Bringing-Up The Forgotten

WAHHHH!!!!

A loud scream was heard throughout the graveyard near the former Heart's residence. Found at the cause of the cry was a pale young girl on her knees, covering her ears while shedding tears of blood. Scenaries like that happens almost all the time that the young girl's head felt like it was going to explode. She could hear whispers from unfamiliar voices and the agony it caused made her release an aura the withered every flower near her. It was scene noone would dare look at.

A teenager with short dark hair was near his Godparent's home, led by something he couldn't explain. That's when he heard the scream. His pulse quickened and fighting back what humans called fear, a new emotion to him, he ran in it's direction, wishing that he still had Demon powers. When he was near the source of the scream, he saw a young girl that somehow caused him to remember his youth, something that he rather wanted to forget. Fighting back the fear clutching his chest, he walked up to her. "Are you ok?" he asked.

The girl's eyes had taken a quick tour to see the boy's appearance but whether or not she wanted to answer his question, she simply can't. But the answer to that is quite obvious as the girl spurted what seems like a black liquid, staining the very gravestone her parents are buried. She used her hands to prevent her upper body to fall, having both of them on the ground while she putting her weight on them.

The teen knelt beside her. ''This liquid. It's not that...It is. Oh no.'' he thought before he stood and spoke "I know what's causing that, so you gotta trust me. My Godfather's dad used that power, so did his daughter. I've grown up around that power, and to be honest, I don't want you gettin sick and dying on me, not here at least." he added with malice he didn't mean. "Sorry if I seem a bit harsh. How long have..." he began, before noticing she wasn't in the mood to answer his questions, nor was she able.

Having her hands unconsciously touching the boy at her side, Asuka's head began to be filled with images that overloaded her mind which caused her more pain than what she is going through already. "Shh....Sh.." She mumbled, it was all of a sudden that a word came up on her. "Sh..Shade??" Finally having that word come out of her tongue, it eased a part of her agony but it was temporary she as began vomitting more of that black liquid.

"Close. I'm his son, Hayashi. That makes you Asuka-chan, right? I'm starting to remember now. I need you to try and relax, ok? I can't help you, no matter how much I want to, but I'm gonna stay here and make sure you're ok. Margin would tell me to if I didn't?" Hayashi said, smiling, but his eyes were brimming with tears. ''Damn me to Hell. I should of remembered her sooner, I could of healed her!'' he yelled mentally.

Asuka reached out her other hand towards Hayashi, hoping that he, to some extent, give comfort to her pain. But due to the intensity of the pain her headache is giving her, she instinctively held both sides of her head and cried out some more.

Hayashi held her close, trying to comfort her. Tears were rolling down his face, a feeling that he only felt maybe two or three times before in his life. He knew that there was nothing he could do, without Karasu's Broken Wing form, he was useless. "I wish I could cure you of this, but I can't. I'm sorry. I would trade myself all the power in this world to make the pain stop." Deep inside, he felt a sick feeling, worse than the sadness of years past.

The moment Hayashi held Asuka, a surge of dark energy began to creep out of Asuka. She, herself, didn't know what was going on, but it was not like she can do anything about it. Somehow, she felt lighter in exchange for the energy going out of her. But the energy didn't simply left her and went astray, it found a new host Hayashi Kagekyo.

Hayashi groaned as his body seemed to take in the darkness pouring out of Asuka, but he held back in inhuman scream that threatened to escape him. "So this, this is a mere fraction of your pain. I see now. I understand what you've endured. I gladly accept." He wispered softly, pain stealing his thoughts away from him.

Hayashi, by now, should be able to feel the initial rocketing of his power, an effect that every Essentiam Inferno feels in the beginning. This would later cause the lust to kill, as a newly born vampire would. "Ha...yash..shi.." Asuka's voice trembling, being unadept in speaking. For a time, she was able to breath with more comfort, slowly sucking in and blowing out air.

"I feel funny. Stronger, like I can do anything. But..." Hayashi said, feeling the killer instinct rising in him. "You feelin better Asuka-chan?" he asked, trying to keep his new power in check, so far winning.

