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False Utopia: Whispers in the Dark is an article created by Achrones150. Use is allowed with the permission of the owner, with the exception of collaboration-created articles. |
Prologue: A lurking shadow[]
It was dark, and the area was still. That was about to change however. A rustling sound was heard. It was a pair hikers. They were babbling on about something of little importance, completely unaware of what was up ahead. Before either of them knew it, they had been tackled to the ground by a small figure. There was a chuckle.
"She's the most innocent one of us all, yet she's the quickest to move in for the kill." It was a male voice.
Another male emerged, though he was shadowed over by a large tree, he was carrying what appeared to be a body. "Yes, that's always been something strange about her."
The hikers were attempting to fight their assailant off, but it was to no avail. The girl bit down into one of their necks, and he was silenced. The second hiker was shocked at this, and couldn't move. She did however, let out a scream as the girl moved in on her. As the girl stepped away from the bodies, they rolled down the hill, and she placed a hand to her cheek, wiping something from it. She walked next to the second shadow, and he placed a hand on her head affectionately.
"Now that our feeding has been taken care of, you all know why we're here." He said, his voice soft and yet it carried.
A third voice spoke up. "We know why were here, Sesshōmaru." This one sounded young, about as young as the girl who had attacked the hikers. "Just get on with it."
The first male shadow spoke up again. "You're as impatient as always. Let Sesshōmaru finish speaking, and the you can complain as you please."
Another voice, a little girl, spoke up as her shadow jumped from a tree. "Why let him complain at all?" Her voice was spiked with an innocent, bell-like tone. "He needs to learn to hold his tongue."
Before anyone else could respond, the shadow that had been called Sesshōmaru cleared his throat as he threw the body he was carrying aside. "Now now. I don't mind interruptions, but as I was saying. You all know why were here and you know our long term objective. But first we need to spread out. Search for the silver-haired child." The moon came out from behind the clouds and shined down on Sesshōmary. His face was hidden behind a hood, but his smile radiated from him.
"Now go."
"Hai!" They all spoke in unison as they spread out.
"The time has come to put our plan into motion."
Winds of a new beginning blow[]
The sun crept through the window, and hit the face of a young, red-haired girl who was sleeping soundly. The moment the light hit her eyes, she began to stir. After a moment, she sat up, yawning.
"Mornin' already?" She said thickly. "I should have gone to bed earlier.." She got up out of her bed, and yawned again. She was not a morning person. Not immediately anyway. After getting into proper clothing and splashing cold water on her face, she jumped onto the stair rail and slid down.
"Ohayō!" She called out cheerfully as she landed neatly on the mat at the bottom of the stairs and walked into the kitchen.
"Miharu!"
Megami Kirisaki, mother of the lone child that approached her into the kitchen, was the one to greet her in a stern voice, with a mix of that and slight concern. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that?" She chided. "One of these days, you're going to break something if you keep it up." Her eyes peered over the child, checking for any injuries. She loved the kid to death, but she was just so reckless! Then again, considering her father.... it almost caused her to smile.
"Kā-san, none of us as so fragile that we'd break something falling down the stairs." She said, bounding over to her mother and giving her a hug. "Need any help with breakfast Kā-san?"
Due to her height, Megami could only reach over and gently ruffle the girl's hair. "No, dear, I'm fine. Though, you could help with getting rid of it once I'm done...." She smiled a little at the supposed joke. "Now go join the rest of the family at the breakfast table. I'll be there shortly."
"Alright." She said, and walked over to the table, where, sure enough, everyone was sitting. Miharu took a seat down next to Taiki, who was surprisingly present for breakfast today.
"Hey Onī-chan." She said cheerfully.
"Miharu!"
Immediately, she was enveloped in a hug by Taiki Kurosaki, older "brother" of the young girl. He had fixed an arm around her shoulders, other hand ruffling her hair in a playful manner. "How's my little 'sis doin' this mornin'?" He asked in a glib manner, obviously happy to see the child awake and kicking. Though he had gotten older... he still retained his personality all those years. After all, his daughters would miss him if he switched personas just like that...
