Chapter Text
She only wished for one thing : to see it disappear. She raised her hand and ran her fingertips along the uneven bark before laying her whole hand on it. She felt a bottomless hollow form itself in her.
With the tip of her finger touching the tree, she walked around its trunk. She couldn't make a full circle as the tree was so colossal that he rivalled the Tree at Worlds Crossing. Its branches pierced the skies, soaring so far their ends could not be seen. Covered in golden leaves, it shone even at nighttime.
A weird force allowed her a last gaze at this magnificent natural miracle. The leaves were swaying in the wind. Her eyelids closed and she breathed the pure air. Under her hand, small veins of gold sliced their way through the bark. They grew bigger and fattier, almost all of the bark was cutted by those red and orange veins.
The roots bursted into flames. She took a step back, her hand slowly falling to her side. Flames grew and started attacking the base of the tree. The smoke soon cut the sunrays from basking the whole place of their light. The cracking sound of the burning wood woke the angels. A small assembly was now formed of awakened angels. None dared getting closer as the heat radiating from the fire was too intense.
She watched the spectacle before her eyes without batting an eye. But her heart ached, and cried so loud, it was the only thing she could hear. She saw it grew, she cared for it. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The noise of the crowd vanished in the seas of her thoughts and the cries of the tree. A hand landed on her shoulder. Her head turned slowly towards him.
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The fire burned bright even from afar. He ran as fast as he could. The tree was now halfway burned. He stopped at the end of the crowd and took in the sight. Even in death, it stands proud and tall. Then, he saw her. And without a second thought, he went after her. When close enough, he landed a hand on her shoulder.
Sadness overcame him when he saw her face, and the tears enlightened by the light coming from the fire. He pulled her against him and hugged her.
The crowd was now whispering, yelling or crying. Those sounds formed a weird cry of terror. Above his shoulder, she watched the crowd with a glassy eye. But then, she saw him. Her gaze was fixed on him even when she didn't want to see his pain.
His breath was short, heart beating in his throat and the gaze lost on the scenery before him. His hands landed in grass- grass ? When had he fell ? His cheeks were now wet from tears, as the roots were now black from the fire.
Nothing mattered anymore. It was burning. No grand plan of action came to his mind, nothing. He could only sit there and watch. The fire now was at the base of the branches. It was torture to make him witness the progression of his damnation. A burning leaf fell and time stopped. It fell so elegantly, so slowly it was agonising. All were following its doom.
It landed next to him, in the grass and the fire in it burned away. It had died. But nobody was looking at it, or him. All eyes were glued on the two shadows hugging in front of the brazier.
Her eyes shone a golden hue. She met his gaze, wounded. Quickly she looked away and spared the dying tree a last glance. She took two steps back. The heat was unbearable.
Two white wings grew from her back. She smiled in his direction. Another leaf burned away and landed. Then another started falling. And now, all its leaves were falling in the sky. A golden rain of harmless fire. She looked at her wings, still as white as snow and rose high in the sky.
Her ascension was slow. He knew that if he didn't start following her, he would never see her again. So he too rose from the floor in a burst of white feathers. She drifted away, slower than usual. As if she couldn't cope with the idea of leaving. Or so he hoped.
Her gaze was lost on the fire and her mind buried under tons of yells and cries that she didn't notice him following her. Tears were more abundant now.
The dark bark appeared here and there between yellowish veins of fire, creeping under the layer of wooden skin. The branches were burnt but not falling, they were turning into a golden dust that was being swept away by the wind.
After a valiant effort, she detached her gaze from her deed and stopped. He was up there, in front of her. Tears had dried, leaving in their path blood-veined eyes. He needed answers.
"RAMSES- Why ?... Why have you done that ?...
SHURI- ...
RAMSES- This tree... It was all we were, you and me...
SHURI- ...
RAMSES- Am I nothing anymore ? Have you seen a single of those leaves lose its hue ? Never had my love for you tarnished, and neither did yours… So why ?..."
She looked away.
"RAMSES- And now ? What are we ? Strangers ? Has our story meant nothing for you ?
SHURI- That is not the case-
RAMSES- Then why ? Why burn it away ?!
SHURI- … I saw what happened. I know about it all.
RAMSES- About what ?
SHURI- What you planned to do to me. I saw it all.
RAMSES- You saw the future ?... How-"
He raised a hand to his neck. His wings were beating the air to stay suspended. Air was leaving him and none was entering. His eyes rolled in their sockets and he fell.
A hand catched her and spinned her in his arms. He hugged her once again. His hand came resting on her neck, forcing her head onto the gap between his neck and shoulder to keep her from looking at the falling angel. She looked at the sky, an endless sea of stars that seemed like a promise of a better future.
"RICARDO- I would flee with you till the end of time.
SHURI- How could you still think that, having seen what I did…
RICARDO- Blood runs thicker than water. You are my sister, the one I have lived my life with. Nothing you could do would make me want to run from you, my sister, the other half myself."
