Death's Pale Court – Poisoning Pigeons
TBL: Hey, guys. Sorry it's been four months. I hate summer; I can never get anything done. So, hopefully, I should get things out quicker now that school is in session. But, nonetheless, I have granted your most wanted wish – a new chapter. You people should like it. I worked very hard on it (writer's block is a bitch). I got most of these ideas from dreams, strangely enough, as well as one of my favorite songs: "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" (go listen to it). Just one last thing: I bet you won't expect what happens in this chapter...
I sure didn't.
EDIT: I got a review from a wonderful person stating that I had a plot hole. And indeed I did. I went back and fixed it (it's the part before Harry killed Petunia). I put something else in its place. You'll understand something in chapter two better this way. I also added a warning and a new pairing. I changed nothing else.
Disclaimer: I, Tainted Blood Lust, do not own neither Naruto nor Harry Potter. They belong to their respective owners. I, also, do not own the song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". That's by Tom Lehrer (I think I spelled it right). I DO however own this plot. Please, no stealing.
Enjoy.
X
"To that high Capital, where kingly Death
Keeps his pale court in beauty and decay,
He came."
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
X
"Open," Harry hissed nervously. As the stone door opened with a grating sound, he wondered what lay beyond. He was sure it wasn't just a basilisk out there. He walked into the Chamber of Secrets, looking out for the dangerous entity and idly noticing the awe-inspiring marvel of architecture. The 12 year old's head snapped to the side as he heard a voice.
"Hello, Harry Potter." Harry saw that it was attached to a teenager, perhaps 16 years old . The other black-haired boy smirked at Harry.
"Who are you? How do you know me?" Harry demanded (well, as much as his nerves would let him). The teen's smirk remained, erasing some of Harry's fright to fill it with anger. The other ignored his first question.
"Ginny's told me all about you, you know," the older boy answered calmly.
"What are you doing with Ginny?" he asked.
"I need her life," the other simply replied, fueling the Potter's anger even more.
"Leave her alone!" Harry shouted. With his anger, Harry's magic spiked. The taller boy laughed with no amusement in it.
"You can't save her, Potter. She's going to die momentarily." His eyes glinted, and Harry figuratively saw red.
"Leave her ALONE!" he growled.
Then, something akin to a dam burst inside of him. Avada Kedavra colored magic swirled around him as his eyes glowed. The other took back a step involuntarily, and a terrified expression fluttered across his face. He stepped forward again with a glare, feeling frustrated that he had done that.
"Potter-" Harry turned to him now, gaze intense. The older's eyes widened, and he took a step backwards once more. This time, the terrified look remained.
"A Pale Horse..." he whispered. Harry pushed his confusion to the back of his mind as he often did at the Dursleys'. He stepped forward, hoping to look intimidating. Somehow it worked. He opened his mouth to say something, but as if a man possessed, something entirely different came out.
"Leave," he said in a deep, powerful voice, "be gone, ill-wished spirit. Leave to the Netherlands. You are released, half-soul.
The nameless boy fell to his knees with an ear-piercing, tortured scream. Harry watched in morbid fascination as he became steadily paler, resembling a ghost. When the older was almost transparent, there was a bright explosion of light. Harry shielded his eyes with his arm. When he looked again, there was nothing. A loud gasp drew his attention, and he ran in that direction.
"Ginny!" he cried, kneeling beside her. "Are – are you okay?"
Ginny groaned in pain. Harry helped her to sit up. He struggled not to fuss over her. He asked her again. She nodded. "I'm fine, Harry."
Said boy looked around. "How do we get out of here?"
A flash blinded their eyes momentarily. When they could look again, they saw Dumbledore's phoenix.
"Fawkes!" he shouted in joy. The bird trilled happily. Ginny smiled.
"Can you help us?" she asked softly. Fawkes, who was now on Harry's shoulder, bobbed his head.
"Grab onto Fawkes, Ginny," Harry said. He didn't know why, but he felt it was right. She gently touched the phoenix's back. He sung again, and they disappeared in a burst of fire.
