AU: In which Gareki is cursed by the well-meaning enchantress of the forest, stuck with having a piece of himself removed fully. He has to find the cure before time runs out, and commences a journey where he meets royalty, dragons, and the strange oddity called Nai.

Chapter One

When it is dark enough,

you can see the stars.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Before

Gareki was still a child when he crossed paths with the enchantress of the forest.

Of course, at that moment in his tiny life he didn't know he was about to fuck up his whole life's path and everything that would happen to him. He was only seven- a foul-mouthed, independent seven year old, but a seven year old nonetheless. Somehow, he had wandered into the forest without even realizing it, even though he was absolutely certain that he went out to shop for bread. His step-mom was going to make fun of him about being too absentminded again.

However, what really set off the alarm bells in his finely-attuned head was when an old lady, clad in a black robe, doddered over towards him, a faux-gentle smile on her wrinkled face.

"Hello, child." She had said. At this, Gareki recalled all of the fairytales that his stepmom had read to him and the twins, which featured a telltale old witch that came to eat little children. "Do you know which way it is to town?"

"Over there." Gareki pointed to a vague direction and quickly walked on, not wanting to be caught up in some sort of magic business. He had a passionate belief that magic made the world go round, since he was still a kid. "If you'll excuse me, ma'am-"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" The old lady looked genuinely concerned. "Are you alright? Do you have a wound? I can heal it for you!"

At the moment, Gareki actually did have a scar the size of Alaska on his back, but he still didn't want some stranger doing some hocus-pocus that he didn't understand. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"No, really." The old lady insisted. She removed her hood, and all of a sudden, Gareki could see her in all of her young, youthful glory, wavy golden locks framing her sharp face. "I'm good at this. My name is Tsukumo, by the way. I'm an enchantress-in-training."

"Okay…" Somehow, the fact that she was a pretty lady made him feel better. After all, pretty ladies in fairytales were princesses, not witches. "I guess I can trust you."

"Alright." Tsukumo smiled gently, but with a tinge of nervousness- as though she was unsure of herself. Gareki sort of brushed it off and let her hold his hand, her soft fingers skimming over his own rough ones.

It started out rather well. Tsukumo held his hand carefully, her white fingers drawing symbols on his palm. He watched, fascinated at the bright energy that enveloped the two of them, feeling warmth bubble up in his chest. It was like eating fresh chocolate chip cookies and diving into a cloud of marshmallows- a soft feeling that he wouldn't get in a long time. He could actually feel the scar physically get better- and not in the aching, new-skin-growing kind of way.

However, it all went downhill at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Oh n-" Tsukumo couldn't even finish her sentence when the energy bubble around them started to rise and fall, popping and exploding all around them. She drew Gareki underneath her cloak, but by then it was too late- one of the bubbles had hit him, and he yelped in response, the caustic feeling burning itself into his wrist.

"Oh no oh no oh no." Tsukumo whispered, staring down at his wrist. Black numbers started to form on it, the ink dancing across his white skin like a calligraphy pen. "Hirato-san is not going to like this."

"I don't like this." Gareki reminded her, his countenance one of extreme anger. "What is going on, Tsukumo?" He didn't even bother tacking on the –san at the end of her name, referring to her rather rudely. Tsukumo didn't seem to notice, too distraught over the new predicament to care.

"I cursed you." She said quietly, rubbing at the skin tenderly. "It's gone."

"What's gone?" He asked, exasperated. Instead of answering, she looked up at him, a pained expression on her face.

"I'm sorry. I'll fix this as soon as possible." Without another word, she pulled up her hood and disappeared into a cloud of pink and gold, leaving behind the scent of Dahlias. Gareki stared at where she was standing, momentarily stunned, before a single word came out from his mouth.

"Shit." He said quite simply. He hadn't even known what the word meant at the time, but it seemed appropriate to use for the situation. "Shit, shit, shit."

After

"Shit." Gareki whispered, rubbing at the new cut on his face. "Just what I needed- more blood." He abruptly stiffened when he heard a shout near his left, and the clopping of boots pounding on the cobblestone paths did nothing to soothe his nerves. He pulled his hood over his face and breathed slowly, trying not to give himself away.

"Find him!" A guard shouted, his gruff voice eerily close. "And when you do, don't hesitate to slice his head off! His royal majesty wants him dead or alive!" There were collective cries of joy that responded to his proclamation, and Gareki mentally clucked his tongue in annoyance.

How corrupt the royalty are nowadays, Gareki thought dryly, willing to stoop so low for a petty criminal like me. The stinging on his cheek resided a bit, and he quickly readjusted his position, certain that crouching would do no good for his legs. However, his elbow accidentally clinked against the garbage can he was hiding behind, and the metal sounded alarmingly loud in the night. A few heads swiveled towards his direction, and he quickly reached into his pocket for the small blade he had swiped from a kitchen.

