Title: Twilight Author: Muah Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Drama Rating: G (lol) Series: Black Butler/Bleach Characters: Yoruichi Shihoin/Sebastian Michaelis/ Akri Michaelis Summary: It was always rainy in his world. He knew he was part demon: he thirsted for souls, but managed to direct his palette on Hollows, the masked beasts that roamed his world. But he was also part Soul Reaper: he protected souls. He was the incarnation of irony.
He hated rain.
He hated the wet feeling of the drops. He hated the cloudy skies that came with it. He hated the smell of the wet earth after a rainfall. He hated it all. But he especially hated that it now rained everyday.
More than rain, he hated the gnawing pain he felt each time he saw his mother. She was getting thinner and losing muscle. You could count her ribs. Her eyes were always dark. There were bags under the broken amber glass. She was growing weaker everyday. Not even her best friend could do anything about it.
Each day she grew weaker and frailer. She had gotten deathly pale and it was evident that death would soon be at her doorstep if something did not happen soon.
She would disappear from time to time, only to reappear when she couldn't bare to leave her beloved son behind. He was the only reason she had the will to go on.
He assumed it was because he looked so much like his father. He had his jet-black hair, his demonic appetites, everything his father was, he was. Or so his mother told him. She spoke of his father often. She moaned about him in her fitful sleep in a haunted voice as if he were in her dreams, which for all he knew, he was.
She would never say his name though. It was a taboo word in the shoten. Not even Kisuke would say it. She would paint and draw alabaster skin, scarlet eyes, and raven hair, but they would meet the same fate. She would let out a wail and tear her artwork into tiny shreds, then weep over the remains.
One day, he told himself, he would find his father. One day, he would see her smile. He, Akri Michaelis, would bring the sun to his wet and dreary world. But it would have to wait until the morrow. He was hungry, and there had been a Hollow running rampant.
-- Edited by Benny on Saturday 11th of December 2010 11:11:03 PM
Soft grey light shone through the windows and spilled onto the pillow and onto dark alabaster skin. Brilliant red-gold eyes opened drearily, unfocused and weak until the sleep left them, and they became clear. The lithe boy stretched his arms above his head and tucked them underneath him, staring up at the ceiling, wishing to be back asleep. If felt like one of those lazy mornings.
Sighing softly to himself, the teenager got off his Japanese-style bed and turned to organize the covers before shuffling to the wash bin. Forcing his black-worded white Shoten t-shirt over his head, he dropped his shorts and gave himself a quick run-down as quietly as he could to avoid waking the red-haired menace who shared the room.
Thoroughly drying himself with a towel, Akri pulled on a clean pair of jeans and another white Shoten shirt before slipping into black sandals. Ruffling his raven-hued hair with the towel, he threw it over his shoulder and slid open the tatami door to the main area. A faint smile upon marble lips, the boy snatched the green merchants' robe off its peg and donned it over his well-built frame. Letting a sigh escape his chest, the young Michaelis padded to the front of the small candy shop and flipped over the Japanese kanji-encrusted sign to 'open'.
The adolescent bit at his lip and busied himself in making the Shoten as spotless as possible, unknowingly copying his father's cleanliness habits. Humming to himself as he swept the wooden floor and polished the display cases, the pit-pat of sneakers entered into the demi-demon's ear and made him put down his cleaning tools. With his inherited, care-free smile, the charcoal-haired boy turned around, full lashes concealing his jeweled eyes.
"Welcome to the Urahara Shoten. How may I help you today?" Akri greeted warmly, placing his right hand over his heart and bowing to the female customer that had become a patron since he had been old enough to run the shop-at least until the owner had awoken. The teenage girl gave a shy smile as her shoulder-length caramel hair separated them and skittered to one of the display cases, slender fingers plucking something from the glass while simultaneously taking something from her pants pocket. She bit her lip and her face flushed with color as she approached the merchant's son.
"Um, can I get this, please?"
