KINGDOM HEARTLESS [Begins]

[Crystal Tears]

We were born different.

When you’re little, it only shows up occasionally. A fall that should’ve broken bones, cuts that heal within a day, you’re never sick, and your imaginary friend makes a real impact on your life.

Parents don’t question it, not if they’re smart. It was a miracle you lived through that crash, or that you could hold your breath that long… Nothing more.

It’s when you get older, is when it gets worse.

Children go through phases, when you’re little, you’re afraid of the dark. Every child sees monsters with wicked yellow eyes, and claws. They cry and the parents flick on the lights and you’re safe. After a certain amount of time, you grow out of it, the darkness is nothing to be afraid of, those monsters weren’t real and your well on your way to becoming an adult.

Expect for a few of us, those monsters don’t disappear.

The darkness stays forbidding, and those yellow eyes, you can feel them as you sleep, gazing at you with childish fascination. Only they’re not on you, they’re not interested in you.

They’re interested in your heart.

Each night they inch a little closer, and each night you find yourself burying your head deeper under the covers. An unexplained fear of nothing, it’s not real right? That tingling on your back, that twisting knot in your stomach is just nerves.

One night you’ll dare to look, to peek your head out from under those covers, to see what is making your body turn unnaturally cold. Human curiosity of the unknown, you just have to know what’s there, compelled to finally face what you’ve feared for so long.


* * *

“A train derailed today at 7:06 PM, it is believed that 52 people died in the crash when the conductor suffered a heart attack and lost control of the…”

That was the first of many ‘accidents’.

Unexplained heart attacks, and while some were affecting the elderly…

The doctors didn’t know what to do with the increasingly number of children suffering the same fate. What puzzled them further, was the evidence that the heart had bruising on it making it appear as if something had tried to tear the heart out.

Then came the first murder.

A young woman, a tourist to the country Japan, was found dead in her hotel room. Her heart missing from her chest…

Sara Bailey was the first victim of a serial killer, someone people deemed to have extreme psychological problems.

It is becoming apparent to children and a select group of people, that she was not the victim of a murderer, but the first casualty of a war.


* * *

Figments of imagination, a passing shadow in the corner of your eye, something unexplainable… A promise was made to them that predates our very existence, a promise that will guarantee the destruction of the human civilization, and a reign of darkness that will consume the very thing that gives Humanity its power.

The debt was 10 000.

Now it’s 9999.


KINGDOM HEARTLESS

Name: Saito, Ryou
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Personality: Cold, distant and seemingly intent on keeping most individuals this way, Ryou comes off as a prick to most. He’ll engage in conversation though his sarcastic remarks make it evident he doesn’t like people (particularly whiney people) that much. Ryou doesn’t reveal much about himself ever, not even to his few close friends, making him somewhat of a mystery. His temper flares when dealing with people who ask for help but then don’t listen, or in general whine about something. Despite his demeanor, Ryou is a leader (much to his dismay), he has some sort of charisma that attracts people and makes them want to listen or side with him. The teenager doesn’t abuse it however, as most of the time he’d rather be left alone. He has a weak spot for children, not nearly being as cold to them as others his own age, which make some believe he’s a nice guy trying to keep people away.
Appearance: Relatively tall, Ryou has a lean build on him and a slight tan (if you were to see him without a shirt on, he may look a tad underweight). His hair is a dark-grey to black and cut shaggy with odd crimson coloured irises instead of the norm. He wears four silver rings on his left hand (pinky, ring, middle and thumb), and on his right three (pointer, middle, pinky). He wears a black muscle/tank top with a grey leather vest with slightly large hood overtop with white fur on the sleeves. Ryou’s pants are a mixture of dark blue with faded patches and stripes, along with torn knees (with another small tear on the chin of the left leg). He has a thick(ish) brown belt with a silver buckle, and is usually seen with a tan coloured satchel / bag (with art supplies inside). His lower lip is also pieces with a simple black hoop to the left, oh and he usually has his iPod with him, so the white ear-buds are usually in place blaring into his ears, with the white chord leading to his vest pocket.
History: Ryou’s family has been in a slump for nearly five years, and thus his attitude has suffered, he doesn’t talk much about it, and usually avoids people coming over due to the state and constant arguing going on at home between his parents. He vividly remembers being twelve and something grabbing him roughly in the night with yellow eyes, he screamed and his mother quickly flicked on the light and whatever it had been, was gone. Ryou has hated the dark and the yellow-eyed monsters since, though few (only his family know of the incident) believe it ever happened.
Heart: Corrupt
Heart Power: Empathy (extreme emotions influence him)
Keyblade Design: The Spartan: A Keyblade following the simple design of the basic Kingdom Key (http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs23/f/2008/026/1/9/Keyblade___Kingdom_Key_II_by_mogcaiz.png), only its teeth appear as broken black glass that edges are razor sharp (the keychain also ends is a attached sharp of glass). The rest is barely seen as black bubbles (AIDA (http://dothack.neoseeker.com/w/i/dothack/thumb/7/7b/Aida.jpg/170px-Aida.jpg)) are usually flowing from it, especially when it’s moved. To those around it, it seems to drain happiness away and leaves the skin cold to the touch.
Relationships: acquaintance of Mika.
Other: Not that I can think of.



Ryou Saito

“Tokyo to Traverse, Now Boarding”

Ryou Saito slipped into the second last train car fairly quietly, not paying any mind to the various others inside. It was sort of dull and musty inside, the seats a faded red colour with advertisements just belong the ceiling, attempting to catch people’s attention. He never really liked trains that much; particularly the one from Tokyo to Traverse, in comparison Traverse City was smaller, and neglected. This train was a perfect example of this; it was probably the last on the list to be updated, so they would be riding in the ‘ghetto train’ for a couple more months.

He switched the song on his iPod and let the tune block out the chatter from the others. He had to get home and watch Ai, his little sister, and that’s all he could afford to think about at the moment. His father had thrown a fit and mom wanted to go out and drown her sorrows the man supposed. He didn’t overall care much about them, but did they really have to fight around Ai when she’s fighting off a bad flu?

‘Of course they do, all that matters is their own happiness.’ He thought with a mental scowl as he pulled up his hood and hunched over, intent on looking at the floor and not making eye-contact with anybody. ‘Nevermind Ai could die if she doesn’t get that god damn medicine, Dad yelled so the obvious solution is to drink everything away.’

Maybe he was being a little harsh, but he didn’t much care. So as the train began to pull away from Tokyo and head for Traverse City, Ryou found himself contemplating the idea of moving out, and if his mother was so incapable of caring for his sister, he’d take Ai with him.


* * *

Ryou…

The man looked up, had he dozed off? He stretched a little and found that some people had came and went, but the car was still full for the majority. The sun was going down, still plenty of time to get to the station and then his car that was parked nearby. Ryou frowned though, had he heard something? It almost had sounded like his name on the edge of hearing, toying with the thought he fiddled with one of his rings and looked ahead.

There was a tunnel coming up, it was right before the Main Street terminal, probably where everybody on this car was getting off.

The only problem was the tunnel wasn’t lit. In fact it was pitch-black when passing through it at any time after five. Ryou frowned and looked at the time on his music-player.

‘7:54…’ He frowned a little and sat up; shifting so he was more comfortable. ‘That tunnel is going to be a nightmare.’

The sound of the train echoed in the tunnel, creating an odd sort of resounding affect that almost made it through the hard rock Ryou was blasting his brain with. The music was helping ignore a shiver that was running up and down his spine, a feeling that, if he was right, a few people in this car seemingly shared in common with him. Most were trying to hide it, others seemed unable to, especially the girl sitting closest to him. She looked almost petrified. He turned down his music and mentally noted how he was probably going to regret asking.

“Are you alright?”

She looked over at him, her dark-brown eyes swirling with fear and anxiety. She brushed some of her hair from her face and seemed to toy with it as she spoke. “I’m fine…”

“Yeah?” Ryou looked around and noted how a couple of others seemed bad as well, in fact the deeper they got in this tunnel the worse it was getting. “You just seem… Scared.”

She laughed a little, though was thick with nervousness. “Scared? There’s nothing to be scared of.”

He tilted his head. “What’s your name?”

“Yuki Kurosawa.” She smiled a tad, apparently talking made her feel better. “What’s yours?”

“Ryou Saito.”

“Thank you, Saito-san, for-“

“What the hell was that!?”

Everyone looked over at the older man who had yelped the question. A surge of worry and fear began to flutter into the back of Ryou’s mind as the man stood up and moved closer to the opposing window. A couple of people looked around them curiously gazing out the windows for a chance to see something. The man leaned closer, peering out through the glass as they moved along.

‘8:04, come on, I just want to get home…’ Ryou thought.

Yuki stood up suddenly, pale and afraid. “Get away from the window!”

A hand, clawed and black as night, phased through the glass. It grasped the man’s coat as physical state seemed to waver a little but it didn’t matter. It pulled the panicked man forward, and the car was thrown into chaos as the resounding ‘bang’ of his head meeting metal caused various reactions. Ryou frowned, standing up and moving to the center of the car as others looked around.

“What the fuck was that!?” Someone growled, though he too seemed to have the same idea as Ryou.

“Get into the center of the car.” Ryou ordered, watching as most that hadn't done so before, did it now, including his new acquaintance Yuki.

“Who put you in charge?” Snapped a boy, and Ryou raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, stand near the walls. See what happens.”

He glared at Ryou but listened none the less and moved to the center with the rest. The train escaped the tunnel soon afterwards, allowing the dying light to come in from the windows as the station came up. The man was having trouble controlling his emotions, there was a horrible mix of fear and anger, his mind didn’t know what exactly to react on.

The train came to a halt, and everyone piled off. Ryou and another man with curly black hair quickly moved the unconscious guy from the train car onto a bench at the station. Everyone was standing around as others from the other cars moved away; apparently the incident had only been with their car and no-one else’s.

“What happened?” A woman asked; her hair dark, save for the tips which were dyed black.

“He probably just fell…”

“Are you blind?” Snapped the boy again. “Something grabbed him!”

Ryou frowned, looking over to the parking lot where his car was waiting for him. It was getting late, and whatever it was, was going to try and finish the job.

He just knew it would.


* * 1103 * *

It starts! Sorry I'm a day late, I lost track of the date and was living one day behind everyone else. Anyways, just a recap of the rules.

.: Rules :.
1) All posts must be, at minimum, 500 words. It does not include your sign-up or OOC talk.
2) Please post your word count at the bottom of your post. Anyone from FF DD should be familiar with this rule.

Anyways, take time to post your intro and further the group conversation a bit. I'll move it along after most people post.

Oh you don't have your Keyblade yet, and can't get it right now. :3 Just a reminder.

[ChobiChibi]

Name: Kurosawa, Yuki
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Personality: Yuki is a rather popular girl, with the majority of the student body of her school getting along well with her and is quite the social bumblebee. However, she is possibly one of the biggest nerds you’ve ever met, taking particular interest in science, working to study biochemistry at university. She works extremely hard in order to keep a good balance between her social and school life, and does so extremely well. She’s confident, but quietly so, tending not to be the centre of attention. She is rarely a leader, just going along with the masses, and will usually loose an argument. Since the incident with her brother, she’s distanced herself from him, barely speaking to him some days. She now hates to be alone, making sure that she is always around other people, especially as it gets darker. She has two pet budgies to keep her company at night, since she doesn’t sleep well anymore, the chirping comforts her.
Appearance: Yuki is just about 5’6’’, a couple of inches above the average height for her age. Her hair is very dark brown, you could almost call it black if it weren’t for the few noticeable lighter brown highlights. Her fringe nearly covers her right eye, whilst the rest falls to her waist, curling towards the ends. Her eyes are also dark brown. Mostly, she is in her high school uniform, which consists of a short, pleated, blue checked skirt, white knee high socks, a short sleeved white shirt with a tie that matches the pattern on her skirt and either a light blue v necked jumper or a navy blue blazer for slightly cooler days (student’s choice at which they prefer). Otherwise, Yuki will wear clothing that compliments her figure: short skirts to show off her long legs (long for Japanese standards, anyway XD), well fitting tops, black ballet shoes and darker coloured knee high socks. If she decides a skirt is not an option, it will be replaced by skinny jeans (generally quite girly).
History: From a young age, Yuki had always had a natural ability to sense the Heartless. She was unaware of it being specifically for Heartless, though, and always just assumed it was just a gut feeling of dread, worry or doubt, so avoided going through these areas, or going outside when it’s too dark. She could see the pairs of eyes staring at her, but it was only just under a year ago when she got into trouble. She was walking home with her older brother and was going to be late for their curfew. It was beginning to get dark when the fastest route home gave her that sinking feeling inside. She fought with her brother, protesting against that route and to take another, but lost and continued. They cut through a dark alleyway, coming under attack from the Heartless. Her brother, able to see them too, managed to escape and ran, leaving his little sister alone to struggle. Hearing the commotion, the owner of the house backing onto the alleyway shone a torch onto her, unknowingly saving her life.
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: The ability to sense Heartless, whether it’s the exact number within a mile’s radius, or the general direction that they’re in depends on how hard she’s concentrating.
Keyblade Design: The shaft is simply white in colour, most likely a little longer than most of the other blades. The blade itself is shaped like a wing, with longer feathers at the tip, getting shorter until it stops about half way down the shaft. It looks soft to the touch, but the feathers are ridged and sharp. The hilt has a single feather to guard the hand. The feathers are white also, but are light grey where it touches the shaft.
Relationships: Kurosawa Touya (her older brother), Iyanari Naoko (next door neighbour, best friend), Hamada Ayome (other best friend), Kurushimi Kutsuu (best guy friend)
Other: Um...

~Kurosawa Yuki~
“That girl’s checking you out.”

“Don’t be stupid, Yuki-chan...”

“I’m serious! She so is.” Yuki tried to persuade him, peering around him to get another glance at her. “She’s cute too.”

Scowling, Kutsuu glanced over his shoulder, spotting the girl in question, who immediately started blushing. Turning back to his best friend, he let out a long sigh. “She’s from a different school...”

“Which means she hasn’t heard about your unbroken record for turning people down.” Yuki stated with a smirk, causing yet another sigh to escape from Kutsuu. “How many rejections has it been now?”

“Around the twenty mark, give or take a few.” He mumbled, obviously a little bit annoyed.

“I don’t get why you won’t give it a try! It’s no wonder there are rumours about the two of us.” She argues, poking him playfully.

“We’re just good friends, they should realise that.” He folds his arms in protest. After a short pause, he smirks at her. “At least I’ve had the offers though.” He pokes her back. “Nerd.”

“Touché.”

Their conversation caused a few people around them to glance over, a few to laugh quietly and a few others to shrug. The pair were stood on the platform in the Nihonbashi Station waiting for their train back to Traverse City. Since it was Friday, school had finished earlier than usual and they’d headed into Tokyo’s shopping district to have a look around. Well, to be more precise, Yuki had arranged with Naoko and Ayome to go shopping, both of whom forgot about it and were unable to go, so she had dragged Kutsuu along with her. It was only one stop away from Main Street in Traverse City, which is where they needed to get off to go home. They’d stayed for dinner, grabbing some sushi, before catching the wrong train (it was obviously Kutsuu’s fault; Yuki could get away with blaming him for these things since he was just about the only person more passive than she was), realising their mistake and making it to a station on the correct line. Between them and their destination was a tunnel, which was bad enough on the best of days, but today they were travelling late and it was beginning to get dark.

They had been early for the next train, so as they waited, more and more people joined them on the platform. Traverse City was small, and so was the train that would turn up.

“You’re so lucky Naoko and Ayome aren’t here.” Yuki points out as the train arrives. “They probably would have made you go talk to her.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Kutsuu replies, heading towards the nearest carriage.

Yuki followed him, up until the moment that she realised she’d left her physics book on a window ledge where they’d been standing. “Just a second!” She calls, heading back to pick it up.

As she turns to face the train, she sees the guard pressing the button to close the door. Panicking, she hurries towards him.

“E-excuse me! I need to get on the-”

“Next carriage, please.” He instructs, pointing to the next one down. “ALL ABOARD.”

Quickly, the pushes the button for the next carriage’s door and gets on the train. It was a lot less busy, with a few seats to spare compared to the other one. She noticed one considerable gap, however. A young man was sat with his hood up, his MP3 player blaring in his ears, his eyes closed. The girl smiled to herself a little as she sat down near him, like she was being dared by the other passengers. I’d hate to fall asleep on the train.

Taking her cell phone from her pocket, she flipped it open, selected the text message option and started typing.



Continue. Select contact. Kurushimi Kutsuu. Send. Sending message. Message sent.

She looked up, noticing the guy was waking up. He stretched and gazed around, maybe trying to figure out where they were. Maybe he’d missed his stop? Oh, apparently not. He frowned as he sat up, glancing at his iPod.

[i]Oh, actually, what is the time? She wondered, taking out her phone. Nearly 8...

He seemed a little uncomfortable, and if she was honest, she couldn’t blame him. The tunnel was fast approaching, and even though they weren’t inside it yet, butterflies filled her stomach and goose bumps ran up her arms.

It’ll be fine... She reassured herself as she pulled on her school jumper. We’re on a high speed train going through a tunnel. What’s the worst that could happen?

She could hardly hear herself think as they hit the tunnel, a few windows were open since it was quite a warm day, so it became unnecessarily noisy. The butterflies got worse, her stomach began to churn and she began to shiver. She bit her lip in anxiety. It was bad enough that she was able to see those creatures, let alone allowing them to have this affect on her.

“Are you alright?”

She looked up to see the man sitting opposite her looking at her with some concern. She brushed some of the hair out of her face as a distraction whilst she took a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m fine.” She replied, twirling her hair in her fingers.

“Yeah?” He didn’t seem too convinced as he glanced around, observing some of the others on the train. “You just seem... Scared.”

She couldn’t help but let out the nervous laugh that followed that statement, no matter how hard she tried. “Scared? There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Liar. They’re here and you know it.

“What’s your name?” He asked, his head tilted to one side.

“Yuki Kurosawa.” She found herself obediently answering. He’s quite cute when he tilts his head like that... She smiled a little bit. “What’s yours?”

“Ryou Saito.”

It was odd. Talking to Saito had made her forget, even just for a little while, why she was so scared in the first place.

“Thank you, Saito-san, for-”

“What the hell was that!?”

With her peace of mind shattered, she turned to look at the man who had exclaimed it, who was now walking towards the window. A few others tried to get a glance at whatever he was looking at too. But not Yuki. She couldn’t see it, but she knew it was there. Her eyes fixed to the spot where the monster would appear, her body frozen in fear.

Then came those beady, yellow eyes...

She couldn’t stand it anymore. She stood up quickly. “Get away from the window!”

She was too late. The clawed hand she remembered all too well phased through the window, grabbing the man and pulling him, his head hitting the metal of the window with a loud thud.

The remaining few minutes flew by as Yuki just stood there. She’d moved into the middle as Saito-san had said, but she wasn’t really taking in what was happening. Instead, she held onto one of the poles, her body still shivering, although it was beginning to get better as they approached the end of the tunnel.

As the train came to a stop and the others rushed to get off, Yuki allowed Saito-san and another man to carry the unconscious body off the train and onto a bench, before slowly getting off it herself. She noted that a few people remained, arguing about what had just happened. But now she had it confirmed.

Other people saw the monsters too.

“Kurosawa...”

She snapped out of her little daze, noting that Saito’s hand was waving in front of her eyes. “Sorry! I was just thinking, that’s all...”

“Yuki!”

She turned to find Kutsuu running towards her. She smiled weakly as he approached, knowing the exact reaction he would have.

“Yuki, are you alright? What happened? You look so pale.” He fussed.

“Kutsuu, I’m fine.” She attempted to reassure him, placing her cold hand on his bare arm.

“You’re freezing!” Quickly, he took his school jacket from his bag, draping it around her shoulders.

“She looked really worried on the train.” Saito contributed. “This guy lost his footing and hit the window pretty hard, she’s probably in shock. I’m sure she’ll be fine in a minute.”

Oh no... Yuki thought, mentally facepalming. He did not just say that...

“Fine?” Kutsuu began, his voice raised a little. “You just turn up out of no where and say that she’s gonna be fine?”

“Kutsuu, stop...” Yuki smiled a little, almost wanting to laugh. “It’s okay.”

He started again on a little protective friend rant, much to Saito’s amusement by the looks of things, since he couldn’t help but smirk. Yuki lost her focus again as she glanced at the tunnel, waiting for the eyes to come back. They were defiantly there, and not just one of them. She wanted Kutsuu to stop and for them to go home, but he probably wouldn’t understand.

“Saito-san...” She says quietly, interrupting whatever conversation the two may have been having. “They’re coming back.”

1,519 :3

I changed the relationship stuff in my sign up. Yep. If at any point you want NPC sheets for Touya, Naoko and Ayome, I can make them pretty fast, they're old characters of mine, afterall XD

TAG 8D

EDIT: OMG! Unintentional Torchwood reference! XDD WE ARE COMING... BACK.

[Roy Karrde]

Name: Saotome Akira

Gender: Male

Age: 14

Personality: Akira tends to have a very easy going personality when he is having fun, having become infamous with taking a test he hated one time and folding it into a paper airplane. His lack of fear of authority figures has created a long track record in his past history, with his ability to be able to graduate a grade, either by the teacher fearing having him again, or he able to pull off a last minute test to send him above the passing line.

As long as he sees himself as the Alpha Male around, he can be a nice guy. He cannot how ever stand taking orders, and especially cannot stand not being the center of attention. Although for many this narcissism would drive most people off, it has caused him to have quite a few friends that hang around him, always willing to feed his ego. That being said, Akira can become extremely competitive when some one challenges him, or he is not the lead of a group, to the point that if it isn’t his way, a verbal and some times physical fight can break out.

He does tend to have a short temper as well, partially because of his own narcissism, if there is something he doesn’t like, he will speak his mind, especially if it is to a authority figure. He expects it to be changed, and changed that second, this as well has led him to get into verbal and physical fights.

Appearance: He has some what long dark red hair, that seems to be more black than red, the hair reaches the lower part of his neck, and is tied back into a pony tail. He was born with light blue eyes, but he wears hazel contacts to cover that up. His face remains youthful with out a blemish or pimple on it yet. He is some what tall measuring in around 5’ 6” and has always been taller than other boys his age, having had a early growth spurt. He has a some what lanky build, not specifically athletic, but he looks and acts threatening enough that he really doesn’t need it.

He wears his soccer uniform as a shirt, it can be found here (http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2590/costume.jpg) his pants are the same color of black, with a silver stripe like the one found on the uniform going from the lower part of his hip to his thigh, a zipper pouch found below each stripe.

History: With his mother dying during childbirth, he was raised by his father alone, he lived a life filled with hardship and abuse, his father pushing him into sports when he was only three. He was taught to be the best, to be the alpha male, and not to take second. His father believed he had to make his son a true man, and it led him to accept that a violent and competitive attitude was okay, from a very young age. His father would reward him for fighting in school, and punish him if he was ever picked on. He never spoke of his fear of monsters to his father, knowing that his father would see it as a sign of weakness. When he was sleeping over at a friend’s house at the age of 9, the threat of the monsters combined with an unfamiliar setting finally broke him, causing him to confide in his friends parents. When the parents told his father he was beat senseless for the embarrassment, a scar remains on his back to this day from it, since then he has remained silent on the monsters.

Heart: Corrupt

Heart Power: Intimidation: He can stare down larger and older people by matching their gaze.

Keyblade Design:The Hidden Soul: The handle is encased between two heads a round hole cut out in the middle where the heads are melded together, on the left is a black devil head, his eyes cast down toward the handle in anger, on the right, a silver angelic head, it’s eyes cast up in hope. The duality continues up the keyblade, the left side being a stark black, with dark blue spikes running the length of the blade from the head to the key, the right side being a beautiful silver, with out a silver blemish on it. At the moment, the actual key rests on the black side, rounded like a scythe with a point on the end, the key never actually making contact with the blade.

Relationships: No one yet

Other: He is not what he seems.


Sweat clung to my hair and body as I climbed onto the train, I never took showers with the rest of the team, and like so many other away games, this meant that I was stuck riding in a train car with everyone else, still horribly stinking. I couldn’t really explain why I ditched the showers after games, and as anyone else on the team could tell you, the coach hated me for doing it. Yet it was just something I felt compelled to do.

“So he’s drunk off his ass..” I explained as myself and the other top players of our high school football (soccer for us yanks) team passed seat after seat in the passenger car. “And he’s on the roof, shouting at the top of his lungs trying to line up for the jump onto the mattress”

We eventually came to the largest set of empty seats we could find, allowing for most of us to sit together. I grabbed the nearest one and quickly sat down, my body still aching from the match. “So the crazy idiot jumps off the roof, alcohol spraying everywhere on his way down, screaming ‘I am a freaking golden god!” The three of us quickly broke out into laughter at the sight, as I finished retelling the story of a party from a few nights ago.

The player sitting next to me, Takuto I believed, he was one of the seniors who was desperately trying to get on my good side and be a part of the ‘group’ elbowed me several times. First I shrugged it off but after the forth or fifth time I snapped in anger “WHAT?!” I shouted in annoyance, the guy paling a bit as I looked him directly in the eyes.

“Look across from us, isn’t that her…” He whispered.

I turned from my friends looking across the train; it was her, Naomi, a beautiful angel who had been resisting my charm ever since we met in the hallways between classes. One of the few girls who could resist my charm, and my own personal challenge to conquer before the end of the school year. “Naomi!” I grinned like a fool, getting out of my chair and walking over to her with a bit of a swagger.

She remained unfazed; her beautiful eyes remained transfixed to the window. I glanced back at my team mates, all of their eyes focused on us as I gave a sharp smile to try and calm any fears that she was uninterested in the star player of the football team. “Hey Naomi.” I called out louder this time.

“It’s getting dark..” She mused before finally turning, her attention snapping to my grinning face “Oh, hi..”

I moved my hair out of my eyes, my grin continuing. “So did you see the game? Two to zero shut out, of course thanks to me…” I leaned forward using the pole to make sure I didn’t fall onto her. “You had to have seen it…”

“Sorry I couldn’t make the game, I had something else to do…” He eyes were drawn back to the window, her voice faint and distant as if something else was on her mind.

I opened my mouth again to get onto her for missing the game that solidified our play off position, only to get a soft but annoying tap on the head with something hard, and wooden. “Leave her alone, Akira-chan.” Possibly the most annoying and certainly most hated voice I had ever known filled my ears. My attention turned to the girl sitting next to Naomi, of course it had to be my ane, Katsumi. I mean why not, she always seemed to be where ever she could turn my life into a living hell.

“Always good to see you Katsumi..” I sneered, watching her retract her bamboo sword or what ever the hell it was. “See you still have your Shitai with you.” Purposely injecting a English word into the name to annoy her.

"Good to know you've been picking up on English, you baka otouto."

I turned back to my snickering friends, my grin turning serious as I glanced at each one of them to shut up before walking back to my seat. Great this train ride was just going to be full of adventure…

713, not too shabby.

[Kurosakura]

Name: Yamaguchi Katsumi
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Personality: Katsumi is a quiet, outspoken girl who believes that actions speak louder than words. However, because she rarely shows emotions and rarely speaks, she's very hard to read and people tend to stay away from her, because she's seemingly gloomy. Her brilliance leads her to think that life is boring and there is truly no real happy ending because it's too boring. At a glance, she seems arrogant and haughty, but she loves people and company, and likes helping people out, even though it's seen as a weakness by her father. She feels like she's suffocating at home, because people expect so much from her and she can't express herself as freely as she wants. She was expected to act like an adult from an early age, so she acts somewhat childishly outside of home, to make up for her inability to be herself.
Appearance: [link] (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=51&pictureid=377)[Uniform] (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=51&pictureid=380) She has long, lustrous brown hair that seems more black than brown with auburn red highlights (not the perfect-looking blocky kind, these are more natural-looking) and honey brown eyes. Her hair goes down to the small of her back and her fringe is a little past her eyes and most of it is swept to the left, usually pinned back with bobby pins. She stands at 5'5 with a slim, petite build, flawless skin, and fragile appearance as expected of an ojou-sama, however, she's rather strong and athletic, so you really can't judge a book by its cover. At home she wears a traditional black kimono with a red and gold dragon patterned on it, tabi, and clogs and wears her hair in a low ponytail tied with ribbon towards the middle of the ponytail. However, out of school and home she normally wears a black jean jacket with a red top, usually low cut with some sort or ribbon or corset, black jeans that flare out slightly toward the bottom with red ribbon lacing down the sides, her black high-heeled lace-up boots, and a black lace choker with a stylized cross on it.
History: Katsumi grew up as the pampered only child of Yamaguchi Tsubasa, the oyabun of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a yakuza group, and Shinobu Suzume, his wife. She excelled in both studies and sports, and took up kendo, karate, and tae kwon do, since the only child of the head of the yakuza wasn't allowed to be weak. Since she was also considered a high-class lady, she learned calligraphy, chado (tea ceremony), Noh Mai (a type of traditional Japanese dance), ikebana (flower arranging), how to play the koto, and singing. Both of her parents are extremely strict and expect much from her, because she's so talented, and many believe that she would help their family gain glory, influence, and territory. Because of the stifling atmosphere and the intolerance of weakness, she wasn't allowed to have anything to do with childish or cute things.
One day, when she was 10 years old, Katsumi began to feel the pressure of being born as the daughter of the head of a yakuza group and ran from her ikebana teacher blindly into the woods surrounding home. She finally stopped running when the sun set and realized she was lost. When she tried finding her way back, she began to see sets of yellow eyes glaring at her from within the shadows of the trees. These monsters jumped at her and clawed at her, trying to reach her heart, but were beaten back somehow with a large stick Katsumi used in place of a shinai. However, she was soon overpowered and miraculously saved by a maid carrying an old fashioned lantern. Since then, she's never left home without her shinai, which encased a real katana and slept with a candle lit in her room.
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: Limited Precognition - She can see two seconds into the future and see the outcome of an attack or dodge and enemy attack, however, this is a double-edged sword and she doesn't use it often.
Keyblade Design: Crimson Night (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=53&pictureid=378): The handle and "blade" are both bright red with the shaft being pure black. The shaft and "blade" are bound loosely with red ribbon and doesn't seem to have a beginning or end to it. The top of the "key" resembles a moon and the bottom teeth seem to look like fangs. (replace the blank spots with red in the picture, I'm too lazy to actually color anything)
Relationships: Saotome Akira's older cousin
Other: She loves cute, fluffy things and sweets, especially anything strawberry flavored.


