Just in case some of you are sensitive, there are mentions of suicide. Because... well, that's actually based on something true. While I know it may be rude or harsh to talk or really write about it, it did happen a few days ago for me. I didn't know the kid, or at least I thought I didn't, until I saw his picture on Facebook because everyone was posting things about it on there. I just... it's... it's painful. I never... I never actually "lost" someone before. I've lost pets, likes cats and dogs, but somebody I know-it's...

I deal with my emotions through writing, so that's what I did here... For his sister to just find him like that, it's... I can't even fathom how that must have felt. If I had found MY brother in that sort of scenario I don't... I just... he didn't deserve that kind of end. A lot of people don't deserve such a fate. But it happens and I know it's life, but I hate it and it sucks and I just...

I know I'm being stupid, but I really wish the world could be a happier place. So... yeah. This first chapter is just straight up dark. I wrote it while I was still crying, so... yeah. I'm sorry for talking for so long. Here's the story. I'll try and update

Circus Freaks and Love Me Till The End soon. I apologize for taking so long on them (probably been months) but... it's been a really rough year. I've just.. stopped caring about everything. Agh. I'm an emotional mess in general. DX Schools pretty rough too, so... yeah.

Story is M because of death and blood and violence and yeah. Also because it may be sensitive to some-or at least the beginning.

SUMMARY: It had been a rough and depressing week. Between a kid suddenly killing himself and Irene herself getting in a car crash that potentially ended her life, she wasn't sure what to do or how to react. One minute she was in the car kneeling over her mother's unconscious form as she bled out, calling an ambulance, and the next she was in darkness, a searing pain on the left side of her face. When she awoke, she was somewhere underground in the mountains.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of her situation. Suddenly appearing in a time that was oddly reminiscent of Feudal Japan and even Ancient China, what was she supposed to believe or do? With talks of mystical "curses" and dragons, and war and death every time you turn a corner, it could almost be considered a nightmare. She didn't even understand how she ended up in her current situation anyway, but somehow through being badly injured and almost trapped underneath the very mountain she woke up in, she ended up befriending a masked man and his pet squirrel.

No apology is going to help, but... yeah. Sorry.

Gah, I need to toughen up. I'm sorry. I'll shut up now.

"Another necklace?" I asked, opening the envelope in surprise. I pulled out a small necklace, expecting to find brightly colored stones and rocks, but was rather startled when I saw that it was a plain silver pendant with what appeared to be a jade stone decorating it. "That's different." Mom nodded in agreement, but had to comment,

"It's always jewelry she's sending, though."

That much is true. Whenever Aunt Tabitha sent gifts it was always in the form of necklaces or something of the like. Earrings and bracelets for mom and Tiana, and necklaces for me and Melissa. Dennis I don't believe ever received anything. "It is pretty." I said, half-ignoring what she said as I tried to decipher whether it was exasperation or contempt. Most likely the former, but I couldn't be sure. "I think its... jade, or something." I reached the necklace clips and fumbled to get it around my neck, nearly dropping it as my hands shook. After a minute or two I managed to get it to clip and grinned, pulling on it and making sure the pendant rested on my chest, just below my collarbone. It was just as short as I liked it, surprisingly.

I quickly put the letter that came with the gift back in the envelope it originated from, and quickly piled up all my drawings that I had littered on the floor as I had been scanning them onto my laptop earlier. I paused the song I had playing, Six Trillion Years and Overnight Story, closed my laptop, and stood. I flinched as my legs popped and yawned, stretching and automatically slumping over as my body grew tired. I put my pictures in another neat pile, sorting them and organizing my piles of drawings depending on which fandom they were of. Fandoms such as Ouran High School Host Club, Fairy Tail, Kamigami no Asobi, Vampire Knight, Undertale, and Kingdom Hearts. There were a few others, but I'm not going to mention them.

