Back again, for the start of a new arc! Let's get into it!
Enjoy!
The road ahead seemed long and endless.
But Gin knew the road behind him looked just as hopeless.
He'd been wandering around for God knew how long. He'd been running for even longer. Running from those who wished his life to end.
And, hell, perhaps they were right. Did he deserve this life? Cursed with loneliness?
And so he walked down the beaten path, head hung watching his feet. He walked and walked, just waiting for them to find him. They probably would eventually. After a little while, his stomach growled in defiance to it's lack of fuel. He hadn't eaten in about a few days now. He'd need to scrounge together a meal to continue. Looking up, and brushing his white hair from his face, Gin found that he had arrived at a small village. It didn't look like much, but Gin assumed it had a market of some kind. So he decided to go there.
Once he'd reached the village, he found it to be quite lively. Children ran up and down the streets, chasing each other without a care in the world. Gin longed for that kind of life. There were those running market stalls not to far from him, and those who milled up and down the streets.
Walking towards the nearest stand, Gin perused the fruits and vegetables, looking for anything he could eat.
"What can I get ya, kid?" Gin looked up to find a middle aged man watching him with a smile.
"Well...What's fresh?" He asked, voice hoarse. The man laughed.
"Everything here is fresh! Right from the ground or the tree. Best around here, really."
"I see." Gin reached into his pockets and dug around. Finally, he realized that he had little to no money. Not near enough for any food. He pulled out the coins he felt in his pockets and looked up at the merchant weakly, who was still smiling.
"What'll it be?" He asked again.
"I...Don't have much money." Gin told him. At this, he frowned.
"Fresh fruits and veggies aren't cheap, son." He said sternly.
"I know." Gin replied quietly. "But perhaps, you could spare a few apples for a traveler?" He hated begging, but he was starving. The man made a face.
"Let me see how much you got." Gin reached out and showed off the few jewel coins he had, and the man shook his head. "That's enough for a single apple, kid."
"I see. May I have one, then?"
"Uh..." As the two stared at each other, Gin's stomach decided to help him out. It roared, which made the man's eyes flicker downwards momentarily. He sighed. Take two, would ya? My conscious would hate me if I let a starving kid wander off without enough to feed himself."
Gin spared a thought to wonder how shitty the man's morals were that two apples seemed to be enough.
"Thank you." Handing over the rest of his money, Gin took the apples from the stand and bit into one immediately. He chewed it with purpose, and finally his stomach began to calm itself. He'd now run out of money. What was he to do now? Hunt? No, he couldn't. He sucked at it. Leaving the stand and walking down the street, Gin wondered what his next plan of attack was.
"What the fuck was that?" Gin froze. No. Please no.
"...Leave." Gin whispered. The man clicked his teeth.
"You're pathetic." He said. "You could've killed that man if you wanted too. Stolen enough apples for three months. Yet you let him pity you? Pathetic."
"Leave." Gin said again, fists clenching.
"Kill him and take all the food and money you need!" The man shouted. "You can do it Gin! You're my-!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gin roared, breaking character to shout at the man behind him. Just as he turned, he laid eyes on the man. He was in a dark black suit, and his face had more then it's fair share of scars. His long white hair was tied up in a bun, and his red eyes narrowed as he met Gin's. With that, he did indeed disappear from view, leaving Gin in the middle of the street with people staring at him in confusion. Great. He'd shouted out something so angry in the middle of a peaceful town? He was screwed.
"Who were you talking to just now, mister?" A voice asked. Gin looked down to find a small girl watching him, eyes wide with curiosity.
"...No one." He replied. "It's nothing."
"You sure?"
"Positive." Gin turned away from the child and began to leave. "Goodbye."
"Bye." Despite that being over, Gin felt eyes still following him as he walked down the street. Wrapping his sandy black cloak around his body, Gin knew he might as well just leave this place. There was no point in staying now that everyone figured the silver haired kid in the dark cloak is a freak and yells at nothing.
If only they could see him. If only they knew what Gin went through on a daily basis. Perhaps then they'd understand his struggle. But no. No one understood. No one would get it. They'd never get it.
He was alone in this. he had been since the very beginning. It was not unknown to him.
As he got away from the busier market portion of the town and the eyes stopped staring, Gin noted that he seemed to be in a more residential part of the town. People came and went from their homes as they pleased. Occasionally he caught a glimpse on the inside of their house, and saw how nice and homely it looked.
He'd never get to feel that. He'd never really had a home.
Sighing, Gin turned into an alley and pulled out the other apple he'd gotten from the merchant, and played with it in his hands for fun. He shrugged and bit into it, savoring the last bit of food he'd probably get for a while. He sat as he chewed, and before long nothing was left of his meal but the core. He tossed it off to the side and watched it bounce off the ground a couple times before coming to a stop near the wall.