Harry and Ginny arrived in the Headmaster's office. Everyone there looked up, surprised. Molly Weasley was crying after she saw her daughter.
"My baby!" she managed to choke out. Ginny ran to her mother and hugged the woman. Harry watched with a smile, and then Dumbledore turned to him expectantly.
"What happened, my boy?"
"I first..." Harry continued on with his story, making gestures here and there. The entire Weasley family (including Ron who had somehow gotten there already), and the others listened intently.
Soon, he forgot all about what the nameless boy in the Chamber of Secrets had said.
A Pale Horse...
X
It was nearing dark by the time Raidon could see Konoha. The other village's wall paled in comparison to this one. There were only three guards there though. Perhaps it was the fact that it was a relatively new village. It probably wouldn't be that hard to get in now that he had gotten papers. He planned to join the village, and Raidon concluded that the First and Second Hokage would welcome a new member (most likely not that many people lived in the place) with a sob story. He stopped in his tracks as he remembered his familiars' absence. He looked to see if anyone was there as he walked away from the village, deeper into the surrounding woods.
"Judas," he called. The little bundle of cloth appeared quicker this time, excited at the chance to see his Master. Raidon stroked him on his small head. "I'm sorry, Judas. Forgive me?"
"Of course, Master," Judas replied lovingly, seemingly odd for one of his species. "Can you please call Fawkes?"
"I was just going to do that, Judas." Raidon focused for a minute on the other familiar bond in his mind then spoke in Umbran, "Fawkes, heed my call."
There was a white flash of light, and a slightly smaller than usual phoenix appeared. He, Fawkes, was mostly white but had red wing, crest, and tail tips as well as crimson eyes, legs, and beak. He looked very much the part of an albino phoenix. Fawkes crooned happily upon seeing Raidon. "It has been a long time."
"Sorry, Fawkes," said Raidon. "I couldn't risk Dumbledore getting suspicious, my friend."
Fawkes made a sound of disgust (as much as a bird could anyways).
"Come," Raidon continued, "let us go, Konoha awaits us."
Both of the familiars nodded then followed him.
X
"Stupid Freak!!!" Vernon Dursley yelled as he punched his small nephew with a meaty fist again. He continued to rant and rage for a bit before hitting Harry again. Harry had blanked his thoughts.
It was the best way to get past these things.
Unbidden, a thought came to mind.
Revenge.
The single word was accompanied by various images. The intense, vivid visions were violent.
Dudley being gutted.
Petunia's head exploding in bloody bits and pieces that sprayed the walls.
That bastard having his mind ripped apart, memory by little memory, meticulously.
Harry gasped as reality came crashing back. The pain. Dursley's piggy eyes gleamed in sadistic pleasure. He continued long into the night, using tools other than his fists sometimes. Feet. His belt.
At last, it was over, sometime around the middle of the night. Harry curled up into a ball and whimpered in pain. He let the memories come back into his conscience mind, and they overwhelmed him. He thought of how he could have been with Sirius, could have taken him up on his offer. Regardless of the consequences. Tears ran down his face, but Harry kept silent. He tried to uncurl himself, but his vision blurred. He swallowed feebly. He knew he was going to die this time as his magic slowly appraised the damage.
Then the human instinct to survive rose up with a strong force. Not knowing what else to do, he croaked out, "Fawkes."
It seemed to be an instinctual thing to do, and it turned out to be the right choice.
Dumbledore's phoenix flashed in with a burst of silent fire. Harry would have been impressed if he wasn't in his current state. He shivered lightly, though it grew steadily worse. Fawkes sung a mournful melody then flew over to Harry. He crooned comfortingly and began to cry. The phoenix went over to the wounds and let the tears splash on them. Harry's shaking lessened then disappeared, but he was out of it. Fawkes noticed and grew nervous. He cried more, but it didn't do anything further. He closed his eyes and concentrated on what he was about to do next, seeing no other option. In his mind's eye, he saw the familiar bond that connected him to Dumbledore and snipped it, struggling greatly. After it was done, the phoenix felt as if his mind had been cleared. He felt better but decided to figure it out later.
