I wonder if anyone who read 'Sanctuary' will read this. It would be interesting to see what they would think.

REWRITE

Ni---Created Different

Darcia inspected the young woman in the crucible one last time before setting her free.

The darker grey and gold uniform appeared very silver in the liquid filling the containment unit, and the black patches (which were cut-out on all of the other hanabito) seemed grey.

Neez walked in, crystal ball in hand. "They are arriving soon, with the wolves to be sacrificed."

Darcia's brow raised a moment as several hanabito and two wolves stood behind Darcia with confused expressions.

"uhuh. Right..."

Darcia cleared his throat and called forward a black wolf, which he referred to as 'Fenrir'.

"Come. Let her wake..." he said, and the wolf stood before Darcia, it's golden eyes glaring at him.

Neez had to turn away as Darcia decapitated the animal, and the unusual eyes of the hanabito opened with a start.

The liquid emptied out of the moonlight containment unit and she dropped, her black chains snapping. They were like grotesque bracelets on her thin wrists.

The glass of the unit shattered, and the other wolf and hanabito jumped back with a few screams and a whimper (one fell on the white wolf's tail).

The strange, dark hanabito growled at the others (which jumped back another foot).

This intrigued the noble.

"You're different...you were created different." Darcia said, inspecting the hanabito with interest.

"It's not like you didn't know that." she spat, and Darcia noticed truly how different she was.

Not only did she appear different, but her speech patterns were much different. The fact that she even could speak amazed him.

"You aren't so...pink." he finished, once again looking over her physical appearance. She growled, her pointed teeth and blue mouth shown more effectively.

"What I look like..." she said quietly, thinking. She glanced to the other hanabito in the room.

They all looked the same. They were dressed the same. The only difference was they each had a different haircut. She also noticed Darcia had no imagination; her hair was the same as another one's.

"Yes, yes, I was fond of Cheza's hair." Darcia noted boredly, as his newly-released hanabito glanced from her own dull-black hair to another hanabito's pink hair, touching her own hair and beginning to play around with it.

"Sh...Shut up." the hanabito said, shooting a glare at Darcia. She studied herself in the glass crucible and turned to look at her 'cousins'.

"...I'm prettier." she said finally, nodding quickly. Darcia laughed at her.

"I'm more of a...'blue' person, myself." he mused, noting all of the other pink hanabito. "I was relieved your creator made you as such."

"What, you needed something to match your castle?" she remarked, raising a thin eyebrow.

"It's a keep, actually." he corrected, hating the world 'castle'.

"It's a castle." she said confidently, crossing her arms.

"No, it's not."

"It's a fucking castle." she retorted, and Darcia smiled

This made her angry. Her fist balled up, and she completely paused when she noticed her fingers had pierced her palms.

Her fingers were becoming longer and sharper as she watched. Darcia grinned.

"A success, my lord?" Neez asked, and Darcia nodded once with pride.

"Now let's go retrieve your sister."

"My...sister?"

"Yes. You are one of a set of twins..." he explained briefly, and the hanabito blinked.

"My name...?" she asked, and Darcia paused.

"Shiva." he said, and they continued.

"Why that, though?"

"Because...it's a special name."

"How so?"

"'Shiva' was the name of one of many gods and goddesses from the lost time. One of the very, very few we actually have their true, used names for."

Shiva looked at the ground. Her name was special.

Shiva.

She liked the way it sounded, the way it could roll off her tongue. She couldn't wait for an opportunity to say it.

My name is Shiva. He named me Shiva. It's a special name, Shiva...

She hoped her sister wouldn't be named 'Shiva'...because she rather liked it. She wanted to keep it.

-

-

The hanabito, the single wolf and Darcia walked to the other side of the keep.

The room was almost the exact same as the previous.

Plain. Dark. And... in the center was another hanabito like Shiva.

They were much different than the others...Shiva never did learn how or why they were so different. She knew they looked and acted differently, and that was all.

Darcia repeated the ritual of killing the wolf, and a pure white maiden crawled to them from the broken glass.

