Twisting Destinies

Part One, Chapter One

By Zanzou Youko



Disclaimer: Erm... forgot it last time.... Not mine. Wish they were... but oh well. n.n



Warnings: Spoilers for the later manga, eventual yaoi, warping of Hisoka's powers, warping of the manga... Possible TWT.



A/N: *glomps Lys* Yay for having a real beta!!!! *paws* You're so wonderful and shibby! *glomps Lissa cause her job is making her all sore and hurt*



For those of you who don't know.....

Ruka= Tsuzuki''s sister

Nagare= Hisoka''s father.

~~~

Tsuzuki Ruka has always wanted a little brother. It wasn''t something that she made obvious, because it was not the usual thing for a teenage girl to want. So when her parents told her she would have a sibling-- and then a few months later it was a BOY--! Well. Tsuzuki Ruka was very excited.

She was so excited, in fact, that she never noticed the comments being made about the strange shade of the newly dubbed Asato's eyes-- they were just a colour, after all. And Ruka already loved her brother far to much to care about such things such as that.

And when their parents died-- well, she was strong. Because little 10 year old Asato couldn't possibly understand what it meant that his 'tousan and 'kaasan would never be coming back.

And Ruka liked being strong. Even if she, at 21, still felt the pain of their deaths.

And so, knowing that she was the only one to support their little family now, Ruka went looking for a job. That was when she met the Kurosaki family for the first time.

~~~

It was snowing outside. Ruka and Asato Tsuzuki were sitting on the front porch of their parents' old home, enjoying a rare moment of peace between them, watching the snow as it gently fell to the earth. For the time being, they were content.

"Ne, Asato-chan?" Ruka asked, hugging her otouto to her chest.

"Hai, 'neechan?" Asato looked up at his sister, complete trust in his expressive amethyst eyes. Reaching up, he tugged on one the strands of dark hair that had fallen from her ponytail.

Ruka smiled at him, indulging one of his quirks-- his love for her hair. Still smiling, she gently answered, "Asato...We're going to go on a little trip, okay? It'll be fun."

With a wide smile, and another gentle tug on her hair, he responded, "Hai!"

~~~

Asato looked around in awe at the Kurosaki compound as he and his sister were led towards the main house. While not exactly sure what they were doing there, he could not help but enjoy himself. The grounds were flowing, going gradually from one emphasis on nature to another, showing the work of hundreds of years worth of master gardeners. A bird was trilling as they passed through the main gates, grabbing Asato's attention immediately. He turned his head, straining to find the source of the beautiful music.

He had never seen such forms of nature himself before. Growing up in the city as he had, there had never been such greenery in abundance, as it so obviously was here. The most he had ever been exposed to was the park on his way to school, which had always been occupied by other children his age, compelling him to avoid it on almost all occasions. Here however, in the splendour of this mansion, he knew he could find some place to be alone with the beauty of the earth.



'It's so big!!' he thought to himself. His and Ruka-neechan's home could have fit inside one of the smallest of the buildings! And the gardens! They were we like nothing he had ever seen! Starring at all the sights around him, Asato tugged on Ruka's hand as he crowed, "Neechan! Can we go exploring?"



Smiling back at her Asato-chan, Ruka shook her head. "I'm sorry Asato-chan... but I have to talk to Kurosaki-sama first," Glancing towards their guide, who smiled at her, nodding, she continued. "You can go exploring for a little while, if you want. Don't go too far and I'll come get you later, ne?"



Looking a tad reluctant to leave his sister so he could explore by himself, Asato nodded; the lure of something so new as the veritable forest on the grounds enough to convince him of the benifits of going off alone. "Hai, Ruka-neechan."



Giving him one last smile, Ruka separated from Asato, following her guide towards to main house looming in the foreground, to meet, and hopefully be approved by, Kurosaki Nagare.

~~~



Asato walked up a hill, hoping to get out of sight of the many building scattered around the main house. Reaching the top of the hill, he looked around, starring in awe at the beauty presented to him. He reached up and tucked a tuft of chocolate hair behind his ear, trying to take in all the sights. While it had not been so obvious that they were in the mountains before, it could not be avoided now- they dominated the landscape, looming over all that surrounded them. Taking a hesitant step forward, the 10 year tilted his head to the side as he heard the gentle mummer of a nearby stream. With a sudden grin, Asato began running down the hill towards the sound, wanting to see for himself something his ears promised to be amazing.



