CODE:BEGINNING

"Before Eden and December 32nd, even before the rise of the 4 Founders, there was the Kingdom, and all power users in Japan fell under its rule…"

When an ancient terror threatens to rise in modern day Japan, the Code:Breakers must learn the truths Eden obscured. Yet the tale of their predecessors is not enough - especially when they realize that Pandora's Box may not be completely closed after all...

Rated M for language, violence, graphic imagery and potential suggestive themes. Sa/Og, Ru/Ko, Yu/He, OC/OC, among others that are as of right now...a surprise. Disclaimer: I do not own Code:Breaker.

Chapter 1- Coming Home:

In which the stage is set.

2018

It had been six long years, but Kouji was finally ready to return home. His quest to bring back the power users expelled during the war against Eden was at an end, and more than fulfilled - those he had sought brought back friends and family of their own, and powers and practices that would fortify their future. With them in place, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to follow in Prime Minister Fujiwara's footsteps.

Kouji scanned the coastline of northern Scotland with clouded eyes, seeing more clearly into the past than the present. He had sent along the new power users ahead of him, after conferring with Heike and Yukihina who were settling some unfinished business of their own. Although they would not be personally in Japan to welcome the newcomers, they assured him Sakurako, Zed, and Shibuya would be.

He smiled grimly to himself as high winds buffeted his body. With his mission completed, there was nothing to keep him from returning to Japan, and checking in on the four remaining Code:Breakers. He was looking forward to measuring the progress Yuuki, Toki, and Rei had made, and the thought of seeing Rui again-

The world around him went utterly still, and Kouji felt the loss of wind against his body like most would notice the lack of air in their lungs. He was enveloped by a sense of immense emptiness, and when he attempted to shape air between his fingers he could not. His forearms trembled from the exertion, yet his power was locked away as cleanly as if he were undergoing one of Shibuya's tests - yet there was no rare kind here, and the sensation was too overwhelming to be human…

With a cry, Kouji shot out his arms, propelling wind along his arms in a tight spiral. The force generated was sudden and strong, and finally enough to break through the incursion. As he did so the suffocating sensation ended, as suddenly as if it had never existed. When the wind was his to command again, Kouji took a deep breath and focused on the surrounding area, looking for any anomalies, even to the slightest inhale.

There was nothing. He was alone on the cliff, and he was not surprised. Dread settled over his body, and with it, remembrance. It had been over a century, but he had experienced this sensation before, when he had faced inexplicable terrors- demons and dragons chief among them. He had not forgotten the primal fear of facing them; fundamentally different as they were from mortal men. Yet they had been exterminated during the years following the Great War, and the few that had survived the initial purge were undone by the modernization of the world.

...all save one: the only one powerful enough to withstand even the strongest power users' attempts at subduing it. Yet Asura slept throughout eternity, bound by the sacrifice of the warriors who had been mad enough to fight it. Kouji shook his flyaway hair from his eyes. This was not the time to fear the impossible. If the dragon had woken, he would know. Everyone would know.

What, then, could rob his lungs of air, and quicken the blood in his veins?

Kouji did not know. He sure as hell was going to find out, however.

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Halfway around the world, Sakurakouji Sakura frowned, deep in thought. In both hands lay an avocado, and she squeezed with the care of a surgeon. Which was more ripe? Judging by color alone was not good enough, as she had learned. She deliberated with great care, finally deciding on the one in her left hand when she was jostled into from behind.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there-"

In her surprise, Sakura clenched her fingers into fists, inadvertently crushing the fruit down to the seed. Green pulp dripped from her fingers, and passersby stared in wonder. Both avocados had been bright green, and nowhere near ripe. How could such a delicate young lady possess such strength in her grip?

Annoyed, Sakura plastered on a polite smile as she faced the woman who had ended all plans of eel and avocado sushi tonight. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was. "Prince-dono?!"

Hachiouji Rui smirked. "The one and only. My, but what a surprise seeing you here, Sakura!" She glanced to the side, a hand placed theatrically over her heart. "It must be fate. Oh! And it looks as if I've wrecked your shopping trip - well, I really must make it up to you. Let's go get lunch, shall we?" She leaned in close, finishing in an undertone, "Not even Rei can begrudge us that much. Especially as we met totally by accident." She winked and straightened, long strands of hair slipping over her shoulder. "Well, what do you say?"

Although the mention of Ogami made her heart clench in her chest, Sakura nodded firmly, dropping her shopping basket and flicking the avocado from her fingers. She would just have to come back later to buy Puppy's food. Ignoring the incredulous stares from the other shoppers, they made their way to the exit.

...

