At The End… The Start of Something New

The war between the humans and the Millennium Earl had started to pick up but for every accommodator they found, the Earl created hundreds more Akuma. It was true that these new Akuma were weak but the numbers that they attacked in, it was frightening. The Millennium Earl and the Noah family were targeting Generals, already killing two of them. The Black Order knew that something had to give and either side would get the leverage they needed. Some people within the Order were getting nervous, the war was starting to get closer and closer to the headquarters. For many, they didn't know what was going on with their families, most of their families thought they had died long ago. It didn't matter though; it was still frightening to know that for all those who were fighting, it didn't seem to be making any difference. They kept their worries and their fears to themselves in fear of having someone else confirm them. The generals had left, each going to find more and more accommodators and to find more innocence. They were here, at headquarters, with only a few exorcists and many more finders. The science department was trying to find ways to help the exorcists better, to find a way to make things easier and faster for everyone. It was hard though, the pressure of keeping up with their everyday work and also the worry about those they had become close with. It was hard for everyone, the worries of their friends and make-shift families dying and not knowing or helping. It was maddening and that was what made the war so much harder and so much more painful. They all tried to keep their head up, have uplifting spirits and look to a happy future.

"Call all exorcists that are still here." Komui said.

His little sister Lenalee and the Section Leader Reever went to call all exorcists to the Supervisor's office. Reever knew that his boss was onto something and it was located in Japan, a country overrun by Akuma. There were rumors of a powerful object, which is what the Earl was desperately looking for. Komui had sent so many finders to Japan, each one sent back alive and healthy and having a great story. It would seem as though there were some people who were still fighting and protecting as much as they could. It still broke their hearts when the finders retold the story of their time in the presence of these two young people. A brother and sister with blunt evidence that they had and used their innocence to protect those around them, they seem to be doing alright even though hundreds of Akuma were targeting them. The finders have reported that these two young children had blanketed several shrines with their power, power that normal exorcists did not have. They told of the fear they felt when the siblings did not allow them to offer their assistance. As much as they feared for the safety of the siblings, they were also in awe at the power and the persistence that they fought with and the reason for their fighting. They were just children but they had more guts and heart than most grown men. In fact, they had watched as the elder of the two had almost given her life for the life of a person who had betrayed them. It had been so hard to watch, the watch her suffer but the reason behind her suffering was because she said that she never wanted to see another person suffer if she could help that.

"What's going on Komui?"

"We have found evidence concerning innocence. It's powerful and is spreading its energy around several shrines in Japan. Many groups of finders have been sent and actually returned unharmed from their mission. They all say that two siblings have been responsible for the turn of events. The finders said that these two children had power that they had never seen before and that they had innocence that they use to protect those at a shrine."

"I thought the Earl had killed all those with power in Japan." Lenalee stated.

"It's a good thing we thought wrong."

Everyone sat quietly.

"General Cross, you will take Allen, Kanda, Levi, Lenalee and Miranda with you. Toma will be your assigned finder. Come back safely and remember to find and keep the innocence safe. Do not worry about the Akuma. There will be too many for you to deal with, just bring these two children back."

As easy as this mission sounded, it would be very difficult. Japan had been overrun Akuma and all people who showed signs of having power and all who came to give aid perished painfully. If they could find and save the innocence, it would be worth the struggle they would have to go through. Something was bothering both Allen and Kanda. These two people, children even, were fighting by themselves for who knows how long because of the innocence. Most people who had innocence either did not know how to use them correctly or if at all. If that was the case and they, like all the others, how were they protecting all those people and even themselves? A rush of need swept through Allen, he knew that these people would not be able to hold off long. He still believed that an exorcist was not just a bringer of death and he wanted to prove it as he did again and again. He wanted to help save these two accommodators.

