No.

No.

Nope.

Reviews

pastel-chan
OH GOD INDEED WHAT HAS
I don't know man
I need help

The soldier walked steadily and faithfully along the hot, dusty path, with no-one by his side. He wrapped his hood over his dirty hair, almost reluctant to cover his face, but he knew the sun wouldn't do his skin any good at this time of the day. He marched without stopping, past the weeds and brambles, only stopping every so often to take a small gulp of water from the canteen hanging by his side. Eventually his slow and long trek led him to the front of the castle, looming before him. He found the wails and howls of the beasts inside overwhelming. How many of them were in there? What was it like being caged in such a wretched place? Shaken by this thought, he attempted to dismiss it, but it hung around in the back of his mind like it always had, and like it always would. This thought bothered him greatly, but he didn't have the time for it. As he reached the gate, two guards stepped forward and demanded who he was. "I am from the East Ones." He said simply, bowing to them. The guards, knowing who he was already, scooted to the side and let him pass.

He entered the castle to hear louder roars, the smell of the dark castle heavy and musty, like no one had cleaned for many years. From away he could hear the pitiful sobs and howls, and the rattling chains of the imprisoned. The smell of death hung in the air, as well as suffering. He wasn't used to this, but he went on. A man at a desk tapped his ink-dipped quill at his side, not bothering to look up. The soldier watched what he was doing, the ink scrawling across the paper in little squiggles that made no sense to him, as he had not been taught to read or write. He was only skilled in combat, and had no time for skills such as these, although he had always thought of attempting to learn. The soldier cleared his throat, and the man, startled, dropped the quill, letting the ink spill across the paper. When he noticed who he was, he gaped in surprise. More concern to the soldier in front of him, he stood up and bowed. "My apologies, lord." His voice quivered.

"That is fine." The solider nodded dutifully and looked around. The castle seemed awfully dark. Did they think this would tempt the beasts into converting? Would it really force them to be purified? Not wanting to think about this, he marched on, the guards letting him pass easily. Past the spiraling staircases and bangs on the wooden doors he went. He reached a large gate, from where behind came the smell of a marsh and the sounds of angry shouts. Two guards marched from the mist, dragging a monster with them. He stepped back and allowed them to pass, watching curiously.

The monster they brought with them was writhing and yelling. It was a female. Her long pink hair, damp, possibly from working in the marsh whipped by her sides, a scaly tail in place of where legs should have been. Pink hair? He faltered for a moment, wondering, but shook the thought away. He looked at her in awe. If she had not been an undeserving beast, unclean of her beliefs, she would have been rather pretty. One of the guards looked at him, and the soldier tugged on the hood that covered his hair. They nodded at each other as a brief sign of respect, and they parted.

From where they were dragging the mermaid away, the solider glanced back, and so did she. What were they called again? She hissed at him, anger spilling from her glare, no doubt she had found an instant dislike to him already. A small frown dented his face. Had she not been one of them, he would have found her beau- What was he thinking? He shook his head again, seeming to think this was the only way to rid him of these unclean thoughts, and attempted to return to his duties.

...

Kaiko turned towards the two immediately, her teary eyes widening in shock. "M-Miku…" She gasped, shaking her head, still refusing to believe. But after seeing the still body in front of them, the lifeless body of a boy she had been so close to, the bubble of imagination in her mind was very close to popping. "You…"

"It wasn't me!" Miku burst out suddenly, holding up her hands defensively, shaking her head. "Kaiko, you know I wouldn't! I wouldn't!" She looked at the woman, smirking. She seemed to have no problem standing next to a dead body. They hadn't washed or cleaned it... Him. Blood still pooled around him, clothes ripped and torn with fresh blood still oozing out, although the trickle seemed to be slowly ending. The claw marks on his skin were definitely the work of her species. She shook her head at Miku, and her eyes darted towards Mikuo instead. Miku turned. "Well then, only other one?" She hissed softly.

He only looked upset as he stared at the body. "I…" He started, and Miku sensed Kaiko tensing up. It was on his shoulders now. Whatever he said would either blow her bubble further away from the point of reality or pop it and let her fall. "I… I don't know." Or get caught in between.

Miku grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "What do you mean you don't know!?" She demanded, pinning him down so hard she could have strangled him right there and then. Kaiko reached out and tried to stop her, but then decided it was best not to intervene. The woman smiled in agreement. "You killed him, didn't you?"