"O-Onī-chan you're suffocating me!" She choked out the words, pushing him off. Ahatake chuckled. "Didn't you just say something about not being fragile?"
Miharu frowned briefly. "Compared to most of you, I am rather fragile."
"Aw..." Taiki put on a falsely sad look, rubbing his arm and putting on an air of insecurity. "That hurts, Miharu-chan..."
"C'mon, Tou-san..."
The next voice that spoke up belonged to his daughter Kyuui Kurosaki, who was sitting up and looking in his direction with a rather exasperated look on her face. Truth be told, she was quite used to her dad's antics in such a manner - but why did it have to be morning when he did so as well? It was quite exhausting! "Don't rough her up so early on in the day!" This caused Taiki to chuckle, but he sat back down in his seat nonetheless.
"Where's Onē-chan?" Miharu asked, looking around.
"Oh, Mido-chan?" The white-haired man quirked an eyebrow, but thought about it. "Oh, that's easy. She's with the Injiki's kid. You'd think she goes anywhere else but that house for at least a second!" It was true - Sticking to her vow, Midoriko had stuck by Kibou during his growth. Thanks to that technique she had performed, and now that Kibou was the same age, their moment would be decided sooner or later.
"She never does leave Kibou alone." Miharu said. She hadn't been born when Midoriko first made that promise, but ever since she could remember, Midoriko had been constantly going to the Injiki's. Taiki was the only sibling who was around constantly, though he was disappear as well, though no one knew to where. As the smell of cooking food wafted through the area, Miharu got comfortable. "After breakfast, I'm going to spar with Ezra." She seemed delighted at the thought. "He promised, so he can't bail out today."
Perfect timing.
Megami had came in, holding two plates for two people only. However, she would go back to the kitchen to get the rest... though, she wished at this particular moment, she had more arms! "All right! Here we go!" She said cheerfully, placing the plates in front of the young ones first - Miharu and Aoi. Kyuui was only barely older, but it still counted. Immediately, she scrambled back in order to get the rest.
"Ezra?"
The name caused Kyuui to look over at Miharu in question. "Who was that, exactly?" She asked, having a feeling she knew.
Aoi grinned because she was served first and started to dig in.
Miharu looked at Kyuui. "Kyuui, Ezra's my friend. He's dropped by quite a few times in the last few years. How can you forget him?"
"Oh, him?" The girl had a rather unsure expression, looking down hesitantly at the table with her eyes downcast. "I don't see how you can bear with him. He...he's frightening. It always seems like he's staring right through me when he looks over at me." Was a chill sweeping down her spine already? It affected her just thinking of the guy. "I always refer to him by Eiji, too... so I just got confused for a minute..."
"Frightening?" Miharu asked, laughing as she began to eat. "How can Ezra be frightening? I find him fun to be around. And definitely a good sparring partner. No offense to you Onī-chan." Before Ezra had come along, Miharu had frequently trained with her brother.
"None taken." Taiki simply waved the comment off, not really paying to the conversation.
"Like I said, I have no idea how you could ever speak to him like a fri--" Abruptly, Kyuui was cut off as Megami once again came in. This time, she set down a plate in front of her, and then used a Shunpo to deliver the second plate in front of Taiki. Now for her and Ahatake! Relieved that she wouldn't have to keep working at it for much longer, she hurried up to grab the last plates, once again vanishing into the kitchen.
"Some people have different tastes." Miharu said, continuing she and her nieces conversation. "You and Aoi should know all about that."
Aoi choked on a piece of meat for a second at this.
"Kch--!"
Immediately, a red blush spread across Kyuui's face, and she looked once again at her food. "Th....that's something much different!" She managed to say, clearly embarrassed that Miharu had mentioned such a thing at the breakfast table. How bold she was! Had she remained a bit calm, she would've immediately started slapping Aoi on the back in order to relieve the choking.
Miharu chuckled, and went to relieve Aoi. "Not by much." She said sitting down. "And in my opinion, it's better to have one friend not many people get along with than many friends everyone fawn over."
