Chapter 8: Baby Seiryuu

Seiryuu opened his eyes, dangerously beautiful and deadly eyes. He didn't understand anything the blue haired man was saying. He'd been born only days ago. The woman he'd been with had screamed when she'd seen him, scaring him. So he had screamed loudly too. He'd been taken from her, had something heavy put over his face and yet he could still see through the object.

A lady came four times a day to feed him, but he couldn't sense any love from her. Her heartbeat was not that of his mothers. She wasn't his mother. Where had his mother gone?

Now being held tightly to the blue haired man's chest, Seiryuu took comfort from the man. Was this his daddy? The thought vanished as Seiryuu fell asleep, once again being held close to the blue haired man.

His head hurt! He was hot, but cold. He screamed but the man, Ao, didn't seem to know what to do with the two month old. He had been taken away from their home and given to another strange lady. Pain was everywhere in every inch of Seiryuu's body.

Fever. That was what the healers called it. Ao, was worried; but it was Seiryuu who was hurting.

He cried and cried and cried. Ao was cringing at how loudly the little Seiryuu screamed. As he changed Seiryuu out of diaper wraps, puked upon clothes or himself out of clothes that had been ruined because of puke; all the older man could do was hope the child survived.

Seiryuu just wanted to aching pains to go away.

The fever would last for only three days, but to both Seiryuu's it felt like an eternity before the fever ran it's coarse.

At six months old Seiryuu kept Ao on his toes. After having learned how to crawl, Seiryuu was on the move constantly. When he wasn't, he was sleeping in Ao's arms or eating solid food; mostly crush apples. He liked crawling, but Ao would only pick him up and put him back into the makeshift pen. It never last though as Seiryuu had figured out how to escape it by moving a few sticks here or there.

One time he made it to the doorway of the hut and saw other children laughing and playing with something round. Could he play? Ao had caught him again and once more he was placed inside his pen.

At a year old Seiryuu was watching Ao practice with his big sword. As he swung it this way and that. Sword practice was something Ao did once a week during hunting trips. The villagers would hunt while Ao kept an eye on things.

Seiryuu turned his attention away from Ao and saw two hunters arguing. "A..." he couldn't quite talk yet but sounds were easy enough for Seiryuu to mimic.

Ao turned his head the way Seiryuu was looking and saw the hunters. Before things could escalate, Ao walked away towards the two men. Yelled foul words at them and scared them a bit before the two went separate ways. Returning Ao looked down at Seiryuu who was looking up at him with a smile. "Good job." he said as he bent down and touched the child's head. Pointing a finger at Seiryuu he continued. "One day you'll be the one watching over them. You have to stop them from killing each other sometimes." Seiryuu cocked his head at Ao. "I'll explain another day." With the excitement over with, Ao returned to his sword practice.

After Ao's death and the soldiers who came to their village had been killed by Seiryuu, the elders feared the boys powers. So Seiryuu was hidden away in the deep underground caves. He hated the darkness, but he understood the villagers resentment and fear. He did not run away nor did he try to harm anyone.

Years went by as the boy went from a young child to that of a young adult. Seeing through walls had its perks as nobody knew you were watching them. He had alerted the elders of two coups, of three different adulterers and a child molester. The result was that the people had to learn to be on their best behavior because they never knew when Seiryuu was watching.

Seiryuu didn't like being alone. Late at night, after all were asleep, he would sneak through the camp quietly and wouldn't return until morning. Sword practice kept his mind busy and allowed him to remember the one person he had, had years ago. Ao may have been strict, but he had been Seiryuu's friend without trying. He had raised him, taught him and protected him until his last breath.

Without realizing it Seiryuu had tears running down his cheeks. His emotions finally finding a release. Screaming to the heavens, Seiryuu tried to let someone understand his pain of being alone; even if it was just a scream. As the scream ended he pulled his mask off of his face and began to wipe the tears away from his golden eyes.

"Pikyuu!"

Seiryuu turned around at the sudden noise. His eyes scanning the dark foliage to find where the sound had come from.

"Pikyuu!"

Stepping forward, Seiryuu began searching for the sounds. The more he walked, the closer the sound was until he came across a downed tree. Seeing a hole in its side he saw, with his dragon eyes, a tiny baby squirrel curled up around some fluff. Ripping the hole bigger, he found three dead baby squirrels along with a much larger one. Reaching inside, Seiryuu picked up the tiny baby squirrel.

"Pikyuu!"

The sound once again was made by the tiny little critter. Pulling the fur off of his head, Seiryuu made a nest out of the fluff before placing the critter into it. He quietly made his way back to the village camp that was hidden in the caves. Pressing the hidden passage, the stone rolled away to allow him inside. He took the tiny animal down to his room where he began to nurse it back to health.

One morning, two days later, the tiny squirrel's ears began twitching. Leaning over it, Seiryuu spoke. "Are you okay?" he inquired. The tiny animal didn't move. Sitting back down Seiryuu shivered at not having his furs around him to keep him warm.

Reaching over to his table he began to eat the stew that the villagers had left for him the night before. He ate over the pan, slurping when he heard a rustling noise. Looking up he saw the squirrel was staring at him. Picking up a carrot he offered it to the squirrel who hopped onto his hand and took the offered piece. Scooping a piece of meat into his mouth, Seiyuu spooned another piece only to have it snatched away by the squirrel. Blinking in surprise, Seiryuu watched the tiny squirrel eat it. After sharing his meal with the animal, he held it gently in the palm of his hand.

"Will you stay?" he asked causing the creature to dock it's head at him. "Will you be my friend?" he knew it was silly to talk to a squirrel like this, but he was just so lonely. The squirrel jumped from his hand to his head and down to his shoulder before rubbing its cheek against his. "You'll need a name." he announced. Only one name coming to his mind. "Ao."

"Pikyuu!"

Taking that as a good sign, Seiryuu grasped his fur and placed it over his head. "Ao is my friend." he said out loud to remind himself that he wasn't alone anymore.

Little did the young Seiryuu know that one day soon he would meet a red haired girl that would bring him out of his dark cave, into the light and give him many friends. The not too far away future was coming quickly and soon those friends would be on his doorstep and he'd go on an adventure of a lifetime with them.

M-Angel: Hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. I thought I'd do a scene here with Ao (squirrel) and how Shin-ah met her. I hope everybody liked how I depicted how Ao (Seiryuu) reacted when faced with a sick baby Shin-ah.