Asuka stood up, her face covered by her long bangs. Her fingers twitched unnaturally as she turned her head towards Hayashi. Her eyes, now glowing red, glared at Hayashi like a hungry beast ready to take down its prey. Every grantor of Essentiam Inferno acts hostile to those he/she had infected, explaining why Asuka's killing intent emerged. Raising her hand, forming it into the very black liquid she vomitted just a few moments before, she prepared to strike Hayashi with it, attempting to slice him in half.

Hayashi's own killing intent took over in defense, causing his wrist to harden with Essentiam, allowing him to block to the attack easily. He grinned sadisticly. "Well now, I don't know what just happened, but I'm loving it. Also glad to see you're ok."

More dark-matter branched out from Asuka's arm. Appearing like tendrils with sharpen tips, they moved towards the other parts of Hayashi's body while the main stem is locked with Hayashi's wrist.

Hayashi's grin widened, the darkness taking over more of his mind. With a simple thought, his body started changing, sending tendrils to force Asuka's back. He raised his other hand, turning all but his ring finger into dark-matter, sending a single stem, similar to Asuka's, aimed directly at the girl.

The stem pierced Asuka's body and even raising her up but she showed absolutely no hint of pain from it. She tilted her head to her right and continued with her glare. Unlike Hayashi, Asuka was no mere Essentiam Inferno user, she is basically Essentiam itself that only took of Asuka's former body. From her left hand came a huge hell-hound, drooling over the place. It then assaulted Hayashi, widening its mouth, prepared to take a bite.

Hayashi started sweating as the dog drew near, knowing that if it bit him, he'd be in a world of hurt. He focused his mind on the ring, creating wires by the dozen. The wires wrapped around the dog, halting it's movements. After the dog was wrapped tightly, he pulled his arm back, returning it to normal. Then he noticed Asuka's wound. "Hey! You ok?" he shouted, trying to get her attention.

Asuka's wound reformed, completely healed from Hayashi's stabbing attack. She did not aim to answer Hayashi's call, instead focusing more on the hound tied by Hayashi. Being unable to move, the dog dispersed itself as rattling black snakes that began to crawl over to Hayashi.

Hayashi's attention shifted to the snakes. There were too many to entrap with his wires, along with much of his body being used to fight Asuka's tendrils, but then he noticed that the Essentiam could branch out from itself, like what Asuka had done. Like before, he turned his free arm, save for his ring finger, into the material, sending tendrils out like a small-scale forest that impaled most of the snakes, leaving a few unharmed.

Those which are left prepared to take a bite, with their fangs as sharp as any blade created. A black orb then started to form at Asuka's palm. Pure and sinister, the aura it released was truly fearsome, reaching the very spines of the humans miles away from them. Asuka pointed the orb at Hayashi and released it, appearing something like that of a Cero Oscuras.

The snakes pierced Hayashi's leg, immoblizing him. Knowing that if the Cero connected, he wouldn't be around much longer, he used the wires to form a wall that he reinforced with Essentiam, creating a very powerful defense, so that even if the blast connected, he'd survive. To deal with the snakes, he knelt down and crushed each one's head. Then he noticed the blood flowing from his leg. If it didn't stop sooner or later, that Cero would be the least of his worries.

If Hayashi was any normal shinigami or someone without Essentiam Inferno, the battle would now be over as for someone to be pierced by the substance is just plain fatal. The blast continued on its way, causing a massive destruction. As the smoke cleared-up, Asuka saw Hayashi unharmed due to his usage of his wires and the substance she, herself, controls. She walked right at him and looked down at him with the very intention of ending his life. Several bladed materials emerged from Asuka's back, surrounding both her and Hayashi. With her command, the blades rushed towards Hayashi. As every blade was about to impale Hayashi, it stopped from its tracks. Asuka, now showing distress, fell on her knees and began holding her head once more. Images of painful memories was still clinging on to her.

