Morg: Heyo! Sorry for taking forever on this one guys! I know where it's going but I'm having a hard time getting it there.
Ikuto: Lame!
Amu: The tree is creepy. You could've taken longer to update.
Morg: It's supposed to be creepy!
Ikuto: Then you did a good job.
Amu: Are you complimenting her?
Morg: This is weird. Quick tell me something to make me realize that this is happening.
Ikuto: You are dirt poor and you don't own anything.
Amu: Nice one!
Morg: Thanks…
~Your Blood in Mine~
"Nagi."
The name simply had to be spoken for the sprite to appear before his master. "Yes Ikuto."
The blue haired angel of death watched another one of his soon to be victims as he exited a small hut in the middle of dense forest. "You are to follow up on the talk of an old woman with a youthful look. She's been alive far too long."
Nagi bowed his head. "What would you like me to do?"
"Terminate her. This hermit by the name of Tsukasa will be time consuming for me, but this girl needs to be taken care of."
Nagi faded out of sight without moving his body as Ikuto went back to watching the old man. Right before he could make his move, the hermit glanced up at him with a smile and disappeared. Cursing, Ikuto made his way down to the hut to take a look around and see if there were any clues to where the man might have gone.
XXX
"Come on Ami! I'll race you to Tree-san!"
The pinkette laughed as her younger brown haired sister ran with all her might. Amu made sure to slow down so that her sister had a fighting chance. At the last second, Amu tripped over something on the ground and fell forward onto the tree.
"Amu-chan beat me!"
Amu smiled apologetically at her baby sister. She hadn't meant to beat the younger girl. In fact, she usually let Ami win and have whatever she wanted, but Amu had tripped. The odd part was the ground was completely flat where she'd been running. There was no way she should have tripped considering the amount of times she'd run from their house to Tree-san. Just as Amu looked back, a small bump disappeared back into the ground.
XXX
There were rumors of a beautiful lady holding onto her youth well past her years. Nagi had dealt with plenty of beautiful women, although none of them were beautiful past skin deep. Every single one he'd dealt with was staying young by stealing youth or something else from other young women. This girl was most likely no different. At least that's what Nagi thought until he saw her. Long blonde hair that reached to her petit lower back. Big golden eyes that seemed to see and understand everything. This was bad; this was very, very bad. Nagi found her more attractive than every other woman he'd ever had to deal with. What was the nonhuman sprite to do?
XXX
Ikuto smirked as he figured out what was happening. With that smirk still in place he made himself invisible and moved as if he was leaving. After waiting no more than two minutes, the hermit Tsukasa reappeared. Ikuto stayed in his invisible state and watched as the old man moved around his hut in solitude. He didn't seem threatening, but Ikuto knew that a disposition like the hermit's never lasted long. Eventually he'd think he could help someone or do something to change the world and leave his little hut in the woods for the rest of the world and wreck havoc with his powers. The best thing to do would be to put an end to the man here and now, but Ikuto's hand stayed. He had been about to call forth his powers to snuff out Tsukasa's life, but something stopped him.
With a sigh, the older man took a seat at his table and gestured to the chair across from him without looking at Ikuto. "You and I both know that you're still here. Come and join me."
Slightly taken aback, Ikuto presented himself to the room and took the empty chair. "You have lived past your time, old man."
Tsukasa smiled at the jab. "I hardly look thirty years of age. What makes you think I'm an old man?"
"Nothing escapes me. How is it that you've maintained your youth?"
The smile stayed on his young face as the hermit shifted slightly in his chair. "I thought you said that nothing got past you? Is it really so hard to believe that I am the age that I say I am?"
Ikuto's fists hit the table with a resounding thud. "Don't patronize me. We both know who I am and what I do. Give me one good reason not to end your life right here and now."
Tsukasa leaned back in his chair but kept his friendly smile firmly in place. "You've been watching me, Death. I know you have. I can feel it when your gaze is upon me. Tell me, in all the while that you've been watching me, have I done anything to warrant your punishment?"
Ikuto sighed and leaned back. He hated the ones that thought they were smart enough to trick him into letting them live longer lives. "You told me yourself that you knew I was watching. How can I consider what you've been doing as normal behavior if you know I've been watching you?"
Tsukasa frowned a little at that. "I hadn't thought of that."
Ikuto was slightly stunned. Never before had any of them been so truthful with him. "So, was it all an act?"
"I'm a horrible pretender. One of the many reasons that I live secluded. People always did hear what I thought even if it wasn't good. I've gotten my share of bruises for it too."
"My pity will only save you from a slow death."
Tsukasa laughed a little before leaning forward so his chin was on his hands with his elbows on the table. "I wasn't looking for your pity. I've lived a long life. Whenever you feel as though it should be ended, I will not stop you."
Ikuto stared into the man's eyes. There he could see just how old the man was. Those eyes had seen a lot, but not nearly as much as Ikuto's. "Are you asking me to spare your life now?"
