Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho is copyrighted and belongs to its creator, Togashi Yoshihiro.

Author's Warning: This chapter is dark. Very dark. Could be loads darker, too.

Genre: Supernatural, fantasy, humor, horror, and not so much general. It is also an AU, an "alternate Universe" for the setting.

Rating: Mature…for obvious reasons.


OLD FRIEND

Part One

"The beast lives, out of the raging storm, in the dead of night. The ravenous blood-sick creature searches for its sacrifice through the hideous darkness, it lurches, driven by death itself. Only the satisfaction of slaughter will cause it to return to The Darkness from which it came."

-Insane Clown Posse; "Boogie Woogie Wu"

oOo

The terror coursing in her felt like needles, virulent-tipped syringes inserting delirium. Madness was obstinate and inexorable. Far beyond gone, this experience had to be an acid trip on overdose. So many images passed through her psyche, as if seeing the world that she had known in a rewinding motion.

The images that flashed through her mind were that of her brother. From the moment she last saw him, all the way back in time when he was merely a boy. She had relived the horrors of his kidnap, the Dark Tournament, and now she was back into their childhood…

…Reviving the past moments of running away from demons…

…Their uncle's use of his once newfound beliefs, driving her brother mad with his religious incitements to cast the "devils" from him…of both Masato and him ganging up on the boy, forcing him to withstand the torment that they unleashed, and burning his flesh with sacred relics…

…The times when she tried to comfort him during the night, when dark spirits were crawling on his bedroom walls…

…He was crying…

...Masato was relentlessly beating the daylights out of him...

…And finally, when her family had strapped him down in a chair, forcing his powers back… His screams, he kept screaming…at the top of his lungs, writhing against his restraints and begging them to stop…

…He tried to push them all away with the use of his mind, with his telekinetic capabilities…he was SO strong…

…The pipes combusted within the walls, the paint being stripped off, the glass in the windows imploded, the wood splintering into pieces…

…He was literally tearing the place slap apart…

…The debris spinning about them as he wreaked havoc on them…

…But they wouldn't cease from chanting…

Everything had spun erratically like a roller-coaster gone awry, the force against her mind both turbulent and penetrating.

Then suddenly it all ceased and utter darkness encompassed her; like breaths of bitter air blown into all sides of her peripheral vision.

Prior to this, the torment was as though she had been like being swallowed by a blazing beast, who's mouth was a literal hellhole rowed with teeth, and then afterwards chilled by an instant deep freeze. She now felt so numb yet so cold.

The air had certainly became all the more colder, and yet, heavy at the same time; like on a hot summer night.

Then suddenly, an incredible change took place in the matter of seconds…

Harsh, blazing hot winds blew against her form, pushing against her mercilessly; like a sandstorm within a desert. A great contrast to the biting cold.

She coughed as she struggled to breathe. The atmosphere was heavily contaminated with potent fumes; so strong her taste buds could literally pick up the pungent flavor. Sulfur, blood, ash, decay, and what smelled like burning wire. It didn't set well with her, her stomach twisting into knots as her lungs kept contracting; heaving from the ultra toxicity.

Her vision was a blur.

The winds suddenly expired, and without warning.

"Come. Come see me for who I really am."

She heard a voice beckon her, just as a massive heat wave caressed her face; like a hand of a human being.

That contact of heat pricked her skin like needles.

And to her amazement, it was though she could somehow breathe again. The air was no longer choking the life out of her. It was as though someone had magically bestowed upon her "life support", so to speak. And her perception began to return.

Once gathering her resolve, her eyes began to scope around; giving her surroundings a decent observation.

A dark, thick crimson swathed the skies; like fresh wounds on a war's causality. There was no body of light, except the sinister glow radiating from what appeared to be red fog of supernatural proportions, one which hovered high above the sickened ground. The dead grass laid heavy with what looked to be blood.

In the distance, there was urban decay; the twisted structures eroding away, becoming naked with their skeletons exposed. The windows were all blown out, some of the buildings were even melted, and debris and refuse was strung as far as the eye can see. It seemed as though a massive war had taken place here.