Mikuo looked down, giving up on writhing away. Her grip was strong. "I-I told you. Even if I did, I can't remember." He refused to meet her eyes as he continued talking. "But I couldn't have, and I wouldn't. I know what it is like to be bullied and threatened. Anyway, I would stay out of an Edurlan's sniffing range, and I have no idea who he is. I don't know his name and I would have never touched him. If I did, he'd kill me first."

"Kaito would not have killed anybody…" Kaiko said softly, as three pairs of eyes turned to her. She shook her head as if that would help rid of any memories of him, and she wiped her eyes. "He wouldn't even try to hurt anyone. He's not that kind of Edurlan. I've seen what they've done, but he wouldn't. For my sake, he wouldn't kill anyone right in front of me… I know it. But… Why would anyone go this far? If this is really a Kin's doing… I'm not saying it's you, Miku… I know you wouldn't either, but…"

Miku turned back to Mikuo, still squirming under her grip, but settled down abruptly as her gaze fell back on him. "That is the work of a Kin. And there are only two in existence. I didn't do it." Her hand tightened, and Mikuo started to thrash, trying to get her to release him, but she wouldn't hear of it. "So what does this make you?"

"I told you!" He spluttered, lungs running out of air. "I didn't… I… I don't know! Let me go- S-Stop… Let me go…" His demands lowered to pathetic whimpers, and Miku couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the poor kid. She loosened her grip, but held him tight anyway, turning a blind eye – and deaf ear – to his sobbing. The woman looked at him pitifully, only with mock disgust.

"Then who was it?" She asked softly, as if to threaten, but he knew where she was going. He jerked, now trying even harder to get away from her, kicking and thrashing wildly, until Kaiko had to jump away. "Tell me." Her voice grew deeper, darker, as well as her eyes. He shook his head, eyes squeezed shut, trying to keep her away, but he failed. He caught her gaze and flinched, stopped moving as he was rooted to the spot. Again. It was happening again. But at the last second, Miku looked away, releasing him as she dropped to her knees. Kaiko ran to her.

"Are you alright?" Kaiko gaped, seemingly forgetting all about her dead counterpart. She shook Miku's arm, and the Kin nodded. "Miku, what's the matter? Are you…"

"I'm fine." Miku hissed, forcing herself up. Mikuo lay, breathless in one corner as he stared back at the girl in front of him, wondering what on earth she was. A Kin? Really? At this, the lady stepped forward, grabbing Kaiko by her scarf and wringing her away. She pushed the poor girl towards a guard where she collapsed into sobs and sniffles, crying louder and louder as she was dragged away. Miku, recovering quickly from her sudden fit, turned towards the lady, hissing angrily. She said nothing, her eyes already asking the questions. Yet the lady's slit eyes gleamed wickedly, answering these unsaid questions in even more silence, ignoring the thrashing Kappa disappearing behind the wall. She nodded at the guards, and they started to push the two into the cell alongside the dead body. "Stop!" Miku commanded, trying to pull away, but the guards overpowered her as they shoved the Kins into cell. Mikuo allowed himself to be dragged without a word.

As soon as they were in, the lady swing the door shut and bolted it, twice, and even then locked it with a fat, brass key. "There we go," she said quite smugly, holding the key in front of her face, creating the impression that she was about to swallow it. She pocketed it instead. "Perhaps a night alone with one of your victims will leave you broken down enough to talk. If not, there are a few others." Miku's face morphed into another screwed up expression of horror as the lady cackled, signalling the guards to leave. She turned away to walk with them.

"Wait! Who are you!?" Miku threw herself against the bars of the cell as she watched the lady leave. "What do you want with us? Why accuse us? What good are we to anyone?"

"Oh, not everyone... Just me. The lady smirked, her dull eyes looking suspiciously familiar. "By the way, if you really want to know, we've met. It's Hideyo."

She disappeared down the hall.

...

Luka struggled, but the bands around her arms only seemed to grow tighter, and eventually she gave up trying to get herself out of them. If only she had had legs... She looked around. The entire room was dark, and smelled of dust and blood. No windows, just a single stream of light coming from the bottom of the door, where she could hear people walking outside. The walls and the floor were all wood panels, and the room was crammed with shelves and cupboards, and she added sawdust to the scents. Talking from outside caught her attention, and she shifted her weight over, feeling a strap cut into her arm. She bit her lip and tried to sit tight. Where was she? And what did they want with her? The guards had just barged into their sector and dragged her away, with no warning at all. Luckily Gakuko had been able to dive away with the explosives. Hopefully she hadn't been taken as well. Luka sighed. She scanned the room again, trying to squint in the inky darkness, but she could hardly see a thing in front of her. Maybe Miku could have.