Twenty minutes and one vigorous handwashing later, the ladies found themselves deep in conversation as they awaited the arrival of their meals. There was plenty to discuss, and even more to only vaguely hint at - since Sakura's "exile" from the power user's world six years ago, they had only managed to meet up a few times, always under some flimsy excuse. Rui kept the conversation from heading anywhere confidential, choosing to discuss their mutual friends instead.

"Toki's doing well, although I'm sure that's not a surprise. He's gotten a bit lazy- between Nenene and a new girlfriend every week he's let his training go. But we'll kick him into shape when he gets back. Oh! And Nenene is doing well, also. Have you heard from her since she began studying in the United States?"

Sakura smiled fondly as she nodded. Fujiwara Nenene was one of the few people from her past she was allowed - even encouraged - to communicate with. Her powers would never return, and as such it was deemed acceptable for even the rare kind exile to keep in contact with her. The rest were supposed to be barred from her, but they had all found their own ways around that - Toki would send her playful texts and pictures, always from a different number; Rui would bump into her in grocery stores hours away from her district; Heike would mail her expensive teas and questionable literature; Yuuki would simply show up on her doorstep, announcing that he was hopelessly lost, and could he possibly stay the night…?

Only Ogami had not made contact with her in the six years they had been separated. Yet even he had kept a close watch over her - her belief in him and her frighteningly accurate sense of smell had assured her of that.

Rui stirred her tea, wondering if she could get away with pouring a generous amount of whiskey into it. Everything tasted better with whiskey. "Toki will be glad to hear that. Now let me see...Yuuki's just as rambunctious as ever, and just as irresponsible. He disappeared for a whole week a few months ago, and would only come back when Rei threatened to burn his favorite Nyanmaru doll." Rui ignored Sakura's shifty glance. So that was where he had gone. "Hmm...Heike and Yukihina are in the States at the moment, and hopefully won't destroy anything irreplaceable when they spar. Who else...ah! Aoba-chan and Uesugi-kun are currently stationed in Africa, and have apparently become quite adept at uh, taking care of each other."

Sakura took a long drink of tea to hide her smile. Rui tried so hard to be blase and unaffected, yet her face was still tinged with a blush. They had all grown up so much over their time apart, yet Rui still tended towards bashful. "That is good to hear. Uesugi-kun will keep Aoba's head firmly on her shoulders, I think." She gave a small smile to their server, who had just approached with their meal. "Thank you. How about yourself, Prince? I see you've grown your hair long…"

Rui's answering smile was small yet genuine. "I...yes, I have. I'm doing well. Busy, certainly. Those boys all need protection, after all!"

Sakura's eyes flicked between Rui's eyes to her hair. "And are you still waiting?" For Kouji, was the unvoiced continuation. Sakura knew Rui had asked him if she could, a long time ago. Yet he had not given her a proper answer, and his ambiguity had allowed her only to hope. Once, Sakura would have found such a response unfair. Now she yearned for even that little.

Rui's color deepened, and she ducked her head, attempting to hide her expression behind her hair. When her response finally came, it was in a subdued voice. "Yes."

Sakura didn't respond. She stretched her hands out across the table, confidently taking Rui's within her own. Even so, she prepared herself to be headbutted. When Rui did nothing but squeeze her fingers gently, Sakura decided to take the pressure off of her friend with some news of her own.

"Speaking of waiting, I finally heard back from the graduate law program at the University of Tokyo - I will officially be a student next semester. My essay on the corruption inherent in political systems went over surprisingly well.." Sakura smiled brightly, hoping the change in topic would dislodge her friend from her sorrow. "Just you wait, Prince-dono! In just a few more years, I'll be a lawyer, and you better believe I'll change the world. The Code:Breakers won't be half-citizens any longer - they'll soon be full-fledged members of society!" She winked sassily at her friend, a new addition to the standard Sakurakouji repertoire. Rui couldn't help but smile fondly. Sakura had proven her mettle over the last few years, never complaining, never faltering in the face of Ogami's decision. She had also never forgotten her friends, or their shared resolve to not only save the world - but to save them.

The girls dined for over an hour, eating as slowly as possible, and talking as much as they could. It could be months or even years before they came together again, and each wanted to make the most of each other's company. There was one topic that neither touched upon, however. Rui would not bring up Rei unless Sakura asked, and that was something she had not done for the entirety of their separation. Even Toki, with all his easy charm, couldn't get her to utter one syllable on the subject of the man she had loved and lost not once, but twice.

Did she know how carefully Rei watched her? How he devoted every moment of his spare time in making sure she was safe? Rui wanted both their happiness more than anything, but the way things stood she saw no way of making it happen. While she and the others could flout the rules - Yuuki the most brazenly, of course - Rei would never go back on his word, even if they could ensure her place in society. He had left her for many reasons, and it was the painful truth that their feelings for each other were simply not strong enough to gainsay them.