…That, and everything that resembled "human" technologies were outright dilapidated; machinery gone to waste and had thus turned into rust…

And in the midst thereof, was a monolithic structure; enormous in size, constructed differently all together, with a molten lake surrounding it like a ring of fire.

That's where she sensed a presence, of the one responsible for her liberation.

Without delay or any hesitation, she began placing each foot in front of the other. Treading through this wilderness of destruction and despair, she hoped to find her brother.

This was not going to be a cakewalk, she knew.

On her way, walking through the wreckages, collapsed ruins, and rolling, broken road painted with blood and flame…

…And she had walked for what seemed like hours to get to this point, through the winding streets of this decaying filth…

…The streets were ablaze, hotter than iron need be for any craft, with fire seeping through the cracks from below. But her feet remarkably did not burn, nor did they feel any pain…

She saw wingless, flying salamander-like creatures that were more tail than body; flying serpents would be the accurate description. They were gathering, collecting, and carrying bright orbs in their tiny, straw-like clutches; similar to the legs found on a butterfly. Being a psychic, she knew very well that those were spirits that these creatures were transporting.

As to where these serpents were taking these souls… It seemed as though they were heading into the same direction as she was. But as to why they were, that in itself was a completely different mystery… One that she wasn't intending to find out, considering that she might very well discover the answer later on in this journey.

Blood and carnage was everywhere to be seen, as far as the eye can see.

Heads stuffed within the ribcages of demonic corpses. Bodies flayed and torn apart. Decapitated, skinless heads on stakes. Bodies impaled through their guts or their rectums, suspended there for what it seemed like, with the estimations of time of decomposition, days. Their eyes were gauged out.

The maggots were literally oozing out of the sordid carcasses, spewing out into heaps on the ground, for there was SO many of them in quantity. This place was infested with flies. Large ones, ones much bigger in size than the common horse fly.

It was like a city of the dead here. Almost.

They were half dead, as though death itself denied them from their release of pain, suffering, and agonizing torment.

Upon the rusted, twisted fences, were breathing beings pinned and bounded up by barred wire. Their bodies were severed into various parts, but oddly enough they were still alive, with their organs exposed but intact. Judging by their tattered and burnt clothing, they looked to be the once able bodies of gangs or crime syndicates.

They watched her as she passed, gurgling incomprehensible words in their throats. She could see leach, worm-like creatures with three heads were feeding upon their hearts and other organs; drinking the blood like sickened children upon a mother's breast.

After noticing this, she did her best to keep her distance.

But much to her disappointment and distress, there were more monsters to discern and to respect…

On the ground, demonic-like beasts were feasting upon these maggot infested corpses, their eyes gleaming with madness.

Beasts with human expressions, but were far from human…

Six-eyed crows, beaks lined with rows of teeth, seen stripping the meat from bones. Their caws were like deranged cackles; like an assembly of laughing witches, all which were from different covens.

Tiny dragon-like and frog-like creatures crawling in the decaying insides, disgustingly bursting out and reentering though flesh wounds, cavities, and orifices. They were digging their claws and their teeth into the meat, consuming them bit by bit.

There were even lagomorphic creatures; mutated rats, rabbits, you name it. They were gnawing on flesh and bone, the veins repulsively sticking between their four front teeth.

"Killer bunnies." She reflected, all the while trying her best to remain inconspicuous as she continued on her way in silence. "Now, I'm afraid. My view of their innocence has been raped. ...This place is disgusting."

She also beheld featureless, humanoid creatures, appearing to be either skinless or burned, with their faces smeared in wires and worms. With their gorilla-like movements, they were extremely fast. They were spewing out hot, black bile from the cavities in their chests at will. There were no mouths to be seen, no eyes. They had slits for nostrils, and long claw-like fingers upon their hands. They bodies were bare naked and hairless, but possessed no genitalia. Their spines were awfully visible, bulking outwards beneath the skin, which extended into long, reptilian tails.

What purpose they filled, one can only imagine in horror.

And these creatures were just a handful on the list of examples.

She then turned her sight back to the ground, something immediately catching her attention. She was now stepping on something and it wasn't pavement. It was tickling her, and moving like the flow in a stream.

