Hey guys! New update!

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, CHILD DEATH.

North Onaji, Tsuyo Tribe Sea Castle

Izaya was groggy and unhappy as he got out of bed – it was still pretty early, and he would have liked to sleep a bit more, but he wasn't about to get into the good morning routine with Shizuo. So he slipped out of the bed as quietly as he could and padded past the glowing embers in the fireplace to the large, oak doors. He opened them, begging for them not to creak – so of course they did, but Shizuo was still fast asleep.

The castle was freezing cold, but Izaya wasn't going to risk going back into the room to get some kind of clothing. His thin tunic and long pants would have to do. Izaya crept through the cold hallways, not really knowing where he was going. The Sea Castle was decorated in a bright, summery way – the walls were made from dusty white rock, and there seemed to be decorations made from shells everywhere. There was no carpet, so after twenty seconds of walking Izaya's feet were frozen. Izaya liked the castle though, much better than the Tsuyo Castle. It was more spacey, with sparsely furnished rooms and large windows looking out at the sea.

Izaya decides the smart thing to do would be locating a kitchen, which would probably be on the ground floor, where the pantry was. Izaya located the staircase which was, oh joy, marble. Izaya yelped when his bare feet touched the freezing stone, but gritted his teeth and walked down, gripping the balustrade tightly. The stairs were large and stone, with walls on both sides and doors at the bottom. Izaya opened them gently and peered outside. He recognised the front room, through which they had come yesterday. He felt the urge to call out and ask if somebody was there, but he remembered that they had arrived alone. Feeling more confident, Izaya opened the doors wider and walked into the front room. He chose a random direction – left – and walked in through a set of doors into – bingo! – a large kitchen.

Most of the space was taken up by stoves and fireplaces, grates and storage boxes, as if the castle was made with people thinking it would host grand summer parties. Izaya vaguely remembered Erica sending off servants a few days before him and Shizuo to bring supplies of food and other necessary things. Izaya spotted a crate of apples nearby, grabbed one, and turned on his heel to explore further. With a scream cut short, he dropped the apple. It rolled slightly and hit the foot of a girl, standing opposite, looking equally horrified. A million questions flashed through Izaya's head – was it a ghost? Shizuo's long-lost sister? Izaya's eyes fell to the crate of bread the girl was clutching to her chest, and he relaxed. She was only looting the castle for food. She wasn't dangerous. He looked her up and down, but she definitely didn't look the type that could knock him out. She had brown hair cut to her chin, messily falling across her forehead and falling into her almost-electrically green eyes. She wore a simple, tattered white linen dress and Izaya felt even colder by just looking at her.

The girl realised that Izaya was staring at her, swung the crate, to hide it behind her back, took a step back and smiled sheepishly, ''…hi?''

''Izaya!'' Shizuo was standing across the hallways, fully dressed and looking ready to snap the girl's neck. ''Who the hell are you?''

''I'm Myou,'' the girl said and looked in panic at Izaya, as if to say 'tell that big man not to kill me, please'. ''Who's that?''

Izaya sighted, ''that's Shizuo.''

''Who are you?''

''Izaya''

''Great,'' she started edging towards the doors. Rain started patting onto the window. She bit her lip, ''you…wouldn't mind me staying here? Just until the rain ends!'' Myou said quickly. Izaya and Shizuo exchanged looks. Shizuo shrugged, grumpy, silently saying goodbye to his alone-time with Izaya.

''So,'' Izaya passed Myou a cup of tea, eager to know more about her, ''are you all alone?''

Myou nodded, sipping the liquid eagerly. Izaya had given her one of his tunics and pants. It helped that they were the same size, although it made Izaya slightly annoyed that the universe made him the same size as a sixteen year old girl.

''How did you end up by yourself?'' Izaya prompted.

Myou hesitated, her fingers sliding over the cup. ''Um, well, I used to go 'round with my parents. From village to village – it wasn't too bad. We always had food, no matter how tasteless it was,'' she smiled to herself, ''and then, when we were travelling one winter night, we got caught up in a storm. These people took us in. They were really nice. I was eleven. They helped us, and they didn't expect anything else in return, you know. I thought we were so lucky. I was really happy – and my parents were too.''

