A Light In The Heart Of Darkness

For now… it was all he could offer them besides sorrow.

Kamui looked up at the wizard, shocked at this new development. “What? But… why?” his eyes widened in a moment of panic… would everyone leave him now? Wasn’t losing Toya and Kyoko bad enough?

Feeling Kamui’s fear rise, Shinbe placed a steady hand on his friend’s shoulder and tried to explain, “You know as well as I that Hyakuhei will eventually learn what we have done here.” He looked over Kamui’s shoulder at Kotaro knowing the Lycan would understand his abandonment.

“You will be able to escape his ever-watchful eyes… but I do not have that kind of power. I will however be able to hide, but I am unsure as to how long.” Shinbe released a long sigh and looked up at the moon hanging low in the sky. “My days have a number on them now…” a soft smile tilted the corners of his lips as if he knew a secret. “…So be it.”

“I will board the next vessel going west, over the ocean. There, I will have a better chance of keeping my identity safe from Hyakuhei and perhaps even find a way for my own soul to reincarnate at the same time as our dear friends.” He hoped what he was saying was the truth. They would need him when the time came.

Kamui glanced down at the grave below him then back up at his friend with more calmness then he had felt since this nightmare evening had started. He did not want Shinbe to be the next victim so, yes, he understood. He gently plucked a rainbow feather from his right wing and pressed it to Shinbe’s neck.

Shinbe gasped as it started to glow brightly before absorbing into his skin. He looked down and saw the briefest outline of the feather just below the collar of his robe.

“That’ll help you when the time comes,” Kamui said with a smile and gave Shinbe a tight hug in understanding. He wouldn’t lose Shinbe for long… no matter what.

“We will see each other again my friend,” Shinbe whispered before pulling away from Kamui’s embrace. He nodded to Kotaro knowing the Lycan would look after Kamui for all of them. Shinbe gazed back at the grave then jerked his eyes away letting his bangs fall down to hide the sadness. “So be it,” he whispered again as he disappeared into the surrounding darkness.

“You ready kid?” Kotaro asked quietly as he kept his back to the grave. He knew he could not stay. Shinbe was right… the farther away they were, the better protected the spell would be.

Kamui wanted to scowl at the nickname Kotaro had just given him but didn’t have the heart. His heart was buried in the dirt at his feet and, if it took ‘til the end of time, he would see Hyakuhei pay for his crimes.

“Yeah,” Kamui said, wiping an arm across his eyes. “I’m ready.”

Kotaro placed an arm around his shoulders and led him away. The Lycan found that he could shed no more tears for the woman he had loved with his entire being. His soul felt as if someone had yanked it from his body, ripped it to shreds and only returned half of it.

If the spell Kamui and Shinbe had come up with worked, he would see his beloved Kyoko again. He couldn’t help but smile at all the antics he and Toya’s reincarnation were bound to come up with to win her affections. He would gladly fight over her once again if only Toya would come back. After all… he loved them both.

He fought the urge to look back at the grave. “A thousand years is a long time to wait but I’ll be there for you… Kyoko.”

*****

Over a thousand years into the future… Present Day.

A lone figure stood on a rooftop of the tallest building, overlooking the crowded city below. His features never betraying the heart-wrenching memory of his only brother’s body lying alone and lifeless on the cold, hard ground, centuries ago. His once warm, beating heart gripped in the claws of the sadistic monster that had created them both.

He had done everything within his power to separate himself from the evil that silently surrounded him. Just like the humans of this world, he only fed off the animals that nature provided. Even though the darkness was all he was allowed, as is the curse of a vampire, he would never become the demon his uncle had intended.

Within the last several years something within him stirred… a longing that he couldn’t understand and hadn’t felt in over a thousand long years.

Memories never forgotten replayed in Kyou’s mind of a once innocent young man that had filled his life with happiness, even within a world of darkness. Toya… He had been so full of life… with laughing gold eyes and the ignorance of a child. Once again it brought pangs of guilt to his heart for not being able to protect his younger brother.

Sun gold eyes that had grown hard from hundreds of years of loneliness, bled red at the remembrance of a promise that he had yet to fulfill. Every decade that passed by, Kyou had grown that much stronger. Many times he had come close, but the object of his hatred and wrath eluded him at every turn.

He would not rest until the vile creature he sought writhed in agony at his feet and his soul cast into hell where it belonged.