~*Katsumi Yamaguchi*~

Click, click, click, tap, click, click, click...


...click, click, tap, click, click, click, click...


...click, click, click, click, tap, click... beep.



Message Sent.


Katsumi Yamaguchi had just finished sending a text message to her mother, saying she'd be coming home late from Tokyo, having been in Shibuya with some acquaintances and checking out the latest styles in fashion, and not to bother the servants with her portion of dinner for the third time this week. A soft jingling of bells was heard and the phone was out of sight, resting in the left pocket of her black and white uniform. She leaned back against the faded red seat and tilted her head slightly, looking out the window, her cheek brushing against the cold glass.

She turned her head away from the window and straightened up, fixing her bright red tie and crossing her slender legs primly, not even a hair out of place. A worn bamboo shinai used in kendo rested to the right of her legs along with her bag, looking completely out of place being adjacent to such a high-class girl.

"In an hour, I'll just be a doll again," Katsumi thought to herself ruefully and leaned back again, closing her eyes. "Chichi-ue won't be pleased," a faint smile played on her painted lips, "his 'precious' little daughter is going through a rebellious stage, after all." She usually liked the train ride home... the soft chatter dispersing through the car, the soft luminescence of the fluorescent lights overhead, the comfortable, if not worn, faded red seats, and the occasional graffiti.

Her daydreaming was interrupted by a loud, arrogant, familiar voice. “So did you see the game? Two to zero shut out, of course thanks to me…You had to have seen it…” She opened her honey brown eyes and looked for the source, and found him leaning on a pole in front of her. He was a tall boy with dark red hair, tied back in a pony tail with hazel eyes. And, oh man, he reeked of body odor, judging from his shirt, he was on the soccer team. “So it's Akira-chan again...” she mused.

“Sorry I couldn’t make the game, I had something else to do…” a sweet, feminine voice spoke this time. It was the girl she was sitting next to. Her brown hair was adorned with a black headband and brown eyes, she was quite pretty. However, she didn't seem to be interested, and Akira's advances were starting to get on Katsumi's nerves. She took up the shinai and stood up, hitting Akira square in the forehead with one swift, clean motion, as expected of the captain of the girl's kendo team and the daughter of the head of the biggest yakuza group in Japan.

She twirled a lock of her long, blackish brown hair and smirked. “Leave the girl alone, Akira-chan,” she said almost tauntingly to her cousin in a soft melodic voice, laced with authority, and sat back down.

“Always good to see you Katsumi..” her sneered at her, typical Akira behavior. “See you still have your Shitai with you.”

"Good to know you've been picking up on English, you baka otouto," she giggled and looked out the window. He was so immature, and the only English words he knew were curses, naturally. “Looks like there's a tunnel coming up...” Katsumi froze, shivering from a cold, clammy feeling that seemed to engulf her body. Her hands grasped the edge of the seat, trying to hide this inexplicable fear.

“What the hell was that!?” She looked over at this older man who seemed to be extremely jumpy.

“Get away from the window!” a girl yelled. There was a pair of glowing, beady eyes staring out by the window. Katsumi stood in place, mesmerized by this creature who's haunted her in her nightmares since she was a child. A clawed hand grabbed the man, pulling him, resulting in his head colliding with the metal surrounding the window, knocking him unconscious.

“What the fuck was that!?”

“Get into the center of the car,” a boy ordered. She didn't need to be told twice, in fact she got up and walked into the aisle, holding up her shinai defensively before he even said anything.

“Who put you in charge?” her cousin snapped. “Standing near the walls would be suicide, baka.”

“Alright, stand near the walls. See what happens.”

She let out an audible sigh when they exited the tunnel and sat back down, clutching her arms.

“What happened?”

“He probably just fell…”

“Are you blind? Something grabbed him!” Akira snapped again. She looked at the people arguing and eyed them with distaste. “Idiocy...” She mentally sighed.

The train finally slowed down and halted. She watched as the boy who called everyone into the middle of the train and a man with curly black hair moved the unconscious body away. Katsumi grabbed her things and got up, slinging her black schoolbag onto her shoulder and picked up her shinai. She had a feeling she'll be needing it real soon.


~*861 words*~

Alright, first time RPing in these forums, and I'm looking forward to a good roleplay, please take care of me!~

[Blademaster]

Name: Enigma, J. D. (goes by his last name)
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Personality: Enigma's personality can be summed up in five words:
Rude (He has no manner of manners, and he doesn't desire to get any anytime soon.)
Crude (Enigma curses - a lot. If you can't stand the curses, get out of his way.)
Lewd (Pretty girls, stay away from this guy if cheap pick-up lines and stalking bother you.)
Lazy (Don't expect him to do anything you ask anytime you ask.)
Violent (Unless you enjoy getting your nose broken, don't even look at him cock-eyed.)
Appearance: Enigma is not Japanese, but rather a Caucasian male of about 6' and 200 pounds. His eyes are ocean-blue, hidden behind a pair of transparent orange shades, and his hair is a slick black color, spiked all around almost like an anime character. He wears black boots, lightly torn blue jeans, and a red T-shirt with blue sleeves. On his hands are black gloves, and around his waist is a chain with a hooked spike attached to one end.
History: Enigma grew up in a poor town in the eastern U.S., doing favors for his less-than-a-little-shady dad for money, which was almost immediately stolen from him 85% of the time. So, naturally, Enigma learned how to defend himself and his stuff at a young age. His favorite personal triumph was one when he as an eight year-old felled a bully twice his age and size by punching him in the groin. Enigma has taken this technique to heart and used it ever since.
Naturally, Enigma grew into a rough, wise-ass teenager, attending a public high school that had armed security and barred windows. He hit puberty HARD and has hit on every girl in the school at least twice. Usually, they hit back. Regardless, the teen never seemed to learn, and despite his poor grades, he somehow managed to get into community college. He's still only a sophomore despite his age, due to having been left back once in grade school and failing to pass his second-year college courses. One of his current year course requirements is studying abroad, which is why he's in Japan. He takes much joy in watching the locals try and fail to pronounce his unusual name.
Enigma's encounter with the darkness occurred when he was 17. When sleeping one night, he was assaulted in his dreams by a yellow-eyed monster that attacked him and clawed his chest so badly that the pain woke him up shouting. He quickly grabbed his bedside flashlight and saw that he had indeed been cut in real life; nobody knows whether to believe him or not about what happened that night - that night he still has three scars across his chest from.
Heart: Corrupt
Heart Power: Adrenaline: Pain and fear give Enigma strength. If he's hurt, his mind won't register it as much afterward. He'll just continue to attack, more and more, like the Pokemon attack Rage.
Keyblade Design: The Shark. (http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j89/Soul_of_the_Phoenix/Shark.png)
Relationships: Anyone without a Y chromosome in sight.
Other: Enigma's first initials stand for "John Doe," since I've never given him a canonical first name and don't plan on doing so anytime soon.



-----------------------------------



Enigma



"Konnichi wa!" said a young Japanese male.


"Hey, how you doing pal?" replied an older, clearly American, voice.


"I am well." the first man replied, his accent making it hard to pronounce 'well' properly.


The American male grinned.


"What's your name?" he asked.


"Tasashi Myoto." the Japanese voice replied. "What is yours?"


"Call me Enigma."


"Ah-NEEG-u-ma-san..." Myoto replied, slowly. "It is very nice to meet you!"


"Yeah... The name is 'Enigma,' though."


"Ah. Gomen nasai... Sorry, En-neeg-ah-ma-san."


Enigma, as the young man called himself, just snickered a bit. "It's 'Enigma,' not 'Eneegama.' Say it right."


Myoto's smile vanished.


"Enegama-kun."


"No... EnIgma. With an 'I.' You know, those squinty things in the middle of your face?" He snickered. Try again.


"Baka gaijin."


CRUNCH!


THUD!


"I dunno what the fuck you just called me," Enigma said over the muffled curses of Myoto, who was now on the ground clutching his broken and bloody nose, "but I didn't like it."


Enigma looked around. Uchiho was busier than any American town he'd ever seen. There were crowds of people on every street corner, in every store...


And at the scene of every fight. Enigma's punch had caused the natives to cluster around him like zombies, wearing expressions ranging from shock to contempt. There must have been 50 of them that had stopped and were staring at him.


"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT!??!" he yelled at the group. They didn't understand his words, but they understood his tone enough to either turn and walk away or look at each other. A few of them had taken out their phones.


'Shit, they're calling the cops.' Enigma thought, taking a step back. 'Crazy kung-fu Jap cops, no less. I better get outta here before I wind up in jail again.'


Enigma turned and walked away, as briskly as he could.


Then he heard the sirens.


'FUCK ME!'


THEN he started running, using his 2 decades of street smarts to get away from the crowds and down a series of alleys behind the business district. They stretched like a maze before the young man, who navigated them with clinical precision.

Left, right, left, straight, right, left, left... Yes, he knew alleys well. So what if they were Japanese? They all followed patterns, like massive mazes built for no reason and every reason at the same time...

Enigma suddenly stopped, hearing the sound of footsteps nearby.

Thump... thump... thump...

'Oh, fuck!' he thought, looking around in all directions. How had they found him already? It was impossible. He didn't hear sirens, talking, whispering of orders in Japanese...

Thump... thump... thump...

The footsteps were getting louder. Closer.

And they seemed to be coming from every direction at once.

Enigma wasn't one to back down from a fight, but he was smart enough to avoid fighting cops... He only had one option.

He ran and hid in the closest dumpster and waited to see who was coming.



--------------------------------


Word count: 503


Also, two relevant things:


1. The sirens may have been cops, or they may have been from the train fiasco.


2. Enigma IS being followed. Whether it's by a yellow-eyed monster or another human... Well, I leave that up in the air for now.


Nothing's etched in stone.

[classy_cat18]

Name: Itsuki, Naomi
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Personality: Innocent and childlike. She'll strive to find something good in everyone, even if it's just their name. She's naive to a fault, and usually won't see the truth until it's too late. She doesn't like going anywhere alone so she can get clingy. She doesn't have a problem with taking orders as she's loyal to those she likes and has trouble making decisions. Kind and helpful, although it's hard for her to plan anything so she spends a little time worrying. Naomi is so afraid of the dark that not only will she not venture from the safety of the house at night, she'll sleep with the lights on and will keep her flashlight and extra batteries with her at all times. Not to mention a small first aid kit in her backpack. She's superstitious and keeps a good luck charm on her everywhere she goes, as well as a certain "ritual" she does before going out of her house. Despite this personality, she has the intellect of people her age. Just not the street sense.
Appearance: She's 5'5", with a normal build and straight brown hair going down her back, held back with a black headband. Her eyes are a light brown. She wears a light blue shirt and a white skirt that goes down to her knees, and white tennis shoes. A silver necklace is worn around her neck, with her lucky charm hanging from it: a piece of amber with a small butterfly encased in it. There are strange scars on her upper arms and back from her first Heartless attack. She carries a blue backpack where she carries her flashlight, extra batteries, first aid kit, flute, etc.
History: She has been avoiding the shadows since she was only five years old, although this was probably just due to normal fear of the dark. She wasn't aware of the Heartless until they attacked her when she was nine. They swarmed her, clawing her skin and pulling at her hair. She was so afraid that she cut her hair to avoid being pulled into the shadows by it. Only recently has it grown back to its original length.
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: She can track hearts of people she's met within a one-mile radius. She does this by listening to the "song" of it, a whistling tune that's different for each person.
Keyblade Design: Songbird's Wing: Although the hilt looks like that of Kingdom Key (with the exception of it being a white color), the blade looks like a light brown bird's wing, with two feathers being longer than the others to make it the shape of a key.
Relationships: none yet
Other: Has been playing the flute since she was five years old, thinking that it helps scare away the Heartless.

I really shouldn’t have gone to Tokyo today. I looked down at the time displayed on my cell phone. I know it was supposed to be just a little run down to Akihabara, to find one of those alarm clocks with the projector clock. But no, I had to go get some ramen! And find that new CD! And browse my favorite manga store!

I puffed my cheeks in annoyance. “Now it’s getting dark and this train isn’t going fast enough,” I grumbled to myself. A small whimper escaped my lips. “I can’t walk home alone. Maybe someone will walk with me.”

The bag containing the new alarm clock was still by my side. The old clock had mysteriously disappeared yesterday while I was at my grandparents’ house. I was unable to sleep that night. From now on, I’m locking up that thing before I leave the house. Never mind the fact that I’ll have to set the time every time I plug it. I looked out the window at the sunset. It used to be so beautiful to me, and now it was like a countdown to an absolute nightmare.

In my worrying, I didn’t notice the boy that tried to get my attention, even when he called my name twice. “It’s getting dark…” I mused before seeing his refection in the window. Then I turned to him. “Oh, hi.”

It was embarrassing that I didn’t really remember this boy, even though his face certainly looked familiar. He seemed to know me, though. It was probably wise to act like I remembered him. Maybe a neighbor? Classmate? Distant cousin?

He had a wide grin on his face that only grew as I responded. “So did you see the game? Two to zero shut out, of course thanks to me…” I blinked in confusion, not familiar with the lingo he was using. “You had to have seen it.”

Now I knew who he was. Saotome Akira, the star of the football team. He talked to me every now and then, which made it even more embarrassing that I didn’t know him right off the bat even if it was because I was too distracted by other things. I wasn’t a fan of the football games, although I did see them from time to time. He was fighting with someone at every one of them.

“Sorry I couldn’t make the game, I had something else to do…” I apologized as I went back to looking at the window. A little part of my brain buzzed around wondering why the star of the football team was even focused on me. I wasn’t very popular or even on any extracurricular activities, due to the fact that they tended to have programs in the evening and I preferred to be at home before sunset. Not to mention he had his own little fan club. He’s not leaving…

He was finally interrupted by a slight bump on the head by a wooden practice sword. The girl wielding it smirked. “Leave the girl alone, Akira-chan,” she taunted.

I held back a sigh of relief as Akira turned his attention to the new girl. “Always good to see you Katsumi,” he sneered at her. “See you still have your Shitai with you.”

They know each other?

"Good to know you've been picking up on English, you baka otouto," the girl retorted.

I was surprised by Akira’s use of rude English, but also relieved that their argument had distracted me from the sunset. But not for long; there was a tunnel approaching. Oh great, total darkness. I stiffened and tightened my grip on my backpack and shopping bag as the train was coated in darkness, holding my breath in fear that something might steal it from me.

“What the hell was that?” a man cried out.

My head jerked to the source of the voice, my eyes twice their normal size. “Get away from the window!” a girl yelled.

Near the man, staring at him through the window, was a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Not those eyes…no, I’m dreaming! I dug through my backpack and brought out my flashlight, but it was too late as the dark creature tried to pull the man through the glass, only succeeding in banging his head on the metal and knocking him out. A yelp escaped my lips before I could hold it in.

“What the fuck was that!?”

“Get into the center of the car,” a boy commanded. I hurried to the center with the others, as far away from the windows as I could manage. My back pressed against someone else but I didn’t know who. Two of the guys dragged the unconscious man to us to protect him from further harm.

“Who put you in charge?” Akira snapped.

“Alright, stand near the walls. See what happens.” It would’ve been funny if I wasn’t so scared.

The train left the tunnel and the whole group sighed in relief. I stumbled to my seat and sat down heavily. “What happened?”

“He probably just fell…”

“Are you blind? Something grabbed him!” Akira snapped again. I nodded in agreement.

At last, the train came to a stop. Everyone got their stuff and hurried off, almost trampling each other. I had a feeling that it wasn’t over. “I don’t want to be here…I want to go home…” I whimpered, clutching my stuff with one hand and the sleeve of the nearest person with the other hand. I didn’t want to go through it again! “Make it stop!”

924 words. Aww yeah.

[Green Lanturn]

Name: Yanagisawa, Mika
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Personality: Mika is very quiet. From childhood, she always had a way of internilizing her emotions, so that nobody ever truly knows how she feels. She might be all smiles and laughs, and inside really want to hurt someone, or maybe just feel hurt. Her power however, grants a view inside her because she literally emotes from within. Many dont like to be around her because of her emotions, so she is used to being alone, though she is never opposed to a new friend. She tries to treat everyone with respect and indifference, but she cant always. She spends her times conveying herself through pictures.
Appearance: Standing at 5'7, she has a head of reddish hair in a short sort of bob coming aong the side of her face. She has hazel eyes with an almost reddish tint to them, and small pursy lips, but her face is always blush. She is relatively meek, very slim. She typically can be seen wearing red, usually in a sleeveless blouse with black leaves and blossoms going down it in design. She wears black pants, with a bell-bottom sort of cuff, with red leaves and blossoms on the bottom near the cuff. He wears a silver chain with a red "subaki" or red camelia blossom on her neck, and has a red jade bracelet on her left arm. On her feet are feet are red "sandaru", a sort of sandle-like show.
History: Mika grew up in a normal family, having the normal life. She was pretty intelligent and widely recognized around her neighborhood as being a very social girl. When she was 8, she walked home late from school one evening after some late activites, and a streetlight went out, plunging her into darkness. But then little yellow dots started to appear, in pairs, and finally a hand clasped hers very roughly. She received a scratch to her back, and fell with a yell. She covered her head and cowered, and was saved when the streetlight suddenly popped back to life, and her attackers had vanished. Nobody had come to save her in her moment of need and despiration. Since then, she has never shared her emotions physically, but you could always sense how she truly felt. She currently lives as an artist, working on impressionist style paintings, of her own impressions.
Heart: Corrupt
Heart Power: Emotion: Her body naturally emits an aura of her emotions around her. If these get to be overly strong, they can even influence other's actions, however involuntary it may be.
Keyblade Design: The Painted Heart: A keyblade the almost resembled a giant upside-down paintbrush/caligraphy pen. It is red, and has heart-shaped painters palette teeth (three in all) at the top. The handle is the "brush" and is black. The chain has a small red paintbrush clipped on.
Relationships: Possibly an acquaintance of Ryou....why does she affect him so?
Other: None really, she just loves art, and her heart.....





Mika Yanagisawa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It takes a lot of recollection to draw something you’ve seen in a dream…..or was it a dream? Things seemed so unreal anymore to her, but sometimes those things, the scary things that seemed unreal, were the most real things around, and that was very scary, because if they could find her, touch her….they would definitely find her again.

Mika sat in her compartment by herself. She had been lucky in that nobody ever stayed in the same compartment as her…..the seemed to feel her disdain for company. Then again, maybe they just had somewhere else to be. Anyways, she was alone in there, and she preferred this…it made the art all the easier. The quietness was unsettling, but at least it wasn’t dark….those were the times when they came. She hated the dark and everything it brought. She made sure to always have some kind of light, because to be left in the dark…alone…with those things...she couldn’t really fight them…yet. Oh well, Traverse Town would be here soon, she needn’t worry about those.

With her pad in hand, she began to form its shape. A small body, black as night, with glowing yellow eyes….those are what scared her most. She finished her drawing to the best of her memory, and there it was. She didn’t know what to call it, or what it really did other than scare her, but it was real, even if others couldn’t see it.

Still, one can’t think about one’s fear 24/7, and as it was almost arrival time, she could nod off for a moment. With her pad beside her, she leaned her head back a bit, and closed her eyes…even here it was dark…

…mika…

She sat bolt upright. Had she dreamed it? It was getting harder and harder to tell the difference between reality and imagination. She looked out her compartment window in the adjacent compartment, and fear struck her…there it was. Through the window, she could see the figure she had just drawn. She picked up her pad and stared….and when she put it down, the figure had gone…what had it done? Why was it here?

The train was slowing down…Traverse it seemed had managed to give a heart-racing welcome…it wasn’t really welcome to Mika though. Packing the pad and what little belongings she had in her satchel, she got up to get off the train and stopped after opening the door. She watched as one by one, the people from the adjacent compartment exited, each with a look of mortification about them. So it had been reality…

Among those leaving was an acquaintance of hers, a boy by the name of Ryou. He hadn’t noticed her, so she kept quiet and watched as he went. So he could see them too? Maybe this was the reason she always seemed to affect him slightly more than everyone else. It was clear to her that this trip was to be no picnic….they were here, and they were coming. At least it seemed as though they she wasn’t the only one who was hunted.

Stepping down from the train, Mika stood out in her brilliantly red ensemble, and she got a few looks, but she didn’t mind them, she was heading to her car to head home. As it was getting late, she needed to get home, to a place where it was always lit, so that they couldn’t come. She knew they couldn’t stand the light; she had learned that in her very first meeting with them.

As she sat in her car getting ready to leave, she couldn’t help but wonder two things….one, was it time to put her drawings to use: if she wasn’t alone, it might be useful to find some of the others who could see these creatures of darkness, and two, maybe it was time to get back in contact with Ryou, because even if there were others that could see and maybe even know a little bit about them, it would still be good to have someone she at least knew, because while there might be safety in numbers, that guaranteed nothing. Best to be able to at least watch someone else’s back, and in turn, get ones back watched as well.



Word Count: 707


~GL

[Weasel Overlord]

Name: Tsurayuki Masashi
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Personality: Masashi is rather outgoing and on the very loud side of loud. He likes listen to jokes and much of his speech is word-play or puns – he also has an extremely filthy mind, so if you hear him chuckling quietly to himself for no apparent reason, it's likely to be because he's found something to be dirty that no-one else in the world would agree with. He deals quite well with the fear of darkness, but alas he won't fail to look out for himself when it comes to saving his skin. Masashi will probably be the first person to leave a scene if it gets too much for him, although this isn't to say that he's a coward – just exceptionally good at assessing a situation with regards to his own personal gain and whether he'll be injured in some way. He's a sucker for a bet and certainly not above cheating to win, although he won't mention this of course.
Despite his loudness (and lewdness) you'll probably have a hard time actually getting to know Masashi, simply because of his reluctance to give away any personal information of real importance. His history with the darkness has left its marks on his mind, and though he makes friends easily, it'll take a long time (if ever) for him to fully open up to them. He tends to hide his true feelings under his brash nature.
Words are Masashi's power, really, which is pretty much the reason he became a journalist. Expect him to talk his way out of many situations – fast-talking and bullshitting is rather a skill.
Appearance: Masashi stands at around 5'5”, which is a bit of a sore spot for him. His hair is black, and curly, and reaches to the nape of his neck. It's not quite long enough to tie back, and his fringe (bangs, whatever you wanna call it) doesn't quite reach his eyebrows. He wears jeans (flared at the ankle), and a series of shirts in plain old boring colours – for the purpose of this RPG he's wearing a dusky blue coloured one at the moment, short sleeved and with the top two buttons left undone. He disdains ties, even though he tries to look sort of professional for his job. His shoes are plain and smart brown leather, quite well-worn, and extremely comfortable. When he's not working, he likes to wear a cream, floppy-brimmed hat which shields his eyes from the sun, his head from the rain and his face from passers-by if he wants to sleep on the bus.
Slung diagonal across his torso is a manbag messenger bag, small and slim, in grey. In this, he keeps a collection of pens (he's quite old-fashioned, and will therefore only write with fountain pens), ink in various colours (emerald green, sky blue, navy, black, red and purple) and no less than three flip notebooks at any one time.
History: Masashi grew up in a normal suburb with a normal nuclear family, his father was a salaryman and his mother a housewife and himself an only child. He knew nothing out of the ordinary until one day, when he was about 18, he was caught in the middle of a town-wide power-cut. He was, at that moment in time, staying late (around 6pm) in the computer labs at his college (or whatever the Japanese equivalent is), trying to get three articles finished. Being sat in the middle of an otherwise-empty computer lab while every electrical item simultaneously cuts out would be freaky enough on its own, but coupled with the appearance of Heartless, poor Masashi was never the same. One of the Heartless seemed to come right out of the computer screen, its eyes glowing with a sickening yellow and its claws reaching out for his heart. Masashi ran for his life, and wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for the sudden return of the power as he dashed through the college corridors.
To this day, he's uncomfortable using computers, which is the foremost reason he uses his notebooks to write articles, and when it comes to typing them up, he took as many typing tests as possible to increase his words per minute, until he was easily able to complete one normal-sized article, fully typed and edited and proof-read in under 15 minutes.
Heart: Corrupt
Heart Power: Truthful Motives: People are more likely to think that Masashi is telling the truth, no matter whether he's lying or not. I guess he just has an honest face. XD
Keyblade Design: Falsehood's Quill: The keyblade pretty much resembles an elaborate quill-pen, with one major difference – the quill is made of bone. The blade (I guess you could call it that) is the actual nib of the pen, and is much shorter than you'd expect a blade to be (around 15 inches in length). It's tip is wickedly pointed, and down the inkline in the centre runs a red ink-like substance, rather resembling blood. The “handle” of the keyblade is, as previously stated, made entirely of bleached bone – it's carved in the shape of a curved feather, with a place for Masashi's hand hollowed out about a third of the way from its tip, which tapers off about as wickedly as the nib, resulting in a sort of double-edged weapon.
The key teeth-parts of the quill are tiny enough to almost be invisible unless you look really closely. There are two of them at the base of the nib (just before it joins the handle part) and they resemble tiny nibs (although they're more like darts, I suppose), one slightly longer than the other, which is also fatter than the longer one. These two nibs leak ink of different colours to the main one, and it changes every time the keyblade is used – there is a pattern to the colours, but no-one knows what it is yet.
Relationships: Will befriend anyone and everyone, but don't expect this to change his nature.
Other: THE SHOCKS I'm playing a guy. XD I may actually draw Falsehood's Quill, cos it's totally sexy in my mind. :D



Tsurayuki Masashi
once i rose above the noise and confusion
just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion


The train to Traverse City had always been a tedious, overly-long journey. Masashi sat, impatiently, in the aisle-seat, his bag on the window-seat next to him - old habits die hard, and there was a tunnel roughly the length of sixteen trains lying end to end, which meant ten minutes in solid, pure darkness. Never let it be said that Tsurayuki Masashi took any unnecessary risks.

He’d finished his cheese and pickle with light mayo and lettuce sandwich about an hour earlier, and had been slowly wearing down a very large bag of very smelly cheese and onion crisps when the dreaded tunnel descended. The wash of chatter throughout the train became muffled by the rushing darkness, and he stared listlessly out of the window, his eyes flicking to each patch of light outlining worker’s doors throughout the entire tunnel.

Not enough light. Never enough. The doors were nothing more than elaborated alcoves where workers could huddle away from oncoming trains, but they each contained a hanging lantern, its dim light barely piercing the dusty gloom. Masashi shuddered to think of being caught outside in the tunnel, endless dark stretching out on either side of him with no respite save for those alcoves, spaced intermittently throughout. Not enough light to be truly safe; they were an illusion. A mirage of daylight which would eventually gutter and die like the sun setting on the horizon.

Well, enough of the poetic language. Masashi had grown out of that about a year after his brush with the darkness - a year which had been filled, admittedly, with terribly emotional adolescent poetry - an internship at one of Tokyo’s leading papers would do that to you. He’d hardened up, wised up, and deadlined up, not to mention stressed up and travelled up and promoted up. He was sure that someone had once said he was the youngest editor in a century, but writers are liars and he took everything that everyone said with an incredibly large handful of salt.

So now, here he was, almost eight years later on the train to Traverse Town only this time, it was for good; or so he hoped. Leading Tokyo papers were all well and good, but once you’d hacked five years of hair-falling-out-stressful editing of said papers, the time was, as they said, nigh to scarper. Plus there were all sorts of interesting stories available to freelancers, which he was now, in essence. And the time being nigh to scarper could be translated to “and he got fired for punching a security guard in the face with his keys one night on a mad dash home after working late and it was too dark and oh god the things they’ll come out of the computer screens again arrrrgh.”

Speaking of the things. Darkness fell even more ominous than before, conversations turned quieter and then a giant claw came right through the pane of glass and clunked a poor innocent bystanding man against the metal windowframe, knocking a great chunk of his skull free from its surroundings. One clever young one suggested in no uncertain terms that the centre of the carriage was the place to be, and Masashi, from his seat, wholeheartedly agreed. He edged as close to the, well, edge of his seat as he could manage without falling off, which may have been perilously close to people’s bums, but at this point, Masashi could be crushed by bums and not care because oh god the things were back, what the hell had he done to deserve this again?

He was on the verge of hyperventilating when the train drew to a relief-filled stop, the doors opened and the clustered people all piled out. No-one seemed to care about the poor man who’d lost a chunk of his skull, so Masashi grabbed his bag, hooked his arms underneath the man’s armpits and hoiked him off the train and onto a handy bench underneath a very bright light.

He sat down next to the man, and waited for the bickering to lull.

“Are you blind? Something grabbed him!” one boy snapped, and no-one seemed to have a comeback for that. Masashi saw his opening and coughed, fairly obviously.

No-one turned round. And then someone pointed out that the things were coming back. Fuck.