He squeezed her a last time before taking her to the very edge of the floating island. They looked into the endless pit in front of them. She took his hand in hers, as if asking if he still wanted this. He smiled at her and fell.
The feathers of their wings were disappearing one by one. A golden light escaped their bodies but something held onto it and brought it back in. The fall was endless. Ghosts from another age followed them through the doom. They feel through the sky. What seemed like shooting stars were damned angels falling from their grace.
His feet landed in some unknown place. He rose and wiped the dust from his eyes, giving in the meantime a look to his surroundings. He recognised nothing. His hands rose in front of his face and he couldn't remember them having that particular color. He stumbled on his feet and went running to the nearest river stream. His face was not one he recognised but he couldn't recall a single thing, being his name, his age or even where he came from.
He spent a few minutes raising to his feet, and took a few steps without actually falling or stumbling. His first steps took him deep into a forest. He walked miles and the hours grew long. The noises of the woods were frightening. A wolf pack came around his path and he became their diner.
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Snow was covering the tops of mountains and a cold wing grazed the skin of her face, turning her cheeks a lovely shade of red. Her fingers were freezing and could not bend anymore without making cracking noises. Her blood was thickening and every time she inhaled, the glacial air ran down her throat and burned every oesophagus cell in its path. She fell in the snow, eyes closing one last time.
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The head half immersed in the water, his eyes were starting to burn from the salted water. He raised and coughed the water in his throat. A quick turn and he took in his surroundings.
A forest of palm trees and other varieties of trees at his left and at his right, the beach was the only thing in sight. In front of him, swayed a sea of turquoise, as calmly as it could seem. The sun rays were reflecting their light on top of it.
Suddenly, he heard yells behind him. He faced the forest, and saw two children coming out of it. They carefully looked at him before taking a few steps towards him, full of curiosity.
"CHILD- Who is that ?
CHILD- I don't know… think he understands us ?
WOMAN- Millie, Ariane ! Would you please come back !"
With a swipe of his hand, he replaced the few strands of his hair which had fallen in front of his eyes. He used that opportunity to take a look at his hand and try to guess his age, might be around twenty, twenty-five.
With the least of his strength, he rose to his feet, pulling his height on the little girls. Both took a few steps back. The taller one pulled the smaller behind her back.
His head was ringing and he stumbled on his feet. He fell but caught himself on his hands, avoiding face planting in the sand. The warm sand beneath his hands, one landed on his fronthead. His mind felt muffled.
A gorgeous woman came out of the woods and ran to her children. She pulled them towards her, further from the strange, drenched man on the floor.
"WOMAN- Ariane, Millie ! You good girls ?
ARIANE- The mister is sick, Mom.
WOMAN- Mister, are you alright ?
HE- Yes, yes I am. Sorry for frightening your children.
WOMAN- Are you sure you are alright because you don't seem alright. There is a doctor in town, allow me to take you to her.
HE- I am very much alright, thank you. You mentioned a town, could perhaps tell me where we are ?
WOMAN- You are at Famagouste, portuary town of the Great Sea.
MILLIE- Mommy ! I'm hungry !
FEMME- Yes love, let's go eat. I hope you're hungry, I made food for a whole army."
She smiled at him and the smallest, Arianne, found her place in her arms and she took her, and her sister into the forest. He rose, sweeping the sand from his clothes and followed them through the woods.
A little path was built by the repeated passage of animals and individuals on the forest's floor. He scratched his foot plant when he walked on a rather sharp stone and, having learned his lesson, he carefully took the next steps.
The woman brought them to the town's entry. He caught a glimpse of the overall aspect of the place before following his guide into a house. He could feel the neighbours' sights on him.
The inside of the house was decorated by what seemed like tapisseries and other small carvings. His feet met cold stone. His guide stopped in a room from where a delicious smell was coming. His stomach grumbled-
"HOMME- Hey, Lisa-love, what are you cook- Who are you."
He rose so fast from his chair that it fell on the floor and he grasped onto his sword. Said Lisa saw the sword in her husband's hand and went up to him. He had raised his hands in a sign of surrender but he didn't lower his head.
"LISA- Lower that sword would you, the girls found him on the beach. Probably a sunken ship.
HOMME- And you bring him into our house, like that. What if it was a Christian ?
LISA- I saw no cross on him.
HOMME-He might have lost it during the wreckage.
HE- I am no Christian.
HOMME- Are you muslim ?
HE- I have no faith.
HOMME- You brought a heretic in our house ?!
LISA- I share some of our soup with him and he is on his way.
HOMME- … You will be my loss."
He went out of the kitchen after shedding his sword. He lowered his hands at the sign of Lisa.
"HE- I am sorry to bother, I can just-
LISA- My husband is a bit on edge like everyone these days. Don't worry. Millie !"
The kid ran into the kitchen. She was half hidden behind the curtain separating the kitchen from the other rooms.