Kyou’s gaze was drawn to the only serene place in the whole city… the quiet park in the center. “Such places should not be near so much evil,” he murmured into the night. Leaping from the building, Kyou continued his search as he had for so many centuries. Hyakuhei would pay with his very life for taking the only one that ever mattered to him or ever would. His brother was forever lost and would never return.

“Toya…” Kyou whispered as he disappeared into the night, leaving behind the image of an avenging angel…

*****

The park was always peaceful this time of the day. It was still afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. Kotaro strolled lazily through the trees close to the center where a huge block of marble was sitting. He had no idea where it came from… it had been there for as long as he could remember, it was even older then the city itself. All he knew for sure was that he felt an overwhelming sense of peace whenever he was near it.

‘Who’d figure that a square rock would bring about tranquil thoughts?’ Kotaro muttered to himself.

Taking another path between the trees, he made his way over to the stone so he could look at it. Even if he’d been completely happy that day… just making sure it was still there made him feel better.

Kotaro stopped in his tracks when he entered the center where it was and frowned at the individual sitting Indian style on the top of it with elbows on his knees and chin cupped in his hands. Short purple hair swayed in the soft breeze making the young looking man seem very childlike.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Kotaro demanded.

Kamui grinned without looking at him. Instead, he nodded in the direction of the college off in the distance. “Waiting for class to start.”

Kotaro shook his head and moved on before stopping again and whirling around to face Kamui. “What are you talking about? You don’t even go to this school.”

Kamui winked before slowly fading out of existence in a flurry of glittering rainbow dust. “I know.”

Kotaro glared at the dust swirling about before it vanished completely. “Sometimes that boy is such an enigma,” he informed the now empty space then his eyes moved lower as if caressing the stone. He heard the sound of running feet hitting the pavement but didn’t really notice until someone tapped him on the shoulder. He literally jumped and spun around to see Hoto and Toki bent over with their hands resting on their knees trying to catch their breath.

“What’s got you two winded?” Kotaro asked with a smirk as he regained his composure.

Hoto waved a piece of paper in front of him. “For you… from police… important.”

Kotaro took the paper, “From the police huh? Must be really big to make you two run the marathon.”

Toki nodded before falling over onto his side to rest. Hoto merely sank to his knees and rested his head on the grass.

“You two are the biggest wimps I’ve ever seen,” Kotaro complained good-naturedly.

“Side hurts,” Toki whined. “Must get back… to… air conditioned… office.”

Kotaro sighed in resignation and left them to bake in the warm sunshine before opening the note. His hand closed, crinkling the paper he had just received from the police station not far from campus. Another girl had disappeared without a trace. He had spent a long time investigating the disappearances of many young girls, which had eventually led him to the college where he was now head of security.

His thoughts instantly turned to his beloved Kyoko. He had found her again and just as he had expected… Toya was not far away. One thing that had surprised him was the fact that Toya had been reborn normal… human, or so it seemed.

Sometimes he could feel the true Toya lying just beneath the surface… unaware of his own existence, but so far that part of him had remained asleep. “Thank God for small favors.” Kotaro ran an agitated hand through his windblown hair.

It suited him fine that neither of them remembered the past… it was a memory best forgotten. He wished he had the same privilege to forget… but for him, the memory remained… often waking him up at night in a cold sweat.

Leaving the park he found himself standing on the stone walk in front of the campus. Kotaro lifted his ice blue eyes in the direction Kyoko lived. He frowned as concern etched his features and had the sudden urge to check in on ‘his woman’.

The long part of his layered dark hair was pulled back in a band hanging low. The rest of his hair from bangs to crown was in a constant state of looking naturally windblown; giving him the appearance of a punk bad boy but that suited him just fine. This appearance had served him more than once in recent years.

His body was tall with slender muscles… but looks could be deceiving. He didn’t have an ounce of fat to spare and was stronger than fifty human men put together. The only people who knew of his inhuman strength were those who chose to give him a hard time or dared to get in his way. And those few were too scared to say a word. No one on campus knew Kotaro’s secret side and he wanted to keep it that way.

Kotaro was responsible for the safety of every person that walked on campus whether it was a visitor, student or faculty member. Young women had started disappearing from this area about a month ago at an alarming rate and mostly from the grid surrounding the college grounds.

A low growl formed deep within his chest as he inhaled the scents around him. The air had become tainted with an ancient scent… evil. He was getting closer to the one who was responsible for more than just the missing girls… he could feel it. Pushing those thoughts aside for now, he started walking briskly toward the surrounding apartments that housed many of the innocent college students.