Chapter Two – Kaworu

Author's Note: I do not own the Buso Renkin series and the characters of the original series. I own only the original characters of this fic, Sakuya Mutou, Kaworu Jounouchi, their siblings and friends, Phalene, some members of the Alchemist Army, and the enemy, the Tetsujin Juusan. Buso Renkin is the creation of mangaka, Watsuki Nobuhiro.

–

Take care of your new life? That's something you don't see every day. In fact…this text message was the most disturbing that Sakuya had ever gotten. Wait a minute…no it isn't. SECOND to most disturbing. The other time was when Yumi sent her a nasty text message about Sakuya's breast size. Ah, sorry, back to the story.

The sun had already set, and the sky let out an orange glow. Ishida put his cigarette into the ashtray and looked out at the descending sun. Behind it was an abandoned building, the old haunted factory. "I feel that it is about time," he muttered as he turned to his desk. There was a handbag on it, and a turtle keychain dangling from it. He took it over his shoulder and headed for the door. "It's time to feed."

Meanwhile, Sakuya had pulled out all the weeds on the school grounds. Around her were bags of what were filled with those nasty plants. "Hah….hah…finally…" she gasped as she sat down. Looking up at the sky, her eyes gazed upon the stars, and she let out a heavy sigh, now her body lying back on the floor. "It's so late…no wonder everyone was gone…" But as she sat up, there were footsteps behind her.

"Going somewhere, Mutou-san?"

–

"Eh?" Souta spoke up as he looked at the peeking Mihoshi from the window. "Ah, my sister will probably get lost, so I decided to pick her up at school. Honestly, I'm kind of worried about her."

Mihoshi smiled to him and said, "Do be safe, Souta-kun. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Sakuya's little brother." Souta could feel his face flush. He wasn't used to those kinds of words. Wait, does that count as confessing to him? Immediately, he turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could to Ginsei Academy.

–

"Ishida-sensei!" Sakuya gasped as she jumped up, her heart beating. "You scared me! What's the ma-" A bag was tossed to her. It was Sakuya's missing school bag. "Eh?"

"You were there," Ishida started as his eyes began to shake, "last night. You were the one…who interrupted my meal!"

Sakuya's heart was pounding, and it was pounding fast. It was like when she held the gate for Souta. "Wh-what is this?" she exclaimed as Ishida took on a new form. His skin was ripping, tearing apart as it recombined to a bluish-gray metallic monster, shaped like a scorpion. "WHAT IS THAT THING?" Quickly, Sakuya ran as the scorpion monster's claws crashed through the bag full of weeds. Its eight legs began to skitter and tear at the concrete under it, giving chase after the girl. It clawed and clawed at her, but Sakuya was dodging for dear life. "It can't be! That's the monster! The monster from my dream!" she exclaimed as her cell phone began to beep. In her haste, she quickly answered it.

"I see you've come in contact with the Homunculus from last night," said a male voice over the other line. The number was the same as the sender of the text.

"What is that thing?" Sakuya yelled to the other line as she ran for dear life, turning the corner toward the side walls. The scorpion monster was beginning to catch up. "M-My teacher! Ishida-sensei! He turned into…a monster! What the hell is it?"

"Calm down, Sakuya-san," said the caller. "As I have mentioned before, that is a Homunculus. It is a being born from Alchemy." All this was confusing Sakuya, but she decided not to question it and let the caller continue. "Simply put, it eats humans to survive. It was made by the body of your former teacher, Akira Ishida, and turned into a killing machine. I came to this town to destroy them all, but…you ended up getting involved. Sorry, my bad."

"YOUR BAD?" Sakuya grabbed a trash can and tossed it back at the scorpion monster, but it seemed to aggravate it. "Ahhhh!" she screamed. "It's getting closer!"

The caller let out a heavy sigh and said, "That's fine. I'm sure you can take it on. Go ahead and use…your POWER to fight it." This perplexed Sakuya, not knowing what he was talking about. "Oh, so you haven't remembered what had happened last night? I see…that's too bad." From the tower, the blonde-haired boy looked down at the scene, gripping a metallic hexagon-shaped medal tightly. "Run all you like, but it will catch up to you. It will eventually find you…

"…and anyone else involved with you."

Too late to say that. When Sakuya turned to the front corner, Souta was there, breathing heavily. "N-Nee-san?" he stuttered as he looked behind her. "What's going on?"

'Oh no! Souta!' Sakuya thought. Souta got involved! This wasn't supposed to happen! Kicking a pole into her feet, Sakuya turned her back to see if the scorpion monster was still following. So far, it was nothing but shadows. 'No…but where? Where did it go?'

"Nee-san?" Souta blinked and stepped toward her. All of a sudden, something grabbed him from behind. The scorpion had somehow dodged Sakuya's view and went around her, grabbing her little brother with his claws. It was crushing him until he passed out. "Ah, your little brother," said the scorpion as Ishida's head arose from the where the scorpion's head was. "The young ones always tasted the sweetest. I wonder how this one will taste."