Making sure everything was perfect, protective over my pictures and wanting to make sure they would be unharmed, I passed by my desk-pausing briefly to look at my flute sheet music for Undyne's theme Spear of Justice and what little notes I had written out for His Theme. My oboe sat in the corner, along with a music book for beginner Oboe players. My flute was in my locker at school-an instrument I've been playing for six years. I wanted to learn Alto Sax, like my brother Dennis, or even trumpet like Melissa, my second eldest sister, but we didn't have the money and Dennis needed his sax to be fixed before he could ever even attempt to teach me.

My chest hurt a little at the thought of my siblings, as it had only been Christmas since I last saw any of them and it was now August. I missed being the little sibling, constantly being teased and made fun of, or just goofing off with Tiana and Dennis and arguing with Melissa about what might happen in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts game. Sometimes I'm convinced that she still hates me, but others times I remember that she's happier and more bubbly now compared to what she used to be, and I feel a bit better. She's even been nicer to me these past two years, after completely despising my very existence for ten years.

I scratched my head, ruffling my bangs and messing up what hair I had, and tugged on my jackets as I shivered a little. I never could handle the cold... Two jackets and I'm still freezing. Three, I'm a bit warmer, but I can hardly move. Two jackets and a long sleeve and I'm perfect.

I was wearing a short sleeves today though.

"Hey, Mom!" I called out as I walked into the livingroom, making sure I had my watch and Fairy Tail wristband on my wrists, "When are we heading out to the high school?" I had another basketball game and the Band was going to be playing again. She looked up from the thing she was crocheting, informing,

"In just a few minutes. Why?" I shrugged.

"Just curious..." I wonder if I should try to play Jack's Lament on the oboe again... I was able to get a pretty good sound out of it, the teacher saying I was a natural, but it hurt my cheekbones after a while and my lips didn't want to stay curled over my teeth as I tried to blow into the reed. Instead I plopped down, looking up at the TV and seeing Grey's Anatomy playing. Leaning back I closed my eyes, yawning.

I reached up with a hand and fiddled with the necklace, wondering how things were going to turn out at the game today since a student committed suicide yesterday. The game was going to happen that day, but because of the recent event it got rescheduled. The kid had a lot of potential too-he was going to have a bright future. Straight A student, so I heard. Someone said his parents were strict, and it didn't help that he was being bullied by his ex and a guy that I know-who happens to be a total jerk by the way. I had him in my Art Class, and he and his friend bullied this one senior that sat at our table. I was the only one nice to the senior, getting on the two boys when they kept taking his things (I being a freshman then). One day when I was walking to my lunch table with my tray (back when I had free lunch and Mom hadn't received her pay raise) I noticed he was sitting by himself eating at a completely desolate table.

I walked up, and with my brilliant people skills I asked why he was being so "anti-social". He said he had no friends, so I awkwardly forced him to sit with me and my friends.

I told my Dad about this (he and mom were divorced, by the way) and he laughed, saying that "all you kids are like that. You have to make everybody happy". It wasn't wrong, as I hated seeing people sad. Me and the senior became friends after that, but he graduated last year and I haven't heard from him since. I think I was his only friend...

I hope he's doing okay.

Random thoughts, but okay. Hm... It was how I befriended Lilly, too. Well, actually, it was more like I saw her sitting by her lonesome the first few days of gym and I approached her, plopping down and asking if she liked anime as if it were some kind of bad pick-up line. She looked startled, by which she claimed she didn't expect anyone to talk to her, and we got to know each after that. Turned out she did and we became best buddies-though we haven't been speaking all that much because of the different class schedules and little time to respond by email. She was really shy, quiet, and soft-spoken compared to my loud, rambunctious, and quite obnoxious self.

Which was actually rather funny, seeming as I hate making people mad and being loud is a sure-fire way to do that.

"You putting your shoes on yet?" I jumped, startled. Mother had snapped me out of my thoughts. I nodded, wide awake, and stumbled as I stood, tripping over thin air as I fumbled to get to my sneakers. I put them on, double knotting them, and made sure I had my phone, cough drops, and inhaler. "I'm going to finish my coffee and I'll be there in the car. Okay, babe?"