Hayashi's bloodlust left him as he saw Asuka fall. Not caring if he was stabbed a million times by those blades, he moved as quickly as he could with an injured leg. Once he got near enough to her, he knelt down and once again tried to comfort her. "Asuka-chan, I don't know how you can bear this. Hell, I'd be dead if I were in your shoes, as the saying goes. How about you stop attacking me and relax for a bit? That would help you alot."

Even if Asuka wanted to do that, she simply can't. Her instincts is stronger than her emotions, as of now, her top priority is Hayashi's death. Her very hair then started to move, it formed a drill that aimed to pushed through Hayashi's heart.

Hayashi barely dodged the hair-drill by leaning left. He quickly swept the sweat off his face, panting all the while. ''She's honestly her father's child. Wait, that just gave me an idea''. he thought, trying to remain calm and emotionaly stable, something that he found hard without his Demonic side.

Asuka continued with her assault, With every corner now covered with her Essentiam, the battlefield itself became somewhat like an extention of her body.

Hayashi took note of the battlefield, Asuka's Essentiam was all around, compared to the small portion of the strange material under his own control. Knowing that if he didn't do something soon, he would die, and most likely go to Hell, which he wanted to avoid at all costs. Coating some of his wires in the Essentiam Inferno, he altered their form into that of chains, the wire holding the shape,

A huge axe forming at Asuka's hand, she swung it down upon Hayashi with much force to crush a house. Her eyes now looking dead, she pressed back her emotions to not let it cloud her judgement.

Using his manipulation of the wires to the fullest along with the Essentiam, Hayashi blocked the axe. A small, sadistic chuckle passed his lips. "I always wanted to try chains, but never expected this." He was borderline ready to snap and surrender his emotions for clarity.

Once again, more tendrils sprouted from the very axe Hayashi had blocked. The very ground Hayashi was standing on started to melt and began to suck in everything. The tendrils stretched out with its pointy tips, piercing anything that it would contact.

Some of the spikes impaled Hayashi's body while others were stopped by more chains. That was when the toll of the battle started truly making it's presence known, causing him to shake for a moment as pain started to overload his will to fight more, along with a strange feeling like the Essentiam was starting it's slow crawl that would lead to his eventual illness and death.

In a flash of moment, Asuka's eyes was set on Hayashi's but at that moment she showed no intent to spill more blood. Instead, her eyes revealed her suffering, as if asking for help. "Kill me will.. you?"

The question threw Hayashi's mind reeling. For what felt like forever he couldn't say a word in protest thanks to a lump in his throat. For a few seconds he almost wanted to do what she asked him, but he tossed the notion aside as quickly as it came. Finally, he found his voice to try and stop her from wanting death. "You sure you want me to kill you? I'm not a killer, just a simple guy wanting a simple life, but then, what fun would that be? I think you just need a reason to keep living. Now, your answer to this will determine what will be done. Do you want me to end your life or no?"

"Sorry...." The phase of her eyes changing, Asuka formed but another axe on her other arm. She swung it with tremendous force towards Hayashi, hoping to cut him in half. "If you...won't kill me.... I will kill.."

"You.."

Hayashi pulled away from the grusome axe that was going to cleave him. Quietly, he prayed for something to give him the energy to endure the onslaught that was bering down upon him, but finding no response. ''She's honestly gonna kill me unless I can somehow stop her from moving. ''he rationalized, but he quickly tossed then notion out of his mind, Asuka was easily the stronger of the two, especially with the Essentiam that makes up her body, therefore a new tactic was needed. He readied the wires once again, forming a new barricade between him and the one trying to lop his head off like Annie in Stephen King's Misery novel.

As the huge axe connected, it splashed like having blood splurt into a screen. It slipped through the tiny holes found at the barricade of wires, as no matter how small it were to be, it would be no problem for Asuka. As it went through, the black liquid sprouted into several bladed branches which aimed to lacerate anything in its path.

Needless to say, Hayashi never saw it coming, the strained liquid slashed him like needles. He couldn't move, as most of his tendons were severed and his bones splintered in horrible patterns. He somehow survived it, but by looking at him, not a soul could tell, such was the extent of the damage. Once every couple moments his body shuddered and he took a painful, small breath.