The roads were covered, blanketed with large cascading cockroach-like creatures. They had large antennae and human-like expressions. They were scaling on the walls, as well as the ground.

And jointed in their numbers were three foot centipedes. And they, too, with their needle-like legs, were crawling all over the place.

She whacked off one of the roach-like creatures, it had crawled onto her leg as it was passing.

It fell upon its back and screeched at her in return, it's human-like mouth moving as it did, and its black eyes widening at her.

She tried to hold back her horror, fighting hard to not scream, but she could only manage to close her mouth and suppress it. She tried her best to move onward, squirming and twitching as these things eventually passed.

But then, she heard lupine, jagged breaths from all around her.

She looked, though it went against her best instincts to.

From every direction, were morbidly thin, demonic black dogs with deteriorating flesh. Their breeds appeared be similar to Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers crossed over with the tendencies of wolves…

…They had her surrounded like a wild, pack of blood-thirsty wolves…

They had long, speared-shaped tongues. Their slobber dripping down through their rows of large, sharp and exposed teeth; their gums were bleeding and their muzzles stripped of their cheeks and lips. And they owned four pairs of eyes.

She couldn't see all of the details, but they were frightening enough in the far distance where they stood.

The creatures cried horrible, nerve-wracking howls.

She had never once liked dogs. And that still stands today, as of right now.

And she was immensely terrified, though she didn't show it. She was shaking on the inside, to tell you the truth.

It was logical as it was understandable. That she naturally feared for her life, for her own sake and good will.

She was obviously aware of the facts, one being that they may surely come her way and ravage her.

"I won't let them harm you." The voice from before spoke again. "Do not be afraid. They are just curious."

"Oh, that's REAL comforting." She thought cynically, discouraged by all this morbidity.

Those grisly hellhounds quickly moved on, however, much to her instant relief and satisfaction.

She continued to press on, now wanting all the more to get to the bottom of all of this mess…

…This infernal HELL…

…This demented version of "The Wizard of Oz", before ill-minded and unsightly munchkins were to suddenly pop up and began beating on her…or those winged monkeys…

...And find her brother.

Yes.

She knew that if he had to be anywhere around here, that he must be residing at that grotesque fortress.

Though she had no clue why, she just knew and expected him to be there. As incredibly sentimental and foolish as it may seem, to beat the gun like this, she was relying upon a feeling.

A gut feeling and a bond between siblings.

And she had started running the rest of the way.

She eventually came to a bridge, at last. A rickety bridge made with boards of stone and fashioned together with wire. It was as decrepit as it seemed perilous.

That roaring, hot lava didn't quell her fears one iota. Not even for one, meager millisecond.

And around the lava-pool was high, jagged elevations of pumice stones, and in the center of the pool was an island of hardened, obsidian rock. And upon that island was the fortress.

The atmosphere here was significantly different. The air was hot and excruciating, which was to be expected considering the location she was now in.

Why did the simplest of matters, like crossing a bridge, have to be SO gruelingly difficult? She'd like to know.

But unknown to many, Shizuru was a lot tougher than she seemed. And this girl was on a mission, she knew what she had to do.

So, steadily, she began crossing over. Mindful to not gripe the wires, not even once as she passed through onto the other side.

By now she could see that the sky was pitch black, the reflection off this blazing inferno and blood stained land made the ominous clouds appear all the more sinister.

The floor and walls of the fortress were covered in a grimy filth, and the air was filled with a hot, heavy smell of roasting flesh.

The marred walls that were caked in blood, but up close, one could see that the stones were made of crushed bones; found from that of human and demon remains. Some of the fractures of skulls remained, which played a haunting memory of what once was. There were also these worm-like black vines, vilely moving about, seeping in and out through the holes, cracks, and corners.

This place reeked more of death than what she had seen OUT THERE, by far. And let her tell you, it was a foul stench indeed.

Made her nostril hairs curl, her nose cringe.

And that was just the outside.

Once after stepping within, past the raised iron, black gate…

She ventured down one of the main halls.

Quickly, she found herself within a hall that opened to many rooms. A hallway that looked too professional to be a part of this structure, even though it was covered in inches of dust, undisturbed and dilapidated.