The assistant nodded, warm grin still firmly upon his features as if his lips had been carved in that form and held out a hand to receive the money. Carefully counting it out, he handed the change back to the girl along with the candy bar. Tucking the bill into his pocket, he bowed silently at the madly-blushing departing customer.
"Thank you. Please come again." Akri called back to her before smirking. He knew she would-she always did. Nearly everyday, near opening time, she would arrive, soft caramel hair bouncing around her shoulder and sashaying around her ears and teal eyes hidden shyly behind glasses. She was cute, but she didn't catch him as a potential mate. He wanted someone exotic that had a share in his blood; demon or Shinigami. And of course, any girl he wanted would have to be approved by his mother and father. Not his real father, though. No, his sire was out there somewhere, but the laid-back, straw-haired merchant had taken him in and treated him like his son.
"Akri. You're up already."
The beautiful-eyed young man turned around at the sound of his name being called by a low, friendly voice. Smile returning to his features at the sight of the smoky-blue eyes of his father, the half-demon nodded, then brushed a strand of ebony hair from his eyes.
"Yeah, Dad. I even got a customer. Same one that comes everyday, so it's not really anything to celebrate."
Kisuke stifled a yawn with the ever-popular white fold-up fan and stretched his arms above his head in a lazy gesture. Giving a crooked smile, he clutched the white-and-green striped bucket-hat to his head, shadows hiding his mischievous orbs.
"Really? Excellent. But I'm here now, kiddo. Why don't you take Jinta and Ururu to the park and play or something? It's not good to keep them cooped up in the shop all day. You would do well to get some air too, Akri. You've been working yourself to death in taking care of the shop and helping around. You deserve a little break."
A heart-felt smile formed itself upon the boy's lips at his father's remark and he soon had his head buried in Urahara's chest and arms wrapped around him.
"Love you, Dad."
A stubble-covered grin returned the affectionate gesture.
"Love you too, kiddo. Now gimmie my cloak."
The boy readily shrugged off his green robe and offered it to the merchant before slipping the bill into his hand and padding into his room to his closet where everything of importance to him was kept. Moving an old doll aside, he fished the backpack from the depths of the abyss, paused, then picked up the stuffed thing.
The more he looked at it, the more it seemed to be alive. His mother had given it to him when he was little and he had grown up to it. She called it a 'chibi', which meant it had a large, circular head and stubby body. She had put enormous detail into it, and it had barely worn out. Brushing a few strands of the finest ebony horse-hair from the doll's endless scarlet eyes, Akri stared at the doll and made a face. It looked like him, except that the clothes were an old, Victorian-style butler's garb. A mocking smile had been sewn into the fabric that made the skin. To others, it was just a doll, but to him, it was The Butler.
Giving a sad smile at the memories of all the stories about The Butler, the teenager stood and placed it upon his pillow before gathering all the things he needed for a park adventure into his pack; a lunch, a blanket to sit upon, baseball equipment and a squirt gun. The black phone he slipped into his jeans pocket. Lifting the parcel to his shoulders, Akri adjusted the straps and began the long process of waking up the two children that ran around the shop.
Hand upon Jinta's shoulder, he gently shook the younger boy. "Jinta, wake up. We're going to the park today. You and Ururu get the day off, so get your lazy butt out of bed, or I'm going to leave you here."
The flame-haired menace groaned and rolled over, hand waving about his head as if shooing away a pesky fly. Frowning, the older male tried even harder to wake him up. It was his own fault for staying up all night playing video games. Baring his teeth and hissing at the lack of alertness he was receiving, the boy departed from the room and went instead to wake the older girl.
Silently sliding open the tatami door and creeping into Ururu's room, Akri took a step back in surprise when he registered that her dark eyes were wide open and staring at the place he had been standing a moment ago. Was…she awake? Padding closer to the bedside, the half-demon waved a hand in front of her open eyes and pulled back when the large orbs disappeared under eyelids.