"Hmph!" Unwilling to carry the conversation any further, Kyuui immediately grabbed a fork and started eating immediately. At that moment, Megami finally came in with the last two plates. She used a Shunpo to appear in her seat, placing both of their plates in front of her and her husband. "Here you go, honey..." She said, smiling warmly. All of them were various foods, due to differing favorites - she disliked making something someone didn't want to eat, after all! But it was quite exhausting...
"Thanks dear." Ahatake said, delighted to finally be getting his meal. He pulled out a chair for her to sit down in.
Miharu looked at Kyuui. "Sorry Kyuui." She said, her voice coated in innocence. She figured she had offended the girl somehow. Best to apologize.
"It's fine..." Kyuui assured her, smiling a little. The blush faded, but only slightly. "I really don't mind it. You just caught me off guard, that's all..."
Aoi's face was still red from the choking, but she now found the whole situation amusing, despite nearly being killed by her breakfast. "I'm wondering. Ojī-chan, you said back when Miharu was a baby that Kyashi had consented to Auntie marrying Kibou. Why hasn't it happened yet?"
Ahatake took a long draught from his cup. "Not sure. Kyashi's an indecisive woman anyway. We may be waiting another century before they actually get married--"
"I'm not so sure."
Megami spoke up, looking over at Aoi with a rather serene expression. "Since they're the same age now, Kyashi told me that she was going to be changing her mind and allowing it if they do." She explained. "She was worried before because of the age gap, but now..." That made Kyuui's eyes widen, and she smiled a bit, happy to hear the news.
"That's great!" She said happily, stopping her eating for a moment to clap her hands together. "No more trouble between them for a while!"
Ahatake chuckled. "Same age my foot. You can thank my sister for that. Midoriko visited her when she could, and learned some strange, age altering Kidō spell from her. I pity the people she uses that spell on."
"Me, too...." Megami frowned slightly, even as she continued to eat. "One could wonder how she could be able to bear with that.... but, then again, you know her better, Ahatake."
"She was worse as a child." Ahatake replied. "Remember when I told you her first word was "kill"?"
That caused Megami to shudder a little. "How could a child even say such a thing?" She wondered quietly.
"She had Tereya for a mother." Ahatake said gravely.
Oh, right.
The woman that had visited them years back. She seemed non-chalant back then.... a bit overbearing... and even shameless! A slight blush spread across her face as she remembered Tereya flaunting for Nori in a "request for opinion".... had that been what Ahatake had to deal with? But, still, she never thought of the woman as cruel... and considering Taiki.... "Tereya? She was a bit overbearing, wasn't she?" She asked, smiling a little.
Ahatake chuckled. "Yeah, but that's putting it lightly."
Miharu's chopsticks hit her plate. "Done. And just in time too. I feel Ezra's Spiritual Energy coming."
"Wha--"
Kyuui, although startled at the revelation, didn't even get to finish her sentence. A knock was on the door, a resounding set of five knocks total. Nervously, she stopped eating and looked in the direction of the sound, while Taiki merely looked up in wonder. "You gonna get that, Mi-chan?" He asked.
"Yeah." She hopped out of her chair, using Shunpo to reach the door. She turned it, to see the figure of her best friend. "Hey Ezra." She said, grinning.
Eiji stands at Miharu's doorstep.
A red-haired man, clad in his own custom gear, stood on the doorstep, his arms folded across his chest, and rather emotionless eyes staring into the cheerful ones of Miharu. "Good morning, Miharu-san." He said calmly, his voice quite formal despite it being a friend. "Am I interrupting something?" He didn't sound too apologetic, keeping a rather deep and almost monotone form of speaking.
"Not really." She said. "We're only eating. And how many times do I need to remind you not to call me Miharu-san? It makes me feel like I should be at a job somewhere."
"Calling you that's just how I speak." Ezra replied coolly, shifting his hands into his pockets. "Should it really matter? After all, we are friends and should address each other comfortably." He wasn't interested to turn this into a debate, and since he believed it to be pointless, he switched subjects fluidly. "Anyway, are you sure about this? I'm not one to hold back, even if it is a sparring match. And I do so despise bearing the brunt of your parents' loathing because you suffered grievous injury..."