Elsewhere, in Japan, two young people worked through the crowd that found one of the protected shrines. There were so many people who had been injured or worse, had be saved by these two young people. To be saved meant that they had loved ones turn into Akuma and that they had needed to be save. The two young people were siblings, these two people were of ages nine and fourteen. These two had been raised on a shrine ground owned by their family for hundreds of years. They had been trained to be a priest and priestess by their grandfather and grandmother; they thought that by training them, they would be safer. The family had always been known to have great power; their ancestor had been an exorcist and priestess. It had been a good decision; they had learned to control and conceal their power. Both siblings had a mark, the same as their ancestor, a cross on their forehead. The only difference between most in their family, they also had this mark on their chest, above their hearts. The mark on their chest had been a seal for their family had been cursed. For every child who had been born with great power, a great evil would sleep in their souls; the mark would seal this curse. It was given to their family by the Millennium Earl because their ancestor had angered him. He knew that all those who had been born until the crescent moon of the Higurashi name would be quite powerful and he feared that power as well as coveted that power.

For two young kids to train so diligently to protect their family and keep the honor of their home alive, it was refreshing. Then all the attacks started to happen, it seemed as though there was nowhere to run. Most of the shrines had been destroyed. Kyoto had been set aflame, it was horrible. Families had been torn apart, people were dying and worse, they were suffering. It had been surprising when suddenly there had been news of safety at a shrine. People traveled far to reach this shrine and surprisingly, it was being run by children. As much as people had doubts about the two children, they could not doubt the power that they had. When people first see the children, they scoff and turn the other way until they are attacked. It is then that they see the truth, the bright light of the children's power. For the young woman, it looked as though she had angel's wings, her smoky blue eyes piercing into their souls. The young boy, he looked as though he were set aflame, his bright blue power surrounding him, his hair blowing in a nonexistent breeze. His eyes were bright, clear and they glowed as he fought.

"Higurashi-sama! Have you seen my husband?"

The youngest of the siblings, the boy, Souta was nine but had these old eyes and mature power. The situation that the two siblings had been thrown in would have caused so many others to probably throw their own lives away. Even though he was a small child, like all in his family, he had an otherworldly beauty and even more, an otherworldly power.

"No, Ishida-san. I have not seen him since the funeral."

The young woman, was twenty four and had been married since she had turned eighteen. She had been close to their family even though they didn't truly get along. Her secret hatred of them had been the moment she had found out that there had been people who could have saved her family. It didn't matter that the eldest of the children had just been born, it was the fact that these two children saved so many others but hers had died.

"I see, thank you Higurashi-sama."

Souta watched the woman walk away. He had a feeling and not a very good one either. Anytime he had bad feelings, he would discuss them with his beloved sister. She was his savior, literally. When he had been five, they had lost their father and grandmother in an accident, their car had been crushed by Akuma. They were just children and watched in horror as both their mother and grandfather turned their father and grandmother into Akuma. In his horror, his markings glowed and the barrier over his power slipped. It caused his sister to unleash her own power to protect him. They both grabbed the closest things to them. For him, he had grabbed his grandfather's staff and his sister; she had grabbed both their mother's fans and her grandmother's bow. When the weapons had glowed green, they had reacted on instinct. He had destroyed one Akuma but could only watch in awe as his sister destroyed over a hundred with just one arrow. The ground had arrows embedded at each focal point, the two siblings had combined their power to raise a barrier. It had been the last thing their grandfather had taught them, the shrine and its power and how to activate it.

"Sister!"

Souta smiled as he saw his beloved sister.

"Sister!"

Souta stopped as he looked upon a heartbreaking scene.

"Oh-no. Sister." Souta said quietly.

