Chapter 8 - Enter The Memories Of Asura! Brothers In Arms

AN:

Oni: LOOK WHAT I FINALLY DID!

Aiden: Wow, I'm legit impressed.

Oni: BE PROUD OF ME I FINALLY DIDS IT!

Adrian and Aiden: *pats her* There there now you just have to get to writing the next chapter.

Oni: Yup! Oh... Disclaimer!

Aiden: Oni does not own Soul Eater or Deltora Quest but she does own the OOC renderings of me and Adrian, plus the few OCs that she does have.

Oni: AAAAAAND ONWARDS!

Asura's Memory

(Maka's POV)

We land in a dense forest, filled with greenery. Near where I was standing was a modest stone hut, which seemed to have been chiseled out of the mountain with great precision and care. Birds were chirping, meaning that nobody was around. I look around to see Soul, Dad, and Shinigami-sama scratching their heads, wondering where we are. Walking up to the stone hut, I knocked on the door, only to find my hand passing through the rock as if it weren't there.

"Ah yes, I forgot to tell you all that because we are not linked to Asura at this point, we are unable to affect the memory this time. Think of it like an extremely realistic movie." Shinigami-sama piped up, "You can go through, it is best if we did some exploring, I have no idea where we are!"

Nodding, I passed through the door to find Asura, with all three red eyes and his scarf, meditating in a pretty cosy looking living room. All eyes were closed and he almost seemed to be sleeping.

"For a Kishin, he doesn't look very dangerous..." Spirit remarks, rubbing his chin.

"Asura was always rather quiet and studious, I have no idea what drove him into insanity to this day. He was scared of many things, yes, but it was only in his final years before his sealing when he transformed into what he became - The Kishin of Terror."

"He doesn't look very terrified now." Soul pointed out.

"I know, and if I weren't with him for most of the time, I would have assumed this was Asura before he went insane, but I've never seen this place before..."

I was about to ask Shinigami-sama a question, but at that moment something happened.

"Yo." A voice drawled from behind us, a hint of a Southern accent in his voice.

We all leapt and snapped our heads around to the source of the voice.

A boy of around sixteen years of age was leaning against the doorway, one that lead further into the mountain hut. He looked pretty weird, with blue (no...purple...burple?) hair that was short and wavy, with a lock of his hair falling in front of his face, covering his nose. The stranger was wearing a strange maroon turtleneck with black leggings and very high, dark blue boots. A cream colored cloak was wrapped around his shoulders and I would have passed him off as a normal person with strange tastes in hair dye if it weren't for his eyes.

Bright violet colored eyes shone with mischief and mirth, matching the smirk he also wore. As I tilted my head at the guy, I heard that buzzing against my ear again, but paid it no heed.

"You're getting better, I almost didn't feel your wavelength this time." Asura said, not looking up or even opening his eyes.

I saw the new guy roll his eyes and sit himself down next to the Kishin, and my eyes widened. Doesn't this guy know who he was next to? Didn't he know that he was in danger? I tried to tell him to run away, that acting like this near the Kishin was dangerous, but the. I remembered that this was just a memory. Was it a memory of Asura killing someone? I felt worried, until I remembered Asura's own casual tone when talking to the new kid, and settled myself down with the others to watch whatever was going to unfold.

(Aiden's POV)

Ah, this memory, I remember now. I watch myself plop down next to the guy I now called my brother. This could only be a few days after I arrived, and I remember this day clearly. It was the start of a beautiful brotherhood and friendship. Transforming back into my human form, I watch both the memory and the four others viewing it with amusement.

"So..." I see Asura start, opening his eyes and turning his head to face me, "Are you ever going to introduce yourself, or are we going to continue with this 'you there' and 'hey you' business?"

Past me tilts his head and grins.

"I have had a lot of names, but I've only ever got attached to one."

"Care to tell me what that name is then?" Asura drawled.

"Nope! Buuuut if you want to call me something, I guess I'll just make up something similar to it."

"You're not going to give me your real name?" The scarfed teen (he's a hundred years old, but at least he doesn't sparkle in the sunlight, right?) questioned, and even now I hear the hope in his voice.

"You don't have to either. We can just make up names and then roll with it. After all, according to one of the most infuriating plays know to man, 'A rose by any other name smells just as sweet'."

"Fine, then. Please call me Adrian." The kid (he's older than you, even if you've been around for a while as well, he's still older than you, never forget, never forget, never forget that one time he got Old Codger Syndrome - wait I'm getting off topic) said with such seriousness that past me laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Everything becomes funny eventually. You're seriousness at your own name just happens to be one of them."

"Whatever you say..." Adrian shrugs, "You still haven't told me what I should call YOU."

Past me seemed to stare into space, and I could see from this point the expression of hurt, guilt, and sorrow that passed my face. 'I' lowered my head, and past me replied in a quiet voice.

"Aiden. Call me Aiden."

"Well then Aiden," Adrain held a hand up to me, "Nice to meet you. I think we'll get along swimmingly." He said in a mock posh voice.