Miharu walked over to him, and looked him straight in the eye. This would have been a more impressive feat had she been taller than him and jabbed her finger into where his diaphragm would be, the tallest point on him she could reach.
"You're underestimating me Ezra. I'm not going to be the one coming out of this injured. That prize'll be going to you."
The action made Ezra wince a little. However, he stood straight, keeping his gaze into her own. He had to admit, the girl was pretty strong when she wanted to be. He held that stare for a minute... and then closed his eyes in resolution. "That confidence of yours will be the death of you." He said dryly. "But very well. We'll see for ourselves who's right... where will we commence this....lesson?"
"Outside." Miharu said, beckoning for Ezra to follow her. The premises of the Kurosaki residence had grown larger in the last century. They now had a yard which stretched for a few miles. Perfect for sparring practice.
Ezra did so without complaint, and without word. His footsteps were almost silent as they treaded behind his comrade. Honestly, he preferred not to fight against comrades, even if it was just a sparring match. It was never out of respect that he didn't hold back - it was the fact that he viewed most that dared to cross swords with him as pathetic. Though he respected Miharu as a friend, it was much different when they fought. He preferred to keep her out of harm's way, but she was so reckless...
Oh, well. Maybe this sparring match would be a good blow to her cockiness.
Miharu smiled. "Let's get this show on the road Ezra." She wasted no time, letting loose a massive blast of flame from her mouth. So much for her mother's well kept lawn.
Ezra closed his eyes...
...and vanished out of the flame's path.
The massive blast would cost the girl precious energy. Unless she had limitless energy, which was very much impossible, the attack would simply carve out her reserves and leave her that much vulnerable to his own assault. Furthermore, she had not bothered to draw her sword in order to engage him. It would buy him a little time for his next set of attacks. As he raced towards her, his lips moved to utter the command of a Bakudō spell.
"Ankoyuko."
That was when Miharu's vision grew dark, consumed completely by the hypnosis of the spell. The time Miharu's defenses would be open would depend on the speed of her perception and realization. Every second was critical. Completing his Shunpo, his sword was now fully drawn, the blade swinging down diagonally for a deep gash through the back.
The blade never made contact, as it was met with an aura of thick flames. "Not being able to see doesn't prevent me from feeling for you spiritual energy." Miharu pointed out. She drew her sword. "Improvise...Kyūmu!" She called out her Zanpakutō's name and the illusion over her shattered. Her Zanpakutō then proceeded to transform into a large axe with a wooden handle. "I see you." She said, charging towards him and jumping up. She twirled the axe over her head and swung it down.
"She shattered it just by releasing her Zanpakutō? How is that possible?"
Seeing his attempt foiled, Ezra was forced to leap away before the pressure of the axe swing could crush him where he stood. His eyes held slight surprise - the Kidō that he had used was supposed to dispel only if the victim managed to land a hit on the caster. So how could she have forced her way out without wounding him? When he skidded back, he leveled the killing edge in her direction with one hand, as well as keeping his rather callous gaze on her. "What a pointless lecture. I don't need you to tell me the weaknesses of my own attacks."
In the case of her flame manipulation, the attempt to use it as a defense was not a preferable tactic. No matter how thick flames could be, one could easily send their blade through them to the intended target. If she attempted the same thing again, he would be easily able to run her through with his own blade.
Miharu lifted the axe above her head. This was her favorite way to use her Zanpakutō, release it as an axe and make her opponent think it was a simple melee type. She swung it, and it released an invisible blast of spiritual energy in Ezra's direction.
Once again, Ezra leaped into the attack. His legs boosted off of the ground as he threw himself at Miharu, blade poised in one hand. When his body came parallel with the blast of spiritual energy, he could feel the rippling effect it had. That was his signal to vanish and re-appear in front of Miharu. He raised his blade up, swinging down with both of his hands. His movements seemed to flow so naturally, as if he had fought this type of battle a thousand times before.
