"Wait up Kouji!" a young Kouichi called from a branch on a tree.
"Come on!" Kouji shouted from another tree ahead of him. "We're almost there!" Kouji jumped to the ground of the dense forest and began running swiftly around and over the trees. Kouji's wings remained folded at his back as he practically flew through the forest.
"You're going to fast! It's hard to keep up!" Kouichi howled trying vainly to keep up with Kouji's pace.
"That's because you spend to much time flying then you do on the ground! Your legs are too weak to keep up with mine!" Kouji teased playfully.
"Oh yeah!?!"
"Yeah!" Kouji entered a clearing proudly as his brother broke through the foliage.
"So, what is it you wanted to show me?" Kouichi ignored the challenging look in Kouji's eyes as he sat down. He wasn't going to let his little brother get the best of him this time. I'll get you soon enough! He thought as wonderful ways of payback came into play.
"Remember how I always tell you how I always hear voices in my head?" Kouji began.
"Yeah, of course."
"Well I found out that they were ghosts that didn't pass over because something held them back. Now I can summon them whenever I want." Kouji smiled with pride.
"Really? Show me." Kouichi was intrigued greatly.
"Okay." Kouji then took meditative breaths and opened his wings to their full length as the clouds spiraled over him, darkening to a bloody red. His eyes were blank as his arms and wings crossed over him. Souls of the dead circled him and began drawing out an ancient symbol that has been forgotten over the centuries at his feet. His angelic wings slowly opened to reveal both himself and a little girl.
She was very young, about 6 or 7 years with skin as pale as porcelain. In her arms she held a small teddy bear drenched in blood that stained her white night gown. Her eyes were a pale amethyst color and her hair was as black as coal. Her lips were stained a dark blue and a rope deeply imprinted around her neck, showing that she had been hung.
"Don't worry Kouichi she's nice, she was unjustly murdered because of her gift of telekinesis. She is one of the many girls in the dark orphanage slaughter." Kouji informed as his eyes went back to normal and he patted the girls head. "Do you want to play with us?" Kouji bent down to her level once his brother relaxed.
Her once expressionless face smiled as she nodded her head and held her bear tighter.
"Alright then, how 'bout a game of tag?" Kouichi suggested, hiding his fears as well as he could.
With another nod they began to ply.
The sun was slowly setting and it was time to go home.
"Tch, man, it's time to go." Kouji complained as he eyed the sun that was setting in the west.
"Uh, Kouji, you better come look at this." Kouichi stuttered as he gazed at the smoke that rose from their village.
"MOTHER!" Kouji called before he flew toward his burning home, Kouichi and the ghost close behind.
"Mother! Father! Where are you!?!" Kouji and Kouichi called.
It was a terrible sight indeed. Black smoke filled the night sky as the flames performed a deadly dance, releasing toxic fumes that suffocated and killed the humans and lesser demons. Bandits clad in black leather carried guns, knives, swords and torches as the butchered the surviving people. Blood soaked the earth painting it a permanent red. Corpses of men women and children littered the streets as their homes collapsed or were burnt to ash. Screams of suffering echoed through the night.
Everywhere they looked they saw the same sight, humans dying from the inhaling of the toxic fumes, demons trying in vain to save their families and other humans, vampires fighting for the survival of their own loved ones only to be whipped away with fake sunlight or silver. Women were being raped or butchered alive for the bandits' entertainment and the children were being killed or captured to become slaves.
The survivors ran vainly in an attempt to get away, it was all they could do, but it was all in vain. Traps were set for those who tried to escape.
Kouji and Kouichi looked and looked for their parents only to find them fighting for their lives.
"Mother!" Kouji shouted as he ran to her side.
"Run! Please run my sons!" she begged and pleaded but they were to stubborn to run and save their own skins.
"No! We will not leave you to die here!" Kouichi bellowed, sending balls of black fire at the nearby bandits, but the poison was to strong, it weakened them all greatly.
The little ghost did all she could but to no avail. All she could do was protect them from the fire and cure any injuries that they may receive. But it was to much for the little spirit her shields weakened slowly, allowing the flames to get to the struggling family.
Claps could be heard over the screams. A man slowly immerged from the flames, clapping his hands at the little ghosts' efforts. "Impressive little one aren't you." He laughed, and a dark laugh it was.