I nodded, opening the door, "Got it." After about five minutes we left, and I was left telling mother all of the bad and corny jokes I found on the internet.

Like, How do you light up a soccer stadium? With a soccer match! and Why couldn't Dracula's wife get any sleep? Because of all his coffin!

I thought they were pretty clever at least. We arrived soon at the school, mother pulling up to the band door, and she asked what time I needed to be picked up. "Probably around nine or nine thirty," I said, "it's a basketball game, so..." She nodded.

"Alright. Love you, babe." I quickly leaned and gave her a hug, grinning.

"Love you, too, Mom." I headed into the building not long after, watching her pull away, and got my instrument case and EKO music and set them down on my chair, before quickly heading to my usual spot by the doors between the water fountain and the trashcan, waiting for it to hit six thirty.

The game was uneventful, except for when the teachers gave the speech about the kid who died. A lot of people cried. I found myself tearing up, but I knew that because I couldn't put a face with the name it wasn't affecting me as much as it would or should. Once half time hit all the band members left to go to the concession stands-except me. I just sat by the trash can next to the fire extinguisher with my knees pulled up to my chest and face buried in my arms, careful not to hurt my glasses.

Dorthy, a girl who would usually come and join me in my "moping" was gone today, so she didn't pop up. Chris and Eliza were completely ignoring me again, as usual (some best friends, huh? Then again, they are a couple so it's understandable. They don't really like me being around when they're together) and I saw Andrew (Flute Andrew, not my best friend for eight years Andrew) holding his piccolo (yes, he plays that too) and speaking to Casey, a clarinet player and Dorthy's brother.

Those two were nothing alike, simple as that. I was shell shocked when I learned they were related.

I let out a long sigh, wondering what the deceased junior had done to deserve such a horrible end. Probably nothing, as it's always like that with life, and rumor has it that his fifteen-year-old sister found him with brain blown out by a shotgun. She's never going to unseen that. She'll probably have nightmares her entire life about it. There's just no possible way one could cope after seeing such a horrific sight.

I reached a hand up and grabbed a handful of my hair, pulling on it as my lips curled back. My eyes stung and my chest hurt, thinking about how the two must feel-how he must have felt to be pressured into pulling that trigger, and how she must have felt when she found her brother.

If I lost any of my siblings... If I found any of them like that... Oh god...

Half time soon ended and I walked, hands shoved in my jacket pockets with my head held low, bangs covering my left eye completely and a falling over to the right side of my head. I did my best to fight against the tears, but it became especially difficult when I saw his face.

I was peeking over Casey's shoulder to see what he was doing on his phone, when I saw the face and name. I went still, face morphing into that of shock and disbelieving horror.

I knew that kid. Sure, I didn't talk to him much, but I know I had multiple classes with him last year when I was a freshman and him a sophomore. I think I spoke to him once or twice, too, and I know I walked by him multiple times in the hallway. When I was heading towards the buses earlier, I saw his locker covered in sticky notes that had things like "We love you" and "We miss you" written on them. I hadn't recognized the name, but I know the face. I know him. And he... he...

Oh my god.

I just stared at the picture, unable to believe what I was seeing, unable to believe that he was gone.

"You alright?" Casey asked suddenly, noticing I was staring at the picture. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I scooted away to sit against the gates against the bleaches we were all sitting in, just staring into space.

That guy... he was dead. His fifteen-year-old sister had found him with his brains blown out... H-How...? I propped an elbow up on my thigh, leaning over with a hand clamped over my mouth, unable to stop the tears flowing down my face. It hurt to breathe.

Lucinda, also a clarinet player, came down to sit next to me seeing I was crying, but I didn't really pay all that attention. I was too busy trying to snap out of my shock. I stiffened when an arm wrapped around my shoulder and I turned my head to see Chris, the brunette asking what was wrong. Lucinda had moved back, realizing I wasn't going to talk to her.