Miharu placed both hands on her axe and it shined white. She split it apart, in one hand gaining a sword, the then second part of the axe transformed into a diamond shield. She did all this very fast, and the blade collided with her shield. She swung her sword under the shield at Ezra, aiming for his torso.
The blade cut right through.
Literally.
When the sword connected, it phased right through Ezra's body. During its path through him, his own body seemed to flicker and shimmer, as if being disrupted by the attack. However, once it passed through his body, the flickering stopped. In that moment, he had allowed his sword to rebound off of the SHIELD before lowering the tip to the ground and swinging an uppercut. Due to her only defense in the process of attack, she was completely open.
"Tsuzuri Raiden."
As his blade cut through her chest, electrical current seeped through the wound, electrifying the nervous system with newfound pain.
However, Miharu didn't seem to be feeling any pain. In fact, that blade didn't seem to have pierced her at all. She smiled, pushing the blade off her and jumping back, her shield and sword returning to axe form.
For a moment, Ezra didn't allow himself to move, his blade lowering to idle defensive position. The electricity that was running through his blade faded away, his concentration broken. In order for his own defense, it was all according to speed - he had moved so quickly that the after-images were almost solid representations of himself, misleading the opponent to other observations. However, Miharu did not use such a thing. "I suppose I'll have to ask you what that defense of yours was..." He commented calmly.
Miharu grinned. "I was hoping you would." She said, and her entire skin began to glow orange and fade into the air. She had been covered in flames. "With a little bit of fire, I can do anything, even add my spiritual energy to it and create solid armor. Only drawback is that takes quite a bit of spiritual energy to keep up." She did look tired.
Ezra closed his eyes once more, slowly coming to resolution. "It was foolish of you to expel so much energy so quickly. If you don't fight carefully, you're going to find your head on the end of a blade." He scolded her dryly. "On top of that... your swordsmanship is quite poor. You'd be killed for sure if I was truly aiming to end your life."
There was one other thing he wouldn't dare himself to speak to her: how was he to protect her if she was setting herself up to get killed? It was impossible... and as harsh as he was to her, he was reluctant to see her slain in front of his eyes. It was too strong of a loyalty towards his comrades, the ones who cared about him as much as he cared about them. That thought crossing his mind, he decided not to pursue the continuation of the duel, but instead re-sheathed his blade. "You have much to work on before you can fully cross swords with me."
She frowned. "My swordsmanship can't be poor, I wasn't even using a sword for starters." She said, gesturing to the giant axe.
"Hmph." Ezra was tempted to roll his eyes at what seemed like a joke. "Well, whatever you call the style for wielding that weapon, it's poorly disciplined."
She frowned deeper. "You keep saying that." She said, her weapon returning to it's wakizashi form. "One of these days, I'll beat you."
"If this is how you continue to fight..." Ezra answered. "Then it will be quite a long while before that ever happens. Now, then..." Taking his hand off of his hilt, he began to step towards Miharu. "Should I take my leave? Or is there anything else you want me to do?" A lighter tone came into his voice as he asked the questions, and only she could recognize it as him being "friendly" again.
She grinned. "I dunno. You can come inside if you want. And perhaps try to make Kyuui think you're less frightening."
"The silver-haired girl? She's quite on the timid side, isn't she?" Ezra remarked. "Well, then, I guess I have a bit of time on my hands. I'll gladly join you."
Startling Events[]
As they entered, they heard that the Television was on. Ahatake was watching the news.
"We regret to report the death of several hikers up in the higher hilled area. They were discovered at the bottom of various different hills, with puncture marks on their necks. The killer is still unknown."
"This again?"
Taiki, as well as Kyuui (and possibly the rest of the family) had been gathered around Ahatake with varying expressions on their faces. Taiki had been the one to comment on it. "How long has it been since this kind of stuff pops up, anyway?" He mused, a rather indifferent expression on his face. Kyuui, on the other hand, was looking on with what appeared to be worry, an enclosed hand over her mouth.
"How awful..." The silver-haired girl muttered, eyes wavering a bit. She never did like death and violence such as this... but it always seemed to appear at least once on TV. It was demoralizing, at least!
