Okay before you dive into the story, here are some warnings!

MANGA SPOILERS! Don't read if you're not caught up with the manga!

I do NOT own anything! Everything belongs to Gege Akutami! Kiyoko and Milo are my OCs.

There will be swearing and violence in this, so if you don't like those things, please don't read! (I'll add more warnings as the story goes on too)

Lastly, I am not a writer. I just take english classes in school, and I wrote this for fun as the world is so cool!

Anyways, happy reading!

Kiyoko's favorite part of the day was probably when the sun dipped behind the city's buildings, and the sky glowed a deep red. The streets would quiet down as people finally went to their homes. Back to their families where they would converse about their day, cook lucious dinners, and prepare for the next morning. Kiyoko liked it when she could think to herself, and she was finally able to talk to her little brother. While she liked dawn, alone with just her brother, Kiyoko couldn't help but feel as if she were being watched.

"Milo" Kiyoko addressed her brother as he peered into a bakery's window. Despite the fact that he wore a hood and his eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses, she could see in his reflection that his mouth was slightly opened. Kiyoko felt herself slump; she wished she could buy her brother something, yet she had been saving what little money she had for meals and clothing. She considered the idea of stealing; however, stealing from bakeries was difficult, especially around closing hours.

"Milo" Kiyoko repeated. She grabbed his hand pulling him away from the shop's window. Wordlessly, he allowed himself to be removed from his spot, following into step beside Kiyoko, his head hung slightly as if he felt dejected. They walked in silence for a moment before Milo spoke up.

"I'm hungry." Kiyoko knew Milo didn't mean it in a way to accuse her, yet she froze. She mentally reprimanded herself for failing to acknowledge her brother's hunger. Milo never complained, he could go a whole day without eating without saying a word. So, if he did happen to speak up, he really was struggling.

"I know I am too" she wasn't lying, honestly she had forgotten when they both had last eaten. Kiyoko reached for her wallet, it was old and worn out. Reaching into it, she cringed slightly when she only managed to pull out a five dollar bill. She had more money at home, more but not a lot.

"Milo we don't have money" she was honest to her brother. Despite being only ten, he was mature for his age. He was quiet and obeyed every order she gave to him. "So, we-"

"Get money. Right? That's what you were going to say" Milo smiled a little, knowing the meaning behind what she was going to say. Kiyoko felt relieved that her brother caught on. Sometimes by not saying the words out loud, the things they needed to do didn't seem so bad.

"It's getting late" Kiyoko eyed the darkening sky. "Tomorrow we'll focus on that. For now let's go back home. I'm sure we have some food there."

Home was a poor world to describe the shack that Kiyoko and Milo lived in. Previously a shed, the house next to it had collapsed, leaving just the shed behind and abandoned. The floor was made of wood that was mostly eaten away by bugs, and the walls leaned dangerously inwards making the shed creak every time it was windy. Kiyoko was proud of herself for finding it. Anything was better than sleeping in the city where the cops could find you. She already had her share in the foster care system and did not plan on reliving that experience.

Kiyoko threw her backpack in the corner while Milo proceeded to lie on the small futon that they shared in the corner of the room. She made her way to a little cabinet they had. Sitting on it were a couple of cans, a jug of water, and some packaged food. Kiyoko reached out for what seemed to be muffin, however, as soon as she opened the packaging, she grimaced: it had long passed its expiration date.

Kiyoko looked over to Milo, he had now pulled off his hood revealing his black hair that was slightly spiked. He had pulled off his sunglasses. Now his tattooed eyes were looking back at her. Kiyoko didn't know what the symbols meant: a black crescent shape hugged both eyes. Going through both crescents and down his eyes were lines that faded into teardrops. She had asked Milo before about it, but he admitted that he didn't know the significance either. Kiyoko wondered if his parents knew, but the boy had told her that he doesn't remember them. Actually, Milo told her that doesn't remember anything before he was ten years old.

Kiyoko and Milo were not related. One day while she was roaming the city, she came across a boy tucked in between trash cans in an alleyway. When she tried reaching out to him, all he would say was: "leave me be." Kiyoko didn't understand the reasons behind Milo's wishes, but she refused to let him satisfy them. So, instead she pulled him up and forced him to live with her, despite his initial protests. And they've been together ever since.

Admitting defeat for not being able to find a non-expired meal, Kiyoko decided that she would just have to fish instead.