"I-I can't..." I seriously didn't think I knew the guy. But I did and I just can't wrap my head around it and... oh my god. If this is how I feel and I don't even really know the guy, how does his friends and family feel? Like their hearts' are being torn to shreds? Crushed? Mutilated and suffocated, hands pressing against the beating organ unrelentingly? Cold? Numb...? An unbearable pain in their chests?

The thought just caused me to cry more, my eyes feeling as though they were on fire.

"I knew him. I-I mean, I didn't know him but I knew him and... I-I didn't..." I remember seeing him talking and laughing with his friends in the middle of the hallway and/or in class before. What did that kid go through...? I-I can't-I don't even want to think about it and yet I can't stop. It just hurts so bad, but even so... this is probably nothing compared to what he went experienced. I took a deep breath, pulling away from Chris and wiping at my eyes. I quickly pulled my glasses off with a huge sniff, trying to clear my nose as I cleaned my glasses with my jacket sleeve. "I'm fine."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, knowing I was lying.

"I'm fine, Chris. Go back to Eliza. I just... I'm just being emotional again." He frowned, remembering a talk we had during the last game.

I had been blubbering about a character's past in a manga I was reading and my dad got on me for being "too emotional" giving me this lecture about how if I didn't get a good grip on my emotions I was going to just become useless to everyone in the future. How I wouldn't be able to help anyone if I couldn't help myself.

And the worst part is is that it's true. Difference is, I can't become useless if I already am useless. I can't help anyone-I always just get in the way. I cause problems. I'm a bother. I know this.

It's just excruciatingly painful when someone you love and care about points it out to you. I know he meant well, but it really stung and... well... I ended up crying in the bathroom for a few hours after Dad went to bed and moped for a few days. I didn't feel angry at him, but more... apathetic then anything, yet still hurting. Did that make any sense? It just hurt... while at the same time I felt nothing.

Kind of like how I beginning to feel now. Heartbroken, but numb.

Nana always said I was way too tender-hearted... to the point where it wasn't even funny anymore. My sister, Tiana, told me that every time I cried when she was around I'd have to give her a dollar. I want to see them... I was scared now. I was worried. I missed them even more so and could feel panic rushing through. Unfortunately I left my phone in the band room so I couldn't text them or ask how they were doing at the moment. Tiana should still be at work, or at the very least getting home soon, and Melissa and Dennis are probably sleeping. Damn it... you guys better be doing okay. Y-You better... be... My eyes welled up with even more tears. It felt like my eyes were on fire.

We soon had to stand and play our schools fight song, of which I could only get out a few notes as I choked back a sob, and once the teams had walked out I grabbed my stand, music, and instrument and headed up the stairs as fast yet as calmly as I could as we all headed back to the music department. I put my things away, threw on my green and black plaid jacket that Melissa gave me, threw the hood on, and then put on my much bigger green jacket that Dennis gave me. I took the hood off and pulled out my phone, waiting impatiently for it to turn on the rest of the way.

I texted them all, then mother as I told her I was ready to be picked up. My foot tapped against the ground rapidly and I wiped at my face with my green sleeve, wishing one of them would hurry and answer.

It was Tiana. A bit of a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I relaxed just slightly, asking how work was and if Dennis and Melissa were doing okay. According to her Melissa was doing just fine, but Tiana herself had to keep reminding herself that there was no Netflix in prison because of her coworkers. She knew nothing of Dennis. I choked on a laugh when she mentioned how Tom still hadn't brought her flowers, as flowers meant death to him, and we both started to complain to each other about it being cold and rainy.

Mom soon texted me, saying she was pulling up to the school, and I quickly made my way outside, feeling a bit lighter. I went outside and instantly sneezed, teeth chattering as I rubbed my arms. I quickly texted Tiana and told her that I loved her and had to go, and she replied with the same. I told her I'd see her whenever and she said she'd try to visit sometime soon. The thought made me happy and temporarily distracted me from the darkness that had taken hold earlier.

