Note: There will be graphic depictions of violence in this chapter as well as the following chapter; in this chapter there will also sexual harassment, assault, and it will touch on darker themes of the mind; please, please proceed with caution.
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"Sister, sister! We need to get to Mr. Ryosei—something bad is going to happen if we don't—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—Verkoria, slow down; what did you see, what's going to happen?"
"I-I'm not sure—but I know that if we don't go to Mr. Ryosei, then a lot of people are going to die. All I saw was an endless expanse of ice, and a being of absolute cold, screaming with wrath and pain. We need to stop him, before he completes the Turning!"
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Ryosei was anxious.
He'd only gone to get the order from the stall for at most a minute, and already his little sister was gone. Where she'd gone was beyond him, and the fact that she was lost in a foreign country and not picking up her phone was making him become even more worried by the second.
He clicked the call icon on his phone again, praying that she would pick up and that her phone wasn't on silent mode.
"Please pick up, please pick up... c'mon, c'mon, c'mon—d*mn it, I knew leaving her was bad..."
Ryosei and Fuyumi had gone out to Korlevian Square, an open-air marketplace that sold food from stands while also acting as a sort of flea market, with a wide expanse of coverage with a mixture of tents, buildings and shadowy corners that twisted into alleys. While not on the level of Daedalus' Square, it was nonetheless extremely confusing for the inexperienced person.
He sighed—he really shouldn't have let Fuyumi talk him into going here, but he couldn't have said no to her when her blue eyes were sparkling like a sapphire. He'd reluctantly relented to her enthusiasm, even smiling a little as she hopped up and down with happiness, her black hair bouncing and her mannerisms like that of a child.
He wished he could've socked his past self from an hour ago—maybe then he wouldn't be starting to panic.
Now, by no means was Fuyumi an idiot; she wasn't a fool, and she definitely knew better than to follow suspicious people—but two of her weak points was being prone to embarrassment even when something is not her fault, and being unable to fully comprehend or fluently converse in English; she also wasn't that good at controlling her emotions, nor was she good at dealing with conflict.
She was the type to immediately submit to any violence, unable to resist well due to her fear of causing conflict or facing confrontation; back when their mother was still alive and when she still argued with their father, she was always the one who hid under her futon and covered her ears over their screams, with Ryosei being the one who had held her while she had a panic attack.
If a person who spoke English were to confront her over something, then there was a good chance she would cave to their whims, no matter how malicious they might be.
Ryosei grit his teeth, his incisors lengthening before he took a deep breath, exhaling while closing his eyes before using one of the passives he had acquired from training (i.e. running for his life) with Eika, [Enhanced Senses].
An enormous influx of sensory details flushed over Ryosei: the chatter of humans, bits of conversation, the rustling of feet, the exchanging of money, the beep of machines and swish of credit cards, the swishing of clothing, bursts of laughter...
His jaw tightened with his fisted hands; he hated using this, as his already advanced hearing sharpened to the point of pain, but he pressed on, determined to find Fuyumi.
The jingling of coins, the swish of a purse, the nasty laughter of a man, the impact of a body against a building, the ringing of cell phones, the clinking of glass bottles, the smell of body odor, the sound of oil crackling, the scent of beer...
{"Please stop! Let me go, please! Whatever I did, I'm sorry, but please, let me go! Ryosei, Ryosei—"}
The smack of flesh accompanied with whimpers of pain soon following.
"Oi, no talking, remember? I'm just doing a little inspection to see if you're fit for our purposes, okay? Now hold still, it'll only be a minute..."
Ryosei froze, his eyes opening to reveal complete and utter black irises. His pulse raced, his nails sharpened and the area around him became noticeably colder, with people starting to shiver at the sudden change in the temperature despite the perfectly warm and sunny day.
Moving faster than any human possibly could, he tore through the crowd, shoving hordes of people out of the way, his hearts racing and a newly-born wrath and anxiety causing his chest to feel oddly cold.
'C'mon, c'mon—this can't be happening, not to Fuyumi, not to Fuyumi!'
Ryosei ran, a trail of ice sprouting behind him.
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[A few moments earlier]
[Please note: I will not go into great detail during some of the more disturbing parts, as to respect the characters privacy. If the reader is to imagine anything, simply think of her wide blue eyes trembling.]
Fuyumi was waiting beneath a canopy tents shade for Ryosei to come back, her pretty face sporting a small smile in seeing that despite his apparent "beautification", Ryosei was still the same, silly older brother that would always cave to her requests. She took a sip of the strawberry slushy that Ryosei had bought for her—delicious and cool, a combination she rather enjoyed.