~717 words

[VirtualPlay]

Name: Yasashisa, Karen
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Personality: Quiet and shy, Karen typically stays out of anything social involving more than 3 people, unless she gets dragged into it (usually by Yuki's insisting she go). She's usually quite bookish and focuses on her schoolwork, but her cute appearance usually attracts the attention of the boys in her class; she of course has no idea how to properly talk to boys and ends up not getting into any relationships lasting longer than a single date (which she always bombs). For those that she manages to befriend, she is a great person to know and a true friend, who'll be there no matter what and try to fix whatever goes wrong.
Appearance: Karen is 5'7", tall and skinny (for an Asian) thanks to her mother being of American origin and 5'10". Yet you wouldn't be able to tell unless you knew, as she doesn't look even remotely American. Her hair is pure black, reaching past her shoulder blades with a slight wave to it; she doesn't have bangs, and almost always has hair decorations (barrettes, hair clips, scrunchies, etc.) which hold her hair out of place. Her eyes are a bright green color like her mother's.
For clothes she's the epitome of her name: cute. She usually wears skirts that just graze her knee, typically flowing or pleated and of bright or pastel colors, purples being her favorite. She wears a babydoll tee to match, usually with some kind of print on it, along with ankle socks that match under soft white sneakers; she learned off of Yuki that exposed long legs really do look cute. If she needs to be active, she'll either wear skintight shorts under her skirt, or slim jean capri pants rolled up to her knees.
History: She grew up with an average life, even though her mother was American. Of course, this meant she grew up learning both English and Japanese, and so is fluent in both. She always did well in school, and always did the best she could in everything she did.
However, the only thing she had never been able to do was sleep without a night-light, because she always saw little yellow eyes staring at her. When she was 13, she got laughed at by a couple kids because she still used it and, determined to face her fears, she decided that night to go without. Of course now the monsters weren't just little yellow eyes, they were little yellow eyes on small dark bodies that started to attack her. Fortunately for her, her parents were still awake and heard her screaming, although they didn't believe that the monsters were real since they all disappeared when the light turned on. The next morning, though, Karen found a scratch on her chest in a place she had felt the monsters clawing at, and so she knew they were more than just a dream and has slept with a night-light since. (The scratch has healed by now, but the memory still remains.)
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: Soothing Compassion - She can cause anyone to stop fighting for any reason at all, although the more resistant they are to stopping, the harder it is; she can also keep heartless from attacking for a short time, but only if she focuses and keeps her eyes on them.
Keyblade Design: Gentle Touch - Her keyblade doesn't look dangerous at all. The handle and shaft of the key are a pale purple color, soft and cool to the touch, and rounded everywhere with no sharp edges. The handle has a plain white circle around it for a guard. Rather than a blade, coming off of the shaft is a flattened white and fluffy cloud, also soft to the touch. The key chain is actually a braided chain of purple strands of what looks like very thick yarn, ending with a large poof of cloud. Of course, when she's actually in battle it's not quite so soft and fluffy to the touch anymore. (I will attempt to draw this later...)
Relationships: Friends with Yuki, having been in the same classes and schools since middle school.
Other: She just turned 18 the past week and is still excited about it.
Theme: Yui - Again (http://www.imeem.com/people/mOVWAM9/music/o3GdgIlG/yui-again/) ~~ Lyric translation (http://holding-on-still.blogspot.com/2009/07/yui-again-english-translation-full.html)

--------

Yasashisa, Karen
~^-^~^-^~^-^~^-^~
Sitting in the corner of the train, I let out a little sigh as I watched the train fill up. It wasn't the people I was annoyed at, it was myself for staying out so late. I had only planned to stay in Shibuya for a couple hours, then leave before four so the train wouldn't be so dark. But I kept getting sidetracked by little things, like an ad for a new CD that I had to go to Udagwa to find, or a new style advertised on the 109 building that I had to check out. I even ended up showing another girl in my class whom I encountered there where I had gotten my purple skirt-and-shirt outfit.

One thing led to another and I ended up not getting to the station until after 7:30, and the train was already getting quite dark. This train especially, since it hadn't been renovated in years and the lights never worked. Which of course meant it would be nearly pitch black once we hit the tunnel...

I shuddered and quickly pulled my iPod from my bag. Putting the earbuds into my ears, I pulled up a song I hoped would keep me calm. It was one of Yui's newer songs, Again, and happened to really strike me in some way. It didn't quite fit my life at that point, but I still could relate somewhat to it.

Yume no tsuzuki / Oikakete ita hazu nano ni
Magarikunetta hosoi michi / Hito ni tsumazuku

I am supposed to pursue my dream
in this narrow winding road, stuttering in the crowds of people

I looked around the train, at all the people, and sighed. Probably none of them saw the nightmares as I did. Silently I prayed I wouldn't make a fool of myself if I did see them. The train passed into the tunnel and I braced myself, letting the music flow over me...

"What the hell was that?!" some guy screamed, louder than my music. I snapped my head towards him, then where he was looking, and let out a soft moan. They were here, outside the dark train, and I wasn't the only one to see them. Unfortunately, I must have been the only one with the sense not to go closer, as the man stepped, stepped...

"Get away from the window!" a familiar voice screamed, and I looked to see Yuki a few seats over, looking with terror out the same window. My fear of the creatures was temporarily replaced with shock at finding out my best friend was able to see them as well.

My fear jumped right back, though, as the creature suddenly swung his claw at the man, causing him to fall forward and hit his head on the metal of the train. Without thinking, I jumped into the middle of the car as well.

Kanaeru tame ni / Ikiterundatte
Wasurechai sou na / Yoru no manaka
Bunan ni nante / Yatterarenai kara
...Kaeru basho mo nai no

"For what am I living?"
In the middle of the night, as my memories are fading.
I can't play safe anymore,
but there is nowhere safe to go too.

With a jolt I realized my music was still playing, and I realized that it suddenly fit my life perfectly. These creatures that haunted my nights were too much of a reality for me to be safe in the dark. I knew I had to do something, but I had no idea of how to start.

People were talking, but now the song was louder and their voices got muffled. But with the train finally pulling through the tunnel and onto street-lit tracks, the creature was gone for now. People jumped to help the older man out of the train as it stopped, and we all piled out. I hung back, but I still stood and watched.

Kanaeru tame ni / Ikiterundatte
Sakebitaku naru yo / Kikoete imasu ka?
Bunan ni nante / Yatterarenai kara
...Kaeru basho mo nai no
Yasashisa niwa itsumo kansha shiteru / Dakara tsuyoku naritai (I'M ON THE WAY)
Susumu tame ni / Teki mo mikata mo kangei jan

"For what am I living?"
I want to shout it out loud. Can you hear me?
I can't play safe anymore,
but there is nowhere to go too.
I am grateful for all the kindness, so I want to become stronger to march on.
I do welcome friends and foes.

As the words passed through in the song, I realized that while they might not have been meant for me, they were definitely some good advice. If I was going to face these monsters, it would be better to not have to do it alone. Striking up my courage, I went over and tapped Yuki on the shoulder, asking, "You can see the monsters too, Yuki?"

~* 619 w/o lyrics, 777 w/ lyrics *~

[Asilynne]

