AN/ Well, things are getting pretty intense with our young hero. The next few chapters will also be kind of sad so be prepared. And I'll give you all three guesses who the priest is. I shant give you any hints! Sorry if this story sounds a lot like Kingdom Hearts. It's not supposed to be. But the way I was talking with stuff like "all the world will be covered in darkness", did sound like Ansem and all that, didn't it… what can I say? I love that game. Some other video games I like are Soul Calibur, Silent Hill, Harvest Moon, Katamari, Full Metal Alchemist, Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask, Zelda, Poke'mon Snap, Poke'mon Stadium (what can I say? I still love those games!), Metal Gear Solid, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario 64, Yoshi Story, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Parasite's Eve, Ico… the list goes on. So I'll stop here. If any of you people out there like any of these vg's, let me know! I'll tell yall some of my favourite animes next time! -
Another loved one… gone.
Shuichi was beginning to lose hope as he saw the lights in his room go out and the last image of his mother's bittersweet face through the window. What would they do to her? Interrogate her of where they went? Torture her? Kill her?… the boy almost threw up at the thought. He already lost one parent… could he stand losing another?
During their escape, he had little time to think about all that had happened lately. After he got his thoughts gathered, the teen remembered his mother saying something about heading to town for help, that it wouldn't have been affected yet. Affected by what? The darkness? How many people would suffer from this evil? How many men in black cloaks would there be to restrain so many citizens? And where the hell was the church! Because of the little offering the family had, they never often went to church. They were ashamed of the scarce pay they had. So Shuichi obviously hadn't been there for a while. Without their mom, what chance of survival did they have out here? Lower class were certainly not welcome, so what if they were shunned out of town by the nobles? But it was too late to be thinking about all that right now, after all it didn't take long to reach the center of Arbaphem.
Yuki was still hauling the two siblings along with his hands, no doubt that he was probably pretty tired of doing so. The trio was breathing hard from the work out, but none of them were about to give up any time soon with the men in black possibly tailing them.
The path turned to cobble a few meters ahead and the taller buildings would be in plain sight after they broke through the shadow of trees.
"We're almost there! Just hang on a little longer you two!" Yuki called to his back. At least his gallant blonde lover was still here to comfort them.
The end of the forest was in sight, which relaxed everyone's muscles a tad. Maybe they could find sanctuary in the city, because the outskirts didn't seem to be safe anymore!
"Finally! We've reached the…" Shuichi halted in his tracks, as did the others.
The usually tranquil city of Arbaphem… had become a war zone.
Apartments and businesses were toppled, ready to collapse altogether. Accessory stands were shredded into large pieces of splinters and the earth underneath them was cracked in numerous places. Now it really did look like veins were running throughout the town. Expansive crevices were scattered along the street, leaving enormous gaps behind for unsuspecting passer-bys to fall to their death if not seen right away. Small fires were still burning subtly in blackened areas of buildings and condos. And as for the people… not one in sight.
"Where… where is everyone?" Maiko asked meekly.
"I've never seen the streets this empty." Yuki stated. "And I haven't been living here for long."
"Did… the darkness actually get to them first?"
"Huh?" The two blonde's questioned him.
"People who have the most darkness in their hearts are most likely to get overtaken by the darkness first, right? So maybe, driven by the powers of greed and pride, the upper class were hit first." It all started to make sense to him now.
"So… that means that… everybody is gone?" His sister whimpered.
"I… guess so. I can't think of any other reason why the city would be in such bad shape and the roads barren like this." The boy glanced at every nook and cranny to see if there was even the slightest sign of life, but to no prevail.
"Well, at least be thankful that we weren't caught by the darkness so soon… unlike these poor fools. Don't we have a church to find?"
"That's right! We'd better get going before those guys catch up with us!" Shuichi ran straight into town along with his companions, hoping there to be some kind of indication of where the sanctuary was. He had to stop mourning for his recent loss. Crying would get him nowhere, and he knew his mother would agree.
After jumping over a few rough edges in the road, and squeezing through some fallen rubble that landed on the street, the trio STILL had no clue where this catholic church was. Things were becoming more frustrating by the minute.
"Argh! Where is it! We've been through every boulevard and alley way and it's still impossible to find!" Yuki grunted angrily.
"And how could everyone in town just suddenly disappear! It's not possible in this limited amount of time since yesterday!" Maiko declared.
"Plus, there were fires here. We would have seen the smoke coming from town if the place was attacked." The blonde contemplated on this strange matter.
"… You can't see anything in the dark… no matter how bright a light is… the darkness in people's hearts can never be cured. That's why we didn't see all this occur." Shuichi began realizing how things were going to work from now on. It wouldn't be easy to comprehend at first, but he hoped that everything would come to him as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be too late if something unexpected happened.
"So you're saying that it was too dark to see mountainous flames engulf the entire city? I don't believe this!" Yuki was losing his composure for sure, but no one could blame him. The two siblings were pretty flustered as well.
Shuichi was about to calm the indignant man, when something drifted into their line of vision in the rubble.