"Good morning, Akri," she murmured, blinking a few times before throwing the covers off and causing the jeweled eyes to squint at the blinding canary-yellow-hot-pink-polka dot pajamas.
Temporarily stunned by the bright colors, the raven-haired boy forgot what he was there for until the young girl softly reminded him. "We're going to the park today, Ururu. Both you and Jinta have the day off. So get ready. We're leaving soon."
He excused himself as the quiet girl began to change, shutting the door behind him. Passing a black cat basking in beam of soft sunlight, a tender smile appeared on his features and Akri bent to pick it up. An almost inaudible purr was the result of his affections.
"Good morning, Mom," he whispered lovingly to the black animal and gave her a squeeze and a kiss before placing her back into the sunlight. Stroking down her thin length, the jewel-eyed boy removed himself from her presence and went to stand at the front of the Shoten, waiting for his younger siblings. Not that Jinta and Ururu were blood related, but everyone in the shop was a family-even 'Uncle Tessai' and 'Cousin Renji', or 'Captain Moocher', as the feisty twelve-year-old called him. Ears alerting him to the chaos that was unfolding before his eyes caught it, a malicious grin spread to his face.
Smirking as the dark-haired girl emerged from the living quarters with the redhead yanking on her twin pigtails like they were reigns, he could barely hold in his dark laughter at his sister's pain.
"Ouch, Jinta! You're hurting me! Owowowowoww! Please stop, Jinta!" She cried out in her raspy voice, trying to pull her jet-black hair back from his clutches.
Still snickering at the fighting children, the half-blood continued on with the pack and left them in the dust. He cared little for the squabbling tendencies of the two pre-teens, though it was entertaining to say the least. There was an obnoxious beeping noise and everyone froze, Akri slipping his hand into his pocket to retrieve the over-reactive black soul pager. Flipping it open, the teenager quickly read the order, subconsciously tracing the outline of his lips with his tongue. Without another word, he took off with inhuman speed toward the order.
Barely out of breath, the half-demon skidded to a halt before the playground. Opening the phone again, he reread the order and made a face. It should be here…
Instincts suddenly on fire, Akri barely leapt out of the way of a powerful arm that had appeared out of a wormhole, a rooster-like creature following soon after, white skull shining brightly in the sunlight. With a creaking sound, the beak opened and a blood-chilling scream tore through the air.
The teenage boy met the howl with a feral snarl of his own, tiger's eye orbs becoming laced with rose until the pink hue took them over and his pupils narrowed into slits, revealing his demonic heritage. A blood-chilling roar ripped through his throat as he stared ravenously at the dark-skinned creature. Already, his canines were growing longer and becoming deadly tipped, like daggers. A quick tongue darted around the edges of his lips in anticipation of the feast he would soon receive. It was all a matter now of preparing the food just right. Raven-hair bristling and standing on end much like a dog, he hissed, lunging at the black-hearted spirit. Wickedly sharp ebony-colored fingernails dug into the beast's skin-not enough to kill it, but just enough to weaken it the slightest.
Crowing like its farm counterpart, the Hollow screeched and stomped hard with pointed talons where the demi-demon had been just moments ago. The rooster screamed in frustration, but its cry was short-lived as a shadow appeared suddenly behind it. A burning claw grasped the back of its neck and crushed it with superhuman strength.
The spirit was still breathing as it fell, causing the earth to shudder at the weight of the creature. Chest heaving as it tried to breath, the white mask opened and the dark spirit began to speak to the silent mass of black.
"Why…do you…?"
The shadow grinned, lips pulling back to reveal glistening white fangs and a deep chuckle emanated from his throat.
"I want you to die feeling pain. I want you to scream and fill my ears with your cries of agony. I want you to look back on this day and remember the pain of this memory."
