A/N- Shank you, Serpents Kiss, Catorrina and Godess-Of-The-Weirdos! You rox me sox! (For all of you still reading my crap, check out my website on my author-page-thing! You can see Larka an' Jin an' Yuuki... and... er... yes!) Smile and be happy!
Laying there... gosh... just laying there, I knew I was doomed. I didn't want to die, but at the same time, I did. I wanted my life to end. My secondary best friend was evil.
"Oh, Larka, look in his eyes." General Riku laughed softly. "He looks so hurt by you. I wonder how he'll react to all of the things you haven't told him..."
"Shut up!" Larka snapped.
My mind was whirling. Other things? What other things? And why was Riku evil? What was... what was going on around here!? And what was a Dark Sapling? Some sort of tree?
"When did you plant it in him, demon?" Yuuki asked, taking a step to be in front of me and right next to Larka.
Riku softly chuckled. "Every light has a shadow."
"How could you plant it in right then?!" Oki demanded, bringing out his sword. "The Sun Goddess is too powerful for a little welp like you!"
Riku now laughed openly. "Jin harbors simple love for me, fools! You can't touch me. I still have the God of Time's protection over me. He looks at me as though we're still friends! Which we can be if you come to my side, Jin..."
Oki jumped above Larka and Yuuki's heads and spun around in the air, slicing at Riku. The sword went straight though him. Riku smiled cruelly at them, his hands behind his back.
"It's no use. Don't even try. Larka... Yuuki... Oki... Jin. I'll see you all later. For now, though, you can just play with my little friends," Riku said. He slowly walked away, looking back only once to give Jin a piercing smirk with his bright eyes flashing.
Tears were in my eyes. Tears of anger. Betrayal. I knew what all of this meant.
I couldn't trust anyone. Not Larka. Not Yuuki. Not Oki. Not Riku. Not Issun. Not Amaterasu. Not Waka. Not Dravis. No one... not one person.
They would all just betray me. All of my family at home. I was... I would have to be alone.
"Stop..." I whispered angrily.
"What?" Larka asked, glancing down at me.
This time I screamed it. "Stop!"
Time stopped. Just... just as I had hoped it would. I was a God. I... I should have been able to do that sort of thing, right?
Ouch. For some reason, knowing that I was... I was hurt. Nothing... or everything. Somehow, I just felt that nothing could penetrate this deep abyss of hurt and darkness. Or, at least, that's kind of what it felt like to me.
I looked up. Huhn. The sky was red. That was new.
For some reason, it felt familiar. Everything. I began walking along, but, by accident, I brushed beside Larka. She took a step back, as though that were what she had been planning on doing before I so rudely stopped time.
I slapped her.
I didn't see any more harm in it. We weren't friends. Not anymore. Not then. Not now. Not in the future.
She quickly touched her cheek, shocked. Slowly, in a wobbly tone I'd never heard this cocky and somewhat rude girl, Larka asked, "Jin... why...?"
"Why?" I repeated. "You're asking me that?"
She took another step back, as though frightened of something. I chose not to react towards her fear of me. I looked away.
"You told me when we first met that if I was quiet, I'd learn what was going on around here," I said softly. "You told me that. I... I still remember it. But now... you're just another person in my life. Just when I start to trust someone... they turn their back on me. Just like you."
"Jin-" Larka began, but I cut her off.
"Maybe if you're quiet, you can learn something," I hissed to her. "Just like I did."
Larka grew silent. "I heard, once, that the good guys always win. Well, I'm not sure if I'm a good guy by this point. I'm not sure if there really is such a thing as a good guy anymore. So... so I don't think that I'm going to be on anyone's team. I don't need the pressure. From now on, I'm looking out for one person: me."
Just as I began walking away, Larka grabbed my arm. I blinked and turned to her in confusion.
"The true mind can weather all lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can touch the poison of hatred without being harmed. From beginningless time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light," Larka said, her eyes fierce. "That's the first thing I can remember that you told me. You don't remember it, but it's true."
That shocked me. On one day, it shocked me that I would ever say anything that deep. On the other hand, it shocked me that I couldn't remember it. It sounded so familiar. I must have used it a lot.
"Larka..." I began, but this time she cut me off.
"Not another word!" She snapped. "We need you Jin! We all need you! Even if you don't need us. We... we need you." Her eyes were soft and her voice was now sincere.
For some reason, my heart started beating wildly. Whoa... what was this?! No... I'd felt this once before... and...
I swore out loud, saying some things that weren't appropriate to say in front of a lady... or children... or most elderly folk. In fact, it might have been better if I hadn't said it at all.
