Rated PG-13 for violence, graphic descriptions, language, and cute things dying. Those with weak stomachs, grab a bucket.

Chapter Six

Sirens…I kept hearing sirens. Their voices were so beautiful and calming. Their words, though I did not understand, formed an abstract cloud of imaginary salve and brushed it over me, dousing the fire deep within my chest. I felt as if a silvery being was lifted right from my body and swirled around me before flying to the heavens. Then, suddenly, I realized the pumping of my chest and the cool oxygen drawing deep within my lungs. Then a pounding in my chest—heartbeat. Was I alive?

Another celestial voice massaged my ears, drawing my eyes to be cast upward. There, kneeling in clouds and playing harps, were beautiful seraphs with large, powerful feathery wings. I gasped at the serene scene… This inner peace…this feeling of comfort…was it mine now?

"Kenshin, my son," a deep, soft voice called over the siren's song and the seraph's melody, "Come to me."

Startled, I looked around in search of who had said that. From the corner of my eye I saw a man, slightly taller than I, with neat blonde hair and blazing blue eyes standing in the middle of a valley of green grass, flowers and butterflies; wearing purple robes, bidding me to come to him. I obeyed, wondering who he could be.

"You have been cheated, Kenshin," he said gently, laying his hands upon my shoulders, "What you see, is not what you will have…not yet anyway."

"Is this…heaven?" I asked dumbly, glancing around at the gorgeous sights.

He nodded. "But you are not dead."

"I'm not?"

"Nor are you alive. You know this…"

I chuckled bitterly to myself, remembering the ghoul that I have become. "Um…duh."

He either ignored my attitude or didn't catch it. "Do you want release? Do you want this?" He asked gently, spreading his arms and gesturing to the magnificent valleys of angels and spirits.

I drew in a deep breath, feeling a tingle of warmth in my heart. "Could…I really have this…? Me…? Even though I'm a—"

"Of course, my son, anyone can have this. You just need to do one thing."

I looked at him hopefully, "What's that? I'll do anything."

A glint shone in his eyes; not a warm, understanding one…but something malevolent and ethereal. "Kill the one who sent you here."

I blinked, caught off guard. "Kill?"

He nodded. "In order for a being of darkness to receive a place in the Holy Lands, he must condemn a soul destined for here and kill them so that he may take their place."

Confused of what I was being told, I tried to put the pieces together as logically as I could but failed miserably. "Wait a moment, why is a messenger of Heaven telling me to kill? I thought it was a sin and—"

The color in his eyes changed from that of a serene ocean blue, to chaotic red with bright yellow circling his pupil in a solid circle. "Who ever said I was a messenger of heaven?" Instantly, the calm fields, angels, sirens, and music ripped away like camouflage to expose fiery pits of black silhouettes being whipped with spiky whips by flying imps cackling evilly. Geysers of fire exploded in random places, scorching and roasting any fool who was stupid enough to stand near it. Harpies flew in a forest and pecked at trees with shrieks emitting from the branches, souls walked around engulfed in flame and wailed with anguish. Where was I? What was this?

"Where am I?" I screamed, absolutely horrified at what my eyes drank it, "Who are YOU?"

"I am your master!" He screamed, his flesh turning blacker than the night and transformed to the texture of that of a lizard, "You are my puppet! You will do as I say! Kill the harlot who pierced your heart and envelope the world in MY DARKNESS!"

Realization crept into my mind as I began to discover who I was in front of. Slowly, I lowered to my knees and bowed my head; my dark maker; MY divine authority…

"Don't you come here again, you maggot!" he screamed, "You were pierced in the heart by a blade! It doesn't effect you just stuns you and sends you back here! If you get pierced by a stake, you're fucked. Don't let ANYONE close enough to pierce you with anything. YOU ARE MINE! YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" He then clasped his palm on my forehead and muttered in a language so horrifying, I prayed I would never hear it again. A black aura silhouetted me as I felt my veins expand with a cold-hot flow streaming through them. I felt power…absolute power.

"DON'T YOU COME BACK HERE!" He commanded and stepped back, eyeing me up and down. "Or I will feast upon you…" He, and the nightmare surrounding him faded black…

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I jerked wide awake, nearly jumping out of my paper skin. I put my hand to my chest, there was a hole there, that's for sure, but my skin bubbled and crawled over my hand in attempt to close it up. I pulled my hand away and shuddered at the strange feeling. My mind snapped back to the previous event with Satan. Had it been a dream? Or did it really happen? I couldn't tell. Everything seemed so surreal but then again, it was incredibly real; too real.

Dream or not I liked the idea of Miss Heterochromatic dead as dust. I smirked and stood and stumbled around. I leaned against a building until my legs were strong enough to hold myself up. Then; I went off into the night to find her.

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I was disappointed at the end of three weeks; I hadn't found her and she hadn't found me. I was quite shocked that she wasn't skilled enough to track me down. I mean, come on. I only left the most obvious signs of my passing. Or maybe she was just used to seeing petrified, disemboweled civilians with two bleeding punctures on the side of their neck. Geez… maybe what they say about beauty and brains is right.

