"Tsume" by Laurel Hinds amber colored-rain swept around his face like it was meant to be. He brushed it from his cheek, thinking only of what a damn nuisance this was. Why was he in this world anyway? There was no purpose in this lifetime; no family, no home. Just a boulevard full of dead hopes, and empty dreams.
His name was Tsume. Everyone thought of him as just another arrogant asshole; passing through this peaceful town of theirs like a hurricane. Needless to say he wasn't well-liked. But that didn't matter to Tsume. He had lost everything; nothing mattered…anymore.
No end could be better than a quick and painful death. After all, what did he have to lose? Nothing. Just a quick death and he could be reunited with the one he loved, in a place called Paradise.
Just what was that; Paradise? Tsume didn't know. He wasn't even sure if he truly cared anymore. All he knew was that he had to do this for Toboe; and that gave him the strength to live day to day. Find this "Paradise" and he could possibly be with his beloved.
That's why he was here in this stinking hell hole of a city. He had been led here through various stories, myths. A girl named Cheza lived here, and she was the key to his Paradise with Toboe. He would do whatever it took to get her; nothing spared. Now all Tsume had to do was find Cheza, and that was no small task. No one seemed to know anything about this mysterious "flower maiden" and if someone did, their lips were tightly sealed.
Not even a beating helped to loosen those two tightly molded pieces of flesh that the humans had. It just wasn't fair; Tsume needed Toboe more than anyone could ever know. But he would get him; he would find his Paradise even if it meant losing his own life in the process. He would go through the world of dreams, questing for Toboe. And that's where Tsume's story truly begins, at a place where his dreams would be made possible, by one woman. Cheza.
Drops of rain fell on Tsume's weakened body, and he awoke to the scent of his own blood, draining freely from an X-shaped wound on his chest. He wondered how the hell he got here; who did this to him. It wasn't often that he was beaten up, and the thought of it happening scared him. Tsume was supposed to be unbreakable. But ever since Toboe was gone, his mental state had shattered, and now he had become completely vulnerable. The picture of Toboe running doe-eyed to warn him of an impending danger flashed through his mind, and that's when he passed out again. Whether it was from that singular memory, or something the lack of, we shall never know.
