Welcome to Chapter One.
Special thanks to Death101- Fox Version, who requested I actually make this a story.
"Talking"
"Thinking"
-Telepathisis-
Flashback
-x-x-x-x-
Chapter One:
Life As It's Known
I stand at the edge of a cliff; the wind threads it's fingers through my hair as I survey the land below. It is strewn with carnage, though the battle still rages on. My friend creeps up behind me silently.
"Kimi, you're making a target of yourself." She scolds before pulling me down into a crouch.
"They're rather absorbed." I mutter but acquiesce nonetheless. Though both of us have grown stronger since Youko and Kuronue abandoned us two months ago, neither of us would be able to take on those armies and have a chance of surviving.
"So, we've managed this long..." Kat murmurs, more to herself than me.
"Yes, we have." I cut her off. "Where will we go next? We managed to traverse this area with some difficulty, but it won't be long before we are noticed and...coerced...into joining the..."
"Services?" Her tone is bland, though both of us know what that means.
"Yes, the...services...of the leaders in this area." I frown, as this outcome is less than desirable.
"Let's...head back." Over bright eyes avoid my gaze as their owner waits for me to snap at her.
I sigh and run a hand through my already mussed hair. I'm not ready to go back, nor am I ready to be forced to be a mercenary. Another sigh escapes me as I stand. "Let's go." I turn in the direction of our former home.
"You...?"
"It's better than the alternative...and most demons are oddly superstitious. We aren't likely to be bothered there." With that, I began my march home...well, to what is left of it.
-x-x-x-x-
Two boys, aged five and six, glare at each other from across the toy-strewn room. Angry blue eyes clash with green as their owners make a show of playing with the mediocre toys. Their mothers watch discreetly from time to time and frown. Neither can fathom what's wrong; their child is fine with every other but the one present.
One boy, the five year old, has bright red hair and green eyes; he is known as Shuichi Minamino. The other boy, aged six, has black hair and blue eyes; he is known as Sora Maki. Both do not mind most other children, as they do not feel threatened by them. They feel threatened by the other across the room and neither knows, nor cares to find out why.
"Perhaps we should try again later?" Makoto Maki murmurs to her long-time friend, Shiori Minamino.
"Perhaps..." Shiori frowns, unsure of why her son, usually such a gentleman, cannot abide by the other boy.
"Maybe tomorrow." A smile full of strain is given to Shiori before Makoto heads into the war zone and convinces both boys to clean up. They do, though they glare at each other when they think their mothers aren't looking. Once they finish, they say their goodbyes. As they walk away, Shuichi smiles for the first time since they came.
"Why don't you like Sora, Shuichi?" Shiori questions as she makes her son lunch.
Shuichi remains silent, though his gaze finds the house next door where his "nemesis" lives.
0x0x0x0
"Teacher, teacher!" Shouts a girl who ran in from recess.
The teacher glances up from grading. "Yes?"
"Shuichi and Sora are fighting!" She cries. The teacher flings the pen down and races outside to find the two boys rolling in the dirt as the entire grade watches. He calmly grabs both by their collars and picks them up before setting them on their feet.
"I expected better of you two." He admonishes as both glare at each other. "I'll have to call your moms, boys." Both stiffen and the teacher smiles grimly, realizing he's found the only way to make the two behave.
0x0x0x0
"Shuichi, come sit with us!" Coo the girls, who all blush when he glances at them.
"No, thank you." He replies calmly with a charming smile; the girls swoon.
Sora, who is observing from where he sits, frowns. He can see the fake politeness that oozes from the smile; he can see the danger they cannot. Shaking his head slightly, he returns his attention to his lunch.
"If they can't spot the viper because they're blinded by the pretty scales, it's their problem, not mine." Despite that, a knot forms in Sora's stomach. He can only hope that the boy, whatever he is, doesn't tire of their incessant demands for his attention. A shiver startles him, though after what he sees in the boy's eyes, it is not entirely unexpected.
0x0x0x0
"Hi Shuichi!" Chirps a girl; a giggling girl follows along beside that one.
"Fangirls." Shuichi growls mentally, but smiles disarmingly and appears pleased to see them. "Hello girls."
Sora, passing by, almost freezes when he senses the ill intent rolling off the boy in waves. Taking a deep breath, the boy deviates from his path and sidles over. The girls chatter at Shuichi for a few more moments before moving on. He sighs quietly and permits himself to glare after them.
"Problem?"
The redhead actually jumps and whirls around. As soon as his eyes connect with Sora, they narrow. "Not at all."
"Didn't look that way from where I was standing." Sora states blandly; he, in order not to be lumped in with Shuichi, cultivates himself as a punk. His manner speaks of that; he leans back against the brick wall of the school; arms crossed; expression blank.
"Then you must have been standing in the wrong spot." The redhead replies loftily, trying to rein in his temper. He is tired of Sora, of dealing with the other boy's attitude. "It would be so easy to just..."