I was out and about at twilight, which is rather unusual for me because I normally waited until it is pitch black to go on the prowl. But I was incredibly thirsty; the blood lust picked at the back of my head like a fierce rat feasting on a cat's gushing wound. Heh…lovely simile it is, no?

I stalked a young, able boy, could be no older than fourteen. He was strong, his torso bragged about it with his gi partly open to flaunt his golden skin. His neck muscles bulged with the pride of his fit body that the ladies were no doubt crazy about. He'd be perfect. I liked the way proud blood tasted.

I closed in on him, casually walking behind him with my arms folded across my chest, hands inside sleeves, and head bowed so that the darkest of shadows hid my eyes. I smirked, my left fang resting on my bottom lip. I could just taste him…

He must've heard me scuffling along behind him for his head turned slightly to look over his shoulder and his pace quickened. Oh, he may look tough, but this guy was a coward. I could smell the fear he gave off of him. I laughed inwardly, and kept my calm, steady stepping.

The boy rounded a corner and ran, fleeing for his dear life. Strong, cowardly, but smart. Oh yes, very smart. Few showed caution around me when I didn't reveal myself to them, but this kid wasn't taking any chances. Bravo young lad! Bravo.

He turned down an alley (why the hell do they always do that?) and leaned against a building to catch his breath. The fool probably thought he lost me and was safe; Poor, sad, ignorant fool. While he was running from me, I jumped up on the roof tops and followed him ever so quietly and predicted he turn down into that alley…and that's where I waited for him.

"Frightened?" I asked walked out of the shadows in which I hid.

A gasp tore from the boy's lips, sending him stumbling a few paces and ended up falling on his ass. Terror, sheer terror screamed in his eyes. I could see his life pass in his eyes. Quite boring, really.

"Who-who are you?" He stuttered in a cracking voice belonging to a boy that's just going down that glorious road to manhood known as puberty. "Wh-what do you want!"

I smiled charmingly and offered him a chuckle. "I am Nohbdy," I said, quoting Odysseus from Homer's epic the Odyssey. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

The boy seemed skeptical. "Why have you been following me?"

An expression of shock etched on my face. "Me? Following you? I don't believe I'm guilty of such a thing."

"I SAW YOU!" He yelled pointing an accusing finger at me. "I SAW YOU BEHIND ME!"

I shook my head. "Young lad, I assure you I wasn't following you," I lifted my head slightly so that the dim light from the window beside us illuminated my golden eyes. "I prefer the term stalking over following." I smirked. "It suits my intentions nicely."

His blue eyes widened and pupils contracted to tiny beads. "St-stalking…?

I laughed. Laughed heartily, my fangs drawing out to their full size as I did so, his eyes growing so wide I thought they'd pop right out of his head. I grabbed him by the front of his gi and lifted him up so he could see my face.

He was shaking violently. "Those…those eyes," he shrieked in horror.

"You know who I am?" I asked, still laughing like a madman.

He nodded. "You're…you're Hitokiri the Manslayer! Battousai!"

I smiled. "Ah, you are smart." I opened my mouth to its extent, my fangs large and itching for the sweet crimson. Savoring the fear of the boy and of the picturesque moment, I lowered to his neck, the tips of my incisors poking the soft flesh.

The disgusting, inhuman gargle that snakes up through my throat every time I'm about to feed hissed into his ears and I bit down. And then—

"STOP!"

I stopped, pulling away from the boy and snapped my head to the direction from which the scream came. It was her…

She stood in the orange glow of a torch, her heterochromatic eyes spilling revulsion and vengeance onto the street. She held a crucifix in her right hand. Her eyes showed a mix of surprise and fear. "How are you—"

I smirked and dropped the kid, who scrambled farther back into the shadows, and took two steps towards her. "Ah, milady," I greeted in the most polite, charming voice I could muster, "You catch me at a bad time."

"Choke on your tongue devil," she spat thrusting the crucifix up at me, "I killed you."

"Hardly," I said casually, "It's called a stake for a reason, love. A crummy sword won't do any good on me."

"Then I'll learn from that mistake!" She yelled throwing the torch on the ground beside her and taking a wooden stake from one of her belts. "I'll eliminate you this time!"

"Eliminate," I repeated, "That's a good word. Considering I'm already dead and I can't be killed so—WHOA NOW!" She ignored my rambling and ran at me; the cross now in her left hand and a stake in her right. She came at me, running at my chest with stake aimed perfectly. If I hadn't grabbed her wrist and dodged her swing, I'm sure I would've been "eliminated".

She snaked around, pulling her wrist out of my hand and plowed me into the side of the building. My eyes contracted and bared my fangs with that demonic hiss. She lifted her chin, unmoved by incoherent threats and shoved the cross on my face. I screamed, or shrieked, or whatever the hell that high pitched thing that came out of my mouth was. It felt as if I was being lit on fire with thousands of heated katanas stabbing my face. It wasn't too long before I saw smoke and smelt the foul stench of burning dead flesh that I once enjoyed.