The form made a gesture that resembled someone flicking the hair out of their eyes and knelt almost respectfully before the dying beast, crouching on hands and knees as if worshiping it. A velvet hand stretched out to stroke the deep maroon skin as his mouth moved closer to the neck. As if kissing a lover, the shadow's soft lips parted and brushed onto the skin as if searching for the ideal spot and then latching onto the neck. Fangs sliding painlessly into the throat, Akri began to suck, and the screaming began.
Howl after howl cried the Rooster Hollow in agony as its strength died away in the most painful way possible. The roars became quieter and quieter until the sound ceased entirely and the body faded into nothing- the only remaining part of the best was the bone-white skull.
The twisting dark shadows slowly faded, the bloodlust sated, revealing the raven-haired teenager. Tracing his lips once again to collect every spec of matter left over from his meal, he rose from his crouched position, disappointedly staring at the spot his meal had been. It wasn't a human soul-his mother forbade that, but it was enough to satisfy him, at least until he became hungry again.
Delicately plucking the ivory mask from its resting place, he elegantly put it on his face, as if it were a masquerade mask and gazed through the eyeholes. Removing the skull from his features as heavy breathing made its way into his sharp ears, he easily crushed it into a fine white powder that blew away in the slightest breeze. Akri turned, demonic features no more, and smiled warmly to the two out-of-breath children.
"Hey! Why didn't you wait up…huh? Where's the fire?" The crimson-haired boy snapped, bending over with both hands on his knees, trying to get his breathing back to normal. After a few more heavy pants, Jinta stood upright and glared at the older kid. Smile becoming wider, the merchant's son peered beyond his shoulder to the other child; the raven-haired girl showing no sign of fatigue except her elevated breathing rate. Akri let a laugh escape his perfect lips and ruffled his brother's hair, getting his hand slapped away in return.
His autumn-hued orbs closed gently in an inherited carefree smile and his placed a hand over his heart. "Sorry. Please forgive me. I became overly excited," he explained with a faint British accent he used when being polite or apologetic. It always confused everyone because he had never left Karakura. Bowing in repentance, he unloaded his backpack and offered Jinta a baseball bat.
The boy continued to glare, but sharp jeweled eyes could tell he was slowly losing the fight. A bright smile replaced the scowl and the male snatched the bat and hopped back a few paces, giving it a few powerful practice swings. Tossing Ururu a catcher's mitt and gear, Akri quickly set up the plates and took his place on the pitcher's mound.
Lips curling into a malicious smile, he brushed a few strands of stray ebony hair from his eyes, much like his father before him. Arching his back like a cat, he powered his arm and hurled the ball with all of his inherited strength over the base. Eyes narrowing as Jinta wound up, he winced as the powerful crack from the impact hurt his ears. Shaking it off, his muscles coiled and released, sending him speeding after the ball.
Amber-colored gaze never leaving it, he sprinted after the white circle in the sky, barely noticing the teenager before him. When he finally noticed him, it took all of his agility to avoid the crash and keep running, leaping high after the ball and snatching it with viper-like speed. Landing lightly on his toes, much like a cat, Akri turned around, apologetic smile upon his features once again.
"Forgive me. I failed to look where I was going."
Opening jeweled orbs, he examined the boy with an expert eye, carefully noting all the strange things he noticed. The teenager's eye-his visible one, as the right was concealed by a jet-black eye patch- was a brilliant blue that rivaled the glittering sapphire ring upon his finger. His clothes appeared to be expensive-a four piece suit colored in a calm, neutral navy. He was almost as tall as he was, perhaps a few inches shorter, no thanks to his hair that, though neatly groomed, hung about his studded ears. He also carried an air of importance, as well as a richly fashioned cane. He was obviously not from around here.
A disgusted sneer appeared on his features, and the demi-demon had to hold in a laugh. The boy reminded him of a pompous prince found in story books and fairy tales.
"Hmph. Watch where you're going next time. You could have knocked me down."
