Colors of Fire Ch. 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist or its characters.
It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring…
… and I'm back at my writing desk today! Too muddy to go outside, so I'm stuck here! Not that I mind.
I suck at writing. I can't draw (computer or paper) to save my life. I'm a bad story teller. I can't talk properly. And apparently I have an accent. I've had a short, insulting day and fate has it that my day will only get worse.
Yeah… I'm having one of those low self-esteem days. Boo.
*sigh* Oh well! Who cares about me! I'm just an emotionless monster who tortures other people's characters in her spare time! I'm insane and I have no feelings to hurt… *sobs silently in the corner*
Jeffrey, will you write this one for me?
o.O.0.O.o
Bon's POV
The happenings in his life where speeding by too fast for him to keep track of. Event after event after event… Eventually, everything had just merged together into one single problem: Neko.
Ever since this girl showed up to class that day, the Exwires had been pulverized, flipped upside-down, and turned inside-out. Bon discovered the true meaning of chaos in a few short months, and it was turning his brain to mush.
He lacked in his studies, fell behind in a few of his classes, and received his first B- since first grade. Bon was starting to get pissed. You knew there was a problem if your life outside of school was affecting your life in school. Tearing out his hair and chewing his fingernails to shreds each night over getting his homework done was becoming a major issue.
And it all traced back to the witch of the class. Many times he found himself on the brink of despair over his recent tortures. His mind was liable to break at any moment, and the unfamiliar instability was driving him nuts. It was a loop of unending misery. Yet dread settled at the pit of his stomach whenever he remembered his position in all this.
He was supposed to be here to study and become a great exorcist. He didn't have time to deal with all the drama that came with being within five feet of that crazy witch. She was both a loose cannon and collateral damage. It was confusing, frustrating, and downright wrong on so many levels.
Never in his life had it occurred to him that he'd be the one to become involved with this kind of person. He'd always assumed he'd just avoid these people and skirt around them. But this one had planted herself right in front of him, blocking him from his goals, his life as a True Cross student, and his sanity.
Most humans would find themselves getting angry over this road block and attempt to forcefully remove it. Bon was extremely pissed, but couldn't bring himself to take it out on Neko. Something about her just yearned for compassion and understanding in that sick, innocent and child-like pouty manner. It was revolting, but it brought Bon and his inner humanity to their knees.
Just being around the witch was enough to pick up the mangled and twisted vibe her entire existence radiated. It was so very evident that she'd been tossed around, beaten down, and dragged through hell by her ankles. The fragmented, shattered light in her eyes expressed the deep, endless sorrow and suffering she'd been forced to endure.
Looking at her eyes was enough to gather all that in a single glance. Bon theorized that this was why Mephisto had taken her in and given her a chance in the first place. She'd come from a foreign land, learned an entirely different language system, and brought herself so low as to ask a demon for help, all while possessing all her tarnished past in the depths of her eyes.
Even on the surface her eyes displayed everything one could possibly want to know. One of them scarred and covered in cataracts, torn beyond repair. No doubt she'd lost her vision in that one, along with the hopes of ever achieving her original complexion.
The other held all her emotions in a single, concentrated spot. It would've been difficult not to tell what she was thinking at any given moment. If you ever wanted to know exactly what the witch was feeling, one quick glance to her left eye would tell you.
Even during the brief period in which she actually taught Mr. Parish's class, when she'd attempted to portray a professional air about her, the inner, maliciously abused animal occasionally shimmered beneath the surface.
Everything about her screamed, I would give anything in the world to forget.
It was horrifying to be in the same room as her when she was insulted or berated. On the outside, she'd defend her pride and strike back twice as hard. But on the inside, Bon could see her silently agreeing with her oppressor, sinking further into the black inky prison of self-loathing.
One look at her and he knew: Neko didn't deserve this.
She didn't deserve to have to be here, fighting with them. She didn't deserve to have her mother taken from her when she was young. She didn't deserve to be mutilated and twisted into the painful creature she was. She didn't deserve the ridicule and sharp glares that came with the ancient heritage in her bloodstream.
Something, deep inside those hurting eyes of hers, was pleading with the world to end her sentence, to put a stop to the strain and stress that her mind, body, and soul lived with every day.
This was why Bon never said anything or complained. Just by looking into her eyes he could tell that she had just as painful of a past as everyone else here, if not more. It wasn't her fault that she was a walking bad-luck charm.
Which was why Bon was headed over to the Okumura dorm now, nervously twiddling his thumbs as he thought about the casual proposition he was about to make. Well, at least he thought it was casual. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it or anything.
After about a half hour of walking, the building came into view. He noticed his hands were shaking slightly, but chose to ignore it as he reached up to knock on the oak door.
o.O.0.O.o
Shura's POV
Her vision came back to her irritatingly slow. It took what she assumed was a whole ten minutes of blinking to restore her sight, ten minutes that crept by like centuries. Here, on the cold cement floor of what looked like an old warehouse, she could use all the information she could get on her surroundings.
The last thing she remembered was seeing one of those black suited dudes pricking a needle into Neko Shen's neck, which caused the girl to collapse immediately. Her other charges, Ms. Moriyama and Ms. Kamiki were tied to the same crate as her as of now. That she could see.
They were all gagged and sitting upright, their hands and feet restrained under tight ropes that were digging into their flesh. Both younger girls were unconscious. It was uncomfortably hot in the room.