Larka slapped me. I didn't blame.
"Want me to feed you some soap?" She asked in a snarling voice.
I shook my head. No. Soap was icky.
"Jin, just start time again, okay?" She said, flicking some pieces of hair out of her eyes.
I looked away. "I don't really feel like it."
"Jin...!" She growled.
"You don't control me," I said simply. "And, sure, I need to save the world and all, but... you have to promise me to tell me what's going on." I turned to her, clenching my fists. "Do you swear that you'll tell me as much as you know?"
Slowly, Larka nodded. "I promise... but to tell you everything, I'll need someone else to be here. Someone who was there when the war began."
"Start," I said easily.
The instant I did so, time started again. Yuuki blinked and looked around. She saw Larka and I standing close together... very close together. I easily blushed and took a step away from Larka. Yuuki seemed like the type that would spread lots and lots and lots of rumors about us if she got the chance to.
Oddly enough, she just looked down. She sighed, muttered something under her breath, then said firmly, now looking up, "Don't stop time like that, Jin. It's hard to keep track of."
I tilted my head. "Huhn? Whaddaya mean?"
"Life," she answered.
Before I could ask her what the crap she meant, Oki said, "Shush. I can sense... demons. Something's coming this way."
"Fudge," I said easily.
I don't really know why, but saying things like "Stop" and "Start" and "Fudge" were starting to seem something less and less like they were out of a manga, and more and more like it was real. Like, I was finally accepting my place in the universe.
I winced. Dang it. I was accepting this was real. I couldn't say that it wasn't real anymore.
As I was contemplating my pathetic excuse that some called my life, I got hit in the back of the head. And it hurt. And it was the flat side of the sword. Which hurt. But was kind of lucky. In a weird way...
"Jin, pay attention," Larka said, her wolf ears perking up.
"Unagi..." I mumbled.
"Is he dreaming about eel?" Oki asked blankly.
"Who knows?" Yuuki replied. "He's stupid enough to."
Well, at that moment, two blurs of something came in front of us. A girl and a boy. Obviously twins. They looked to be about nine or ten... and they looked a little scary, gonna be honest.
I, slowly and wobbly, stood up. "Who're you?" I managed.
"Koutou," said the girl.
"Kyoutou," said the boy.
I stared blankly. They had kind of stupid names. I mean, what kind of names were "United" and "High class"?
"I've heard of them through only rumors," Oki said, his red eyes within his mask gently glowing with a slight fury. "They are twins who, twenty-five years ago, were granted everlasting life if they promised to serve King Lee forever. They have not attacked my village, much to my great pleasure."
Yuuki stared at him. "Selfish, much?"
"Prepare yourselves..." Koutou said, getting in a ninja-like stance.
"For death," Kyoutou finished, copying his sister's stance.
"I can't fight them!" Yuuki announced, sitting down.
Larka stared at her.
"She can only fight demons, remember?" I stated.
"Whatever," Larka replied. She closed her eyes and she began to glow. Slowly, she was visible again, but only as a wolf.
Kyoutou brought out a ribbon and handed one end to his sister, while holding onto the other end firmly. Larka growled something in wolf, but I don't really speak wolf, so I have no clue what she said. I think I caught something about Dravis. Pfft. Figures.
In human, Larka growled, "Don't be jealous because you don't have a boyfriend, Jin."
I blushed angrilly. "That's not what I-"
I ducked. I wasn't really sure why I ducked, but some higher instinct told me to. When I got back up, I glanced at a tree that was near me. There was the ribbon, and it was strangling the tree. Right where my head had been.
"Well..." I said blankly.
"Nice reaction time, idiot," Yuuki said. I glanced at her. She was meditating. Great timing, Yuuki.
"He dodged..." Koutou began.
"Our ribbon," Kyoutou finished. "I wonder..."
"How he did it," murmured Koutou.
"That's creepy," Oki stated.
I stared at him. It was odd for him to say something that didn't have to do with honor and all of that jazz. He sounded sort of like someone I knew. Someone I... was it... did he remind me of-
I didn't get time to finish my thought because Koutou and Kyoutou were both throwing punches at me fast. I think I'd be a hamburger being served at WacDonald's if it weren't for me being the God of Time and being able to dodge these sorts of things. Sometimes I'm thankful that Lady Luck loves me.
I grabbed Koutou's arm, but Kyoutou grabbed mine. I kicked Kyoutou in the leg, but Koutou did the same. Finally, I grabbed both of their arms and threw them as far as I could. They landed right next to Yuuki, who didn't react.
"What's with these kids?!" I demanded Oki.
