Blood & Smoke

Written by: Blackenedfilth

Chapter 1 – Childhood Dreams

"Tag! Your it!" Tsukune took off running from Kyoko, his cousin. It is a warm breezy day in the woods they played in. Tsukune is 7, and Kyoko is 2 years older than him. They ran and played here often, Tsukune's parents not being home to police the children. Kyoko chases after her cousin, laughing as she knew she would catch him again. This would repeat until one gave up. This time, it was Tsukune. He comes to a halt and raises his hands in surrender. The young girl coming to a stop before him.

"Tsuki! Your no fun if you give up!" Tsukune chuckled. "But I'm tired of playing tag. Let's play hide and seek?" Kyoko put a hand on one hip, still trying to catch her breath. "Okay, but no climbing any trees this time. You're going to get hurt, and we don't have an adult around!" Tsukune groaned an agreement.

The woods did not have much for hiding spots, so Tsukune would often climb a tree. Kyoko, acting like the big sister, always worries about him hurting himself while they were out playing.

"You worry too much cousin, I'll be fine! Now, close your eyes and count!" She sighed. "Alright Tsuki, whatever you say. Don't cry when you get hurt though." She knew his games well, he agreed not to but there was a good chance he would ignore her warning. This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last.

She began her count: "1,2,3,4~" she would count to 100, then try to find him. This was the rule they had been playing by since the beginning. If the one hiding, hid before the 100th count, then they would yell out to let the other know they could begin the search.

Tsukune ran off to do exactly what she had told him not to do: climb a tree. Trying to sneak around without completely giving his cover up, due to the fallen leaves.

"16,17,18~"

Tsukune snuck a bit further, then found what he was looking for: a tree that looked climbable. It provided him some stealth from the ground eye view. He, being young and agile; ascended the tree with no problem.

"47,48,49,50~"

Tsukune got himself seated into a good spot with little risk of falling where he sat. However, getting down would likely prove to be difficult. The branches made it easier to get up then to descend back down.

"69,70,71,7-"

Tsukune cut her off. "Come get me!"

Kyoko heard the call, and could tell the general direction he was in. His voice wasn't too distant, so he hadn't gone too far. "Okay Tsuki! You better not be in a tree!" However, she had a sneaking suspicion that he would indeed be hidden in a tree.

She begins making her way in the direction she perceived his voice to be, watching carefully, listening for any movement that would give the younger of the siblings away. The trees were spaced and there wasn't many bushes or shrubs to hide behind, so she more so kept her eyes to the tree line. Taking her time moving around, she kept searching for several minutes. Eventually growing tired of not seeing him. (He hid himself well this time. I think I might have to call out to him.)

The siblings had a rule in place in case the hidden one couldn't be found. Otherwise, these games could last too long, and would end up boring. The one searching would call out Marco, and the one hidden would respond polo. The catch was, this trick could only be used up to 3 times, and a certain amount of time had to pass in-between each call out. It ruined the fun if you could just keep calling out and make an easy target out of the hidden one.

"Marco!" Kyoko waited a moment and listened in. "Polo." She spun around; his response was behind her. He had made sure to not be very loud as it made it easier to find him. She stalks her way slowly in the same direction of the voice. Eyeing everything carefully, not wanting to use all her call outs up to quickly. If you couldn't find the hidden one or used all your call outs unsuccessfully; you lost.

She was sure he had hidden in a tree. He had taken almost to 100 to hide, enough time to scale a tree. This was also a common trend when they played this game, however Tsukune didn't seem to realize this. His own habits were becoming the deciding factor of who won the game.

Eventually Kyoko notices that Tsukune is hiding in a tree, as expected. "Found you! You're getting lazy." Tsukune scoffed. "No, I'm not! Just running out of good hiding places." Kyoko knew this to be true, but she liked to tease him anyway. "Yeah sure, now get down, and be careful."

Sure enough, as Tsukune is attempting to get down, he slips and falls. He wasn't remarkably high off the ground, but the fall was still sure to hurt. He landed on his side, banging his head on the roots exposed on the base of the tree. The root didn't budge, however Tsukune gained a decent cut along the side of his forehead. Kyoko was at his side in an instant, her fears springing to life. She constantly watched over him, fear of loosing more family made her subconsciously protective of him. Even though the cut wasn't terrible, it was sure to bleed a lot. When he slipped, she had seen it, his foot coming loose of the limb and how his body turned in the air. She screamed in freight.

"Tsuki! Are you okay!?" She was pissed at him, but the scolding could wait, more concerned with his current wellbeing. Tsukune stood up, and although his head swam for a moment, he was okay. Kyoko began to check over him, asking him if anything else hurt. Worried he might have broken something, however Tsukune reassured her that other then his head, he was alright. (He's playing tough, but I know that must hurt. He fell almost ten feet and not only landed on his side but hit his head on a root. Auntie is going to be upset with us.)

The siblings made their way back to the house. Kyoko steadily watching Tsukune for any signs, worried he could have a serious head injury. Blood still coming out the fresh wound. It doesn't take long to make it back to the house.

When Tsukune steps onto the lawn, a drop of blood falls and lands in the grass. Suddenly Tsukune notices that the world is monochrome. Everything shades of grey. Ignoring this he keeps moving. Urged on by his cousin to go to the first aid kit in the restroom. Upon entering the house, then the bathroom, everything is still monochromatic. Tsukune goes to the mirror to inspect the cut. He sees the wound and the blood, both fresh and dried on his face. Crimson blood. The only color left since stepping onto his family's property. He blinks a few times, a fog seeming to settle over his brain. He shakes it off then looks at the wound again, this time his reflection has red eyes, also the color of his lifeblood.

So this is the first chapter of smoke and blood. I have over 50 pages written in my notebook that I need to write in word then upload to here. I don't always have personal time in the army, I'm currently waiting to be classed in AIT. So I have some personal time to work on this project. Please review and let me know what you think! I would also like a beta reader for this story. I'm decent at writing, but there always going to be something I miss, or a point I don't see while writing. By the way, this chapter is about a dream, setting up the story. As a matter of fact, the next bit of writing is going to be a lot of set up for the story. All the more reason for someone to read and review :)