couldn't she have died, smiling,
with her eyelashes rested peacefully against her cheeks, instead of
locked in horror and suffering?
Then, in the midst of night, where the darkness reached its peak, he came.
The Millennium Earl.
The master of all akuma (demon), the Millennium Earl was the most
powerful and cunning akuma, the creator of akuma itself. He was large
and round, with light black skin and an elongated face that carried a
disturbingly wide smile. He had long ears and circular eyes that were
nothing but a shining white. He carried a pink umbrella with a small
pumpkin on the top and wore a white suit and black top hat that seemed
to mock his evil ways.
Echo looked up, aware of the sudden change in atmosphere. She
glanced about frantically and noticed that she was no longer in the
alleyway, and Ezre's corpse was gone. She sat on a tiled floor that
stretched on forever across a white space. And then, out of nowhere,
the Millennium Earl dropped in front of her.
"Good evening," he said, in a frighteningly happy voice. "Your
sister is gone."
Echo jumped back and nearly screamed aloud. She felt her hip for her
twin swords, but they were gone. Damn. "W-who are you?" She asked
demandingly. Echo tried to hide the fear from her voice, but it was
quite impossible.
"A friend," He replied eerily, smiling wide. He stepped to the side
and revealed a black skeleton hanging on a rack that wasn't there
before. "This is a magical body I have created; put in a soul and it
comes alive!" The master akuma exclaimed, gesturing towards the
skeleton. "I can get Ezre back for you!"
Echo's eyes went wide with hope for moment, before narrowing
angrily. "No," She said. She had heard of this all before, somewhere,
of how the master akuma would come to those in grievance and use them
to his own twisted gains, leaving the grieving dead and the grieved
torn and helpless.
The demon betrayed a flash of surprise before composing himself
completely. "Ah, no? But don't you want your sister back from that
horrible God?" He asked.
"I don't trust you. I've heard of akuma before, and I know that all
this will only kill me and trap her soul to become another one of your
weapons," She said.
The Millennium Earl looked up to the blank sky in wonder, tapping
his chin comically. "You are quite intelligent," He praised slowly.
"You know of the Noah, then?"
Echo crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "You are
going to invite me into the clan?" She asked skeptically.
The master akuma nodded and flicked his wrist, replacing the black
skeleton on the rack with my dead body. He then produced a small vial
of blood from his pocket. "Half of this is for Ezre, and half of this
is for you," He said. "It will grant you both the power of Noah."
"And you will only take me, and leave her alone," Echo demanded.
"Promise, Earl."
The Millennium Earl grinned triumphantly and nodded. "I promise."
The pink pumpkin headed umbrella promptly began to shout, "Lero! What
are you doing, lero!" The master akuma just laughed in his detached
voice and slapped the umbrella down, quieting it.
"I'm making things interesting, Lero," He replied happily.
With such said, Echo stood and snatched the vial from his hands.
Even with the imposing and frightening demon standing before her, she
was over the initial shock and was therefore fearless. She pried off
the golden cap and pressed it to Ezre's cold lips, draining half of
the vial into her mouth, then drank the rest herself.
The Millennium Earl smiled contentedly and then disappeared with
Echo, restoring me to the alleyway. Echo cried out in protest as her
form faded away and reached forward futilely as breath filled my once
lifeless body. She wanted to at least be there when I awoke, to be the
first sight I opened my eyes to, instead of the chilling dark sky that
would remind me of my brutal fate. The Millennium Earl just guffawed
in mirth and dropped a letter in their departure.
And then, I did something that almost no one had done before.
I woke from the dead.
"Echo?" I asked frantically when I opened my eyes to see a blanket
of stars in the dark sky. The pain that had so enveloped me before was
gone and I felt blissfully cool; I sat up in confusion to see that I
was in the back of an alleyway.
"What am I doing here, where is Ec—,"
I saw the dripping sword lying beside me, a reminder of my
detriment, and the bloody tattered nightgown I wore. There was a whole
in the front of the shirt, and a hole in the same position over my
back. I put two and two together in an instant, and remembered
everything.
"He killed me," I whispered softly. At first, I was too shocked to
feel anything; but then, the emotion seeped through and my inner
turmoil registered.
"HE KILLED ME!" I screamed in rage and sorrow. I didn't care that my
voice was reaching out to the streets; I only knew that I had been
slain at the end of my husband's blade, and that my soul was being
torn. I stood up sharply and began to storm off down the alley with
only one purpose; to find him and return the favor.
I would not have stopped for anything but Echo; and stamped upon a
letter in the middle of an alleyway was her name. I stopped and bent
to pick it up gingerly and unraveled it.
*My dear Ezre,*
"Shadow," I whispered to myself after reading the name. "My name is Shadow."
*When you died, the Millennium Earl came to me and offered me a deal
I couldn't refuse. I did not betray you and make you a mindless akuma.
Instead, I gave you the blood of the master akuma and have restored
your life, also granting you powers beyond a natural human. You are
now Noah, as am I, and I have joined the Noah Clan to ensure your
freedom. Please don't come after me, or my sacrifice will be in vain.
All I want is for you to live on. I love you.
Your sister,
Echo*
I closed my eyes forcefully and trembled. My hands were clenched so
tightly that blood began to drip from the fists. Tears began to
trickle through my eyelashes and I dropped to my knees. A torrent of
black voids had erupted in my heart, and I could almost physically
feel the rush of emotions that bombarded me, like a tsunami wave
crashing against me. I found it fitting that clouds began to cover the
stars, and a light rain started to fall upon me. There was no light in
my life anymore; Echo was gone. She had given herself away, sacrificed
herself so that I might live on, but I wished she hadn't. I wasn't
going to kill myself, no matter how horrible this pain felt, but I
wished I could. I wished.