It was then a large, fat man that wreaked of alcohol bumped into her, making the slushy that she was sipping spill onto his shirt, staining its white surface. Immediately, the man began yelling at her, his face full of a red flush while Fuyumi widened her eyes, bowing and apologizing to the man the best she could.
"Huh?! Speak to me so I understand you, you fuxxing Asian half-breed!"
Tears began to grow in her eyes as the man snatched her wrist, shaking her roughly before dragging her off somewhere, heedless of her protests, and her cries for help covered up by the clamor of the surrounding people who were too busy to notice a Japanese American girl be dragged away from the rest of the crowd and into a secluded area.
Those who did, ignored her cries for help; it wasn't there business to be involved in something that was likely the girls fault. Fuyumi's eyes widened with shock at the indifference showcased—had they no morality, no shame?! A girl was being dragged by a drunk man, and yet they were acting as if it wasn't there problem.
'Ah,' she thought, her eyes dimming for a second and a strange clarity overcoming her panic, a voice like hers but different forming in her thoughts, 'so this is what humans are at the core... how disgusting...'
Her eyes regained focus as she wondered, 'H-huh? What was that? W-Where did that come from?'
The man's eyes sharpened as he noted the minute change in her eyes as he dragged her far away from the crowd and into an area where more complicated alleys and buildings stood.
It was there, in the alleyway between some of the permanent buildings of the Square, the fat man's image rippled, revealing a young man with blond hair and bright blue eyes wearing a weird gold and white priest's robe, his somewhat handsome face neutral as he called into the empty alleyway, "Hey, I found a hybrid while I was out—and a pretty one too. She seems to be a half-blood too, so perhaps she's part Yuki-Onna if we're lucky."
The alleyway rippled, revealing four more people with similar attire, but with black cloaks around them. One of them—a boy with chestnut curls, green eyes, and freckled skin asked, "Did you shake that demon?"
"Yeah, I snatched her when he was distracted; it was pretty weird, seeing a demon treat a hybrid so delicately—you'd think he'd have disposed of it, considering the Laws and whatnot. Knowing his kind, perhaps he was waiting to enjoy her later; she is really pretty..."
Though Fuyumi had difficulty making the proper sounds for English, because of her British father and her upbringing, she understood it for the most part, and hearing that last part about her brother enjoying her like a pet made her feel sick—her brother wasn't like that and he was her BROTHER.
Not only that, but he was a demon?
Oni?
Her brother?
She trembled at the prospect, denying it till she remembered Ryosei's apparent refusal to eat; demons didn't eat human food, as it gave no nutrition, and would even leave them sick if it was their only sustenance—that was what Humanity had discovered now that the demons and other supernaturals had made themselves known to the world of the humans.
Demons were also more beautiful than humans, and much more apathetic and charismatic than mere humans.
The pieces fell into place for Fuyumi as she realized with mounting horror, that her older brother was likely a demon; how else would he have become so confident and beautiful? How else would his anxiety about interacting socially with people have been alleviated; it's not like he has to fear them when they're inconsequential to him now.
The reality shattered Fuyumi's resolve as questions and doubts swarmed her mind; was he really still the same big brother? Did he still truly care for her? Why had he hid this from her? Did she even want his help in this situation when she wasn't sure where he was, or what he was, or even who he was?
Her entire world was flipped upside down with but a few words, and the person who had always been an anchor for her had lied to her... but he was still her brother. How he turned into a demon, she didn't know, but he had been kind and considerate to her, as he always was, so even if he lied, she assumed he had a good reason.
She shook her head, choosing to rely on him, or at least the memory of her kind older brother whom she'd loved dearly, even to this day. With that thought, she attempted to struggle, slamming her foot down on the arch of the one who restrained her foot, before wrenching from his grasp while he screamed, sprinting to the alley edge.
"Nii-san! Nii-san—ack!"
She was apprehended by one of the cloaked men, a man with purple hair and an insane smile on his face as he whispered in her ear disgustingly, "Now, now, now—acting up will just kill you faster, kehehehe! Ooo, Lucilian, you're right, she is rather pretty... She'd be fun to play with—can I? Please~, she attacked you, it's only right, no?"
The blond boy, Lucilian, glared at the other boy while holding his foot in pain, his teeth gritted from pain as he spat, "Dorian, only the inspection is allowed, nothing more—"
"Mah, what a stickler for the rules! C'mon Lu-cchi, let him have some fun! Besides, she's not that pretty, and she can't even access her powers, so there's no point of being nice when she's already hurt one of our own..."