"LISA- Could you bring this young man to the bedroom ? There must be some cloth his size.
HE- I cannot-
LISA- Change and get down to eat. And, between us, don't go around yelling you're an atheist. It is going to get you in trouble.
HE- Thank you, Ma'am Lisa.
LISA- Hey, one last thing, what do we call you?
HE- I am not sure I know."
Millie pulled on the remains of his sleeve and brought him around the corner of the stairs. The upstairs room was made of four walls and three beds. Holes were carved in the clay walls to form storage shelves, which displayed a variety of personal items but also grease lamps and plants pots.
She walked towards a box and pulled out a tunic that she raised in front of her, with his head sticking out of it with the perspective. The look on her face explained clearly what she thought as she shook her head. The tunic found its place in the box and she searched for another one.
The fifth time worked a charm and she nodded, bringing him the clothes and going down the stairs, her task done. He sighed but shed the remains of his wreckage clothes and clad himself with the greenish tunic. The sleeves were a bit long and the shoulder-folds were falling down on his weak frame.
Ariane was playing with wooden blocks when he came down the stairs. The boxes were being stacked in the shape of a tower, one after another. He walked by her and sat. He observed for a moment but then Lisa called them for dinner. They left the room for the kitchen, driven by their stomachs.
Ariane sat next to her dad and they ate. Lisa couldn't bring herself to let him sleep in the streets of an unknown town. So she argued with her husband and, eventually, had him stay at home with them for the night.
It wasn't without a loser-winner deal as he was brought around town to find him a job.
"MAN- I think the 'smith might need help, the carpenter too."
He looked him up and down.
"MAN- That won't do, not with your body strength. Where are you from boy ?
HE- I don't know, it is blurry in my mind.
MAN- Anyways, we will find you a job and you will pay rent for as long as you stay.
LISA- A small rent of course."
The husband rolled his eyes.
"MAN- Put your shoes on, we're going.
HE- About that... I, I don't have shoes."
He turned on his heels to his wife, who raised her shoulders. He sighed but searched for an old pair of shoes and gave it to him. He put them on and they left the house.
He brought him to all the small shops they could find, asking if they had any place left for him. The blacksmith refused, the sewing woman too. Only the butcher was left.
"BUTCHER- He can handle the sight of blood ? Wouldn't want him to pass out on the first day on the job.
MAN- Good question, so ?
HE- It will be okay.
BUTCHER- Let's give it a try. There is a sheep over there at the back, take the knife and go kill it."
A knife laid in his hand. He looked at it for a second before taking it from the butcher's hand and walking to the back. The sheep was walking around but he was faster, wrapped his legs around its body and stuck it between his knees. With an ample and swift movement, he cut its throat.
Blood pooled at his feet. He let the beast fall on the ground, he moved away and went back to the butcher. The husband was holding his stomach. The butcher was looking at him. He did not flinch when looked at, covered in blood. If not, it seemed kind of a usual look on him. He turned to the husband.
"BUTCHER- He will do."
Then at him.
"BUTCHER- Tomorrow, one hour before the morning prayer."
And on that note, they went back to the house. Ariane and Millie were playing in the sand in front of the house. Lisa was inside, dealing with the dishes. He joined her there, and together they cleaned the whole pile in a small matter of time.
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The butcher asked for three of the beasts to be killed for his clients. He went to the back of the shop, and into the open enclosure where the farmers drop the beasts. Knife in hand, he got close to one of the beast and cut its throat. He did the same to the other two.
The butcher helped him lay them on the cutting board before starting to explain how to get the perfect pieces of meat from the main cut on the throat. He first cut a long cut in the belly of the sheep, moving a step aside to avoid getting dirtied by the falling organs.
With an expert hand, he cut through the remains of the animal. The bigger pieces were thrown in a big clay plate that he brought to the front. He asked him to do the same with the remaining two sheep.
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When he entered the shop with another plate full of bloody meat, he raised from his chair to take a look at the quality of the cutting. He looked at him confused by the shape of certain pieces but overall it was good enough.
"BUTCHER-Good enough, but you can do better. Focus a bit more on the other one."
The plate was placed on the counter and he went back to the task at hand. Knife still in hand, the noise around him was muted as he looked at his slices of meat. He brought back a plate, at the sight of which, the butcher gave a satisfied nod.
In a generous mood, the butcher gave him a few pieces of meat that he could bring back home. When he gave them to Lisa, she jumped in his arms. She cooked them in a remaining piece of butter with a few herbs and served it all with rice.
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Months flew by and he kept working at the butcher's shop. In the meantime, his body grew bigger and larger, giving him a good stance and large shoulders. The surprising color of his hair was no longer raising questions from the neighbours.
"MESSENGER- All men in age are requested to take arms for his Majesty the King to repel the Christen invaders."
This news brought Lisa to her knees. She cried all night long and another time when her husband and him went to war to never come back. He died of a spear in his belly, in the middle of the battlefield. Another body added to the pile of anonymous fighters.