Waiting for mother's car to show up I fumbled with the necklace, rubbing the back of it with my thumb and pausing when I felt some indents. Squinting I pulled out my phone and turned it on, flashing the light onto the silver and reading what it said. "When darkness befalls the land... the... the true... oh! When darkness befalls the land the true bearer of this necklace, the consultant from earth, shall transcend through time to find the rightful king." It had a "history" made up for it... nice. I loved stories. "Only in history will this tale be told, but only by death can it unfold..." My heart ached a little as I remembered everything from a few moments ago and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I really didn't want to cry again. Talk about a dark day...

I shivered, teeth still chattering. My fingers were beginning to go numb, my ears and face turning red from the cold.

I looked for more writing, but everything was chicken scratch. "Alright, then... okay-hey, wait, is that a dragon?" In the little jade gem, there was an image of a Wyvern Dragon. It... actually didn't look that jade, now that I think about it. It seemed more like a turquoise... an aqua blue. "It's beautiful..." Huh. Aunt Tabitha outdid herself this time. Granted it said she bought it instead of making this one, but still. She shouldn't have. I felt bad for her wasting her money on me, but I was little happy because of it being such a pretty necklace.

A horn honking caught my attention and I looked up, startled to see mother waving at me. I grinned and ran forward, quickly getting in the car.

It began to rain five minutes into the drive. I began to talk about the game, instantly bursting into tears when I got to the part about the teachers talking about the deceased student, and she said that it was worse when it was someone you know-whether you actually knew them or not. Knowing the face makes it so much harder to accept, especially if you'd spoken to them at some point in time-even if it was only once. She handed me a couple tissues with one hand, getting on me and saying that she handed me the tissues to wipe my face-I having been using my sleeves. I quickly blew my nose, apologizing, before laughing slightly. I turned my head to look at the road, only to freeze when I looked into the side view mirror.

"Mom-Mom! Look out!" She looked confused before she glanced into the rearview mirror, eyes growing wide. She made to hit the gas pedal, but wasn't fast enough before we were suddenly slammed into from behind, the car spinning on the road and being thrown against the railing-flipping before landing on all fours and crashing into a tree. I wasn't too sure what all happened during that. It seemed in slow motion yet all too fast at the same time. All I know is that when my buckle came loose and I saw the glass break, I grabbed onto the steering wheel, holding on for dear life and trying to throw myself in front of mom in fear that she would die, too.

Next thing I knew the car stopped and I tasted iron, blood bubbling up my throat like acid. I coughed, spitting it out, and tried to move to make sure mom was okay-having fallen into her lap upon landing. The airbag protected her much better than I had, but I did keep her stomach from getting impaled.

Of course, that just meant I was the one who got stabbed by shattered glass instead. "M... Mommy?" I forced out, finding the action of speaking almost too difficult. Breathing had never felt so painful before in my life, for everything time I breathed my stomach moved and pressed against the glass in my side. "Mom?" My vision was blurry, my eyes burned and stung with tears and blood from a head wound. I hit the airbag, trying to get it to deflate, and after a few minutes it did so. I painfully raised an arm, inhaling sharply as I tried to sit up, and pressed a hand against her neck to feel for a pulse.

She was alive. Unconscious, but alive. I began to laugh, but ended up choking on my own blood soon enough as I cried tears of relief and fear.

I think I was going to die.

"M-Mommy... Mom, mother-come on, wake up." A thought hit me. "Wh-Where's your phone?" I fumbled for it, getting dizzier and weaker by the second. Finally finding it in her sweater pocket I pulled it out and struggled as I tried to remember her pass-code. My mind was mess. Luckily my fingers seemed to remember the pattern and I quickly went to contacts, dialing 9-1-1.

For a horrified second I thought no one was going to pick up. Dark spots danced in my vision, along with a strange blue-green light. "Hello? This is 9-1-1, what's the emergency?"