He really needed some rest. He'd not gotten much sleep the night before thanks to those people. Closing his eyes, Gin felt himself drifting off to sleep.
"Wake up, you little shit." Gin opened his eyes at this, only to see a sharp knife pointed in his face. He felt his stomach twist painfully. Had he dozed off and they'd tracked him here? No, the man pointing a knife at him didn't seem to be dressed like the Hunters. He was just some thug.
"What?" Gin asked, sounding unimpressed. Perhaps he was, given the situation.
"Gimme everything you got." Gin actually managed a laugh.
"I'm sleeping in an alley." He retorted. "You think I've got anything for you?"
"Give it to me!" Gin rolled his eyes and shifted to empty out his pockets, showing the thug he did indeed have nothing. The thug clicked his teeth. "What fucking good are you, then?" He asked, rearing his arm back.
Gin grabbed it before the knife impaled his chest.
"Get out of here." He said. "Before it's too late."
"Oh yeah?" The thug challenged. "What're you gonna do, huh?"
"If you don't get out of here soon, the townsfolk will discover a mangled corpse. And guess what? It won't be mine." Gin felt horrible saying such things, but it was the truth. If he was too threatened...It might be too late. The man seemed a bit startled, and backed up a bit. "Go on, go home." He took Gin's advice and fled out of the alley and down the street, leaving Gin be.
"He tried to kill you." Gin didn't need to look up to know his suited 'friend' had reappeared beside him. "Why does he leave unharmed, Gin?"
"Because there's no point in killing a man like that." He replied. "He'll be fine."
"You're pathetic, you know that?" The man hissed. "How the hell is it you're so soft? A man threatens your life and you let him walk off. Holy hell."
"Get out of here, you piece of shit." Gin said, looking over in the man's direction. A second later he vanished, and Gin sighed. This was insane. Perhaps it was time he left. If he stayed too long, those damn Hunters would show up. And if push came to shove, Gin didn't want to involve the townsfolk in that battle.
It'd be more akin to a slaughter, really.
Gin got up from his resting place and brushed himself off, leaving it and walking back towards the way he came into the town in the first place. He passed people, who gave him looks and mumbled about him. Perhaps rumors about the crazy silver haired boy who had started shouting at nothing in the market. That was fine. They weren't the first to gawk like that, and they sure as hell wouldn't be the last. He just wanted to leave.
But, as soon as he reached the entrance to town, he froze. He quickly ran into a nearby alley, and peeked out.
A group of two men and a woman were walking inside the gates. They were wearing black cloaks and jackets, marked with an insignia he recognized.
The Hunters. They found me.
Gin watched as the group walked inside the gates and immediately walked towards the middle aged man's stand.
"You." The man in front with sandy blonde hair said. "Have you seen a young man pass through here?"
"Have to be more specific." The man replied.
"About six foot, silver hair, golden eyes." The Hunter replied. The man nodded.
"Yeah, a kid like that passed through here." This seemed to please the hunters.
"Where'd he go?"
"Wouldn't know. He walked that way but I haven't seen him since."
"Thank you for your cooperation." With this, the group walked in Gin's direction. Frowning, Gin ducked back into the alley and held his breath. Thankfully, they walked right by and down the street away from him. Gin looked out at them.
I should follow them. Maybe I can corner them and beg them to leave me alone.
Gin's better instinct told him this was a mistake, but he decided to do so regardless. He tailed behind the hunters, keeping a wide margin between them just in case. After a while, the black haired man growled.
"This is bullshit." He said.
"He's good at hiding his scent, I'll give him that." The blonde one replied. "It took us this long to realize he's one of them." The woman laughed.
"Master Neptu will be pleased when the news reaches him." She said. "But first, we have to actually find him."
"Just draw a tracking circle, Melanie." The dark haired one said, making Gin's eyes widen. "We'll find him that way." The woman, Melanie, nodded and bent down towards the ground. And with this, Gin hightailed it away.
If they were going to find him anyway, he'd prefer if he was away from the town.
He ran back towards the entrance to town and bolted right past the man at the stand, who called out to him. Gin ignored this and bolted out of town. And, soon enough, a loud buzzing sound hit Gin's ears. He looked down to find a white trail of magic power snaking back down into the town. They'd located him. No way out now.
Walking a little farther down the road, Gin finally stopped and turned back towards the town. And with this, he waited. Soon enough, the three of them came running over the hill and stopped roughly thirty feet from him. There was silence at first, but soon the blonde one laughed.
"Finally." He said. "We caught you."
"So you have." Gin replied, calm. "What will you do now, Hunter?" The man smirked.
"Cooperative? I like it. Not like you, though. I heard the reports."
"Oh?" Gin asked. "What did those reports say?" With this, the man frowned.
