Hey there all. I have finally gotten around to starting my fic for Ai no Kusabi, which has been stewing in my mind for some time so I thought I might as well get it out before I lose it. I have recently read volume 6 of the novel and I posted a fic called 'Angels' on my thoughts of the aftermath of what happen to Riki (to all you out there who have read it, you know what I am talking about.)

Story Summary- In the ruins of Dana Burn, a mongrel is pulled from the wreckage by an unknown Blondie and whisked off to the safety of the stars. He returns two years later, a changed man with no memory of his previous life. How will Iason and the rest of the Tanagura Elite react to this new Riki and the eccentric Blondie, Ion Cassis? It's a story of hope, redemption and discovering there is such thing as second chances.

Just to let you know this fic is purely fanmade. Ai no Kusabi does not belong to me.

Prologue.

Raoul Am surveyed the ruins of Dana Burn with a look of total dismay.

The once ancient ruins where now nothing but a pile of charred, black stone and steal. Its unstable structure once stood proud; now sat crumbled and wasted at his feet, nothing but an empty tomb as he kicked aside a piece of burning shrapnel from his path. The smoke had started to subside and he was able to see again as the thick layer of ash had stopped falling from the sky.

He had watched from his penthouse in Eos Tower with complete horror as Dana Burn went up in flames just on the outskirts of Midas. The thick walls of its orange and yellow flames reached up to the sky, covering it in clouds of black smoke. And, to add to his horror, he had received word that Iaosn Mink had been seen heading towards the ruins, no doubt knowing that this could be his final hour. Raoul wasn't a fool to know why his friend would grace such an unstable, undignified place.

Iason, you idiot. All for a stupid mongrel.

'Leave nothing untouched. Turn over every piece of stone if you have to.'

He directed his extraction team to scout the ruins with life radars and infer-red temperature sensors, searching for any sign of life amongst the charred rubble, no matter how small the chances were of finding anything. With his frustration and desperation clearly showing, Raoul ran a hand through his long blonde hair and went about checking his pet locator one more time, hoping that even a tiny flicker of the mongrel's whereabouts would be visible on the transparent screen. But just like before, it remained completely blank.

'Damn it to hell.' Raoul cursed. Of all the times he wished for the mongrel to be present, it had to be now.

Scouting a small patch of burnt area, one of Raoul's men swiftly climbed over a large piece of stone and down onto a patch of even ground. He walked ahead a few meters, swinging his sensor back and forth when he picked up a faint signal up ahead where sheets of concrete were piled up. As he got closer the signal got stronger and stronger, until a shrill beeping resonated throughout the entire ruins.

'I FOUND HIM!' He yelled out, capturing the attention of every crewmember member. They scrambled over-Raoul included- to where the young man stood and started removing the large pieces of concrete out of the way.

'Be careful.' Raoul instructed them and as the last sheet was disposed of and tossed to the side, Raoul's eyes widened. He may have prepared himself for the worst-case scenario, but; what he wasn't prepared for was the extent of Iason's injuries. Injuries that could have killed a lesser man. His life signs were weak and almost non-existed that it would disappear and reappear a few seconds later.

'He is hanging on by a thread, Mr Am. He could expire at any moment.' Raoul's chief medical physician said as he took in the Blondie's wounds. 'We need to get him into a medical pod and back to Eos immediately. Then maybe we can see if we can start cell regeneration. That is, hoping that his body hasn't too far gone.'

'He can be saved?'

'That's up to his Excellency's will. '

They lowered him into the medical pod and closed the lid, making sure that his vital signs were in check and steered the pod on the ship. With one last look back at the burnt ruins of Dana Burn, Raoul closed his eyes and walked up the ramp of his star cruiser as it lifted up into the sky.

…..

'Finally, there gone.' Pale blue eyes looked up to the sky at the retreating hover ship of Raoul Am as it rose higher and higher until it was out of sight, glancing around to make sure no one else was around. His long blonde hair swayed slightly in the breeze as the tall Blondie gracefully jumped down from the ramp of his own ship and walked among the now unoccupied ruins of Dana Burn. It was absolute chaos. So much carnage and debris it was hard to believe anyone surviving something like this.

'Are they gone Mr Ion?' The man turned around when he heard his name and spotted his small-black haired charge from the deck of his large ship, clutching a small doll to her chest. A handsome, older man with long midnight-black hair stood behind her as if on guard and put a hand on her shoulder. The Blondie smiled and waved over to his small entourage.

'The cost is clear, Maddy. Heath. You can come down now.' He signalled to the two mongrels above him and continued to scout his surroundings, his blue eyes looking around for something in particular. From above, the older man, Heath gently took Maddy's hand and led her down the ramp, where they begun to explore. Leaving the two to their devices, Ion sighed and went on his way through the ruins.