"Huh? What's that?" Maiko tilted her head in curiosity. A small rock tumbled down from a certain pile of debris, rolled over to Shuichi's feet, and stopped there. Before the teen could react, a tall shadow came peeking out from the boulders.
"Hey! Who's there!" The blonde yelled threateningly at the being behind the rocks.
"That looks like…" The younger man took a few steps forward to get a better view of whose form was hiding along side the rubble. "HIRO!"
"Shuichi?" The red head came into the light of a still standing street lamp, his emerald eyes flashed with comfort as little pink headed friend was running toward him, hitting him full force in a vice gripping hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay! I thought those evil shadow guys had gotten you!" The 19 year old cried happily into Hiro's vest.
"Ha! You think I'd let those baddies capture me? I don't think so!" He laughed at himself.
"Phew! It's just Hiro." Maiko sighed in relief. Yuki dropped his guard and joined the two rejoined friends.
"Ah. Mr. Yuki. Thank you for helping these two find their way here. With all that's going on lately, those shadow beings could jump out at any second and drag them away." The librarian bowed in gratitude.
"Hm? You know what's going on?" The blonde inquired.
"Yes. I've know ever since I became friends with Shuichi that this would all happen. You see… I accidentally overheard his parents talking one day about his future. They saw me eavesdropping and pleaded for me not to tell him anything of what they discussed."
"So… you knew about how these guys were going to destroy the town… and about my destiny and fate?"
"Yeah… sorry I didn't tell ya buddy. But I promised your parents. But now you should know everything, right? Your mom told you about it all?"
"…Yeah. But… she…" The boy was about to break into tears again, but remembered the vow he made to himself about toughing it out, and stuck to it. "She did."
"Good. And… I'm sorry about what happened to her…"
"It's okay."
After a silent lapse, Hiro turned to Maiko and asked her, "What about you? Will you be alright?"
"Yeah! I'm fine too!" She puffed out her chest in an attempt to be unwavering, though the older boy could still see the hurt in her eyes.
"…Okay. Follow me then." The red head turned on his heel and began walking down the main road.
"Huh? Hiro, where are you going?"
"We're going to the church. My job in your future, Shuichi, was to help you reach your destination when the time came. But quickly, before they find us. It's not too far from here. We'll take a back alley way that I know so it'll be faster and we won't get spotted by any shadow demons." He faced front once more and kept walking.
At first, the group was reluctant to go, but knew that if they didn't the dark beings would surely find them. So with one swift step, the trip tailed behind the librarian, each one keeping their fingers crossed for a safe trip.
Everyone was lead into a back alley like Hiro explained and followed along the mini narrow labrinth until an end was reached. Maiko yelped at a few rats that were infesting the path way, so Yuki had to carry the girl bridal style so she wouldn't fuss and have them get caught. Once the friends left the cold confinement of the alley, they came face to face with the grand catholic church of Arbaphem… though it wasn't grand anymore. Now the structure was tattered and run down thanks to the evil shadow demons that had terrorized the place. The beautiful stained glass windows that graced each indention were shattered, taking away the true glow of the sanctuary, though it had held up better than the other buildings.
"Hurry! They're getting closer!" Hiro whispered loudly, gesturing with his hand to follow him into the church's ruins. No one wasted any time to doddle, and crept up toward the entrance along with their leader, each of them checking over their shoulders for any signs of the men in black. Carefully, the red head pushed open the massive double doors of the church. Them being the size they were and the age, the wooden structures creaked slightly, which made everyone scramble inside before they were spotted. The entrance closed off, and all anyone could see was black. The candles weren't lit.
"Brother! I'm scared…" Maiko whimpered and clung to his arm.
"Don't worry. I don't sense any ominous auras from this darkness."
"Since when did you suddenly 'sense' evil?" Yuki raised an eyebrow, disbelievingly.
"Since he became the chosen one!" An unfamiliar voice echoed throughout the spacious sanctuary.
"Huh! Wh-who was that!" The teenage girl shrieked. "A ghost?"
"Ha ha ha! I'm not a ghost! I work with them."
"Eek!" She hid her face in the fabric of Shuichi's sleeve.
"Who are you?" The boy asked bravely.
"Relax you guys." Hiro chuckled at their reactions and lit a nearby alter candle. "He's a friend."
"Hello!" A pleasantly perky young man was illuminated by the new light surrounding the room. "I'm priest Uesugi Tatsuha! Sorry if I scared you guys there."
AN/ And Tatsuha shows up! He'll play an important role in this whole dream of mine. Oh! And Yuki's last name isn't Uesugi. That'll be Tatsuha (cause in this story they're not related). And Yuki's is just… Yuki. He didn't have his bad past back then, but he did have a rough child hood, with kids beating him up and his dear mother dying soon on. That's why he's so cold in his story. There is no such thing as a Yuki Kitazawa in here. Sorry if I disappointed any of yall! But it didn't fit very well. I hope you enjoy the next chapter I'll be putting up soon. Because it'll be the last chapter before the REAL plot comes in! Yay! Finally, after ch.10 we'll REALLY get started. Keep giving me reviews so I'll be inspired to continue please! Show me that you're all interested in what will happen next! Thank you!