Chapter One

Author's Note: I have been debating on whether or not to publish this story on here just because when I first started it last year, I was winging the plot. Only half of this was thought up. The rest I was making up as I went along. I've been in a writing mood and decided to put this up.

Hope you enjoy this ^_^

The madness surrounded her, as the Kishin Asura gripped her in his arms. Tears fell endlessly down her face, praying that her father and his weapon partner Blood could save her from the awful powers of the Kishin. But, she wasn't afraid of the Kishin's madness, or the fact that he would kill her and eat her soul. She was afraid the Kishin…would take her away. She was frightened of the possibility that Asura would take her away to his kingdom of darkness and keep her there for his own; never letting her see the light of day again. It was this thought that scared her the most. This…was her nightmare.

"Misao, wake up! Misao!" She woke up to the sound of Blood's voice and his hands on her shoulders.

She woke up abruptly, gasping and looking around, trying to figure out where she was. "Blood, thank goodness it's you!" She held on to him, letting her tears and sorrow break free. Blood knew exactly what happened to her. Still, there was nothing he could do for her. "I had that dream again. The one where I was held captive by the Kishin! He…he wouldn't let me go!"

Blood took her in his arms, caressing her as much as he could to make her feel safe. "It's alright now." He assured her. "I'm here with you. You don't have to be afraid anymore." Was that really true? He was unsure of the words he spoke to her, unsure if he could protect her from everything she feared at that moment. He searched for the answer in his head, but could not find any proof to back up his statement. This made him doubtful for a while.

Misao ran downstairs to the kitchen, being lured in by the sweet smell of eggs and bacon. "Is breakfast almost ready, Blood?" she asked, smiling warmly.

"Just a few more minutes." He said smiling back at her. "Wait just a little while longer."

She stood at his side, staring at the window of the small garden they both grew together. "The garden looks beautiful." She said. Her face was calm and at peace. Looking at her warm smile made Blood forget all the bad in the world.

"You're right. We might be able to pick some of the herbs that are fully grown."

"That means we can have a delicious lunch!" She said laughing.

Blood nodded, and went back to cooking breakfast. "Okay, the food's done. Grab some plates, Misao."

Misao ran to the cupboard and grabbed two plates for her and Blood. As she sat the plates by him and let him slide the food onto the plates, Misao began to feel someone approaching. "Someone's here." She said, staring at the door waiting for a knock. She opened the door to find two men standing at the door. One had short silver hair with a giant screw through his head and stitches down his face. The other was a red-headed man with hair that stopped at his neck. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, stepping outside and closing the door behind her.

"We were sent here by Lord Death himself." The silver-haired man held up a piece of paper with a message on it. Misao scanned it for a second, then looked back at the men. "My name is Professor Stein, and this is Spirit. He's my weapon partner and one of Lord Death's instruments as well.

"What does that have to do with me?" She asked, taking a step toward Stein.

"Get back Misao." Misao turned around to see Blood standing behind her and pulling her close to him. "You said Lord Death sent you here?" he asked them.

"Yes he did." Spirit answered. "You're the one they call Blood right?"

Blood nodded. Misao was unsure of what was going on at the moment. She didn't trust Stein or Spirit. There was something not right about this situation, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Blood got in front of Misao and looked at both of the men straight in the face. "What is your business with us?"

"We want you to come with us to Death City. Lord Death wishes to speak with you." Spirit said with a calm tone.

"Why does he want to see us?" Blood asked. Since they were partners, Blood could feel the uneasiness of Misao's soul. He saw her trembling in fear and the memories coming back to her. "Calm down Misao." He told her. She looked up at him and saw his warrior face. "Everything will be okay."

"He'll explain everything to you himself." Stein's voice brought back Blood's attention. He began to have little patience for their stalling. Misao saw that in his soul and his eyes.

"Blood, we can't trust them." Misao whispered to Blood from behind. "Transform into a weapon, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Don't be reckless, Misao." He reminded her. "We don't know how strong they are, or their techniques. We'd be walking into a trap for all we know. Just stay calm."

"Are you going to come with us or not? We don't have all day." Misao stared at Stein as he adjusted his glasses and then glanced over at her. Looking at her, it seemed Stein figured out the deal with Blood. "If you're worried about your meister over there, we promise not to lay a finger on her."

His words made Blood flinch slightly. "How did you…"

"I simply read her soul. She seems to be very important to you."

"Stein I don't mean to rush you, but we need to make this quick." Spirit interrupted, stepping a few inched in front of him.

"I know." He replied, twisting the screw in his head. Misao stared at him, curious at what he was about to do. She's never seen anyone like him before. "But you should tell that to them, not me. We have to wait for their answer. Well you two…what's it going to be?"

Misao felt Stein's soul growing stronger. She was worried about what he was going to do to Blood. Without hesitation, she jumped in front of Blood and replied to them. "As long as you don't hurt Blood, we'll go with you."

"Misao." Blood was astounded at Misao's bravery; her fearless face, ready to defend anyone with her life.

"But… before we go with you, tell us what Lord Death wants with us." Misao wanted to know the truth about what was going on. It wasn't like Lord Death to suddenly call them for no reason at all. Misao was suspicious about this whole situation. Whatever he had in store for them, she didn't trust it at all.

Stein and Spirit looked at each other and then back at her. "You're a persistent girl aren't you?" Stein said. "Very well, if you really want to know… the Kishin Asura… has awakened." The name he mentioned made Misao tremble to the point where she could barely stand up anymore. She felt herself back up into Blood's arms and collapse to the ground.