I fell asleep weeping with tears of agony. I don't know how or when,
but somehow I had lost my conscious self. The presence of sleep was
not an escape, however. My dreams only haunted me further, as if
mocking my torment. I saw myself standing in a frozen desert, crying
out to the fading light above me. I had wings, large white wings, but
my feet had been frozen in a pool of iced water and I couldn't escape
no matter how hard I strained against it. Every time I hacked at the
ice encasing my feet, it repelled me with fire. The soft ball of light
continued to float away in the distance, and in a moment of
desperation, I went into a flurry of punches to destroy my
imprisonment, but was only burned alive. I watched as the ice cracked
and broke and I became free, only to fall back down bloody and broken
from the wracking fires. The light continued to float away skywards
until I was left in darkness forever, unable to live and unable to
die.
And now this, like my story of betrayal, is my tale of revenge
unsated. I can tell you firsthand, that there is no solace to be found
in giving back what horrors delivered to you; inner pain cannot be
pulled from your soul and handed to another. More so, it is like
spreading a disease – you let it manifest onto another, and it begins
to spread among the people.
But if you are to go down in flames, you may as well bring them all
down with you. :
Tyran strolled casually down the cobblestone walkway towards his
Victorian mansion, humming lightly under his breath. The sky was a
dark blanket of clouds that shed light rain upon him, but he didn't
feel downcast along with the weather. The strings of his heart
thrummed lightly with guilt, but he surpassed it with a carefree
attitude – after all, why should he waste his life worrying about
trifle things in the past, when he had so much money, and time before
him? Tyran grinned in spite of himself. How wonderfully his life had
changed so quickly! He was a free man again, and this time with Ezre's
wealth to himself! She had always been a burden to him; constantly
worried when he was gone, expecting so much of him that he had to
completely change his attitude for an entire year. Ezre was so easy to
manipulate, he thought.
He stopped. Tyran looked at the door curiously, wondering why he had
hesitated. Somehow, the air felt different, the atmosphere changed...
however, like he did with so many other things, he let it pass, and
proceeded to open the door.
The door swung open, and Tyran froze in horror.
The crystal chandelier lay shattered in a million sparkling pieces.
The furniture had been torn to shreds and lay about the rooms in large
pieces of fabric and stuffing. The oak tables had been smashed to
splinters, as had the chairs. Books lay strewn about wildly with pages
torn savagely. The doors to the other rooms had been reduced to
rubble, as had the windows facing away from the front of the house.
But what was worst, was the blood.
Ezre. Ezre. Ezre.
His wife's and sister in law's names were written all over the walls
and floors in deep crimson.
Tyran's eyes doubled in size and he clamped his hands over his mouth
to cover the scream of terror he emitted. He backed up slowly and
tripped up in his fluster, falling over and hitting the ground
roughly. How could this happen? Surely, Ezre was dead? It was true
that the police had never found Echo or the body, but it had been a
month since that night – shouldn't this all be behind him? He
continued to lay there staring blankly into the sky as the rain
pounded his face for many moments, until he gathered the courage to
stand up again and investigate further. He hoped that perhaps it had
been a dream, but when he looked up, it was all still there, the
haunting blood written names pressing into his soul.
The next day was just as frightening; he had hired a pair of guards
to watch over his house, but the haunting seemed to follow him
wherever he went. He could have sworn that he saw Ezre out of the
corner of his eye, standing in the road in her bloody nightgown with
her waist length curly black hair matted and shining with crimson,
carrying the sword he had killed her with – but when Tyran turned
around, there was no one. He decided to ignore it, but the same thing
happened later that day as he walked home. He had been mumbling
quietly to himself when he looked up and saw her standing across the
way, azure eyes burning into him. He froze and nearly had a heart
attack, unable to tear his eyes away. A carriage had strolled in front
of her, and when if moved past, she was gone.
It didn't stop with that. Throughout the week, this happened
constantly, and the haunting images of Ezre burned into his mind. Soon
enough, Tyran was overwhelmed with fear and guilt that he didn't even
dare leave the house. He had hired three more guards to watch over,
one of them which stood guard in his room to make sure he wasn't
assassinated in the night. He ordered the police department to double
searches and investigations, but it was to no avail.
And then the night he so dreaded came.
Tyran had been called down to the police department by the head
chief that night to discuss the file on Ezre and Echo. At first he had
refused, too terrified to even step foot outside, but the chief had by
now become annoyed at his constant fear and talked sense into him,
making Tyran feel very stupid and paranoid. Of course, he had brought
a bodyguard along with him anyway.
As they walked, Tyran kept his eyes to the ground, refusing to look
up in fear of seeing Ezre again. It wasn't a very long walk; the
police station was in sight by the time his fears turned into reality,
only after a score of minutes since leaving his mansion. Tyran heard a
muffled shout and the swoosh of wind behind him, and he whipped
around, terrified, to regard it.
His bodyguard lay facedown in a puddle of blood.
The kill had been executed perfectly. His throat had been cut out,
leaving him quite dead with his head almost completely severed in a
matter of mere seconds. Tyran's initial reaction was to tear away from
the scene and find sanctuary within the police station, but someone
else decided that for him.
"Revenge is such a sweet thing, isn't it?" A melodic voice remarked
behind him. Tyran recognized Ezre's voice immediately and began to
struggle desperately as her arms wrapped around his waist and dragged
him into the shaded alleyway. He flailed futilely against his wife's
iron grip arms and tried to yell out through her hand which covered
his mouth.
"Happy honeymoon, dear," Ezre said sweetly. Her voice was like the
songbird's melody, a soft chiming of little bells that mocked her
gruesome appearance. She smiled at the sounds of his muffled screams
and unsheathed the weapon at her hip. "I thought I'd return your
sword." Ezre grinned and uncovered Tyran's mouth.
"B-b-but you're dead!" He stuttered unbelievingly.
"Am I? Here, I'll prove you're not dreaming," Ezre replied, her
voice dripping in venom.