"They are also known as the Mirror Children," Oki said. "That is why we didn't go after them. They copy their opponents moves, but they do it against their opponent. They have their own moves as well. They know almost anything."
"That would have been useful to know..." I mumbled.
"Just shut up and fight!" Larka growled.
Right after Larka said this, a rock hit each of the twins on the head. Both copied eachother by falling down, which almost made me laugh. Until I saw who jumped from the tree.
"What up?" Dravis asked, jumping down from his special little tree.
"Hey, Drav," Larka said.
He gave a quick grin. "You wanted something? I mean, besides for me to take out these goonies..."
I don't really know why, but he pissed me off. The moment I saw him, I folded my arms and clutched them tightly, little scratches forming from my untrimmed fingernails. My eyes narrowed and a little frown captured my mouth.
I turned away from him, trying to calm myself down. Okay, so maybe I liked Larka a little bit. But that didn't mean that I should be this jealous.
"Oi," Larka growled. "Why are you blocking off your mind again, doofus?"
Before I could answer, those annoying twins decided to drop by. They, by catching me off guard, wrapped another ribbon around me. I said a cuss word quickly, glaring at the Mirror Children.
"Don't be..." Kyoutou began.
"So stupid," Koutou finished.
Although they couldn't see it, I flipped them off.
Dravis took a step forward, his one eye that I could see as cool as ice. "Hey. I don't think you should do that."
"Says..." Koutou said.
"Who?" Kyoutou asked.
"Dravis," he replied, sticking a hand in his pocket. "Part of a special society. It's called D. A. K. L. S. Have you ever heard of it?"
I guess they had, because Koutou screeched and Kyoutou glared at Dravis like he had some sort of plague. He smirked, as though he were enjoying every moment of this.
"Thank you," he said simply, mockingly bowing deeply. "Thank you very much."
Odd. He seemed... like he was a different person than when I first met him. It was like in about a week he had changed himself completely. Maybe he was bi-polar...?
I shrugged off this thought. Larka was smart. She wouldn't date a bi-polar guy.
"We should..." Kyoutou said.
"Kill it..." Koutou said.
"The master..." Kyoutou said.
"Would be pleased..." Koutou said.
"Or find out where..." Kyoutou began.
"They came from," Koutou finished for her brother.
"Hmph," Dravis snorted. "How rude."
He began to transform, just like Larka did, but darkness surrounded him when he transformed. When I could see him again, he was a wolf. No, no, not a wolf. A demon-wolf. Because, you see, Dravis had wings. Black, silky-looking wings that seemed to have some sort of blood-stain on them.
Dravis snapped at the Mirror Children, who took a step back at the same time. For some reason, looking at Dravis as a fully-realized demon... it sent chills up and down my spine. Because I knew what he could accomplish. I knew that, if he became angry, he could destroy anything... or anyone for that matter.
"Don't you ever touch these people again..." he growled. "Never!"
Kyoutou stepped in front of his sister. This made me blink. They were seperate. No longer acting as a single person... a single being.
Whatever it was about Dravis had scared them enough to let their guard down and become two small children again. Was this "D. A. K. L. S." really that scary?
"Level six demon," Kyoutou stated. "Power: sixty-eight. Pitiful. Are you the best they can send?"
He gave them a chilling smile. "Koutou didn't speak just now, did she?"
Kyoutou blinked. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He glanced at his sister, as though begging her to follow. She tried to, but it wasn't as simeltanious as it had been.
"What did you do...?" Koutou asked fearfully. "We have been together for twenty-five years. How are we seperate?"
"I have friends," Dravis said mysteriously.
"The president!" Kyoutou cried suddenly. "The president of the D. A. K. L. S. is here! I can feel it..."
"It's here?" Koutou asked in surprise.
"Level ten demon," Kyoutou stated. "Power: one hundred. It could kill us."
"Flee for now," Dravis said, a slight smirk on his wolfish face. "And don't you come back."
The children did just that. Okay, so, call me totally out of it or whatever, but I had no idea why they were so scared of the "D. A. K. L. S." or whatever. It sounded like a stupid club to me. After all, there were tons of clubs at our schools...
Another thing that was bothering me besides the whole D. A. K. L. S. thing was that nobody was bothering to get me out of these ribbons. I guess nobody cared enough about me. Ouch.
Dravis turned towards me, his face calm, with a hint of a smile. "We had a new member join a few days ago that you might be interested in."
"Who?" I asked, a slight frown on my face again.
"A girl your age. One of the very few people who join who aren't demons..." Dravis said.
"Who?!" I demanded.
"A girl named Miuri," he said simply.
"...! WHAT?!"