Her bright blue eyes looked at them, and Shiva saw it, for the first time.

This particular one was dying.

She was frail, and already she appeared to be wilting on the spot. Darcia watched in horror, and the previous hanabito started to let out cries of sympathy and at the same time...fear.

Shiva reached out and pulled in her sister as she began to wilt from the exposure to oxygen ("And Sulfur." Shiva added irritably, after Asagoi shouted 'Oxygen!' like an obnoxious student in science class).

"This isn't supposed to happen, huh?" the pale twin said, trying to joke about it.

"No. I don't think it's supposed to." Shiva said, searching the room frantically with her eyes, looking for the answer.

"I'm not fading away just yet..." the paler one said, and Shiva let go of her.

"What's her name?" Shiva asked, pointing.

Darcia followed the hanabito's nail-less finger to one of the previous, older hanabito.

"You mean Cheza?"

"The one with the same hair as me."
"...Yes...That...is Cheza."

"It's her fault."

Darcia raised an eyebrow. "Right."

"Seriously. Kill her or something."

"...why would I kill Cheza?"

"Because she's killing this one." Shiva said, motioning to her sister.

Cheza blinked. "No...this one isn't killing anyone...!"

"Yes you are."

The pale, nameless twin laughed at her childish sister.

"Does she have a name?" Shiva asked Darcia, motioning once more to her sister.

"No, not yet."

"I have a name for her."

"Really?" Darcia said, interested.

"Her name should be Kalmia."

Darcia's pupil(s) shrank. "What did you say?"

"Kalmia."

The noble was speechless. Not only did she come up with a name for her sister after just being 'born' herself, but she said a name that only one person would remember...The person who Shiva was made from.

Shiva nor 'Kalmia' knew nothing about it. The reason they were so unusual, the reason they were so different was that they were fused together in another alchemical experiment; different from the ones that made all of the other hanabito.

It was even safe to say every third hanabito was made form a different version of alchemy than the rest. But this was the only time a lunar flower was fused to a human in any way.

Two women, close friends, that knew Darcia and the alchemist who made them into Kalmia and Shiva, volunteered.

The one Shiva was created from had lived on 200 years after the death of her lover, and she didn't know what do. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to live, either. So she joined the effort.

...Her nickname for the other woman was 'Karumia', a Japanese pronunciation of the flower 'Kalmia'.

The one Kalmia was created from was dying...and she knew it.

...She had nothing to lose.

Darcia wasn't sure how they could remember. Their souls were forged into the bodies made from their blood and the lunar flowers.

They were also the very last hanabito, flower people, ever made.

-

-

Hamona smiled as Darcia entered the room.

"Darcia!" she exclaimed, but she stopped just as she saw the two hanabito women follow him in.

"Hamona, please don't--"

Her eyes glanced over the two girls, looking at her with mute curiosity. She was horrified.

"Darcia...you said--you promised!--no, why!"

He frowned. "I didn't."

Jagura stepped in, and she flung herself at Darcia in a heartbeat.

Shiva really didn't pay much attention to the rest of the conversation. That is, until a loud 'CRACK' was heard and Darcia rubbed the side of his head. She followed the direction on Darcia's face that he was rubbing and found Hamona's fist.

And Jagura turned away from the two, smiling with malice.

Shiva started to giggle; and then she started to laugh. And it went from a light and innocent laugh to a very dark, disturbed, and evil one. Darcia blinked, Hamona was horrified, and Jagura was laughing right along with her.

Hamona walked over to inspect the Hanabito, and turned to the dull white-green hanabito. Kalmia was quiet and watched Shiva laugh, and didn't really think it was very funny their master had been hurt. Hamona looked at the sickly hanabito, and with one sad look from the Hanabito's big green eyes; Hamona had the girl in her arms and holding her tight...like some small sick child.

"This is why you shouldn't create things like this, Darcia! You shouldn't even help the people who try to! They come out sick and twisted and hurt! They SUFFER!"

Jagura raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Oh, Hamona. He said he didn't make these ones."

"But that isn't the point!"