"They told of a massacre." He said. "An entire scouting party. Camp painted with their own blood. Was that you?" Gin frowned and looked down.
"I have no recollection of doing such a thing." He said. "I'm sorry, you must be confusing me with another man."
"There's no confusion here." The man replied. "The report from a survivor gave it away. a man. Silver colored hair. golden eyes. Ain't no mistake."
"If you say so." Gin replied. He really did have no recollection of the massacre in question.
Although that really came as no surprise.
"You're good." The black haired man said. "You learned how to mask your smell excellently. Can't believe it took us this long to realize what you were."
"What I am?" Gin asked. "And what have you concluded?"
"That you are no mere demon." Melanie said. "You're..."
"Don't say it." Gin said. "They don't matter here. Sadly, I won't be going with you three. So I'd like you to surrender and flee. Okay?"
"And why would we do that?"
"Because I'd rather not spill your blood here." The two men laughed.
"Oh?" The blonde one said. "And why not? You seemed to have no issue with it back at the camp."
"That wasn't me." Gin replied simply. "That was...another thing." The blonde one growled.
"Well that 'other thing' is inside of you." he said, hands glowing. "And because of that, you're coming with us!" A blast of Holy Light came at Gin, but he dodged by bending away from it. More bursts came from the other two, but he graceful dodged all of them and landed on a hill away from the road.
"Please." Gin said. "Leave, before he's had enough."
"He?" Melanie asked. "Who is this he?"
"You know his name, but please don't speak it." Gin replied. "Or he might show up. And trust me, unless you want to end up like your scouting party, you'll avoid it." The blonde growled.
"You know, I think I'll kill you instead." He said, more light coming towards Gin. He dodged it once more and landed on the road, before he tried to run away. Pillars of light shot up out of the ground to prevent this, and he had to fall to the ground to avoid more blasts of light. Jumping up, Gin had no time to avoid the next blast, which hit him square in the chest. Once he fell to the ground once more, it felt like his skin was boiling.
So this is what their holy light feels like...It burns so bad.
Gin stood and groggily dodged more blasts before hitting the dirt face down and groaning. He could hear the hunter approaching, so he needed to stand.
"Is this all the power inside you?" The blonde one asked, slamming a foot down on Gin's back repeatedly. "Maybe we deserved to lose those scouts if they couldn't even handle something like this! You're fucking pathetic!"
"..P-Please..." Gin managed. "Don't...Make him...Hurt you..."
"What was that, you little shit? I couldn't hear you!" The man foot hit Gin's head this time, and black spots appeared in his vision. As the pounding continued, Gin spotted something through the woman's legs.
The scarred man in the suit.
"No...No no no..."
"It's over, Gin. If you won't protect this body we share...
"NO!"
"I suppose I'll have to."
Melanie fell back and wiped the tears from her face as she watched the scene in front of her. The ground was torn up , scorch marks all over the ground.
And her comrades lay beside her, barely moving. She spared a look for them before she looked back at the monster in question.
He stood at at least seven feet tall. He was encased in armor that appeared as though it was made of bones, and he wielded a long sword at least as tall as he was.
And that face, Silver hair and golden eyes that glowed with murderous intent.
"Please..." She whispered. "Don't do it..." The beast stared her down before it sheathed the blade on it's back. Bony wings sprouted from his back, and he took off into the dark night sky. Melanie watched fearfully.
Thankfully, the beast did not return.
Gin landed hard as the transformation ended. His whole body ached painfully, and he felt himself blacking out. He was very far away now, he'd managed to control the form long enough to make a getaway. He now at the edge of a road near a creek, which would be where he slept that night.
"I told you...Not to!" Gin shouted. Nearby, a voice laughed.
"Sorry Gin. Can't have the body dying on me. No big deal. I even let you spare them. Just remember." Gin felt a hand grab his chin and yank his head upwards. He stared right into the mans blood red eyes as he laughed.
"You and me and are in this together. Don't forget that." And with that, Gin drifted off into a deep sleep.
"Is he okay? He looks like shit."
"He does, but he's breathing. I just want to make sure. Besides, our job's over. We aren't on a time crunch."
"Just saying Ul, he could kill over at any time..." Gin could hear people speaking, so he tried to open his eyes. It was a pretty big struggle, and he grunted while he tried.
"Wait, did you guys here that?" A woman's voice asked. 'I think he's waking up!" Gin finally managed to get his eyes open, and once he did the sun blinded him incredibly. From what he could tell, he was on his back, with seven figures looming over him.
"W-What...?" He asked, before he coughed. His body was killing him. "What's going on? Who're you people?" He opened his eyes again, and this time a face was visible.
It was a young woman. She had pink hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and her brown eyes shone with a warm kindness foreign to him.
"My name's Nashi. Are you okay?"
I think I'll leave it here for today. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!