Harry was in trouble.
Fawkes then put all of his attention on Harry's aura. He connected their magic tentatively, nervously awaiting the boy's mind and subconscious to either accept or reject him. He gave a chirp of relief as their magic joined, marking Harry's acceptance and the start of a new bond. Fawkes focused on his healing magic and sent it through the bond, the magic being more effective this time. Harry's wounds healed almost instantly. He came to while the phoenix rubbed his head against his new Master. The boy absentmindedly stroked it and then looked at Fawkes with a puzzled face.
"Why?" was all he asked.
It was the right thing to do, came the voice in Harry's head. He just smiled.
"Thank you, Fawkes," he replied softly and with feeling. Then, from deep inside of him, Harry intoned, "Fawkes, phoenix of Ancient Egypt, I accept your bond. Do you also accept?"
I do, he said. They both felt the bond tighten, but nothing fancy happened.
Then, Fawkes slowly began changing. The crimson and gold colors faded, leaving what looked like an albino phoenix. His now red eyes focused on his new Master. Harry's eyes were still widened in surprise and amazement.
"How-?" Harry said, unconsciously speaking in the language of Dark creatures – Umbran.
"Later, young Master," Fawkes answered in the same tongue then suddenly looked skywards as if he was being called. "Dumbledore calls, child. I must go."
Fawkes' image flickered, then he changed to his previous colors. He looked at Harry. "Venture to Diagon Alley, Master. Things await you. Take head and don't return here unless necessary. Promise me this."
"Okay ," was all the other said to this cryptic request. The phoenix trilled once more before flashing out. Harry stared at the empty spot, dumbfounded. Everything sunk in, but instead of panicking, he merely pushed it to the back of his mind. He got up and began to pack his things (he still had his trunk).
He had to go to Diagon Alley.
After finishing that, he looked at his wand, unsure if this would work. He decided to chance it and cast a Shrinking Charm. It worked to perfection, and after a moment, Harry received no owl (he had heard of stories from Fred and George). He smiled as he walked out of his 'room'.
For once, life was looking up.
X
Raidon, Fawkes, and Judas arrived at the gates of Konoha after walking for a bit (they didn't want to be found using any of the transportation methods they usually did). The guards, even as bored as they were, stood at attention once Raidon came into sight.
"Papers," one commanded. He silently handed them over, and the shinobi looked them over. Another asked, "Civilian, what is your purpose for visiting?"
Raidon smiled sweetly. "I'm here to give my loyalty to Konoha."
The third eyed him suspiciously before nodding, confirming the fact that the 'civilian' wasn't lying to the other guards (not that Raidon knew this). They let him in.
"The Hokage's office is..." One of them gave him directions, and Raidon nodded then thanked them. He walked through to the streets where he wandered, marveling at the sights. And observing his surroundings for further purposes.
Never let it be said that Raidon was rarely prepared.
Hurrying up, he made his way to the Hokage's office to introduce himself. Wasn't that going to be fun?
X
After showing exactly who he was to the First and Second Hokage, he told them how he wanted to train as a shinobi.
"Why haven't your been trained by now?" the First asked.
"My village didn't have any shinobi, so I couldn't be trained. I decided to become a shinobi and chose Konoha to swear my loyalty to."
There was a pause and the Second simply asked, "Why?"
Raidon turned morose, and the emotion wasn't faked. "My family died, and I know they would've wanted me to follow my dreams."
Another period of silence reigned.
"Can you tell us what you're doing with the staves and... animals?" Raidon thought about his answer to the question.
"I brought my own weapons to fight with. I have trained with them somewhat in preparation. I don't know how to use chakra yet."
Raidon looked at Fawkes who was on his shoulder and then to the floating Judas (who had turned off the emotion-sapping effects for now). "They are my familiars. They found me, and we bonded."
The First nodded. The two Hokage looked at each other and silently communicated. The Second spoke, "We'll accept that."
