/ the thing that should not be / .
brought to you by;
./ g o s a n g o k u /.
./ Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great Old One
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising /.
.
Chapter title: / i. through the rabbit hole /
. . Pairings: /
Chapter rating: / T /
. Extended summary: / . But in spite of the content landscape and leisurely atmosphere, one young boy was rushing home as fast as he could. He gasped for breath, throat aching as his heart pounded fretfully and his legs pumped fearfully and furiously, ignoring the strange looks others sent him and dismissing people's faux concern. "Isn't that the Jones boy...? What's he doing? He usually stops to eat before going home." "I often see his mother waiting for him around the market somewhere... I don't see her today. Do you think something happened...?" He felt his eyes sting as the wind whipped at his face, which was reddened from exertion. He didn't stop even though he was tired, though - he knew he had to get home. He could just... He immediately wished he hadn't. He bearly took in the details of his blood-soaked floor and splattered walls, the organs strewn out across the carpet... his mother's and father's hands intertwined loosely like some kind of taunting image. He felt bile rise up in his burning throat as his eyes stung. He staggered but prevented himself from falling over. He backed away shakily from the blood and from the twisted, unimaginable forms of his decapitated parents. He could hardly see. Everything was blur and it all swirled together until it made one colour - red. He screamed. He ran. He fell. Then, it all turned black. O-o-O-o-O
Special thanks to;
/ Norite-Kinen /
This chapter is for you! :)
O-o-O-o-OAmerica, twelve years ago...O-o-O-o-OIt was a beautiful day. There was not even a single cloud in the magnificent azure sky that stretched over the peaceful land for miles and miles. Sakura trees were drifting and dancing in the gentle breeze; cicadas were humming a happy tune; children's jubilant laughter could be heard in the distance; it was simply a wonderful day.
It started off as a pretty normal day. The city had a strange umber hue to it due to the low sun, and the sky was a similar orange colour with clouds seemingly drenched in a honey colour. Analogous to the warm colours, it was a fairly humid day, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. He was accustomed to warm climates, having lived in America for a good portion of his life. As such, he was at ease as he calmly walked to school, taking his stroll leisurely despite knowing he would be late. His adoptive father was in a high position anyway, so his teachers never really got too pissed at him for his disobedience. He pegged that on why he acted out so much. He didn't receive much attention from his adoptive father, so he seeked it out elsewhere. It worked, obviously. He was often kept behind due to misbehaviour, so the teachers definitely paid attention to him. He was on the baseball team and often played American football in his spare time, so he received lots of praise or competitive declarations from his classmates. He was pretty good-looking too, so plenty of girls approached him and requested dates with him often. In spite of that, he still felt kind of unfulfilled somehow.
His younger twin brother received more attention than he did from their father, and he was jealous at first. He was used to being the popular one. His brother was just the shy guy who was simply kind of there. Harsh, but true. But their dad seemed to like the timid boy more than him. Over the years, his envy had dulled to a low tinge of annoyance whenever their father called only to ask for Matthew. He just dismissed it and told Matthew that he didn't care.
It was different at school. Matthew studied tirelessly and obtained high grades along with his own friend Kiku. As for him, he was average at best. He definitely wasn't stupid. That wasn't the case at all. He got the top grades in exams, often even competiting with his friend Kiku who had been offered many prestigious scholarships. He was just uninterested in school and learning, often having bunked classes just because he couldn't be bothered. He sometimes didn't turn up because he wanted a lie in, or wanted to finish a new video game he bought. In spite of his dismissive attitude towards education, he was exceedingly dedicated to sports. He always turned up for practice, even when the weather was bad or if he were sick. He never missed a game either, and he often got into fights with his brother or friends over what to watch on television. Most often, he won out and got to watch whatever game was on.
His thoughts slipped away as he paused outside of the boring, dull building that he visited near enough everyday. He shifted his lethargic gaze down to his gaudy wristwatch, realising he only had half an hour until first break. Shrugging and thinking it useless to go to class now and get his ear screeched off by Miss-What's-Her-Name, he decided to head to the roof and just throw his baseball until then when he could practice with Kiku.
He dragged his squeaky converse sneakers up the fire escape stairs and approached the roof, used to the ominous echo that the closed in corridor gave off. He shoved open the half-broken green door (one of the hinges had rusted off a while back, but the maintenance workers didn't seem to give a damn) and sucked in a deep breath as the dazzling warmth of the sun hit his tanned skin once more.
Dumping his brown bag on the floor, hanging up against the wall, he reached down and grabbed his glove and baseball out of it. He slid the glove on, inspecting the worn leather for a moment before tossing the ball. As he caught it and repeated the action countless times, his mind drifted off to thoughts of yester-year.
O-o-O-o-OA spirit world, present day.
Heart pounding inside his ribcage and breath blasting out furiously, he swerved around another corner. He didn't stop to think, or turn behind him, or to do anything. He just kept running. His legs were screaming in agony, praying for relief to just collapse and rest, but he clenched his eyes shut tight, ignoring the sting that the sweat caused them, and just ran.