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She woke up in another era. Eyes clouded by tears, she wiped her eyes with small babies hands. She tried to raise but couldn't, so she cried again.
Warm hands snatched her from the comfortable cradle she was laying in, and raised her before men's eyes. A man with eyes filled with joy and love carried her. He brought her next to his heart and started to cuddle her.
He found joy in scratching her belly with his finger. She laughed with a smile as pure and innocent as a child's can be. The motion had a soothing effect on her.
Someone knocked on the door. He turned and allowed the servant to come inside. She spoke in a low tone, trying to keep the words secret from a baby's ear.
The gentle man answered and laid her back in the cradle. She noticed the loss of warmth and pulled at the air, trying to make him come back but he was gone. She cried again.
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Years passed and she started walking. She was talking at an early age. Her father, an Asian king, found joy in watching her very steps and small dances and finally, listening to her very ideas, having a daughter was always a dream of his. Despite the weird color of her eyes and hair.
She had four brothers. When the king's wife, the queen consort, finally gave birth to a daughter, the people was bursting with joy. The princes were pricks, and did not care for the people or the state. The king was proud, the queen less.
The reason for that hatred would be that she was seen as a gift of the gods because of her pearly white hair and eyes. Her skin was as if it had basked in the sun for a few hours, having this lovely golden hue to it.
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A young boy passed by her when she was having a look at the fish pool. She saw the smile on his face and it was splendid. His hair was as black as the night, the perfect opposite of hers. She followed him with her eyes, fascinated by his appearance.
Later, she learned he was the child of a servant, he was a bit of a troublemaker and spent his time stealing in the kitchen, while she was learning literature, calligraphy and how to play koto. And he ran, laughed and explored outside the palace's walls like a free wind.
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Once he saw her, she was sitting in a room with walls filled with parchments, head hidden between her knees. He was hiding from the kitchen maid in the room when he met her gaze. Her teary eyes intrigued him.
"BOY- Hey, you alright ?"
She met his gaze once again. The white of his eyes struck him. He stayed still for a moment, admiring them.
"HER- I, I am. Who, who are you ?"
He didn't answer. She kept her eyes on his face. His eyes were covered by some of his hair strands so she wondered if he actually saw anything.
"SHUTARO- Name's Shutaro. Yours ?
SHURI- Shuri, short for Shutori.
SHUTARO- Hey funny that ! We almost have the same name !"
He had a smile as pretty as last time. She returned it the best she could, through the tears. His hand wiped the tears on her cheeks with a sweep of the thumb, leaving behind… soot ? He saw it, brought back his hand and left- if not escaped- the room.
Her fingers touched her face, feeling the heat but also staining their tips with the remaining soot. She wondered where that came from. A quick thought and she knew. His hair wasn't black- A harsh pain invaded her mind. The pain was too much to handle so she passed out.
Instants of her past lives flashed before her eyes. Her head between her hands, she was whimpering like a wounded beast on the library's floor. When servants finally found her, she had a fever and her eyes were closed. A doctor came and she was laid in her bed for an examination.
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A few days later, she reopened her eyes. Her father, the king, arrived in her chamber as soon as he got the news of her awakening. His eyes were not trust worthy as he had dreamt of her waking up too many nights, so he held onto her for a few minutes. She holds her father back, finding solace in this familiar embrace.
Followed closely by domestics, he left the room on her demand. She got out of bed, and walked out of the room, leaving the light on to feint her presence.
It was night time. The air was chilly, and the palace now quiet after the king made sure the night would be silent for his treasure. For a few minutes, she just wandered around without a destination.
The red balustrade of the fish pond surrounded the whole swamp. A kiosk stood in the middle of the fish pond. She climbed the edge and let her feet fall into the water. She stayed still a moment, her head falling back to watch the stars.
He was coming back from the kitchens, arms filled with roosted sweet potatoes when he saw her, alone, out in the night. He carefully walked up to her, before calling her out. She flinched. A quick smile and he sat next to her. In her hand, he put a warm potato, so hot, she had to quickly juggle it to avoid burning her hands. He smiled while taking a small bite of his.
Following his example, she took a bite of her own, the warm food spreading in her mouth, tickling her tastebuds and delivering its flaming taste on all her tongue.
A step forward, and he was walking two backwards. But a few steps later, she was cornering him against the balustrade. One sweep of the hand, and she was pushing away the strands of hair covering his eyes.
"SHURI- You recognised me, Ricardo."
He looked back at her. His eyes were as white as hers, a white as pure as snow. He dodged her and fell into the fish pond. The snoot on his hair dissolved in the water, forming a black circle around him. His hair were also pure white, flashing under the moon light.
"RICARDO- And you remember."
She joined him in the water and hugged him. They were a crying mess.
"SHURI- I had forgotten you… I, I can't- how could I-
RICARDO- Hey, I only remembered in the last life. I wouldn't hold you accountable for it, don't worry."