"Misao, are you okay?" Blood asked, picking her up and holding her close to his body.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I…I'm okay. Don't worry about me." Blood could feel Misao still trembling. It was because of the Kishin Asura. He would never forgive him for what he did to her.

"Alright we'll go with you." Blood finally agreed to go with them. "Just let me pack. Would you mind holding her while I gather some things together?" He handed Misao over to Stein while he went back inside and packed for them.

"So tell me. What is your history with the Kishin?" Stein asked abruptly. "The way you reacted when I mentioned his name, it seems as though you know him very well." Misao remained silent. She didn't think it was any of his business how she knew the Kishin. The nightmares began pouring in her head again. His face was the only thing she saw in her mind. His evil grin, the immense power of his madness; she felt his power grab a hold of her and pull her in the darkness. She felt her breath fading away, not even able to scream. On the outside, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, squirming in Stein's arms as if a knife was slowly being pushed into her stomach. 'Let me go! Let me go!' That's what she screamed in her thoughts.

I don't want to let you go. Misao heard the Kishin's voice, coming from all around. She then looked ahead of her to see him levitate toward her. Once he was close enough, he grabbed hold of her arms extremely tight to the point where her arms began to bruise and then slightly bleed. You'll stay with me… forever. Everything went dark, and Misao couldn't feel anything in her body. She was a lifeless puppet for the Kishin to control.

"No! Stay away from me! Blood!" The shock of fear woke her up in a bed with white sheets and a cup of hot tea beside her.

"You're finally awake." Stein said, sitting on the edge of the bed, checking her forehead to see if her fever had gone down a bit. "You've cooled down. That's good. Although, your soul is still in pretty bad shape. You may need to stay here for a while." Misao stayed silent, taking a sip of the tea that he sat beside her. "You still refuse to talk I see." Misao turned away from Stein, ignoring his words. All she could think about was the awful dream she had. The pain she felt seemed real, making her confused about reality and dreams. She didn't know which one was which. Stein got up and walked over to his desk to do some work. Five minutes after he sat down, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Misao smiled when she saw Blood enter the room. "Oh it's you Blood." Stein said, watching as he walked over to Misao and sat beside her. After he sat down, Spirit came in the room and walked over to Stein. "What's the deal Spirit?" Stein asked him. "What was the conversation about?"

Spirit was silent for a while, watching Blood comfort Misao in his arms. Something was wrong with him, but Stein couldn't see it. "It was about the Kishin, and his objective." He finally answered. "It seems he's after that girl."

Stein was shocked at what he said. "After her? But why is that?"

"Blood refused to tell us. Apparently he doesn't trust us enough with that information." Blood and Misao were both mysterious to Spirit and Stein. They wanted to know what connection they had with Lord Death and the Kishin Asura. "I'm sure if we give them time, they'll tell us. For now, let's just stay out of their way."

"How are you doing, Misao?" Blood asked her, examining the wounds that suddenly appeared on her arms.

Misao was confused at her bruises. She thought it was just a dream…but then she realized that maybe it really did happen. Was it due to the Kishin's madness that filled the air around her? "I don't know." She answered him. "I'm confused right now."

"Why is that?"

She couldn't explain the reason. Everything was running through her head so quickly, that she couldn't understand any of it. "My bruises; I thought it was just in my head. The Kishin did this to me."

"The Kishin? Are you sure about that?" This made Blood more worried about Misao's condition.

"The power of his madness was overwhelming and it wouldn't let me go. He kept saying I belonged to him and nobody else." The more she talked about it, the more it frightened her. She gripped Blood tightly and buried her face in his chest as if she was trying to fuse with him so she could be safe from the Kishin. "I was terrified. I couldn't scream for help." She talked as tears fell from her face and stained Blood's white shirt. He could see the terror in her eyes, the fear of being taken by the Kishin's madness. Blood didn't know what to say. He couldn't find the right words to say to comfort her. All he could do was hold her close to him and shield her from everything like before. The sight of her in this state made him feel weak and powerless to protect her.

"I hate to interrupt," Stein walked over to them holding two small tablets while pouring more tea into her cup. "but it's time to take your medicine. This will put you to sleep, while healing the damage done to your soul."

"I'll give it to her." Blood took the tablets from Stein and gave them to Misao to take. "Here Misao, take these pills." Misao stared at the pills and was afraid of going to sleep. She closed Blood's hand and pushed it away. "Misao, you need to take them if you want to recover."

She shook her head. "I don't want them."

"But…Misao."

"It's just…I don't want to sleep." Everyone stared at her, waiting for an explanation. "All my dreams, made me afraid of closing my eyes. I don't want to fade into the darkness, just to be trapped by the Kishin!"

The room fell silent for a while as they processed her words. Blood put his other hand over hers and made her look at him. "Misao, look at me." She slowly lifted her head to reveal her tear filled face. His eyes made Misao focus only on him and let everything else fade away. "I won't let anything happen to you out here or in your dreams. I'll stay here with you while you sleep, so you can have peaceful dreams. Now take the pills and lean close to me."

Misao found peace in his words and did what he requested. She took the tablets, drank a small sip of the tea and rested her head on Blood's chest as he caressed her and acted as a blanket. She let the warmth of his body surround her and drift her off into a comfortable sleep. "Sweet dreams…Misao."

Author's Note: Some of this fanfiction is already pre-written, but I won't upload every chapter every day. The next one will be up in about a week or so.

Please R&R ^_^