It appeared that some things, no matter how beautiful, were not meant to be.

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Even more than a good fuck or a hard fight, Toki wanted a cigarette. He had given up smoking after his father died, yet right now he would have given up his left lung for one measly cancer stick. He hadn't realized addiction could be this awful. Yet neither had he counted on being partnered with Yuuki for the last three months on a dead-end mission that resembled a wild fox hunt more and more each day.

"Come on, Fourth. I'm pretty sure she went this way."

Toki scowled at his partner, but the rambunctious redhead was already charging off down the alley. He wasn't moving too quickly that Toki couldn't catch him, however, and Toki decided his griping would have to wait. The cloaked figure they were currently chasing was the closest thing they'd had to a lead for over a week, and he was not losing it over a goddamn imaginary cigarette.

He took off after Yuuki. Yet by the time he finally hit his stride his partner had suddenly stopped, and he slammed painfully into him. "Ow! Son of a- why the fuck did you stop, Yuuki?"

"Because she did."

Swearing once more, Toki sidestepped his friend, who had shot up 12 centimeters the year he turned 17. When his view was no longer obstructed by Yuuki's surprisingly burly shoulder, he could see what he'd been talking about. Standing only a few yards away from them was the figure they had been chasing - yet their hood was still firmly fastened under their chin, hiding both identity and gender. Toki was just going to have to take Yuuki's word that she was female, and to work his magic.

He stepped forward with his palms open, hoping to nudge this encounter into the realm of calm and friendly chats. "Now, now. No need for all this running around, miss. We just have a few questions; no need to get violent-" Toki cut off abruptly as the figure pushed their hood back, revealing that it was, in fact, a woman. A woman who - save for the shoulder-length hair - looked startlingly like Toki's father.

Screw calm and friendly. Toki had to bite his tongue to keep from making things dangerous. "You- who are you?" He tried to take another step towards her, but Yuuki held him back.

"Keep calm, Fourth. Just because she looks like him doesn't mean she is him."

Toki took a deep breath, trying to identify with Yuuki's childlike logic. He then fixed the mysterious woman with a pointed look. "Well? Mind dropping a name, here?"

Her face hardened into an expression he had been intimately acquainted with since childhood. "My name would mean nothing to you, and is therefore unimportant. My message is what brings me here: you need to return to Japan. Both of you. Before the sleeping beast wakes, else Japan will be destroyed."

"Is that a threat?" Yuuki shed his absentminded demeanor, eyes suddenly sharp.

The woman shook her head. "No. It is a warning. It is far beyond my power to manipulate such a thing. All I can do is prepare those who can."

Her eyes slid to Toki, who said nothing but stared at her thoughtfully. "It would help if we could trust the deliverer of such news. Seeing as how you look too damn much like my dearly deceased father, I'm not sure how inclined I am to believe you." Toki shook off Yuuki's arm, and folded his own. "Forgive us for being cynical, but the old man was kind of a dick."

Her eyes narrowed in response. "Only the fact that you killed him forgives you - I have far more reason to hate the man than you know. Besides, do you think you are the only one alive who shares his blood? Foolish boy - your father lived for more than a century. Did you think you were his only family?" She shook her head sharply. "Enough of this. I have wasted enough time. Either heed my warning, or do not - and your own death be upon your heads." She thrust her arms outwards, causing the cloak to billow in their wake. From her hands issued forth a smoke that cut across their lungs and eyes. There was a harsh glitter that burned against the backs of their eyelids, rendering them momentarily immobile.

"If you seek to fight, approach the rare kind. He will know what must be done." Her parting instruction echoed in their ears, yet when they opened their eyes she was gone. Yuuki cupped his ears, straining for the slightest hint of her direction. Yet after a moment he straightened, and shook his head.

"Nothing. Sorry, Fourth."

Toki wasn't surprised. They had been chasing this woman down for three godforsaken months, and to be left with only this cryptic message? Worse yet, a message that led them to that shitty cat? He swallowed an aggravated sigh, and thought seriously about breaking down and smoking a whole fucking pack of cigarettes. It was the only thing that might make prolonged exposure to Shibuya bearable. "Thought so. C'mon, Yuuki. Let's pack it in. We gotta' catch a flight back to Japan tonight."

"So you believe her?"

Toki shrugged as he pulled his cell phone out of a deep coat pocket. "Not a hell of a lot of choice, is there? Besides, we can get out of this dump and eat some good food again. I swear these people only eat potatoes drenched in gravy."

Yuuki nodded. "And then we get to see Nisemaru!"