A passing-by servant saw them and called the queen. She executed Ricardo and his mom because she thought they had cursed the princess of the kingdom. The same night, the body of Shuri was found in the pond. She had left a letter to her father that the queen burned before he could read it.
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In the next life, they were together. Two youngsters learning how to be blacksmiths in a village on top of a mountain in Japan. They learned how to bent the metal to their will, how to decorate the sword and how to sharpen the edge so it cuts water. They became some of the best blacksmith the world ever saw, only to be executed after a jealous neighbour sold fake swords to the king's knights in their names.
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They were slaves, oppressors, villagers, nobles, king and queen. Hundreds of lives, hundreds they remembered only the main events of or the striking memories but most disappeared in the mass of memories they held. They went through the centuries, saw memorable major events but mostly, stacked a real fortune only they knew the existence of.
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While on the way to meet one of their clients in their merchant life, a vision came to them. An angel stood on the top of a cathedral, wings proudly spread wide.
Ricardo recognised the City of the Vatican. On their next trip, they planned to stop there to witness with their own eyes.
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The building was standing tall, its shadow casting on the whole square in front of it. Ricardo dealt with the priests so they could enter the place without being actual believers.
One of them gave them a little tour of the place. If crazy rich merchants wanted to get to the top of the dome, then the doors were opened the second the money landed in the clergyman's hand. They asked to be alone for a moment so he left them at the top, closing the door behind him.
"RICARDO- He is gone. Feel free to come out ?"
A naked man, with white long hair, appeared from behind the entry. He was holding his abdomen and suffered wounds probably caused by his fall and the details of the stony sculptures on the basilica.
"SHURI- Oh."
She walked past him. He took a step back. She stopped and waited. His breathing was uneven, and shortened with each breath. Ricardo looked him up and down. She raised a hand at him.
"SHURI- You aren't human."
The man smiled weakly and passed out. Shuri catched him before his head painted the white stone of a sickening red hue. She took off her scarf and tied it around his wound. Ricardo shedded one of his coats and wrapped it around the man's frame, closing it in the front. The went down the stairs as naturally as possible, holding him between them.
The priest did not ask questions and they exited the basilica, not without leaving two whole bags of golden coins.
They carried the man to the guesthouse they were staying at. Ricardo laid the man down on one of the beds while his sister searched for instruments brought to a French scientist earlier on their trip.
She came back with two weird looking utensils, one in the shape of pliers and another that looked like a longer and curved needle. Ricardo lit a fire in the hearth of the room. She used the pliers to reach whatever was stuck in the wound and keeping it from healing, and pulled out a golden bullet. The pliers widened and it fell in a glass of clean water.
Ricardo grabbed the needle, put the string through the hole and prepared to tie the man's wound. He pulled the sides together and ran the needle through the skin. Shuri was holding him down, as the pain was sharp and striking.
"RICARDO- Sorry I need to close the whole thing."
The needle and the string tied the skin back together forming a little mountain. He cut the thread when all sutures were done and took everything away. He throwed the needle and thread into the fire. Shuri came back with a clean wet cloth and laid it on top of the man's sutures.
The man was out cold yet again. She cleaned her hands and took the glass up to her eyes to give the bullet a good look. Her brother clod the stranger. He was now wearing a spare pair of bottoms and an opened light white shirt. Ricardo went back to Shuri.
"RICARDO- You know what it is ?
SHURI- Looks like a bullet. But it is not from here, probably from the same place he came from.
RICARDO- How do you know that ?"
A single glance at the reddish cloth laying on the table they had forgotten to burn and he was handing it to her. She grabbed it, laid it flat on the table and placed the bullet on top. The blood instantly took fire but the cloth remained pearly white.
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He rose in an unknown bed, in an unknown room filled with strange smells. He tried to stand but a harsh pain overcame his mind. He winced but raised through it.
A scar was now marking the skin of his belly. He couldn't see it but he felt a pull at every step. The twins were discussing on the couch when he came out of the bedroom. The bullet was unattended on the table, next to a jug of limonade.
"SHURI- Well, look who's up."
Ricardo turned and flashed a smile before getting up and walking to him. He took his hand and brought him to the couch where he was invited to sit.
"MAN- Who are you ?
SHURI- We return the question.
MAN- I, I don't… remember…
RICARDO- Maybe this could help."
He took the bullet and showed it to the stranger. It felt like his brain was being ripped apart, like his very brain was being opened in two and someone was pouring memories into it. He took his head between his hands and yelled his pain away.
The twins stood motionless. Nothing they could do about the pain. When it finally went away, he laid his eyes upon them.
"MAN- My name is Mikhail and I was an archangel.
RICARDO- Oh, if we were ready for that.
MIKHAIL- Who are you ?
SHURI- We are Shuri -she points to herself- and Ricardo -a finger forward towards her brother.
RICARDO- And we were also angels.