Ahatake sighed. "I'd be willing to bet every hat Kisuke owns that we're gonna be in for some trouble soon..."
"A shame...." Taiki commented lightly, raising himself up for a moment. "Well, something like that I'm sure the authorities'll take care of. Either way, I'm going off for a walk...." Stretching a bit, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. "I'll see ya in a little bit, guys...." He seemed quite non-chalant about the whole issue, of course. This surprised his silver-haired daughter, who turned in his direction to call after him.
"Wait!" She protested. "What about the--"
"Eh... don't worry about me..." Her father merely waved her off. "I'll be fine..."
Miharu looked at Taiki as he passed by. "Hey, Onī-chan, think you can finally tell me where you always disappear to?"
That immediately caused Taiki to stop in his tracks for a moment. He was aware of two things now - the question by Miharu, and the rather cold glare directed towards his direction by the man beside her. The white-haired man allowed a shrug of his shoulders. "I go various places. What else can I say? Don't wanna be too specific, because the list's too long...." He answered. "You'd be bored just listenin'."
"Why would I get bored listening to where my Onī-chan goes?" Miharu asked. "It'd be interestin'."
"Because this time, I ain't goin' anywhere in particular." Taiki answered, grinning as he directed his half-lidded eyes to stare into Ezra's own. "Besides, I wouldn't want to ruin the day you're having with your boyfriend beside ya." However, he didn't expect the rather blunt response that Ezra had easily gave him.
"I already have a woman of my own."
That caused Taiki to blink for a minute. "....really?"
Ezra nodded slightly. "She goes by the name of Shiloh, and she's also from Aether."
"Oh...." The new information almost caused Taiki to start laughing at himself. He never saw that kind of retort coming his way! "All right, then. Your friend then, sis..." With that, he promptly turned on his heel and waved behind him. "G'bye, you two!" With that, he stepped out the door and closed it behind him.
Miharu sighed as her brother left the room.
Outside, the morning had fully set in, and many people who passed the Kurosaki house were stopping to look at the burnt grass and other wounds the grounds have suffered from Miharu and Ezra's skirmish before they went on their way.
Taiki shoved his hands into his pockets, trusty sword sheathed right at his waist. Most of the people didn't seem to mind the fact that he was carrying a weapon, as he wasn't really bothering to swing it around. Ah, it felt like a good day to take a walk! The crisp morning air, and the sight of the sun rising! It was a rather good feeling. Where was he to go? Hueco Mundo, for some more personal training? The local restaurant? The entire days was his and his alone! He could do anything he wanted...
...except for see his wife.
He thought of Adela. Come to think of it, he had never seen the woman at all. They never seemed to interact much anymore. He could easily blame his loathing for the annoying bitch for that... but still, wouldn't she have made at least some effort to talk to him about something? Maybe she finally gave up on finding love in the marriage and was off fucking some guy who would please her. That'd give him an excuse to find another girl that'd appreciate his tastes....
"Target sighted." Someone was standing in the air a few feet above Taiki, their spiritual energy masked in the cloak it was wearing. "Shall I move in?"
"Proceed." Came a voice from the wireless on her ear. She started moving, following him slowly. Best to wait till he was in the shadows.
It would take a while.
Taiki maneuvered himself throughout the crowd of people, muttering "Excuse me" and "Pardon" as he went by. However, eventually, he began separating himself from the crowd and into more desolate areas. Yeah.... maybe killing some more Arrancar would do him some good! He was bored out of his mind, and everyone else seemed busy... then again... maybe he could just allow himself to aid in the search for those killers? They'd probably be more fun than any of his family members...
He stopped when he was in a section of the city that had been long since abandoned after the Hiraishin incident. Most of the buildings were wrecked beyond repair, yet still standing. A perfect place to hide a Garganta. "Ah, well... I guess the authorities'll thank me if I pull these guys in for 'em. The question is..." A rather thoughtful look crossed his face, even as he made forward to walk into what looked like a massive office structure. His hand was placed onto the door. "Where should I start looking...?"
"Now." The voice from the wireless was commanding and the cloaked figure jumped, the cloak billowing up to reveal a feminine figure. She landed right beside Taiki.