The older man leaned back in his chair once more. His smile was gone but he didn't look angry, just content. "I cannot die by my own will. Only you have the power to end it and I do not have the power to stop you. Do as you see fit."
He wasn't second guessing himself. Ikuto never did that. He was simply weighing his options. On the one hand, he could end this man's existence and move on, but he could also spare it for now and call upon him in the future if need ever arise. "As long as you stay in your woods, you are no threat to mean or any other human. Stay in your woods."
Tsukasa nodded before bowing his head. "I understand. May your judgment be swift the day it comes."
Ikuto smirked before vanishing. This time he disappeared and left the hut for real. Tsukasa let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Not many people could say that they talked with Death and lived.
XXX
Nagi was torn. His orders were clear but he couldn't carry them out with a smooth conscious. Ikuto had commanded that he take care of the witch that was too young to be human still. The thing was, Nagi watched her and he watched her like a hawk. Nothing the girl did in the two months he stared at her from afar warranted any action. She simply loved people. She made them laugh and she made them cry but never in a harmful way. If there was ever such a thing as a good witch then it was her, but Nagi couldn't sense any magic coming from her. Most witches had some kind of pendant that they kept their stolen youth in. This girl had nothing that she wasn't willing to part with.
The day they met was an accident. Nagi was watching again when a sudden gust of wind blew up. His hair, though he be invisible, was sent flying. The girl he was watching had a similar problem, only the cloth she wore in her hair was sent soaring through the air. All it took was a disappointed cry for Nagi to instantly appear with it in his hands before her. The girl's eyes went wide as they took in the avenging angel.
Nagi silently berated himself for giving away the fact that he was onto her, but the girl only smiled before taking the cloth back from him. "Thank you."
He'd heard her voice before but never spoken to him. "You're welcome…"
"Rima."
A smile graced his features and she swore her heart beat just a little faster. "You're welcome, Rima."
XXX
Amu stood under her tree and stared up at the branches forming a roof over her head. Something felt off. Today was the first day of fall and she needed to perform her bonding ceremony with Tree-san but she had a foreboding feeling in her twelve year old gut. Whatever it was, was telling her to not complete the ritual.
"Amu-chan, what's the matter? Come on, tell Tree-san all about it."
Amu shook herself before holding the knife up to her arm. Despite the fact that she regularly cut into her arms to mix her blood with the tree's sap, there were no scars on her perfect flesh. "Something is telling me not to do this. Are you sure I have to?"
"Yes Amu-chan. Without this ritual you will die. Don't forget so soon how I saved your life."
A sigh escaped her lips. Amu nodded her head before digging the tip of the blade into her flesh and pulled causing the skin to tear as it gave way to the knife. A tingling sensation burst from her finger tips and ran all the way up to her shoulder, but Amu was used to the feeling. She simply ignored it as she cut open her other arm before moving to make the correct cuts into the tree. When enough sap was leaking from the wounds that she'd created into the bark, Amu brought her bleeding appendages forwards and pressed them to the tree's wounds.
Then she waited for the surge that always shot through her body, signaling that the ceremony had been a success yet again. The feeling usually left a slight tingling in her feet for a few days but Amu didn't mind. Tree-san was simply trying to save her life and keep her alive. Amu owed the tree so much and loved it dearly. "Keep me safe for another season, Tree-san."
"I'll keep you safe forever, Amu-chan."
The young girl smiled, not understanding what the tree was trying to tell her.
XXX
"Tell me Nagi-san, why is it that you're here. Everyone else comes to me with problems that I can easily fix, but you are an anomaly."
Nagi smirked as he walked beside the young beauty. "What if I told you I'm not human?"
"I'd believe you."
The look on her face told him that she was completely serious. "Well, I'm not. I am a familiar to the Angel of Death. A sprite, if you will. I was sent here to investigate the rumors of a woman of exceptional beauty and youth that should not accompany her years. Do you know of anyone that fits this description?"
"So you're the one that has been watching me. Kind of creepy, don't you think?"
Nagi shrugged off her comment and continued. "Usually I can discover the witch's secret without hesitation, but you are intriguing."
Rima shot one of her eyebrows into the air as she took in the compliment. At least she thought it was a complement. "You flatter me."
"I didn't mean to. I simply haven't been able to discover the secret of your power and until I do, I'll keep watching you."
Rima turned with a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. "What are you, a stalker?"
Nagi returned the grin that she was trying so hard to fight off. "I'm just merely curious as to how you do it. Don't worry, I always get what I want."
His words sent shivers down her spine. Rima did her best to maintain her composure. Nagi was definitely turning out to be an interesting creature. Maybe they could have some fun before he had to kill her. "I don't know how I do it either. If I could find an off switch then I'd make it stop."
Nagi's jaw dropped. This girl was definitely different from all the others.
.
Morg: Sort of dull, but after I get all the characters introduced, the story will move right along.
Ikuto: This is lame.
Amu: I kind of like it. Makes me think of traditional Japanese stories.
Morg: That's what I was going for. Review if you agree or disagree!