MIKHAIL- … How-
RICARDO- You could say we lost faith.
MIKHAIL- How am I still alive… ?
SHURI- Angels don't die easily. The question would be how did a holy bullet hurt you.
RICARDO- You should know, as the Archangel of Battle, but angels aren't supposed to be hurt by holy bullets. But it did, to you. Might have caused your Fall.
SHURI- It is a lot, we understand.
MIKHAIL- … Where are we?
SHURI- Roma, Italy. We found you on top of the basilica St Pierre. Heaven has a way of being ironic, I mean, the top of a basilica after a damnation that's some-
MIKHAIL- I wasn't damned.
SHURI- I understand it is hard to accept bu-
MIKHAIL- I wasn't damned. I didn't die at the top of the basilica, whether I ate or drank.
RICARDO- How long were you up there?
MIKHAIL- Weeks, maybe months."
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Time flew as they chatted. Ricardo called room service for dinner and had their meals brought to the room. They ate together
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Their trip in Roma came to an end and their duties as merchants called as one of their clients needed a delivery in China.
"SHURI- Will you come with us ?
MIKHAIL- Can I ?
SHURI- It would be a shame to let you stay in Italy. You'll be of great use on the trip."
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Throughout the years, they were known as the Great Merchants. Known to travel through lands at great speed, safety and efficiency. However, they twins grew old and their legs weaker than ever, rendering traveling quite impossible.
When they turned seventy of age, they settled on a river bank in a vast forest, where no one could trouble them. They spend their last days in this place, growing old under the worried eyes of Mikhail, whose face bore no sign of time.
During an autumn night, they passed away, together. Cuddled in their bed with appeased faces. Mikhail had them buried at the top of a nearby small hill. He often visited them, arms filled with gifts to the past.
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His knees were still as efficient as ever, climbing the hill without a care. He glanced at the tree growing behind their graves and sighed. It is only when he got closer that he noticed the white fur ball rolled at the roots. Its eyes were bearing a hole in his face as he got closer. They were a bloody shade of red.
He showed the plate with the oranges and laid it next to the tombstones. It didn't bother to move. And rolled further in itself. He paid his respects to their spirits and left, a last glance at the fur ball.
The next time he came, it was still there. He wondered if it ever went and came back or if it just stayed there, in the cover of the leaves. He has brought yet again a plate of oranges but also a piece of raw meat which he gave the kitsune.
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Months passed and the fox grew. It wasn't afraid of Mikhail anymore and eventually, followed him to the riverbank house. Not bothered by the new companionship of such a strange creature, Mikhail wandered around, living his life and feeding the now growing fox. In the neighbouring village, he was known as the fox-man.
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One night he came to find a little girl curled on herself in the same spot as the fox slept the last time. She had hair as white as her clouds and eyes like rubies. He took a closer look at her before waking her up.
She rose and rubbed her eyes. They shone a deep shade of red and looked like two jewels in the white of her face. He helped her down the bed with a hand and brought her to the twins' old room. He searched the closet for a kimono and clad her, she was a bit reluctant as the silk was cold and an unknown material.
"MIKHAIL- Tell me, you have a name ?"
The kitsune stared at the floor for a moment. He wondered if she even understood him. But then she met his glance and said no with her head. He couldn't resist petting her.
"MIKHAIL- That's not important. You must be hungry, come, I'll cook some rice and chicken. It won't be the best meal of your life but it's gonna feed you."
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The kid kitsune grew twenty centimetres in three years. Because of their rather long life-spand, kitsunes aren't supposed to grow fast. Mikhail wasn't feeling the effects of time, so they were a match. He named her Yu Qiji - gift of the forest.
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They were walking on the river bank, pointlessly. The outlines of a village pierced through the mist in the distance. They climbed the hill. At the roots of a huge walnut tree, they found the two tombstones which bore their names.
Tears were rolling down their cheeks as the saw the perfect state of the tombstones. They wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly started to shine in the sun. A cracking branch attracted their attention.
"YUJI- Who are you ?
MIKHAIL- Yu ! Don't run like that, you're going to hu-"
The plate fell on the ground and broke on a rock. The oranges rolled down the hill.
"SHURI- Hi Mikhail."
He ran at them and hugged them. They stayed like that for a long time. When their eyes were finally empty of tears, they started asking questions.
"MIKHAIL- What, how did you-
SHURI- We came back to life, yet again.
RICARDO- Yeah, it must be the hundred time.
MIKHAIL- How did you find us ?
SHURI- Ha ! We remember all our lives. And since it's the most recent one, it wasn't long before we found you.
RICARDO- Wasn't expecting you to be with a child. A kitsune even.
MIKHAIL- Yes, Yuji arrived a few months after you… passed away. Found her next to the tombstones.
RICARDO- Yu Qiji, makes sense.
SHURI- Nice choice of words if I may."
He guided them to the house where everything was how they left it. The single exception being the little claw marks at the bottom of some furniture or walls. During the time they left, Mikhail had gathered a huge amount of books of all sorts.
