Kerai
Chapter 1: Just Living.
By Kaen
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That was rough start. I was hoping that I'd have a more positive response to the fic, but I guess it's a bit much to ask for a one thousand-word prologue. Oh well! Nijuusei, my most popular ongoing story, was encouraged by one lone review for the first chapter, so I'll keep trying! The chapters will now be a lot longer from here on out; I sincerely apologize for such a short prologue! Please stick with me!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"To the darkness, stray Shinma!"
The blazing flame left from her hand, surrounding the slumping figure that was barely supporting itself. What could have been called the blood of the demon was swept away instantaneously from the Shinma's hunched body by the column of fire. Bits of ash and kindle floated lazily on hot air, completely oblivious to the gruesome scene unfolding about it. The Shinma screamed a blood-curdling cry and stepped from the flames, clutching one arm to the other as if it were fearful of the limb falling off. It stood, with much difficulty, before the guardian, panting heavily while casting Miyu a glare that cold freeze any human's blood cold.
However, the guardian watched the scene with a somewhat bored air about her. Her companion glanced at her curiously, the thought crossing his mind that if this had been a typical sealing, she would have probably dozed off by this point. Even then, her eyes were lit not by the gold light that was her vampire heritage, but with the dying flames that had failed to banish the heaving demon before her. Miyu stared blankly ahead and it seemed that she had found her own fantasy world, but most definitely at the most inappropriate time imaginable.
"Miyu?"
Meanwhile, the battered demon observed carefully the unsure glances that the traitor would regard the watcher with. A sly half-grin, half-grimace spread across its deformed face as it held up it functional arm that was still dripping with blood. Pressing the forefinger to his lips, the demon began to whisper an undistinguishable chant.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Larva saw the demon's actions. An aura of shining crimson engulfed it, casting a glow of light onto Miyu's face as abstract patterns danced across her skin and clothing. But she didn't seem to notice as she continued to stare out into nothingness like she was once again trapped in one of Night Gia's dreams.
"Miyu!" Larva called to her, resting his hand firmly on her shoulder. She did not respond.
"Miyu!" he tried again with a louder voice, gripping her shoulder tighter. Again, she did not even blink.
Larva spun back around to face the Shinma, which was close to sealing the curse or attack or whatever else it might have in mind. Narrowing his eyes, Larva found only one solution to the problem. Lunging forward, her extended his tensed right hand across his body and with one clean motion had sliced the enemy's body through once. It coughed up blood in surprise, flecks of landing on the white surface of Larva's mask. Narrowing its one remaining one hideous eye, the Shinma stared hatefully at the guardian's servant. So intense was the gaze that Larva felt frozen to the spot, struggling to move or even to breathe.
'It hurts, doesn't it, traitor? My gaze pierces your soul, and I can see your shame. You are desperate, are you not? Why do you still serve the one who destroys your kind?'
The rasping voice echoed in his mind, the sound invading his very soul as it pried deeper.
'You are not happy here, am I correct? Of course I am. I can see into your very heart, you poor pathetic slave. Hm, I see your friends that you've turned against.you father that you killed!'
'Stop it!'
'I will not stop! This is revenge for those you have betrayed! You destroy even the ones dear to you for the sake of that vampire girl. You are a disgrace, even for a western Shinma!'
'Enough!' his tortured mind called, finally overpowering the trance that he had been lured into. His arm snapped up from where it had been limply dangling from his side and slashed the demon several times with no sequence to the slices. Blood splattered every which way, several warm droplets landing upon Larva's face and cloak. Finally, he stopped and allowed the body to sink to the ground where it lay lifeless and deformed.
Larva breathed heavily while watching the life pour from the corpse before him. His shifting eyes wandered up from the talons of the demon, to it's slashed legs, to the back, and finally, following the path of the limp arm, finally taking notice of the absence of his mask when he saw it slip from the Shinma's claws. He watched as if trapped in slow motion, sliding down into the puddle of blood. It remained where it was, soaking, for several minutes as thin streams of life trickled away from its former master.