He paused. "However, you will have to gain our trust. In that time, you will stay with a family."
The Second Hokage looked to the First again and said, "Go get Uchiha Madara."
Not bothering with a confirmation, he left in a clutter of leaves with one hand symbol. The remaining two waited for about a half an hour, in which Raidon elaborated on some of his history. The First arrived with a tall, black-haired man.
With red eyes.
His scarlet eyes had a strange pattern in black around the pupil. It was a strange, new concept to Raidon, even with the amount of... abnormal things he had seen. Not wanting to be rude, he stopped his staring.
"This is the Head of the family you will be staying with," said the Second. Uchiha-san looked at him critically, as if searching for something. He nodded just barely to himself. He walked up to Raidon.
"Uchiha Madara," the man said, bowing lightly and on the edge of impoliteness, "I am pleased to meet you."
Raidon repeated the action with more respect. "Tsuki Raidon, likewise."
"That is a clan unknown to me," the Uchiha remarked.
"I am from a civilian village, Uchiha-san," Raidon said to the unasked question. Raidon barely caught the rapidly appearing glint of suspicion in the man's eyes. They were both aware of the Hogake watching with interest.
"Come," Uchiha-san said, "let us go."
Raidon touched the man's shoulder lightly, and they too vanished with a sign of the hand.
X
After Uchiha-san showed Raidon around the house, he gave the Tsuki some time to spend in his room. It was almost the end of Friday, and Academy started on the Monday two weeks from now. He would, obviously, be the oldest one there, and this made Raidon annoyed. People would start asking questions, just like when he was Harry Potter. He disliked most people, tending to lean towards animals more. Fawkes trilled a short tune in response to his thoughts. Judas couldn't do anything as he was out hunting. His thoughts turned to one Uchiha Madara.
The man certainly was... interesting.
He had an aura of mystery about him, holding unknown secrets. He had the demeanor and appearance of an experienced, rigid shinobi. He just screamed 'danger'. It would take Raidon a while to reach that level. There was something about Uchiha-san that Raidon couldn't quite figure out. It seemed familiar, yet the knowledge evaded his grasp, annoying him to no end.
He had told Raidon that he would begin training with the Clan Head tomorrow. The teenager had the feeling that Uchiha-san expected great things from him, allowing no room to fail. It reminded him very much so of the Malfoys.
A thought crossed his mind, and he reached down to take his gun from its holster. He admired it, smiling at the cursive letters that stringed together to form 'Blood Moon'. He took out the clip and examined it to see how many bullets there were. He sighed; he was low again. He'd have to rely on chakra (when he learned more about it). Raidon put it back on then to put his weapons away as it was about the time he should be going to sleep. He put on some sleepware, selecting from some of the clothes Uchiha-san had provided for him. The teenager lay on the bed, pulled the covers up, and closed his eyes, soon drifting off to sleep.
X
Harry walked along Knockturn Alley in a hooded cloak, just browsing. His glowing green eyes were the only thing visible, scaring most of the intruders away. If that didn't work, the floating familiar sure did. His eyes landed upon a small store, no different form some, except the sign on the brick front.
Specialty Weapons.
Intrigued, he walked in. The inside was enormous, shelves upon shelves everywhere. A small desk sat by the door, dwarfed by the high ceiling and large objects. At the desk, an old, bald man sat, hunched over a piece of paper. He seemed to be drawing furiously. After a moment, he looked at Harry (who was still marveling at all the items all around) with violet eyes. Sensing the gaze, harry turned around to face the man.
"What weapons do you sell?"
"Whatever suits you," the other replied in a cryptic manner.
"And which one is that?" An eyebrow was raised. The man gave a maniacal grin.
"Let found out, shall we?" he clapped his hands, and a loud bang sounded. Purple mist suddenly and rapidly poured from the floor, filling to just about above Harry's ankle. Like an atomic bomb, it pushed itself to the edge of the walls then rushed back. Harry, who was watching it intently and cautiously, jumped back when the gathered clump spouted up in front of him. He bumped into Judas, feeling a bit of the cold. The temperature rose sharply when the towered mist reached its maximum height. It simply stayed there for a moment then, as Harry watched with a fascinated stare, formed a shape. It was a gun with a rather long barrel, and Harry had a minute sense of pride for some reason.