"Hamona..." Darcia tried to explain, "If I didn't take them they would have died and rotted into nothing. No one else would have taken them."

The last statement was a lie. Everyone and anyone who wanted any sort of research or power wanted them. But Darcia had known the alchemist who had made them, and even knew the two women.

But, Hamona settled down, taking his answer. She held Kalmia close, and Kalmia smiled softly and fell asleep in her arms.

Jagura and Shiva stared each other down.

Jagura wanted to see who would break down first.

Shiva wanted to know what the Hell Jagura was doing.

Therefore, Shiva was the first to speak.

"What the Hell is YOUR problem?" Shiva asked, clear as day. Jagura was caught completely off-guard.

"I...I'm sorry." Jagura said, taking a step back.

The whole room paused, it seemed. Even the air was still a moment as all eyes were on Shiva and Jagura.

"They're...very unusual. So far Shiva has proved to be the most interesting, as you can see." Darcia said, coughing, breaking the silence.

Shiva gave him a dull look. "Uhuh. Right...um...Kalmia?"

Kalmia picked her head up, and Hamona blinked.

"Say something."

Kalmia thought a moment, and then: "Something."

Shiva slapped a hand to her forehead. "Say something amusing...um...DAMNIT JUST SAY SOMETHING COOL!"

Thus far, everyone was already amused and staring at the two hanabito.

"Uhhh..." Kalmia thought, and after a moment she came up with: "Darcia smells like old candy. That has been sitting out in the sun...for a very, very long time."

After that, Kalmia returned to sleep and Shiva waved her arms frantically at her sister. "See! She's neat too. Stop staring at me."

Darcia was at a loss for words. Somehow the soul had retained memories...for both of them.

Hamona was blinking in confusion, looking at Darcia as if to say; 'Why are they so different? How do they know what old candy smells like?'.

Jagura was doubled over in insane laughter...and Shiva was walking over to her.

"Hey. You. What's so funny? Stop laughing." Shiva said, kicking her with the side of her toes.

Jagura stopped after a moment and dully moved Shiva's foot aside. She looked up into the strange black eyes and her brow furrowed.

"What is your name?"

The Hanabito grinned and said it with pride. "Shiva."

Jagura thought a moment. "What is your sister's name?"

"Kalmia." This, too, she said with pride.

"What's my name?"

Shiva gave her a dull expression. "How the Hell am I supposed to know?"

Jagura smiled. "Well, Shiva. You can call me Jagura."

"...Jagura. Nice to meet you."

Shiva said, and Jagura reached her hand out.

"Um, what the Hell are you doing?" Shiva asked, backing way.

"Handshake." Jagura said boredly, and Shiva tossed her hair out of her face.

"Uhuh." Shiva said, interested. She nearly mangled Jagura's hand.

Darcia finally snapped out of his stupor. "I...have to leave, actually." he said, sighing. "I wanted to have you see them before I left."

Hamona frowned. and Jagura flung herself at Darcia again.

"Oh, darling. I'll miss you."

Hamona glared at the two as Darcia attempted peeling Jagura off.

"Um, Shiva. Kalmia. Come on." He said, trying to hurry away. Kalmia looked at Hamona sadly, and the human mirrored the look. Shiva looked to Jagura with a determined expression on her face.

"I don't want to go back with him." Shiva said quietly, and Jagura melted at the woman's seriousness.

"Hey, Darcia..." Hamona said, who had been close enough to hear Shiva's comment. "Can they stay with us? While you are gone? I mean...They might not be well enough to travel that long."

Darcia thought a moment, and saw how calm Kalmia looked and how happy Hamona looked. He looked to Jagura, who nodded with a fake smile.

Shiva just watched with anticipation.

"Yeah. If you are sure you can handle them..." Darcia said, blinking dumbly.

"Yes! We can handle them just fine!" Hamona said, reassuring him.

"They only just came from their containment unit..."

"Yes, but you've had them for how long before then?"

Darcia smiled. He knew he was not going to win with Hamona. "Yes. Alright then."

He walked over to kiss Hamona and left (Jagura glared at him all the while he did that and walked out).