It was his sister, her bow was handing in front of her extended hand. Beside his sister was their cousin's cat; in front of her were their cousin and her husband. After the death of their family, his cousin Sango and her husband Miroku came to live with them. They furthered their training and brought more people over to stay. Miroku had been amazed when his sister had formed barriers around all the other shrines that the family had given gifts to. Miroku had been surprised and happy about how far they had gone through in their training. While their grandparents had wanted to teach them control, on top of that, they were forced to teach them about their holy power. It was growing, along with the powers from their innocence. The shrine had scrolls and scrolls about the Millennium Earl as well as the Shinto Priest and Priestess. For years, they had read upon these two subjects and trained until their grandparents died. Now, their cousin's husband came to teach them. It was great, their cousin Sango did not have the power that the siblings did but she did have the same looks as most did in their family. She was a fighter though; she fought side by side with her husband, a man who had holy powers. Souta knew that he and his sister was thankful for their direction and beside that, Sango had taught his beloved sister how to cook and sew, thank goodness. They didn't have money to buy groceries and it was too dangerous anyways, they went out onto their property to hunt or in their garden. It was a saving grace that his sister had a green thumb and wasn't squeamish to blood and guts.

"Souta, I am sorry but I couldn't save them."

"What happened?"

"Inuyasha had turned Kikyo into an Akuma. She had killed Sango and Miroku but I could not be fooled. With our jewels and our power, we can see the souls. It makes me angry, she was not upset about any of this, not about killing Inuyasha, about taking the lives of those who were close to her."

Souta cried for his sister. A long time ago, since before the family had died, his sister refused to cry. She said that crying did nothing to ease the pain she felt when dealing with the Akuma or when she lost friends or family. She had once told him that because she could not seem to find the key to her heart, he was to mourn for her and right now, he was mourning in her place. She had been friends with Inuyasha and eventually with Kikyo. They were a bit older than they were, Inuyasha had been the same age as Miroku, who had just turned eighteen and Kikyo was almost twenty four. His sister had a child's crush on Inuyasha, who wouldn't when you are saved constantly by the same person. You get a type of hero's complex and his sister had developed a small one for the man. Instead of turning his sister away, Inuyasha had used his beloved sister, using her power and her kindness until she had none to give. It was only when he had seen her power that he had changed but it was too late. His sister had locked and thrown the key of her heart away. She said once that she would be free when the man who caught and brought that key back asked to be the shelter she craved for. Souta was not blind, he knew that his sister was hurting, hurting because she couldn't even mourn for her two family members that had been killed or a friend who had tried to repent for the wrongs he had done in his life.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, Kikyo was as weak in life as she was in death. The Akuma she had been turned into was weak, far weaker than any we had dealt with."

Souta rolled his eyes.

"I'm not surprised."

"Prepare, tonight we will fight. Take the children and the others into the shrine house; place your barrier around it."

"Alright sister. Do you know who?"

"It's Ishida-san. Her husband died yesterday, she is making her husband into an Akuma as we speak."

Souta now knew what the feeling had been.

"Yes sister."

"Hurry Souta, let us save all who came for shelter."

Souta smiled. His sister was the greatest ever. Without turning around, he rushed to do as his sister requested. If Souta had turned, he would have seen his sister flare her power but he sure did feel it and rushed to get her request done. By the time he had gotten all of the people into the shrine house, his sister had fought and killed so many, hundreds. Running as fast as he could, he rushed to her side destroying many Akuma. Ever since he could remember, they had always fought side by side and back to back. It was probably the only reason they were still alive. It was another that had been instilled within their training. One can do a satisfactory job but with a partner or as a team, they can exceed to greatness.

"Sister, I love you."

"I know Souta. I love you as well."

They always told each other this before going into battle. They never knew if they would survive or if they would die. They weren't afraid of death, not really but they did fear never telling the other that they loved one another and that they would see each other in the next life. It had been a fear since they hadn't told their family that when they had died, they thought that their family died without knowing just how much they loved them and just how much they were missed. It had broken both their hearts but they knew, they knew that if they prayed enough and if they told each other, maybe their feelings would travel toward their family. That they would be forgiven and that they would not suffer. It was the biggest regret that they had, the thought that their family died without knowing just how much they loved them. Their mother was such a strong woman, strong in spirit but weak emotionally, obviously. Their grandfather had been married for sixty eight years before he lost his wife, the grief had been too much. They didn't blame them for turning their father and grandmother into Akuma, just that they wished their family had been a little stronger. It was hard, they were too young to be on their own.