It was then that the guardian's servant became aware of how quickly his heart was beating, how loud his pulse was pounding in his head as he stared at the corpse. All he could hear was the pounding, but even that was soon overridden as his ears became more sensitive than they ever had been before. Precarious as it was however, he could only hear the river of crimson- flowing, gushing, dripping- calling to him. He wet his lips and swallowed absently, drawing nearer to the demon as his heartbeat pounded in his mind.
"Larva, what are you doing?" Miyu asked innocently right before Larva dropped to his knees, jolting him from his trance. He looked up at her quickly, his eyes flashing red for a brief second before he blinked. They then returned to their customary chilling blue.
"Getting my mask," he lied, stopping to grasp the article from the coiled hand. He lifted up one of his only possessions, watching with morbid fascination as yet another stream of blood dripped from its smooth frame. The liquid struck the ground, sending tiny scarlet specks into the air around. Larva looked up at Miyu when it had sunk into the dead Earth.
"You're face is dirty," she informed him nonchalantly and he nodded in comprehension, bringing a caked hand to try and wipe the cause of her distress away.
Instead, he only succeeded in smearing the streaks further.
"I'll go wash," he resolved and she nodded slowly. Drawing his mask closer to him, Larva began to vanish from Miyu's realm. She watched him go with large brown eyes, her mouth forming a small "o".
Shaking her head, Miyu looked on to the carnage of the Shinma and narrowed her eyes, crying out, "You deserve your cruel fate, Shinma! Your kind snatched my best friend away from me and used her as your pawn! I shall never show any mercy for you, nor any other person who ever opposes or betrays me! I shall burn you remains to dust so your unsightly body shall never haunt my dreams; I will char your remains so that you are reduced to something lower than dust!"
With this, she raised her arm and sending a wave of fire circling the body, burning and charring it, reducing it to something lower than dust. Miyu had resolved on the day of Chisato's death that she would never show mercy to Shinmas, and she would never grow close to anyone again. In the end, it was only her who got hurt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He stared fervently at the thick liquid that had covered him and clung to his mask. If he could just take some of that blood for himself, would he not be healed.? It looked so inviting, and he could not sense Miyu's presence. The pounding heartbeat returned and is was if his entire existence was burning, crying out for.
Without even realizing what he was doing, Larva had raised the mask to his lips and began to lap the spilt life off desperately. All he was aware of was the warmth running down his throat, coursing through his body, easing his restless mind. Finally, the mask had been completely cleaned off and there was no evidence that that very item had been resting in a pool of blood just minutes ago.
It suddenly clattered noisily to the hard ground, but the sound fell on deft ears.
Larva struggled to prevent himself from vomiting up his first meal in centuries, his hand clasped tightly over his mouth as his throat burned and stomach convulsed. An unimaginable pain swept through his body and his legs gave out almost on cue. However, it took Larva off-guard when the intense pain was suddenly relieved and he felt a strange warmth encircle his tightly bound left forearm. He struggled to resist falling ill once again as he became aware of bone, muscle, and nerves starting their regrowth and creating the most horrible stretching and grinding noises. He squeezed his eyes shut, sweat mixing with blood, making his powder-blue hair stick to his brow, as the mix dripped down his face. A groan escaped the back of his throat, but was muffled by his tightly clenched teeth.
And then it suddenly stopped. Larva cautiously cracked open a ruby eye, then the other when he felt that it was safe. He held up his arm for inspection, but the only thing that had changed was that the wound had closed- at least temporarily. 'At least the bandages are no 'longer necessary, he reminded himself with a false sense of satisfaction that was soon diminishing.
'I've just condemned myself to hell. This wound won't heal without more energy to feed off of... I need. blood. Is this what I must do just to survive?'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There, four pages is a little better, right? Man, that came out a lot more gruesome and descriptive that I have intended it to be. I'm sorry if it made anyone feel sick, because I don't feel too great myself right now as I finish up this chapter at 11:58 P.M. ^^& I've been complimented on my use of details and descriptions before, but even I think I may have overdone it this time. Anyway, Please, please review! Tell me you liked it! Tell me you hated it! Tell me that you can't find a plot or that my writing style sucks! Please! I really need feedback for this story, because even now, I'm trying to finish up the details of the plot. Let me know what you think; I'll be happy to consider any ideas for the future! Thanks! -Kaen ^^
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 1: Just Living.