As she traveled further down this darkening corridor, she came to notice the realistic hands, which were lined up and sticking out of walls, frozen in a classic "reaching out" formation. She then quickly came to realize the shoddy body parts, which were hanging by chains from the ceiling above her. These chains were savagely hooked into the flesh-like material, serving as some sort of sick decoration. It was grotesque, to say the least.

/Welcome to where time stands still
No one leaves and no one will/

By looking in each room she came across, in search for a sign of her brother…

She beheld some terrible content, some of that which promised to haunt her for the rest of eternity.

/Moon is full, never seems to change
Just labeled mentally deranged/

And it involved life-like, human-sized dolls, mannequins that seemed all too real.

In one room, a number of them were wearing heinous contraptions, death machines or devices strapped in an inhumane fashion.

/Dream the same thing every night
I see our freedom in my sight/

One of the mannequin's head was literally inside of a bottle, the entire head was in that thing; like a hand stuck within a pickle jar. She was discombobulated by the sight. It was as though he was wearing it as some sort of sporty head-gear, his face squished up tightly against the glass, and his neck… It wasn't even normal.

Another mannequin was pulled apart, almost straight down the middle. Another doll appeared as though its head had been blown clear off. Another had hooks in his cheeks and lips, with wires that restrained his mouth wide open, and his tongue was removed. And another had its feet and hands chopped…

No, make that "SAWED" off.

/No locked doors, no windows barred
No things to make my brain seem scarred/

There was another mannequin, one who held "the tool in question" in his hands. Though he was frozen in time, just as the rest of them were, he was finishing the work on the final leg. The corroded blade was already well in the bone, or where the bone would have been IF it had been a real body.

Another dummy had his eyes sewn shut and his fingernails removed; the tips of his fingers, right down to the first knuckle, were cut completely off.

/Sleep, my friend, and you will see
The dream is my reality/

Despicable experiments were performed here, she reckoned.

She moved to the next room, across the hall, and looked in…

In this room there were rectangular tables, ones made of metal with buckled leather straps for fastening. There were also numerous beakers and jars on shelves. Containers filled with a sallow fluid, the chemical known as formaldehyde, and various types of organs.

/They keep me locked up in this cage
Can't they see it's why my brain says "rage"/

She saw intestines, kidneys, livers… Hell, even eye balls, brains, and blood vessels. And in a few jars, there was a massive collection of teeth.

One doll was sticking a hypodermic needle, an old fashioned syringe, into another's arm. This one had long golden hair, was wearing a nurse's outfit, and was obviously female. Appallingly, the doll's eyes were literally melted out of her head, with the blackened remnants of plastic that had streamed down her face.

The one receiving the shot, however, was strapped down onto one of the tables… With the top part of her hairless cranium being removed; you can see the dots drawn on her forehead.

/Sanitarium, leave me be/

The other female doll had an accomplice, one which had a drill saw in his right hand, while he carried a scalpel in his left.

/Sanitarium, just leave me alone/

This was another "operating room", but of a different type. Where organs were removed, possibly to sell to viable buyers on The Black Market.

Repulsed by this sight of sheer cruelty, and having had enough, Shizuru removed herself from the room and quickly moved on.

She started speeding up her search, peeking in rooms, through barred windows…

There was a dentist chair in one room. One that looked more like an execution chair, with its straps and frightening gadgets.

/Build my fear of what's out there
Cannot breathe the open air/

In another, there was a heap of naked dolls. They were compiled upon the floor carelessly, and lying before an enormous furnace. Some of the dolls were stuffed in, their charred remains sticking out through the oven's door.

/Whisper things into my brain
Assuring me that I'm insane/

In one large room, there was an immense huddle of female dolls, locked up and cramped up together; like a factory's coop of chickens. There was only one bed, and yet, there were so many of them and not enough space to breathe in. ...IF they could breathe...

/They think our heads are in their hands
But violent use brings violent plans/

And in, yet, another room… There was a male doll who sat in one of the far corners, bounded by his own sleeves, his arms held in a lasting crisscross over his chest. He had on a device, a guard around his head, with straps that connected to a muzzled made of metal.