"Please, I-," Tyran pleaded pitifully when Ezre lifted the sword
with one hand, and then brought it down onto his leg, causing him to
yell out from the excruciating thrust.
"I'll tell you how I'm here, too, since I'm going to kill you
anyway," Ezre whispered into his ear as he gasped for air, clutching
his gushing leg. "Echo made me a demon, you see."
His eyes went even wider, and Ezre heard his breath cease. With her
accentuated senses, she felt the beating of heart increase
dramatically. She knew that if she let go, he would just fall onto the
ground in shock rather than run off like he had been trying before.
"It was once said; do unto others as you would have them do unto
you," Ezre whispered to Tyran. She sat still for a moment, soaking up
his fear for her own pleasure, and then, without further ado, plunged
the sword – bloodstained with her own mortal blood – into his back. It
buried to the hilt and protruded from the other side dripping with
warm blood.
"So may you burn in hell."
[Two years later]
I walk a lonely road. I find solace in nothing, as if I am forced to
traverse a dead world – and indeed, it is dead to me. I don't see love
or joy, for it is all a façade, a sickeningly happy mask obscuring the
faces of sorrow and anger.
I don't even know why I live anymore. Before, it was an
unquestionable thing, something never asked or pondered; you were
simply living. However, now I am faced with this reality, this stone
wall blocking my path, and I can only wonder I will ever get past it.
I keep treading the barren night in hopes of finding my dear sister
Echo, where perhaps pieces of my life can be sewn back together.
I hunt akuma. I don't do it for those trapped souls. I do it for my
own; the only pleasure I find is in hearing a demon scream as their
flesh is ripped apart by my doing. I want them all to suffer, like I
did, for taking my sister - for taking my spirit, my soul, my mask.
I looked to the grass rolling under my feet as I walked up a steep
hill on the outskirts of a town I had wandered through. Like usual, I
had been so absentminded that I hadn't even noted the name of it; I
had simply stopped to sate my hunger so that I might wander about the
countryside once more. Being Noah, I quickly found that I didn't have
to eat much in order to sustain myself. This was good, because
although I loved food like my sister Echo, I didn't really want to
associate with humans, who were the providers of such. I kept walking
towards the mountains, careful not to look at the bright moon hanging
above me in the night sky. I knew it wouldn't make much of a
difference, but I didn't want to be reminded anymore of Echo, who
always loved the moon. Sometimes I would lie on the grass and gaze at
it for hours, and other nights, like this one, I would ignore it
completely.
The town continued to fade away in the distance as I progressed,
until I stopped suddenly. I sensed their presence; Akuma. The cursed
demon had been spawning like hellfire lately, and they always seemed
to show up wherever I was. It made no difference to me, though.
"Let them come," I whispered under my breath. I stood there
patiently, waiting as their aura grew closer, until I saw them come up
over the hill's horizon. I pulled out my ninja star and clasped it in
my hand, ready to destroy them in the flick of my wrist.
It didn't seem like much at all, this four spiked weapon I used.
Most akuma I came across grinned and shot at me as if I was a brave,
yet stupid bystander come to try my hand at destroying them that would
be completely obliterated in a matter of seconds.
Only to find themselves another victim of my relentless destruction.
Not long after my death and revival, I had wandered away from my
hometown and came across a crumbled temple deep within the mountains.
With nothing else to do, I searched through the ruins and found a
ninja star buried deep under the rubble. A glowing green light
emanating from it had caught my eye, and I picked it up, deciding to
take it with me. Without warning, several akuma appeared, demanding I
hand over the 'Innocence'. I had, and still don't, no idea what they
were speaking of, and before I could respond with attack, the star in
my hand reacted of it's own accord, flying out at the nearest akuma
and cutting straight through it's armor with magnificent force,
causing the demon to explode. The others began firing their purple
bullets at once, but it had little effect against my enhanced body.
The star returned to my hand, and with almost instinctive reaction, I
threw it at the other akuma, promptly destroying them as well. Though
I do not know how or why my weapon does this, I use it masterfully now
and always keep it within reach, and a lot of times, clutched in my
hand as a safeguard. It is my only friend in the world, the one thing
I knew wouldn't betray me.
The akuma gained distance quickly, sweeping through the sky in their
bulbous, gray forms. These were level one akuma, the easiest and
quickest to kill. They were undeveloped and devoid of any special
power beyond shooting down humans with the many guns protruding from
their bodies.
When they were within reach, I took a defensive stance and flicked
my wrist, sending the star flying with a trail of green fire. To
anyone watching, it would have seemed as though I had several and not
one star, because of how quickly and unnoticeably the weapon returned
to my hand so I could throw it out again. I calculated the demons with
focused determination and killed them with flawless vigor. With only a
few seconds in the skirmish, I had demolished five from the score of
them. By this time they had begun to close in on me, shooting with
blazing purple bullets that had almost no effect on me. I dodged most,
weaving gracefully through the air, and took the few shots that made
their target acceptingly. I flicked my wrist again, sending the star
whirling into another akuma, and again, and again. The remaining
demons pushed in further, trying to close me into a barrage of
bullets, but I refused to be taken down so easily. Using my superhuman
agility, I jumped straight into the air and spun, managing to take out
three more in the time it took me to twirl twice and land.
Jump, spin, throw, dodge, and throw.
Using this direct strategy, I managed to eradicate the entire force
within mere minutes. When there was naught but a haze of smoke, I
laughed quietly to myself and dropped the star into my hilt pocket.
Killing demons was so much fun.
With that battle over, I decided to rest under a large oak that
stood tall on the top of the hill with widespread branches and bright
green leaves. I had just closed my eyes, lying on the soft grass, when
I heard the sound of several feet running up the hill. I could feel
the vibrations of the small stampede through the ground, and I cracked
an eye open lazily to see what was coming towards me – more akuma,
perhaps?