"Interesting," the purple eyed male muttered. "Quite unusual..."
He looked at it with a critical eye, ignoring Harry. "And the potential to be powerful."
He waved his hand, and the mist dispersed. The man suddenly swung around to face the other.
"Do you think you have enough power?" he asked Harry after a period of silence. The boy stared at the older, and the man could not honestly tell what the other was thinking.
"Yes," was the simple answer. It sounded like he was stating a fact, sounding neither arrogant nor meek. Another insane smiled graced the man's face.
"Let's get started then."
X
Raidon threw another kunai and yet again missed. He squinted his eyes behind his glasses, trying not to show his frustration by hiding it behind an emotionless mask. He had a feeling that any other weakness he had would be preyed upon. He could feel Uchiha-san's gaze on his back. The older had been watching all day after giving him simplistic instructions on how to do this. He moved form the position of leaning on a nearby tree.
"Come," was the Uchiha's order. Raidon glanced at the barely marked target once more then walked over. Uchiha-san held out his hand, and Raidon, while wondering where they were traveling, touched it lightly without hesitation. A hand sign was made, and the two disappeared, leaving a small, red cloud.
They appeared in front of a large tan building with many levels. Windows took residence on a good portion of the walls. Raidon could see through some of them and saw that almost all of the rooms were white.
Hospital.
Raidon resisted the urge to curl his lips in disgust as they walked briskly to the entrance. He hated hospitals.
The reception room had several chairs lining the walls. Not a single shinobi was there. The receptionist leaned on her elbow, extremely bored, and read a book (which looked to be a romance novel). She jumped out of her skin when Uchiha-san coughed to gain her attention.
"Hello and welcome to–" She paused and her smile fell slightly. "H-hello, Uchiha-san."
The man gave the slightest of nods to her. "I need to see Doctor Takahashi."
The lady quickly went into action at the demand.
"O-o-of course!" She turned in her chair to rapidly type away at a computer.
The two males stood calmly waiting until the doctor came. He was short and old. His gray beard and mustache helped give the aura of a kind elder.
His sharp black eyes said different.
"Welcome, Madara," he said with a slow drawl. They shallowly bowed to each other. "Come, let's go to my office."
He gave a brief, curious glance to Raidon then walked off with Uchiha-san at his side. When they got there, Takahasi locked the door. The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Problems, Madara?"
"His eyes." No gesture was made, but they all knew which 'he' it was. Takahashi became professional and ushered Raidon into a seat.
"Stay still." He began to quickly form a sequence of hand signs. When he was done, kanji appeared in the air. Though he could actually read kanji, Raidon couldn't make heads or tails of it. Takahashi hummed to himself.
"Well," he said, "they're bad, but that can be taken care of with a jutsu."
He eyed the other too. "Payment?"
"We'll speak of this later," Uchiha-san replied after he too peeked at Raidon. The doctor just nodded then looked at the youngest.
"Don't move again." Raidon watched as the man worked his magic (so to speak), inwardly interested. His greedy eyes took in the order of the hand signs and what they looked like. The man finished, and at first, nothing happened. Then Raidon was suddenly blinded; he rapidly blinked, and everything came back. His vision was fuzzy until he took off his glasses. Raidon could see everything clearly and sharply.
"Like it?" The doctor smirked as Raidon got out of his chair.
"Yes." The youngest gave a formal bow.
Uchiha-san nodded lightly to Takahashi then briskly walked out, Raidon trailing behind. Once outside, they once again traveled to the Uchiha compound in a puff of red smoke.
X
The first few days of Shinobi Academy were rather uneventful (for Raidon at least). He felt as though he was eleven again. Despite learning a small amount of material, Raidon grasped the concepts quickly. They called him smart. He thought they were a bunch of imcompentants.