"Milo, I'm going fishing," she waited for him to nod before leaving the house and heading out to the stream. Luckily for them, behind the shed was a small river. The sky was quickly getting darker, forcing Kiyoko to quicken her pace. With no lights nearby, the darker it was meant the less she could see. Additionally, at night, sometimes she saw ghosts. Ghosts, beasts, spirits, or what Milo called "curses'' appeared at night. Kiyoko thought she was crazy for seeing them until Milo said he saw them too. He assured her that if they both saw the curses, then they weren't just "seeing things."

Kiyoko removed her sneakers and socks, stepping into the river as she looked for fish; however, she quickly found herself getting lost by her reflection. Her green eyes were dulled and her brown hair was pulled back into two tight french braids. Above her right eye, near her hairline, was a series of scars. She unconsciously put her hand over the scars in an attempt to hide them. Smiling sadly, she stared at herself like that. In the corner of her eye, Kiyoko noticed a fish swim by. Bingo she thought to herself. She quickly summoned a spear. When she had shown Milo what she had figured out about herself, he had said, rather too quickly, that she had found her curse technique.

"Cursed technique? What's that? And how do you know?" Kiyoko narrowed her eyes, skeptical of Milo's sudden knowledge. From her fingers she juggled a small knife.

"I dunno? I guess I kind of feel it. It's humming with energy" Milo looked at the knife that Kiyoko now pretended to fight with.

"Okay but how do you know what it's called?"

"It feels familiar to me."

"Like in a good way or a bad way?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then what's your technique?"

Milo's eyes lightened up, he smiled. "Hand me your knife."

As soon as she spotted the fish, Kiyoko threw the spear, landing a direct hit on the fish. Kiyoko waved her hand, canceling out her cursed energy. Experimenting with her technique had led her to be somewhat confident in her skills. She knew basic combating skills from taking odd jobs in sketchy businesses, general life on the streets, and what her mother and father had taught her. She could summon a knife and other weapons rather quickly due to individual practice. Recently, Kiyoko had been focusing on the power and strength behind each of her creations.

She grabbed the fish out of the water and carried it with her, quickening her pace as she noticed the lack of sun. She pushed through the tall stalks of various plants, and cursed to herself for forgetting about the rainfall from the other night. Mud stuck to her ankles and bugs fluttered around her head. Focused on marching home, she failed to notice a curse hiding in the plants. Usually, if she were more alert, Kiyoko would be able feel the slight flow of energy emitting from it. Milo had told her that the slight chill she felt every time one was nearby, was actually her sensing its energy.

The toe of Kiyoko's shoes had caught the curse's head first. Thrown off balanced from the sudden object, Kiyoko felt herself tip forward. Fortunately, her hands caught her before her face made contact with the mud.

"What the hell?" Kiyoko threw a glare at the curse wiping her dirty fingers on her shirt. Great. Another thing I need to wash. It was less than a foot tall. Its large bug-like eyes widened at her as she made eye-contact with it. It threw up its three-fingered hands and put on a dance, closing its eyes and hopping around. It's making fun of me… She approached the little guy as he was in the middle of his celebration. Quickly, she pulled out her knife, and threw it, causing the curse to disappear before it could even open up its eyes. In all honesty, part of her felt bad. Milo knew about curses up to a certain extent. But when she asked if they were alive or merely just creatures existing alongside humans, he didn't really have an answer for her. Instead, he just said: "I don't know or maybe I just don't remember." It put her mind at ease if she just got rid of them. They were creepy and one time one had tried to bite her and attack her brother. They were just freaky creatures, so in the end, what did it really matter if they were to just vanish?

By the time Kiyoko made it home, Milo had fallen asleep. She had put the fish near some logs where they started campfires (after cleaning it of mud of course). Finding Milo tucked in bed, she went over to him. Prodding the boy's side, she waited for him to stir.

"Milo, can you start the fire? I need to flay the fish."

Milo groaned and hugged the covers a little tighter. "It took you forevverrrr." Kiyoko rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatic pronunciation.

"Maybe if you had already started the fire…" Milo sat upright, his grey eyes narrowed in on her.

"Yeah yeah."

Kiyoko brought out a piece of wood she found as a board for the fish. Digging through her cupboards, she found a knife. She could have summoned one, but that took energy, and she was too tired to focus. She began to flay the fish the best she could, no one had told the thirteen-year-old how to properly cook, so everything was based on trial and error. She eyed her brother from her spot inside the shed. He was collecting sticks and leaves placing them in the fire. Even though he swiped at it fast, she caught sight of a tear making its way down his cheek.