Name: Hotaru, Birgitte
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Personality: Her aura is peace, with an undercurrant of determination. Shes very protective of the people she cares about and would rather come to harm herself than to let them get hurt. Doesnt like to do violence to anything though she will if her friends are directly threatened, and she would get physically ill afterwards since it goes against her nature. These feelings dont apply to the heartless because to her they feel empty, it would only apply to a person, animal or plant of this world. Is a bit shy of new people, and only talks when she has something important to say, choosing most of the time to work things out in her own head. Not unfriendly though, just tends to do more observing than contributing.
Appearance: Shoulder length black hair with white tips, bright green eyes. Standing at about 5'4", shes rather slim and petite but her prescence and how she carries herself keeps anyone from thinking of her as tiny or fragile. Has a quiet dignity and eyes that look like they can see right through you. Has a serious face most of the time and her smiles are rare but bright. Likes to dress in white mostly, but also likes dark blue, gold and silver. Never wears black.
History: She grew up in a rather traditional type japanese home as the oldest of three children. Her early childhood was a good one, she had many friends in school and enjoyed playing outside, having "sword fights" with sticks with her younger brother and sister. However when she was 12 the happy world she thought she lived in began to fall apart, as her parents began to have shouting matches at each other and talk of divorce. One night during a particularly bad fight she ran into the woods surrounding her house and hid to be alone, and it was then that the heartless attacked her. Screaming and clawing at it she would have surely died had she not stumbled into a tree where female fireflies were resting and blinking their lights. Though the light they shed was faint it was enough to drive it away, and she quickly cupped one in her hands and ran all the way home. Is now obviously afraid of the dark and of being alone. Is currently going to college to become a doctor.
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: She can cause herself to glow, forming a small bubble around herself of a faint light, enough to chase away the darkness in her immediate area.
Keyblade Design: The Luminous: With a honey and gold coloured hilt, this Keyblade shines with the radiance all heartless fear most: pure light. Floating in a small glass sphere at the 'teeth' part of the key is a firefly that shines brighter than most others. It's light forms both the glimmering pillar from the hilt to the glass, and the sparkling teeth of the weapon. The keychain ends in a small glowing lantern. (designed by sie ;D THANK YOU)
Relationships: Open
Other: Has a firefly necklace with the light of the firefly constantly glowing faintly through a solar power battery inside. Also loves sushi <3 lol

~~~Hotaru, Birgitte~~~
Be a Light in the Darkness, shine when they need it most...

There was a nagging ache between my shoulderblades.
I was trying to ignore it, as I sat on the train which sped home late in the evening of a very busy day. Leaning my head against the window with my eyes shut, I could almost imagine the warm water of a nice shower cascading down upon me, the steam and warmth soothing my achy body. Why did I have to work so hard?
I asked myself that sometimes, but the answer I gave myself was always the same. To make a difference in the world. Its a dark enough place, something has to shine. Sighing quietly, I rubbed my eyes with one hand and thought about my day. Wake up at 5am, take the train into Tokyo for Uni at 7. Have lunch around 3pm after all my classes and then head over to the local fire dept by 4 for three hours of EMT training and work. Catch the evening train home around 7:30pm. I could stay later at the fire house, I could stay til 10pm like the others. But I learned at a young age the night hid dangerous things, and so I must always be home before dark. Thats when they came out.
Im not quite sure what they were exactly. Yellow eyes, clawed hands, bodies seemingly made from shadow. That was what all monsters were like as a child, werent they? Only these were not just the monster in your closet or under the bed, these werent the Boogeyman. These were real.

I shuddered involuntarily, remembering the night that I first realised my fears of the dark werent unfounded. They came to me at night when I was alone, but their eyes didnt just watch, their empty prescence didnt just fill the air with a sense of waiting, no, that night they wanted something more. They wanted my heart, I could feel their emptiness, their hunger. And then as they clawed at me with feverish, desperate hands I felt a terror like none Id ever felt before. I was lucky it was summer, lucky that I managed to escape. Lucky to be alive, but I would come to know it wasnt just luck that saved me that day. I was different, and they knew it. Thats why they wanted me.

Suddenly the light of the setting sun which glowed beyond my closed eyes faded into darkness. Opening my eyes I saw that we had gone into a tunnel, and I instantly stiffened in my seat. My hand went involuntarily to my small glowing necklace, a Firefly medallion, clutching it like a lifeline. The air in the train car seemed to grow as tense as I felt, and like always when I was caught in the dark, I had to resist the urge to glow. I tried never to do that in public, because glowing people tend to attract more questions than I was ready to answer. The quiet and tenseness was heavy in the air, and suddenly it was broken by chaos. It all happened so fast I cant recall the details, but the next thing I knew, a man was unconsious on the ground, people were shouting, and everyone had moved to the center of the car.

Upon seeing the unconsious man I took action, instantly moving to his side with my bag and beginning to asses his condition, starting first by checking his breathing and pulse, and finding these to be stable, moving on to checking his pupils, and looking him over for any other injuries. 'He hit his head', they said. 'Maybe he fell.' But I knew it wasnt just a fall or an accident. For one, he had some slight bruising around his neck which suggested he was roughly grabbed, and second the lump on his head (which, upon discovering that he didnt have a concussion after all, I placed a cold pack on) wasnt just from a simple fall, the force was greater than that. He would be ok, well, as ok as someone could possibly be when surrounded by monsters.

I thought briefly about how lucky he was to be blissfully unaware of the danger we all were in, but then decided that it would be best if he could fend for himself in case they got in. Eyeing the windows suspiciously I broke some smelling salts and placed it under his nose, as he jolted awake. Trying to calm him, I gave him one of the water bottles I kept with me to hydrate me while I worked. "You will be ok." I lied to him, sure, physically he would be, but I knew they were out there. I knew what they wanted. And as I listened to some of the others, I started to get the idea that I wasnt alone in seeing them...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First post! Hope its ok XD
~~842 Words~~

Btw I found something that makes it easy for people (like me) that dont have a word counter on their wordpad files ^-~
http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/script2/countwords.shtml

[Roy Karrde]

Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

The train rumbled along, gently jolting us in our seats, my friends were chattering around me but it was all background noise to me. My eyes were focused on Katsumi, if looks could kill I would have her bent over in various positions in a effort to crush every bone in her body. She had to choose the seat right next to her, of all the seats on the train she had to choose the one that would cause my social life the most damage.

Darkness quickly coated the train, the exterior quickly shifting from the country side to pitch blackness darker than the darkest night. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes drifted out the window past Katsumi.

“What the hell was that?” An old man yelled out, I peeled my eyes away from the windows to look over at him, his outburst had even drawn the attention of some of the other passengers.

“Get away from the windows!” Some one else called out, before anyone could respond a hand, a hand that you only see in your nightmares reached out and grabbed the man’s coat, lunging him forward to the glass. While the hand was easily able to phase through the glass, he was not. With a loud, stomach churning ‘clang’ he slumped over, out cold.

The car suddenly erupted into chaos, some one else screaming obscenities as I rose to my feet. “Get into the center of the car.” Some one ordered in a commanding tone, my eyes instantly trained on the boy, and narrowed.

“Who put you in charge?!” I asked, my voice heightened with emotion. I absolutely hated it when some one decided to take initiative and believe they were automatically the leader.

“Alright stand near the walls. See what happens.” The boy snapped back as I moved to the center of the car along with the rest of passengers.

Arguments quickly broke out, each person screaming over the other so that they could get heard.

“He probably just fell..” One person tried to rationalize it, at this point I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Are you blind? Something grabbed him!” I snapped back at the man, staring him down to the point he just nodded in agreement.

The moment the doors opened at the station it was a mad rush out of the train, people pushing and shoving, stepping and jumping over each other just to get out. Before I could say anything I was grabbed by two of my team mates and dragged to the exit.

“Akira hurry lets just get out before that thing comes back!” They had said in panic voices. For a second I went along before something caught my eye, it was just a brief flash in the maelstrom of people rushing out, it wasn’t till I was already reaching the doors of the train that I realized what, or really who it was.

“Hold on..” I shook their hands off, pushing myself forward into the sea of people.

“Akira! What the hell are you doing, there are monsters…”

“Shut up, all of you are acting like pussies.” I snapped back, disappearing into the wave of people, my eyes searching for that some one…

“Akira!” A hand grabbed my arm; I spun around, my fists raised, only to see it was Katsumi. Although while at any other time I would have slugged her in the face and just say she frightened me, I had bigger things to focus on.

“Where’s Naomi, have you seen her?” I asked, she shook her head in response. I pushed her arm off in frustration and continued forward. “C’mon help me find her..”

615...

[Crystal Tears]

Ryou Saito .: + :. Perfect Insanity – Disturbed

It was a confusing scene; people were swarming away either panicked or calm, some glancing at the woman caring for the man n the bench. Ryou was quiet, and suddenly felt odd; a swirl of emotion ranging from curiosity, fear and a sense of being lost. He turned slowly, facing away from the chaotic grouping to a woman standing out in the crowd. He knew her, and the man realized the chaos he was feeling should’ve alerted him to her presence long before they became so apparent.

Mika Yanagisawa; an old acquaintance of his, one he should’ve kept in better contact with but the world didn’t play out like people wanted most of the time.

“Saito-san, I didn’t know…” She trailed off, but he nodded, not needing to say anything.

“Naomi??”

Both of them looked over at a boy, Ryou frowned, it was that kid from the train who decided being annoying was better than being smart. He tugged a woman along as well, one that appeared more upper-class than most here.

“You know him?”

Ryou looked over with an irritated gaze. “Met briefly.”

He turned and looked at Ryou, the glare turning into something of desperateness, but it retained the harsh edges. The man raised his eyebrow, looking at him curiously.

“Have you seen Naomi?”

“Who?” Ryou blinked.

“The girl I was… God damn it, she’s this tall, has brown hair and was wearing a black-“

“HELP!”

People turned, abruptly, to see a girl with brown hair and a black headband rush out from the left, where was no light due to the tunnel wall blocking the dying sun. She rushed into the group and collapsed on the ground, wincing as she held her arm close to her. Blood ran down from her upper arm to her hand, and the woman who was caring for the man abruptly turned to her.

“They grabbed me!” She cried, as the brat ran to her, followed by the girl with him. “They pulled me into the dark! It was so cold and all around me was darkness and yellow eyes…”

“Yuki…”

Ryou tilted his head a bit, listening in on the conversation between the girl he had met before, and another. She gestured up to the sky, and the man couldn’t help but look also.

“Shit.” He cursed.

“What?” Questioned the man with the curly hair, and looked up at the sky. The dying sun was about to be overtaken by a cloud and at this time of the evening… “That ain’t good.”

“No.” Ryou agreed, biting his lip for a moment. “Not good at all.”

Yuki began to shiver slightly, and looked petrified. “… They’re coming back.”

“How long do we have?” He questioned, looking at Ryou.

“Five minutes.” The upper-class girl replied, nodding towards both of them. “Before the sun is gone.”

“Right…” Ryou looked around at the group remaining and frowned before speaking up. “How many of you have cars?” Two people put up their hands, a man who was clearly not from Japan, and Mika. “Can both the vehicles hold more than two people?”

“I have a truck…” The man spoke, a little shaky in his vocabulary, frowning a bit. “The bed can hold a fair number of people.”

“Alright…” He turned to his friend. “And you?”

“A car, but it can hold three more people…”

He nodded and looked to the group who was staring at him, mentally cursing himself for stepping up to be the leader. “In about five minutes, that cloud-“ He looked towards the slowly moving formation. “Is going to cover the sun.”

Everyone seemed to pale a tad.

“I have a car that can hold four more people, Yanagisawa-san has a car that can hold three more, and…” He looked at the man. “What’s your name?”

“Kurtis Salvador.”

“Right, Salvador-san has a truck that can probably hold a lot of people. So that should be good for the rest of you..” Ryou’s gaze fell upon the apparent nurse. “You know what you’re doing?”

“I had some training, yes. I can keep them alive, if that’s what you mean.”

“Alright, you-“ He pointed at Naomi. “Will go with her, Salvador-san and you-“ He pointed at the man who helped him move the concussed individual before. “Will get the unconscious guy to the truck…” Ryou let out a hiss of air and began. “The rest of you, pick a person and follow them.”


* * 738 * *

I tried to include everyone, lol. Alright, you got your orders: Follow Ryou, Kurtis or Mika to a vehicle, the darkness will come soon after they start to move, so have fun. Once most people have posted, I’ll move it along again.

Past that have fun terrorizing your characters.

I’m sorry Green Lanturn if the car you mentioned wasn’t intended for four people, if not say how ever many it can hold.

I did try to include what everyone put in, sorry if I messed it up. Was off my game tonight…

For Asi’s eyes, I have provided car and truck candy…

Ryou’s Car (http://thundafunda.com/393/images/widescreen-wallpapers/cars/mitsubishi-lancer-evolution-x-pictures-cars-widescreen-wallpapers.jpg)
Kurtis’s Truck (http://www.american4x4.net/import-ram3500.jpg)
No idea what Mika’s car looks like XD

[Kurosakura]

~*Katsumi Yamaguchi*~
Irked. Seriously irked.

Katsumi glared at the panic that was dispersed around the carriage. “Can't people learn to stay calm in a situation like this? Panic and chaos cause much more harm than the actual incident.” The train stopped with a hiss, the automatic doors slid open and the whole station was filled with the dissonance of screaming from the mass exodus, stomping feet, warm air spouting from frantic passengers, desperately trying to escape an unseen menace.

A somewhat familiar voice floated to her ears through the discord. She attended Akira's soccer games once in a while, and the voice seemed to originate from one of his teammates. “Akira hurry lets just get out before that thing comes back!” She could hear the panic in their voices, but the fact that Akira was somewhere nearby gave her a slight sense of relief.

“If something happened to him, I'd go on a killing rampage,” she admitted to herself and then mentally shook her head. “There's no time to be worry about such random things, I need to get out of here first.”
A brief bob of red crossed her peripheral vision, and she began shoving through the crowd, making her way through by pushing people aside with her shinai. “It's Akira! I need to make sure he's safe...” She nearly caught up, but it seemed that he had other plans.

“Hold on...”the boy had shaken off two of his friends and seemed to be pressing on into the crowd, as if searching for something or someone.

“Akira, what the hell are you doing, there are monsters...” a friend of his tried to reason with him.

“Shut up, all of you are acting like pussies,” Akira snapped, rendering the attempt as something futile and leaving the poor boy speechless. He seemingly disappeared into the crowd, but Katsumi followed him closely and grabbed his arm brusquely.

“Akira!” she called out in her usually soft voice, loud enough so he could hear her from within the crowd. He spun around, making a fist with his free hand, ready to take a swing at her until he saw her face and dropped it.

“Where's Naomi, have you seen her?”

Her eyes widened, “It must be that girl I was sitting next to earlier. He seems worried, maybe he really does like her?” She shook her head silently, and he pushed her arm off in frustration, pushing on.

“C'mon, help me find her... Naomi??” he called out, a hint of desperation in his voice.

“I've never seen this side of him before, maybe he's finally growing up and out of his whole asshole phase.”

She followed her cousin and eyed the young man from earlier, who took control of the situation when that middle-aged man was attacked. Her eyes met with his for a moment and then darted toward a girl with reddish hair and hazel eyes which also seemed to have a red hue to them.

“You know him?” the girl asked.

The young man looked over at them irritatedly and then replied, “Met briefly.”

Akira turned to look at him with a glare, but the anger seemed to dissipate somewhat and turned into a look of harsh desperation. The man raised his eyebrow curiously, and Katsumi looked at the two converse expressionlessly, however, on the inside, she pitied the poor boy.

“Have you seen Naomi?” he choked out.

The man blinked. “Who?”

“The girl I was... God damn it, she's this tall, has brown hair and was wearing a black-”

“HELP!” Katsumi looked up and grabbed Akira's arm again, tugging him toward the source of the call for help.

“Well, it looks like we found her.”

Naomi rushed in from the left, wincing as she held her bleeding arm close to herself. The woman who was caring for the man from before turned to her.

Akira had taken the lead from Katsumi and dragged her along at his faster pace. “They grabbed me!” she cried clutching his shirt desperately, “They pulled me into the dark! It was so cold and all around me was darkness and yellow eyes...”

He pulled the girl close and stroked her hair comfortingly. Katsumi left the two to their own devices, keeping a watchful eye just in case, a manicured hand on her shinai.

“Shit.” Katsumi's attention shifted to that man again and noticed the floor below her, a shadow of a cloud creeping towards them. She looked up at the sky, her eyes widening in horror.

“No.. everything will be enveloped in darkness. The monsters... they'll strike!”

“What?” the man with the curly black hair questioned, “That ain't good...”

“No,” the former agreed. “Not good at all.”

“Not good is right.”

“They're coming back,” a girl spoke up.

“How long do we have?” the man with the curls asked.

Katsumi looked up again briefly. “Five minutes,” her melodic voice was soft as always, but there was a slight edge to it from a feeling of panic welling up inside of her. She nodded to the two men and lowered her eyelids as if all hope was lost, “Before the sun is gone.”

“Right... how many of you have cars?” the younger man asked and two people put up their hands. A male foreigner and the woman that was taking care of the man that passed out from earlier. “can both vehicles hold more than two people?”

She glanced around, there were roughly ten people, eleven if you counted the unconscious man. “This isn't good, we might not be able to fit in, and we might not have enough time...”

“I have a truck...” the man said uneasily in Japanese, and frowned slightly, “The bed can hold a fair number of people.”

She raised her head and looked at him expressionlessly. “It's a little dangerous, but I guess it could work if nobody horses around.”

“Alright...” he turned to the woman. “And you?”

“A car, but it can hold three more people...”

“Hopefully everyone else can fit into these vehicles...”

He nodded to the group, her eyes and everyone else's fell on him. “In about five minutes, that cloud," he looked up at the formation as it slowly advanced.

“Four minutes, 22 seconds...” she murmured.

“Is going to cover the sun.” Everyone around her seemed to lose color in their faces. “I have a car that can hold four more people, Yanagisawa-san has a car that can hold three more, and...” he looked at the foreigner, “What's your name?”

“Kurtis Salvador,” he replied.

“Right, Salvador-san has a truck that can probably hold a lot of people. So that should be good for the rest of you.” His gaze fell upon a girl who seemed to have experience in first aid. “You know what you're doing?”

“I had some training, yes. I can keep them alive, if that's what you mean.”

“Alright you,” he pointed at the wounded Naomi, “will go with her, Salvador-san, and you-” he pointed at the man who helped him out earlier, “Will get the unconscious guy to the truck...” He breathed out. “The rest of you, pick a person and follow them.”

Katsumi glanced over at Akira and Naomi, she had her mind made up from the start. She knew that Akira hated her presence, but he was still her precious otouto. The girl made her way to the red-head from earlier. “Yanagisawa-san.. was it? It seems that my cousin, his friend, and I will be in your care.” She smiled softly and bowed politely.

"We have... three minutes and forty-two seconds left. I suggest we hurry.”


~*1363 words*~

Oh my back, it hurts, it's late, and my dad pulled the router on me. *sigh*

Edit: Word count isn't 1363 anymore, but I got the minimum anyway.

[Asilynne]

OOC: Just so everyone knows the "bed" of a truck is the part that makes it a truck, where you can load all your stuff in. Its right behind the "cab" which is where the people sit and the steering wheel is. Its not an actual bed XD

[Kurosakura]

OOC: Well, I don't know cars, and especially not trucks, and I'm thus a little stoopif. :P

[Blademaster]

How much longer is this damn train scene going to go on? It's like 10 people are writing the same thing from 10 different viewpoints. Advance the freaking plot already.

[Asilynne]

Learn to read Blade, we arent on the train anymore you big silly :P And anyway I thought you werent in this rpg anymore.

[Weasel Overlord]

Blade, you are no longer in this RPG so it's nothing to do with you what happens with the plot. Suck it up or get warned. Your choice.

[Blademaster]

EDIT: Deleted, out of the RPG, whatever. Have fun, everyone.

[Kurosakura]

You got kicked out for not following the rules and then making a big deal out of it, which was a really childish thing to do.

[Kuro Espeon]

Name: Halvacor, Sanya
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Personality: Very conflicted and uncertain, Sanya isn’t quite sure about how to act around others. Although she is friendly and outgoing, due to her particular circumstances she is often fearful about letting herself get to close to anyone. However, lurking beneath an exterior that longs for companionship is a darker side that frequently tries to consume her and she has to fight to keep it under control. She generally puts on a brave face in front of others, embarrassed to show any sign of weakness.
Appearance: Standing about 5’8, a bit on the tall side for a girl, Sanya is quite obviously not Japanese. Her skin is a cool ivory and she has bright blue eyes that gleam like ice. Her light skin and eyes stand out against her pitch black hair which reaches to just below her ears and flips slightly out at the tips. The bangs that hang to either side of her face are a cool silvery blue. Generally wears a black crop-top with two stripes of blue crossing in the front, and loose-fitting black pants that reach just past her knees with a pattern of blue flames rising up the edges. She also wears black, knee-high lace-up boots, and dark leather arm bracers that cover her arms up to the elbow.
History: Born on a world completely separate from our own, Sanya was a child of far from normal circumstances. Her world was often plagued by Heartless, and a way to drive them away was needed. Among her people, it was believed that into each generation a person of the Purest Heart, The Chosen, would be born, and that individual was to be sacrificed in order to drive away the Heartless and cleanse the corruption and sins of the world. Once the Heartless began to return, the ritual was repeated. Her father, a High Priest, was a firm believer of the practice. However, on the night of Sanya’s 6th birthday, she was attacked by Heartless in the darkness of the temple courtyard. Gripped by fear of the yellow-eyed creatures, she ran for help. However, when her encounter with the Heartless was revealed, the High Priests of the Council determined that the attraction of the Heartless to her heart meant that Sanya was The Chosen.
Confronted with the fact that his own daughter would be sacrificed, Sanya’s father turns his back on the Council and tries to find a way to protect his daughter by researching into the dark arts (never a good idea, really...) In order to protect her heart from being taken, her father uses a spell to split her heart into two pieces, one remaining within her, and the other manifested into a half-heart talisman that he keeps with him at all times. Her heart would be safe as long as the talisman remained in tact. However, as his interest in the dark arts grew, her father became more and more driven into the shadows and he began to lose his sanity. As for Sanya, the missing piece of her heart left a hole within her, a hole that is constantly plagued by a darkness that tries to consume her but can never fully take her. She has come to our world for a reason… but no one quite knows why. ^_~
Heart: Pure/Corrupt (approved by CT)
Heart Power: Shadow Walking – due to her only having half a heart, she can traverse the shadows and cross the borders between worlds easier than most. However, the more she does it, the riskier it gets, as she has to let a small amount of darkness in to do it. She also has a limited ability to bend and control shadows.
Keyblade Design: Spirit’s Divide: Made of a dark, but gleaming metal, the Keyblade’s shaft is fairly long, providing it with great reach. Framing the hilt are two angelic wings, one black and one white. At the other end, the blade of the key is in the shape of a broken heart (top half black, bottom half white), with the tips pointed out and jagged ridges between them. The keychain hanging from the hilt is a smaller version of the blade, a heart with a crack down the middle. (Sorry, I suck at designing weapons…> _<)
Relationships: None yet (She’s from another world, she has an excuse!)
Other: Muffin? o_o

Sanya Halvacor
How can a person be so full of light, yet still shrouded in shadow?


A rundown, deserted backstreet. Graffiti-covered brick walls and unswept pavement. The only living presence was a small stray dog that was digging through an overturned trashcan in search of a few scraps. Twilight was nearly upon the city now and all of the street lamps had been turned on for the night. However, the one in this particular alley was in obvious disrepair, much like the street itself, and the only light it gave was sporadic as it flickered erratically and emitted a low buzzing sound. The stray paid no notice to it as it continued to scavenge and only looked up when another sound entered into the scene; a deep, dark-sounding thrum. The shadows in the corner of the alley began to waver and ripple as if someone had dropped a pebble into a still pond. Slowly, a small rift opened in mid air, opening up into a circular portal. A female figure stepped out of it, the shadows swirling and licking at her body as she emerged into the alleyway. Startled by the sudden appearance, the stray yelped and scampered away. The portal was gone as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the young woman standing alone.

“So this is Earth…” said Sanya, looking about curiously, “Doesn’t really seem like much to me, but appearances can be deceiving I guess…” She began to wonder how she was going to find what she was looking for in this place, but knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere by just standing here. She began to move cautiously, making her way out of the alley toward what looked like a main road. As she passed under the flickering lamp it briefly illuminated her features, short, pitch dark hair with icy blue bangs and eyes to match, both standing out against her ivory-colored skin. This reminded her to reach back and lift up the hood of her coat so that it hid the majority of her face. This particular combination of hair and skin tone was fairly common where she was from, but she wasn’t sure what to expect on Earth and she felt it best to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to herself.


*~*~*~*~*~*~

Making her way to a more populated area, Sanya was now moving down a bustling main street, lined with glass windows fronting various shops and businesses. She pondered how to begin her search. Earth was a big place and she was going to have to narrow down the possible locations. This world was being plagued by The Darkness. This much she knew already. What she was looking for (or rather, who) would more than likely be in the areas most affected. The only question was, how did she figure out where that was?

As if answering her question, Sanya heard a voice from somewhere nearby that sounded like an announcement.

“This just in. Breaking news from Traverse News Center on the bizarre rash of heart thefts.” Heart thefts? This caught Sanya’s attention. She joined a group of people who were focused on a small black box with a glassy screen. Displayed on the screen was a man in a suit who appeared to have notes in front of him. “The string of peculiar homicides spreading across Tokyo and the surrounding areas has continued to baffle authorities. The so-called “Heart Thief” serial killer has recently been focusing many of his attacks in and around the area of Traverse Town. Police have yet to discover any leads that would lead them to any possible suspects in this case…”

The news caster continued but Sanya had heard enough. Traverse Town, huh? That was where The Shadows were and they were there in great numbers. Apparently, however, most people in this world were incapable of seeing them. If only she were so lucky herself…

She knew she had to go there, for whatever was attracting the Shadows was also her goal as well. A small shudder shot up her spine at the thought of consciously going towards those things. Those claws…those yellow eyes with their cold, soulless stare… They terrified Sanya more than she could ever say, but yet their destination was also hers. She couldn’t avoid it, as much as she wanted to.

Steeling herself she looked around and found a sign labeled “To Traverse Town”, with an arrow pointing down a flight of stairs that disappeared underground. Having no other lead to go on, she followed it, silently wishing it would’ve stayed above ground.

Word Count: 743

Sorry this kinda drops off (and kinda sucks). I meant to go a bit farther but I ran out of time and I'm heading out of town tomorrow for Otakon. I'll be back on Sunday so I'll try to get another post in then to get Sanya caught up with the rest of the group (groups?).

[classy_cat18]

Itsuki Naomi
Hunted by darkness

Because of the pushing and panicking of the crowd, I was the last to get off. Because I was the last to get off, I became a target.

“Naomi…come with us…”

I froze in place in fear, or so I thought. The sleeve I was holding onto slipped away as the person it belonged to left me. When I tried to run to catch up to that person, my legs wouldn’t move. It was like they were glued to the floor, and the glue was creeping up…twisting…binding.

Oh no! My own shadow had trapped me!

A tendril of darkness snaked its way up my back, brushing against my sensitive scars on the way, and wrapped itself around my mouth and head to silence me. “Don’t ruin the fun. We have plans for you.” More darkness covered my hands, halting their movements. My flashlight was still tightly held. More tendrils pulled my backpack from my back and dropped it on the ground.

The puddle of darkness moved me away from the group towards the tunnel. No, not more darkness! They’re stealing me again! I’ll never come back! Tears ran down my face, and I whimpered from the weakness I felt. The worst thing was that nobody seemed to notice.

Into the tunnel…into the inky darkness.

So cold. It was like being plunged into an ocean of icy water. Yellow eyes surrounded me. Black arms reached out for me. I squirmed at the touches; they seemed to love touching the scars on my upper arms and back. A hand gently and slowly ran its claws down the claw marks on my back a few times. It seemed to freeze me with its touch.

“I remember these.”

“Our fun was interrupted.”

“It won’t be this time.”

I let out a muffled sob as the hand on my back moved around to my chest, settling on top of my quickly beating heart. This was it. It was going to plunge in and rip it out. I might even become one of them. A little dark creep with yellow eyes and creepy powers.

I struggled with the darkness keeping me gagged enough to get my mouth free. “LET ME GO!” I screamed.

One of them hissed and let the arm holding the flashlight loose long enough for me to turn the device on. Although the light didn’t seem like much, it was enough to distract them. I tore away from them and ran/swam my way in a random direction, not even knowing where it would take me.

“Come back here!” Claws raked down my arm, drawing blood. I screamed but kept going until I went through a bright spot, right where they pulled me into.

Light blinded me as if I hadn’t seen it in days, but I didn’t stop running. No, I didn’t want those things to catch me again. “HELP!” I shouted desperately as my legs started to wobble. The pain of my wound intensified, making me wince. I had just enough strength to make it to the crowd before I collapsed.

A young woman gently took my wounded arm and examined it. “The scratches shouldn’t be as bad as they look, but…” She ran her fingers over the skin. It was starting to look black. “I’ve never seen damage like this.”

Akira kneeled next to me, his eyes showing worry. I’ve never seen him wear such a look. I grabbed his sleeve like it was a lifeline. “They grabbed me!” I cried. I heard several people react to this. “They pulled me into the dark! It was so cold and all around me was darkness and yellow eyes…”

At first the rational side of my brain was wondering why I was clinging to the soccer star when I didn’t even know him that well. Wouldn’t he just push me away? Instead he pulled me closer into a hug and stroked my hair. “It’s alright. You’re free from them now,” he whispered.

Even though I was already letting out tears, what he said released the floodgates. “I thought…I thought I’d never see daylight again,” I sobbed. He kept still even after I rubbed my eyes on his shoulder.

We stayed like that until I relaxed and pulled away from him. Blood stained his shirt where I had grabbed him. “Gomen nasai,” I said softly and turned to the others as they started talking again. “What’s going on?”

The guy who led us at the start spoke up again. “In about five minutes, that cloud-“ He looked towards the slowly moving formation. “Is going to cover the sun.”

I stiffened and grabbed Akira’s arm again. “More darkness?” I squeaked.

Everyone talked about who had transportation for who. Akira held me again, like he didn’t want us to be separated. The leader turned to the woman who was looking at my arm. “You know what you’re doing?”

“I had some training, yes. I can keep them alive, if that’s what you mean.” She was already cleaning my wound. He nodded and ordered me to go with her.

The nurse looked closely in my eyes. “Does anything else hurt?” she asked me.

I ignored the tingling of my old scars. “No, just my arm.”

She dabbed disinfectant on my wounds and bandaged it. “Arigatou,” I told her. “What’s your name?”

“Hotaru Birgitte.”

“I should be okay now. You can go back to the unconscious man.”

The girl that was arguing with Akira earlier came back. “We’ll be riding with Yanagisawa-san.” She pointed to another girl with red hair. “We don’t have much time.”

I stood and leaned against Akira, my legs still weak. He helped me to the back seat of the car, then sat beside me. Akira’s friend/enemy sat on the other side of me. “How do you know Akira-kun?” I asked her, the nickname just slipping out.

Akira blushed slightly, and the girl smiled slightly. “I’m his older cousin. Call me Katsumi.”

993 words.

[Samchu]

Name: Kurushimi, Kutsuu
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Personality: Generally a nice guy although he tends to venture on the quiet side and when he does talk with people the conversation will rarely focus on him; he isn't one for sharing his personal life with people. He tries to convince himself that he should never get emotionally close to anyone but it happens and when he realises it he tends to turn on people in a bid to push them away. He has a reputation for being sought after by a lot of the girls at his school but he never takes any interest in their advances and is always nice about turning them down (he’s become quite an expert at it); spawning rumours that there must be something more between him and Yuki than just friendship. He doesn’t see her as anything other than a friend but is very protective of her, more so than with any of his other friends. He has a pleasant aura about him that seems to attract people but there are days when he sinks into an empty depression that even Yuki struggles to get him out of. He doesn’t understand the reason for them and doesn’t know how to cure them either.
Appearance: Kutsuu is about six feet tall with a build that leans on the side of muscular (he’s quite athletic despite the fact that he doesn’t compete in any school teams). He has dark brown eyes and hair that is a few shades lighter. His hair is kept short but he grows a small ponytail at the back and keeps it thick at the top so he can experiment with its look. His face is broad and he has a distinctly strong chin, features that cause many of the girls at his school to consider him fairly attractive. He wears the typical school uniform (trousers, shoes, shirt, tie) at school but given the option prefers the comfort of jeans and a t-shirt.
History: Kutsuu’s history begins at the age of 4 when he awoke from a year-long coma with complete amnesia. His parents took him home and the first night they turned off his bedroom light and before he could sleep he saw a sea of yellow eyes, staring at him. He didn’t know why but the sight terrified him and he has slept with the light on ever since. He doesn’t know why he’s afraid of them but he’s learned to cope with the sight of them and sometimes when they stare, he stares back. Aside from that, Kutsuu’s had a quiet and uneventful life and has coped with being kept back a year (he skipped a year whilst in his coma) pretty well.
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: (still haven’t decided...will include/reveal/discover over the course of the rpg)
Keyblade Design: The Edge of Dreams ~ The blade’s handle is pale silver and is surrounded by a silver oval; the top of which forms the blade’s hilt. A thin black line circles the outer edge of the oval as though trying to seep out from a crack. The blade’s shaft is a tightly weaved silver. The actual blade resembles a silver thorn bush that seems to have escaped from the cocoon-like shaft and is spreading outwards. At the very bottom of the keyblade hangs a small glass charm which appears so hold a swirling black shadow.
Relationships: Yuki’s best friend
Other: There are other things…but I’m not telling what they are.
Kutsuu Kurushimi
Cars, Trains, and Heartless
The female fascination with shopping was something I'd never been able to understand and doubted I ever would, but Yuki-chan had asked and like always I'd been unable to say no. So there I was, on the day's edge, the evening beckoning ever-closer, pressed up against a girl who hadn't stopped blushing since the first time I'd set eyes on her.

Dammit Yuki-chan...where are you?

The phone in my pocket vibrated and I flipped it open. A message from Yuki: I’m in the next carriage. Don’t worry! Meet you by the exit x

I sighed as I put away the phone. I could sense the need for another rejection speech coming my way and the last thing I needed was to be trapped alone with a sobbing teen. Just because I had a record for turning down girls didn't mean I enjoyed it; it just meant I could word it well - for all the good that did to the devastated female on the other end.

"Gomenasai again sempai."

The trouble had started when she'd tripped on her way through the carriage and twisted her ankle. No one had been willing to give up their seat so I'd ended up offering myself as a leaning post.

Great idea Kutsuu, get her hopes up. She'll LOVE you for doing that.

"It's not your fault. And it's Kutsuu by the way, Kurushimi Kutsuu."

"Aratomi Maya. Kurushimi-sempai, was that your girlfriend at the station?"

She was scoping me out, trying to figure out her chances of going out with me. "No girlfriend. Just a friend. I'm not one for relationships." It made sense to deter her now; the longer this went on the harder it would be on her in the end.

She was quiet long enough for me to drop my guard and begin to wish for a quick end to this journey. "The tunnel's coming up soon."

I had forgotten about the tunnel. The gaps between the heads of the crammed passengers were too narrow for me to see its approach but I could feel it in the racing of my heart and the tensing of my muscles. The rumbling of the voices around me began to fade, as though I was hearing them from the other side of a wall. My ears were captivated by the sound of my own pulsating blood and I barely heard Aratomi-chan's voice as her body leaned closer to mine "...says anything can happen in a moment of darkness."

My heart skipped at the sound of the ‘fwoomp’ as the train plunged head-first into the darkness. I steered my gaze through the unaffected heads to find the window and there they were, that sea of beady yellow eyes eyeing the passengers like a Chinese buffet. I stared back at them, refusing to move even though I had no choice in the matter. I can’t describe how it felt to stare into those eyes; there was no emotion, no depth, no focus, they just simply existed and staring into that existence and feeling it stare back at me made something in me turn, though I had no idea what it was or for what purposed it moved.

The outline of a head blocked my view. Her breath smelt of peppermint and I could taste the strawberry chapstick on her lips. From the edges of my limited vision I saw them clambering across the exterior of the train towards the carriage where Yuki was. I pulled away from the unwanted kiss and struggled against the wall of flesh pressed against me, much to the dislike of the other passengers.

What do they want there? Dammit Yuki…why didn’t you get into this carriage?

Something was happening in the other carriage but I couldn’t see what. People bundled closer to the rear door, hoping to catch a better glimpse and I was stuck listening to distorted commentary.

“Oh my God! Did you see that?”

“Everyone’s moving into the centre.”

“Should we do the same?”

There was nothing but panic around me but all I could think of was Yuki and whether or not she was ok. If you so much as lay a finger on her I swear I’ll hunt down every last one of your kind. Even though I wasn’t sure how much I believed those words, for every agonising moment that dragged past it provided a little buffer to my tension.

When the train finally pulled into the station everyone rushed off. I watched people trampled in the madness but I had no time for them or for the girl who still clung to me, holding me back as I tried to fight through the rushing swarm. I had to find Yuki, I needed to know that she was alright and that those things – those damned monsters – hadn’t done anything to hurt her.

Forcing my way through the crowd – abandoning the injured Maya – I spotted her apart from the crowd and ran over.

“Yuki, are you alright? What happened? You look so pale.”

“Kutsuu, I’m fine.” She touched my arm and I shivered at the coldness of it.

“You’re freezing!” I pulled out my school jacket and draped it over her shoulders, though I doubted what good it would do. Despite the lateness of the hour it wasn’t that cold, which made me fear for the cause of her icy touch.

“She looked really worried on the train,” said the boy beside her. “This guy lost his footing and hit the window pretty hard, she’s probably in shock. I’m sure she’ll be fine in a minute.”

I turned on him. “Fine? You just turn up out of nowhere and say that she’s gonna be fine?”

“Kutsuu, stop...” Yuki pleaded. “It’s okay.”

The parental side of me took over and I couldn’t help but lecture him a little longer on Yuki and the importance of her safety. That was until, Yuki spoke again; “Saito-san…They’re coming back.”

Everything else at that moment was a blur. She can see them? And this guy…he can see them too? It’s not just me?

“Yuki-chan…you…you can see the monsters too?”

"Yeah... For a long time... I guess that means you see them too?"

I nodded but ended it there. What more could I say to her?

The others talked. There were plans set in motion to get us out of the area before we became trapped in the darkness and left helpless at the hands of the monsters that few could see.

“I’ll go with Saito-san,” said Yuki, as everyone set about choosing their transports.

“So will I.” I stepped a little closer to her and whispered, “I’m not letting you get away from me this time. I don’t care if this is a serious situation, I’m not risking anymore emotional attacks.”


*** Word Count: 1,129 ***

[ChobiChibi]

~Kurosawa Yuki~

Emotional attacks? Yuki sighed a little. He was right, she guessed, it was quite a little shock to her day, but it wasn’t that bad... He was exaggerating, but he couldn’t help it. Kutsuu had always protected her, he wasn’t about to stop now.

“Saying that makes you sound like something Touya should say.” She commented, smirking. “You’d make a better big brother than him any day.”

Yuki wasn’t quite sure what to make of this situation. Here she was, about to get into the car of a complete stranger with two of her best friends, who just so happen to also see the strange, yellow eyed creatures that she did.

Previously, she had thought it was just a weird family thing, since she knew that Touya could see them, but she stood corrected. Man, would he be pissed when he found out.

“Yuki-chan, can I come with you too?” Karen asked, looking a little nervous.

"Shouldn’t you be asking Saito-kun?” Yuki giggled. “Of course you can.”

Ryou sighed and rolled his eyes. “Hurry up.”

“Shotgun!” Yuki called as they approached the car. She wasn’t exactly sure which one it was, but she assumed it would be for the best. At least she would be able to carry a conversation between the four of them reasonably well.

As Ryou took out his keys and pressed the unlock button, she knew she had made the right decision.

The red flashy sports car’s hazard lights flashed as the locks clicked open. There was no doubt about it, this was a very expensive, very fast car. She liked fast, expensive cars...

If only Touya had a car like this... Yuki thought as she let herself in the front passenger seat. Dad would kill him though for not having a Toyota...

There was a small tinge of jealousy lining Kutsuu’s expression and voice as he commented: “Nice car...”

Ryou chuckled a little, that cute smirk appearing again. “Thanks.”

A chill ran up her spine again as they pulled out of the car park and onto the main road. That cloud had blocked the sun and the shadows were free to stalk their prey once more, she could sense them leaving the safety of the tunnel and lurking in unlit places. However, as they sped up going down Main Street, she couldn’t keep hold of them. One minute, she’d feel fine; her temperature and heart beat back to normal. The next minute, her skin would go icy cold, her heart would race and the butterflies would cause motorway pile ups in her stomach.

There was an odd silence. Yuki was failing at her task of making conversation. Until...

“I can just keep driving, y’know...” Ryou began, glancing across at Yuki. “Or you could tell me where you guys live...”

“We all live in the Shinoyaki district, I’m closest to the high school.” Yuki informs him. “Kutsuu lives to the North, Karen to the North East...”

“So what you’re telling me is that we’re going in the completely wrong direction?” He didn’t sound very impressed.

Yuki shivered violently as Ryou turned the car around and headed in the other direction, but the moment passed very quickly. She didn’t like this one bit. She felt at ease when she knew exactly where the monsters were, but the movement stopped her being able to concentrate. “Sorry...” She mumbled, rubbing her forehead. “I can’t think straight.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll direct him from here.” Kutsuu spoke, reaching over and putting his hand on her shoulder.

*Final Fantasy Victory Tune*

Quickly, Yuki pulled her phone from out of her pocket. “Oh god, it’s Touya...”

“Don’t answer.” Kutsuu quickly responded.

Karen seemed curious. “Why not? Isn’t Touya your Niisan?”

“Be quiet a sec...” Yuki pressed the button on the dash to turn off the radio before answering. “Moshi mosh-”

“Where are you?” Her brother’s voice cut hers short.

Shit.... He was going to pick us up from the station.

“Um... I forgot you were coming and-”

“You said to come pick you up just after 8. It’s just after 8 now.” He scolded.

“Well we saw Karen and her cousin at the station, so he’s giving us a lift home.” She lied. Fortunately, she was good at lying.

“... I’m not coming to pick you up again.”

“Niisan I’m-” Click. “... He hung up on me.” She turned around in her seat so that she could see her two friends. “Kaaaaaaareeeeeennnn-chaaaaaaan...”

“If Touya asked, Saito-kun is my cousin and he took us home.” She smiled back at Yuki. “I know.”

“Thank you so much...” She said as breathed a sigh of relief, turning around and sinking further down into the seat. “Today can’t get much worse...”

788 words <3
I'll fix any mistakes when I come back :3

[Roy Karrde]

Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

I shoved a person out of my way, carelessly tossing them to the ground as I rushed over to Naomi, my feet nearly giving out from underneath me as I did so. “They grabbed me..” She cried as I knelt down, my eyes wide in shock as she clung to my shirt, immediately dampening it with blood. “They pulled me into the dark! It was so cold and all around me was darkness and yellow eyes…”

My blood ran cold, as I looked around, checking in every which direction for those nightmarish yellow eyes. I couldn’t just sit there, the two of us being vulnerable incase they attacked again. I turned to my left once more and saw Katsumi standing guard, my body began to relax slightly, she may be horrible, and annoying, and disgusting, but I could trust her.

“It’s alright. You’re free from them now.” I whispered, gulping a bit as I did what came naturally, drawing her close, closer than I had ever pulled a girl before, and stroked her hair with as much comfort as I could.

“I thought… I thought I’d never see daylight again.” She sobbed, clinging to my shoulder and burying her head into it for comfort. I let it lay there for maybe a second, maybe a minute; I just looked down at her shaking shoulder before turning, and softly placing my lips on the side of her head, burying them in her hair for a soft kiss near the top of her head. I doubt she felt it, and I had no idea how she would react if she did, but… it felt like the right thing to do.

Softly she pulled away, I wasn’t sure if it was from the kiss or from the embarrassment of being comforted by me, either way she moved away and gazed down at my soaked blood stained shirt. “Gomen nasai.” She apologized softly as others began to talk again.

“In about five minutes, that cloud-“ Some guy was pointing to the sky. “Is going to cover the sun.”

Naomi grabbed my arm, her body shaking “More darkness?” She asked.

Everyone began to talk about transportation as I pulled Naomi into a comforting embrace, my eyes darting around for Katsumi. Naomi began to talk with the woman treating her arm, but my attention was elsewhere. I needed to stick together with Katsumi, that stupid annoying weapon of her’s could be our only chance against these shadows or nightmares or what ever they were.

“We’ll be riding with Yanagisawa-san” The annoying girl announced, I would argue about her making decisions for me but instead remained quiet, allowing Naomi to lean against me as I walked her to the car and helped her in the backseat before sliding in next to her. The door on the other side opened, and a wave of relief washed over me as Katsumi took a seat on the other side of Naomi.

“How do you know Akira-kun?” Naomi asked, as I felt my face redden slightly

“I’m his older cousin. Call me Katsumi.

“She’s a brat and a annoyance..” I responded on instinct, glaring in her direction for a moment before softening my expression. “How long have you trained with that thing?” I gestured to the weapon she used to hit me in the head earlier.

“Hmm… since I was five years old, I suppose. That makes it twelve years.” She replied simply.

A small sigh escaped my lips, maybe it was fate that led that brat to sit across from me and interrupt my little discussion with Naomi. “If something happens… if this darkness does attack us and we get separated, we need to meet back some where.” I was making small talk, hopefully to spur on a conversation, but my eyes said different, I was looking my cousin straight in the eyes, looking at her in a way I had never done before, a pleading look, almost as if I was begging her. ‘Protect her’ was what I was trying to get across. I could only hope that she got the message.

687, Dangit I still cant beat Kuro in post length!

[Green Lanturn]

Hmmm, Mikas car....i guess if i had to name a car id drive a red Honda Civic.....:P

I'll post tomorrow, i just got into houston....ttyl

[VirtualPlay]

Yasashisa, Karen
~^+_+^~^+_+^~^+_+^~
Before I really noticed what was going on, everyone was making decisions as to where we were going to go and whose car we were taking to get there. But with an open-ended instruction of "pick a person and follow them," I wasn't sure exactly what I should do. So of course I did the only thing I could.

Running over to where Yuki was, I asked, "Yuki-chan, can I come with you too?" The two boys that were with her turned and looked at me as well as Yuki, and I suddenly got a little nervous about being with people I didn't know.

But Yuki just smiled at me. "Shouldn't you be asking Saito-kun?" she said with a slight giggle. "Of course you can," she added, and I felt a little calmer.

One of the guys, I think it was Saito-kun, said, "Hurry up," as he turned and walked towards a group of cars. I sped up a bit and we caught up to them.

"Shotgun!" Yuki yelled as we got a little closer. I still wasn't sure which car we were going into, but then Saito-kun pushed a button he had on his keys and a car's lights blinked. I wasn't one to know that much about cars, but even I could tell this one was pretty impressive.

"Nice car..." Yuki's other friend said, I think it was Kurushimi-kun. I'd met him a couple times before, but not extensively.

Ryou smirked as he responded with a simple "Thanks." Saito-kun got in and I slid into the seat behind him, Yuki took the passenger and Kurushimi-kun sad across from me in the back, behind Yuki. We took off down the street and onto the main roads. I assumed Saito-kun knew where we were going, like to some place we were meeting everyone, until he said, "I can just keep driving, y'know, or you can tell me where you guys live..." I felt a pang of guilt when he said that, because...

"We all live in the Shinoyaki district," Yuki finished my thought. "I'm closest to the high school. Kutsuu lives to the north, Karen to the northeast."

Saito-kun sounded annoyed as he said, "So what you're telling me is we're going in the completely wrong direction?"

I saw Yuki give a tiny shiver. "Sorry," she said, putting her hand to her forehead, "I can't think straight."

Kurushimi-kun put his hand on her shoulder, saying, "Don't worry about it, I'll direct him from here." He didn't get a chance to, however, before someone's phone went off.

Yuki pulled hers out of her pocket, looked at the screen, and said, "Oh God, it's Touya..."

"Don't answer," Kurushimi-kun said quickly, which confused me.

"Why not?" I asked. "Isn't Touya your Niisan?"

"Be quiet a sec..." Yuki said, turning the radio off and answered. "Moshi mosh-" She stopped suddenly, apparently to the voice on the other side, which sounded annoyed. "Um, I forgot you were coming and-" she got cut off again, her face slowly growing more and more anxious. I was beginning to understand a little more about Yuki's hesitance to speak with her brother.

"Well we saw Karen and her cousin at the station, so he’s giving us a lift home." I felt a slight twinge of guilt at being brought into the story, but it wasn't entirely false...just the part of Saito-kun being my cousin. "Niisan, I'm-" she winced, then added "...he hung up on me."

She turned around to look at us in the back seat, a desperate look on her face. "Kaaaaaaareeeeeennnn-chaaaaaaan..." she pleaded, but she really needn't have. If Yuki-chan needed help, then Yuki-chan gets help.

"If Touya-san asks, Saito-kun is my cousin and he took us home," I said, giving her an assuring smile. "I know."

"Thank you so much..." Yuki said, and I could tell she meant it. She sat back down into her seat, and mumbled, "Today can't get much worse."

"You know you shouldn't say that," Saito-kun said, "or it will. And with these things out here it can get worse very easily."

"At least your headlights work," I said, "because it's now dark enough for them to be out in the open..."

Yuki shivered, "I can already feel them longing to jump into the car and grab us all..."

Kurushimi-kun put his hand back onto Yuki's shoulder, seemingly instinctively, and said, "Don't think like that, we're going to be just fine."

"Agh!" Saito-kun yelled, suddenly swerving the car to the left quickly. "There was a rock in the middle of the road!" he added as he moved back into the lane.

Suddenly Kurushimi-kun screamed out, and I whipped my head to stare straight into a pair of glowing yellow eyes. 'Oh God no, please...' I pleaded, 'this can't be happening...' The monster was right there, hanging onto the car frame and staring at us.

I let out a soft moan as I silently pleaded with it, 'No, go away, please go away!' For some reason, it seemed to hear my thoughts, and instead of moving in for an attack it just tilted its head at me, as if it were questioning me.

"ARGH!" Kurushimi-kun yelled out suddenly, throwing a punch at the monster who, apparently stunned, fell off the car frame and was lost as we sped along. I hadn't even noticed the window was open until just then. "Keep driving!" he shouted to Saito-kun.


~~** 877 **~~

[Crystal Tears]

Due to the sheer lack of not knowing exactly what is going on (specifically with Kurtis’s truck), we’re moving on as I don’t want to dwell too much on the first real encounter with the Heartless.


Ryou Saito .: + :. Written Poorly Due to Writer’s Block

The car pulled into the driveway and Ryou leaned his head back, lightly thumping it against the seat. They had split up at the parking lot and he could only hope that they had all made it home. Otherwise he didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened. He remembered the attack on his own life, and the numerous spine-tingling feelings that had made his life just one rollercoaster of fear and anxiety.

But never had he seen one attack so bluntly, without any regard with who saw them or even knew of their existence. Though he realized that anyone he or maybe the others told would probably think they were crazy. A trick of the eye, imagination, what-have-you all the adults had the greatest of excuses.

“Wonderful…” He thought out loud, fiddling with his cellphone. Yuki and Karen had both put their numbers in, though Karen had been reluctant and only did so when her friend sort of pushed her into it.

He also, if he scrolled his list, had Mika’s.

The other’s he hadn’t gotten, and in truth he hadn’t wanted the one’s he got in the car. He wanted to ignore the entire problem and hope to God it all just went away.

‘Why do I doubt that will happen?’
“Ryou?”

“Eh?” He looked up from inside his car and saw his mother standing in the doorway, hands on her hips with her disheveled hair and patchy bathrobe making her look closer to a druggie than a mother with two children.

“Are you coming in or are you gonna sit in that stupid car all night? I want to go to bed, not waiting up for my rebel son to get home.”

Ryou frowned and stepped outside, pushing past her and shooting the woman a glare as he dropped his keys on the counter.

“How’s Ai?”

The door shut quietly and he listened to the hushed click of the lock setting in place.

“She’s alright, she’s sleeping.” There was suddenly a chord of kindess in his mother’s voice. “You should sleep too. You look tired.”

“I am tired.”

“Why?”

He shrugged, not wanting to go into it. “Does it matter?”

“Well you called at 9:30 saying you would be late, you had just dropped off some friends… It’s 11:23 now; exactly what did you do for two hours?”

‘Contemplating murder…’ He shrugged as he headed for his room. “Nothing.”

“Ryou-“

“Good Night.” He called back in a stern manner, closing his door and collapsing onto the bed. “I’ve had enough monsters for one day…”


* * *

High noon in the city, and he couldn’t believe his curiosity had gotten the better of him. In the morning he had been rudely awakened by Ai who found it exciting that he had received a letter. Only it had been junk mail, an advertisement for a new store of odd knick-knacks and whatever else you might define as usually small and particularly useless.

Despite this, he had driven to the store, and now stood in front of it, staring up at the odd, slightly rustic sign that, in flashing letters read: THE HOLLOW BASTION.
‘Joy…’
Noting on curiosity, as something fell over in the alleyway next to the shady store, Ryou moved for it. Hoping for any reason to not go inside, what he found as he rounded the corner was something he didn’t expect.

A woman was standing in the corridor, looking a bit lost and confused. She also looked tired, like she had been walking all night long.

“Hi.”

The woman looked up quickly and stared at him for a moment.

“Hello..”

“Are you okay?” Ryou raised an eyebrow as she seemed to straighten up a bit, but also at her odd appearance. Her skin was ivory and her eyes were an ice-like blue.

“Um…” She frowned. “I’m lost.”

He frowned. “Yeah… I can see that…”

“What do you mean?”

“… Well… You’re standing in an alleyway…”

She smiled a tad and moved towards him, seemingly happy for human contact. “My name is Sanya.”

“I’m Ryou Saito..” He stepped back out onto the street, and she followed him. “So.. You’re lost…”

“Yes.” Sanya nodded.

“Right…” The man noted her pitch-black hair and silvery-blue bangs. “Where did you want go?”


* * 749 * *

Alright, to help with the confusion, we’ve moved onto the next day. By sheer coincidence, some way or another, you’re character ends up at the Hollow Bastion; it does not have to be by the same method as Ryou.

Sorry if it’s a bad post, writers block has struck and I’m forcing everything. Lol

[classy_cat18]

Itsuki Naomi

Yellow eyes…

Black hands sinking into my chest…

No…let go…

No…

No!

“NO!” I sat up in an unfamiliar bed, located in an unfamiliar room. Wide eyes scanned the room for anything that I could remember. My mind frantically searched my memories of yesterday. Okay, escaped the Heartless. Went home. Didn’t want to stay home. Then I went…then I went…

“Naomi!” Akira rushed to my bed and shook my shoulder. I slowly calmed down and slowed my breathing.

Now I remembered. I went to Katsumi’s house since I was still rattled by the attack. “I’m okay,” I assured Akira with a small smile.

He sighed in relief. “Man, I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the bathroom until you woke up,” he muttered to himself.

Now I knew why the room wasn’t familiar. I was so exhausted when I got to the house that I curled up on the nearest couch. Someone must’ve carried me to the guest room. From what I saw yesterday, it was a very nice house. Katsumi must’ve been rich. “Akira-kun?” He blushed again from the nickname. “What do Katsumi-chan’s parents do for a living?”

He hesitated before answering. “Dad’s head of the yakuza,” he said while looking away.

I paled a little and laughed nervously. “That explains her boldness.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Come on, we still got school today.” He left the room.

It was earlier than I usually got up for school, but I didn’t go back to sleep. I washed up in the next-door bathroom and changed into the extra set of clothes that I hastily got from my house. The backpack that I had yesterday stayed by my side with my things, with the addition of the flute that I forgot due to yesterday’s hastiness. “Figures the day I forgot it that I would be attacked,” I whispered.

In the following silence, a soft song drifted in the room. No one else would’ve heard it. It was Akira’s heart song, a low and slightly harsh whistling tune. From the volume of it, I would say that he was in the guest room I was sleeping in. Softer, and further away, was Katsumi’s heart song. It was lighter and more cheerful.

Following Katsumi’s heart song, I found her in a large room practicing kendo. She has room for a whole dojo. The girl stopped in mid-swing and looked at me. I took a second to find my voice. “Ohayo gozaimasu!” I greeted with a blush and a bow. “Arigatou. You took me into your home.”

Akira quickly walked by and grabbed my wrist. “Let’s get breakfast,” he said while pulling me out of the room.

I was so lucky. Even though I was pulled into the darkness and attacked, I managed to get out. “It still works,” I said to myself.

Akira stopped. “What still works?”

I looked down at my lucky necklace, a piece of amber that my dad found years ago. “My lucky charm. It still works.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Nao-chan! You have explaining to do!”

“Hm?” I looked up at my classmate Miyu after zoning out again. Akira was in another grade since he was younger. Katsumi went to a private school.

Miyu huffed and leaned down to my level. “You were supposed to IM me about that CD you got in Akihabara yesterday! What happened?”

“Ano…I wasn’t feeling well.” I yelped as she grabbed my bandaged arm. “Heh heh. I really wasn’t feeling well?”

“Really, Nao-chan! I’ve been worried about you lately! The scars on your back and arm that I saw in the locker room, the zoning out, the nightmares! And now this! What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing.” I searched for a way to change the subject. “I did see Saotome on the train ride back.”

“Saotome Akira? The soccer star?” She puffed out her cheeks. “Not him again! You know he’s been paying special attention to you!”

“Really?” I scratched my head in confusion. My zone-out sessions were worse than I thought.

“You didn’t talk to him, right? Those jocks only want one thing from you.”

“What’s that?” She slapped her forehead and pointed to my chest. “My necklace?”

She growled in frustration. “No, your body! Your precious cherry, and he’ll throw you away if you give it to him! Do you want to give your virginity to a loudmouthed, violent jerk?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You read too much manga.”

It was then that another one of my friends, Chiyo, burst into the classroom. “Nao-chan’s boyfriend is at it again!” she sang excitedly.

“Boyfriend?” I said curiously. Miyu slapped her forehead. “Akira?”

“Yes!” the two shouted together. They dragged me out of the classroom.

781 words.

[Roy Karrde]

Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

I left the room to allow Naomi to get her self cleaned up and ready for school, the events of the last night were a whirlwind from arriving at the train station, the attack, driving back in the car, and then some how I ended up Naomi’s room, laying awake for most of the night. Obviously everything would come back soon enough but with a cumulative total of only 10 minutes of sleep I was feeling quite tired.

“Morning...” I yawned, sliding open the door to Katsumi’s dojo, having followed the sound of her exercising down the hallway.

For a moment I watched her perform her acrobatic movements as she practiced her kendo. “I had the maid set out breakfast for us.” She performed one final move before stopping, picking up a towel to dry her face off.

I responded with a yawn, leaning against the doorframe. “So why did we end up staying in a house belonging to criminals?” I asked a soft and slightly annoyed tone to my voice.

"Believe it or not, the Yamaguchi-gumi is a legal group, we're not criminals, per se," she responded with that annoying little smile of hers.

I gave her a slight grumble; I was too tired to listen to her ‘excuses’. “So we get attacked by monsters, and now we have to worry about the police raiding the house for drugs or porno or what ever you’re family traffics in”

"The police can't do that without solid proof, Akira-chan." She emphasized the last part much to my annoyance; I gripped my pant leg to fight off the urge to break that ugly face of her’s.

With out a single reply I turned and headed down the hallway, following my nose to a small table of food complete with several different types of pastries that I had only seen at those fancy hotels the team would some times get to stay at. My ears picked up the soft sound of Naomi’s voice just as I grabbed a plate. The last thing I wanted was her to have a prolonged conversation with that pest, who knows what kind of secrets she could tell her while I was still working Naomi.

“Let’s get breakfast.” I quickly grabbed her hand, dragging her away from the dojo in a hurried fashion.

“It still works” Naomi spoke up as I picked the plate back up again and began to grab several different fruits and pastries

“What still works?”

“My lucky charm, it still works.” She explained, looking down at her necklace with a strange rock hooked onto it. For a moment my eyes focused on it before I finally tore myself away and back to the food. After the attack and a sleepless night, being able to get some quality food in me sounded good. Even if it was bought by a family that traffics in drugs and porno.


~*~*~*~*~*~

It was fourth period so of course most of the team was roaming the hallways, it was kind of our unmentioned rule that we would take fourth off, talk about the parties, the upcoming games, complain about the coaches, just the normal talk. Of course the teachers didn’t seem to mind, as long as we won and the school maintained its fame as one of the top football high schools in the country, they were willing to turn a blind eye.

“Who brings the beer this week?” I asked the three of us were making our way down the hall, discussing the post game party we had planned for next week. “I got it two weeks ago.”

“We’ll make Takuto bring it since he’s so desperate to come.” The three of us chuckled as we were coming up to two students not on the team who seemed to have the stupid idea of playing hooky during the time reserved for the players. “So Akira are you still working that girl?” The Centre-back asked.

“Who Naomi? I’m…” My voice fell off, as we passed by the two students who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation about the train incident.

“So did you see that girl that was screaming and crying after it, how pathetic?” One boy asked, before his friend could answer I pivoted around on my right foot, grabbing him by the throat and slamming his body into the wall, knocking his head back with enough force that for a second I thought I cracked it.

“Who the hell are you talking about?” I growled, the sound of the hit was enough to bring some students to the door to peer out, while others had rushed out into the hallway. The boy’s face was already turning pale in shock as I tightened my grip on his neck. “I’m waiting for a answer…”

803, still chasing Kurosakura....

[Samchu]

Kutsuu
~~~~~
The ride after the attacked was filled with silent tension. No one but Yuki spoke and that was only to give directions to our hard-faced driver. I sat back – away from the window – and flexed my hand. It was the first time I’d ever come some close to one of those creatures and not only that I had…touched it. The sensation hadn’t registered at first but as it faded from my hand I caught the faintest hint of something I couldn’t quite describe tickling my muscles. I had never felt anything like it and – despite the tiny pang of curiosity I felt – I hoped that I never would again.

