############################################################################################ -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: ############################################################################################ /^\ \_/ _____ ____ ___ ___ _ _ __ |_| \ / \___ | __ \___ |\ | | \ /_\ | | /___ | | /___ | \| | / |_| | | ŻŻ Ż Ż _Ż_ __ \_/ | |____/| /Ż\ |ŻŻ Ż|Ż |_| |__ |_| / | \_/ |ŻŻ | | | | \_/ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Ż Ż Ż Ż ŻŻ _ |_| _ \ŻŻŻŻŻ\ | /Ż\ /Ż\ |Ż\ /|\ \_/ /|\ | |> | |__ \_/ \_/ |_/ \^/__|_|__\^/ | < _____ _ __ _ _ \|##|_|##|/ | |> | \ __ | |Ż| | | | _ /Ż\ /Ż\ |\ | ŻŻŻ|X|ŻŻŻ /_____/ ||| | |Ż\ |Ż| |_| \_/ \_/ | \| |=| ||// Ż Ż Ż Ż Ż Ż |X| | / -------------------- / Ż \ |/ By Brett Yarrow |/^\| -------------------- ############################################################################################ -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: ############################################################################################ /\ __ /\/\/ \ \______|/_/____________________ > |X|X|X|##> LotBD: Chapter One > / /ŻŻŻŻŻŻ|\Ż\ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ ŻŻ \/\/\ \/ The winter night was cold and harsh. Hikaru stood on a cliff, with a dark, deep forest to his back, peering out at the sea before him. The moon was full, and it cast a lovely reflection of itself on the water. The sea was so calm and serene, which was the exact opposite of what he felt. Hikaru's mind was chock full of utter dispair and sorrow, grief and hatred. Hatred for himself. The wind picked up, and bit at his blue hair. His red wollen cape ruffled about. "This is it," he said, "now all of the pain and suffering will finally come to an end." He stepped up to the cliff's edge and looked down below. At the cliff's base, there laid many rocks, all sharp and jagged. Falling from this cliff would, without a doubt, guarentee death. Hikaru inhaled deeply, "No longer will anyone have to suffer just because of what I am." he said, "The fact that I cannot control it is not a reason for me to continue living this tortured life. Farewell, cruel world." Hikaru stretched his arms out and slowly shifted his weight forward, preparing to meet Oblivion's embrace. "AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Startled, Hikaru suddenly regained his balance, and whirled around. Hikaru did not expect anyone to scream except himself. "Who was that?" he murmured. He gazed at the forest ahead of him, listening carefully, and not daring to make a sound. "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEE! HELP ME!" came the cry again. The voice belonged to a woman. Hikaru could hear hurried footsteps, accompanied by the snarling and growling of wolves. He immediatly broke into a run, chasing after the wolves and whoever they were after. The woman ran from her pack of predators, shrieking uncontrollably. Suddenly her foot hooked on a tree root, and she went tumbling to the ground. She let out a heart-rending scream as she saw her persuers charging towards her. One of the wolves leaped toward her. She rolled to the right, and quickly regained her footing. Another one pounced at her, and she dived to the side. A third wolf charged toward her at full speed. It was drooling, foaming at the mouth. The woman shed tears as she realized that this animal's face would be the last that she would ever see. But suddenly, a tall, blue haired man, weilding a long, silver-bladed scythe, jumped into the wolf's path. With a quick swing of his scythe, the creature was decapitated. Blood sputtered from the headless corpse, and it collapsed to the ground. The other two wolves, seeing this new threat, bolted towards him. He kicked the first in the jaw, sending it flying backwards, and swiftly swung his scythe at its midsection, splitting the creature in half while in mid-air. The third wolf began to retreat. The blue-haired man made a huge overhead swing of his scythe, and the blow pierced into the wolf's head, instantly destroying its brain. He withdrew his weapon from the creature's skull and watched its remains fall to the forest floor with a resounding thud. Hikaru left out a sigh of relief. He snapped his fingers, and his scythe instantly disappeared from his hands. He turned to the woman, who was still lying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open in utter amazement and shock after witnessing what she just saw. "Are you alright?" he asked as he offered his hand to her. She gave him her hand and he then pulled her up. Hikaru looked her up and down. She was nothing short of gorgeous. Her hair was a deep purple, running all the way down to the small of her back. She had bright green eyes, which stood out from her pale, and nearly white, complexion. She was dressed in a long and flowing white robe. There wasnt anything very remarkable about the robe itself, save for the fact that it kept its wearer comfortably warm. "I'm... fine, thank you." she replied. "What were you doing out here? Don't you know that it's dangerous to travel through forests alone, especially in the winter?" "I'm sorry... I was in a hurry." she began, "I needed to--" Hikaru interrupted. "Well, just remember to have someone who knows how to fight accompany you next time. Wolves will eat anything during the winter, since most of their usual prey are in hibernation." Hikaru turned away from her, and started to leave. "Wait!" she said. He turned around. "I am in your debt, sir. Please, what is your name?" He turned around slowly. "Hikaru," he replied, "Hikaru Shouji." She studied him for a moment. He was of fair height, a little short of six feet. His blue hair was fairly long, reaching below his ears and it partly concealed the right side of his face. He had a blood-red colored cloak wrapped around him, and all his other clothes were draped in a darker hue of red. From what she could see, his build was nothing spectacular. But even though he was thin, she could tell by the way he fought that he was physically fit. In fact, she had never seen anyone fight as well as he did in her entire life. "Greetings, Hikaru. I am Arumi Mitsaka." She looked him in the eyes. They were peculiarly red, the same shade as the cape as he wore. "Thank you, Hikaru, for saving my life. But, I'm afraid I do not have anything at the moment to rewar--" "Do not worry about it," he interrupted again. "I don't need any money. Farewell." And with that, started to walk away. "Wait!" Hikaru stopped in his tracks. "You are quite the fighter, Hikaru. I would feel better if a bodyguard could help me get to Zephrynna safely. Care to take my offer?" He turned around. "Well," Hikaru began. He then paused for a moment, considering her offer. He had nothing to live for, no reason to continue his existence. All he wanted was to go back to that cliff and plummet down toward those jagged, sharp rocks. Those knife-edged spikes were the keys that would enable him to unlock the door to his next life. A life where he would live happily, and peacefully; without all of the wretched torment and suffering that plagued him. All he wanted was an escape, and no amount of money could accomplish that. Only death could. But then he thought of what this woman had to live for: perhaps a family, a lover, or even children. She had responsibilities, obligations, and promises to uphold and people to take care of. Unlike himself, she still had a purpose in this world. And odds were that she would be attacked again, be it by another pack of wolves or a gang of wandering bandits. He already knew how helpless she was, and it would be a shame if she were to die after he saved her life. And he would feel a small bit of redemption from knowing that his life wasnt spent completely on making others suffer. He had made up his mind. He would help this woman. "I accept," Hikaru responded. "Follow me." And with that, Hikaru began to walk away. Arumi followed him. ############################################################################################ #XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX# To Be Continued... #XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX# ############################################################################################