"Check over there." A low voice commanded. Footsteps resounded in the narrow street, and Gareki tensed up, poising himself for action.

"Hey! I think I-" Gareki sprang up, swiping the knife against the man's throat. He quickly withdrew it, his attack only used to surprise and not to kill, and before they could react he nimbly meandered around the crowd, his long legs and quick reflexes helping him to avoid most of the outstretched hands. Swords slashed down to hurt him, but he deflected them by knocking them out of his opponent's hands or by skirting around them. Needless to say, he was already a seasoned pro at the art of avoiding actual combat.

There were too many of them for even him to deal with, however. Pissed off that his brilliant tactic of escaping town was screwed up, he decided to just run for it anyway. Slipping into dark alleyways, his navy coat helped him to blend with the shadows. Somehow, more and more of the brass-covered guards spilled in from all directions, like ants.

"There has to be a way here…" Gareki muttered, his glove-clad fingers tapping against the brick walls. Looking up, the moon shone down on him almost jeeringly, as if it were making fun of his predicament. It brightened up the night sky, shining delicately in all directions- perfect lighting for the guards to find him. "Can't you just point somewhere for me to hide?"

The moon did not reply, as elusive as ever. He chided himself for actually seeking a rock as a talking companion before looking up again, this time noticing the wide-open window of a house. The walls didn't look that hard to scale, thank god, and he could always slip out before the sun actually rose…

This was the very first mistake Gareki would make in his journey, but he wasn't aware of it as he dug his fingers into the bricks, hoisting himself up just as the guards began to scour the street for him.

There was something amusing about the way the guards searched for him diligently on the ground, Gareki thought. He crossed his arms on the window railing and looked down at them, smirking as they shouted to each other to find him. He dug through his cavernous pockets and pulled out the necklace he had taken from under the Princess's very nose- literally and figuratively. She had been too busy coiffing her (admittedly) fluffy navy curls when he had slowly plucked it off from her thin neck. He recalled the memory fondly as he was also calculating just how much force he had to exert to snap her neck in half.

Not that he would ever commit such a felony, but still.

A muffled, wracked-up sob emitted from the corner of the room he was standing in, and he felt all of the hairs on his neck prickle up, tilting his head to hear it better. His fight-or-flight reflex kicked back in, and he had his leg propped on the railing, preparing himself to escape in case such a thing was needed.

What he hadn't expected was a sniffling, skinny boy that was completely wrapped up in his flower-print blanket, the lump crawling towards him.

"Karoku…?" The boy mumbled hopefully, lifting his head up. The weak moonlight streamed through at that moment, illuminating the very spot he was perched on.

The other's bright, cherry-red eyes stared straight at his own guarded dark ones, blinking and wiping away the glossy tears that left marks on his small, pale face. His previous look of despair was quickly replaced with blatant curiosity, and Gareki felt oddly exposed as the other gave him an once-over, taking in his muddy clothes and the glittering necklace dangling from his thin fingers. He quickly stuffed said object into his pocket, and he clenched the knife protectively. He was pretty sure violence wasn't needed to shut the other up, and he really didn't want to employ such preemptive measures against the other. However, when push came to shove…

All of a sudden, the other threw off his blanket and pointed at him, his expression one of pure fear. "You!" He shouted, trembling so hard his bony knees knocked against each other. "Don't move!"

Gareki cursed at his bad luck and ran over to the other, knife still carefully concealed in his pocket. He decided to slash off a few of the boy's unnaturally white hair, perhaps scare him a little so that the other wouldn't dare mouth off. Before he could even take out his knife, however, the kid quickly grabbed Gareki's face with both of his hands, temporarily surprising the other. His clear, blood-colored eyes stared at him resolutely, looking extremely worried.

"You have a cut! If you don't get it treated, it could get infected!" He said shrilly, catching Gareki off guard. "Sit down! I'll get out the medical kit. Oh, dear, where did Karoku put it?" The last part was mostly muttered to himself as the thin boy ran out of the room, leaving Gareki alone with a flower-print blanket and a room to himself. He blinked a few times, unsure of what had just happened.

The boy returned within a matter of seconds. "I told you to sit!" He said childishly, pulling him down onto the floor. Gareki winced as his butt came into contact with the hard wood floors, but he physically recoiled as the other practically slapped his face with a cloth soaked in antiseptic.

"Ow!" Gareki said, brushing the other's hand away. "That hurt!"

"So will the infection, if you don't let me save you from bacteria!" The other said stubbornly, attacking his face with the cloth once more. "Karoku always said that to protect yourself, you had to take care of superficial wounds as well!"