Miuri looked up, pushing a few locks of hair out of her eyes. "It's funny. Japan's so small, but this is still my first time coming to Mount Fuji..."
Kyoufu stared at her. "Are you serious?"
Miuri gave a little smile. "Yup! And it's also weird because I'm here with a weird little demon-thing in the past. Kinda weird, huh?"
"Stop saying weird," Kyoufu stated, his eyes slightly glowing.
"We'll only be here for a little while, right?" Miuri asked, watching the small demon searching for the entrance. "Because that's what you said before."
"Nngh," he answered, wrinkling his nose.
"What?" Miuri asked.
"I found the entrance, but it stinks like the entrance to hell... and trust me, that place is horrible."
"You swear a lot, huh?" Miuri asked.
"No!" Kyoufu exclaimed, sounding mortifyed.
"Yes!" Miuri replied. "You called lots of people butts and told them to go to heck and... and...!"
Kyoufu had grabbed Miuri's chest. Her face turned bright red and she slapped him.
"Pervert!" She cried, face still red.
"I was hoping it would shut you up," Kyoufu replied. "I mean, first you talk about Riku and how much you love him, then you start about the God of Time, telling about how he was always book-smart, but never had any friends, and now you're talking about the scenery... don't you know how to shut up?!"
Miuri blushed again, and folded her arms over her chest. They had just met about five hours ago. She wasn't sure if he was a molester or something...
Kyoufu walked through one of the rocks, much to Miuri's amazement. She had been told that he would do it, but... it was still amazing that he could! Kyoufu came out, grabbed her wrist, (which forced her to bend over because he was so short...) and pulled her through the rock.
There is no easy way to describe that feeling, but Miuri didn't want to ever go through a rock again. The next moment she could, she was thoroughly sick in a corner.
"Right, I forgot that you were a human," Kyoufu muttered. "Humans are more fragile than demons, so you are more easily sucumbed to the rock sickness that you can gain. It's rather odd that demons rule hell, but humans rule the earth which is so much larger... we're more powerful and yet we have oh so much less land. I should think that it would be quite the opposite, but-"
"Now you're blabbing!" Miuri cried.
Kyoufu gently coughed. "Anyway, this is the D. A. K. L. S. hideout. Welcome, new member Miuri. Welcome."
It was a huge cavern made from pure crystals. Everywhere you looked, some sort of glittering object was around, whether it was the walls or the creatures that inhabited it.
"Wow," Miuri said blankly. "Jaw dropping."
"And a good cover," Kyoufu stated. "Most demons hate pretty things, so it's one of the last places King Lee would search for us. Especially since we move every four years and thirty-seven days."
"Where'd ya pull that number from?" Miuri asked.
"The president of our group made it. The president is very smart. And very beautiful," Kyoufu said respectfully.
"And you have a crush on the president," A girl said, a slight smirk on her face.
What was different about this girl, you may ask? She had a perfect body with easy curves. Her hair was white, and she had... well, cat ears and a tail. Manga-girl was the first thing that Miuri thought of when she saw this girl.
"Like you don't," Kyoufu snorted. "You homo!"
"How embarrassingly true," the girl giggled. "By the way, who's this cutie?"
"Her name is Miuri," Kyoufu said shortly. "She's human. Don't damn her by ruining her for marriage."
"Like you haven't!" Miuri cried, folding her arms around her chest and blushing again.
"Aw, did that meanie do something to you?" The girl purred. "I'm Neko-Ya. Don't hesitate to ask me anything..."
Miuri blushed. She was pretty sure that Neko-Ya would ask for something in return... something like Miuri's virginity.
"Um..." she began, but, once again, Kyoufu stepped in.
"Okay, Neko-Ya, don't you have some other girls who can't go to heaven to screw around with?" He asked firmly. "Or do I have to bring the president into this matter? After all, doing something as such is against the rules of the D. A. K. L. S."
Neko-Ya stuck her tongue out. "Boring piece of crap," she said, walking away.
"So..." Miuri said slowly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Who exactly is the president of this super-special club or whatever?"
Quite suddenly, the whole room went quiet. Miuri heard padding of someone's feet from across the room echoed against the walls. Slowly, people moved out of the way for someone or something that Miuri couldn't quite see.
Finally, she saw it.
A wolf. A wolf that looked like it had been stitched together a hundred different times in a hundred different places. Its eyes glowed softly in the semi-dim light of the cave.
"That is our President Nokori," Kyoufu said softly. "One of the last demon-wolves."
A/N- I REPEAT: Lookit my homepage! It leads to my deviantART page, where you can see all of these characters! It's important! Also, don't forget to review! REVIEW!!