Through the smoke and haze, I managed to see that smirk on her face; the smirk of victory. The smirk I used to wear proudly. Anger from being wounded burned inside of me, the hurt of being tormented by this woman who had me enchanted only added to the fire. It was then, when I felt absolutely dead and alone.

I collected the remained strength I had to shove her away from me. (It must've been a pretty hard shove for I heard a crash, barrels breaking, and a loud grunt followed by chopped yet fluid swears.) I slapped a hand over my face and stumbled out of the alley, crashing into the last remaining people on the street. The fire burned on and on with no end in sight. With every step I took, the hotter and brighter it stung, the smell of burning flesh still assaulted my nostrils.

I crashed through the forest, my right hand swinging around in front of me to knock whatever possibly could be in my way. My ears searched for the sound of running water. I needed something to counter this pain. Anything.

After thousands of seconds, my ears twitched to the sound of a creek. To the north I tore recklessly, the consistent burning biting, feasting, decomposing my once beautiful face. I tripped over a stone and fell to my knees in flooded grass. I felt around, my hand splashing in the marshy grass until it slapped against the cold water of the creek. Without hesitation, I dunked my head in. The fire only got worse. I screamed as loud as I could. No bubbles surfaced from my agonizing shrieks due to no oxygen within my lungs. I pulled my head out and crawled backwards.

For the love of all things sacred, SOMEONE DOUSE THIS PAIN!

I heard rustling through the grass. Fuck she was back. I pulled myself up and limped away until my legs could carry me no farther. I fell face first I the dirt. Tears streaked my burning and blistered face. My fists balled up and clutched the grass tightly. I suddenly wished I was a child so that my mother would run to me and hold me, telling me everything was going to be okay and that she'd take care of me. But there was no comfort. There was no warmth to be found. No sympathy, no compassion, no nothing. The tears fell harder. What went wrong!

Something cold and wet pressed itself gently against my face and ran down my cheeks, followed by a gust of moist wind. I opened my eyes and looked up, standing before me was a deer. A beautiful deer it was. Large eyes gaped into mine carelessly and without fright; only with the concern of this breathless man laying face first in the dirt. I reached up and gripped its side and pulled myself up to my knees. The deer moved closer to me, sniffing my face and searching me for more burns. I smiled slightly for this tender concern but the pain of the fire of the Holy Cross still burned. I looked at the deer…and an idea swept over me.

I pulled my arm around the deer and pulled it closer as if to give it a hug.

"Hello little creature," I whispered, "Are you worried about me?" As if to respond, it sniffed my cheek and gave my nose a quick flick of its tongue in a kiss. I chuckled. "There, there…" my hand slowly reached for my katana, "There's no need to worry any longer. I'll be fine."

It shook its head and seemed to smile at me with its large doe eyes. It almost broke my heart to do what I did next…almost.

I ripped my katana from its sheath and brought it down on the deer's back, slicing it in half. Its blood sprayed all over me, the little spots on my face where the drops landed were instantly cooled. I hastily shoved my hands into its innards and rubbed my bloody palms all over my face to sooth the burning. The fire slowly began to fade with the touch of this crimson salve.

More and more I slathered on my face until it was nearly bled dry and I covered in its blood. I fell on my back, exhausted and worn, open to any attack. Tiny blood droplets ran off of my skin and pooled beneath me, soothing all my muscles and slowly restoring my lost energy.

I lay there, staring at the forest canopy and the starless sky deep in thought. How funny the world is. I was given a sword, taught how to use it, and then ordered to kill. And kill I did. I killed all my targets and then some, basking in the glory of being feared and soaking in the limelight of being the best. The splash of blood against my skin only made the madman inside me peak out more. Wanting to kill, kill, kill, kill and kill. It drove me to the brinks of insanity, slashing and random people, embedding my sword between their ribs and ripping my sword up through their shoulder just to hear the sound of their bones shatter as my katana cut through them. Then, my world was changed when the Tribal Man infected me with this disease to kill me and reanimate my body after death, driving me for the nectar of life: blood. I no longer enjoyed the feel of blood spraying me; it was the cursed fluid that kept me in this living dead prison. But I couldn't stop hunting for it; I couldn't just ignore that voice in the back of my mind telling me to feed. No matter how hard I tried…

I was brought out of my sedated mind when I felt the presence of her coming back. I could feel the anger and triumph burning through her veins. Fear of the burning pain wretched my stomach and kicked my muscles back into action, causing me to get off the ground and head for my lair where I knew she wouldn't come near. I fled as fast as I could, leaving her to the sight of the disemboweled deer.

Her scream tore through the night and rooted in my ear.

A/N : As I've said; I have HORRIBLE writer's blocks and I believe the first half of this story proves it! I rewrote this chapter at least three times and not really proud with the way it turned out but I had to post something to show I was alive.I'm sorry if I offended and religious people out there, I wasn't trying to at all and you have my sincere apologies. As for the readers who didn't like it, I'm sorry for that as well. It's a lot better than the first version though > in the first version Kenshin got in a fight with an old demon who quoted Dante Alighieri.

plutobaby494: sorry it wasn't soon enough!

ELLIE31773: :) hope you like.