“We should trade numbers,” said Yuki, attempting to ease the uncomfortable atmosphere in the car. “Saito-kun, hand me your phone so that we can put in our numbers.”

“Why?”

“Just in case.”

I could see his reluctance but he handed over his phone and Yuki typed in her number before handing it back to Karen and urging her to do the same. When my turn came I turned it down, arguing that wherever Yuki was, I was bound to be close by. My comment amused Yuki and she made some jibe about me watching over her. It was one of her favourite jibes – other than my continuous lack of girlfriends, of course.

Karen was the first of our party to leave. I used the torch on my mobile to escort her through the unlit patches of path between the roadside and her front door then ran back to the car. Although I didn’t say it, the attack earlier had rattled me. But it wasn’t the attack itself that I found unsettling, it was the one thought that had filled my mind the second I’d spotted those yellow eyes on the other side of the window, I have to protect Yuki.

What exactly did I feel for Yuki? I’d spent years trying to figure it out but to no end. I wasn’t in love with her – I’d figured out that much on my own – but it was something else, something that was so strong and consumed my ever being so completely that I was willing to do anything for her. Even if it cost me my own life.

“Kutsuu, do you want me to come in and talk to your parents for you? I know you don’t like lying to them.”

What guy wouldn’t fall in love with Yuki? She was funny, intelligent and kind. She had that amazing hair and those caring eyes that you could get lost in. So why didn’t I? How could I just stare back at her and not want to kiss her lips or hold her body in my arms? What was Yuki to me?

“No that’s ok. I can handle it.” I leant forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s you we should be concerned with.”

“Me?”

“Riding home alone with a guy you just met. No offence or anything Ryou, you seem like a nice enough guy and all…”

“Kutsuu, it’s fine.” She patted my hand and I don’t know what I felt but it made my head spin. “I’ll text you when I get home ok? Tell you I’m safe.”

It wasn’t ok but I didn’t have it in me to argue with her. Not right then. I believed her when she said it would be fine and I believed him to be an honest enough person to get her home safely and without incident. I had to believe, or I would have gone crazy.

I forced myself to give them a convincing farewell and lied my way past my parents and into the garage where I could lose my mind in construction. It turned out to be a mistake as the only thing I had left to work on was the present for Yuki’s next birthday and I didn’t feel up to starting on anything else.

“Why couldn’t I just be in love with you?” I plonked my chin on the worktop and stared at her gift. “That would be easier than this.”

The phone in my pocket vibrated. I took it out and opened up the message:

Home safe. Stop worrying and go to sleep. Yuki xx

I sighed and used her words as an excused to drag myself to bed. I kept trying to convince myself that a good night’s sleep would ease my worries but deep down I just couldn’t believe it. I collapsed on top of my covers and watched the hours drag past on my alarm clock until the Gods of sleep finally came for me.


~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to loud humming beside my ear. Instead of the usual alarm it was my phone, telling me of an incoming call. Barely awake, I dragged it to my ear. “Moshi-moshi…”

“Kutsuu!”

“Yuki…?”

“Forget the school uniform today. I have something fun for us to do instead.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: Tag Becki xp
Word Count: 823

[classy_cat18]

Just to let everyone know that it's supposed to be summer vacation. Just a little mistake due to editing the first post. Not trying to sound irritated, CT. I wanted to let everyone know. Um, it doesn't seem like much will be affected although Ryan and I have to redo our posts. ^^;

[ChobiChibi]

... It affects the majority. Sam, Mike, Kuro and I have also mentioned school in our posts. Asi also mentioned Tokyo Uni...

*epic flail*

[Crystal Tears]

Lol, its the last week of school. I hope that solves everyone's problem.

[ChobiChibi]

Sorry >_>;;
~Kurosawa Yuki~

Once Kutsuu had left, the situation in the car hadn’t changed all that much. Other than her directions, there was mostly silence, unless she made the effort to make a little small talk. She’d never felt like this before in her life. She felt both nervous and completely safe around Ryou all at the same time.

Quietly, she sighed as they pulled up outside her house, the outside lamp illuminating her driveway as it sensed the motion of the car. She looked at the upper level of the house to discover that Touya’s bedroom light was still on, meaning he was still likely to be awake. So long as she didn’t make much noise, she’d be fine.

“Thank you for the lift, Saito-kun.” Yuki smiled at him as she pulled her keys out from her bag. “I’m really sorry you had to drive us around everywhere... If I had remembered Touya was-”

Ryou rolled his eyes as he smirked. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, um...” She fiddled with her hair as she thought about what to say. “Goodbye... Maybe we’ll see each other again some day.”

“Maybe.” There was only a little hint of reluctance in his voice as he replied.

“Hopefully not under the same circumstances... I’d like to make that the last encounter with those things if can at all help it.” She laughed nervously, reaching for the door handle and stepping out into the night’s air. It was quite warm still, despite how late it was, but she could feel goose bumps run up her arms as she felt those creatures near by. Apparently, they weren’t really bothered with her being there at the moment.

“Goodnight, Kurosawa-san.” Ryou said as she shut the door and he started up the engine again.

“Wait!” Yuki took hold of the window frame, since it was still open. “On the train... What I wanted to say was... Thank you, Saito-kun, for keeping me company and making me feel safe...” She felt her cheeks warm as she finished her rambling, let go of the car and stood back.

Ryou’s smirk only got bigger. “Shouldn’t you be getting inside?”

“It’s alright.” Yuki began, glancing at her front door. “I’ve got approximately thirty seconds before the light turns out.”

He drove off as she got to her front door, letting herself in and closing the door behind her just as the light clicked off. As she went upstairs, it was clear Touya was still awake, his music was softly blaring from his room (it was some kind of metal she had no taste for, only he had enough respect for her and the neighbours to turn the volume down at this time of night), and his fingers tapping against his keyboard could be heard clearly above it. He obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk, otherwise he would have started yelling about how late she was home and how she hadn’t been there when he went to pick them up. This was the perfect time to annoy him.

“Oyasuminasai, Oniisan.” She said as she passed his room, sending a text to Kutsuu as she walked.

“Oyasumi, Imooto.” He grunted back.

She smiled to herself. Wishing for each other to have sweet dreams was the only thing they shared in common these days.

He hated that.

~~~

“Yuki-chan! We have to go to the craft fare today! It’s only in town for a week and we have finals all next week!”

Saturday mornings in the Kurosawa household were not your regular family get together. Their mother was a nurse and left the house rather early or arrived home really late, and was therefore either not around or asleep. Their father was quite often on business trips, this weekend was not an exception to the rule. The likelihood of seeing Touya awake in the mornings was extremely thin anyway, so this left Yuki to her own devices.

For her and her two best friends, Saturday mornings had become “Pancakes for Breakfast” day, where the three of them would meet at Yuki’s house, have pancakes for breakfast (as the title implied) and generally catch up with each other’s gossip before trekking off to school.

This Saturday was slightly different, though. As the next week contained the last of their finals, they had been given the option to stay at home and study, instead of attending study periods in class. The three of them used this excuse to extend Pancakes for Breakfast morning into a full on girly day.

Naoko sat beside her at the table, a leaflet in her hand, waving it around. She was the more artistic of the three, notably by her dark red hair and tomboyish appearance. Her jeans were baggy, speckled in paint and drawn on. The t-shirt she was wearing today branded the Deviant Art logo and the bag she carried was covered in patches.

“Please Yuki...” She begged, giving her the puppy dog eyes. “Please can we go?”

“It’s not just up to me!” Yuki replied as she began to clear the table. “I don’t see why not...”

Ayome folded her arms and frowned, this wasn’t exactly her idea of a great day out. Most forms of arts and crafts bored her, except for manga, but there wasn’t likely to be much of that there. “Why can’t we just go to the park or something, have a picnic?”

“Ayo, we just ate about a million pancakes...” Naoko argued and Yuki chuckled. “You vote for the craft fare, right, Yuki? Or do I have to blackmail you?”

“Blackmail me?” Yuki questioned as she ran some hot water in the sink. “How exactly?”

“I saw you last night.” Naoko smirked, knowing she’d already won. “Getting out a flashy red Mitsubishi...”

Yuki nearly dropped the plate she was holding. “Okay, okay! Craft fare!”

“Okay, not only am I completely in the dark here, but I have no say in the matter?” Ayome grumbled.

“I’ll call Kutsuu.” Yuki offered, grabbing her phone. “I’m sure he’d love to join us.”

“Okay!” Ayome suddenly perked up, a small blush appearing on her cheeks as she smiled.

It took a while for her friend to answer and she noted how tired he sounded. “Moshi-moshi...”

“Kutsuu!”

“Yuki...?” He sounded confused, which made Yuki giggle a little.

“Forget the school uniform today. I have something fun for us to do instead.” She practically ordered, dumping the rest of the washing up into the sink.

“But I need to study today...”

“I’ll help you cram tomorrow! Come on, I know you’ll enjoy it! Meet us in an hour at the market square.”

“Us? Yuki, who-”

“See you in an hour!” She chimed before hanging up.

~~~

After wandering around the stalls for a couple of hours, it was now nearly midday. Naoko was at one stall, trying her best to try and sell one of her paintings, Ayome was fangirling over the one and only manga artist’s stall whilst Kutsuu and Yuki waited for them to both finish.

“I didn’t think Ayome liked this kinda thing...” Kutsuu commented, glancing over at her picking out some manga.

“She doesn’t, she only agreed to come when I said I’d invite you.” Yuki nudged him playfully with her elbow. “At least she found some-”

“Okaaaaasaaaaaan!” A little boy cried out not far from them. He couldn’t be much older than 6 or 7, Yuki thought. He was clutching the end of a ribbon with a balloon on the other end, floating above his head.

Yuki glanced up at Kutsuu, who frowned. “Do you think it’s a good idea to-”

It was too late. The kind hearted soul had already left his side to help the little boy. She knew him too well, since a few moments later he was back by her side.

“Okaasan -sniffle- said to meet -hiccup- by Hello -sniff- Bawston i-if I got l-lost.” The little boy choked through his tears.

“Hollow Bastion... Do you think he means Hollow Bastion?” Yuki questioned, looking to Kutsuu for answers. “That shop that just opened not far from here?”

“Probably, I don’t think I’ve heard of anything else similar to Hello Bawston...” He shrugged as Yuki took the young boy’s hand and started leading him away.

They stopped on the opposite side of the road to the shop in question and Yuki’s jaw nearly dropped in shock. Stood outside the store was an odd looking girl and-

“Saito-kun...” Kutsuu said out loud, finishing her thought.

Yuki glanced around to see if she could see the boy’s mother, only to then notice the child was gone. She panicked. “Kutsuu, where’d he go?!”

Looking back, she saw the boy’s heart shaped balloon bobbing up and down amongst the crowds of people in the market place.

“I think... Maybe... Maybe we’re supposed to go to Hollow Bastion today...” Yuki muttered, looking back at Ryou and the girl on the other side of the road.
Wordies: 1489
See why I'm sorry now? >_>;;;

[Kuro Espeon]

I noticed a strange plot hole. If Sanya's from another world, how can she suddenly speak/understand Japanese? O_o Oh well...I guess we can just chalk it up to being alternate universe or something.... XD

Sanya Halvacor

‘This world is bigger than I thought…’ Sanya thought mournfully after a entire night of wandering through the streets of Traverse Town. She had been surprised to have not run into any of the Shadows, being that nighttime was their preferred hunting ground. However, she thought, maybe they had all been focused on something else?

“Hi.”

Lost in her own thought, Sanya jumped when she was suddenly addressed by a young male with dark grey hair. She couldn’t help but stare at him briefly, surprised that he had approached her so casually and also curious about the crimson color in his eyes, a trait that had immediately caught her attention.

“…Hello.” She finally replied.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Sanya made a point to straighten up slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well…you’re standing in an alleyway.” Sanya then realized the peculiarity of her situation and felt a little bit embarrassed. Of course, anyone would be curious about a strange girl standing in an alleyway, looking bewildered. Nevertheless, she smiled, feeling a bit relieved to have some form of human contact. She was going to need at least some kind of connections in this world and she figured it would be a good idea to at least introduce herself. Just as long as she didn’t let herself get too close.

“My name’s Sanya,” she said, taking a few steps toward him.

“I’m Ryou Saito.” He turned and head back out to the main street and Sanya followed him. “So, you’re lost?”

“Yes.”

“Right…Where did you want to go?”

Sanya paused, not sure how to phrase her answer without it sounding suspicious.
“Er…well, I was trying to get to Traverse Town, and I’m pretty sure that I found it. But now I don’t know where I am exactly.”

Ryou blinked at her. “Um…okay.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re not from around here are you?” Sanya blushed a little when she realized that he was examining her appearance and she avoided eye contact.

“How could you tell? Am I that obvious?”

“Well, your appearance for one thing. Not to mention ‘Sanya’ isn’t a very Japanese name.”

“Oh. Right.”

“So where are you from?”

“I’m from—” She hesitated, realizing that the existence of other worlds was more than likely not common knowledge and it was probably something she shouldn’t just admit to. It might just make her sound like a lunatic. She quickly tried to think up a plausible response, but being unfamiliar with the local geography she just had to wing it. “I’m from…er…the North?” She blurted out, picking a random direction.

“Oh,” said Ryou, slowly. “You mean like…Russia?”

“Um, yeah… Rush…Ya…” She replied, not very convincingly, her eyes shifting nervously.

“….Uh-huh.” Ryou didn’t sound like he completely believed her but he was apparently not about to argue the issue. Instead, he brought them out in front of an odd-looking store front that was labeled ‘The Hollow Bastion’ in bright, glowing red letters.

Once she laid her eyes on it, a strange feeling swept over her that she couldn’t quite explain. She felt a twinge pull at a spot within her chest and her hand shot up instinctively and clutched at the front of her shirt. She gulped, fighting back a small bout of panic as she looked around them. He’s not… here is he? No… this feeling was different. It was if something within her was reacting to The Hollow Bastion. Half of her was telling her to go inside while the other half was telling her to run. She wasn’t sure which side to listen to.

“Something wrong?” said Ryou, noticing her hand clutching her chest. There wasn’t much compassion in his voice, but he at least sounded sincere. She quickly lowered her hand, waving it dismissively at the same time.

“Oh, no, nothing’s wrong, sorry.” She glanced over at him briefly before returning her gaze to the storefront. “Say, Ryou… how long has this shop been here?”

“This? It’s brand new as far as I know. I’ve never seen it before. I just got an ad for it in the mail today. Why?”

She wondered what an ‘ad’ was, but figured it would be too suspicious to ask for the definition. Instead she continued with her first question. “Does it feel…odd to you?”

Before Ryou could answer, however, they were interrupted by a female voice that called out over the bustling crowd.

“Saito-kun!”

Sanya and Ryou both turned toward the voice. A girl and a boy, seemingly about the same age as Ryou and both with brown hair and eyes, were making their way over to them. Sanya assumed they were acquaintances of Ryou, for she had addressed him by his last name. As the girl approached, she gave Sanya a cursory glance. Not a malicious or ill-natured one, but rather one of curiosity.

“Kurosawa-san? Kurushimi-san?” Ryou sounded puzzled, as if he hadn’t expected to see these particular people today.

“Yuki-chan, wait!” Said the boy, who came jogging up behind the girl, slightly out of breath. “I don’t think this is a good idea!”

“But Kuutsuuu~~!” The girl named Yuki replied, stretching out her friend’s name in a near whine. “Saito-kun is here too! And…um, someone else!” Sanya knew she meant her, but didn’t speak up yet. “I think this is …what do you call it? Destiny?” She said this last word almost too happily. Sanya glanced at Ryou, who had suddenly developed a twitch above his right eye, a noticeable sign of rising irritation.

Word count: 917

[Mystic_clown]

Name: Salvador Kurtis
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Personality: Kurtis considers himself a man of science, and will apply a scientific view to almost everything. He’s a highly analytical person, always thinking things through. Oddly enough, he does not fear the heartless, but rather regards them with curiosity. However, he’s developed an off habit of ever sleeping when it’s dark, knowing that’s when they come out. If there’s a source of light, he’ll sleep like a log though. It should be known he’s a little cowardly, but ultimately a good person. He has a keen taste for apricots, and knows a bunch of recipes involving them.
Appearance: Kurtis bears some resemblance of Vexen of Organizaion XIII, quite tall with a thin face and long, dirty blonde hair. However, that’s where the similarities end. He has hazel eyes behind a pair of squared glasses, and is noted to have bags under his eyes from staying up so often. As for clothing, he normally wears a pale aqua shirt, brown pants and brown shoes, with a brown coat over it all. Strangely enough, he always seems to be wearing gloves, whether the rubber gloves in a laboratory, or white cotton gloves every other time. Why he wears them is unsure.
History: Kurtis seems to be like your average scientist, having a liking for science growing up, and was a bit of a nerd at school. Like anyone else who could see the heartless, he feared them and the dark at a young age. However, as he grew, his fear for the heartless turned into curiosity. What were these creatures? Where did they come from? Of course, he knew sleeping in the dark was a bad idea, so he never slept unless a light was on. At the age of 19, he went on a student exchange program to Japan, and then became a Japanese citizen not long after. Despite his time here, his Japanese is still a little rusty, but he’s trying.
Heart: Pure
Heart Power: Analytical Mind - Kurtis can pinpoint an enemy’s weakpoint, and anything else that might harm them.
Keyblade Design: Art of Science – This keyblade almost resembles a machine of sorts. The handle it rigid, like girder steel, with the grip almost resembling a lever. The shaft contains within it a thick glass container filled with a bubbling green liquid. It was three large teeth on the end, with a small charge of energy going through them.
Relationships: None at the moment
Other: Did I mention he likes apricots?


Salvador Kurtis
--------------------------------

Yesterday had been one hell of a day for Kurtis. He, along with many others, were attacked by those dark creatures of the night, resulting in one hell of a car chase to try and outrun them. It was almost like something out of a movie. Well, after one hectic chase, which resulted in a couple of scratches and dents in his truck, they had managed to escape and had gone their separate ways. He knew within himself that that wasn’t the end of it, but that didn’t stop him hoping to God it was.

Thankfully, the rest of the night had been quiet, even thought Kurtis found it hard to sleep. I mean, how could you after all that?

The next morning, well, it seemed like a regular morning. No horrible heartless waiting outside his home ready to devour him for defying them last night. At least that was a plus. Heck, if Kurtis had the ability to skip over yesterday, he probably wouldn’t have known what had happened. It was strange how something like that could happen one day, and the next seem like it didn’t even exist.

Kurtis sighed as he went about his daily morning routine. Make breakfast, reading the paper, though he did make a mental note to check up on the people who had been hospitalised during last night. I mean, you couldn’t COMPLETELY ignore what happened yesterday.

And soon it was going to be even harder…

As he read the paper, something slipped out of it. Not a whole page or anything like that, but a small snippet, like something had been cut out of it. Of course, a small quick inspection of his paper revealed that it was completely intact. So where did this come from?

He picked it up and inspected it.

“Hollow Bastion?”

The small paper was an advertisement for some shop of sorts. There was an address and a little about the place. Some sort of knick knack shop. Nothing Kurtis would really be interested in.

So why did he feel like he had to go there? As he looked at the ad, memories of what happened the other day flashed through his mind. Wait, why was he thinking of that now? What did this shop have to do with yesterday?

Curious…I must see what this means…

Quickly finished up his breakfast (something he had experience in, being a busy scientist and all), he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

-------------*~*--------------

“This seems to be the place,” he murmured to himself as his car pulled up near the shop. A small, tacky sort of place, nothing he would normally come to.

It’s strange…what is it with this place? It seems like a normal shop…but I can’t help but wonder…

As he looked over the place, he noticed a certain young man with a woman.

Wait, isn’t that one of the people from yesterday?

He parked near the shop and stepped out. Why was he here? What was going on?


Word Count: 503

[classy_cat18]

Itsuki Naomi

“What’s going on?” I pushed my way through the crowd to find Akira about to choke the life out of a student. This surprised me; although I would see him arguing at the games, he never resorted to physical violence.

The student he had restrained was not going without a fight. He twisted in Akira’s grasp, finally kicking his crotch. Everyone flinched and “ooh’ed”, knowing that hurt. Strangely though, Akira seemed unaffected.

“Shouldn’t he be writhing in pain?” Chiyo asked as she squeezed herself to a spot beside me.

“He’s so pumped up with testosterone that he’s ignoring all pain,” Miyu said dully while standing behind me. She looked disinterested in the whole thing.

I honestly didn’t know what to do next. No teachers had even tried to step in and stop the fight. In fact, there seemed to be no adults in sight. But I had to think of a reaction when Akira spotted me. “Naomi…” he started.