Toki sighed. "And then we get to see Nisemaru…"

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He is standing at the edge of an abyss, and leaping up from the darkness are spiral of flesh and fire. Behind him are the demons, or the souls of those he has killed. The weak are those for whom there is no difference. The strong are those who were innocent.

The air around him crackles with a frenetic energy, shot through with electric threads in shades of blue and green. The ground crumbles at his feet. He knows, dimly, that if he were to fall into the darkness below and impale himself on the coils that snake around him that all would be over. It is not a frightening prospect: he faces this very possibility every moment he is awake.

There is a wooden cross on his back, heavy yet deceptively small. It causes him to tilt forward, knees buckling under the weight. Sometimes he entertains bittersweet fantasies of toppling headfirst into the abyss. It would be so easy - to exhale, and let his knees fail him. He would fall slowly and silently, until the flames below rushed upwards towards him and all his sins; all the warring facets of his personality would be erased.

It is a pretty thought indeed, to dream of his own demise. Yet such weakness is easily overcome. It lasts as long as he does not think of her, and those moments are few and far between. If only he dreamt of her as well-

Rei startles awake, eyes snapping open in the darkness. The images of his dream faded quickly from his mind, leaving him only with the memory of smoke and flame, and the feeling that underneath it all had been a sound akin to the beating of mighty wings. Yet his first thoughts upon waking were, as always, of her.

Let every day be a struggle. Then they would always be connected.

He rolled over, careful not to bang his head on the bars below his bed. He had not completely reverted to his pre-Eden mindset; since moving out of Shibuya's mansion he slept on inch high pad below a western style bed. It was no longer for his perceived safety - it was simply harder to wake and wonder if he were still in the mansion, with her right next door, and if he tilted his head he could see the hole between their walls he never could bring himself to fix-

Enough.

Rei picked up his mobile, allowing himself to lie prone long enough to check his messages. He didn't expect any; he had unearthed and destroyed a ring of slavers just two days ago, and had nearly entered his lost form because of it. He assumed they would allow him at least one more day to rest. That would be ideal - he could spend a little time shadowing her. Maybe he could even determine whether or not she'd heard from the law school she had applied to.

Message from: Master of the Universe

Rei felt a headache coming on. First of all, that was the last time he let Shibuya anywhere near his phone. Changing his contact information was infantile and stupid, as he would immediately change it back to something unflattering. Secondly, the fact that his old teacher was contacting him at all was exhausting. They met occasionally, and trained slightly more so. Still, Rei simply was not in the mood. Especially if it cut into his Sakurakouji-watching time.

We have a rather large problem. Meeting tomorrow. Mansion, 5pm. Do not contact anyone.

And then, exactly as soon as Rei finished reading the first message-

And stop stalking my daughter, you pervert!

Rei ground his teeth. Large problem? It had better not be a hole in the roof Shibuya expected him to fix. And he wasn't stalking her, he was just observing, as was perfectly normal. Stupid Shibuya. Stupid middle-aged men who masqueraded as high school student council presidents; who wore stupid cat costumes that didn't even look like a frigging cat; who could still kick his ass five times out of ten and who had fathered the only thing that could possibly make Rei cave.

Rei rolled back over and shut his eyes firmly. He was not looking forward to tomorrow. He was looking forward to tomorrow at all.

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I realize avocado are maybe not the most Japanese ingredient I could have thought of for Sakura's sushi. Yet it is delicious so let's all eat it anyway.

Sakura and Rei not being meant for each other is the biggest lie I can currently tell. Seriously. Rui stop thinking that way.

To business: some things may not be canon, but I have done my best, working off the raws and rough translations of the last 5 chapters. (If interested, go to forums at mangafox. It will give you the general idea).

Upon reading the end of the series I was left with many questions. Who the hell is Kouji, and where was his backstory? How did Yukihina's lost form change from snow...to gender swap? Why on earth did they think exiling Sakura from all the Code:Breakers (and her rare kind father - who is the only source of rare kind serum) was a good idea? And just what was Heike's lost form? (I wanted to know the ENTIRE TIME).

So I thought about it. And this came out. This is a story about the past- even before December 32nd, and the rise of the 4 Founders. It's a story about Kouji, Shibuya, Fujiwara, Sakurako, Zed, and Code:Emperor, as well as a few characters I will make up (largely to kill off). In the end, it will also be a story about Sakura and Ogami, because I cannot help it.

It could be considered a bit O.O.C., especially in the language used in the past. It can be considered proper universe if you assume (as I have) that the main players 100+ years ago will undergo somewhat drastic changes as they age, to reflect not only their own experiences, but also the times.

I hope you enjoy it :)