...There were others, more who resembled the likes of him, who were trapped in the similar states...

/Keep him tied, it makes him well
He's getting better, can't you tell?/

And in many rooms, there was an infinite amount of dolls having been seen fastened down onto sullied beds; tied by their own sheets to the railings and bedposts.

Some of the dolls were bent over and hugging their knees. Some were curled into fetal positions. And some were littered with bite marks and scratches. Some with amputated limbs. Most were toothless, their teeth ripped out from their gums.

/No more can they keep us in
Listen, damn it, we will win/

One female doll had her eyes scratched out completely from her head, and you can see the claw marks perfectly clear on her cheeks and around the hollowed sockets.

The walls and doors were littered with dents and similar marks, they were as scratched up as she was. They were battered and bruised "to Hell and back" within each of these rooms.

/They see it right, they see it well
But they think this saves us from our hell/

Moreover, ninety-seven in percentage were horribly emaciated.

But then there was the kitchen, which had to be the worst site in this horrid place... Shizuru stared in absolute horror. There were body parts everywhere. On the stove, in a pot. On the counters and on the chopping block. One hand had been partially chopped up into tiny pieces, most of the fingers were no longer...fingers; just the remains of what once was. ...And then, there was the meat grinder.

That kitchen was no kitchen, but a slaughterhouse.

/Sanitarium, leave me be/

Chills began to run down her spine as she continued, her own body breaking out in intervallic flashes of cold sweat.

/Sanitarium, just leave me alone/

She then began to hear the phantoms. A dreadful noise of boisterous racket, tied together with mixed emotions… Of loneliness, dread, uncertainty, despair, pain, anger, and doom. The atmosphere in here was overwhelmingly HEAVY, heavy like a ton of lead weights.

/Sanitarium/

The men roared with madness. The women screamed in terror. The women and the children were screaming, wailing in tears.

/Just leave me alone/

Mannequins. So many mannequins, like some sort of life-sized, macabre dollhouse for the psychologically questioned… Serving up amusement for the criminally minded, the sociopaths of society.

Most of the dolls were in patient's wardrobes, white garments that were yellowed and muddied by filth, blood and bodily waste; the horrifying signs of neglect.

...She began to feel real dizzy, everything started spinning around her...

/Fear of living on
Natives getting restless now/

…The voices kept getting louder and louder…

/Mutiny in the air
Got some death to do/

Meanwhile, others wore clean and immaculate white gowns, along with a set of latex gloves, and black professional shoes. And as a bonus accessory, their faces were concealed underneath these hideous looking leather masks; their mouths zipped shut, a guarantee that they will keep their silence and never speak a word of what was taking place…

/Mirror stares back hard
kill is such a friendly word/

One had razor blades fitted upon his fingers, with three rings which fastened the triple-jointed weapons. He looked like, pardon her speech, Freddie "fucking" Cougar with those devices.

/seems the only way
for reaching out again/

And then, it had suddenly dawned on her…

…Her heart had stopped, ceasing to beat for what seemed like an entire moment, before it plummeted down into the pit of her stomach…

…And her mind had clicked with an awful, disturbing revelation…

This rundown facility, with its filth and its inhumanity…

Was an ASYLUM; or a SICK representation of one…

A BLOODY MAD HOUSE OF FUCKED UP TERROR.

And people weren't sent here to obtain help, they were sent here to DIE.

Unknown to her, it was a bitter taste of his most distant of memories.

By now, the children of his past had grown up… And with them, so had his memories of them.

And it was a sad and tragic truth, that many clinics that specialized in treatments much like this one, were almost precisely the same way.

No longer wanting to see more of this place, to see what else it had in stored for her…

She took off in a whirlwind of hurry, darting down the halls as quick as her bare feet could manage to allow her. She literally left a trail of dust behind her; which was all due to the fact that the floors had clearly not been swept in ages.

She tried her best to fight back the tears, wanting nothing more than to leave all of this behind her.

Their synthetic, stoic expressions haunting her.

oOoOo-MARTYR-oOoOo

Along time ago, way back when Shizuru was around eleven years of age...