Training with Uchiha-san still continued regularly. Things were much better after his eyesight was healed. Raidon wondered about the payment for a treatment but kept his mouth shut. If Uchiha-san didn't mention it, he sure wouldn't.
All in all, everything was fine.
Then the murders started.
Civilians (never shinobi) started appearing up, dead. The killer, who had yet to be captured, started off slowly then steadily worked their way up. Almost all of the victims were deceased because of poisoning. The others were rather creative (if Raidon did say so himself). Each of these died in a different way; even the poisoned ones were killed with a variety of toxins. They appeared randomly over the town, sometimes in the strangest of places. All the neighborhood gossip mongers were whispering about it.
A week after the first murder (a Sunday), Raidon was walking to Uchiha Manor (apparently it was necessary to have an overly large house as Head of the Uchiha line) from the Academy. He was 'taking a risk' (carrying a staff nonetheless) walking along the abandoned alleyways. He figured it was more fun this way. He was balancing on a steel beam on the ground when he saw it.
A dead body lay, peeking out from a couple of crates. A song came to mind, and he began to sing without much thought (or care) as he walked over to investigate.
"...It's not against any religion to want to dispose of a pigeon..." Raidon tilted his head in a curious manner. He examined it, poking it with his staff here and there. Its glazed blue eyes stared skywards as the Tsuki sung some more. "...While we're poisoning pigeons in the park..."
He pondered what to do, still absentmindedly singing. "...Except for the few we take home to experiment..."
All thought processes promptly crashed.
Experiment...
...Could he possibly do that? Road to Perdition mentioned some things that needed human body parts. He started to calculate the pros and cons of taking the body. Raidon frowned; where would he put it?
Then he heard voices from an alleyway close to where he was. His eyes darted around. Good, no one was here yet. He made a split second decision. He took his staff and swung it like an axe. The metal part landed on the dirt, chopping off a finger. He quickly wiped the blood on the ground, grabbed the piece of flesh, and fled.
It would be useful.
X
Raidon was slowly moving back and forth on a lonely swing in the back of the playground of Konoha. He was by one of the only patches of trees that remained in the village's walls. This one was by the edge of said walls. He was bored as it was a Saturday, and there was no school. Uchiha-san had ushered him out of the house, briefly mentioning he had important business to do. Raidon just focused on the motion of swinging.
Then he suddenly heard a scream and the sound of a kunai being embedded deep into the trunk of a tree.
He perked up and looked around to see no one there. He jumped off of the rising swing and landed gracefully in a crouch. He calmly walked into the forest, where more fighting sounds ensued. His trench coat flared slightly as he picked up the pace. Raidon's feet were almost completely silent, so he was able to approach the scene unnoticed. The young students (from what he could see, they were around eight or nine years old), three of them at least, surrounded the fourth. The last looked small for his age, obviously the bullied one. His eyes darted back and forth like a wild animal's.
Raidon decided not to interfere for now.
"Where are mommy and daddy? Are they coming to help you?" The three larger kids (two boys and a rather ugly girl) laughed at their own little 'joke'. The other narrowed his eyes but otherwise didn't reply.
"Poor little orphan boy," the girl mocked. Raidon narrowed his own green orbs. The nerve of that bitch.
"Shut up," the boy said with some calm. His voice was soft but the anger shone through. It sounded like the calm before the storm, a warning.
The others ignored him. The largest bully responded, "Come on, fight us!"
"No," was the simple answer.
"Talking didn't save your clan," the girl said with a wide and malicious grin, "did it?"
The cornered kid's golden eyes burned in fury.
"SHUT UP!" he shrieked, and Raidon was forcibly reminded of a crow. Uncontrolled chakra burst up from the ground and surrounded him. It was midnight black with streaks of liquid gold.
He suddenly screamed and clutched his head in pain then doubled over. Black skin seeped from the corners of his closed eyes and rapidly spread like spilled ink. The little vines made their way all over the visible body parts of the boy.
The bullies watched in fascination.