No. Coming over the hill was, instead of more akuma, a boy with
disheveled silver hair and a bright red eye, with a metal, clawed arm
twice as large as his other, emanating green flame at the shoulder.
Following close behind was a tall young man with long blue hair pulled
up into a ponytail, carrying a blue-glowing katana in one hand. Then
last, tripping over his feet tiredly as he sprinted after the other
two, came a guy with flaming red hair held up by a green band with his
orange scarf trailing behind. He had a black eyepatch over his other
green eye and carried a large hammer swung coolly over his shoulder.
They were all wearing the same black exorcist uniforms, marking them
as demon hunters.
I decided to just lay there against the oak's trunk and let them
pass, pretending to be asleep. Hopefully they wouldn't even see me and
just run right by; I had no desire to mingle with humans in anyway –
however, instead of seeking some further goal, they seemed to be
heading straight towards me. I had an instant urge to run, but I
didn't want to look suspicious and have them chase me, so I decided
that they might just go away if I sat here and did nothing.
"Oui! Are you okay?" The silver haired one called out worriedly as
he came sprinting headlong my way. I ignored him completely, just
watching as he neared, then stopped before me. He looked down at me in
confusion and kneeled down, reaching forward with his good hand. I
nearly screamed aloud when I felt his cold hand touch my neck lightly
to feel my heartbeat.
"She's alive," He remarked to the katana wielder who stepped up
behind him, staring at me with an icy glare that made me want to flail
him.
"And awake," He observed in a stone voice.
Hiretsukan! How could he know that? My fierce eyes flashed open and
I jumped up, shooting myself into the tree in a lightning quick moment
with hardly a whisper.
"Who was that, Allen-kun?" The redhead asked curiously when he
joined the other two, huffing breathlessly. Allen shrugged and they
all looked up into the tree in bewilderment. I looked back down with
blazing azure eyes like a cat's glowing orbs in the night.
"Come down, please. I need to talk to you," Allen, the one with the
clawed arm, called desperately. I didn't care what he thought he
needed to say; I wasn't coming down.
Then, without any threat or warning at all, the blue haired exorcist
lifted his katana and sliced the tree in half with a solid, fluid
movement, causing it to crash down with the loud rustling of leaves
and snapping branches. I was caught in the midst of its devastation
and felt the warmth of blood trickling over me as the sharp twigs
buried into my skin.
"That wasn't necessary, Kanda!" Allen yelled out furiously to his
friend, who just shrugged dismissively.
"You could have kill—," The guy with the eyepatch began worriedly,
staring into the fallen oak, until he saw me stand up and pick my way
through the plant rubble. I brushed myself off promptly and put a hand
to mouth to lick off the blood.
"What?" I asked demandingly, glaring at all of them. I was adorned
in my customary ninja attire, which was comprised of a sleeveless and
skintight black kimono that came down into a dark sapphire cloth belt
and extended down as black cloth slit at the sides. I wore dark thigh
socks and long, fingerless gloves. Earrings that each resembled five
little stars hanging on a chain dangled from my ears; Echo had the
same, but instead of stars, they were moons. My onyx hair hung to my
thigh in glossy little ringlets and my heavy lashed indigo eyes burned
with an inner fire that would've stopped the hearts of normal men. I
stood there, waiting, as they all simply gawked at me. Perhaps I
should've pretended to die; like that stupid hammer boy had suggested
I could have.
"Strikeee!" The redhead shouted suddenly. I saw his eye glaze over
in a passionate fire, and it scared the living hell out of me. I
started to run…
Glomp.
Oh goddess, no. "Get the hell off me!" I screamed furiously when he
practically attacked me with a hug. I pried futilely at his strong
arms. "Let go, let go, let go!" I ranted. I usually didn't get so mad,
or lose my cool like that; even before my life crumbled I had always
been a quiet and calm person.
"Good idea, Lavi. I'm sorry miss, but we can't let you get away," Allen said.
"Eh? I just thought she needed a hug," Lavi replied
enthusiastically. When thrashing didn't work, I began to bite at his
arms, which made him let go instantly with a shout of protest. Sadly
for me, all three of them had already surrounded me by this time, and
there was no escape.
"Why are you so opposed to us?" Allen asked suspiciously. I just
threw him a look of daggers, which made him step back cautiously.
"You destroyed the akuma," Kanda stated dully. He acted almost as
though he was bored. He had a hand on my wrist to keep me from getting
away. I wanted to spit in their faces; I felt like a trapped animal, a
cornered snake that could do nothing but recoil at the hunter.
"What's it to you?" I asked spitefully.
"I bet she has innocence," the redhead, Lavi, remarked earnestly.
"We should take her back."
"Oui! Take me where? You have no right!" I seethed frantically. Who
the hell did they think they were? Anymore of this, and I'd have to
take them out, I thought. Then I remembered; katana, clawed arm, and
hammer – maybe that wasn't the best idea.
"Kanda, stop glaring, you're scaring her," Allen said
apprehensively. "What is your name?" He asked kindly, trying to make
me feel less invaded. Yeah, well, it wasn't working.
"Shadow," I replied sharply.
"Oh, okay, Shadow-chan. I'm Allen-kun. That's Kanda, and this is
Lavi," he said formally, gesturing towards the other two. "We are
exorcists of the Black Order, an organization of people working to
eradicate the akuma."
I just stared at him with a look that said, "Your point?"
"Uh…," he began nervously. "Well, we believe you have Innocence. If
you were the one to destroy the akuma, you must've had it."
"Innocence?" I asked. The demons had spoken as such as well.
"It's a God-given power used to destroy akuma. Each piece of
Innocence has a host, someone who can use it as a weapon. It's the
only thing that can kill akuma, so you must have it," Allen clarified
as he ran a hand through his hair.