For some odd reason, Shura's hair was down. Either she'd taken the ponytail out herself or one of those bastards did, but she didn't really care at the moment. All she cared about now was finding Neko and getting out of here.
Shura started yanking on her restraints in hopes of breaking them, but to no avail. Probably made of strong braided twine, she guessed. They wouldn't budge, and neither would the crate behind them. Something stirred behind the wooden bars, growled slightly, and seemed to settle back down again, heaving a big sigh. Whatever it was, it was alive.
Think, dammit! Where are you?
That thought had just finished when suddenly a door burst open at the other end of the large room. Five people in western style clothing marched in, singled file, each stride matching the other's with precise rhythm. The one in the front held a twisted tree branch parallel to the ground in both her hands. It looked like just an ordinary piece of wood to Shura, but little did she know it held so much more power that one would ever imagine.
The other four halted in the middle of the room and broke ranks to form a line. The woman who was in front stood about six feet away from Shura's struggling form. The red-head could just barely make out their features in the dim light of the lamp above them.
Black, waist-length wavy hair, black irises glittered cruelly. Her complexion was fair but vampire pale. She wore a buttoned-up white blouse, slim fitting jeans, and shiny black heels. Her lips were stained a dark crimson, as if she spent her spare time drinking human blood. Shura was seriously starting to consider that this broad was a member of the undead legion, or some shit like that.
"What the hell do you want from us?" Shura hissed as she ground her teeth.
Mock surprise swept across the bitch's face, and then was replaced with a pouty frown. "Now now," she pleaded in a sickly sweet tone, "No need for such rudeness, Ms. Kirigakure. We're all adults here. Surely we know how to behave ourselves, yes?"
The way she was talking, and her accent reminded her of Neko's. The comparison was crude at best, but Shura couldn't ignore the stark similarities in their clipped, fast speech pattern.
"I'll say it one more time, hag. Who are you and what the hell do you want from us?" came Shura's reply.
"Tsk tsk tsk," the other woman tutted, wagging her index finger at her like scorning a child. "No one ever got anything by being rude. Unfortunately, we don't have all day, so I suppose I'll just cut to the chase: We want the chimera back."
"Chimera?" she echoed.
Neko wasn't there when she woke up. She must've escaped. But how? Last Shura saw she was falling to the ground after being injected with the needle. Shura smirked from her place on the floor, despite being chained to a crate and obviously in a dangerous situation.
Leave it to Neko to do the impossible.
She almost laughed. Almost.
"As for what we want from you," the black-haired woman continued in that disgustingly innocent tone of hers, "We're holding you as hostages. We've finally found our most important subject again, and we're not about to let her slip through our fingers once more. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have ransom letters to write."
She genuinely sounded displeased and unhappy about her statement. But then she laughed, as if she'd just told an amazingly clever joke, and turned to walk away. She tossed the wooden stick behind her for one of the four other people to catch.
"Now that the one is awake, we might as well start the experiment." she advised the group as she journeyed back to the door, "Let's not waste a fresh subject while we've got one, yes?"
The door closed by itself behind her as she disappeared into the hallway.
o.O.0.O.o
?'s POV
She slammed the doors open, starting the room's occupants, as she stomped inside. One man, the newest one, jumped out of his seat sending paperwork flying in all directions.
"Why haven't we managed to catch her yet?" she asked no one in particular, "Why does this keep happening?! I thought the Black Suits would be enough, but apparently not! Looks to me like our team's been slacking here, wouldn't you say?"
Her complaint was followed by a lot of nervous, "Yes, Ma'am" s and nods. The new guy looked like he was about to piss his pants, but he nodded vigorously with the rest of the group.
A gold-toothed man in the back spoke up, "With all due respect Ms. Lemere, I'd say the very fact that the beast has evaded us this long is because of us and our skilled scientists. If not for them, the chimera wouldn't have turned out so fantastic, so agile, so… perfect. I'd say it's rather a compliment to you and your judgement."
The woman considered this a moment. "Yes, I suppose it is… But in any case, we're still faced with this problem. We must have our 'perfect' subject back again if we are to move forward with our project. The evolution of man-kind depends on that creature, and I'll be damned if that cocky little fox escapes us again!"
She turned on her heel and began agitatedly pacing. "After five years that chimera has been lost to our vital research. Our project was nearly ruined when that bastard traitor stole her from us! He must suffer for endangering our life's work, and that… that thing must be brought down. We will succeed in the name of science! And with science we shall achieve!"
o.O.0.O.o
And crazy writer is at it again! More cliché mad-scientist lunatic who wants to see humanity evolve! Yay! Yeah I know. I'm not very creative. And I hate that about me.
Anywho, let's see… what did I want to tell you?
Oh yeah! The reminder! Remember when I told you at the beginning of the story that this doesn't have a plot? Yeah? Good. This was what I was talking about. Notice how this story has been going pretty much nowhere?
This is a first work, people! I'm not at all experienced in writing fanfiction! This here is my experience. And so far I'm doing a pretty shabby job learning. You know how practice makes perfect? Well, I'm practicing, and I'm doing it wrong. Which doesn't make perfect.
I'm a bit scared that this is going to set in stone how I write my stories. If that's the case, then I'm sorry. I really do hope that it's just me being stuck in a cage here because of how I've written this, and not how I'm going to write in the future.
Oh well. We'll see about that, I guess.
And a special thanks to Jeffrey the squirrel, who made writing this chapter possible.
Fare thee well, strange ones!