When the onyx strands slowed and began forming marks, the three snapped into action. They all stepped forward, trying to look menacing but utterly failing. The girl sneered.
"Not so strong, are you now?" She went to throw a punch.
And, with a speed he didn't know he had, Raidon blurred and caught her fist, mere centimeters form the boy. All three looked up, surprised, at his tall form. He squeezed her curled-up hand hard, and she whimpered.
"Leave him alone." Raidon's voice was arctic cold. His irises thinned like a snake's for a moment before he reigned his anger in.
The bullies backed away and glanced at each other. They seemed to silently agree amongst themselves and fled.
The kid's head lifted up to peer at Raidon through long black bangs.
"Thank you," he said then looked down. The older just stared at him then extended a hand. The kid just continued to look down at the forest floor.
"Come on," Raidon's voice rang, "let's go."
The other looked up, extremely surprised, and offered a small smile. He took Raidon's hand. Acting as if nothing had happened, Raidon casually said, "Hello, I'm Tsuki Raidon. Pleased to meet you."
Deciding to go along with it, the boy answered in kind, "The same. My name is Inku Karasu."
Raidon raised an eyebrow. "Interesting name."
He added as an afterthought, "May I call you Karasu?"
"Yes," he said then paused. "You have an interesting name as well."
Karasu looked at himself and seemed to notice the tattoo-like markings all over his body for the first time. His eyes turned misty, looking at all of the designs.
"The Inku Markings..." he whispered. His head suddenly snapped up to look at Raidon.
"Thank you." Karasu's heartfelt repetition was barely heard as he hugged Raidon tightly. The older felt warm tears soak into his shirt and felt awkward. He tentatively wrapped his arms around the other, saying nothing. Karasu pulled back after a moment and hastily wiped the remaining tears off of his face with his sleeves.
Beautiful.
The lone thought raced through his mind, leaving chaos in its wake. Raidon mentally shook his head and told himself not to become involved.
But looking at that face and barely-there smile...
Raidon decided he could use a friend.
"I have to go now," Karasu said, suddenly embarrassed. He started to go, but Raidon grabbed his wrist.
"I'll see you soon, Karasu," he said, conveying the message of 'let's be friends'. The other nodded then walked away.
But not without giving Raidon one last quick hug.
The other's eyes trailed him until he left the range of view.
X
Raidon lay on his bed, eaglespread, while looking at the ceiling. He had just had an exhausting training session with Uchiha-san. Half-lidded eyes suddenly snapped open. He forgot to look up that article in Road to Perdition!
He had to read quickly so that Uchiha-san didn't catch him. The man liked everyone in the household to sleep (or just stay in bed) at a certain time (it was different for everyone). It was kind of odd, but Raidon figured he wanted to know where everyone was at night.
Raidon walked over to the average-sized sack with the belongings he came over here with. He opened it and pulled out a royal blue pouch out. The opening was just big enough for his hand and lined with shimmering gold thread.
The container was called a Dimension Pouch. They were extremely rare and almost priceless in value. Made by stupidly complex magic, it was a key to a Dimension Pocket, a storage... room of sorts. The thing was basically part of a certain dimension that was 'empty', thus the ability to store things. Only objects could go in there; people never came out. One could somehow call back the item from their own section, and when someone bonded with it (it had a minor demon in it to guard things), an automatically-updating inventory appeared in their mind. Occulmency was, of course, required (the amount of items, knowledge, and the strange magic could potentially kill).
"Road to Perdition," Raidon said clearly, thinking of an exact image of the book. This was all needed in order not to mix up items. He stuck his hand just barely in there, and the book materialized rapidly. He pulled it out and grinned. His very blood seemed to sing once he came in contact with it, no different than every other time. Its tempting aura reeled him in, and Raidon opened it with carefulness befitting a sacred artifact. He quickly flipped to the contents page to find where the ritual section was.
Casting a glance to the Dimension Pouch where the preserved finger laid, Raidon finally found it. He sat on his bed and got comfortable; reading usually took him a while, unfortunately.
He read for a bit, carefully listening for Uchiha-san. He flipped the page and stared at the heading on the next one.