His teammates looked from one of us to the other, some of them smirking. “Looks like you got her attention,” one of them said with a smirk. “Go ahead and reel her in.”

Akira gave them a smirk. “Don’t worry, I can handle this.”

I opened my mouth to say something but Miyu beat me to the punch. “Naomi’s not a fish, Saotome-san!” she shouted.

Akira dropped the kid and glared at my friend. “This has nothing to do with you, bitch!” he shouted back.

The whole hallway got silent. I gaped at Akira, who was still glaring at Miyu. What’s with him? He was a little harsh earlier, but to say such things to girls is rude.

“Don’t talk like that to her,” I said in a low voice.

Akira snapped his head to me as if he forgot I was there. His eyes quickly softened. “Gomen ne, Naomi. I just—“

“Stop, Saotome-san.” My serious voice sounded foreign.

“Naomi?”

“DON’T TALK TO ME!” I turned my back to him, intending to go back to the classroom, but he grabbed my wrist and hauled me off in the other direction. His grip was firm but not painful, but I had no chance of getting away.

I futilely pulled at my wrist until we got outside, not far from the gym. “Let me go! I don’t want to see you right now!” I yelled.

“I just want to talk, Naomi,” he said softly. He loosened his grip enough for me to yank away from him. He kept his eyes locked on me while I took out my cell phone and checked my text messages. One was an advertisement for a small shop nearby.

Despite his intentions, Akira kept quiet at first. Probably trying to find a way to talk himself out of this. I just don’t know what to think anymore. I sighed heavily and leaned against the wall. “I don’t know you,” I said quietly.

The soccer coach poked his head outside. I froze in surprise and fear, but Akira kept calm. “Is there something wrong here? I heard that there was a fight going on a few minutes ago,” he told us.

I gulped and looked away. Oh great, we’re both in trouble! What am I going to tell him?

“Sorry sir, I wasn’t feeling well. Itsuki-chan was about to take me home,” Akira said coolly.

I quickly glanced at the coach and smiled for a short second before returning my gaze to a trail of ants. He’s not gonna buy it, he’s not gonna buy it…

“Make sure you get back here ASAP,” he told me.

I mentally sweatdropped and nodded. “Hai, coach.” I waited until he left before speaking to Akira. “You’re not sick.”

He smiled at me and scratched his head, looking shy. “I was hoping you’d play hooky with me. Get some ice cream or go to a movie or something.” I thought I saw him blush.

I shrugged and texted Katsumi’s cell phone. She secretly told me before I got to school to call her if Akira got out of control. I told her that I was leaving school early and wanted to meet her. “Who are you contacting?” Akira asked me curiously.

“Chiyo,” I lied. It was barely a minute before I got a response telling me to meet her a block away and not tell Akira. Then I walked off without saying a word to Akira, knowing he was going to follow me.

He tried to talk to me the whole way, but immediately changed topic when he saw his cousin. “What the hell? What psycho released you from your prison?” he complained.

We both ignored him and I told them about the text I got about Hollow Bastion. “We could check it out,” Katsumi offered. “It sounds very interesting.”

I nodded with a grin while Akira groaned. “I’m not shopping with girls!” he told us.

“Awww, but you’ll make Naomi cry,” she said with a smirk.


827 words.

[Roy Karrde]

Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

I gave a soft yawn, the sun was pouring down and warming my body as I laid on the bench, it was a warm and bright day, which made being outside so much more enjoyable than being stuck in a cramped class room. There was only one problem, well two actually, first I was stuck with the girls shopping for girly things, the second being ‘that girl’ some how knew where we were and decided to meet up with us.

“If I were a girl, I would never drag my friends on stupid shopping adventures” I groaned in frustration, opening my eyes to watch the puffy white clouds drift by in the sky. “And I wouldn’t…”

A hand reached from above, grabbing my nose and giving it a hard pinch “Ow! Damn it!” I swore rising up to see, Katsumi, the most annoying person on the face of this planet grinning back toward me. “Get away from me criminal, I don’t want to be around when the police arrest you and you’re family.” I crossed my arms defiantly.

The annoying girl smirked in a way that made me just want to wipe it off her face. “Just try. The yakuza are a legal organization, and you don't have any proof on your side. Give it up, silly otouto.” She replied, pinching my nose again as I swatted her hand away, Naomi placing a hand over her mouth behind her so that I couldn’t see her smile.

“Why don’t you go and…” Katsumi hit me in the head with her wooden sword before I could finish off the string of obscenities.

“It’s rude to say such things in front of women.” She warned playfully wagging her finger, smirking again in the hideous way that she smirks. “A-N-Y way, I haven’t had lunch yet, so I am going to grab some before I start chaperoning you”

“I don’t need a chaperone” I warned, my eyes narrowing, she gave a shrug and continued to walk off as I slumped back onto the bench in frustration. Stupid criminal woman.

After a few moments I felt Naomi slide in next to me, her hands in the lap as she clutched a small bag from earlier store shopping as we made our way toward. “That boy I was beating up in the hallway, he deserved it.” I mumbled, leaning my head back with my eyes closed.

“Why do you think he deserved it?” She replied in her usual soft tone.

“He just did.” I grumbled in frustration, my eyes focusing on a neon board in the opposite direction of her.

She shoved me with surprising force, sending me tipping over a bit, until I used a hand to steady myself. “That’s no excuse!” She glared in frustration. “Didn’t your mom tell you not to get into fights?!” She asked.

I turned my eyes narrowing. “My mom’s dead.” I replied, causing her eyes to widen in shock. “She died during child birth so I never knew her; all I have is my pathetic father.” I grumbled.

“Sorry to hear that. But fighting is still wrong, especially if you have no good excuse!” Her tone was much softer now, her glare softening.

“He insulted you..” I replied softly, standing up as that annoying woman came back “Are we going to this Hallow Baston place or not?” I asked Katsumi impatiently.

533, yeah I was squirming around to find stuff. * Walks away ashamed of myself *

[VirtualPlay]

Yasashisa, Karen
~^+_+^~^+_+^~^+_+^~
The rest of the car ride was thankfully uneventful, at least compared to having one of those creatures grab onto the car for a ride. Yuki had asked Saito-san for his phone to put in her number, then gave it to me and practically forced me to put mine in. Kurushimi-kun declined when I passed it to him, saying something about him being close by Yuki, which seemed to amuse her.

My house was the closest, and we managed to make it there in one piece. I reluctantly handed my phone to Saito-kun as I got out, letting him put his number into it. Kurushimi-kun got out and used his ridiculously-bright phone light to help light my way. I thanked him as I made it through my front door and into the house.

"I thought you were going to be home before dark," my mother said, looking up from her computer as I walked through the door. She wasn't angry, more bemused than anything. She had said last week that now that I was eighteen I was old enough to make my own decisions and take the consequences of them. Well, tonight definitely had some consequences because of my decisions to delay getting home, but now was not the time, nor my mom the person to talk about such things.

"I...got a little distracted," I said sheepishly as I kicked my shoes off in the genkan. It was true; I had gotten distracted by both the shops and the monsters that had attacked.

"You're lucky the bus runs this late," she added. I stopped mid-response, my mouth hanging open slightly, which fortunately went unnoticed as my mom was focusing on her computer. I wasn't going to tell them about how I really got home, not yet anyway.

So instead I said, "Yeah," and quickly changed the subject. "Any mail for me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," she said, not looking up again. "It's on the kitchen table, next to your cold dinner." I went out into the kitchen, curiously looking at the small postcard that lay next to my plate of lasagna, which was, sure enough, cold.

I put the lasagna into the 'wave and took a look at the postcard. It looked like junk mail at first, just some advertisement to a new store. "Hollow Bastion...?" I read aloud.

My mother's voice came from the living room, "Interestingly enough, that dropped in the mail slot not long before you got home. Must have been some kind of late delivery guy dropping it off for his boss or something. Probably dropped it for the neighbors too."

I stared at the card. From what I could gather, it was a knickknack and curio shop, something I had a sort of weak spot for. There was something about the card, though...something weird that drew me into it, as if saying that I needed to go to this store...

I was startled out of my trance by the microwave suddenly beeping. I pulled my lasagna out and brought it to the table, and with an "Itadakimasu!" started eating it as I continued to read the card. Weird or not, if it was a new shop I had to go visit. For being one of the nerdiest girls in school, I was strangely addicted to shopping.

"I think I'll check this place out tomorrow," I called into the living room.

"You going to be out past sunset again?" my mom asked wryly.

"Maaaaayybe..." I said, grinning.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I woke up around 11 in the morning. Fortunately I didn't need to go to school today. While most of my class was probably going to be studying hard, I only had two final exams this coming week as the rest of my classes either had final projects or essays (that I had completed already). Plus, I was doing so well in those two classes that I could skip the exam and still pass the class (though only barely, thanks to the final exam grading system).

Instead I was taking today to go to that new 'Hollow Bastion' store that I got the card from yesterday. I got dressed in a pale blue skirt and white baby-doll, tossed on a pair of white socks and fixed my hair with a white headband. I finished packing my backpack-purse and went downstairs to grab a bite to eat before going out.

My mom was down there, cooking herself some eggs. "Otousan already gone to work?" I asked.

"Yep," she replied without looking up from her eggs. "He left about five minutes before you opened your door." She plopped the eggs onto a plate and tossed the pan in the sink before turning to me and noticing my outfit. "So, not going to school today?"

"No need," I said, shaking my head slightly. I went and picked out a couple toaster pastries, popping them into the toaster. "I've already got most of my final stuff done and I'm acing the classes I actually have tests in. Besides, it's a nice day and I want to check out that new store."

"Well be careful out there," she said, giving me a hug. "You know, your father was a little worried when you didn't come home before sunset. He was afraid you'd been gotten by that heart thief that's going around."

My heart skipped a beat, then clenched in my chest. "Really?" I said, trying to act calm.

"Yeah, but I managed to convince him otherwise, especially since if you had been found dead it'd probably be on the news. Plus," she added, hugging me tighter, "I knew you couldn't have been caught, you're too smart to get caught and attacked."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, using the English term as I knew she liked. "I'll call tonight if I'm going to be out past sunset again." I grabbed my pastries from the toaster and headed for the door, eating them as I went.

I hopped outside and got into my car, an old (but perfectly working) '93 Subaru Impreza wagon, which I appropriately named 'Yukito' as it did indeed look like a white rabbit from behind. I liked driving simply for the fact that I had control of where I was going, unlike with the bus or train where I had to go with its track or path. I usually only took the train when I went to school or Shibuya.

I looked at the card again and realized I knew where the street was. Hoping the store would be easy to spot, I drove over, wondering what kinds of things would be waiting for me there. As I turned onto the street, it was rather easy to spot the shop as it stood out very blatantly. It had a blinking sign that said "The Hollow Bastion" and a small parking lot next to it. There were even a few people outside.

As I pulled into the lot, my heart stopped for a moment. I had ended up parked next to a very familiar red car. A red car that, not 24 hours ago, I had ridden in back to my house.

"Either this is a coincidence, or I'm gonna start freaking out soon," I said to myself as I hopped out of my car. I walked over to the front of the store, hesitant not about the store but the people in front of it. As I rounded the corner of the store, I stopped and stared at the people in front of me, almost all of them from last night on the train. They noticed me and turned to look, and I saw Saito-san get a strange expression on his face.

"Would it be alright if I started freaking out right now?" I said, only half joking.


~~** 1270 **~~

[Crystal Tears]

Ryou Saito .: + :. Day II .: + :. 1463


The word destiny with any of these people made Ryou want to cringe.

‘It was a mistake,’ he noted mentally as Karen approached the group after her little comment, ‘to come here. I should’ve stayed at home, or went…’ His eyes scanned the familiar group and stopped.

Rounding the corner were three more people. The girl, who had been attacked last night, the brat and Katsumi, or at least, Ryou thought that was her name. He couldn’t quite recall, that night on the train had been such a blur, all he wanted to do now was avoid any reminder of it.

Of course, his luck being the way it was, he had ran into everyone.

Abruptly, Ryou found his arm taken hostage by Kurosawa-san. He frowned, looking down at her with an expression which could’ve only been that of confusion, irritated and a little surprise. The girl grinned up at him, giving him wink before pointing towards the shop.

“Are we going to head in now?”

Ryou blinked. “Are you all here for the shop?”

Most, except for Sanya, nodded.

‘Joy oh bliss, please God; let this not be fate, destiny or anything in between, just a cruel joke.’ He mentally prayed as Yuki tugged him forward.

“Come on Saito-kun!”

‘Oh great…’ He gave her a sideways glance. ‘Now I have a suffix. I’m doomed.’

“Karen-chan!” She stopped and pointed at the shy girl. “You didn’t even notice I was here?”

“W-what?” She began to blush. “N-No Yuki! I noticed, I was just-“

“Staring at Ryou~”

She flushed red, and looked down, hiding her face. Ryou let out a sigh of annoyance.

“I’m sure she was just surprised to see us all.” Came a voice from behind. A couple of people turned, including Ryou, to see Birgitte standing there, a small, soft smile on her face. “Anyways, if we’re all here why I think we are. Let’s go inside.”


The shop was sketchy at best. Inside looked like an old book store, lacking the books. The lightning in this place was dim and all sorts of odds and ends were everywhere. Ryou frowned, gently tugging his arm free, Yuki and him parted, interested in opposing sides of the store. Dust gently fluttering in the beams of light from the dying bulbs in the ceiling, and one of the shelves wobbled when Kutsuu touched it.

“Do all shops look like this?” Sanya questioned from behind.

Ryou frowned. “No, most are…” He ran a finger on the shelf and noted the dust on his fingertip. “Clean and modern… Not like this.”

‘For a new store…’ The man thought. ‘It looks like it’s been here for ages…’

As he rounded the corner, Ryou spotted Karen, who had seemingly found one of the few books actually in this place. He moved up beside her as she examined the worn-out, peeling cover. The picture it had was faded, but both of them could just see the faint outline of a heart. He tilted his head somewhat as she opened it to the middle, perhaps maybe just to get a feel for it.

Only neither of them could, because it was written in strange symbols. It wasn’t any language as far as he could recognize, maybe it was ancient and was left over from the last shop that had been here.

“D-Do you recognize the symbols?” She asked nervously.

“No.” He replied, and changed the page to more towards the end. The symbols were there, along with pictures that made absolutely no sense. “… I don’t think anyone will.”

Suddenly though, the book was plucked from her hands. Both of them looked up to see a rather shady looking man holding the falling apart reading material. His suit was a dark grey, along with his eyes. His smile was something capable of sending shivers down the spine of children, and his hair looked a tad greasy, making it shine in the dim light.

“That my dear customers, is not for sale, I’m sorry to say.” He pivoted easily on one vote and moved behind the warped desk at the back. Gently he placed it on the counter. “I’m surprised to see so many here, and so many young. What brings you my lovely little shop?” His eyes shot to Yuki, and a sly smile appeared. “Destiny, perhaps?”

Ryou blinked. ‘Alright… That’s creepy…’

“What exactly does this shop specialize in?” Katsumi questioned, coming up behind Birgitte and moving past.

“Nothing.”

Everyone was quiet.

“Nothing?” Naomi asked, though Ryou believed it was more to herself.

“Yes, nothing.” The man grinned. “Call it a shop of chance and delight. You roll the die and see what you get here, sometimes it’s good.” He gestured to the book. “Sometimes…” His eyes scanned the group and then focused at the darkness behind him. “It’s bad.”

Ryou rolled his eyes and turned to leave. Not interested in this crap in the least.

“My dear sir, are you not interested in what my shop has to offer?”

He was nearing the door now. “Nope.”

“Even if what I had was the cure?”

That made him stop, abruptly, the words echoing in his head. ‘Cure?’ Ryou thought, narrowing his eyes. There was no way on Earth that this man could know anything about that.

“A cure for all your problems.” Came the man again, as if answering his mental query.

Slowly he turned, glaring at the man. “What then?”

The man almost seemed to dance in happiness at the renewed interest. He reached into a drawer of the desk and brought out a piece of rolled up black fabric. Ryou moved to the front, watching as the clerk unrolled the fabric and revealed a set of very odd keychains.

“A keychain?” Came the voice of the brat, who Ryou had to agree with. “How does that cure anything? How stupid do you think we are?”

“Now now,” The clerk smiled. “These keychains are lucky.”

“Lucky?” Hotaru-san questioned a note of disbelief in her voice.

“Yes.” He held up one of the keychains, which ended in a small, old fashion lantern that had a dim glow to it. “A light in the darkness; when you need it most.”

Her expression seemed to change to distant, as if recalling something as she stared at the chain.

“It won’t hurt to pick one will it?” He smiled, it had a sort of warmth to it, but Ryou still didn’t trust him. “You may all pick one for free, as a show of good faith. If they do nothing for you, then nothing lost. But on the off chance they do manage to bring you luck; I believe I’ll be seeing all of you again.”

Hotaru-san picked first, she took the latern from the man and stared at it with that same distant expression.

“Are you okay?” Ryou questioned, as the others went to pick.

“Hm?” She looked up at him and then back at the keychain. “Oh, fine. Just something he said.”

“Yeah…” The man shot a glare at the creep behind the counter. “He has a way with words.”

She smiled a tad. “Aren’t you going to pick one?”

“I’ll just take the one that’s left over.” He shrugged. “I don’t believe a word this guy says.”

“Saito-san,” Came the voice of Karen. “Y-You haven’t picked yet.”

He turned and looked at the fabric. There was only one left, one with a black chain and a large sort of dark eye on the end with a snake like pupil. Ryou shrugged and plucked it off, twirling it in his hand for a second before connection it to his keys.

“Happy?”

The clerk smiled. “Delighted.” He glanced at the odd, rusted clock on the wall. “Oh, time flies it seems. It’s lunch time for me, have a nice day!”


Outside the store, Ryou shrugged and looked around. He was hungry, and there were shops all around them. The man turned to Sanya, who was staring at her keychain intently. “You hungry?”

She looked up at him and almost beamed. “Yes! I haven’t eaten since…” She trailed off. “I’m just really hungry…”

He smirked but it faded as he looked down to see Yuki once again clinging to his arm. “Food you say?” She smiled.

“Hn.” He grunted in response, and noted the small smile growing on Sanya’s face. She was finding this far too amusing.

“Kutsuu! Karen! Come on, we’re getting something to eat with Saito-kun.”

Slowly, the idea of food transferred to everybody, and Ryou found his irritation level at a new found high for today. With a heavy sigh he moved, unintentionally becoming the leader of a rather large group of odd-balls and misfits.

‘It’s going to be one of those days…’


.: + :.

Lunch time. :3 Time to eat peoples, carry on and have fun~

[Samchu]