For Master Cross and his team, getting into Japan had been ridiculously easy and it was easier to find the siblings. It wasn't very hard, all you had to do was to follow the hundreds of Akuma floating in the sky and head in the same direction. The bright glow that shot in the sky was another sign. It wasn't like the bright white that the innocence gave off nor was it the fire when the Akuma were destroyed. This was a pale blue or a sharp pink color. The feel gave each of them chills.

"What do you see?"

Allen Walker, apprentice to Master Cross, he was a young man, and cursed by the person he looked up to as a father. In a moment of fear and uncertainty, he turned that man into an Akuma. He was cursed because of his selfishness but that curse was also a gift. He was able to see the souls within the Akuma. The thing was that these two people he could see, they weren't Akuma and never before had his eye shown him living people like this before.

"Two people, they are… wait… they are in the middle of hundreds of Akuma!"

"Hurry!" Lenalee cried out.

By the time they got to the siblings, there weren't even any more Akuma. The siblings were done fighting and the carnage surrounding them was astonishing. Two siblings had taken out all of them. They had weapons that had innocence and on their forehead, they both had innocence there. It was pretty to look at, different than what the innocence looked like in Allen's hand or in weapons. Speaking of weapons, the sibling's weapons looked old. The young boy had a staff with gold rings that dangled from its decorative piece on the top of it. The young woman had a bow, a long bow with beautiful designs etched into its body. Both were carrying swords but those weapons did not have innocence.

"Who are you?" The young boy asked.

"My name is Cross Marian, the boy is my idiot apprentice Allen Walker, beside him was Yu Kanda. The two women are Lenalee Lee and Miranda Lotto and the red head is Lavi. We are exorcists with the Black Order."

"Oh, hello. My name is Souta Higurashi and this is my sister, Kagome."

The young woman was walking around touching each Akuma, they were disappearing. Allen, who could see souls, could see the souls as they departed into the afterlife. She didn't stop or turn to look at them. She didn't seem to care that they were there either. It was like she couldn't be bothered with them, like they were unimportant. He didn't know why but it bothered him quite a bit. He was used to people ignoring him, his own parents abandoned him when he was a small child because of his deformed arm but this, this girl was ignoring him and he didn't like that one bit.

"Hello, my name is Allen Walker."

Allen was in awe when she turned and looked at him. Her eyes were so blue; he noticed that her eyes were darker than her brother's but no less intense. In fact, he could swear that she was looking into his own soul. He wondered what she saw when she looked, if she could look into his soul. He was always afraid that his soul was tainted or starting to become tainted because of who was trying to break free.

"Hello Allen Walker. I am Kagome Higurashi, it's nice to meet you."

Allen smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, do you need any help?"

"I would like that. There are people who have been hurt, do you know first aid?"

Allen nodded. He walked with Kagome to the shrine house. He had so many questions, so many. He wondered how she was able to fight so many Akuma and yet, not seem affected by that fact. In fact, she wasn't wounded nor was her brother. They didn't seem scared or upset about the attack. It was like an everyday thing for these two people. Instead of worrying about themselves or even taking a break or a rest, they kept pushing through. He hadn't seen someone so willing to give before and it touched his heart to know that there were people out there who not only cared but cared enough to help their neighbor or someone they didn't know. If only there were more people out there like that.

"Would you and your brother come with us? Back to the Black Order?"

"Black Order? What about those here?"

"We can help them, bring them out of Japan."

"I see."

Allen put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. He turned her to look at him, she needed to know that there were so many others that needed her help. He could feel the stares at the back of his head. It made him nervous but at the same time, the weight of their stares felt like the weight of all those who needed his help, who could not help or save themselves from the Akuma. The only person who made him worried was his master; he was a pretty horrible womanizer.