Cannibal Rituals.
A shudder came and passed in a matter of seconds for reasons unknown. After blankly staring for a moment, he startled when Uchiha-san's barely-there steps sounded. He quickly put it away and pulled out a book the man had lent him, just in time too. Uchiha-san came in and coolly looked around then left after turning off the lights. Raidon's green serpentine eyes glowed in the dark as he promised to look at the section again.
And soon.
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The Phoenix
Everyone has heard of the legend of the phoenix. A fire-based bird that rises form its own ashes, reborn, that bonds only to Light and White wizards.
I am here to tell you the truth.
While wizardkind (and some muggles too) have many facts right, there are still those untold. Folklore from other beings (mostly humanoids) have shed light on the pheonix.
The earliest tales are from the Ancient Elves. A modern translation from one part follows:
"...And I, with two eyes of doubt, traced the fiery form... It's wings that were red with the fury of the Gods beat a gale to destroy our village... Black eyes of Kre'luc followed me and haunted me..."
Their god, Kre'luc, is similar to that of Hades or a Siren, and this tells us about the massive rage of this creature. The rest is rather vague, but as many look at this now, it is clear what the Elf is describing.
The remains of a single Ancient Elf village have been found, cementing that this passage is a true story.
The well-known anger of a phoenix (given the right circumstances)adds to that fact. But many things are still hard to separate – fact from fiction.
One 'fact' is that phoenixes are always fire-based. This is not true. Each phoenix has the possibility of being any element or any combination of elements. Almost all phoenixes have the sole element of fire, thus helping to fuel this myth. I have seen one non-fire phoenix: a Rock phoenix. It looked vastly different from its red, slim, and weak-looking counterpart. Of course, not all phoenixes of the same element look exactly alike. Their colors change with each new bond they make.
Bonding with a phoenix is connecting your magic (as muggles cannot obviously do this) with that of the bird. The 'fact' that phoenixes only bond with White or Light wizards is also false. The truth is that they can bond with anyone, no matter their affiliation. Most think they are Light creatures because the most famous bondings were with Light wizards. In reality, phoenixes are neither Light nor Dark. They are Neutral. Like most Neutral animals, they can change colors and possible element(s).
Merlin, perhaps the most famous wizard ever, had a phoenix familiar which was typical, crimson and fire-based. People take this as an example and stereotype phoenixes. Augustus Caesar's little-known phoenix familiar was one of the first records of a different type of phoenix. His was one of the rarest types: an Ice phoenix. Several tales suggest he used it in battle to defeat numerous enemies.
The rarest type of phoenix, unbonded or not, is the Death phoenix. Always albino-like in color, there have been only two proved sightings. All creatures bond only to those they deem worthy (unless forced, see pages 1175 – 1192 for more information), and those deeply enough entrenched to become Death wizards are usually never included for any animal. Thought to be a new species of bird, one of these is the phoenix of Sir Leviathan, a Death Lord (different than a Dark Lord) whose name is never uttered in society.
Another rumor about phoenixes is that their song(s) is/are always soothing. Thanks to the records of King Charles of France, an almost forgotten magical leader we have been able to deduce that all phoenixes' songs differ. His familiar, a Storm phoenix, was able to call upon all manners of weather to kill his enemies with its hauntingly beautiful melody. Augustus Caesar, again, is an example; his could freeze people.
Yet another falsity is the mating habits of phoenixes and their offspring. While many works suggest that...
Excerpt from Creatures of the World by Aqua Lord Trimaine
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END of Poisoning Pigeons
NOTE: I know rape may have been implied (if you read between the lines), but there was no such thing.
TBL: I think I may have described everything I wanted to in the first author's note... I might add an edit if I think of anything important. Sorry for not posting this sooner. I would have posted it 3 days or so ago, but my computer was being an ass. I'd like to thank all my lovely readers, all 1800 or so of them. I got a big response (for me anyways). I love you all! I want everyone to give a big hug to KingofLoosePages for helping me with my Japanese. :3