all credit gors to original author. authors note: i own these characters, nobody else can or will! it's mine.

Crow Harakiri donned his battle blade and escaped his constraints and the confines of his compound that he had been trapped in, a place where people who have died and been returned to life but with the influence of evil spirits are.

The crow looked down at his not normal hands. He found that no matter how hard he looked or tried or was he just couldn't find his magic! Crow let a scream and sobbed and punched and clawed the concrete ground, imperfecting his beautiful talons/fingernails from his crow fingers.

Citli oatted him on the back and reminded the crow that it was okay, because even if he had lost everything and his only friend Haruki the Fishman was dead now, at least she was there :) she smiled at him. Crow stood up and crosses his arms at Citli and looked away and closed his eyes and pouted his lips and acted bashful. "You are not as good as what I had before, and never will be. Every second you are near me is a reminder of my loss. I hate you, go away." Crow say.

Citli laughed, 'Haha Crow you are so tsundere!' She patted him on his feathery shoulder and took a sip of her stem tea.

A metallic clunking could be heard near the end of the alleyway, signifying the approach of a foe. Quickly, they both hid behind a trashcan and blended in with the crow's huge massive wings. The enemy then approached slowly, it was a: robotically enhanced slothe demon, with a blade of dark black blast anarchy and hate! Crow did not trust anarchy, he believed in the necessity for a governing power that would enforce justice unrelentingly. Citli believed in nihilism and skepticism, but she thought her crow friend was funny and did not argue with him about his political beliefs. Crow judged her for this. Crow knew the truth about the humanity, that it was

Crow unhid from his trash and shook out his wings to get a better view at the sky. 'It is almost noon, this means we have to leave. We are fugitives and nowhere is safe, not even the sanctum of the trees, anymore. They are in service of the sloths now, and will betray us.'

Citli wasn't paying attention because she was focused on her PDA, which was hooked into the slothe network that tracked all of their soldiers, so that she could avoid them. "Okay." She said distactedly.

Then, they landed at the graveyard where Haruki was baried when he was alive. The two bird people brandished their sharp shovels that doubled as spears, and began to dig the soil.

Once the shovel was dug deep enough that it hit something softer than the dirt, they threw the shovels to get them out there way and reached down with their hands to lift the body of the friend from the ground. It was Haruki! But he was missing his soul, and his smile that always said 'its okay'. Crow and the Citli held hands around the fish, and threw down the resurrection seasonings, so that the god of resurrection would find Haruki in his awful afterlife and devour him, returning his soul to his mortal form.

Haruki standed up, but then slipped and fell over because of his slimy fish feet! "Oops!" The Haruki stated as he clumsied. "Haha, I'm such a klutz!" Everybody laughed.

This alerted the nearest platoon of sloths. This is why it was not okay to express an emotions in this world. The trio looked around the open graveyard, and saw there was no way of escape. They would just have to fight the sloth it looked like! This would be difficult, they knew, but it was the only way.

And then, behind the approaching sloth with his claws raised, a kick hit him in the back of his head and he fell forward. A familiar but strange figure jumped on his back and dispatched the enemy. It was a man who had seen many signs of combat in this world, and knew that you must never show emotion in a world so unforgiving and demanding of conformity.

"Hey. My name's Jean." He pushed back his swipe of hair and revealed his eyepatch. "Let's get ourselves in motion now, alright? Don't want to hang around here too long, or chances are we won't get the chance." The man flipped a coin, and his hair again, and then started to leave. The other three followed him, like a beacon of wisdom. Jean looked around him constantly, and spoke as he walked. He did not want them to be heard.

"I have already lost a friend to these creatures. He was a man, made of fire. I lament his loss."

They arrived at the man's secret shelter, and snuck down into it. A lound boom resounded above when they sealed it, suggesting that the door was closed.

END OF CHAPTER 1! Thank you for reading. Please review.