"We'll need to take you back to headquarters, Shadow-chan," Lavi
said optimistically. "You can be an exorcist." He threw me a crooked
smile and offered a black gloved hand to me, which I promptly swatted
away.
"You're not taking me anywhere," I growled. I looked past the three
exorcists and Lavi's hurt expression, and put my gaze to the stars and
saw the glowing moon that shone down on me, a nightly beacon of pure
white light. A breeze of early autumn wind blew past me, lifting my
black curls and forcing me to blink. I didn't want to lose the moon, I
thought as I stared into its mysterious depths. It was large and full
this night. I felt that going with the humans would seal away the only
thing I had left, the thing Echo had sacrificed in order to preserve
my own; freedom.
Why was it so difficult to live?
It's so cold. So, very, cold. I'm fallen, burned alive with this
ice, bleeding to death in this darkness. My light is gone, but I have
to keep moving, continue walking with these broken legs.
A tear? I looked up, touching my cheek with snow coloured fingers to
feel trickling streams of moisture running from my azure eyes. Had I
been crying? I glanced at the three exorcists and realized that Kanda,
that blue haired Hiretsukan, had released his cold grip, leaving a red
imprint on my arm. Allen and Lavi had stepped back tentatively, eyes
wide in surprise and sympathy.
"S-shadow… chan…?" Allen asked worriedly. Somehow, his kindness
infuriated me – why should he care how I felt? Especially since all I
had done was push everyone away. I didn't want their pity, so why did
they give it to me?
"Oui, what's wrong?" Lavi asked quietly, turning his head slightly
in confusion. I hid my face – the face betrayed me with weakness – and
fell to my knees on the keeling grass. Disappear. Disappear! Die, all
you blind morons!
I felt a hand grasp my shoulder, firmly but gently. "Please don't
cry. We exorcists aren't so bad," The lighthearted redhead, Lavi,
comforted. I looked up through my wet fingers and saw him kneeling
before me, smiling hopefully.
I was going to slap him, but…
"Tch! I don't have time for this!" Kanda shouted suddenly, walking
past stiffly and pulling me up abruptly with undeniable strength. He
threw me roughly over his shoulder and pinned me down against it,
suppressing my struggles. The feelings of despair washed away
instantly and left rage in its wake. I was completely enraged at this
man's cold demeanor.
"DAMN YOU ALL!" I screamed, pounding relentlessly at Kanda's back as
he carried me away, Allen and Lavi scrambling to catch up.
I had raged myself to sleep – thrashed and yelled until I wore
myself out to unconsciousness – and then awoke to find that it had
truly not been a dream. I opened my heavy lashed eyes slowly, blinking
against the bright fire that illuminated the forest clearing in a soft
orange glow. On the other side of the low fire was Kanda, staring into
the red ashes intently as he watched me awake through the corner of
his eyes like a hawk. Allen and Lavi were both fast asleep, rolled
tightly in their sleeping bags and resting so close to the fire I was
surprised they hadn't gone up in flames by now. I noticed that I was
also bundled into a sleeping bag, and that I was completely frozen.
Kanda had thrown me at the edge of the campsite, near the trees, so I
was an icy distance from the warming flames. I almost burst into
another fit of rage, but by this time, I had calmed down and realized
that, truly, I didn't care. Honestly, what did it matter where I went?
As long as I could fight akuma, there was no point in resistance.
After all, I had nothing to lose.
Nothing that mattered, anyway.
"Will I become an exorcist?" I asked softly, mostly to myself. Lavi
had already said so, but for some reason it didn't feel set in stone.
I felt like I was being dragged to prison.
"As the order demands," Came Kanda's dull reply. His cold words went
right through me; it was obvious he hated me. I didn't care. They were
all the same in the end, humans.
Will becoming an exorcist help me find my sister?
"Your sister?" Kanda asked suspiciously. I jumped; had I said that
out loud? I just shook my head and ignored him, lying back down. I
didn't want to go back to sleep in fear of whatever nightmares awaited
my return to unconsciousness, but the company of Kanda was nothing I
desired. I closed my eyes and decided to take my chances with the
realm of sleep. It didn't help that Lavi was now snoring contentedly,
but I managed to escape reality for a few broken hours, until it
returned all too soon with the dawning morrow.
That day was slow, little conversation passed between us, mostly
because I cut it all short. I didn't really enjoy talking – it was
pointless – and thus, I kept to myself and ignored everyone, doing
nothing but put foot in front of foot after Kanda's one-minded lead.
Usually, Echo was the mouth, and I was the action. She loved to talk
and was exceptional at chewing people out. She could twist her words
to change anyone's mood, whether it was to make them happy, calm, sad,
and one she was very good at, frightened. Without her, I was torn and
left a severed soul.
Walking along the mountains to the Black Order, Allen and Lavi told
me of being an exorcist. They claimed that they were the apostles of
God, the chosen humans to host Innocence and rid the world of akuma,
souls of despair and anguish twisted to bring destruction to the world
at the hands of the Earl and the Noah clan. Allen told me of how
Innocence worked and the different kinds, and informed me of the
normal exploits an exorcist experienced.
And then I saw it, the tall, dark headquarters that was host to the
Black Order. It stood large and daunting on a wide crumbled cliff face
against a haunting night sky. It was a soaring building, so high it
seemed to touch the heavens. The structure itself was like a huge
column that started out large at the bottom and gradually got smaller
higher up.
"Whatcha think?" Lavi asked. He looked at me with the hopeful eyes
of a child who had given another a gift and was awaiting anxiously the
reaction. I shrugged uninterestingly, and yawned, downing his optimism
cruelly, and walked up to the cliff.
"Huh. You'd think they would've built a ladder or something," I said
curiously to myself, looking up the steep climb. I grappled the rock
with a firm hand and began pulling myself up the high cliff face.