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The next few months were spent idling around. But boredom was killing them slowly. This strange feeling of needing an occupation, to do something with their hands got them to start working as lumberjacks.
The nearby forest helped them with their work, and they provided the three neighbouring villages with high quality wood. Yuji, whose name changed to Shoto after the twins returned, became friends with the villagers' children.
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An order came to join the army of the current ruler to fight in the war. Shoto couldn't be left alone and Shuri wasn't letting her brothers alone on the battlefield. So they left the country, marching through the mountains and settled in the north. Their daily lives continued.
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Beliefs had evolved and fear was growing in the following decades. The twins haven't touched their weapons since the previous life where they fought as soldiers. It almost changed as neighbouring villagers attacked their home.
Shoto begged them to not hurt the villagers, saying that they were only afraid and deserved not death. The villagers set fire to the house. They died together, curled in a desperate ball in the burning house whose walls were being eaten by flames. A piece of the roof fell.
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The street was empty and wet and the moon shone bright in the sky. He raised his head and took in his surroundings. They were at the front door of an orphanage. The air was heavy and moist. He opened his arms and saw that he was holding a young child in them. He kissed her furry ears, thanking the skies for allowing them to be together.
Two heads next to him rose in sync. Shuri and Ricardo left the protective blanket wrapped around them. They smiled at Mikhail, a warm feeling of familiarity and safety coming from him.
"RICARDO- Hi big brother.
MIKHAIL- Hi you rockets."
The door opened and a woman, a nasty look on her face, came out of the orphanage. Her hands were tied at belly level, a flawless bun rested on the top of her head and a good dozen of wrinkles carved the features of her face. She looked them up and down before inviting them inside without a smile.
"WOMAN- Rollcall's at 6 AM, be ready by 6:15 for the beginning of the chores.
SHURI- Who are you ?
WREN- Mrs. Wren, the headmistress of this establishment.
RICARDO- Which is ?
WREN- South-East Orphanage of Colchester. Now, I will take you to your room. We will regard the administrative matter tomorrow."
The stairs brought them to the floor where she guided them to two empty rooms where bunk beds touched the walls. It was pretty empty except for a single closet.
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A striking sound reverbed in the halls, waking all of the orphans. Shuri rose her head from the pillow at the ring. Beneath her, Ricardo was yawning. They got out of bed and slowly made their way to the bathroom.
Mrs. Wren was patrolling the hall, checking all the faces of the children waiting patiently still on each side of their doors. The twins stood next to their door, clothes neat, hair tied and no smile plastered on their faces.
Mikhail was at their right, Shoto in his arms, still dozing off in the early morning. His hair was tied at the top of his head, their long strands falling in his back. Shoto's were braided from top to bottom, probably a wonder of Mikhail's work.
"WREN- Good morning children, get ready for breakfast.
KIDS- Yes Ma'am."
The children started walking in lines towards what seemed to be a diner room twice the size of a normal one. Two extremely long tables were facing each other, with at least thirty dishes per table. The children invaded the place and took their seats.
"MIKHAIL- Hey.
RICARDO- There you are, thought you ran away.
MIKHAIL- Figures. Breakfast's more important.
SHURI- Can I take Shoto ?
MIKHAIL- Careful with the head, don't you dare bump her.
SHURI- Who do you take me for ?
MIKHAIL- Mistakes happen, fast.
RICARDO- I don't know about you, but I am starving."
His stomach grumbled as a way to prove his saying. Mikhail laughed a little before inviting them to free seats at the end of the row. Their dishes were then filled with two slices of bread, a small piece of butter and a hard boiled egg. Shuri whistled at the sight. A hard slap landed behind her head.
"WREN- No whistling."
Shuri bared her teeth.
"WREN- Watch your mouth young lady."
She gave him a glance before focusing back on her plate. Wren smirked before walking away from them. She sat at the very end of the table, her eyes scanning the crowd of silent children before her. Not a single sound above a whisper.
"RICARDO- Not very gentle the lady.
MIKHAIL- Bear with it, she's the headmistress. She commands here. We owe her.
SHURI- Would have been fine on the street…
MIKHAIL- Not Shoto, she is too young, and it is too cold out there.
RICARDO- We leave during spring then ?
MIKHAIL- … Will you stop ? Eat before it gets cold."
They snarled at him before turning to their plates. He sighed but let it slide. They are but children even if they have lived for so long. He wondered if they remembered…
The answer came later, when they taste-tried a cabbage soup, which they used to hate and still do. He raised an eyebrow when they took their spoons and dug in, happy to be finally fed. Horror painted their faces when they started coughing the horrendous liquid. It tasted like salt and smoked vegetables.
Chores were the next thing on their list. An older kid took them to the kitchens on Wren's order. They washed the dishes, cleaned them, made piles and set them off in the closets.