"C-Crash..." I choked, before hacking up more blood. The glass I had in me just dug deeper and deeper, but I was too terrified to try and pull it out in case I made it worse or bled out faster. "S-Somewhere near S-South... D-Dearborn... High School. I-I don't know how long I-Mom is-she's unconscious and-and I-" My eyes went wide and I toppled over, the phone dropping out of my hand and falling to the floorboard.

"Hello? Hey, can you hear me? I'm sending an ambulance out right now-stay with me! What's your name? Can you tell me that? Are you okay? Hello? Are you still there?"

My... my name... is... "I-Irene." I whimpered, clinging onto mother's lap. I couldn't stop crying. I wanted to scream, but I felt as though I lacked the strength. "H-Help..." I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

This is all my fault. If I had been paying more attention to the road than being upset, then we might have been able to avoid this. I... "Help is on the way, Irene. Just stay awake, alright?" I-I can't... It hurts. It hurts so much. I'm so dizzy. I can't... think... Dennis... Daddy... Tiana, Melissa... Andrew, Chris, and Eliza... everybody...

"T-Tell... tell my family... I... love them and that... I... I'm so sorry."

"Irene? Hey, Irene! Irene, stay with me!" I tried to keep my eyes open, but they forced themselves closed against my will. My ragged breathing slowed down and I whimpered, just clinging onto mother as tight as I could before I lost all feeling and went limp, everything just going black.

It was a funny feeling, death... It certainly wasn't something I wanted to experience. I saw no bright light or dark raging pit of doom. I just saw black...

It was a bit like I was floating, but still walking at the same time. I wasn't sure what or where to. I was just walking and walking... before I found a burning pain form on the what could be considered the entirety of the left side of my face, covered by my bangs. I would have screamed if I could, but I didn't think I had an actual form. Was I just a soul, or a wandering spirit? A ghost with no voice?

"Through darkness you came, by light you will stay. It is your duty to serve our king and guide him, to help him along his path. This is your duty as the adviser."

Oddly... poetic, but at the same time rather dramatic and fantasy-like.

"You will love the Crimson Dragon King and stay by his side through all acts. As my embodiment, you shall guide him past the darkness and the light, and only through this shall you help him prosper. You will stay forever by his side as his most trusted friend and comrade. You are the symbol of his growth. You will be the healer of his pain, the user of words to take away the shadows that start to cover his heart. That is your duty!"

One more footstep and excruciatingly intense searing pain as though my entire body was on fire, the left of my face utterly boiling. Then I found darkness again-no voices, no sound, just completely silent black. When I woke up I felt like I had been ran over by a semi, multiple cold chills going down my spine as I realized how cold the ground I was laying on was. "A-Achoo!" I sneezed and flinched. I looked around groggily, groaning a little as my body ached in protest at the sudden movement. "Where... the heck am I?" A... cave?

I made to stand, only to yelp and fall back down. I flinched, then shrieked and rolled onto my back and sat up, holding my hand close to my chest protectively when I felt something nibble on my finger. I stared with wide eyes at the creature who attacked me.

It was the cutest, chubbiest little squirrel I had ever seen. It looked at me, giving a little squeak, and dashed towards me. I flinched, not sure what to expect from a squirrel, only to blink and open my eyes slowly when it started to nuzzle my ankle with its nose. I hesitantly reached down and ran two fingers across its head as gently as I could. I attempted to ignore the searing pain in my side and lower leg. "P'kyuu!"

"You..." I carefully picked it up, holding it close to my chest as I looked down at it with big eyes, a smile slowly spreading across my face. "You are the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

"P'kyuu!" Oh my god, it's so cute. It had the chubbiest cheeks, as if they were stuffed full of food, with a big ol' tummy and fluffy fur.

"Daw~!" Hey, wait... "Wasn't I... just in crash?" Or... was that a dream? Or am I currently dreaming?