An Asian girl with dull gray pigtails, soft pink eyes and a wicked scar across her once pretty face spoke with a wicked smile, allowing this Dorian character to have his fun with Fuyumi. As she spoke, she glared at Fuyumi's delicate, lovely, unscarred features, her teeth gritting at the others beauty—it was only right that a girl as pretty as her that had never experienced hardship should suffer a little, right?
The boy Lucilian let go of his foot, his eyes narrowing as he exclaimed, "Hey, we should be better than this! There's no need to go to such extremes just because she's beautiful while you've lost most of yours, Alice! Let's just bring her to Leader—it's only right for half-breeds like us—"
The girl's, Alice, face twisted with anger before she whispered in a deadly tone, "HUH?! How is a b!tch that can't even use her talents deserving enough to meet Leader?? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I'M BEAUTFUL STILL! Koro-cchi, shut him up!"
"Roger," the hooded figure with dull red eyes and desaturated pink hair muttered softly before disappearing and appearing behind Lucilian, knocking him unconscious before grabbing him, and then disappearing once again.
"Now," Alice huffed, delicately tossing one of her pigtails over her shoulder, "proceed with the "Inspection" Dor-cchi—and be thorough, okay?"
Dorian laughed as he slammed Fuyumi against the wall before he remarked with a sadistic smile on his face, "I must say Alice—you're quite the b!tch, aren't you? Well, I guess I have to thank you for that. After all," he leaned in close to the trembling and trapped Fuyumi, breathing on her neck as he murmured in a deranged tone of voice, "if not for you, I wouldn't be able to have my fun with such a beautiful girl, kehehehe~"
Fuyumi shuddered, her expression twisting into horror as his hand approached her body, his expression obscene as he whispered in that same tone of voice, "Aww, don't look at me like that—you're making me excited~"
It was then in seeing his lack of empathy, she came to the third stage of grief having passed anger and denial: bargaining.
{"Please stop! Let me go, please! Whatever I did, I'm sorry, but please, let me go! Ryosei, Ryosei—"}
Dorian, in seeing her pleading for another person to save her, grimaced, his expression furious as he smacked her across the face harshly, forcing her arms together at the wrists and pulling them above her head with his free hand.
A smile once again crested his face as he heard her soft whimpers of pain, his voice rising in sheer derangement as he all but exclaimed, "Oi, no talking, remember? I'm just doing a little inspection to see if you're fit for our purposes, okay? Now hold still, it'll only be a minute..."
Fuyumi's eyes could only widen in horror as she saw his disgusting hand approached her restrained body, tears coming to them as she softly muttered in broken English, her voice fracturing as she spoke, "Please... why do this? W-Why... I'm sorry, for whatever, I'm sorry, but please... please stop... it."
Her bright blue irises darted to anywhere but Dorian as he made contact with her, her eyes trembling and her body shaking like a leaf in the wind.
She hated this.
She hated this so much.
Why, why was this happening to her?
Had she done anything wrong?
Why had it come to this...
Her body flinched as the filthy hand traveled, her eyes closing shut tightly, tears escaping them as she tried to understand who was responsible for what was happening to her; where had she gone wrong?
It was then the answer came to her with full, despairing clarity, her mind latching onto the thought and away from the disgusting signals that were firing around her body.
It was her fault.
'Ah,' she thought, her mind latching onto this thought desperately, in hopes to escape what was happening to her, 'it's because I begged him. Because I wanted to come to this forsaken marketplace, like a fool, even when Ryosei-nii had been hesitant to. He probably would have taken me to his residence safe and sound if I had just shut up; even if he was going to kill me, I'd much prefer that over this...'
It was then, that odd voice that was like her own, but hollower, colder, spoke up again, the tone of voice authoritative as she spoke harshly.
"Are you giving up already? How foolish of you to do so—have you no pride? You are of noble blood, unlike these repulsive half-breeds. Don't you dare look for help among those three—they offer none. Do you see their apathetic, and even pleasured looks? This is the dark side of the world, and you can either sit back and act like the weak girl you are, or accept me. Choose!"
'But... who are you? I don't understand what's going on, who are you—'
"Choose! Do you want this man to continue to touch your body which houses such noble blood? Ridiculous! Let me out, and I will save you; release me!"
'...How do I know it won't be worse if I release you? There's a reason you're locked up, no? So why should I submit to you? I refuse...'
"Are you a fool!" the voice screamed, the sound of bars rattling in her mind before she yelled, "What incentive do I have to lie or hurt you, you are my vessel and my precious master—agggh, fine! I will lend you the authority to stop this man, and then you can let me out when you see fit, just please, let me help you!"