"If any of them go missing, I'll know who to point to."
The accusation causes green eyes to widen noticeably. Sora smirks and walks off, content that he won this battle at least.
0x0x0x0
Shuichi, who is known as Kurama by Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara and Hiei Jaganshi, sighs as he wanders down a backstreet with his teammates. He is late for dinner and his mom will worry, but there is a mission and he can't afford to skip it.
"So what's it this time?" Yusuke questions as they head for an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city.
"Apparently someone like Four Arms..." Shuichi murmurs, more to himself and Hiei, than Kuwabara and Yusuke.
"Whozzat?" Kuwabara wonders aloud.
"A demon who gained strength by consuming others to absorb their powers." Shuichi explains.
0x0x0x0
Sora meanders the warehouse district; it's a favorite hang out of his. It's most deserted and even if there is someone, they chance that they will bother him is very slight. He is in the act of sighing and puzzling over what to do about Shuichi when he senses something...off...about the warehouse he just passed. A scream issues from it; he hurriedly turns around, snatched up a nearby pipe and darts toward the unbarred entrance. He cautiously peers in through the grime-cached window; what he sees shocks him.
"W-what is that---..." He cuts his thought off abruptly because he knows as soon as he asks himself. It's a demon...he doesn't know how or why he knows...and at the moment, he isn't going to question it. The majority of his focus is on the brunette girl who is tied up near the demon; it's her who screamed.
He frowns, unsure of why this matters or pertains to him. Then he shrugs the thought off.
"Because I know what this thing is...I may be able to defeat it..." As much as he dislikes fighting, he knows that he is good--uncannily good--for someone who has never had a lesson or many years of experience. He can only hope that this odd ability of his will prove to be his saving grace. Biting his lip, he slips around back; the door there, too, is unbarred. He tightens his grip on the pole and silently, stealthily enters the building.
0x0x0x0
"That one." Hiei states after quickly scanning the area with his Jagan.
"No der, shorty." Kuwabara mutters. "Even Urameshi could sense that..."
"Shut yer trap, Kuwabara!" Yusuke snaps before angrily storming the warehouse; Hiei darts off and enters through an upper window; Kuwabara glares at both before sneaking inside via a door different from the one Yusuke took.
Shuichi sighs quietly before following his brash teammates in; he is quickly making several plans for whatever scenarios his mind can come up with.
All of his thoughts go down the drain when he hears a female's scream from inside the warehouse.
0x0x0x0
It is five months since we parted ways with Youko; three since we began our journey home.
I sigh as I trudge along the border of the place I still call home; Kat walks beside me. Neither of us make any attempt to conceal our presences, as all who know of this place fear coming here. Even the bravest or the most foolish of outside peoples refuse to come here; even the greediest, when finding out that this place is part of a bet, refuse.
Kat and I do not fear this place. We know what has happened here...it is sad and depressing, yes...but there is no reason to be afraid of this place. True, many of those who's blood stained the soil red still roam this place, but they have little care of what the living do or who they are...unless they are the ones that spilt their blood. Both of us do not fit into that category, and thus have little to fear from most of this place.
"Kimi..."
I turn, as there are tears in Kat's voice; what meets my eyes causes my breath to hitch and my tear ducts to attempt to spring to life.
Tiny skeletons are strewn across the clearing in front of us; the bones are in such a mix that it is impossible to tell just how many children were slaughtered here.
"How could anyone do this?!" Kat cries as tears begin to pour from her eyes.
I have no answer to this, so I merely walk forward, unsheathe my daggers and begin to pry the half-frozen ground loose.
"W-what are you...?"
I ignore the question, as it's answer will become apparent when I am done. I work in silence; my stunned friend watches, then bites her lip.
"I'll help." She steps forward resolutely, though her voice wavers. "Imprecor: Humus.(1)" She murmurs; I hurriedly jump back as the ground seems to turn into quicksand. The bones slowly sink into the ground; once they vanish, she collapses from the strain of using so much magic. I catch her and lean her back against the tree. She sleeps while I find a rock large enough for what I wish to do; I then work into the night, stopping only to make a campfire, for I need some light to work by.
Morning comes slowly and I rise as the sun does. I recollect our things, hide the signs that someone was here, pick Kat up piggyback style and follow the road further into what was once a utopia.
The only trace left of us is a mass grave marked by a crystal with a stone in the center; it's inscription reads "Murdered, unnamed, unmourned. You will be avenged".
-x-x-x-x-
Kimi: Empress (note: I did not know that when I picked that. I picked it 'cuz I liked the name XD)
Sora Maki: Sky, Black Pine
(1): Imprecor: release/invoke
Humus: earth
It's Latin, y'all.
Okay, so...I type slow. Really slow.
Either way, here's chapter one.
Enjoy.
Emma