He stood well over seven feet. He was grossly buff, with a cleft chin. Several scratches crossed over his left eye like an animal sent a strong blow to it. He had a long muddy brown mane tied into a topknot and a black kimono showing his high rank covered in the blood of the villagers. In his bloody right hand he held a bejeweled staff and a katana hung from his waist in a similar bloodied state as the rest of him.
The little spirit shook with fear as she tried to strengthen her shields to keep him away and it almost worked, but he was to strong.
"You grow rather tiresome. BEGONE!" the man pointed his staff to the terrified child and sent her to hell.
"NO!" Kouji cried opening his wings protectively in front of his family as he called for the little girl to return and sent her to heaven where she would wait to be called again. "Stay away from my family!" he barked as the same symbol circled him again as he summoned another spirit. "Great God of Peace and Humility, Come Forth!" The smoke then cleared away as the rain began to storm down on the burnt village and out of the clouds came Quetzalcoatl, the great god of the Aztecs. The feathered serpent slithered from the sky and attacked the sorcerer with swift agility that could only be matched by a god.
The man fought with the god as Kouji tried to awaken his unconscious family. But not even a god could handle this evil sorcerer. The sorcerer sent Quetzalcoatl back to his resting place and charged toward Kouji and his family.
Kouji sent a giant ball of white fire to the man, burning through the skin on his left shoulder.
"Your going to pay for that boy!" he growled with hatred as a small glimmer of fear showed itself in his eyes, but as quickly as it came it vanished.
The earth around Kouji rose up and formed a cage around him.
The sorcerer then awoke Kouji's family and drained them of their strength. He then lifted Kouji's father a few feet above the ground by the neck roughly. With a dark grin the sorcerer drew his katana and ran the jagged blade across his cheek. Adjusting the body he slowly began skinning his face of while Kouji's father was still alive.
His screams echoed in Kouji's ears as he tried vainly to get out of the cage. He couldn't take it. His father was being skinned alive and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Only watch, as the blade was half way through his father's face. All Kouji could hope for was that his father would die sooner so the pain would end. But it didn't stop there, oh no, once his father's life had ended the sorcerer turned to his mother.
As much as she tried to cower away the sorcerer grabbed her, tearing off her white kimono and under garments. Like the monster he was he forced himself into her. Her cries pierced threw the air as everything else was silenced. The sorcerer ran dull blades over her pale skin evilly, causing deep gashes to mar her flesh. Lifting himself off of her, he slowly walked over to Kouichi who lay limp on the ground as tears of sorrow cascaded down his beaten face. But his mother wouldn't allow it.
With the last of her blood she formed a giant javelin and hurled at the sorcerer. She died instantly afterward.
"MOTHER!!!!!" Kouji and Kouichi cried as the cage crumbled to the ground. Kouji ran to his mother's corps and embraced her, Kouichi close behind. They wept for their loss only to hear the battle cries of many bandits.
"Well looky here. We got ourselves a couple of live wolves." One of them snickered.
Kouji lost it. His sanity was almost completely shattered. Kouji lost almost everything and his brother was badly injured. Kouichi was all he had left now and Kouji was not going to loose him too, not yet, Kouji still needed him. So, with that thought in mind, Kouji rose to his feet and glared at the blood thirsty men. He grinned, he had nothing to worry about. All Kouji had to do was kill them and they're home free, and what's best is that he won't have to go home in shame for taking a life. He lost his home, he lost almost everything to the evil flames and he was going to get his revenge and he was going to enjoy it.
With his body resolute he summoned a soul from his soul, and what a blade it was. A diamond wolf head appeared out of thin air with a long silver blade out of his mouth. And with one last battle cry everything faded to a welcome darkness.
"That's all I remember, I hate it, the fact that I don't remember. I can't even call that little girl back, but I can here her cry for me and I don't know why. I know I did something terrible, but, I can't remember." Kouji snuggled further onto Izumi's lap as he allowed his tears to fall freely down his pale face.
"Shhh, it's okay, I'm right here." Izumi murmured, stroking his long raven mane.
"No, it's not. I'm nothing but a monster with angel wings." Kouji wimpered. "Just a monster, given the life of theivory."
"No, that's not true. You're no monster, not unless you intentionally try to harm others. C'mon we have to get the Vampires to safety." Izumi patted his back gently and smiled.
"Yeah." Kouji sighed, slowly lifting himself of from her lap.
Author's Note: That's it for know. Sorry I took a while. I'm going to try to finish this fic as soon as possible, ciao.