Kutsuu
~~~~~

I was never comfortable with the concept of fate. I didn't know what it was but the idea of having my life aimed in some kind of direction left an uneasy feeling in my gut. Maybe I just never liked the direction it seemed to be pointing...either way, it goes without saying that arriving at Hollow Bastion and finding Saito-kun left a bitter taste in my mouth; a taste that worsened as the rest of last night's "group" appeared and we made our way into the mysterious shop.

It was, as the shopkeeper explained to Ryou, a shop of nothing. I browsed, ignoring the conversation behind me. It was a glorious mess of everything you could imagine and yet, just as the man had said, there was nothing. There were dust-covered books with torn covers and missing pages, clocks without hands and incomplete paintings of strange doors; some opened, some closed. “Nothing,” I mumbled, “but junk.”
I looked back and saw the group gathering around a collection of items too small to make out from a distance. As I neared them I heard the man speak to Saito-kun of a ‘cure’. For a moment I froze, throat aching as the breath in it caught suddenly. He had looked at me. It had been so fast I almost didn’t believe it had happened but I could see him in my memories, his eyes – or perhaps just the one, single eye – directed at me at the moment of that word: “cure”. I forced an exhale and approached the others, seeing them eyeing up a collection of small key chains that appeared to resemble keys. I wondered if they were supposed to match the unfinished doors of the paintings I had seen earlier but there was something about them that was so captivating that I couldn’t pry my thoughts, nor my eyes, far enough from them to get an answer.

Others were beginning to pick from the pile. From the way some of them pocketed the new item I figured they were free, so I didn’t have issues with picking one up for myself. The problem was picking one. If my thoughts weren’t betraying me and this man had intended to pass on the message that one of these things would bring about a cure to my problem then I needed to be sure that I was choosing the right one. My troubles with Yuki – no, with myself – had been plaguing me for more years than I allowed myself to admit. I wanted to bring an end to my own suffering. I wanted answers.
I closed my eyes and rummaged through the pile until I felt the urge to grab something. I opened my palm and saw a key that looked like it was in a cocoon. I couldn’t explain it better than that. The irony of it forced me to grin. It didn’t know what it was supposed to be; just like me.

Once we had picked our…I guess you could call them ‘gifts’, we were ushered outside. I slipped mine into my pocket and felt its smoothness as I spun it between my fingers. There was talk of food and Yuki latched herself on to Ryou, much to the amusement of the girl who I hadn’t taken the time to notice before. She wasn’t one of ‘last night’s group’ and she didn’t look like she belonged there either but now that I’d seen her and noticed her, she was interesting and, I decided, it was better for my mental state if I tried to make polite conversation with this girl than watch my best friend succumb to the undeniable crush that she had on Ryou. That; and I didn’t want to admit that it hurt me to see it. It hurt every time I had to see it.

“Hi.” I guess she hadn’t heard me approach because she jumped. I held up my hands to apologise. “My name is Kutsuu,” I held out a hand for her to shake but she didn’t accept it, “I’m Yuki’s friend. The one who’s…draping herself over your friend.”

“He’s not my…I mean…that is to say…I’m Sanya.”

“Nice to meet you Sanya.”

“Kutsuu! Karen! Come on, we’re getting something to eat with Saito-kun.”

“She’s almost unbearable when there’s a guy involved,” I said with a sigh. I turned to Sanya. “I guess we’re eating. Better start moving or she’ll find a way to embarrass the hell out of both of our lives.”

~~748 words~~

[Kurosakura]

~*Yamaguchi Katsumi*~
Suspicious

Beep, beep, beep!

Beep, beep, beep!

Beep, beep--!

Jingle.

Click.

I woke up with a start at around four-thirty the next morning and fumbled around for my phone. Stupid alarm. “Ugh, what a night...” I thought to myself as I finally opened my eyes and slipped out of bed, taking a look around my candlelit room as I shuffled around for my kendo uniform. Everything seemed in order: books put away neatly on the shelf, homework done and stashed away in the bag, school uniform laid out on the chair. I tied the belt around my waist and moved to turn my lamp on before blowing out the strawberry and vanilla-scented candles and grabbing my shinai. I definitely didn't want to take my chances with those... things again and walked to the training hall.


~*~*~*~*~*~

Swoosh!

“Four hundred ninety-seven.” I heard the toilet flush from about a hallway down. Seems like Akira-chan and Itsuki Naomi-san were up.

Swoosh!

“Four hundred ninety-eight.” I strained my ears. “It sounds like they're talking about something. I wonder what.”

Swoosh!

“Four hundred ninety-nine.” I could hear footsteps coming my way.

Swoosh!

“Five hundred.” The paper door slid open and I looked over.

“Ohayo gozaimasu!” Naomi greeted and bowed, a faint pinkish tint could be seen across her cheeks in the dim morning light. “Thank you for taking me into your home.”

“She's a polite one, unlike a certain someone I know,” I smiled to myself. “No problem, we rarely have guests, so it's a pleasure to have you and Akira-chan over. Seems like we scare most of them away,” I replied and then stopped mid-swing at the sound of the door opening again.

“Morning...” my cousin yawned and stepped in and leaning against the doorway.

“I had the maid set out breakfast for us,” I replied, finished my swing, and wiped the sweat off my face with a towel.

“So why did we end up staying in a house belonging to criminals?”

"Oh Akira, you and your misunderstandings!" I laughed to myself. "Believe it or not, the Yamaguchi-gumi is a legal group, we're not criminals, per se," I responded with a smirk. “He gets annoyed SO easily...”

I smiled again as he grumbled. “So we get attacked by monsters, and now we have to worry about the police raiding the house for drugs or porno or what ever you’re family traffics in.”

"What the heck has he been watching lately?" I wondered. "The police can't do that without solid proof, Akira-chan."

“Let's go get breakfast.” I could see that he wanted to punch me really badly, but I know he wouldn't be able to do much about it. Instead, he dragged Naomi away and sniffed around for breakfast. Apparently he was impressed with the spread since he couldn't help but load stuff onto his plate while having what seemed like a polite exchange with his lady friend.


“Sigh. They grow up so quickly.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Oi, Itsuki-san,” I rolled the window down on the black Benz and called out to her when Akira was out of earshot, “Mind doing me a favor?”

She turned to face me and walked toward the car with a puzzled expression which turned into a shy smile. “Please, call me Naomi. What did you need?”

“Naomi-san, then. Do you mind trading numbers with me? If Akira gets out of hand, gimme a call, I'll straighten him out. Of course, you can text me anytime for the hell of it if you want,” I smiled slightly in return and fished out my cellphone from my bag, the little bells tinkling.

“No problem!” She seemed too nice to waste on that muscle-brained cousin of mine. She brought out her phone as well and within a few moments, the numbers registered. “So, I'll see you around, then?”

“Yeah, take care.” I responded and rolled the window back up.


~*~*~*~*~*~

Math. One of the most useless subjects ever. I rolled my eyes and took a look at the clock, my head resting on my fist, and my workbook already completed ages ago. I heard my phone vibrate and flipped it open. I knew my classmates and teacher heard the bells jingle, but they disregarded me, as always. Being part of the Yamaguchi-gumi had its uses sometimes.


1 new message(s)
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“Finally, something to keep me occupied.”


Click. Click.

From: Itsuki, Naomi
Subj: (none)
Open Cancel

“Well, that was sooner than expected.”


Click.

I'm leaving school early, mind meeting up somewhere?

I gave it a thought and quickly tapped out out a response.


Meet me a block away from campus. Don't tell Akira.

“Sensei, something's come up, please excuse me!” I called out and gathered my belongings.

“Alright, Yamaguchi-san. Remember, to study for your exams. Please take care,” was his nonchalant reply. It was nothing new, no questions were asked whenever I decided to get out of class early. It was just how things worked around here.


~*~*~*~*~*~

“Yo.” I grinned and waved at the two. One of them was definitely not happy to see me.

“What the hell? What psycho released you from your prison?” Akira demanded.

Seemed like Naomi and I were thinking the same thing at the moment when she disregarded Akira and spoke up. “So I just got this text about this new store called Hollow Bastion... seems like they sell random knick-knacks.”

“We could check it out. It sounds very interesting,” I offered, feigning innocence.

“I'm not shopping with girls!”

“Aww, but you'll make Naomi cry,” I smirked and took her by the arm, much to his dismay, and commenced with the shopping. We went perusing through some random “girly” stores and piled the bags onto Akira. This was waaaaaaay too much fun...

I spotted him taking a break on a bench and looking up at the sky. “If I were a girl, I would never drag my friends on stupid shopping adventures. And I wouldn’t…”

“Oh? That brat sure is cheeky. I think he needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Ow! Damn it!” I leaned over and pinched his nose, grinning from ear to ear. “Get away from me criminal, I don’t want to be around when the police arrest you and your family.”

I smirked again. He was just way too easy to tease. “Just try. The yakuza are a legal organization, and you don't have any proof on your side. Give it up, silly otouto,” I replied, pinched his nose again, and pulled my hand back before he could bat it away.

“Why don’t you go and…”

“Oh, please.”

FWACK.

I hit him on the head with a quick strike and smiled knowing he was going to start spewing nonsensical obscenities.

“It’s rude to say such things in front of women,” I warned him playfully and wagged my finger. “A-N-Y way, I haven’t had lunch yet, so I am going to grab some before I start chaperoning you.”

“I don’t need a chaperon,” he retorted.

“With the way he acts, he seems to need more than one!” I laughed to myself and waited on line and looked over as Naomi slid in to the seat next to Akira. Seemed like they weren't getting along too well. I thanked the vendor and paid for my strawberry crepe, grinning childishly at the acquisition of my treat and walked back over to the two.

“Are we going to this Hollow Bastion place or not?” my cousin demanded impatiently.

“What? Too tired to shop already? I thought you were the star of the football team! I guess I expected too much from you,” I teased.

"I'm not...!" he caught himself before finishing that thought, "I just want to see something else than clothing stores!"

“Well, let's go to the Hollow Bastion then, baka otouto. Naomi-san, what're your thoughts on this?”

“I think--”

“Enough talking, let's go!” Akira butted in irritably and cut her off.

"Hey, I wasn't finished! I was going to say that I wanted to go to the Hollow Bastion too!"

“Well, stop arguing and let's go, kiddies!” I cut in and slung my shinai onto my back before grabbing their arms and dragging them down the street and slowing down near what looked like a run-down shop with a large blinking sign. There was a parking lot to the side, but the store itself didn't look like much. I took a quick glance around and spotted a sleek red lancer; I was almost positive I'd seen it somewhere before.

My suspicions were confirmed as we neared the store. I could've sworn we met or saw quite a few of them last night and the words “destiny” and “fate” popped into my head for some reason. I locked eyes with the young man Akira was arguing with last night and shrugged.

Naomi blinked in awe. "This is quite the coincidence."

"This is where her family makes all the illegal deals," my cousin whispered to his friend and I rolled my eyes, letting go of them and stepping into the store, eying the wares and customers warily, just as I knew they were eying me with the same apprehension.

“Are you all here for the shop?” I think Ryou was his name, I wasn't so sure, but I nodded anyway and went in, glancing over at the dust-covered shelves with all sorts of little things, most of them looked second-hand and quite worn.

“That my dear customers, is not for sale, I’m sorry to say.” I heard the shopkeeper say, “I’m surprised to see so many here, and so many young. What brings you my lovely little shop?” His eyes shot to a girl with Ryou, or whatever his name is, either way, he seemed like some sort of pimp or ladies' man to me. “Destiny, perhaps?”

“What exactly does this shop specialize in?” I asked and came up behind one of his other female companions and moving past her. “This place seems like more than your average second-hand knick-knack shop.”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing?” Naomi asked as if she were saying it more to herself than anyone else.

“Yes, nothing.” The man grinned. “Call it a shop of chance and delight. You roll the die and see what you get here, sometimes it’s good.” He gestured to the book. “Sometimes…” His eyes scanned the group and then focused at the darkness behind him. “It’s bad.” The gestures sent chills down my spine, it seemed as if he knew all too well. “My dear sir, are you not interested in what my shop has to offer?” he asked Ryou.

“Nope.”

“Even if what I had was the cure?” That caught my interest.

“This is suspicious, there's definitely something up with this man, and this place in general, but what?”

“A cure for all your problems.”

“A panacea, huh? Sounds like a ton of bull to me.”

The clerk seemed to be drunk on happiness as he brought out rolled-up piece of black fabric and unrolled it to reveal a set of mismatched keychains.

“A keychain? How does that cure anything? How stupid do you think we are?” came Akira's snide tone.

“Now now, these keychains are lucky.”

“Lucky?” the girl I pushed past questioned with a note of disbelief in her voice.

“Yes.” He held up one of the keychains, which ended in a small, old fashion lantern that had a dim glow to it. “A light in the darkness; when you need it most.”

Her expression seemed to change to distant, as if recalling something as she stared at the chain.

“It won’t hurt to pick one will it?” He smiled warmly, but suspiciously. “You may all pick one for free, as a show of good faith. If they do nothing for you, then nothing lost. But on the off chance they do manage to bring you luck; I believe I’ll be seeing all of you again.”

“I guess it wouldn't hurt. Nothing really gained, definitely nothing lost.” The girl took the keychain with the lantern and everyone else seemed to do the same. A black and red keychain caught my eye, and I picked it up quickly, examining it and tuning out everything else around me. It seemed to look like some sort of emblem, but there there was no definite shape to it.

“Hey, I wanted that one!” Akira complained to me and brought me back to reality, but I ignored him and linked this one with one of my other keychains.

“You snooze, you lose,” I stated simply and tucked it away into my bag.

I could make out the clerk saying, “Oh, time flies it seems. It’s lunch time for me, have a nice day!” and thanked him quietly.

“So, where are we going next?”


~*2346 words*~

Phew, it's been a while, so that's why my post is so monstrous. >_> Anyways, went from third person to first person, since CT's using third person in her KHless fic.

[Roy Karrde]

Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

”KICK IT!” I could hear his voice scream to me through the roar of the crowd of parents, I stood frozen on the field the seconds ticking down to the end of the game, the ball at my feet, I could see the goalie tense up as my father screamed from the side lines. I took in a deep breath, shuffling my feet and the ball to the left, I needed a angle. As I moved the goalie moved with me, his eyes never off my feet. I kept side stepping, side stepping, side… ooff. My feet tripped up underneath me and I was sent falling to the ground, the ball rolling away and easily taken by one of the other players as the whistle blew.

“That was pathetic.” He uttered, his voice dripping in disgust as I remained curled up in the chair in the living room after the game, my face buried into my legs as blood dripped from the scrape on my right leg. “I would ask if I have raised a daughter but even a girl could have played..” He stopped and lifted my head “Are you crying..” His voice went lower.

I shook my little five year old head, tears dripping down my face as he slammed my head back down into my legs, my forehead bouncing off my knee. “That’s it..” He walked off, leaving me for what felt like hours, inside my head I replayed the game, mentally beating myself up for my mistakes.

When he came back my eyes were dry, but I still felt like sobbing on the inside. He had a small pouch in his hands which he slowly unzipped revealing two small vials and a shot inside. “I have a cure for all your problems.” He pulled out the shot, tapping it twice before sticking it in one of the vials.

“What did he say?” I asked, raising my head, having been lost in one of my memories as I leaned against a bookshelf, not really paying attention to the events around me. No one answered but I kept my eyes focused on the weird man who’s words seemed to echo in my head.

The man reached into a drawer, I half expected him to pull out a gun just by how weird he looked and seemed to act. Instead he unrolled some black fabric, revealing a set of very unique looking keychains.

“A keychain? How does that cure anything? How stupid do you think we are?” My tone had a bit of an edge to it, but I was kind of in a pissy mood thanks to that criminal.

“Now now, these keychains are lucky” The main replied.

“Lucky?” Some one asked

“Yes..” He held up one of the keychains which looked like some freaky lantern or something. “A light in the darkness; when you need it most.”

“Great, another one of those flashlight keychains.” I grumbled under my breath, only to my foot stomped on by the criminal. Stupid heels.

One by one everyone seemed to choose their own keychain. My eyes focused on one that was black and red, my hand moved for it only for it to be scooped up by the criminal. “Hey I wanted that one!” I complained as she linked it with all the other keychains she had.

“You snooze, you lose.” She taunted as I grabbed a random one, not really paying attention to it until I looked down at the object that was clasped in my hand. It was a weird contrast between black and silver, making an interesting duality.

“So where are we going next?” Katsumi spoke up, dragging my attention away from the keychain, it seemed everyone was ready for lunch.

I opened my mouth to say something about how I wanted to stay far away from her house, and the criminal element within. Yet for the first time in a while I shut my mouth and remained quiet.

665, not the tour de force that Kuro made.

[classy_cat18]

Itsuki Naomi
Entranced by mystery

The Hollow Bastion was filled with nothing in particular. It was like the owner had his own building for a garage sale and decided to sell all the clutter in his house. After staring at a pretty piece of what looked like rose quartz, my eyes traveled down to a potted plant. “Star-shaped flowers,” I whispered in awe. I couldn’t find a price but I was afraid that it was too expensive for me.

I glanced at Akira who was leaning against the bookcase and glaring at the strange shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was keeping an eye on all of us curiously, his face lighting up whenever someone picked up an item. “What exactly does this shop specialize in?” Katsumi asked him.

“Nothing,” the man replied with an innocent grin.

Katsumi raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”

I looked over at the rose quartz again. “Nothing?” That’s kind of what it seemed like.

“Yes, nothing. Call it a shop of chance and delight. You roll the die and see what you get here, sometimes it’s good.”

Like the rose quartz or the flowers. I smiled a little.

“Sometimes… it’s bad,” he continued. He looked in the darkness behind us, and I felt a chill. Maybe he knew about what happened last night.

He turned to the guy from yesterday… Ryou. “My dear sir, are you not interested in what my shop has to offer?” the shopkeeper asked him.

“Nope.” The guy looked bored, and maybe a little annoyed.

“Even if what I had was the cure?”

My eyes widened. The cure to what? Cancer? The common cold? Bad acne?

“A cure for all your problems.”

Maybe he does sell illegal goods here.

The strange man was practically bouncing with glee as he pulled out a rolled-up piece of black fabric. I walked closer as he unrolled it to reveal several keychains, one for each of us. They were so varied, as mismatched as the rest of his inventory. “A keychain? How does that cure anything? How stupid do you think we are?” Akira sneered. I tried to keep from rolling my eyes.

“Now now, these keychains are lucky.”

My heart jumped. That was what I needed! Those keychains looked very lucky!

“It won’t hurt to pick one will it?” He put on a strange smile, warm but almost shady. “You may all pick one for free, as a show of good faith. If they do nothing for you, then nothing lost. But on the off chance they do manage to bring you luck; I believe I’ll be seeing all of you again.”

I grinned and gently pushed forward to get my pick. My eyes were drawn to one that didn’t look like a key at all, but a bird’s wings. Two of the feathers, however, were elongated to give the impression of a key. “This one,” I said to myself.

“Hey, I wanted that one!” Akira whined when Katsumi got a keychain before he could get to it. The girl just snubbed him, and he just settled on the one remaining.

I attached my new keychain to my necklace and followed the group out of the shop. “So, where are we going next?” Katsumi asked us.

I cleared my throat before Akira could say anything. “Everyone else wants to go for lunch. I know this place that’s great!”

“So tell them!” she told me with a smile.

I blushed and hurried to the lead person in the group, Ryou. “Ano… I know this nice café near here. They have nice food, and their parfaits are the best! How about everyone eats there?”

604 words. Even less than Ryan.

[Kuro Espeon]

Sanya Halvacor:

A short while later Sanya found herself somehow immersed in a throng of people as the entire group from the shop (who strangely all seemed to know each other) crowded around several tables in a small café. There were several conversations going on at the same time and Sanya had trouble concentrating on any one specifically. Instead she stared down at the strange concoction that sat on the table in front of her. Naomi had called it a “par-fay” or something. She knew it was supposed to be food but she had never seen anything like it before.

After staring for several minutes straight she began to space out, no longer looking at the parfait directly, even though her eyes were still on it. Her mind wandered and she began to wonder how she managed to get herself into this mess.

‘Oh yeah… I’m only here because this is where he wants me. I’m supposed to be looking for---’

“What’s the matter?”

Sanya jumped when she was suddenly addressed. She looked over to see Ryou looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Don’t have a lot of parfaits in Russia?”

“W-what? Oh…oh, yeah. No…no there aren’t.” She quickly looked away, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. This guy seemed to know more than he was letting on and it was starting to make her uneasy. She tried to think of a way to change the subject. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the keychain she had received from the strange Hollow Bastion vendor. She hadn’t really examined it too closely when she first got it, having just taken the one that her hand seemed automatically drawn to, and she had looked at it again briefly outside the shop. The one she had chosen was in the shape of a heart, half black and half white, with a crack down the middle. ‘A broken heart. How fitting…’ she thought, a tad amused by the analogy. She ran her finger over it thoughtfully.

“So what did you think about that guy?” She asked, “All that talk about cures and luck and what-not. Seemed a bit odd to me.” While it was true that she had found it strange, she wasn’t about to admit that his speech had actually intrigued her. A light in the darkness; when you need it most.

Ryou shook his head. “It’s a load of B.S. if you ask me. Probably a scam. He’s playing on some people’s superstitious nature in an attempt to get them to buy a bunch of worthless crap.”

“I know, right?” said Kutsuu, jumping into the conversation, albeit in a quieter voice than Ryou’s. “I mean, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? How could a keychain possible solve anything?” He was looking down at his own trinket, a smooth, glass charm in the shape of a cocoon, with an odd sort of expression that made Sanya think he was of a similar mindset as herself.

“I don’t know,” piped up Birgitte Hotaru from across the table. She had a piece of what looked like a lump of white grain with a strip of something pinkish-orange perched on top of it held between two thin, wooden sticks ((Sushi, for those of you playing the home game)). “It doesn’t seem that far-fetched to me. Having faith in something, even when you can’t see it right in front of you, gives people hope. And hope is a powerful thing. Even if it’s symbolized by something as simple as a locket, a picture, or even a keychain.”

Sanya couldn’t help but smile. The way Birgitte spoke sort of reminded her of her mother. She had died when Sanya was only 5, about a year before she had first had her encounter with the Shadows, but Sanya could still remember her voice. It was one of the few things that brought her any comfort these days.

“An excellent point, Hotaru…san,” Sanya replied, having picked up on the polite suffix from listening to the others. “You have a quite a way with words.”

“Oh, no! I’m no Shakespeare!” she said humbly, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. Sanya wondered briefly what a ‘Shake Spear’ was, but quickly moved it out of her mind when Birgitte continued. “I just say what I feel, that’s all. I’m just a incurable optimist, I suppose.”

Her heart must be quite strong. And pure as well. In fact, this whole group seems to have strong hearts.

The thought was one of admiration, but it quickly gave way into a twinge of guilt as it made Sanya recall why she had come to Earth in the first place. Why was she making friends with these people? Why was she letting herself connect with them when it only make things harder in the end? Why couldn’t she just…forget the whole thing and just run away? But that was impossible now. There was no way to get away from it. She should just forget about making friends… forget about caring.

But that, she realized, was going to be impossible as well.

Word count: 848

I've noticed that there two people being called 'Kuro' in here. Myself and Kurosakura. It's starting to confuse me, lol. XDD

[ChobiChibi]

Kurosawa Yuki

Despite the fact she knew she was annoying a couple of people in the group, Yuki couldn’t help but smile as she held onto Ryou’s arm. She didn’t understand why, but there was something about him that made her feel safe. In fact, so did the rest of this odd mixture of people. Even the little bratty football playing kid that seemed to spend every waking moment being pissed off about something seemed to settle the little unease she was masking.

That shop keeper had been very weird, speaking about fate and destiny in the way that he did. Yuki had only really been joking when she had mentioned it before going in the store, but since they’d left, the idea wouldn’t stop popping up in her mind.

“The cure for all your problems” also surfaced frequently in her thoughts. What did he mean by that exactly? As far as she could recall, she didn’t have any major problems. Nothing that a keychain could solve anyway...

Except then the fate and destiny would crop up again...

She didn’t have a problem that seemed that wide scale. Nothing that could involve destiny, but as she took the feathery keychain from her pocket and ran her thumb along the soft wing shape that it made, it began to convince her of something more.

The biggest problem I have is Touya. She thought, only half joking.

At the cafe that the girl called Naomi suggested, they pushed a few tables together and all sat around them. She sat between Ryou and Kutsuu, with Karen on Kutsuu’s right. In order to make an attempt at staying in the group’s good books, she had let go of Ryou. Sitting next to him would be enough. She sat quietly, listening to the conversation whilst she tucked into a rather delicious looking chocolate cake.

“So what did you think about that guy?” Sanya asked. “All that talk about cures and luck and what-not. Seemed a bit odd to me.”

You seem a bit odd to me... Yuki thought, taking a forkful of her cake to stop her from saying it out loud. She certainly looked foreign, but her accent was no where near what she thought a Russian speaking Japanese would sound like. To be honest, she was sat around a table with a bunch of almost complete strangers that could see the monsters, so she was pretty much willing to accept any explanation Sanya might give. But now wasn’t the right time. She didn’t get a chance to ask anyway.

“It’s a load of bullshit if you ask me. Probably a scam. He’s playing on some people’s superstitious nature in an attempt to get them to buy a bunch of worthless crap.” Ryou commented, obviously not impressed by the tone of his voice.

“I know, right?” Kutsuu added. “I mean, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? How could a keychain possible solve anything?” He was looking down at his keychain as he finished speaking.

She knew what he was thinking about. At least, she hoped she did. She placed her hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked up at her, a little surprised expression on his face.

“Don’t worry...” Yuki told him quietly, smiling softly at him. “One day you’ll remember...”

“Remember?” Now he looked confused. After a few seconds, he realised what she was talking about. “Oh, yeah... That...”

Kutsuu rarely talked about the coma. He had no idea what happened before hand, he just remembered waking up one day. He was missing four years of his life that he could never replace. Who knew if this was a good thing or not? She knew it would bug her if she didn’t know, but she couldn’t imagine what it must be like to actually have that blankness.

“I’ll be there for you when you do, whether it’s good or bad.” She promised, letting go of his hand and turning back to her chocolate cake.

“Oh, no! I’m no Shakespeare!” Birgitte said, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. “I just say what I feel, that’s all. I’m just an incurable optimist, I suppose.”

Despite this being completely out of context, Yuki decided that she quite liked Birgitte’s attitude towards things. “It’s good to know that there are a few optimists left in the world.” Yuki commented, digging her fork into her cake as she joined back in with the group conversation. “A glass half full is much better than a glass half empty.”

“But it wouldn’t be half full, would it?” Ryou asked, smirking. “Since you’d been drinking from it, you would be emptying it.”

“Not if you were pouring the drink, then you’d be filling it and the glass would be half full.” She smirked back as his turned into a little frustrated frown. She laughed a little as she caught a glance of Karen trying not to. “Anyway, it’s pointless-”

“Arguing about something that doesn’t even matter.”

Yuki jumped, the voice startling her. It wasn’t anyone around the table, she knew that, and it was only Kutsuu that seemed to tense up a little with the new presence. She refused to turn around, knowing full well who was stood behind her and blushed as she felt the gaze of everybody around the table focusing on her and the man she had to call her brother.

He was tall, but not with a particularly strong looking build. His hair was messy and untidy, obviously not that well looked after and the same colour as Yuki’s. His eyes matched hers too, but that was where the similarities ended. He was very pale, with dark circles around his eyes due to lack of sleep. His clothes looked old and not particularly well fitting, with rips in his jeans. Dark rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose and his shoes seemed like they would fall apart at any minute.

“Not going to introduce me?” He asked, only a hint of irritation in his otherwise smug tone. “Who are these people, anyway?” She flinched as he placed his arms on her head, leaning on her. “Oh, that one’s cute though.” He added, pointing at Birgitte, whose cheeks flushed a bright red colour.

“Touya, please go away...” Yuki spoke quietly, unable to move.

“Who is this creep, anyway?” Ryou asked, glaring a little. “An ex of yours?”

With that comment, Touya burst out laughing. “Yuki’s ex? You really think she’s ever had a relationship? This geeky bookworm?”

“He’s her brother.” Kutsuu informed him as Yuki remained quiet.

“Oh, unless you count Kurushimi-kun, of course.” Touya mused, having now noticed his little sister’s best friend. “You asked her out yet, Kutsuu?”

“What do you want, Touya?” Yuki asked, grabbing hold of Kutsuu’s arm before he could do anything.

“I’ve just come back from Hollow Bastion.” He informed her, dangling a keychain in front of her face. “The shop keeper was kind enough to tell me you got one too. Apparently it looks a lot like this one.”

Yuki reached out and stopped the chain from swinging, studying it. He was right, it looked exactly like her own, only instead of being the brilliant white that hers was, it was black and cold to the touch.

“But... You don’t believe in-”

“Monsters?” Touya snatched up the keychain as he smirked darkly. “Neither do you, right, Imooto-chan?”

She shuddered as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Right...”

“Later, weirdos.”

Yuki sighed in relief as her brother walked away, a small smile returning to her lips. “Sorry about that...” She began, picking up her fork again. “So... The weather...”

Wordses: 1200 or so
Will happily do a sign up for Touya, for NPC purposes, but I can't see him popping up too often... Not yet, anyway :3

[Roy Karrde]

Got permission to move the plot forward!


Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

Back and forth, the ball rolled up the table, curved, and rolled down the slant back down my feet. Which in turn would guide it down to my waiting hand, which then rolled it back up the table to start the whole process again. We were stuck at some café or something for lunch, one of those places that only dorks would go to, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in. So why was I sitting here, dangling that weird keychain in front of my eyes with one hand, playing with a small ball I had found with the other.

I kept asking myself that, why was I here, why did I end up following them to this café after Naomi pretty much ditched me at the shop, and I wasn’t sticking around just for Katsumi’s lovely company.

“This is stupid” I grumbled under my breath allowing the ball to roll off the table and onto the ground as I swung my leg off in a wide motion to get up from my seat. As I did this something slipped from my left pocket, the sound of plastic and glass clattering on the stones that made up the ground drew my attention as I rose up. “Shit..” I quickly bent over to scoop up the syringe and two small glass jars, pocketing them as I rose up again to find myself at eye level with Naomi.

Naomi glanced down at my pocket “What was that you dropped?” She asked her voice quiet as if she had seen the whole thing.

My mind raced for answers, what could I use as a possible excuse. “N-Nothing” My voice was shaky at first as I struggled to regain my composer. “It’s just a game system I use on those long train rides to a game” My eyes narrowed as I look right into her’s a tactic I learned usually caused people to look away instead of confronting me any further.

She quickly looked away as they all did, and I did feel a bit guilty for confronting her like that. “Oh, that is what it looked like. Never mind.” She quickly stammered out as I turned my back to her and began to leave the café.

After a few steps I could hear the faint sound of her following me “Where are you going?”

I turned gazing around for a excuse, we were in the middle of the shopping district so nerd stores and clothing stores were out of the question, and she would never believe me if I said school. “There” I pointed out, pointing toward the old abandoned baseball stadium toward the end of the shopping district. “Looked more interesting than the crap around here.”

“Doesn’t look like there is anything to do over there” She stated bluntly as a small smile crossed my face. I took her by the wrist and began to lead her toward it.

“We wont know until we get inside and poke around, besides its better than hanging around here with these dorks and the criminal” I glanced at Katsumi to punctuate my sentence.

She gave a sigh in response “You should talk about your cousin like that. Why can't she come along?” But instead of arguing I just dragged her along, we were already half way there and I didn’t want to argue when there was much more interesting things to do than listen to my criminal cousin talk about how I should stay with the group.


~~~~~~~

“See? Isn’t this great?” I yelled back at her, standing in the middle of the stripped field, taking practice swings with a left over bat I had found on the way in as Naomi remained in the bleachers looking bored out of her mind. “Much better than clothes shopping”

She yawned, clearly not interested in anything sportly, which I admit caused my heart to sink a bit. “You’re just saying that because you're a boy. Is this to get back at me for dragging you to that shop earlier?” Her words stung a bit as I dropped the bat angrily in the hard ground, kicking up some dust.

“I’m going to go check out what’s in here” I grumbled, looking a bit hurt as I jogged toward the home team’s dug out.

She quickly hurried over to the bleachers above the dug out, leaning over the edge of the railing as I went underneath. “You’re not angry, are you?” She asked, I didn’t reply as I went deeper into the dug out using the sun light streaming in to illuminate the hallway that led back to the players locker room.

As I rounded the corner into the locker room I was plunged into darkness, I fumbled for the light switch and found one that didn’t work. “Of course they shut off the power” I mentally kicked myself before pulling out my cell phone to provide a small flash light. “This place is huge, you could probably fit my team and another in here” I whispered walking along the edge of the locker room, my hand running across each of the empty abandoned lockers.

After a few more steps something caught on my backpack, pulling it back gently “Very funny Naomi” I struggled to pull it away from her grip but it seemed to be much more powerful than I thought. “Hey let..” I turned around finding myself face to face with two horrible eyes that looked just like the ones from the train.

“SHIT!” I cried out at the top of my lungs, dropping the backpack and my cell phone in a panic, using my memory of where the door was to race past the eyes and toward what I hoped was Naomi and day light.

“Akira?” I could hear Naomi call out as I burst through the locker room doors and out into the hallway, my eyes were already glancing behind me to see how far back that monster was when I collided straight into Naomi, sending both of us to the ground. She was already opening her mouth to say something by the time I had bounced back up onto my feet and grabbed her arm with enough force I worried I was going to yank it out of the socket.

“Don’t look behind me” I grunted, turning down to the hallway that would lead back into the dug out and back into day light. I was already too late; clouds had obscured the sun, providing enough darkness for at least two of the creatures to be waiting for us at the end of the hallway. Naomi let out a terrifying scream and I dashed for the door that seemed to be the only exit between the creatures infront of us and behind us.

I swung it open to find a small cleaning closet, barely big enough for two people to squeeze in. My hand fumbled for the over head light and I prayed for a miracle. After a few clicks the light bulb above the closet blinked to life, who ever was in charge of shutting down all the power had apparently missed a few lights.

The sound of the creatures getting closer pulled me back to reality. I stepped into the closet, pulling Naomi close to my chest and slammed the door shut. The light above swung slightly and flickered but did not go out. Now the question became how long could we stay in here.

1,250 DAMN!

[classy_cat18]

Itsuki Naomi – Owner of Songbird’s Wing
Just a little pissed

It wasn’t really a perfect way to end the day. I reluctantly watched him pretend to hit ball after ball, having a ball. I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t like the place and the creepy aura I felt from it. It was like dozens of eyes were everywhere. What is with him and sports? I know he wasn’t into shopping, but did he have to drag me to an abandoned stadium? Besides, leaving the group couldn’t be very smart.

“See? Isn’t this great?” Akira asked me. “Much better than clothes shopping.”

A deep yawn came out before I could hold it better. I didn’t want to be mean but I really couldn’t see the fun in a place like that. He wasn’t even hitting any balls! “You’re just saying that because you're a boy. Is this to get back at me for dragging you to that shop earlier?” I groaned.

Akira suddenly dropped the bat (okay, more like threw it down), looking angry. I bit my lip in regret. “I’m going to go check out what’s in here,” he grumbled as he went to an unseen area under the bleachers.

I looked up at the sky and the clouds headed for the sun, my panic rising. I wanted to get out of there right there and then and return to the safety of the group. I hurried to the section of bleachers over the area Akira walked to and leaned over the railing until it felt like I would tumble over. “You’re not angry, are you?” I asked shakily. He didn’t answer, just kept going.

Being there alone was a lot more unbearable, but at first I stayed out there. A grumpy Akira wouldn’t have been fun at all. But as the clouds got closer to the sun, I panicked. I jumped the railing without thinking about the consequences of doing so while wearing a skirt. Luckily, it didn’t rip or send me to the ground in a painful way. I cautiously walked into the dugout and then to the hallway, but stopped halfway. It got so dark further in that I couldn’t even force myself to walk any more. “Akira?” I called out although it was probably too low for him to hear it.

It didn’t matter, because Akira heard it as he bolted out of an unknown room and straight into me. We crashed to the ground. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, even though I had a good idea what it was. “Don’t look behind me,” he grunted as he grabbed my hand and went back to running.

Please don’t let it be—

What was supposed to be a blessed exit was now clouded. Two black creatures stared hungrily at us and reached for us. The scars on my back tingled. I let out a scream and clung to Akira tighter. He pulled me away from them and into a small closet.

A dark closet.

Akira pulled at the light’s cord until it flickered on. He pulled me close and closed the door. The creatures clawed at the door, but they wouldn’t come in while the light was on. “What now?” I asked him quietly.

He grunted in frustration. “I don’t know. I left my phone in the locker room.”

“Cell phone!” I shouted with hope. I pulled mine out of my shirt pocket. “I can call Katsumi!”

Akira growled in frustration. “We don’t need that criminal—“ he started angrily.

The dam to my anger, usually barely cracked, finally broke. “If you want to live through this, I suggest you let me call! Otherwise, my ghost will haunt your ghost for the rest of our afterlives!”

He paled and nodded slowly. I opened my cell phone, sighed in relief as I saw that I had bars in this little room, and dialed Katsumi’s number. She answered it almost immediately. “Naomi, where are you?” she demanded.

“We’re at the abandoned ballpark—“ I started to explain.

“So Akira is at fault!” she interrupted in rage.

“Don’t be angry at him,” I whimpered.

“He should know better than to separate from the group at a time like this! When I get my hands at him, I’ll put him in the emergency room!” She hung up before I could get another chance to explain.

I gulped and glanced at Akira. “You may be in more trouble when this is over,” I said to him shakily.

752 words.

[Kurosakura]

~*Yamaguchi Katsumi*~
Losing sanity

I've always liked cafés. I liked them because of their relaxing ambiance, the fact that you could eat and drink in peace, and everybody would keep to themselves, immerse themselves in a book or work or whatever.

Except... not right now.

The moment we walked in, I had this... vibe that something was off, and I was never wrong. After ordering a parfait, I sat down in the furthest corner of the establishment, perfect for people-watching. Even though I was comfortable with talking freely to Akira and Naomi, I assumed that I wasn't welcome with our new acquaintances. I was well-aware that I came off as cold-hearted and hard to approach, so I saved them the trouble.

My eyes found Ryou and his group of female friends (plus one guy, apparently, but he's too grumpy-looking and seemed too unpleased with his circumstances, so I figured he wasn't exactly a friend) all clumped together in a booth, talking and laughing. I smiled to herself sadly and sighed, stirring my parfait with a spoon and grazing at it from time to time, wondering about “what ifs” again. What if I got along with the rest of the kids in kindergarten? What if I made myself easier to approach in the first place? What if I wasn't going to take over the Yamaguchi-gumi?

“What if?”

I could catch bits and pieces of their conversation. It seemed like they were talking about the shopkeeper from earlier, and the guys seemed to have a cynical outlook on this whole keychain and apparent scam thing. A disheveled-looking guy came in for a moment and embarrassed the girl, Yuki, I think, she was all over Ryou the whole time. He was pretty cute, although he could've used some more sleep. My eavesdropping was interrupted by a clearly audible clacking noise, and I looked over at Akira and Naomi.

A syringe. Two glass jars. There was still some liquid in them.

“No way. Aren't those steroids?”

He picked up his dropped possessions and pocketed them quickly, hoping that nobody saw. What surprised me the most was the signature death glare that he used on anyone he didn't like. Except he used it on Naomi for some reason. I guess it was to keep her from asking any more questions, because she looked away as fast as she could.

I was a little suspicious when he took off with her, but I didn't think much of it. She was his friend, right? Plus, he obviously liked her, so it should've been alright, right?


Ichiban no negaigoto oshiete
-Anata no hoshii mono-
BORYUUMU furikireru hodo tsuyoku
Ooki na koe de sakende mite


Tell me, the object of your greatest desire
-The thing you want the most-
Let's try and shout out its name
With a voice so loud it'll break maximum volume

I was finishing up the last of my parfait when my cellphone suddenly rang. I didn't put it on vibrate since I only had it on at school, so my ringtone played instead. The screen showed that it was Naomi, so I picked it up immediately, smiling awkwardly at the rest of the customers, and excused myself, closing the door behind me. I picked it up immediately after I was outside, noting the diminishing sunlight. A violent chill ran down my spine and my voice was more aggressive and laced with panic, and I didn't intend that. It must've been bad news, and Akira must've been behind it. The song continued in my head; it honestly creeped me out.


Taiyou ga mezamenu uchi ni
Hajimeyou sekai wa
Hikari ni tsukimatou kage to odoru
Sou kimi no te wo totte


Now let's begin before the sun comes out
The world dances with
The shadow that accompanies the light
I shall take your hand (and say)

“Naomi, where are you?” I demanded, mentally punching myself.

“We’re at the abandoned ballpark—” she began, but I didn't give her the chance to finish.