I tried to stand again, but my aching body painfully reminded me this was reality. I flinched, careful to stay standing and not drop my new friend, and looked around fearfully. My eyes stung a little and I tried to remain calm, feeling my heart race and breathing start to go irregular. M-Mom... o-okay, I know I managed to call the ambulance, but she was unconscious. She might have gotten a concussion or something but I-

My blood ran cold. Holding the squirrel with one hand against my chest I reached down with my other and brushed it across my side, only to nearly collapse. Blood seeped through my jackets and I stumbled, feeling incredibly dizzy. The squirrel jumped out of my hands as I fell and I cried out, pain wracking my entire body. The squirrel moved over and tilted its head at me, before prodding my face with its nose as if to encourage me to get up. "It hurts..."

"P'kyuu!"

Suck it up, Irene. Deal with it. Other people have it worse than you. You're not important.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself onto my knees, holding a hand against my side, and stood shakily. The squirrel quickly jumped up onto my foot, climbing on my leg and up my torso until it was sitting on my left shoulder. I looked around the cavern I was in, trying to focus on the present and figure out how to get out of here-only to remember the strange voices I heard.

Wait, hold on... No. No, I'm sorry, this isn't Inuyasha. I'm not freaking Kagome. I'm not the Doctor either. There's no way I died and went back in time like that stupid pendant had written on it. "True Bearer"? What was this- a corny, badly written fanfiction? Jesus, this is not okay. Brain, stop talking and let me think straight! I-I can't-Oh god, Mom, please be okay.

I'm sorry, you guys. I think I really did die. Which meant this was either "heaven" or... maybe it's my version of the "underworld". Dark, but full of cute animals.

My chest throbbed, heart screaming at me as the needle dug deeper and deeper into it.

"I don't know which way to go," I choked, looking around. I have no idea where I am. The squirrel nuzzled my neck, giving me a little comfort, and I did my best not to cringe and scrunch up my shoulders at how much it tickled. I hesitantly took a step forward, limping, but the second I did so a hand grabbed me from behind. I shrieked, frightened, and tried to pull away from the stranger grabbing me. His eyes were cold and dark and he was... wearing a kimono?

Wh-What?

"Let go of me!" The guy pulled on my arm, and keeping a firm hold of the torch in his other hand he pushed me forward, dragging me to to set of stairs quite a few feet away. My right left leg screamed in agony. "H-Hey!" I thrashed, but moving so violently caused my head to throb and my vision to spin, everything going blurry as I grew dizzy. I almost collapsed. The guy kept dragging me along, but after a minutes of endless struggle he let go, kicking away at something. My eyes went wide and I quickly cried out, "No!" When I saw the squirrel go flying through the air. "You jerk!" I felt like punching him or kicking him, but knowing it wouldn't work or even hurt made me not do that and instead I ran over to the little squirrel who had fallen. "Theodore! Hey, hey, Theo-come on, you're okay, right?" Hearing footsteps I quickly scooped the squirrel up in my hands and made a break for it, running as fast as I could while limping.

My heart was racing loudly. I was terrified.

"H-Have to... hide-" I gasped, lungs burning in my chest. I whirled around, quickly making my way through another hallway, and made a sharp turn-only to slam right into someone. I stumbled back and fell, almost dropping the squirrel. I could feel the blood soaking into my jacket trail down my skin, dripping onto the floor. "Wh-Who...?"

Blue Dragon. I wasn't sure why, but the title popped up in my head.

The man in the mask just stared at me, his lips tilting downwards at the sight of the injured squirrel I was holding. I stiffened when I heard footsteps and tried to stand, still keeping a hold on Theodore to make sure he, or she, was safe. I swayed, world spinning as I got up, and attempted to catch myself. Thankfully the stranger caught me, but I quickly pulled myself away and ran behind him, deeming him as an ally rather than a foe as he didn't try to attack me like the other guy did. It also helped that I felt no bad vibes coming off of him-even if the sword on his back was a little intimidating. He slowly turned his head, probably looking at me from behind his mask, and saw him staring at the squirrel again.