Sakuya turned to the scorpion Ishida and smacked his head with the pipe. "NOOOOOOO!" she screamed out loud as she continued to smack him. Memories flashed through her mind. How Aunt Mahiro started to cry one night when a blue-haired woman paid her a visit, how that woman told Sakuya to take care of Souta while she was away…Souta was all that Sakuya had had left, and she wasn't about to lose him. "Let him go!" she roared, her hits making more impact by the minute. "Souta had nothing to do with any of this! Let him go! Let him go! LET HIM GO!"

"Hmph…how stupid." All of a sudden, the free claw grabbed Sakuya by the back of her skirt and flung her against a nearby tree. She cringed as she slid down it, gasping for air. "Is that all your body has to offer? How futile. My body was created by Alchemy, and only Alchemy can hurt me. You are absolutely powerless."

–

'No…it can't end this way…' Sakuya thought as her vision began to get blurry. She watched as Souta was laid down in front of her, and the scorpion's mouth was ready to open. But something familiar rang in her head. The word, "Alchemy." She had heard that word before…last night, in fact. It was all so clear now.

"Oh my…it seems that you died," said a blonde-haired boy with a long ponytail, looking down at a dead Sakuya Mutou. He bent down to her and lifted her by the chin, smiling gently. "If not for you, though, my carelessness would've taken me out. However, I wasn't careless. You failed to assess the situation and got yourself killed. But…" With a chuckle, the man pulled out a hexagonal medal with the roman numeral "I" and stuck it into Sakuya's chest where the hole was. "This is a Kakugane. It's made by the most advanced alchemic technology. It reacts to your survival instincts in the deepest part of the human psyche. This will be your heart and your power.

"The power to fight."

–

Then Sakuya realized what she must do. She stood up slowly, glaring at Ishida-scorpion. "Oh, you still have some power left?" he chuckled and raised his long, poisonous tail. "Then I'll drain the power right out of you!"

"This Kakugane materializes the owner's hidden combat powers to create a super powerful weapon. That weapon is called…"

"BUSO RENKIN!" With all her might, Sakuya pulled out the medal from her chest as it took a new shape. With a quick slash, the tail was broken into pieces, and the surprised Ishida stepped back from Souta. In Sakuya's hand was a long, oversized sword, almost twice her size. She pulled Souta to her and pointed it at Ishida-scorpion. "I'm taking back…mine and Souta's lives!"

Ishida-scorpion smirked and raised his two claws. "I see…you have a Buso Renkin, huh?" Then he thrusted his two claws forward at the two, and Sakuya prepared to defend herself. But the claws were broken into pieces…by a different sword! In front of the two was a blonde-haired male with a long ponytail. In his hand was a type of claymore, a medieval weapon. "What? Another one? Are you an alchemist warrior too?"

"You are not welcome in Eden," the boy scowled and swiftly stepped forward, slashing up at Ishida's face. The emblem on his forehead was sliced in half, and Ishida-scorpion disintegrated. The boy sighed and turned to the girl, smiling. "A buster sword, huh? Bigger than a broadsword, and one of the biggest sword-type Buso Renkins I've ever seen. It's actually pretty rare, but it suits you. You've a strong will, and the power to match your strength and words. Don't think I'll ever be able to lift that."

"Who…are you?" Sakuya asked as she walked to the boy, her Buso Renkin turning back into a Kakugane and falling onto Souta's body. "You were at the factory last night, were you? What happened?"

"Hm…you died, simply put," the boy smiled and took Sakuya's hand. "But I saved your life and gave you a second chance. So while you are alive, you have a choice. Return to your normal life or join my battle."

Sakuya paused and slapped the boy's hand away from her. "You didn't answer my question." Sakuya heard Souta groan as he struggled to wake up. She took off her brother's jacket and placed it over him like a blanket, as he fell right back to sleep.

The boy blinked and laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, I'm sorry, miss. My name is Kaworu Jounouchi, an Alchemist Warrior." As he watched her, he smiled gently and said, "You know, despite what happened, you still went to protect what you cared for the most. While I say that is quite admirable, it is rather reckless. Still…for that, I really like that about you."

Her face was red with embarrassment, and quickly, the girl looked away. Then she was handed back her Kakugane, the Roman Numeral "I" lit up in the moonlight.

"Take care of it. It's your new life now. Monsters that eats humans, the very existence of alchemy, and your Buso Renkin."

"My Buso Renkin…" Sakuya muttered. "My life…" The term "Alchemist Warrior" got to Sakuya. "Um…what's alchemy?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Kaworu blinked and sighed. "I see…you must be pretty dumb, huh? Listen, alchemy is…"