"Hello."
"!!!!"
What she got as part of the reaction from Taiki was the grasping of his hilt, the unsheathing of his sword, and then a frighteningly fast strike aimed to decapitate the one that had greeted him. Though his movements showed ferocity, the only sign of surprise was slightly widened eyes. Other than that, there was virtually no hostility that could be seen... it would be quite frightening to the most detailed onlooker.
No hostility...
...and yet movements that only meant death for their targets.
The girl raised her hand up and caught the blade, then forced it down. Her hood fell off, revealing a young and pretty face, with a blush on both cheeks. "Not a very nice way to greet someone, Kurosaki."
"Hm?"
Slowly, Taiki retracted his blade back, noting the display of strength that the girl had displayed. She appeared to be quite young, surprisingly. And yet... she displayed movements of an expert fighter, one who had seen such moves before. Already he could safely say this was no ordinary girl. "Sorry..." He said, keeping a rather glib tone as she lowered his sword for a moment. "But sneaking up on someone when they've got a weapon isn't the smartest thing to do, you know?" He balanced his blade onto his shoulder, his free hand into his pocket.
"I prefer to surprise people." She said, smiling. "Keeps things fun."
"Well, you sure surprised me...." Taiki commented, allowing his own smile to come to his face. "Now, what's a little girl like you doing all the way out here? Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" Then again... she did seem to know him... already from the first words, she had already deduced him to be a Kurosaki. But he couldn't really be surprised about that - they were important factors in bringing down the threats so far to Yuurei Oukoku.
"Last time my mother told be that, I was five." The girl said. "And I should introduce myself. I'm Lynterria Mokoto. I'm a Taishoku Kokumin."
"....huh?" A comically clueless expression appeared on the Kurosaki's face at the words "Taishoku Kokumin". "That sounds like a fancy desert or something. Are you a cookie in disguise?"
Lynterria giggled, a light bell sound similar to her voice. "No. Alright, you come from the world of the living. Think of me as your average neighborhood vampire."
"Vampire?"
Immediately, realization came to his head.
The very thing he had been considering "booking" in... at least one of them... was standing right here! The report had said there had been puncture marks in the corpses' necks. The killer that the authorities were looking for was standing right in front of him. And yet, she seemed so calm, so sure that he wouldn't do a thing... if he was right, it was no chance meeting. She sought him out for something. However, he kept up his non-chalant charade. "Ah... either you're one smart cookie... or you're working with a group of people in this...." He remarked. "One such as you doesn't look like you could get away with at least one murder without help to cover your tracks."
"Murders? Oh they found the remnants of our dinner?" She frowned. "Pity, but I guess we should have thrown away our scraps better than that."
"Why have you come to me... O Great Serial Killer?" Taiki asked politely. "Surely, a common man like me isn't worth your time..."
"Common man?" She laughed. "Funny. You are right though. I'm not working alone. I'm working with a group of other Taishoku Kokumin, led by Sesshōmaru. Do you recall him?"
"Mmm...." The silver-haired man ran fingers through his hair, having to take his free hand out of his pocket to do so. "Eh... I'm afraid it doesn't ring a bell to me, Lyn-chan." He answered honestly. "Do you know if we've met before or not?"
"Well, it has been awhile." Lynterra replied. "Do you remember when you visisted that advanced community in the Seperate Dimension? That young Shinigami child was with you."
"Ah! That!"
Taiki immediately snapped out of it. "It's vague, but yes, I do remember that!" He acknowledged, nodding a little. Immediately, he sheathed his blade - in honesty, he had even forgotten he was still holding the thing! "So.... is he the one that told you to greet me?"
"Yeah." She said, smiling. "He was there during your first visit, without the child. When you came back, he saw you again, and decided to speak with you, but you left before he could say anything at all."
"Then I guess he'll get his chance to finish up, won't he....?" Taiki guessed. "You gonna take me to him?"
"Not really necessary." She said. A shadow began to emerge next to her, and it solidified into a hooded man, hands tucked into the opposite sleeves.
"Hello, Taiki Kurosaki."
END