Saa nani ga hoshii no? Nani wo motomeru no?
Atsumeta kagayaki sono te no hira ni
Subete sukui toru yogoreta yozora ni
Kuroi DAIYAMONDO BURAKKU DAIYAMONDO


"So what is it that you want? What is it that you seek?"
Those hands that have been gathering some glitter
They were scraping everything from this tarnished night sky
Oh black diamond, black diamond

“AKIRA! An abandoned ballpark. It's late, it's getting dark, and those things come out at this time. Even worse since that place is freaking abandoned.” I could hardly control the anger in my voice. “So Akira is at fault!”

“Don't be angry at him,” she sounded really scared and I felt a pang of guilt, but I couldn't just let him off the hook like that. Even if he was my cousin.


Furueru te de inori wo sasagete
-ANATA NO HOSHII MONO-
Ishi no nai ningyou no you jane
Namida datte nagasenai


Now say your prayers with your shaky hands
-The thing you want the most-
You're like a worthless doll, aren't you?
You don't even shed tears

“He should know better than to separate from the group at a time like this! When I get my hands on him, I'll put him in the emergency room!” I yelled and hung up abruptly. “Before those things get to him, anyway.”


Saa nani wo utau no? Nani wo shinjiru no?
Mayotteiru dake ja GARAKUTA ni naru
Subete furikitte yuganda yozora ni
Kuroi DAIYAMONDO BURAKKU DAIYAMONDO


"So what are you gonna sing? What do you believe in?"
Hesitation will turn you into garbage
So shake free from everything else in this distorted night sky
Oh black diamond, black diamond

I took a deep breath and held onto my trusty shinai tightly, walking back into the café shakily. They looked at me with varying expressions as I approached and I was visibly distressed: my eyebrows furrowed, eyes obscured by parts of my fringe freeing themselves from the confines of my bobby pins, and my bottom lip trembling. There was no way I could go alone.


Kizutsuite mo uso darake demo
Kesshite kusshinai
Honmono dake ga kagayaiteru
Mienai chikara ni sakaratt


No matter how much you are hurt or be lied to
Don't you ever give in
Only the original shall eventually come to shine
Repelling the unseen energy

“I apologize if I'm interrupting anything,” I began, taking another deep breath and facing Ryou. I couldn't hyperventilate, not now. “My cousin, he's at the abandoned ballpark with his friend. It's getting dark, and... to be frank... I can't go alone.”


Saa nani wo utau no? Nani wo shinjiru no?
Mayotteiru dake ja GARAKUTA ni naru
Subete furikitte yuganda yozora ni
Kuroi DAIYAMONDO BURAKKU DAIYAMONDO


"So what are you gonna sing? What do you believe in?"
Hesitation will turn you into garbage
So shake free from everything else in this distorted night sky
Oh black diamond, black diamond

I dropped to my knees and bowed my head, my voice shaky. Pride didn't matter at this point. Not when human lives were at stake. “Please, help them.”


Saa nani ga hoshii no? Nani wo motomeru no?
Atsumeta kagayaki sono te no hira ni
Subete sukui toru nejireru yozora ni
Kuroi DAIYAMONDO BURAKKU DAIYAMONDO


"So what is it that you want? What is it that you seek?"
Those hands that have been gathering some glitter
They were scraping everything from this twisted night sky
Oh black diamond, black diamond


~*829 Words/1193 with Lyrics*~

[VirtualPlay]

Yasashisa, Karen
~^+_+^~^+_+^~^+_+^~

I wandered the store, still a bit distracted by Yuki's little teasing outside. I wasn't really staring at Saito-kun in the way she probably thought I was, but her comment made me stop and think about it. I hadn't even known him an entire day, there really wasn't anything for me to go on besides his cuteness, and the fact that he seemed brave, and that I could tell he had some kind of nice personality under his cold shell, and...

I stopped myself mid-thought. I suppose Yuki had a point, I had somehow developed a crush on a boy I was in contact with for literally only a couple hours last night. I mentally sighed, knowing that even if it somehow manifested to something more than that, it would never work out with my track record of boyfriends.

"Karen-chan, you're daydreaming again..." Yuki's voice interrupted my thoughts. My eyes focused to see that I was staring blankly at a weird book.

"Huh?" I said, thinking quickly. "N-no I'm not, I'm trying to figure out what's up with this weird book." Admittedly it was a weird book, with a really worn out kind of look, so it didn't seem too weird that I was staring at just the cover. But Yuki's my best friend and she didn't seem to fully buy that story. Even still, she just shrugged and went around the corner to look at something else.

Now I was genuinely intrigued by the book that I had been not-focusing on. I picked it up and looked all around the outside at the worn cover. It had a bunch of other weird symbols on it, and as I turned it back to the front and got a second look, it seemed like there was a heart shape on it.

I noticed movement and saw Saito-kun come around the corner. He looked at me and the book I held, and I couldn't help but tense up; what if he said something about Yuki's comment earlier? However, he seemed more intent on the book than on past conversations. I turned the book over again for good measure, but he didn't comment on anything, just stared at the book.

Curious to see what the book was about, I opened the book to a random page in the middle. Unfortunately it was all full of the strange symbols, and it didn't look like any language I had ever heard of.

"D-do you recognize the symbols?" I asked, unable to stop from stuttering. I was still a bit wary after Yuki's comment outside, plus I wasn't sure what his thoughts were about last night.

"No," he said, then turned the book to a page near the end, adding, "...I don't think anyone will."

All of a sudden the book was yanked from my hand. I jumped back a bit, looking up at a very creepy-looking salesman-type person. He seemed to be all gray, his eyes, his suit, his hair, and even his skin was kinda grayed out. I shivered, even though it wasn't really cold; there was something definitely not normal about him.

I kinda zoned out on what he was saying, distracted by his appearance, and he walked away to the desk at the back. Without realizing it, everyone had gathered around said desk and he was talking again. I managed to focus again as he pulled out a piece of fabric and unrolled it to show some exquisite keychains. He said they were lucky or something, so I was at least a little curious.

One of the other boys yelled in protest when the girl (who I believed was his cousin) snagged one he was looking at. Not wanting to get one I liked snagged, I quickly reached out and picked up a little cloud that was attached to the ring with braided cloth instead of a chain. It was soft to the touch, and definitely felt good in my hands. I watched as the rest of them got picked, leaving one...

Trying to keep my nerves from failing, I said, "Saito-kun, y-you haven't picked yet." He turned around and walked past me to grab the last keychain, then before I realized what was happening we were all being shooed out of the store for the salesman's lunch.

That reminded me that I was hungry. Apparently others were similarly reminded, and one of the girls, Naomi I think, told us about a café not too far from here. It sounded better than standing around so we all walked there.


~~ -- ~~ -- ~~

It was a fairly quiet café, and most of us sat around a large table, eating our various food. It was pretty uneventful, save for a sudden embarrassing visit from Yuki's brother. If I had any doubts about him, they were gone now; he was pretty much a jerk. Fortunately he didn't stay long, and conversation managed to resume.

In the middle of a topic I wasn't too interested in, I heard a clinking sound from the other side. I glanced over to see the bratty boy down on the ground, out of my sight. He glared at the Naomi girl when she said something, then he rushed out. Interestingly she followed him, but I chose not to think on it; I barely knew some of these people and figured I should stay out of things I didn't know.

However I was starting to get to know the other people that were still at the table, even Saito-kun who didn't say much. The girl who called herself Sanya was still a bit strange, but she seemed cheerful enough, although I couldn't remember seeing her on the train the night before.

A phone went off in the corner. I glanced over to see one of the other people from last night sitting there alone. She grabbed her phone and walked outside. She came back in about a minute later, but she had a distressed look now. Apparently the phone call wasn't very good news. The conversation fizzled as she walked over.

"I apologize if I'm interrupting anything," she started, her voice on the verge of shaking. She took a deep breath before continuing, "My cousin, he's at the abandoned ballpark with his friend. It's getting dark, and…to be frank…I can't go alone." All of a sudden she dropped to her knees and bowed her head. She continued in a shaky voice, "Please, help them."

Most of us were too shocked to say anything, but Saito-kun scoffed, "I knew that brat was an idiot." Even still, he stood up and made for the door, "It's the park at the other end of this district, right? That's a little far to go by foot." He turned around, "Yasashisa-san, you drove today, right?"

"I, um, yes, I did," I said, stumbling over my words.

"Can you run?" he asked, catching me completely off-guard.

"Um, I can…but…" I suddenly wished I had decided on a different outfit.

"But what?" he asked, then realized. "Oh for the love of…what's more important, human lives or a little decency? Just come on and get your car!" With that he pushed out the door. Half-panicked and half-embarrased, I rushed out the door after him. Silently praying nobody was watching, I broke into a run after him.

~~** 1218 **~~

[Crystal Tears]

. : + ♠ Ryou ♠ + : .

Come out… It growled; raking its claws on the door and feeling the hearts beat a little faster. We only want to play… Come out…

They wanted to dance, to frolic, and to play with these creatures… Yet instead they were in hiding, irritation was building amongst those around.

They’re cheating… One said from behind, and slamming itself into the barrier. Unfair! Hiding in the light!

Perhaps we can force them out?

How?

One turned back towards the vast opening, towards the seemingly endless playground. There were more hearts, beating, standing on the edge of the darkness.

We tempt them…


Ryou stopped, and heard the rest of the group skid to a stop behind him. He was on the edge, his mind and soul screamed at him to run away. He didn’t need anyone to tell him they were in there, watching. He already knew, and he was becoming overloaded with fear and anxiety. The baseball diamond was coated in darkness, and in seconds it would be upon them.

“Right…” Ryou murmured, thinking quickly. “There’s no one to get to them without getting attacked.”

“Are you sure?” Katsumi questioned, obviously desperate to save her cousin.

“M-maybe we could…” Karen began, trying to think of a plan. “I-I don’t know… Find a l-light source?”

For a moment Ryou looked back at the size of the doorway. It was far too narrow to fight the car through, and that was really they’re only source of safety.

“We’re screwed.” Kutsuu called from behind. “We die if we go in there.”

“And they die if we leave them there.” Yuki countered.

“I wasn’t suggesting we leave them but- Saito-san! What the hell are you doing!?”

Ryou had walked forward, and found that his skin felt as if it had been exposed to the harshest winter in ages. It was cold in this place, unnaturally cold and far more nerve-racking then he had imagined. To be honest he had no idea what his plan was, but standing in the light, avoiding the monsters that had two people hostage wasn’t something he was keen on doing.

“Ryou!” He heard Yuki shout, but he kept on wandering deeper.

‘This is a bad plan…’ He mused with a small smirk on his face. ‘A very very bad plan.’


One!? It yelled, watching from the corridor, the male was wandering farther and farther into the darkness. But one would not be sufficient; one would not lure the other two out into the open. One is not the correct number!

The others are far too afraid to enter!

Silence! Another is entering!


Ryou turned and saw Katsumi approached, hand gripping the handle of her sword tightly as she looked around. She stood beside him, facing the darkness despite the fear both of them were no doubt feeling. The man took in a sharp, deep breath. He silently thanked her for having better control over her emotions then the others. His empathy had been driving him insane.

“So… What is your plan?”

“Honestly…” Ryou shrugged. “I don’t have one.”

She looked at him with a curious gaze. “You wandered in here without a plan to escape?”

He nodded.

“Brave of you.”

“Stupid is the word I would’ve picked.”

“Stupidly brave?”

Ryou looked over at her with a smirk. “Thanks.”

“Hey!” Running up behind them was Hotaru, who looked afraid but at least was brave enough to come forward. “You guys should get back- AHHH!”

Something was pulling her, and both Katsumi and Ryou ran after her. Farther and farther she was pulled into the field and the deeper they were lured into the darkness. For a split second Ryou could see it, but then it was gone. It left the girl on the ground, shivering from the cold.

“Are you okay?” He questioned, helping her to her feet.

“Yes, I’m fine but-”

“Ryou…” His name was spoken in a harsh whisper from Katsumi. “They’re here…”

Around them were eyes, all around eight feet off the ground, and slowly humanoid bodies began to meld out of the black.


“Shit…”

* * 676 * *

Alright, Roy asked for movement, so here you are. The first major challenge the chosen have to face.

A horde of heartless, without keyblades.

This isn’t as impossible as it seems, as it stands now one other person knows how to ‘defeat’ the heartless. I’m not telling you who, and s/he has already agreed not to tell the rest of you. If you read the fic, the answer is there. Hope you can get it.

The groups for fighting right now are as follows:

1) Akira and Naomi.

2 ) Ryou, Katsumi, and Hotaru.

3 ) Sanya, Karen, Yuki, and Kutsuu.


Good luck. And use your imagination before you ask me for the answer.

[Asilynne]

Time to shed some LIGHT (ahahhahaha...ahem) on what happened with the people in the truck (I think it was just firefly and salvador? if not tell me and Ill fix XD) Keep in mind I wrote the first part of this on paper, when I didnt have the internet so its a bit dated.

~~~Birgitte Hotaru~~~
No one wants to be alone in the dark...

"Salvador-san-----! If you wouldnt mind---- perhaps driving a little less erratically---?!"
I called out through the cool evening air, as my words were whipped around and nearly carried away by the wind and the rumble of the trucks V8 HEMI. I struggled to hold on tight while at the same time keeping my patient stable. I was aware of the need for speed, but also it didnt help matters if a traffic accident claimed our lives instead of the dark ones. My terror at being chased once again by those phantoms of nightmares was kept at bay only by my sense of protection and responsibility for the unconsious man which lay in the bed of the truck.

"Many apologies Hotaru-chan!" Salvador-san yelled back in accented Japanese, using to my surprise a more familiar title for my name that was warrented considering we had just met. It wasnt the time to correct him, however, as suddenly the dark, nightmarish creatures seemed to jump out of nowhere ahead of us. "Oh shit!" Salvador-san yelped in English, cutting the wheel hard to the right to try and avoid the swarm of darkness which leapt towards him from the front. Some he avoided, others cascaded upo the front of the truck and dissipated, but in a horrifying twist, melted out of the shadows ahead of us as the truck carrened sharply around a curve.

"Bastards!" I could hear a growl in his throat as he once again cursed in English. As he twisted the wheel to the left I gave a yelp as I crouched low against the floor of the truck bed, an arm holding the unconsious man tightly. My mind imagined the truck flipping over, sending those of us in the bed flying, a gruesome accident like the ones I had seen while volunteering at the fire department. Suddenly Salvador-san gave a sharp laugh as he flipped a switch, causing the trucks high beams to flip on. At the very edge of my hearing, I heard a sound -that was not quite a sound- eminating from the the dark creatures ahead. They leapt off the front of the truck, followed by a triumphant cry from the driver. His celebration was short lived however, as the creatures turned instead to the occupants of the back of the truck.

I screamed as I felt them tear at my clothes, the sound-that-was-not-quite-a-sound giving off a sense of hunger and a sickening desire, an overwhelming need covered my heart like a sludge. I flailed my arms, lashing out with my small med-bag to try and knock them away to no avail. I could hear Salvador-san shouting, "Birgitte! Are you ok?!" and through my screams of terror a silly part of my brain was thinking how inappropriate it was for him to use my first name, when suddenly I realised with a certain cold clarity that I was going to die. Salvador-san was driving, he couldnt stop the truck to save me lest it be overrun by the dark ones. I was totally and undeniably alone.

Alone....

I was in the woods at night again, that night the darkness first came to me. I was alone...and they could feel my weakness. They hungered for something I had, something they lacked.
They clawed at me, ripping my clothes and chilling, scratching my skin, as they groped at my chest. I was alone then too...until the fireflies....

Until the glow....

Unbidden, I felt the warm glow come over me, as it had done that first night in the woods. But this time it didnt stay faint, like the light of the female fireflies. This time it grew, and as my screams continued, I held onto the unconsious man with a death grip, the light growing so bright I could see it through my closed eyelids. The almost-sounds coming from the creatures seemed to grow into screams of their own, and the clawing ceased. The light did not fade, however, and the next thing I knew a hand was on my shoulder.

The light ceased abruptly as I looked around. We had made it to the parking lot of a small local emergency room. I could see Salvador-san looking at me with concern and a hint of curiousity. He looked as though he was trying to form a question, but when he spoke it was simply to ask if I was hurt.
"No..." I said, pulling my now-tattered white jacket around me tighter. "Im fine..."
While that wasnt entirely true, I seemed to be physically unharmed, and my patients needs came first. With Salvador-san's help, we carried the unconsious man, whose name was Kenichiro Iwao, into the emergency room and checked him in. I was still in a bit of shock, so he did the talking, saying something fictional about a witnessed assult, and after giving his name and number to the hospital we left.

It was quiet as I climbed into the cab and buckled myself in, watching absentmindedly as Salvador-san turned the key and pulled out of the parking lot. I felt numb, and I shivered involuntarily, still feeling the phantom hands clawing at my skin. I rubbed my arms to try and dispell the feeling, when the foreigner beside me reached forward and turned a knob. Heat began to woosh softly into the cab, and in the darkness the calm sound of the heat and the steady hum of the engine as we drove through the night shrouded streets somehow seemed to make the events of the night seem like a bad dream. I knew it wasnt, I knew they could possibly come back, but in the warm darkness, with the presence of another human being nearby, I felt safe. The weariness I had felt on the train reclaimed me, and I fell into a dreamless sleep.


~*~*~*~

I awoke to a gentle shaking on my shoulder. Jumping slightly, I relaxed as I looked around and saw that it wasnt the dark ones, but my eyes widened in surprise as I noticed where I was. The truck was idling outside my apartment building, and turning to look at Salvador-san I asked him a question with my eyes. He shrugged and pointed to the medical ID I wore around my neck. "It was on your ID. I didnt want to wake you up, after ....all that happened." He carefully avoided mentioning the creatures, and the fact that he had witnessed a human being glowing like a streetlamp. I stared at him for a moment, my mind leaping back to that horrible time in the back of his truck. Shaking my head to clear away those thoughts I bowed to him. "Thank you for the ride." It was ridiculous, I sounded as though I was thanking him for a ride around the block, or to the store, not a ride which had saved my life.

Smiling a bit awkwardly he nodded. "Of course." he spoke, sounding as lighthearted about the matter as I had. Turning around he began to walk around the truck to the drivers side, and was about to climb in, when something made me call after him. "Salvador-san!!"

Pausing, one hand on the top of his truck as he half sat inside, he looked over curiously. "Yes, Hotaru-san?" he said, finally getting the title right. Freezing in place, I suddenly wasnt sure what I had wanted to say, as possibilities rushed through my head.

"What was that all about anyway?"


"What if they came back to get us later?"


"Why us...?"




"I dont want to be alone in the dark again......"


"Good night..." I told him quietly instead, and, turning around, I climbed the stairs to the building under Salvador-san's watch until I reached the door. In the circle of light I stood and waved briefly, watching the truck rumble off into the night. Climbing the stairs with my key out I sighed, a shaky sound, and as my door swung open I set about turning all the lights in the place on as bright as they would go. I would have to count on my exhastion to help me sleep tonight, that was for sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word count: 1398 o.o

Ok, after typing all that up and fixing a few things that didnt seem right in the paper version (and also being distracted with 5 million other things since I have a short attention span today >.<) Im going to do the current days post later, I just had to get this out, sorry its so late (dont kill me sie x.x)
And yes I realise Ben isnt in it anymore, but my char was stuck with him in the truck so I had to use him. Also if someone could give me a readers digest version of the current events of the rpg that would help me greatly ^-^() either pm it to me or find me on msn ;D

[Roy Karrde]

Saotome Akira
Heart: Corrupted

My fingers were white, drenched in sweat, in fact it seemed as if my whole body had just turned the water taps on and hadn’t stopped. My hands were shaking, my legs were shaking, and all I could hope for was Naomi thought it was just me being scared. The truth was it wasn’t, the monsters outside the door were the last of my worries. I had missed three injections in a row, one last night, one this morning, and another at the café, now my body was telling me I needed to get back on schedule.

“You don’t look so good.” Naomi whispered as I reached into my pocket, pulling out the bag that held the syringe. The small glass bottle was broken, fluid and glass coated the plastic bag.

“Dammit..” I swore, tossing the bag onto the ground in anger, the bag sloshed as it hit the wet concrete, ripping and spraying its contents all over the tiny closet.

“Drugs? You are taking drugs?” Naomi’s mouth hung open in disbelief as I gripped my pant leg. If I couldn’t take the injection now it would be several more hours before I could get home or… I could get my back up supply at the school. Still, I would have to deal with the pain, the sweats. Just the thought of that only seemed to increase my shaking and my anxiety.

I took a few seconds to gain enough control to form words, my tongue licking at my dry lips “They are not drugs.” My voice came out husky and dry as if I had been running for a couple of hours.

Naomi bent down, picking up the syringe and holding it up to the light for both of us to see. “It’s something my father has given to me since I was a child, he wouldn’t.” I winced and shook my head. “He wouldn’t give me drugs”

“You look like you’re going through withdrawal!” She shot back, the words striking me like a cold wet slap to the face.

“Of course I am going through withdrawal” I yelled back even though we were in a small confined closet. I turned from her and gripped the doorknob, I needed to get out of here, I needed the meds, I needed them now!

“What are you doing!” Naomi cried out in shock as I pulled and thrust at the door knob, the flimsy lock holding the door in place shook, the hinges creaked and groaned, dust began to fill the air as I continued to pull at the door. “What about the heartless”

I paused, my fingers gripping the doorknob, soaking it in sweat to the point that I wasn’t sure if I could even turn it. If I opened the door I could get through the monsters, but Naomi wouldn’t, she would be left here with the monsters. “We need to-to think of something, something in here we can use as a ram or a shield”

Naomi gave a short shrug “There is a broom in here.”

There wasn’t much in there, nothing wide or big enough to block the monsters. Nothing except, well the door, and the hallways were tall and wide enough so it wouldn’t get stuck. “Get in front of me” I pulled her infront of me, not wanting to argue, pressing her body against the door and mine against her’s. I would shield her with my back and the door and we would make a run for it.

“Akira, what are you..”

“Shut up” I growled pushing both hands against the door, feeling it creak, groan, and then finally splinter and give way. The sound loud enough for anyone to hear. “Just run” I yelled, shoving our way into the hallway, using the door as a battering ram.

637 WC

[ChobiChibi]

Kurosawa Yuki

“I don’t like this...” Yuki muttered, the four of them staring up at the entrance of the baseball stadium. With the absence of Ryou, she was now clinging to Kutsuu’s arm, who seemed to tense up a little.

“We can’t just stand here...” Sanya began, glancing between her companions and the entrance, where the others had disappeared into the darkness. “We’ve gotta do something...”

“What are we supposed to do, exactly?” Kutsuu asked, folding his arms. Unfortunately, Yuki’s clinging skills were far too advanced to be shrugged off by this, so she remained attached to him. “Run in there, unarmed, into a dark baseball stadium and just let ourselves be attacked like the others? That’s sensible.”

“W-we could find something t-to defend ourselves with...” Karen suggested, picking up a small plank of wood she spotted near by.

“And then what? Flail around in the dark and hope we run into the others? It’s a big place...” Kutsuu shot her idea down in an instant.

“But we can’t just stand here, either!” Sanya argued back. “I didn’t come here to stand back and watch people get killed!”

“Neither did- Yuki?” Kutsuu stopped midsentence. She had detached herself from him, picking up a metal pipe and joining Karen.

“I really don’t like this... But I have an idea.” She spoke up, her arms folded. She was visibly shivering, goose bumps beginning to form on her arms. “We can just pretend it’s some weird zombie film or something, except the zombies don’t wander around moaning, they’re just really tall and can just phase out of shadows, but it’ll be fine!” She rambled, taking hold of Karen’s hand.

“Yuki-”

“You’re coming too, right Sanya?” Yuki smiled at her as she nodded in response. “Lets go, then!”

Yuki waited for Sanya to stand on the other side of her before setting off towards the big, dark hallway. As she expected, Kutsuu wasn’t far behind, running to catch up with them. He was like her little puppy, after all, if not a little overprotective. She was definatly glad he was here this time, though, as her shivering got worse and her skin grew colder and colder...

“Well, they’re kinda like zombies...” Yuki suddenly said, breaking the silence between them, talking over the top of their footsteps echoing around. “Except they move faster... And have those glowy eyes... And don’t want to eat brains...”

Kutsuu sighed, not that impressed. “How do you know? You hate zombie movies...”

Before she got the chance to reply, an almighty crashing noise bounced around the walls. The direction in which it came from was unclear; the echoing made it difficult to tell. They had just reached a point where they could go in multiple directions: different stands, different floors, towards the changing rooms, towards the pitch...

“It’s like a maze...” Sanya commented, reading the signs using the emergency lighting that was barely illuminating anything.

“We should head towards the pitch, there should be some natural lighting there...” Kutsuu suggested, heading in that direction.

“No!” Yuki grabbed hold of his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “The monsters are that way!”

“Why would they be on the pitch? Somewhere with better lighting than in here?”

“I just know they are, okay?!” She shot back at him, the butterflies she always felt were now fighting in her stomach, throwing things at each other like a drunken brawl in a bar. “I think we should try and get the power on, that was my plan...”

“It’s a little odd that we haven’t been attacked yet...” Karen mused, although you could tell this concerned her. She cringed as she heard a few shouts and screams in the background.

“I don’t think we should stay here, though...” Sanya added. “Which way, Yuki?”

“I don’t really know... But there aren’t any monsters this way...” She points towards the doorway with ‘stands’ written on the sign.

Quietly, the four of them headed up the stairs, the three girls letting Kutsuu lead the way. Other than their footsteps, they could hear shouts and screams in the distance, but again, not a single monster seemed to be heading their way, according to Yuki’s weird monster-radar. However, this was about to change, drastically.

When Kutsuu had said there would be more natural light on the pitch, he was gravely mistaken. As they reached the entrance to the seating areas, expecting to have to readjust to more light, they found themselves still staring into darkness. All except for the yellow eyes, who all seemed to be heading towards the same area of the pitch below them. It was unclear who was down there, but it was obvious from the shouting that they weren’t just gathering there, they were attacking their friends.

“W-what do we do?” Karen asked, her voice shaky, saying what was on everyone’s minds.

“We could run before they notice us...” Yuki suggested. Although she suggested the coward’s option, her body would not allow her to move from the spot she was cowering in.

“Or go down and help...” Kutsuu added. “Or find the power to turn on the lights, like we planned to...”

“I-I don’t think we have much choice...” Sanya pointed towards the front row of the stands, those pairs of beady yellow eyes climbing over the fencing to join them in the stands, heading up the stairs and over the seats towards them.

“Find the lights?” Yuki asked, backing up until she hit the wall, clutching the rusty metal pipe in her hands.

“Run!!” Kutsuu yelled as the monsters began to approach at a faster speed, darting off in the same direction as Karen, leaving Yuki to get dragged away by Sanya.

They didn't get attacked for ages cos of Karen's heart power thing... And erm... I don't like this post very much but it doesn't matter :3

947 words. RUUUUNNN!!!

(Just think of poor little Yoi as you hurt the heartless ;o; They have feelings too, y'know!)

[Samchu]

Kutsuu
~~~~~

They were coming for us. That army of yellow emotionless eyes. They were unreadable but yet we could sense what they wanted, what it was that they were coming for.

"Run!"

Sanya grabbed hold of Yuki and started pulling her back the way we'd come. I started to follow but I noticed Karen wasn't following us so I stopped. She was frozen. She held the plank of wood between her hands and if she was hugging it, like it was her pillow. But this wasn't a bad dream. This was real. And if she didn't get moving they would...

"Karen! Karen snap out of it."

She was mumbling nonsense, her body quivering at the sight of those eyes.

"Karen we need to go. Karen!"

"I -"

In the darkness I caught the outline of her face as it twisted deeper into fear. I looked back at them and saw a pair of yellow dots coming towards us. One of the monsters had grown impatient and was launching itself towards us. There was no time to think. I let my instincts guide me and pray they kept us alive long enough to get out of this mess. I pulled the plank from Karen's hands and swung, aiming for the space between the eyes. I felt it connect. A vibration shook the wood and I almost dropped it in surprise. I'd always assumed they were like shadows, invulnerable to the physical items of our world. But I had been wrong. The monster was sent back, crashing into the seats with a thud. The others paused to look, as though they were surprised at what had happened. I didn't wait for them to recover. I grabbed Karen by the waist and pulled her after the others.

Sanya had chosen to wait. "Behind you!" she cried.

I shot back the arm holding the wood and found the satisfying shake of the connection. But I had only gotten one. And they were closing on us. There wasn't enough time. We needed to get the lights on. The monsters were gaining.

I threw Karen towards Sanya. "Find the lights! I'll hold them off until I can catch you up."

"But -"

"Just go."

I didn't watch to make sure they left, I just trusted that Sanya would obey my decision. I turned back to the wall of monsters and let my feet sink into the soles of my shoes. I was ready for them. I eased the grip on the wood and let my elbows fall loose, like they had taught us in gym class. Then I pivoted, pulling the wood back so it was resting over my shoulder.

"Batter up...who wants to go first?"

They wrestled one another to get to me first, children squabbling over a box of treats. I took my time, waited for the perfect moment, and swung.

Crack! Thud!

Eyes flew back into the ever-growing sea. I steadied my stance and prepared for the next monster. I was ready to go all night if that's what it took.

Something slammed into my back and I fell forward. I fought to keep hold of the wood. They were everywhere. Yellow eyes all around me. I swung and kicked but the weight on my body only increased. They were overwhelming me, suffocating me with their bodies and their black stares. My heart was pounding. In my mind I could see a distant light. A swingset. A slide. The light spread until I could see a small playground framed by shadow. A figure stood before me but I could not see who or what it was. But I knew that I knew them. Deep down, I knew that this person was someone special to me. Someone who should be helping me. I pushed through the sea of monsters, desperate to reach out to him...

"Aniki! Aniki help me!"

He didn't move. He simply stood there, watching, as the shadows at the edges of my vision grew. The playground slowly faded back into darkness.

"Aniki!"



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WC: 672