'Enlighten me again; Ion. Why is this one so important?' Heath asked as he came up behind Ion.

'For now, my reasons are my own I'm afraid.'

'Typical.' Heath sighed.

Ion ignored the chafed statement and continued on. He walked forward a couple of meters before he spotted the place where he had watched Raoul Am's team extract the Blondie Iason Mink from the rubble and walked a few meters past that, touching the rough fragments as he went, hoping to find a clue before he came to large pieces of stone and concrete piled on top of each other and stood in front of it.

'Ion.' He heard from behind him. 'Have you found something?'

'Maybe.' He said thoughtfully and pressed a button on his wrist pad. A transparent screen popped up and he placed his hand on the broken concrete wall. He waited for a moment, his calm, even breathing the only thing that could be heard before a slight beeping sound shot through the silence and a small dot popped up on his screen. Its signal small and weak but there all the same.

'I think I found him. Help me with this, Heath.' The dark mongrel nodded and walked over to where the Blondie was standing and started to remove the fallen stones. Unafraid to get his clothes dirty, Ion started to search through the burnt debris as well.

Ion Cassis may be a Blondie. One of Jupiter's creations. But he did not consider himself one of those Blondies. Blondies who liked to indulge themselves in the participation of pet auctions and soirées in Midas. Flaunting their status around and doing anything they please. No, he considered himself an eccentric, agreeable kind of guy and he knew those same Elites would faint if they ever saw what company he keeps. Yes, he did keep mongrels around him but he was no so prejudice against their race then the other Blondies and Elites. He was not bound to restrictions on Amoi or to that of Jupiter, herself. He was free to do as he pleased and the mongrels by his side were not his pets but simply his companions, his friends and he would protect them just like they would protect him.

Which was why they were on this little expedition. Ion removed the last of the stones and they came to a large slab of concrete that stood between them and their goal. Heath whipped some dirt from his brow and surveyed their work.

'Do you think he's really here? It's hard to believe anyone surviving this shit heap.' Heath asked the blonde beside him.

Ion ran a hand through his long hair. 'I'm positive. The signal is faint but it's here.'

Ion nodded to Heath and they clamped both hands on the slab and pushed hard. With Ion's and Heath's combined strength, the slab moved easily to the side. Once it was completely out of the way, Ion knelt down and glanced inside the manmade gave of stone and cement and spotted the tendrils of black hair sticking out through the dark.

'His alive?'

'Barely. Get the incubation pod.' He instructed to Heath. The dark-haired man nodded and ran back to the ship. Maddy watched from a distance, Not sure if she should advance she clutched the teddy more tightly to her chest, but her curiosity got the better of her.

'Is he alright, Mr Ion?' She asked.

'We'll see once I get him into the incubation pod. His injuries are extensive, both inwardly and outwardly. The slabs of concrete must have shielded him from most of the explosion.' Ion said, mostly to himself and reached down to gently touch the visible black strands. From what he could tell the young mongrel was very badly burned and he must have a few broken bones. He smiled slightly then reached out his hand to the small child.

'Come have a look. It's alright.' He whispered gently to the girl. She nodded; her dark locks bounced around her head and stepped forward to grip the larger man's hands. Her large, chocolate brown eyes looked innocently inside and spotted the man lying unconscious on the floor.

'His like me?' She said in wonder.

'Yes, he is. Just like you.'

Once Heath had returned with a large hovering medical pod, He helped Ion extract the broken, unconscious young man from the ruins and gently into the pod and just before closing the lid, Ion glanced down at the handsome mongrel with a look of care.

'It seems we have another to add to our flock.' Ion said.

'Indeed it does. Do you think he will remember any of this? ' Heath asked. 'From the injuries I can see, He has suffered major burns to most of his body. As well, major lacerations to his male organs and his pet ring has been removed. Do you think they will still be able to track him? He did belong to a Blondie.'

'Hard to say. His pet registration would probably remain, even though his pet ring was removed. As to his inguries, his mind and body has gone through much internal damage. We will just have to see when he wakes up. If he wakes up.' He bent down and whispered into the laying man's ear. 'I welcome you into my home…Riki the Dark.'

With that Ion closed the lid and Heath wheeled him inside the safe compound of his ship. The hover craft sprang to life and flew up into the sky, through the atmosphere and beyond the planet of Amoi.

To be continued…

Well there you go. Yes, I know that this may be a little different then the usual but I really thought about it and I want to see how this fic plays out. In truth I think it will be great so please send me your reviews and I just might continue with it.