"Uh, Shadow-chan, over here-,"
I ignored Allen's call and continued climbing, practically gliding
over the rocks like a spider, graceful and quick. After al, I was
Noah, and such skill was to be expected. The ledge was at least a
hundred feet up, but I scaled it in mere seconds, pulling myself over
to look down at the three exorcists, who wore a look of amazement
each, even untouchable Kanda.
"Well?" I asked impatiently as they gawked at me.
Allen fumbled for words, "Eh, uh, how'd you do that?"
I shrugged noncommittally and saw Lavi ran up to the cliff and begin
climbing as well. I cocked an eyebrow curiously as he trying futilely
to make his way up, grunting against the strain. He was like a dog
trying to climb a tree – pathetic. I laughed aloud when I saw him lose
his grip and fall down after a few feet up.
"Come down. We're taking the easier route," Kanda said tiredly,
turning around as if he expected me to kindly obey and follow. I just
scoffed.
"This is easier, you dumbass," I yelled back at him. He turned
around and locked murderous stares with me. I returned his icy glare,
hands on my hips.
"Big hammer, little hammer," Lavi said suddenly. "Grow, grow, grow!"
He yelled. He and Allen were mounted on the hilt of his black hammer
when it shot up swiftly into the sky, extending to impossible lengths.
The two rode the growing hammer to the top of the cliff, where Lavi
and Allen dropped down, Lavi taking his weapon, now fist sized, and
flipping into his pocket coolly, like a cowboy might with his pistol.
I heard Kanda mutter something unintelligible under his breath, and
watched as he strode up to the cliff, where I and the two exorcists
stood waiting at the top. He pulled out his katana in a fluid draw
and, with a yell, jumped high into the air and buried his blade into
the rock, flipping himself over in the air to land lightly onto it. He
then bent and propelled himself into the air again, taking his weapon
out along with him as he did so. He caught the top with one hand and
pulled himself over, continuing to walk towards headquarters as if
nothing at all had occurred.
When we reached the gate – two large double doors strengthened and
reinforced to keep things out and in – I stopped and paused in
curiosity at the huge totem-like face that was set in between the
doors.
"Don't worry, that's just the gate guardian. He needs to see if
you're human or no – but that's no problem, since nothing can fool
Allen's demon seeing eye," Lavi said enthusiastically. I nodded
acceptingly, then froze midway abruptly.
I'm not human. I may not be akuma, but I am not a normal being.
I stiffened, and then turned on my heel suddenly. I couldn't let
them find out; surely they'd kill me! I wasn't ready to die yet, not
until I saw my sister again.
"Eh? Shadow chan!" Allen called out as I turned for the cliff. "It's
alright, why are you running?"
I was about to jump right off the cliff - in fact, I had already
thrown myself into the air – when Kanda pulled me back by the collar
and dragged me to the gate. I could have easily fought back, but I
didn't need them to have any more reason to kill me.
"You annoy me to no end," Kanda growled as he threw me in front of
the guardian. I didn't resist this time, but I clenched my fists when
it called out, "X-ray examination. Determining whether subject is
human or akuma." I closed my eyes and waited; I knew there was nothing
I could do about it, so I might as well accept it stoically. Worst
came to worst, I would enjoy killing Kanda.
"SUBJECT IS NOT HUMAN! SUBJECT IS NOT AKUMA! WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT?
GET IT AWAYYY!" The guardian cried out suddenly, its face contorting
in fear. "KILL IT!" He yelled, looking as if it was about to burst
into tears. Behind me, I heard Allen gasp, and Kanda 'tch'. I turned
around slowly and saw them all standing in defensive positions, their
weapons drawn.
"I… what are you, Shadow?" Lavi asked with pain in his voice. His
hammer was outstretched hesitantly.
"Noah," Kanda answered for me. He charged suddenly, his katana
leading the way. "Mugen, activate," He said, drawing his first two
fingers over the blade as he ran, lighting the katana in blue. "Beasts
of the Netherworld; UNLEASH!" He cried, slicing the air and leaving a
whole in the fabric of space in which dark beasts were released. I
dodged them all, jumping through the air and twisting side to side, as
they rocketed towards me. They were fast, I noted, as five came at me
at a blinding speed all from different directions. I jumped up and
ducked in the same movement, letting one pass underneath and another
two pass overhead and hit the wall to disappear in a black explosion.
I slid to the right and dodged another, but earned a hit to my side by
the last one. It didn't hurt much, but it gave time for Kanda to rush
up and begin weaving his blade at me.
He was good. Well, for a human.
I grinned and pulled my star out. I swung my head side to side to
dodge his thrusts, and then instead of jumping back, grabbed his blade
with my left hand as he came over with an overhead chop. He strained
to twist the blade in my hand and clenched his teeth against the force
of my grip. Blood began to trickle from my clenched hand and I would
admit, it was painful, especially as the blade tore away at my skin as
he twisted, but I wouldn't let go. Instead, I raised my right hand and
threw the star at him, sending it spinning into his chest. In a moment
of desperation as the whirling weapon flew towards him, Kanda ripped
the sword from my hand with exceptional strength. I screamed as the
blade ripped my hand open and stumbled back, staring wide-eyed at the
gushing blood. I looked back up and threw Kanda a glare of hatred and
noticed that he was also similarly suffering a minor attack. I also
saw that Lavi had stopped his charge and was staring at me with a torn
look; as if my pain hurt him and that he didn't want to believe I was
enemy. However, Kanda reminded him of the horrid reality.
"What are you doing, Lavi? Have you forgotten your duties as an
exorcist?" Kanda cried angrily to Lavi as he charged at me again. I
sighed as I watched the wound on my hand stitch itself back together
and stood lazily as they both charged at me. Allen was still standing
to the side in confusion, his brows furrowed in concentration. I
sighed and mentally called back my star, which dissipated from Kanda's
wound and returned to my outstretched hand. Then, at the last second –
Kanda's blade barely grazing my nose – I propelled myself into the
cool night air and spun, flicking my wrist and sending the star flying
at Lavi, who predictably blocked it with his huge hammer as I fell
back down with hardly a whisper, absentmindedly grabbing my weapon
from the air as it ricocheted back.