"Young master," came a smooth voice as fine as velvet, bringing from behind the dark-grey haired teenager a tall, raven-haired man dressed head to toe in black. He carried himself with a straight back, his body well-toned. His clothes, though not as expensive as the other's, were in pristine condition; perfect and with not a thread out of place. From alabaster skin, and under graceful arching eyebrows, scarlet eyes glittered with an exotic beauty that would only be rivaled by a gleaming, forbidden ruby. A gently mocking smile was carved upon his perfect lips.
"Sebastian, I have told you many times not to call me 'young master'. Am I not correct?"
"No sir, you are correct. Forgive me. It was a slip of the tongue, no disrespect meant, sir. I apologize for offending you."
"Hmph. Don't let it happen again, Sebastian."
Jeweled orbs narrowed the slightest and the mocking smile twitched upward as the man placed a hand over his heart-hand over his heart?-and bowed, midnight-colored strands falling and hiding the garnet drops. "Yes, my lord."
There was a long pause before the servant spoke up again in a silken voice. "Master, if I may be so bold to inquire, who is your friend?"
His question made the demi-demon snap out of his trance. He had been subtly sniffing the air, which carried the butler's scent. Any normal human, especially women, would have thought he smelled of musk and a scent you could only find on old, well-loved books, but his essence was one of evil. It rank of Hollows, but it was obvious this black-clad man was not a Hollow, nor one of its cousins, the Arrancar, as there was an absence of a mask, or mask piece from his face. The perfectly carved statue was familiar, as if he had seen it before, but no memory came to claim the image. Foolishness. Hiding his red-gold eyes in a carefree smile Akri opened his mouth to answer.
"My name is A-"
"Hey! Moocher! Stop yakking and get your butt over here! I'm waiting for the next pitch!" Jinta called irritably, waving the bat around for emphasis, almost hitting Ururu in the head once of twice. Lucky she was wearing a helmet…
Apologetic smile stretched across his features and the teenager bowed apologetically. "Ah, forgive me. I have to go. Shall I be seeing you again?" With a departing wave, he turned to jog back, when a commanding voice stopped him.
"Wait." Akri's head looked over his shoulder at the other boy. "We are here on business. We're looking for a man by the name of Kisuke Urahara. My sources say he lives around here-"
"Yeah, I know him. He's my dad," the demi-demon interrupted, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I can take you to the shoten if you want."
The dark grey-haired boy opened his mouth to say something-probably rude-, but the servant spoke up for him, carefree smile upon his marble features.
"Yes, that would be very kind of you. We would appreciate that very much."
Nodding to confirm, Akri held up a hand. "Hold on one second. I'll be right back." Jogging over to where the two children were waiting, he began picking up the bases.
"Hey! What gives!"
Sharp amber eyes forced the boy to stay silent as he shoved all the equipment into his pack before shouldering it. "I have to show those two people over there to the shoten. It's important, and because I'm leaving, you have to too. And after I see them safely to their destination, we can return, I promise."
The younger boy didn't say another word, but folded his arms and pouting. The raven-haired teen let out a small sigh and offered a smile. "And I'll throw in a candy bar." That did the trick, as a grin spread to Jinta's features. Of course. What twelve year old didn't like candy? Gesturing for the two children to follow him, he approached the two tourists again.
"Hey, sorry about that. This is Jinta, and Ururu, and I'm Akri. Nice to meet you." Expecting him to take it, the half-demon held out his hand for the young boy to shake. He gave a disgusted nose-wrinkle and waved it away. "I am Earl Ciel Phantomhive, and this is my butler, Sebastian Michaelis."
Inside, Akri froze. Michaelis. That was his name. Could it have been a coincidence? Michaelis didn't sound like a very common name, but perhaps it was in Britain? These people did have British accents… Deciding to let it pass, the teenager led the way back to Urahara's shop, sharp ears picking out the wailing siren before he saw it. Watching the ambulance scream by with cat-like attention, he noticed it took a very distinct route. Heart skipping a beat, he had to say it. "Don't turn left."
