Adhesive

By Tione

Disclaimer: I laugh.

A/N: Ah, foo. Just review or something. *innocent smile* I'll give you a glo~mp! Oh, and this'll seem like it has nothing to do with anything, but trust me. It's vital.

This chapter is dedicated to Demi Darkshade because she's awesome.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many people have been confused about this chapter. IT IS NOT A CONTINUATION OFF OF THE LAST ONE. This chapter was to place a couple of vital characters where they had to be. The next chapter will pick up where the second left off. Well, in essence. 

I live a life that's sheltered
I'm constantly alone
I'm pointing out my weakness

There's an emptiness at home

~Spiritfall, "My Reason"

           

"Genkai, oh wise Genkai, can you tell me what my future will be?" cried a young girl. She was innocent still. The horrors of the sand had not taken anything from her. She was dressed in the normal garb of the Commons, yet… there was an air about her.

            "Come on, sis. We don't have time listen to an old hag like her," a boy called to the girl. She turned, obviously not ready to comply.

            "I'm older than you are, Kuwabara. I want to know what's going to happen to me, to us!" she shouted passionately.

            Genkai watched this with an amused eye. Her services were free to some, expensive to others. This girl would certainly be interesting to read.

            The boy sighed, exasperated. "Shizuru… I'll be at home."

            "Okay!" she chirped. She gave her brother a brilliant smile and made the sign for I love you, two fingers intertwined.

She smiled briefly at the memory. That old hag had been truthful. Who would have thought that she was really royalty?

Queen Shizuru twirled a piece of hair around her finger in boredom. Palace life was so repetitious. Especially when you had incompetent subjects. They couldn't even protect a simple Orb!

She wondered what had brought about the memory of the deceased fortune-teller. It was many many years ago that Genkai had told her she was actually a person of importance and to attend the Service of the Orb.

            Yes, the very same Orb that had recognized her blood was stolen yesterday. And her minions could not find the perpetrators.    

            Just as she was entertaining the thought of having them all beheaded for something to do, a pounding came at the door. Through the infernal banging, she heard a faint cry of, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please open!"

            Thoroughly startled, she motioned for the servant in the corner to open the door.

            A boy, dressed in the clothes of a page, ran in, practice sword still in hand.

            "They've found him! They've found him!" he wheezed pathetically, before collapsing on the floor in front of the dais.

            "Very well," she replied, sweeping the long material of her dress off of the chair. With a haughty swagger, she exited the room and once again awed the two present with her astounding beauty and royal nature.

* * *

            His heart was cracked and bleeding, unable to sustain anyone but himself. His words bit all they touched and his eyes were hollow.

            His nimble fingers reached out and plucked a juicy fruit from a stand to his right, vendor none the wiser. The juices left a trail in the dirt on his face as he took a bite, savoring the flavor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw kid with a red band tied around his waist.

            A red band meant Bloodhounds were in the area.

            The Bloodhounds were a particularly nasty gang. He thought he had lost them when he moved here, yet it seemed they were not yet ready to give up their claim on his head.

            Would nowhere he went be safe?

            Casually, he brushed his silver hair to veil his face. Taking on the demeanor of broken resident, he attempted to hobble past the member.

            Every bone in his body became more alert, tingling with energy. Noises were magnified. He could hear the vendor he had just stolen from shouting at some poor innocent over the fruit he had stolen. Cloth rustled and birds sung. Gossip became a faint buzz in the back of his mind as he concentrated on getting back to his hideout.

            But to no avail.

            "There he is!" The lookout was a new recruit, albeit a sharp-eyed one to be able to pick him out without ever having seen him before.

            Instantly his head shot up, and a critical eye took a moment to scan the area for a possible escape. Preferably one not barred.

            He saw none.

            Not that it mattered, but he had finally found a decent place to stay and he was growing rather attached to it. He didn't need to make a scene and get thrown out of the city. Or worse yet, get caught. No matter how much younger than him the Bloodhounds were, they were a nasty bunch.