Though she had not been physically present during the entire ritual, she had seen the horrors that had unraveled with her own mind's eye; the awakening capabilities of her psyche... She was able to achieve this access, to see the world around her like the moving pictures of television screen, even though she had been miles apart from him.

...Her senses were keen, more sharp than the average human's...

Her uncle had once spoken to her in privacy, with only the two of them standing in her grandfather's backyard.

He had been sent by her mother to pick her up, but it became immediately apparent that he intended to do something more.

And Shizuru, as young as she was then, was above the average I.Q.; not to mention that she was anything but ignorant...

"Allow me let you in on a little secret, child…

"Devils hate being judged. And to be judged, causes them to raise Cain. If you aim for anything, attack their pride… It enrages them beyond their ability to contain themselves, and they will spend up all their energy just to bring you to silence. Then, once that vigor within them is depleted, they will succumb to your will. But don't ever exorcise a Devil without first binding them, remember to use the special techniques that you have learned…

"However, I must provide you with a word of caution… If anyone was to judge The Devil, himself, that Son of Perdition… He or she would be hammering the nails into their own coffin…"

"'Anung un Rama'," He told her in an unknown language.

For a course of three years, he taught her everything he knew; taking her under his wing, guiding her every step of the way.

"...One of the names that should never be mentioned, even though it is a creature who bares no name. ...Said to associate with the phrase: 'ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn', which translates to 'In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming'... But forget I've ever said that, never repeat it. Ever. …Likewise, 'Seth Omen'Haiden Erickson' is also a name that must be forgotten…

"Sutekh... The evil spirit, the dazzling fiend, the evil wind, the assaulting wind, which strips off the clothing of the body as an evil demon... The one who conjures the Yara-ma-yha-who, the beasts who swallow men whole... The one... One of the beings that even the demons fear most, even more than Ukobaches; the fiery demons of Hell... For he is Satan, the barer of light... The letters to the name, when added up in cryptic mathematics and used in Enochian contexts, spells out the truth... He is...'God's Venom'...named after his father...

"Seth... He was never born, never once existed... It's just a name, a human name that had been given to him by his mother... He's not human, he just appears human... He's a monster wrapped up in human flesh, and he must be contained...

"Others may say that your brother is not well… But I know the truth. I know who your brother is. What he is. …And it pains me, as it does the rest of our family. But I don't intend to do nothing more about it, neither should you. I guess that's what we deserve for being a clan of demon slayers; our heir is what we most fear. Our best chances are to quell both his powers and his nature…

"Shizuru, that is why, no matter what happens… Try to keep your brother at his weakest, never allow him to reach his full potential. Fight back his pride, chastise him and rebuke him. For our sakes, if not for his own good. For if he breaks free, there's no chance of holding him back…"

But how was anyone to "beat the devil out of" The Devil? She wondered if that was even possible.

"It'll only sting him for a little while…" He had answered to that regard, as though bestowing "punishments" were nothing more than child's play. "Look, you're a smart girl. You'll know what to do...

"From this point forward, you are an official Watchman; by Devil's terminology, a Nephilim. And a Watchman's duty is to keep the world safe and sound, to forewarn the people of a rising apocalypse. You're job specifically is to keep an eye on your brother, at all times necessary. Keep a steady watch, learn everything that there is to know... You are now your bother's vassal, his keeper...

"But with such an arbitrary yet dutiful and honorable responsibility, comes an even steeper price. In time, when the end of days is at hand, for it will come… You, child, will suffer more than anyone. You will be left to gaze and be appalled by the terror he brings. Know this and keep it to your heart always. Don't think for one moment that any of this is going to be easy."

This man was her mother's "little" brother. Though perceived as being foolish by most in the family, he was wise in his own recognitions and was always consumed in his studies...

...He knew an awful lot about "monsters"...and the monster that was her brother had many names...

Her mother had told her stories about him, of him once being a irresponsible and reprehensible young man. But now, he lived a life of near destitute, with only the beatitudes to suit his needs and purpose. He now lived his life following strict rules, biding by severe codes of conduct.