"Seal: Fire circle!" Lavi yelled suddenly. Several blue seals
appeared above him and he heaved his hammer into the air, bringing the
front of his weapon onto one of them, bringing it down onto the ground
where it expanded in red light. I watched in awe as a large pillar of
flame rose up from the hammer and seal and abruptly twisted in my
direction, engulfing me in blasting fire like a snake devouring a
mouse.
"Wait!" Allen yelled out as I shouted in alarm, being devoured by
flames and all. I grunted in pain as the fire threw me into the wall
and thought in a faraway sense, couldn't he have said that earlier? I
slid to the ground, and when I lifted my head, Kanda was standing
right there with a rigid and determined look, his blazing katana
pressing into my neck. I hissed like a feral panther and was about to
counter when Allen ran up, pushing Kanda aside hurriedly.
"I don't want to kill you, Shadow-chan," Allen said as he dropped
down before me to come eye level with me. I looked at him
half-disbelievingly and half-bored, as if saying, "Kill me? Ha. More
like, you don't want to die."
"I need to talk to you before we take such rash action. For one, how
can you have innocence?" He asked. Lavi dropped his hammer and
breathed a sigh of relief, and Kanda just stood there, looking as
spiteful as always.
"I wasn't always Noah," I replied, my eyes half-closed. I slowly put
a hand to my mouth and began licking the blood off my palm tiredly.
Just then, the gate doors burst open and a squadron of men in white
uniforms rushed out to form a circle around me. A man with flippy blue
hair and a white artist cap stepped through the crowd to look down at
me sternly. I was sure I looked quite fragile and defeated at the
moment as I sat crumbled against the stone wall, blood dripping from
my neck and hand, though I was far from it.
"We'll talk later," He said haughtily, then ordered the men forward
with a flick of his first two fingers. Allen stepped back as they
pulled me up – none too gently – and dragged me inside. At first, this
brutal handling pissed me off, and I almost began slicing them all up,
but my calm nature inside told me otherwise, and I decided that I
would let them take me in. After all, I was kind of tired after the
day's trekking and fighting no longer seemed so appealing.
I crossed my arms and huffed sadly as they carried me away and
through the halls into the headquarters. I glanced about through the
small mass of bodies surrounding me and saw that we were currently
walking down a long spiraling staircase in the central building. It
looked down but all I could see was darkness; where the hell were they
taking me? I wondered suspiciously. As we walked, the squadron, chief,
and three exorcists, I noticed a constant change in the draft and knew
that we were coming far below the ground. I was about to say something
regarding our direction when the chief stopped before a heavy bolted
door and opened it for us to enter. I was carried into a dark, damp
and dusky place which atmosphere reminded me of a dungeon – and then,
as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized that I wasn't far off.
We were in a jail, I could see, for there were several cells lining
the wall with iron bars and a little uncomfortable looking bed shoved
in the corner of each. I opened my eyes wide in contempt as I realized
just what they were intending to do; couldn't they have given me a
guest bedroom, or something at least a bit more decent? I raged
angrily to myself. I had lived the majority of my life living in a
lavish mansion with my sister Echo, and sparse accommodations were
quite unknown to me. Hell, how was I supposed to get any sleep here?
And then, the rusty metal door opened and I was thrown into a cell.
Kanda shut the door loudly and turned around to depart with everyone
else as I brushed myself off and proceeded to sulk in the corner. They
didn't even bother to say "Have fun" or "Sweet dreams"; everyone just
turned around and started walking away. Well, I wasn't letting them
off that easy.
"A piano," I called after them, my voice barely audible. The group
of men in white uniforms continued to walk away as the chief had
instructed, but the three exorcists and the chief himself paused to
consider my vague request.
"What?" Lavi asked, coming up to the cell. He wrapped his hands
around the bars and pressed his face to them, looking in curiously at
my dejected form.
I sighed. "Piano," I repeated. This would be one of those many times
where my sister Echo would speak for me, I thought, disappointed. I
glanced about at all of their confused expressions and sighed again.
"I'd like a piano."
Lavi grinned and turned his head to the others. "Komui, can she have
a piano?" He inquired. Kanda 'tched' angrily and stalked out of the
room, obviously too cool to deal with such low affairs.
The chief narrowed his eyes and shook his head sharply. "No," He
replied sternly, to which Lavi shrugged dismally. Allen and Komui
proceeded to follow Kanda out who was already making his way up the
stone stairs. Lavi threw me a wink before joining the others and
shutting the door, leaving me alone in the cold darkness of a jail
cell below headquarters.
I wish I had a piano… I thought sadly as I pulled myself slowly off
the cold stone floor and threw myself onto the tiny bed against the
wall. As I curled up into a tight ball – remarkably resembling a cat –
I remembered distant days. I fell asleep to broken bits of memory.
"Ezre, I'm bored," I heard my sister say. I glanced about and
realized that I was in a hazy vision of our beautiful Japanese garden.
Echo and I were walking down a small graveled path lined with flowery
cherry blossoms and koi ponds with pink lotus flowers. Echo was beside
me, her silver hair flying behind her in the wind, her sharp red eyes
boring into mine. I noticed that she was smaller, and realized that
this must've been around the time after we had run away from our
latest foster parents.