"Please, come with us. There are so many who need our help."

Kagome stared at Allen. He really believed that they could fight and protect every person they came in contact with. It really broke her heart, staring into his eyes. She turned her head and looked at her brother, this would be his decision as well. It was his life too. They had done everything together, since they had both gone through training. Seeing her beloved brother nod, she turned back to Allen. The thought she had in her head was how could see, a fourteen year old girl help the Black Order? She could barely protect those around her. It was a miracle that they survived this long.

"Alright, we will come help in your war."

Allen stared for a moment before smiling widely at her. This made him so happy, now they had two more people and for him, two more friends. She seemed nice but sad and Allen wanted to make her smile once in a while.

"So, what is your weapon?"

"My brother and I have three separate innocence pieces in our possession. I have four."

"THREE?"

Kagome nodded as she stopped in front of the other exorcists.

"Yes, we have our main weapons which you have seen us use. The others are the mark on our forehead; we were born with them as well as the mark on our chest. We were born with that as well. So far, we are the only ones in our family who had been born with the marks on our chest."

Everyone looked at the General with question.

"Hey, General Cross, have you ever heard of an accommodator with more than one innocence?"

Cross thought about it, other than himself not really. It was then that he remembered a woman, well, the story of a woman. She had been powerful, amazingly kind and beautiful. The stories of this woman had been told for years, from the beginning of her time as an exorcist to the time when she had disappeared for over a year. Cross could remember listening to her story, when she had been found fighting against the Earl and dying because of him, but not before giving the Earl a very serious wound that sent him into the shadows for about seventy years. What the woman left behind was her legacy, twin babies.

"Yes, there was one. She died long ago but she had two. Her name was Midoriko."

"She is our ancestor." Souta said.

Cross nodded. He had figured that when he saw the mark on their forehead and the young girl had her weapon as well. He had seen a picture of her with her weapon fighting against the Earl. Thinking about it, he wondered if they had her skills as well. She had been so powerful until she had disappeared. It had been a year or so later that she had been found fighting against the Earl. The stories had ranged from her running away to live her life with someone she had fallen in love with. Some say that she had children with an enemy and had died because of it. They were all stories but he knew that whatever happened, these two were full of surprises.

"Let's just get back. I hate wasting time." Kanda said.

"You can go on ahead. My sister and I need to finish our duties to these people."

The exorcists just stared. It seemed as though these two kids had agreed to go with them, they still wouldn't abandon those they were already helping. Allen moved to give his support in helping these two with whatever they needed. It hadn't taken long and all those still at the shrines understood the reason they were leaving and wished them luck. A few brave people said that they would help; they had acted as finders already so it wouldn't really be any different. General Cross stared at the shimmering barrier. He had wondered how they ever made it. Exorcists couldn't really make a barrier like the one the two siblings had all over Japan. For one, they didn't even seem to notice that it was there and it didn't drain their power or their stamina was really good. Many of them thought that if they had a barrier around the headquarters, it would put peace and ease into many of the scientists, finders and exorcists that lived there.

"So what's the plan?" Souta asked his sister.

She looked at Souta, her baby brother, with a soft look. He was the reason she hadn't broken down or lost her mind through all of this. Not once did she tell anyone but the loss of her family had nearly killed her, but to destroy them… it had taken a piece of her soul, locked it away inside of herself. The more she thought about it though; she knew she had made the right choice because if not, they would have killed Souta. Ever since he had been born, Kagome had felt this connection to her brother that went farther than just brotherly love. Kagome could feel where her brother was, even if he was miles away. They could feel each other's emotions sometimes. Right now, she could feel that her brother was nervous and a bit fearful.

"We are going to pack, say our prayers and leave. The exorcists are right; there are many other who need our help. We should help those who cannot help themselves, it is only right."