In front of her was a strangely-shaped table, probably carved by a beginner. It wasn't very well done, wonky, and slightly falling apart, but it still seemed strong enough to support stacks of books and several ornaments. She tilted her head to the side, trying to examine what she could see. She looked at all of them, one by one. The first one on her left appeared to be like a rattle of some sort, with to circles carved into the head, red coming down like tears painted under them. It vaguely resembled a severed head, and she shuddered, looking away to the next one.

This one appeared to be a music box. It was old and worn out, the paint on its cover was fading, and the handle rusted and nearly broken off. She wondered which child, if ever, had held it in her little palms, spinning the handle over and over just to listen to music... A human, of course. The Lumiere did not need special instruments to create music. A faint smile was brought to her face as she recalled her friends and herself splashing through the water merrily, twirling and spinning as the wind blew through their hair, raindrops fell, creating music as they danced to their own rhythm. The smile faded quickly. She didn't want to think about it.

Luka looked up, her lungs burning. Water... She didn't want to think about anything, anymore.

...

Miku paced up and down the cell, mind working feverishly. Her boots stomped angrily past his body, ignoring Mikuo's, who was laying curled up in a ball in the corner. She turned around. "It wasn't me. It wasn't you. Who was it then?" She kicked softly at the ribs, and the body rolled over. She quickly turned it back. "I can't believe this..."

Mikuo sniffed. "Then why believe her?" He asked, a little too much force put into his voice. Kaiko had tried not to believe her, but her words had crashed above her fragile mind, already delicate, and had completely shattered her. "I mean... Anything could have killed him. It could have been a Succubus. A Fae. A... Anything!" Miku frowned at him. "If you're so unsure, examine the body! I bet you've killed things before, you ought to know what your own work looks like." He crossed his arms.

"Mm." Miku crouched down, turning the body over. She took his scarf and folded it around his face, and looked at the wound in his flesh. If it had not been for all the blood, she could have pictured him to be asleep. He was cold. Not death cold, but much, much colder. Below room temperature cold. Ice cold. Well, she supposed, he was an Edurlan after all. Perhaps they were always cold, even before death. The blood was everywhere, and she couldn't bear herself to look at the body for too long. Three claw marks were raked across his torso, long and deep. Miku examined them. Yes, they could have been the work of a Kin. But they might have not, either. She looked at her claws. They were sharp, but still too small to cut so deep. She might have been able to use them to penetrate flesh, but no more deeper than an inch. This looked as though it had gone through his entire body. The secene itself spoke hatred and rage, not something she would have willingly done. And Mikuo... He seemed to be growing weaker, but she still held her suspicion. She shivered, moving him to the end of the cell and covering the body in a dusty old cloth.

Mikuo looked to where she had moved him. He had been rolled up to one side of the cell, limbs still outstretched. Behind him were several crates, boxes Miku seemed to have interest in, but didn't touch them. She walked to him, and he moved over so that she had space to sit, then wondered why he did that. He wrinkled his nose as she fell onto the floor, looking exhausted. "Move him." He said slowly. "He's taking up too much space."

"Move him yourself."

"I'm not touching him."

Miku shrugged, and curled herself into a ball, indicating she didn't want to talk anymore. She looked up, catching Mikuo looking at her, and he turned away immediately. Her eyes glanced towards the body, motionless in the corner, and her lower lip trembled. Mikuo stood up suddenly, lashing out and hit a crate behind him. The box fell over, and Miku jumped away before it toppled onto her. "Stop it!" He yelled harshly. "You're such... Why? First you're this bitchy dark Kitsune who can't handle a thing, and then you've got this smug-ass grin on your face, then you're all happy, and cute, and-"

"You think I'm cute?" She could hear the disbelief in her voice.

"I d-" Mikuo paused, then realized what he said, his face flushing. "Damnit..." He crawled back, looking defeated. Miku sat at the other end of the cell, looking equally as tired, rubbing her eyes. She looked down at her feet, one pointing towards the body. She scrunched up her nose.

"You didn't do it, did you?"

"I wouldn't touch him."

She couldn't tell if that was supposed to mean a good thing or bad thing. "Fine."