By Kaen
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That was rough start. I was hoping that I'd have a more positive response to the fic, but I guess it's a bit much to ask for a one thousand-word prologue. Oh well! Nijuusei, my most popular ongoing story, was encouraged by one lone review for the first chapter, so I'll keep trying! The chapters will now be a lot longer from here on out; I sincerely apologize for such a short prologue! Please stick with me!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"To the darkness, stray Shinma!"
The blazing flame left from her hand, surrounding the slumping figure that was barely supporting itself. What could have been called the blood of the demon was swept away instantaneously from the Shinma's hunched body by the column of fire. Bits of ash and kindle floated lazily on hot air, completely oblivious to the gruesome scene unfolding about it. The Shinma screamed a blood-curdling cry and stepped from the flames, clutching one arm to the other as if it were fearful of the limb falling off. It stood, with much difficulty, before the guardian, panting heavily while casting Miyu a glare that cold freeze any human's blood cold.
However, the guardian watched the scene with a somewhat bored air about her. Her companion glanced at her curiously, the thought crossing his mind that if this had been a typical sealing, she would have probably dozed off by this point. Even then, her eyes were lit not by the gold light that was her vampire heritage, but with the dying flames that had failed to banish the heaving demon before her. Miyu stared blankly ahead and it seemed that she had found her own fantasy world, but most definitely at the most inappropriate time imaginable.
"Miyu?"
Meanwhile, the battered demon observed carefully the unsure glances that the traitor would regard the watcher with. A sly half-grin, half-grimace spread across its deformed face as it held up it functional arm that was still dripping with blood. Pressing the forefinger to his lips, the demon began to whisper an undistinguishable chant.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Larva saw the demon's actions. An aura of shining crimson engulfed it, casting a glow of light onto Miyu's face as abstract patterns danced across her skin and clothing. But she didn't seem to notice as she continued to stare out into nothingness like she was once again trapped in one of Night Gia's dreams.
"Miyu!" Larva called to her, resting his hand firmly on her shoulder. She did not respond.
"Miyu!" he tried again with a louder voice, gripping her shoulder tighter. Again, she did not even blink.
Larva spun back around to face the Shinma, which was close to sealing the curse or attack or whatever else it might have in mind. Narrowing his eyes, Larva found only one solution to the problem. Lunging forward, her extended his tensed right hand across his body and with one clean motion had sliced the enemy's body through once. It coughed up blood in surprise, flecks of landing on the white surface of Larva's mask. Narrowing its one remaining one hideous eye, the Shinma stared hatefully at the guardian's servant. So intense was the gaze that Larva felt frozen to the spot, struggling to move or even to breathe.
'It hurts, doesn't it, traitor? My gaze pierces your soul, and I can see your shame. You are desperate, are you not? Why do you still serve the one who destroys your kind?'
The rasping voice echoed in his mind, the sound invading his very soul as it pried deeper.
'You are not happy here, am I correct? Of course I am. I can see into your very heart, you poor pathetic slave. Hm, I see your friends that you've turned against.you father that you killed!'
'Stop it!'
'I will not stop! This is revenge for those you have betrayed! You destroy even the ones dear to you for the sake of that vampire girl. You are a disgrace, even for a western Shinma!'
'Enough!' his tortured mind called, finally overpowering the trance that he had been lured into. His arm snapped up from where it had been limply dangling from his side and slashed the demon several times with no sequence to the slices. Blood splattered every which way, several warm droplets landing upon Larva's face and cloak. Finally, he stopped and allowed the body to sink to the ground where it lay lifeless and deformed.
Larva breathed heavily while watching the life pour from the corpse before him. His shifting eyes wandered up from the talons of the demon, to it's slashed legs, to the back, and finally, following the path of the limp arm, finally taking notice of the absence of his mask when he saw it slip from the Shinma's claws. He watched as if trapped in slow motion, sliding down into the puddle of blood. It remained where it was, soaking, for several minutes as thin streams of life trickled away from its former master.