Past me shook his hand.

"I agree," 'I' smirk as past me mimics his voice, "I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

(Maka's POV)

I watched the interaction between Asura and 'Aiden' with scrutiny. Who was this guy? Peering closer at him, I realized that there was something off about him. Along with the peculiar hair and medieval dress sense, Aiden had one other oddity. There were no blemishes on his skin, no scars, pimples, bumps or spots. His face was pale and completely smooth, he had the perfect face, skin wise. Not only that, but Aiden looked sixteen, but from some of pieces of information he tossed out he sounds far older than that.

Suddenly having an idea, I checked my Soul Perception. What I saw shocked me.

Aiden's 'soul', the dome of energy around him, was violet and surrounded by a strange, shifting white mist. Silhouettes of various creatures formed and deformed in the smoky mist, letting out soul stirring cries. It had the SHAPE of a Witch's soul, but I caught sight of the red eyes faintly surrounding the soul, indicating that he was at least partially unstable and Insane.

However, what shocked me the most was the large chunk missing from his soul, as if he had ripped it out. The area around this part was black with glowing red veins pulsing, bleeding into the soul creating the Insane eyes that marked him as Insane. Whatever he took out, it must have been REALLY bad.

At that, I wondered about Adrian's soul, and glanced at the sitting, lounging form of the amnesiac Kishin. His soul was a strange cream shade, like the color of his scarves. It seemed to be fighting off the red mist that was trying to attach itself to its soul. This surprised me, it was obvious that Adrian has a lot of Insanity, but the red mist wasn't coming from him, it was as if it were placed there by an outside source...

Soul shook me out of my deep thinking. His face held the worry of a brother, and from the corner of my eye I saw my father's eye twitching. Sighing, I give them a weak smile. I was just so...confused. Who in the world is Asura, and who is Adrian? Something doesn't seem right about his sudden reappearance, and even Death says he wasn't always Insane...

Aiden stood up from where he sat next to Adrian, and stretched. He grinned lazily at the sitting Kishin before transforming into a white mist. The four of us gasped at this, and looking closer I saw that the mist was just like his soul. In fact, I narrowed my eyes as the mist was still in a vague humanoid shape, and had narrow, glowing violet eyes. On the right side of the thing's chest was a large hole, blackened and ragged. Before I could get a better look, the mist morphed into a large canon.

"Come on," said Aiden, still in weapon form, "We better get you training, there aren't as many monster here as where I'm from, but you still need to relearn your powers."

Adrian rolled his eyes and grabbed the canon with one of his scarves, and slowly walked to the door, yawning. He really was cute when he was tired...no! I rap my head a little with my hand. I do NOT have a crush on the Kishin!

Yes you do. Said a little voice in my head, and you don't think he's that evil, do you? Even after all he did, you're going to give him the benefit of doubt.

I angrily shook my head, trying to clear away the voice. Because of this distraction, I didn't notice that Soul, Shinigami-sama, and my father had followed the memory Adrain and his... Partner... to the outside area. I was about to sprint away, when something inside the hut caught my attention.

It was Aiden, leaned against the wall. He was staring at the front door with a wistful grin on his face, his arms crossed, just like he was when he entered in the memory. I blinked. Wait... Aiden transformed into a canon and was with Adrian...

Walking up to him, I waved my hand in front of his face. Immediately my wrist was snatched and I found myself up against the wall. Transforming my arm into a blade, I sliced at his face, grinning as it cut his cheek deeply. This satisfaction turned into fright as I watched his face fix itself seamlessly. Wary violet eyes stared into my fearful green ones, and I felt him set me down.

I was wondering how in the world he was able to enter the memory unless he was with one of us, until I remembered the mist that he transformed into.

"..."

"..."

"You were the fly."

"That I was. Clever princess."

I tilted my head, confused at the title.

"Princess?"

His eyes bored into mine, and yet they seemed to be watching something far away.

"You remind me... Of some old friends."

He walked to the door, but didn't go out.

"Adrian's my brother. So if you hurt him, I'll be the first to behead you with your own scythe blades, understood?"

Numbly, I nodded, and he transformed fluidly into a snake and slithered away. Before I could call him for answers, the memory ended and I found myself back in the Death Room, with a solemn Soul, Spirit, and Shinigami-sama.

"We have found a problem." Said Shinigami-sama quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked them.

"Whoever this 'Aiden' is, he is the one behind Asura's amnesia. While he says that he is of good intentions, he is most certainly not human. But I have seen his kind before... And they are not good beings. I believe that 'Aiden' might be the Witch we've been looking for, his soul certainly points to that." Was the reply.

This made me wonder, because Aiden didn't seem nasty at all. In fact, he seemed really protective of Adrian, like Soul is protective of me. His last words rung in my head, and was one of the reasons I didn't mention his presence in the memory, or the fact that there was a blue and purple snake slithering out of the room.

AN:

Oni: And that's all for now! Don't forget to review (love them reviews, they make so happy!) and I shall see you next time, my pretties!