            Taking a deep breath of the humid air, sand burning the insides of his lungs, he decided on a plan: run like an idiot.

            It took a moment to get his feet working. His mind hadn't a route to follow so his legs were hesitant to move. But after that initial frozenness, he was off.

            Past the fruits, sidestep the lady with the-, jump over the barrel, stick out tongue at th-, punch Bloodho-, under the canopy, through the tent, out the exit, past the cart, ignore officer, dodge-

            The night was cool, much a relief considering how hot the sun had pounded everyone earlier.

            He wasn't glad because it was a respite from the endless heat. No, it would make his job easier. A cool night would mean a more relaxed watch. And no one in their right mind would keep windows closed on a night like this.

            Which meant that he wouldn't need to pick the lock to get into her room.

            Leaping nimbly from roof to roof, he quickly made his way to the seer Genkai's house.

            "This woman is very dangerous. I need you to… silence her, if you know what I mean."

            "I don't kill old people."

            "The pay is considerable."

            All it had taken was the mention of a large sum of gold and he had accepted the job without a second thought. Now, though… he regretted it. Not only did he not like using his skill for assassination, he had heard of Genkai – then again, who hadn't? – and wanted to get his future read.

            He reprimanded himself for letting his mind wander on a job as soon as he realized what had happened. With a start, it came to his attention that he was very near the prophet's household.

            As he had predicted before, her windows were wide open and the guards underneath it were dozing peacefully. With stealth born of long training, he crept through the window, landing silently on the plush carpet.

            The old hag was sitting cross-legged on her bed, eyes closed in what looked like a deep trance. He allowed himself a smile; his prey wouldn't feel any pain.

            "I've been expecting you," she whispered harshly.

            "Feh," he snorted. "Like you'd expect something like this. Tonight you die."

            Her piercing black eyes snapped open and they stared straight into his soul. He was drowning, water was flooding up his nose, through his mouth and he couldn't breathe and he floundered helplessly-

            Then she began to speak, faded pink hair blowing gently in the breeze from the window. Her voice was thick with the traces of a trance.

            "A single grain of Sand, floating so casually in limbo. It echoes with the silence around it.

For such a small small thing, it holds tremendous power.

Only The One holds the key to unlocking it and saving the souls of the doomed. But The One's path is not defined. One misplaced foot… and the entire world will suffer for it."

            Her words chilled him to the bone. He was drowning and on fire all at once and the water was choking him, fire burning his skin and they intermingled until all the pain was one and he was The One. He was fighting and killing and losing and betraying and hurt. It hurt so badly. But he was The One and he wasn't. He was ripped in half and the burdens fell to him but not to him.

            He screamed. Screamed until his throat was raw and he couldn't scream anymore.

            With pain and fear blinding him, he struck out wildly. Although he couldn't see, his aim was true. Genkai fell bleeding. His job was completed.

            "...think awake?"

            "Don't…"

            "You… sure?"

            "Yes."

            It was like being underwater. Images swam before his partially opened eyes. Words were muted, only half registering in his foggy brain.

            Someone held a bit of wine to his mouth and he drank greedily, some staining his chin where it dripped. It had the intended effect. His vision cleared and the stupor of his mind vanished.

            "How are you feeling?" A red-haired man asked. His eyes were kind as he leaned over the disabled boy.

            "Better," he snapped reluctantly. The man appeared to be relieved and a small smile of satisfaction graced his face.

            "I'm truly sorry for running into you at the market. My name is Kurama. What is yours?"

            The boy appeared to weigh his decision carefully. Kurama could tell he was from the streets. Anyone could. His silver hair was ratted almost beyond identification. His amber eyes held the look of a killer, cold and dangerous.

            "They call me Youko," he offered offhandedly.

Yes. Erm, sorry about the horrid "prophecy". See, I'm no good at writing ominous things. The stubborn thing insisted it be mysterious. But at least, after god knows how long, the third chapter is out. I'll try to get the fourth out soon.

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