''And then everything changed,'' Myou's eyes suddenly went dark, ''a group of people raided our camp, without a warning or a reason, when a hunting party was out and we were at our weakest. They killed people for the sake of it – my best friend's brother. A boy's lover. One girl's entire family – brothers, sisters, even her grandfather. A bunch of kids. Some adults.'' ''There was this woman, Tenma. She had given birth a few weeks before, and when she went on the hunting trip she asked me to look out and take care of her baby boy. She was the best hunter, so there was no question that she was going. We needed food. When the people came for us, my mother made me take the baby and run into the woods. I heard the screams and laughs as I ran, but I couldn't get away.'' Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and Izaya gripped his cup, ''someone yanked me by my hood, nearly choking me. They ripped the baby boy away from my arms and smashed his head in with a rock. He was so tiny, but there was so much blood. They dragged me, screaming and kicking, back to the campsite. The tents were burning. There were bodies everywhere – I saw my parents. My father's throat had been slit. My mother's eyes were gouged out, and her clothes were rumpled…I knew what…what they did…'' she shuddered.

''They tied me to a pole, and called me a witch over and over again. I was the only one still alive. A lot of them left already – went back to their houses, wherever that was. The few that were left taunted me and brought forward a burning stick. They were going to burn me,'' Myou hiccupped and wiped away the tears. Her eyes cleared. ''And then I was saved. Tenma and the other hunters came back and slaughtered the men – but it was too late. Most had gotten away and everyone was dead – save for me. We gathered our things, burned the dead and moved away. The people were kind, and they offered me comfort, but I could tell Tenma blamed me for the death of her baby boy, even if she didn't want to. I could feel her staring at me when I was turned away. And so one night I left.'' Myou wiped the remaining tears away and laughed, distancing herself from the events, ''I've been by myself for five years now.''

Izaya swallowed the lump in his throat and, although he wasn't very fond of contact, he reached out and squeezed her hand. ''I'm sorry I made you talk.''

She smiled distantly, ''that's okay''

Before he heard her story, Shizuo was set on kicking her out as soon as the storm ended. Now he felt sympathetic. ''You know, you can stay as long as you like.'' He said. Myou looked up at him and something flashed through her eyes. She smiled tightly and nodded.

''Thanks.''

West Onaji, Tsuyo Tribe Winter Castle

Overnight the forest had been covered with a thin layer of snow and the grass had frozen over. When Mikado walked out of the castle his breath turned to mist and he laughed in glee. It was strange, having snow so soon. Kida followed him out of the castle, smiling. They were both wrapped up warm against the biting cold of the morning.

''Come on. I'll show you something''

Mikado found himself being dragged through a snowy forest. He couldn't lie, it was beautiful, and he was more paying attention to the snow than to where Kida was taking him, until he stopped. Mikado peered over his shoulder and saw a large, circular lake. It was frozen.

Mikado's eyes widened, ''oh no. No, thanks, I don't feel like dying today.''

Kida laughed, ''come on,'' he pulled his hand, ''I've done this loads of times. It won't crack.''

''That's what they always say – and then it cracks,'' Mikado muttered to himself, letting Kida pull him along, and then louder, ''if you fall in, I'm not diving into that freezing water to save you.''

Kida laughed again, ''yes you are.'' He let go of Mikado's hand and stepped off the snowy bank, onto the ice. Mikado was relieved that it didn't crack after all. Kida kicked himself off and sailed gracefully across the ice. He made a neat circle and came back to get Mikado. ''See?'' he said, waiting for him at the middle.

Mikado took a deep breath and stepped onto the ice. He slowly slid one leg forward but he wasn't ready for the slipperiness of the ice, and soon landed butt-first onto it. He gasped, preparing himself to fall straight into the icy water, but found that the ice held firm. Kida was dying with laughter at this point, but he managed to call to Mikado to get up. Mikado got up on wobbly feet and sloppily made his way across the ice to Kida; his eyes scrunched shut until he fell into Kida with a gentle thump. He wrapped his arms around the blond and buried his face in his chest. Kida smiled and kissed the top of his head.

''That wasn't that hard,'' he laughed.

''I nearly died,'' Mikado complained, but he pushed away from Kida with a smile and let the blond take his hand. He pulled him along on the ice, Mikado's movements much more jerky that Kida's. After Mikado got a hang of it, Kida spun him around and kissed him.

The ice could have broken beneath them but Mikado didn't think he'd care.

Right, so, sorry for the fucked up weather thingey, I mean, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be warmer in the West, but oh well, alternate universe, who cares xD Poor Izaya though, he gets the rain and Mikado chan gets the snow :3

Here's a fun challenge:

Review your conspiracy theories - what do you think is gonna happen? Cuz a shitload is. I wonder if any of you will get it right xD

Or just review in general! You guys are awesome!