After he was gone, Shiva nearly attacked Hamona.

"thank you."

Hamona drew Shiva into her embrace, along with Kalmia.

"what's wrong? Why do you not want to go back? What has he done to you?"

Shiva was hesitant, but then said; "We are only his experiments...I don't want to go back into that lab."

Hamona held them both, and Jagura rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please, Hamona."

Shiva stood and walked to a corner, and curled up in a ball.

"Hey, Julie." Hamona said, an idea coming to her. Jagura looked to her.

"What are you plotting?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're using the pet name. What are you plotting?"

"We should get them different clothes."

Jagura glanced at the uniforms both wore...that all of the other hanabito wore...and her nose wrinkled. "I agree."

"Clo...thes?" Kalmia said, picking her head up and looking to Shiva.

"I thought you were asleep." Shiva said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know HOW to sleep." Kalmia said dully.

"Bitch idiot sister..." Shiva murmured, and Jagura scoffed.

"So can we even legally take them out looking as they do now?" Jagura asked, and Hamona shrugged.

"I don't see why not. It won't be long..." she replied, and both her and Kalmia stood.

"Alright then."

-

-

Kalmia returned with Hamona, both happily carrying multiple large bags of clothes. Same went for Shiva and Jagura, although Shiva kept purposely walking into Jagura's heels.

"Stop that!" Jagura shouted, and Shiva stopped abruptly.

"Hey, you did it to me first!"

"That was on accident!"

"It wasn't and you know it." Shiva mumbled, and Jagura gave her a death glare.

"I can't believe I just blew away a whole entire fortune of MY OWN MONEY on you, you selfish brat..."

"I'm not selfish. I'm vindictive."

Hamona giggled.

Kalmia had been very easy for Hamona, not really caring what she was to wear. So Hamona bought things she thought would have been 'cute' on the hanabito.

Shiva, on the other hand, was picky. Anything Hamona picked for Kalmia ("Twins! They should match!"), and suggested to Shiva, the latter vehemently refused.

Until they reached a very dark shop, where many younger people with darker tastes walked in and out.

"What is this?" Shiva asked, her eyes widening at the sight of a certain outfit on display.

"A pinafore dress and blouse. And waist cincher...Gothic Lolita." Jagura said, and Shiva waved her hand at it.

"I want it."

Jagura nodded. "Alright then."

Shiva tried several on before finding a small enough size. And both Hamona and Jagura agreed...the style was Shiva's.

Shiva found things on her own and Hamona looked, found, brought to Kalmia, tried on Kalmia. All Jagura could do was watch and giggle at Shiva.

"I think she is going to have a seizure." Jagura said to Hamona, referring to Shiva's speed and expression.

So they at least looked relatively alike; Hamona tried 'sweet Lolita' styles on Kalmia.

Kalmia was Hamona's little porcelain doll, so-to-speak.

Shiva now wore very high-heeled shoes (to get at least a few inches or so within other humans' normal height), a corset-style dress (red and black, contrasting starkly with Shiva's gray skin and black/blue eyes), and some very strange socks.

Kalmia was walking around in a pink frilly dress, made out of a lilac-print fabric.

"Yo. Jagura." Shiva said, suddenly.

"Yes?" Jagura said, turning around.

"I like this dress. Thank you."

Hamona turned to Kalmia, who smiled and nodded.

Jagura blinked. "Wow. They know how to be polite."

Hamona shrugged, and made a face while gesturing to Shiva.

"I'm shocked."

Shiva paid no attention; and was instead walking around the room (staring at her shoes), saying in a repetitive, sing-song fashion; "Shiva-Shiva-Shiva! Shiva, Shiva Shiva...Shiva? SHIVA!"

Kalmia raised a thin eyebrow at her sister and pulled up her socks. Hamona and Jagura could only stare at Shiva in amusement.

Shiva paused, and stared at the ceiling. "Nyaaaaa."

Hamona turned to her own sister. "You didn't slip her anything, did you?"

Jagura shook her head and stared.

-

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My favorite chapter is probably the next one. It amuses me.