Shoto's ears should have been a weird aspect of hers but throughout the years, humans have evolved to be stronger, faster and have started to show new attributes. Some animals, some brand new and some even started to control elements on their own.
"KID- Sooo, what are your spects ?
SHURI- eum, I bite ?
KID- Pfff, everybody does that.
SHURI- Well, check out those mean fangs then."
She hooked a finger in her mouth and smiled her teeth at them. Another kid laughed and showed his. They were longer, sharper and he could jump a few feet high. His hands bared claws and his knees were inverted. He was a shifter.
"KID- So ?
SHURI- Well, got nothing but my mean temper."
It was a lie, but how do you tell someone else that you hear better than anyone else ? That you read movements so well, it feels like you see the future ?
To counter the misuse of powers, governments formed their own ministry for super-beings. They were then categorised and ranked from safe to unsafe. Some lost their minds when their powers awakened, their conscience burned away by its strength.
Some were hunters: humans with unnatural abilities, some were shifters: humans taking the traits of beasts and so on. Shoto passed as an inexperienced shifter who couldn't control her shifting. Mikhail was an incantator, someone who controlled the power of words. And the twins were bellatores, enhanced fighters.
But not only humans evolved, creatures emerged from the pits of hell, with only one goal, surviving. No matter what it took. They were destroyers, beasts made of flesh so strong it could withstand gunfire and missiles : kaijus.
Rows of teeth inhabited their mouths, eyes as sharp as blades and claws that could rip earth in half on their paths. They terrorised populations for decades, humanity being the prey this time. But one day, their number decreased drastically. Nowaday, they appear once in a while and their few numbers make it easier to deal with it.
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Twins were having the time of their lives messing with Wren and all the orphanage adults. Pulling dumb pranks on them. Their teacher was the only one to escape such a fate as the first day, they had catched the dirty boarderaser before it fell on their head. They had smiled at the twins.
Their pranks were usually small ones, not too annoying depending on the perspective. They messed up the order of the library's books, hid a dozen dishes, stole food in the fridges and hung the towels on the tree branches.
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The sky turned a shade deeper into the oranges as they watched the sun set from the top of the orphanage's roof. The streets were silent and the town asleep when they returned to their bed. The stars watched over them as they grew.
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The corner was a dark place. Shoto's vow stood at the back of their minds as they took the hits. They were going to bruise later, but how could they care ? This was nothing.
The insults, the hits and the threats were nothing new. They were accused of all their bad luck. But the twins couldn't care less. Anger bubbling under their skin but Shoto's voice rose in the back of their minds.
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Ricardo wiped the blood running down his throat. Shuri was holding her belly as one of the hits damaged her badly. He helped her up her feet and took her to their room. She sat on the lower bed while he searched for a wet towel to clean her wounds and some bandages they stored in the closet. This night, to dinner, they wore long sleeves despite it being only sprint.
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It lasted years before someone actually noticed. Once, late at night, Mikhail had come to get them for dinner when he saw the wounds and all the scars.
"MIKHAIL- Who did this ?..."
They didn't answer.
"MIKHAIL- Who. Did. This !"
The silence lasted. Anger boiled in him. But he allowed them some time to clad themselves before taking them to dinner.
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She was walking down the hall, rubbing her sleepy eyes when her ears heard a faint noise. Her ears perked up. Walking past the corridors, she turned to the corner of the library to find her sister and brother being cornered by five other kids their age.
Her fangs dropped, her legs shortened and her body covered with a fur as white as snow. She ran with all her might. And bared her teeth before jumping towards the attackers of her sister and brother.
She bit his arm hard, so hard, the sound of the bones breaking could be heard in the dead of night. He yanked his arm, trying to get her off but couldn't so he ran into a wall. She fell, unconscious.
Ricardo throwed a hand towards his sister but she wasn't moving. A kick and she hit the wall, slowly shifting back to her human form. Shuri stood and walked towards her, but someone pushed her against the wall. A shelf there hit her in the head. And she saw black.
He felt a pull in his chest, pulling him out of bed and towards the library. The only thing he saw was Shoto on the floor. He ran to her and before he could think, his wings spur out and protected them.
The explosion burned everything in its path, the orphanage but also all the neighbourhood. The roof of the orphanage was burning down on them. Mikhail grabbed them, protecting his sisters and brother from the fire with his wings.
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The fire calmed down and eventually stopped. A lazy rain falling on the ruins. He unlocked his wings to the world. Snoot falling from them. They fell behind him, tainting black and blue.
"MIKHAIL- We need to leave, fast."
He took them away, and they walked through the burned neighbour. There was nothing left, only smoking ruins. Shuri and Ricardo walked side to side, heads down, eyes on their little sister in their arms. Mikhail lead them to an intact street where they hide in the meantime.
Passers-by were running to the burned neighbourhood. He took their arms and pulled them to him. He hugged them and closed his wings on them. The first note of the lullaby started to rise in the small place they formed. The twins let their tears run free in the silence.