He could feel his heart crashing angrily and the blood rushing through his system, and he could hear only his ragged breath as his agile footsteps carried him across the pitch black seemingly nonexistent ground. He tried to swallow, but found he was too dehydrated and simply had no saliva. He licked his dry, chapped and bleeding lips, grimacing at the salty taste.
A mocking chuckle sliced through the tense atmosphere and he willed his exhausted legs to go faster, faster. Every time one of his feet crashed against the dark floor beneath them, glistening white ripples flew out as far as he could see. If he weren't in a life and death situation, he would have admired the beauty of it. As it was...
"You can run, little rabbit, but you cannot hide..."
The owner of the sickeningly sweet voice gave a strange laugh that chilled him to the bone. Clenching his bloodied fists, he came to a halt. He knew he'd have to do this fast. He panted heavily as he held his hands out in front of him. The darkness before him remained invisible for a moment before a glistening green light sparkled into view in the shape of a staff. After a moment that seemed to be a lifetime, it finally became 3D. He grasped it tightly, knuckles turning white beneath the layer of blood that covered them. He knew he had to be quick, and a glance behind him assured him of that. He could see the black substance piling up on both sides like two separate tidal waves as an invisible force approached him.
He raised his staff as he leapt up as far as he could and, shouting a command in an ancient language, slashed at the darkness. There was a fretful pause, and he almost feared it hadn't worked. But then, suddenly, a huge green light flared again, tinting all of the black scenery a dark forest green hue. The light expanded, and he threw himself through the slashed gap in the darkness - but found he couldn't move. Glancing down worriedly, he saw some kind of black... thing... wrapped around his ankle. It looked almost like a hand, but more... wolf-like.
He tried to tear his ankle out of the painful grasp, but the hand only tightened its grip. He bit his lip with a grimance to prevent a cry of pain from escaping. He twisted and turned, trying to writhe out of its hold, panicking because his only chance at transport out of his hell hole was slowly disappearing.
"You can't escape, little rabbit...!"
New emotions suddenly heightened when he heard the infuriating voice. Fear. Fury. Determination. Sucking in a deep breath, he dived forward, ignoring the scream his muscles gave off as the hand grasping his ankle tried to pull him back, and he dove through the small gap left in the darkness. He gasped for breath, his throat too sore to scream, as the black claw-like hand clung to his painful leg. His vision was becoming blur and dark at the corners, but he could not die on this mission! Letting out a hoarse cry, he lunged through the green light just as it disappeared.
After a while, the massive waves died down and reduced themselves to ominous ripples. The crashing sounds had now turned into a disturbing silence, but the darkness returned.
The owner of the voice smirked.
"This is far from over, my little rabbit..."
O-o-O-o-OJapan, Tokyo, present day. O-o-O-o-O
One hundred and twenty two... One hundred and twenty three... Alfred counted inwardly as he threw and caught the ball over and over again. He paused to check his watch, flicking it when it paused in movement for an extended moment. Still ten more minutes until break? Jeez... he thought in irritation, boredom taking over him completely. He gave a long-suffering sigh as he threw the ball again. He blinked in confusion when he saw a small shadow appear on the patio before him. Catching his ball again, he glanced up and squinted, wondering if he needed another eye test when he saw something falling. The hell is that...? Some kind of bird? Maybe it's injured or something, he thought uncaringly, glaring as he squinted. His frown deepened as the shadow got bigger along with the bird that was plunging down at a fast rate. I wonder if it's dead, he wondered in morbid fascination. However, as it descended, he realised with a mixture of horror and wonderment that it most definitely was not a bird.
"Holy shit... It's a person!" he exclaimed, immediately heaving himself up as the person speedily approached the ground. He dashed forward to catch them and effectively save their life, holding his arms out to grab them. But as they slowly reached him, they seemed to slow down and hover in the air just above his arms for a milisecond before dropping into them. Alfred stared down at the guy who had just literally fallen out of the sky in complete bewilderment and shock. How could this guy just... fall outta the sky? He glanced up with wide, curious eyes. I don't see no airplanes or nothing, so... He looked back down at the boy in his arms, suddenly realising he was drenched in blood. He suddenly felt sick.
Flash! Blood splattered across the walls. Strange, hand-shaped marks on the floor. Pale, broken, bruised, bodies with blood seeping out onto the floor before them.
Shuddering in revulsion, Alfred shook his head, shutting his eyes for a minute and berating himself. Stop it, Alfred. Get it the hell outta your head, man, he told himself angrily. Forcing open his eyes again, he stared at the frail, ashen boy in his arms, feeling somewhat of a sadistic masochist or something. Shaking his head, he told himself to react like any normal person in this situation. Instead of screaming, however, he calmly grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before descending the emergency fire exit stairs to head to the infirmary, still unable to tear his eyes off of the pale boy in his arms.
O-o-O-o-OAxis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. This story started off with a Well, you can already see Alfred's messed up. :) Especially based on the memories of his you witnessed just before the end. Jeez. Cheer up, Emo Kid! - I'm rambling. :( I'm sorry. Forigve meee. :( Or not then... I don't care! - Thank you for reading the prologue of :)