He was a devout, sacrilegious figure... But he was not part of an official mission or a designated church. Instead, he dedicated his life to being a profitless exorcist; or what he called "a soldier of righteousness".

On again, off again...he was pretty much a bum. Living in conditions that were, off-hand, downright atrocious; REAL slum-holes, they were. However, he never remained in one place for long, because he was always on the move. Other than fighting "the creatures of the dark", he was technically useless; namely when it came to the means of acquiring a steady job or a place of employment.

And like many before him, his religiosity was his escapism. His own asphyxiation in the form of a crutch…

Something he had undoubtedly turned to, when his oldest sister had been snuffed from existence… For some sort of relief, some sense of protection or power…

To her, even at that vernal age, she possessed enough sense to know… That religion or beliefs, no matter what they were, it was all the same.

And his beliefs made no sense to her, for the faith itself incites fear in the minds and in the hearts of many people. Not to mention that it has destroyed many for centuries; The Vikings, The Celts, The Aztecs, The Mayans, The Jews, Native Americans, Muslims, slaves, the list goes on. In history, they had forced many by the sword to either convert or "meet their maker"; most were going to die, while the rest were to be rehabilitated against their wills. Blood had been shed in the name of The Cross, rather than "saving" lives or souls…

But Buddhism wasn't any better. If you weren't "enlightened" enough, King Yama might send you straight to Hell.

In most religions, you either join the masses of clones...or you will suffer the dire consequences.

…Perhaps Devils being judged by "hypocrites", people who claim to be "pure" due to praying their "sins" away, was an insult added to injury…

Nevertheless, she had conditioned her brother to live by their "human" standards, raising him up the best she could to be a good and principled individual.

She never once intended to control his life, however. She didn't even own the faintest desire to be a "Watchman" or "Keeper", and yet, she was forced to have the job anyway.

A decision that had been passed by the higher members of her family, also known as "The Council", who handles the uttermost important affairs.

Pitifully, "Stay strong and train hard" were their only words of advice for her.

She wanted to be a "beautician", a fashionable stylist of sorts. When she had chosen the career of becoming a tamer, "hair" was the only "beast" that she had pictured in her mind... And not, by any means, had the meaning ever leaned towards "the beast of the apocalypse".

Nevertheless, she became not only his "caretaker" or "babysitter", but also his "watch dog".

A degrading role that she wanted nothing more than to do away with...

...But now, somehow...she couldn't...bring herself...to break away...

Disgusted with herself, as she was with everything else that managed to piss her off, she came to later realize in life...that...she was too damn loyal.

She was no better than a lap dog...an irritable, ankle biting pooch...on the quest of biting someone, right on the ass.

However, her mind could not grasp an understanding as to what her uncle had meant by her having to "be left"; not even an inkling.

Her psychic clan had predicted, if not suspected, that the world would end around two hundred years later…

That's why she had remained ever doubtful of his words.

Hell, she didn't even believe in the possibilities that she could manage to live passed the age of seventy, let alone fulfill a century in time.

oOo

"I play hell, you play heaven
I'm deaths own little star...
Can you trace the sins that haunt you,
And play the devil's cards as I do?
I am all that you see,
I am all that you want me to be!
I am god, and so the Antichrist
I'm blessed, yet damned
I'm fallen, yet resurrected
I'm all of nothing!"

-Deathstars; "Synthetic Generation"

…TBC…


Author's Comments:

This chapter sucks. I owe it to my perception of Shizuru being more brave than being a coward. She's not really the type to run from danger, though she will move at her own pace. I don't really like how the anime portrays her running from demon officers. It doesn't fit her character all too well. They tried to make her too much like Atsuko, to fill in her spot. BAH.

Thanks, Saya, for the review!

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment or a review.

EDIT:

The lyrics are by Metallica, the song is called "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)".

I added both the lyrics and more to this chapter. As for the word depictions of the alleged asylum he had stayed in...

I've seen what those places look inside. And I've heard some terrible, terrible horror stories. This is no joke. Those places are AWFUL.

Here's a little fact of American History: It wasn't until the late 1990's when we began shutting such horrid institutions. And America isn't the only place that had them. Many are still open today.