Running as fast as he was, it was almost jarring as the ground suddenly evened out into a meadow. Pausing, the child panted for breath, giving his surroundings a once-over. Other than the odd bird, he seemed quite alone. Satisfied that his sister could find him here if she needed, Asato headed towards a group of trees partially hiding a small pond. From the top of the tree, it would likely be easy to find where the stream was. If he had heard it at the top of the hill, it had to be nearby.



He paused when he heard it.



There was a child laughing. Looking around once again, Asato was confused. He was alone in the meadow so why was there laughter? He headed once more in the direction of the pond, where he was sure the sound had come from.



As he reached the edge of the water, the violet eyed boy frowned. There was no one here.

"Oniichan!" A young voice chirped from behind him, innocence evident in its tone.

Asato looked over to where a small child, no more than 4 years old with eyes that practically glowed with happiness was poking out from behind a tree, grinning. "Oniichan? But I'm not your brother.." Asato gave the child a confused look as he said this, completely baffled that someone could make that sort of mistake. [1]

Stepping out from his hiding place the child smiled at him, seemingly oblivious to Asato's confusion. "'Niichan! Would you like to play with us?" The child approached the older boy, stopping just a few feet in front of him.

Giving up on knowing what had been meant by that "niichan" comment, Asato looked at the other boy, at a complete loss as to what to say. Who was the "us" the child spoke of? There were no other hiding places in the meadow... only a chance angle had stopped him from seeing this boy gone through the trees. Blinking at the wide blinking eyes before him, Asato opted to say nothing, figuring the child would explain himself eventually.

"'Niichan! You can't see them?" the child had stopped smiling, pouting for a moment. Then it was back, full throttle. "That's okay! /I/ can see them. And we'll be able to play TOGETHER now!" The child was gushing, obviously excited about having a new friend to play with.

"Well... if that's what you want...." Luminous violet eyes blinked, unsure if he wanted to play with someone... who might hurt him later on. "..But I have to go back to my sister soon... She said she wouldn't be long.." And though unspoken, the thoughts ran through Asato's mind. 'Who would want to play with someone like me? With these strange, demon eyes...' Though he had grown up in a neighbourhood quite populated with children his own age, Asato had avoided the groups of children, having learnt that he was not "like them" at an early age.

"'Nichan!" The child thwated at his arm, an obvious reprimand. "Don't be silly!! We have all the time in world here! Come on!" As he said this, the child tugged insistently on the brunette's shirt, dragging him away from the koi pond.

About to give in and go with the child, smiling, Asato was startled when he hear a familiar voice shouting for him. "Asato! Where are you? I need to talk with you!"

Turning violet eyes to the child standing in front of him, Asato grinned a bit awkwardly. "That's my sister. I have to go now... but maybe I'll get to play next time!" It was said with all the hopeful enthusiasm of a child, the firm belief that nothing could come in the way of playtime for long.

The child giggled, grinning back and chirping, "Silly!! That won't be for a ages! And by then you'll STILL be busy!"

The violet eyed youth blinked at the boy standing in front of him, startled and doubtful at this seemingly farfetched assumption . "If you say so... But I really do have to go. I hope to see you again!"

Turning to leave, Asato was called back by the voice. "Asato-chan... I hope so too!" As the distance increased between the two, the youth almost missed what was whispered next. "I think your eyes are beautiful..."

Turning back in astonishment, the brunette could only stare. The child that had arrived with emeralds and laughter was gone.

~~~

[1] ^^;; I'm sure Tsuzuki SHOULD have known.... but I'm making him a bit...erm... non educated in the nuances of Japanese culture. He's been living mostly with only his sister (and his parents before that) so he wouldn't have met anyone using that to refer to him. And since he never knew about it... why would he ask? ^^;;; Okay, I'll stop now....

^____^; Sooo... how's chapter one? *pokes readers* tell mee~~.... if you give cookies to Lissa, she can make me write when we see each other tomorrow.... Plus, Lissa always needs cookies. And more thanks to Lys!! For pimpage of this fic!!! *giggles*



(random note: I think this is the longest chappie I have ever done. I usually do short chappies... though I'll try to make them long for this fic. Eheheh.)