I opened my mouth to say something to her, but then she took off
sprinting around towards the bridge at the end of the path. "Catch
me!" She yelled giddily. I began to run after her, but then stopped as
she disappeared into the distance and everything became black. The
scene changed and I spectated myself lying on a shoji mat, sipping a
cup of green tea timidly. Echo was at the foot of the bed, gazing at
my younger form worriedly. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself so
hard," She said to me, sounding very much like an upset mother. I
coughed and smiled weakly at her. As I watched myself fall back onto
the bed, the vision became hazy and dark again. A dim light slowly
filled my mind and I saw that I was standing before the grand piano,
dawn's soft yellow light filling the room through the open shoji
screen. I walked across the cool stone floor and sat down to play,
gliding my fingers across the keys. Instead of a beautiful melody, a
few broken notes were played. I looked at the piano in confusion,
wondering if it had betrayed me and tried again, resulting again in a
bitter tune. "Shadow?" Echo said as she turned into the room from the
outside pathway. "Shadow! Shadow!" I heard her call, though I didn't
know why she was calling my name frantically; I was staring right at
her.
And then I stirred, awaking from my dream to realize that Lavi was
the one calling my name. I lifted my head tiredly and sat up, still a
little disoriented from the dream. I saw the baka redhead standing in
front of my cell, a piano beside him. At first I thought I might still
be dreaming, but after rubbing my eyes a few times and absorbing the
view of the familiar cell, I began to realize that I wasn't – had Lavi
really dragged that piano all the way down from headquarters? And…
why?
"Oui, Shadow, you're up. I brought you a piano."
I looked at the piano longingly, then stood up and began walking
towards it, my fingers outstretched. I came to the bars and wrapped my
hands around them, then threw a look at Lavi that said, "leave."
He gave a small laugh. "I want to hear you play," He explained
enthusiastically. My face fell. I wanted to feel the keys under my
hands, and hear the melody of my craftsmanship that would bring me
into the past… but how was I supposed to concentrate with this
dimwitted hammer boy standing right there? I glared at Lavi, making
him step back cautiously. Maybe if I continued to scare him, he'd go
away. After all, I doubted he would be able to drag the piano up.
"I'll be quiet if you'd like," He assured. After a moments thought,
I decided to give in, considering Lavi did bring me the piano, and put
my arms through the bars to touch the keys. I sighed as nostalgic
memories hit me and threw myself into a song, gliding my hands over
the keys masterfully. I closed my eyes and played a song that I knew
so well, a lullaby that I had often played for Echo. It was soft and
haunting, beautiful and cold, and deeply entrancing. I was no longer
standing in a cold jail cell, but playing to the setting sun on the
patio before the colourful Japanese garden under a darkening sky. My
nimble fingers glided over the keys and produced a perfect tune that
transitioned slowly and gracefully into different melodies, from
depressing tear-jerking symphonic solos to light and uplifting
choruses. Every note was like portraying an emotion to me, so I
spilled out my life in song, transferring my mood through my fingers
and into a song that was the story of my life.
I was an orphan. My father had always loved my mother so much; and
when she died, he was completely crushed. Echo and I had only been
eight at the time, but I remembered. I remembered how my father had
locked himself away in grief and sorrow, unable to accept the fact
that his beloved wife had passed away. It was very sad to see my
caring mother die – she had always been a happy, loving face in my
memories. She was the one to teach me how to play the piano, and that
is why it always struck such deep chords in my heart. Echo and I
watched our father further deteriorate over the days, until one day he
came out of his room, much calmer than before. He had asked to walk
with us, and as we did silently so, he suddenly transformed into a
twisted demon and began attacking me and Echo. Shocked and terribly
confused, we screamed and clung to each other desperately, when an
exorcist jumped through the trees and stopped the flying purple
bullets with chained pendulums that shot out from his outstretched
hands. He shot his weapon out at the akuma that was our father, and it
exploded in a flash of smoke. And then the man turned around, wearing
a black uniform. He had long white hair from old age and had distant,
wise eyes. To Echo and I, he explained what had happened with our
father and warned us of the Millennium Earl and other akuma. After the
unfortunate deaths of both of our parents, we became orphans and were
sent through many different foster parents over the years. They
disliked my quiet, haunted behavior and Echo's angry, disobedient
nature, and my sister and I always hated living with other people,
especially since we were always suspicious of them. When we were
eleven, I ran away with Echo who was of course, the one to present the
idea, and we used money from our inheritance to purchase a large
Japanese style house. From then, we lived together on our own for
several years, supporting each other and entertaining ourselves
through the many free days we had. We both mastered the Japanese
fighting styles, and learned many other talents like calligraphy and
gardening and cooking, since the days were filled with nothing but
what we desired to do to tame our boredom. I often played the piano,
and Echo loved to draw. We both sang and danced, and often times would
do so in the rain. We never attended school after we ran away, so we
didn't know all the strict facts that most other children knew, but we
far excelled in imagination and creative talents, and I never found
such things taught in school important.
I played on for a long time – it must've been hours – before I paused
and opened my eyes again.
It seemed as if half of headquarters had gathered to hear me play.
Once I stopped, everyone began clapping and cheering, and some people
I could see were actually crying. I whipped my head about, feeling
very much like a trapped animal.
"That was amazing, Shadow," I heard Lavi say. I turned my eyes to him
and saw him smiling widely, and the rage began to boil within me. I
couldn't handle this, I thought. I had just poured my very essence and
soul, the life that was mine, into the keys to play a beautiful
ballet, and there were so many people around to see the result of thus
– myself completely exposed.
All I had wanted was to play in piece… it was his fault, that stupid
redheaded idiot usagi's damned fault… And thus, like any coiled snake
would do, I retaliated. Everyone in the cramped room stopped clapping
and talking suddenly as I gripped the piano on both sides and began to
lift it up. I growled ferociously, hardly even conscious of my
actions, as I watched the Black Order members step back tentatively.
"Uh, Shadow, what… what are you doing?" asked Lavi cautiously. And
then, without further warning, I thrust the piano forward and sent it
flying through the air to collide into his form. The two, Lavi and the
piano, collided and fell back against the wall, and for a moment, time
seemed to stop.