"This Karoku fellow needs to man up." Gareki snapped back, but he settled down and let the other treat his face without too much grumbling. He had been worried about getting an infection, which had happened to him countless times before.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, the strange boy busy tending to his wounds and playing nurse. When he was done sticking on the girly bandaid on his face (floral pastel pattern- Jesus, who even bought those designs anymore?), he looked out the window, wondering if the guards were still milling about.

He couldn't really concentrate though, since the other was still peering at him with no shame.

"Do you mind?" Gareki finally said, swiveling his head to look back at the other. He caught himself face-to-face with the mesmerizing ruby eyes, the deep crimson staring at him as though he could see all of the crimes he had committed in his past, examining him from the inside out. Before he could forcefully turn the other's head, the boy crawled forward, pulling at Gareki's inky-blue hair.

"What's your name?" He asked, voice full of genuine wonder. "My name is Nai. Did Karoku tell you to come pick me up?"

"What?" Gareki replied. Looking annoyed with his less-than-eloquent response, Nai pouted and poked his face. "And get away from me! Ever heard of a 'personal bubble'?" At this, Gareki pushed the other away, mimicking a barrier around his general area.

"I said, what's your name?" Nai asked again, this time at an obvious distance away. He contemplated whether or not to give out his real name when he just gave in, deciding that telling some naïve brat what he was called wouldn't hurt.

"Gareki." He said. Nai blinked a few times and smiled largely, crawling over once more.

"Gareki, huh?" Nai said. Gareki resisted the urge to tell the other to go away when Nai grabbed his hand, the coolness of it apparent even under Gareki's gloved ones. "Nice to meet you, Gareki! I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

"Not so fast." Gareki pulled his hand away from him, narrowing his eyes in a hopefully scary manner. "Who said that I'm going to stick around with you? Thanks for the bandaids, but I have to go now." Besides, he couldn't even hear the guards anymore- they had probably given up by then.

"But you can't just leave me!" Nai's voice hitched up a notch, sounding as though he was bordering on hysteria. "It's lonely! And you're nice! Gareki is really, really nice!"

"You don't even know me- how do you know if I'm nice?" Gareki stood up, backing away. Clearly, he had picked the wrong house to shelter in. He was trapped with a loony that had pretty eyes and frail-looking limbs.

"I can tell." He said simply. "Your eyes show everything."

Gareki felt like shooting back bullshit, you don't know anything about this world, but he held back, refraining from arguing with the other. There was something about the self-assured way the other spoke, relying on his instincts instead of common sense. They stood for quite some time, Gareki looking down while the other looked up, the height difference apparent yet unimportant.

Gareki broke off the staring contest and looked out the window instead, watching as the stars glinted in the night sky like shards of glass. "I'm leaving." He said flatly, taking a few long strides before reaching the window. "And you're not coming."

"I am!" Unexpectedly, Nai (the little fucker) barrels into him and clings on desperately around his waist, almost squeezing the living daylights out of him. "You're going to lead me to Karoku! I just know it!"

"I don't know who the hell Karoku is!" Gareki snarled at him, prying at his fingers. "So let go and sleep! Pretend I was the sandman or whatever and go on with your life!"

"Believe me!" Nai yelled, burrowing his face into the small of his back. His white locks felt like a pillow, and Gareki cursed at how comfortable it felt. "Please! Just let me tag along with you on your journey! I can't wait here by myself… it's the same every day… and it's scary at night." His voice was dripping with tears, and when Gareki looked back, the boy was sniffling again, round eyes overflowing with tears.

That would be mistake number two- looking back at the face of a boy with abnormally large, please-pity-me eyes that shot straight into his conscience. Gareki swallowed thickly before silently cursing himself at being such a pushover.

"Are you okay with no fluffy beds to sleep on?" He said quietly. Nai blinked, looking confused.

"What?"

"Are you okay with no fluffy beds to sleep on?" Gareki repeated, his tone flat.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay with eating stolen fruit?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay with getting chased after by guards?"

"Yes!" This time, his answer was definite. As if to prove his point, the arms around his waist tightened its grip, almost crushing his rib cage. For a skinny kid, he was quite powerful.

"Okay." Gareki said, almost to himself. "Okay."

"I'm coming with you?" Nai said hopefully.

"I suppose, you brat." Gareki couldn't believe the words spewing out of his mouth. What was the merit in bringing a sheltered, mentally deranged kid with him? But when he looked at those pure, dark red eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say no.

Besides, he was nice.

A/N: Wow, I'm starting up a new fanfiction! This hasn't happened in a while, but I've suddenly been hit by how much I used to love writing, and now I can't stop.

If you're wondering, the quote above gives a brief foreshadowing of what the chapter is about. (It may also be because I find it pretty, but shh. Let's pretend the quotes have some sort of importance to them.)

What do you think so far? Should I continue? Or stop? Please give me your opinion by clicking on the handy-dandy button below!

Of course, you don't have to, but it sure brightens up my day. And who doesn't like making others happy?