He seemed surprised. "What? You're not going to argue against that?" He tried to taunt her, but too much relief poured into his words, and she didn't take the provoke.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "Shit's just all messed up now. I have no idea what's going on. I just..." She looked towards the body, laying tangled in the mess of scarves and papers fallen from the boxes they had knocked over. "... I don't think either of us did it... Do you?"

He opened his mouth to shoot back with a "I bet you did." But as he looked up at her, bruised and hurt, trembling in a corner, looking more like a pained child than she ever did, he... "Oh this is just great." He groaned angrily, kicking the box in front of him away. More papers spilled out, but he moved them away as well. He scratched the back of his head, glancing at the body. "I don't think you did it."

Oh - perfect, the most reassuring thing he could've come up with at the moment. But he supposed it was better than nothing. "Really." Miku replied, with hardly a hint of belief in her voice.

"Look, I'm trying to be... I'm..." He growled in replace of trying to come up with the right words. 'Nice' couldn't have been one of them. "I just... I..." He gave up. "I'm sorry." This time, Miku looked up. The belief completely gone, she just stared at him with wide eyes. Her round, large eyes filled with only curiosity and surprise, and the innocence of a child. He shuddered, trying not to meet them. "I'm freaking sorry, okay? Goddamn it..."

Miku looked down at the floor, stained with red blotches, most of them trailing towards the body. "That's new." She mumbled, something moving in her voice. A laugh? She turned towards the window outside of the cell, where the sun was already gone. There were still red streaks in the sky, but most of it had gone dark. The Kin frowned, trying to recall what Luka and Gakuko had said. The fifth moon of... What? When? She frowned.

"You're thinking too hard. You look like your head is going to explode."

She ignored him as she followed the shape of the moon, the stars, the clouds. Tonight... She turned towards Mikuo. "We've been dragging this on too long." She said firmly, forcing herself up. He looked at her curiously. "Whether you're coming or not, I'm escaping tonight."

...

A candle was lit. The small light showed only a wicked reflection of the lady's face as her slit eyes gleamed with madness. From what Luka could see, red blotches stained her grinning face, pulled up into a menacing smile. "And what are you supposed to be, good lady, a mad doctor?" Her eyes flicked to the second silhouette. "Oh, oh, a female mad doctor and her maid, right?"

"Curious." A male voice chuckled as the second figure stepped into the light. His eyes were bright blue, but the black hood covered most of his hair. From what she could see, it looked like dark red.

"The hell are you?"

"Don't speak to the East Ones like that." Hideyo snapped, slamming her fist onto the table. It wobbled, and there was a crack. The rattle lying on the edge of the table bounced and rolled, landing next to Luka's fin. The lady, eyes now shining with untold anger, forced herself to relax, her arms no longer tensed. "I am sorry, but this is how uncivilized these beasts are."

"Not a problem." He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, and she nearly flinched. Luka snorted in laughter, and the woman glowered at her. He whispered something to her, and her arms tensed up again, looking agitated. Her eyes, seemingly mirroring her emotions were now filled with grudge and spite, but after a while she calmed herself down and nodded. She left the room, leaving Luka alone with the man. "So... You are a Lumiere?"

The way he talked did not amuse her. "No, I'm a freaking Kin!" She spat.

He arched an eyebrow, looking confused. "Kins are extinct."

"Shouldn't you be instead?"

He chuckled, his laughter intimidating, yet soothing to her. But... "You're still as stubborn as you were before. He looked away for a moment, Luka beginning to struggle in her straps again. He turned back to her. "Let me introduce myself."

Luka stopped struggling, looking at him angrily, more hatred then ever pouring towards him, mind too agitated to register what he had just said. "Oh, there's no need." She said coolly, but anger shook her voice. I bet you're the one who ordered the guards to take me away, screaming and thrashing down the hallway, stuffed me into a dark room full of dust and these pieces of shit-" She gestured to the ornaments on the table. "-And without water - don't expect me to last too long - and you even strap me down to a chair? Oh, you don't need to introduce yourself, because I know exactly who you are. A worthless, annoying, goddess-believing One. A human."

"My, my. You were always a timid one before. I'm surprised at how much you've changed, Luka."

She froze he strode towards her, his gentle blue eyes suddenly striking fear into her. How did he... He smiled at her as he removed the hood, tufts of pink hair catching the light. "It's been quite a while, my dear Lumiere."

Nope. Nope. Nopenopenopenope-