Fuyumi hesitated, fear running through her; she didn't know this voice, but she sensed an odd kinship with it. Perhaps... she should accept... but if they do something to her...
She dismissed such line of thinking; she'd reach that hurdle when she got to out, right now, she needed to stop this... thing—she refused to think of them as a man.
'... Alright, but only your power... what must I do—this thing is disgusting.'
The voice sounded both relieved and exasperated when it sighed before she turned serious, her voice stern as she asked, "Do you want that man touching you?"
The response was immediate: 'No.'
A smile seemed to appear in the voice as she whispered, "Good, that's all I need to know..."
It was then an odd calm overcame Fuyumi as the voice faded, her mind organizing itself and her body and thoughts cooling. Dorian flinched as he sensed a change in the weak girls aura and temperature, as she regained calm while she quite literally cooled down, her skin becoming frosty to the touch.
The two others, the freckled boy who watched with apathetic disgust, and the girl who had stared with contemptuous and sick triumph flinched at the presence of the girl—was it truly the same one? There's no way right? But, this aura...
The freckled boy then came to a horrifying conclusion which he voiced, his once apathetic expression twisting into sheer horror as he cried out shakily, "She couldn't be of Pure Spirit bloodline, right? T-there's no way... there hasn't been a child of Pure Blood for a 1000 years...!"
The girl, Alice, spun to the boy as she yelped, "What?! P-Pure Spirit bloodline... impossible! T-that weak girl... Rucardo, be serious, there's no way... Dorian, let go of her!"
"What!?" he exclaimed belligerently, his expression angry as he yelled, "What the fuxx are you guys blabbering about—"
"Let go of me."
The voice was soft and quiet, with the impact of a snowflake at most; but a snowflake was always the prelude of a blizzard, wasn't it?
Dorian turned to the trapped girl, his expression showing that he was more than ready to begin yelling at her before he saw her eyes.
She looked up, her lovely blue eyed framed by long, fluttering lashes of darkness, her voice cold as she whispered with a voice akin to a winter chorus, "I said, let go, you pig; I did not give you permission to touch me, you filthy ilk."
It was then her ocean eyes glowed a pale, pale ice blue, shining as everything seemed to freeze, the frost creeping up Dorians hand as he gave a short scream of surprise. It was then Fuyumi wrenched her hands from his grasp, snapping the hand that had restricted her off with it which she tossed to the ground, her face as cold and apathetic as a lake of ice.
"Q-Quick, get her!" Rucardo yelled as he panicked, "We can't let a Pure Blood like her escape—"
"Excuse me."
A new, familiar yet unrecognizable voice washed over the alleyway, snapping Fuyumi free of her strange mood as she recognized that cold, cold tone, but not the underlying darkness threaded into it.
The voice continued as the shadowed figure of a tall demon greeted the three remaining people, his footsteps soft as his voice shattered and froze the silence around them, the air growing noticeably colder as ice spread across the alley on all sides, creating an isolated box in which the only exit laid behind the mans furious figure.
Eyes of complete darkness peaked through the shadow of his ash white bangs as his voice rang out again.
"Excuse me, but what was that about my little sister? I could've sworn you said something odd... "can't let a "Pure Blood" like her escape"? How interesting..."
His aura flowed out even more, the force of the blow from the cold like standing in Antarctica in the winter with no coat.
"What makes you think you could escape after doing that to my little sister, are you idiots? If I don't kill you now, what type of older brother would I be?"
"R-Ryosei... what are you..."
Ryosei stepped forward, taking off his suit jacket to place over Fuyumi delicately before hugging her and whispering, "It's okay, I'm here now. Get behind me Yumi, and I'd advise you not to look... I'm going to make these b*st*rds pay in full..."
Dorian stumbled back, holding his wrist as he stuttered with his entire body shaking from the cold and fear, "Who, who are you... What are you?"
Ryosei tilted his head towards them, allowing them fully observe his incredible beauty along with his now four inch horns and black eyes before he chose to leisurely reply.
"Are you really so foolish you can't pick up on simple context clues? Very well—I will introduce myself, you insufferable fools. My name is Kocho Ryosei, older brother to this girl whom you captured, and a demon. But, that is my formal identity. What I am? Simple."
Ryosei blurred, arriving in front of Dorian before casually ripping off the arm that had touched Fuyumi, before ripping his head off. He dropped the arm casually before tossing the head back and forth like a ball, his gaze never wavering from them for even an instant.
"I am the monster who has come to kill you; prepare your prayers—I sincerely doubt you'll get any answers though..."