"A... A guy-A guy kicked him, " I tried to explain, wheezing. The male turned his head away, looking forward, standing there silently as the man who grabbed me walked in. His eyes stared cold at me and I flinched, standing close to the tall man in front of me. The fur he had attached to his mask fell down to his waist, slightly tickling my face. The warmth radiating from it and him happened to be the kindest things I've encountered so far in this dark place, the man standing before us the cruelest. He hurt Theo. "That's... him..." I watched in confusion as the attacker stared frightfully at the man in front of me.

"B-Blue... Dragon..." He stammered, voice going rather high in pitch as he took a step back. "Y-You..." The masked man just stared at the attacker, not saying anything. "Don't kill me!" He screamed and quickly ran away. So he really is called "blue dragon"? Huh... I'm either going psychic or I'm just in a really messed up dream.

I blinked, utterly lost. "Okay... That's..." I made a face, extremely lightheaded. I knew if I took another step I might pass out. "That's not... what I was expecting." I shook my head, only to flinch as the world spun. Okay, bad idea. Not doing that again. I took another breath, before looking down at the squirrel in my hands. It was still breathing. "You... You okay there, little guy?"

The masked man turned around to look at me, and then at the squirrel. He reached a hand out and gently pressed a finger against the little guy's tummy. The squirrel promptly rolled onto its side and began to nibble on the male's finger. I snorted. Too cute. Very funny. "Ao..." I looked up in surprise at the masked man, then at the squirrel again.

"That's his name?" The man nodded slowly, before carefully taking the squirrel from me. I let him, figuring that the squirrel belonged to him. "Better than what I've been calling him. I called him "Theodore"."

He stared and I wondered what his face looked like. His voice surprised me, as I didn't expect him to be so soft spoken. He kinda reminded me of Senri Shiki from Vampire Knight, with his quiet demeanor and slow, soft manner of speaking.

"N-No response, huh? Th-That's cool. Um..." I swallowed awkwardly, not used to dealing with people whose expressions I could not see, "W-Where am I?"

"..."

"I-I don't... I was-I don't know how I got here and I don't know where I am a-and..." No, don't cry. Don't you dare cry. "I-I just..."

"We're... in the mountains belonging to the Fire Tribe..."

"Mountains?" I looked up at him alarm. "What!? N-No, that can't be right." Mom and I were nowhere near any mountains and-fire tribe? What is this, Avatar: the Last Airbender? Is Zuko going to pop up sometime soon? I-I can't... I don't understand. "H-How... I was..." I was hyperventilating. I-I can't-H-How!? "I-I wasn't... we weren't anywhere near..." I choked, eyes burning. I took a step back, darkness temporarily obscuring my vision as I was sent falling.

I couldn't breathe.

I barely even registered that the stranger had caught me again. He retracted his hand in surprise when he saw it was coated in blood.

I wasn't able to speak. I just found myself fading into darkness once more, a terrifying reminder that I had died once before-if only a few minutes ago. My eyes closed and the last thing I remembered was being picked up.

Well, here's the first chapter. Dark, slightly cliche, but hey-aren't all my stories? (Tries for a grin) I love you guys. Ya'll are amazin' for sticking with me over these-what? Five years of writing? I dunno, what's sixteen minus twelve? Haha. Four? There will be a couple parts to this story.

This will be kinda like "Book One' or whatever and will end where anime did, and then "Book Two" will start around where it left off during the manga. That will end... somewhere before the Water Tribe Arc, I guess. Then I'll wait for the manga to keep going and go from there. I got an Undertale fic on my deviant featuring Irene and Andrew that Jake kinda suggested I write, and I got ten chapters of that so far. Eleven just doesn't want to come out right, so I've been procrastinating on that. I just... I dunno. I'm sorry for taking so long to update everything. I know some of you are mad at me, some of you might even hate me, I know it gets when a good story doesn't get an update in months. XD

I try not to be that person but it just sorta happens. Well, adios. Read and Review! Hasta Manana (Don't know how to do the little squiggly line about the letters), or quite possibly Hasta Luego.