Souta nodded, turned around and ran into the house. In the end, they had to leave their homes anyway, not that he really minded. Even though they had purified the house, it still gave him the creeps. The holes were patched up and the walls were washed but the memory of their family turning into Akuma and also, the horrible screeching. He still got nightmares and sometimes, he would crawl into his sister's bed and cry himself to sleep. Sometimes, he wanted to be selfish and keep his sister to himself but he knew, he saw the way that others had suffered. If he could, he would take away everyone's suffering. He wanted to take his sister's suffering away, she didn't show it but he could feel it. He could feel her sorrow and her pain.

"This is your home?" Lenalee asked.

Kagome nodded as she walked through the halls. She had done her best to clean it up but sometimes, sometimes you don't have to see the horror to know it was there. She had never once let anyone else come into her home except for Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha and Kikyo had tried but she had refused to allow them inside. Right now, she figured that this was no longer her home so it didn't matter anymore. Turning to the others, she quietly asked if they could go with her brother to watch over him as he packed. He was so much more attached to the home than she was. The others left to do as she asked except for Kanda who would stay outside to be the watchman. General Cross, at the thoughts of being around such a historic place, especially with the knowledge of the old exorcist Midoriko, he would go around and do some research. The other was Allen, he just stared at her. It was as though he knew what she was thinking and feeling. He didn't like the thought of her being so depressed or the feeling of self doubt that flowed through her body.

"What's wrong?" Allen asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just lost in my thoughts." Kagome said softly.

Allen just followed after the younger girl. He didn't know why but he felt as though she was holding something back from them. She looked so sad, so afraid. It shouldn't be on a face such as hers. Stopping at the doorway of her room, he saw what she probably wanted to keep to herself. She was sitting on the windowsill, her window open with the moon shining so brightly. Allen couldn't stop himself. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. For someone so small, to find another who was small than he was, it was just weird. She fit nicely, he hadn't hugged anyone in a long time and worse, he hadn't been held in a long time so when her arms came around his torso, it brought tears to his eyes. Bending his head, he whispered in her ear and unknowingly, spoke the words she had so longed to hear. No one had tried to comfort her fears, it was always her giving someone else comfort. Just once, just once she had wanted to be comforted.

"Don't cry. I promise things will be alright, you're not alone anymore. We can all help you, protect your brother and bring down the Earl. I'll protect you."

"How can I help you? I can barely take care of my brother much less myself. I'll just get in the way. I don't know what to do. I can't… I can't think straight. I couldn't even save my own family."

"It's okay though, someone once told me that we're in this together. You don't have to put the whole world on your shoulder, you can lean on mine."

Kagome and Allen were so into their own conversation and world that they didn't notice they had an audience. Standing at the doorway was Souta as well as the other exorcists. The scene was so touching to them but to Souta it was a miracle. His sister, his beloved sister was crying. She hadn't cried since before they had to purify their family. Maybe this was the right decision because if this one person could heal his sister so easily, imagine what else they could do. His sister was strong but maybe this guy was stronger and his sister could lean on his shoulder. Maybe, just maybe, this guy held the key that his sister threw away so many years ago. It would be a dream come true if this guy could help his sister. For so long, she had depended only on herself. She worried about his wellbeing and the wellbeing of all the others who had taken shelter within their home. No one had ever cared about her and when he asked or tried to, she would just give him a small smile and tell him that it was her job to take care of him not the other way around. It was the one thing that just irritated him. Although she was the older sibling and she had taken care of him and taught him about using his power more efficiently, it didn't mean that he couldn't do the same. She was a child just like him, why did it matter who was born first. They were family and family helped each other. She didn't need to take the whole world on her shoulders. Souta guessed that was why he was so angry when his sister tried to be like their mother. He didn't remember her too much, most of his memories of his mother were becoming blurred but he remembered hearing her reprimand Kagome a lot. Always told her that her first and only duty was to protect and love her brother. Kagome took that to heart, beat herself up over it and had nightmares about their mother's disappointment in her.