It was then that the guardian's servant became aware of how quickly his heart was beating, how loud his pulse was pounding in his head as he stared at the corpse. All he could hear was the pounding, but even that was soon overridden as his ears became more sensitive than they ever had been before. Precarious as it was however, he could only hear the river of crimson- flowing, gushing, dripping- calling to him. He wet his lips and swallowed absently, drawing nearer to the demon as his heartbeat pounded in his mind.
"Larva, what are you doing?" Miyu asked innocently right before Larva dropped to his knees, jolting him from his trance. He looked up at her quickly, his eyes flashing red for a brief second before he blinked. They then returned to their customary chilling blue.
"Getting my mask," he lied, stopping to grasp the article from the coiled hand. He lifted up one of his only possessions, watching with morbid fascination as yet another stream of blood dripped from its smooth frame. The liquid struck the ground, sending tiny scarlet specks into the air around. Larva looked up at Miyu when it had sunk into the dead Earth.
"You're face is dirty," she informed him nonchalantly and he nodded in comprehension, bringing a caked hand to try and wipe the cause of her distress away.
Instead, he only succeeded in smearing the streaks further.
"I'll go wash," he resolved and she nodded slowly. Drawing his mask closer to him, Larva began to vanish from Miyu's realm. She watched him go with large brown eyes, her mouth forming a small "o".
Shaking her head, Miyu looked on to the carnage of the Shinma and narrowed her eyes, crying out, "You deserve your cruel fate, Shinma! Your kind snatched my best friend away from me and used her as your pawn! I shall never show any mercy for you, nor any other person who ever opposes or betrays me! I shall burn you remains to dust so your unsightly body shall never haunt my dreams; I will char your remains so that you are reduced to something lower than dust!"
With this, she raised her arm and sending a wave of fire circling the body, burning and charring it, reducing it to something lower than dust. Miyu had resolved on the day of Chisato's death that she would never show mercy to Shinmas, and she would never grow close to anyone again. In the end, it was only her who got hurt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He stared fervently at the thick liquid that had covered him and clung to his mask. If he could just take some of that blood for himself, would he not be healed.? It looked so inviting, and he could not sense Miyu's presence. The pounding heartbeat returned and is was if his entire existence was burning, crying out for.
Without even realizing what he was doing, Larva had raised the mask to his lips and began to lap the spilt life off desperately. All he was aware of was the warmth running down his throat, coursing through his body, easing his restless mind. Finally, the mask had been completely cleaned off and there was no evidence that that very item had been resting in a pool of blood just minutes ago.
It suddenly clattered noisily to the hard ground, but the sound fell on deft ears.
Larva struggled to prevent himself from vomiting up his first meal in centuries, his hand clasped tightly over his mouth as his throat burned and stomach convulsed. An unimaginable pain swept through his body and his legs gave out almost on cue. However, it took Larva off-guard when the intense pain was suddenly relieved and he felt a strange warmth encircle his tightly bound left forearm. He struggled to resist falling ill once again as he became aware of bone, muscle, and nerves starting their regrowth and creating the most horrible stretching and grinding noises. He squeezed his eyes shut, sweat mixing with blood, making his powder-blue hair stick to his brow, as the mix dripped down his face. A groan escaped the back of his throat, but was muffled by his tightly clenched teeth.
And then it suddenly stopped. Larva cautiously cracked open a ruby eye, then the other when he felt that it was safe. He held up his arm for inspection, but the only thing that had changed was that the wound had closed- at least temporarily. 'At least the bandages are no 'longer necessary, he reminded himself with a false sense of satisfaction that was soon diminishing.
'I've just condemned myself to hell. This wound won't heal without more energy to feed off of... I need. blood. Is this what I must do just to survive?'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There, four pages is a little better, right? Man, that came out a lot more gruesome and descriptive that I have intended it to be. I'm sorry if it made anyone feel sick, because I don't feel too great myself right now as I finish up this chapter at 11:58 P.M. ^^& I've been complimented on my use of details and descriptions before, but even I think I may have overdone it this time. Anyway, Please, please review! Tell me you liked it! Tell me you hated it! Tell me that you can't find a plot or that my writing style sucks! Please! I really need feedback for this story, because even now, I'm trying to finish up the details of the plot. Let me know what you think; I'll be happy to consider any ideas for the future! Thanks! -Kaen ^^
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*